An Ode To The Oregon Ducks

O Oregon, O Oregon
Winner of the Holiday Bowl.
You fought, you scrapped
You duked it out
For victory was your goal.

And even though your mascot
Is a non-threatening Duck
You waddled into the endzone
more than us
Your Jeremiahs had all the luck.

So this Cowboy fan says "Congrats."
You deserve all the pats on the back.
Maybe we'll meet again next year
Until then, "Quack Quack!"

There you go, my Oregon friends! I have to say, knowing I had put out this challenge made watching the game soooo much more fun. Now I just have to find some Gator fans to challenge for the National Championship game when OU plays!!

Can you bear just one funny story today? Remember in the fall, Josh played his first season of football for his junior high so there was lots of football talk in our house - lots of questions. Roman was asking Richard something I can't remember now and it led to a question about the line of scrimmage. So Richard was trying to get Roman to say it. Ya know how you talk real slow and stretch out the words trying to lead the person to the word? He said "The liiiiiine............ooooof.................." and left it hanging there. And, Roman said, shaking her head not really knowing, "beauty????" We all just fell apart laughing. So now the line of scrimmage is known in our house as the line of beauty!!!

Happy New Year's Eve to you all. May 2009 be the best year of your life!

Tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999. (Yeah right, me and Prince. I'll be asleep by 10!)

B.

O Showdown - R U Ready, StephieAnne?

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???

Tonight's the night! Our Cowboys take on the Oregon Ducks in the Holiday Bowl. And...hmmmmm...I know some folks in Oregon. And they are Ducks fans. So I thought a little trash talk would be fittin' this morning. *wink*

I'm counting on all 2 of my OSU friends to be in this with me. (Yes, it's sad but true. We live so close to OU country, it's hard to find another Cowboy fan here. But I know Terri C and Jayne D are supporting me as they read this!)

So, my challenge is this: If OSU wins, I expect to see a full page "ad" on you Oregonian's - StephieAnne and Linda - blogs telling of the superior football program and the lovely orange color we wear - you get the idea. Feel free to go on and on and on and on. If the Ducks win, I'll do the same. Really, I'll do it. Promise.

Here's the kick in the pants for us, Roman has an indoor soccer game at 6:10!!! We won't be home until 7:30 so we're having to dvr the game and try to get home without hearing any of it! Trust me, it's all I can do not to send that girl with my friend, Tonya, to her game and park myself in front of the flatscreen!! JK. Roman's game is MUCH more important than the BCS Holiday Bowl. (I keep telling myself that.)

So, Ducks fans, do you accept my challenge?

B.

All I Want For Christmas

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

I got!!

What a fabulous 4 days it has been. We've been crazy-busy but, at the same time, we've had lots of family time to just hang out with each other and friends.

Check out my Smilebox for some highlights. I'm just going to give you the bullett right now because this would be a humongo post if I chatted about all of it! Plus, I have a bunch of blogs to catch up on reading and I want to get to that!

• Christmas Eve service at LC was amazing. I'm pretty sure it's the first CE service I've ever gone to in my whole life! Definitely the start of a new tradition for our family.
• Christmas Eve party at Richard's Grandma's - might be the last one. Always makes me laugh because my kids used to be the babies running around. Not anymore!
• Starting low-carb diet on the 20th - I have not had a single bite (I mean it!!) of anything sweet for 9 days. Not my mom's divine fruitcake, not Susan's coconut bread, no fudge...you get the picture. (insert very, very sad face here) But it is paying off on the scales!
• Our whole fam rocking out to Eye of the Tiger on Guitar Hero 4. Laughing because my kids know more classic rock songs than I do!!
• Wahoo, Rummy and Connect 4 smackdowns.
• Christmas Day driving all over the state to see family.
• Patrick's new dreadlocks.
• Seeing Bedtime Stories - great movie. A must see!
• Richard and I being child-free Friday night and what do we do? Get drive-thru Burger King then go home and watch two movies. We're so lame, right?
• Patrick not waking up here Christmas morning - a first in a long time!
• Josh and Roman having to go out to the mailbox in the freezing cold as part of their scavenger hunt. Always good for a laugh for the parents!! bwahahaha
• Reading the Christmas Story from the Bible on Christmas morning - always a fave!
• A Christmas morning visit from Ms. Anita with a gift for Roman from Hannah - truly the highlight of Roman's week!

There's more. There's always more. But that's for another day, another post!

Right now, I've got my coffee, I'm wrapped in a blanket and I'm headed to bloggy land!

c u l8r,

B.

Merry Christmas to all my friends! May you know and experience the true meaning for this season as you zip from place to place.

And, I'll meet you back here in a few days to dish about the crazy relatives, diets gone awry, nutty gifts we received and how exhausted we all are.

Until then,

B.

bwahahahahahahaha!!!!!

Twas the Tuesday before Christmas
And all thru the Wright house
Every creature was going crazy
Including the spouse.

Naaaaaaaw........I'm just kidding y'all! Roman's playing with two of her best buds at one of their houses. Josh has some friends over doing what 12-year-olds do: WII, Runescape, passing gas...oooooh yuck!! (I can only tell the truth about this: they stink at this age. Literally, stink.)

Richard's in training all day. **I hope that's code for SHOPPING!**

And I am doing something I have not done in a long time. No - not cleaning the top of the fridge or under the couch although I haven't done those things in a long time, either.

I'm scrapbooking.

(and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir lets loose with a HALLELUJAH HALLELUJAH....)

And I am so enjoying it. It's crazy cold and misty outside. My gifts are wrapped. We're having leftovers for dinner. I have a huge supply of diet coke.

All is well with the world. Can you feel it?

Peace, love and pages,

B.

Always a Theme

So, I'm sitting in my front room having a gift wrapping marathon, watching Jon and Kate Plus Eight - one of my favorite shows - making a comment about what a control-organization-matching freak Kate is when I just had to LOL because I have a little more than a smidge of that in me!

I always have a theme to my gift wrap each Christmas - whether it's color or pattern or accessories. The first year we were married, I wrapped everything in plain brown paper and made huge, paper bows in green and red. One year, it was all plaid paper. Another year, it was all red and white paper and every gift had a candy cane attached. No gift bags under this tree. Even gift cards get wrapped. This year..........ahhhhhhh..........polka dots. I do love me a polka dot!! On anything and everything. So, those pretty packages are makin' me sooooo happy with that smorgasbord of polka dots!

Kate's got nothin' on me, right? Except 4 kids...

B.

Dinner at our house

Sitting down to dinner as a family is really important to me. It can be a rare thing when outdoor soccer is in full swing. But right now, in the heart of off-season, we get to eat together most nights.

My favorite part is the conversation because it can be so random and hysterically funny that we can barely get through the meal! We always try to do "best/worst." Everyone tells the best and worst of their day. Great conversation starter.

Last night Richard comes home with 3 jokes to share. We were laughing before he told them because he had to write the punch lines down on a sticky note - that's how bad of a joke teller he is. Here's one of them that cracked us up:

When you go into the bathroom, you're American.

When you come out of the bathroom, you're American.

What are you while you're in there?

(wait for it)

Your-a-peein. (European, get it???)

Then Josh had this one:

An orphan is looking for his parents. Should he follow the road or the river?

Ready for this?

Neither. An orphan doesn't have parents.

There were a lot of others and it just deteriorates into trying to make up a joke as you go along. That reminded me of when the kids were little. They would start out telling a knock-knock joke they had heard. They would end up making up jokes that made no sense but would laugh at each other until they couldn't breathe!!

It's good to laugh. It's good to know that the worst part of my day was cleaning the bathroom and the best part was being in jammy pants all day with no bra on.

It doesn't get much better than this!

B.

pssssssst...

...today is my BIRFDAY!! And what a great start to this day it's already been!

My children and husband pounced on me in bed. Then we had Fritter Thursday. (you can celebrate this national holiday any day of the week. Just follow these rules: Go to your fave donut shop. Buy apple fritters. Eat the fritters and say "It's Fritter __________. insert whatever day of the week it is here.)

Then there were gifts. And they were good.

So, it's been a great day already - and it's only 8 a.m. here!!

I found this very funny list "You know you're between the babyboomers and generation x if..." that just cracked me up. Of course, I want to share it with you. So, my gift to you today is some giggles and some "yea, I remember that." Enjoy my day with me!

You're Lost between Baby Boomers and Gen X if...
**You remember when Jordache jeans with a flat-handle comb in the back pocket was cool.
**You remember the premier of MTV.
**Any photograph of you shows you with an Izod shirt with the collar turned up.
**You rode in the back of the stationwagon facing the cars behind you.
**Schoolhouse Rock played a huge part in how you learned things like math and history.
**You ever dressed to look like someone in a Madonna, Cyndi Lauper or Duran Duran video.
**The age-old question "Where's the beef?" still makes you laugh.
**You had a crush on Ted the photographer on Love Boat or Ponch on CHIPS.
**You've ever shopped at Bennetton.
**You had a front row seat for Luke and Laura's wedding on General Hospital.
**You know who shot JR.
**This rings a bell "My name's Charlie, and they work for me."
**You sat with your friends on any given Friday night in 1982 and dialed 867-5309 to see if Jenny would actually answer.
**"All skate, change directions" means something to you.
**You remember Bo and Luke Duke, Daisy, Boss Hogg and - worst of all - what Roscoe's full name was.
**You remember having a rotary phone.
**Members Only jackets - need I say more?

Flashing back,

B.

Santa's Elves

...have been very busy at my house! Amazingly enough, we have not had anything to do the last two nights so we've been making goodies. I think, over the last few years, we've created some Christmas traditions when it comes to the candy/sweets we make this time of year.

When I was growing up, my mom made peanut butter balls and divinity every year. She started making a killer fruitcake about 10 or 15 years ago that is my all-time favorite now. It takes 30 days and you stir or add something to it everyday. Simply delish, I tell ya! Richard and I fight over it til the last crumb is gone.

As an adult, I've made pb balls only a handful of times. They are yummy but really a pain in the tush to make. About 3 years ago, I discovered that my kids can do all the work...ummmm, I mean enjoy the process and help create them!! Now, if I can just keep them from eating them until we give them to our teachers and neighbors! We've also been dipping pretzel rods for the last few years. So easy and such a great presentation. Of course, I've posted pictures from our sugar cookie extravaganza. We'll probably make those again since Josh missed out and they are already all gone!
These are sugared pecans. This is my first year to make them but I wanted something not dipped in chocolate to put in the baskets! Very easy to make but I learned a valuable lesson: Take them off the cookie sheet while they are warm. They cool and stick - like cement - to the pan!
yuuuuuummmmmmmmmm...peanut butter balls. These won't last long.

Then our chocolate-dipped pretzel rods. I have little metal buckets that I will fill and give to Roman's teachers. I'll pop in a $5 Sonic gift card, tie on some cute ribbon and that will be that! Josh is WAY too cool to take anything to his teachers. He might "just die" of embarassment if I were to take some up to the jr. high! (thinking that one over...tee hee!)

The temps here haven't gotten above freezing for 2 days. No snow - just cold. So while we've been making candy, we've had the fireplace going and had some crazy Yahtzee games. I haven't won and my super-competitive self is in overdrive. Tonight - we play Wahoo. I don't always win but I get great satisfaction whacking those marbles and sending someone back to their start!!

Happy Hump-Day!

B.

Close Call

First of all, let me say thank you to all of you for your sweet comments either on here or in my e-mail about our church dilemma. It's not always as bad as it felt yesterday!

Today, I have to share something that just cracked Richard and me up completely!

Roman's class party is on Thursday. I've seen some e-mails from parents indicating their child has a little "something" for everyone in the class. Oh great! Now the pressure's on. (Remember this is a new school for us.) I can't just throw some candy at them. Yet.

I get the fabulous idea - really, I stole it from my friend Tonya - to make a cd of Roman's favorite Christmas songs and burn copies for all her classmates. We {heart} Christmas music and listen to it on our playlist year-round. Songs like "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," "Breath of Heaven," "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth," "O Holy Night" (the Barlow Girls version is THE best!) These are just a few of the songs - you can see we like it all!!!

So, I give Richard the list of songs and the artists because every Christmas song has a bazillion versions. (Soap box: "Christmas Shoes" is not meant to be sung by Def Lepard. It's just wrong.) On that list is "All I Want for Christmas is You" by Mariah Carey. It's on my playlist but maybe, just maybe, I've never paid too close attention to the beginning of it.

Richard calls me in to listen to it. At the beginning there's some "chat" - a lot like we hear when we listen to TobyMac. He has his son, Truman, do some cute things on some songs. After some line by some guy who says something about getting to bed so Santa can come, the boy says "There ain't no d*mn Santa anyway."

OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHH MMMMMYYYYYYYYYY GOOOOOOOOOSSSHHHH!!!

And I was about to hand those out to the 14 students in Roman's class and her teacher - her class at her Christian school may I remind you!!!!!!

Can you imagine the phone calls I would have received on Friday????

Really, we laughed so hard at "what might have been." They probably wouldn't let me be the Lunch Lady anymore!!

I did check my playlist. That's not the Mariah version I have on there. Whew.

B.

Almost Too Much

I have been struggling lately. I mean to the point of frustration, throwing up my hands and wanting to lay on the ground and have a tantrum.

This whole "trying to find a new church" thing is about to be the end of me, I think. It's hard and i don't like hard. It's sad and I really don't like sad. I miss familiarity. I want to see my friends that were closer to me than family every time I walk into church. I want my kids to be with the kids they have known since - literally - birth.

I'm just weary.

I was sharing this with my friend, Linda. I know she understands and she had very wise words and experiences to share. I'm so thankful for her.

I didn't share it with my Savior, my Comforter, my Abba Father. I didn't want to whine or complain to Him. But, Saturday, I did it. I laid it all out there. Crying (I'm not a crier) whining (I do OK at whining) and falling apart.

I wish I could tell you I immediately felt better and that God revealed His great plan for our family to me. I really just felt relief that I had finally shared with the One who loves me the most and cares for my every need - but no big revelations.

Saturday night, we made a decision to go to Life Church. We had written LC off initially for a reason I don't quite remember now. Maybe because it's a MEGA church, maybe because of someone who went there - I dunno but we went Sunday morning.

It's a rockin' church. Seriously...imagine traditional Christmas carols being sung by Metallica. (That's the hardest band I can think of!) And then, this:

I hear the Savior say, "Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all."

The air was sucked right out of my lungs - like I'd been punched in the gut.

Jesus paid it all, All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

More crying but with lots more joy now. Child of weakness = Beverly. And in that rockin' version of that beautiful song, I felt the Lord's mercy and tenderness for me and what I'm feeling lately. He's been right there all along, of course. I might not have shared my broken heart with Him soon enough but He knew. Because He is my all in all. And I know he put other wonderful things in my path to distract me from what we face in finding a church.

I also know He's working in us as a family. Each time we walk into a new church, we do it together knowing it's not easy for any of us. We're learning about trust and obedience. We've only known our life as a family as part of a community of believers - so we all want to get back to that. We're learning that worship doesn't have to be rigid, formal, or stiff. (EHC wasn't like that but some of the churches we've visited have been.)

We really liked LC. The pastor is on the big screen - which didn't bother me as much as I thought it would. His message, on prayer, was fantastic and timely for my life. The music was ALMOST too much but I enjoyed it for what it was. KWIM? They have a Saturday night service which I adore! And for such a big church, it didn't feel that way.

So, if you're still reading this ginormo post, please, pray for us. We're ready for a church home - ready to serve and be part of that mission field.

Thanks for listening!

B.

Post #2 aka Skinny Jeans

So, Josh-the-amazing-12-year-old (to be known in the future as JTA) is growing and growing and growing right now. Inches at a time. I should also mention that he is also eating everything in sight.

His first words to me when he gets in the car after school are "I'm starving." And, when he gets up in the morning, "I'm starving." And, really, every minute of the day, "I'm starving."

Bottom-less pit.

He frequently needs new jeans because they just get too short. He's tall and lean.

And, he's getting an opinion about what he wants to wear. For 12 fabulous years, I've been able to shop for him and lay his clothes out and he was happy.

Not so much anymore. Now he has to go with me to shop. And he wants to wear skinny jeans.

And, I don't like them. Because they are just...well...too skinny. We are wide-legged people.

I remember in the 7th grade when Levis 501's were getting popular and we would "peg" the legs. My parents didn't like it one bit! The funny thing is my dad could remember when he used to do it. In fact, the backs of his legs were hairless because of how tight his jeans were on his calves.

This is just the strangest thing for me in my parenting journey. Josh is our first child to find a "style" that isn't exactly like ours! I know those jeans are everywhere these days. But, we aren't stylish people - we let others break in fashions for a loooooonnngggggg time before we jump on board. In fact, I still have some straight-leg jeans hanging in my closet. They're not in the skinny family - maybe just a distant cousin - but they are there waiting for me to return to them.

There's just something about those jeans that represent independence, autonomy, and freedom, I think. They do something to the mind. I bet it was those jeans that made him want to go to the movies with a.............gasp...............girl. Yep, it was the skinny jeans. I'm sure of it.

Tomorrow - back to wide-leg, distressed, carpenter-style, stone/acid/river wash, loose fit jeans from the Gap.

JTA - you're killin' me! But you really are amazing.

B.

The "No Internet Blues"

Make a Smilebox greeting

I've had no internet connection for over 24 hours now. It's been torture, I tell ya. Richard spent all day on the phone and $40 on some new somethin' - and, SHAZAM!!, I'm back!

And look what I did!!!!!!!!! I did something technology-related.

All. By. Myself.

That's sad, really. I'm painfully aware of how behind I am in all this stuff. The worst part is, I'm really OK with it! (cheesy grin) I like to think that I have to have these small victories along the way or I would just lose interest!

With that said, I have had a post rolling around in my head since Thursday night when I went jeans shopping with Josh-the-amazing-12-year-old. (insert trumpets sounding majestically here and a huge eye roll from me!) But then my ADHD kicked in and somehow here's a post about Roman and friends baking sugar cookies last night!

Don't even ask! But do watch my thingy up there!

B.

A Christmas Thought

Finally! Success in the Drive Thru Difference. And, crazily enough, it wasn't easy!

I had lunch duty at Roman's school today which I love because a little part of me lives through Junie B. Jones and I've always wanted to be the Lunch Lady! (You must read JBJ: Boss of Lunch. I so relate to that girl!) I never remember to take something to eat so by 1 pm I am s.t.a.r.v.i.n.g.!!

I think to myself "Today's the day. I'm going to a drive thru for lunch and I'm going to bless someone if I have to sit there all day!" Taco Bueno was calling my name. (Chicken crunchy potato burrito......yummo!)

I get into the line and sure enough someone pulls up behind me. Yay!! I pull up to the window and the nicest man takes my money and I start to TRY to tell him what I want to do. The only problem is that his English is very limited. (Ahhh, that Bueno. They're keeping it real, kwim?) I'm trying to ask him how much for the person behind me but he keeps insisting that I've already paid and that I have a happy day.

This went on for just a moment before the whole crew inside the store was at the window trying to find out why I was holding up their formerly fast-moving line. *blushing* I finally get to perform my RAK and give them the letter from the House FM and zip on out of there! I'm a big talk radio listener but for the rest of this day, I'm going to be listening only to the House to see if **crossing fingers** the guy will call in!

I do want to share a poem that was printed in the monthly magazine for our little city. I hope it stirs your heart the way it did mine.

If our greatest need had been for information,
God would have sent an educator.
If our greatest need had been for technical knowledge,
God would have sent a scientist.
If our greatest need had been for money,
God would have sent an economist.
If our greatest need had been for pleasure,
God would have sent an entertainer.
But our greatest need was for forgiveness,
So God sent us a Savior.
-Author Unknown

Hope you all have a terrific Thursday!

B.

O Tannenbaum...

This is going to be a super fast post. Linda's giving away her amazing homemade caramels to someone who posts pics of their tree as part of another challenge on Sara's blog. (I really, really, really wish I could do those coolio link-y things to their blogs!! Here's a road map in my style: From my blog roll go to Growin' With It. On that blog, there's a giant Christmas tree. Click on that to get to Sara's blog for the deets.)

We have to get to Roman's indoor soccer game in just a few minutes so here goes!

This is my tree. Every branch is wrapped with little white lights so it sparkles from the center of the tree. (No, you cannot see any burn marks in the picture!!!) It's completely covered in ornaments made by my children, special ornaments given to us for various reasons, and then the ornaments I get for my children each year. I started buying ornaments for each of our children many years ago. I want them to have some special ornaments for their first tree when they finally get one!

We've had the angel on top since we got married. She fell once and broke her porcelain head. We couldn't find one of the small pieces so she's has a hole on the right side of her head! Doesn't stop her from watching over us!




I have these handprints for Josh and Roman from.....................2000!! Each year I make them put their hand on it to see the change! (Always a tear-jerker moment for me!)










I have 6 of these guys on my tree - some are snowmen and cowboys. Brandon, Josh and Roman all made these in 3rd grade with Mrs. Newmark.

This is an ornament I made in the 4th grade!! Do you remember the L'eggs eggs? That's what this is covered in cut-out pictures and glitter.

My kids think this is the greatest thing! I'm so glad my mom gave it to me.










And..............Bubble Lights. Why bubble lights, you ask? Do they hold some special memory from my "ancient days" as Roman puts it? Not at all. Many years ago, my friend Marla commented about having bubble lights on her tree when she was growing up so I just stole her memory!! haha

The red part bubbles and they just add the cool factor to this hodge podge tree.

I do love this tree and every memory it represents. I get a little misty each year as the kids put their ornaments on its branches. On the same branches. All bunched up. Crowded into one area. :)

Seriously, I only moved 2 or 3 this year. Or maybe 8. Or more.

Just a little OCD for the holidays! Tis the season, right?

I can't wait to see everyone's trees and hear your stories and traditions!

Gotta jet!

B.

So NOT Boring

I remember when I started this blog and I was worried about how boring we were and would I have anything to write about, blah blah blah...

Now I can't seem to get any time at the computer to put it all down on paper...er, the screen. (I forget which century I'm living in!)

It's been an eventful last few days in the Wright house. It was a weekend spent with all kinds of friends and doing all kinds of things from crafting to skating to watching the fabulous OU Sooners beat Missouri like a d.r.u.m. with some obnoxious OU fans. {love them anyway!!!}

The real highlight of our weekend was seeing Cirque Du Soleil's Saltimbanco on Sunday. There is not an adjective powerful enough to describe that performance. We sat there just saying "Wow." "Oh my." "Wow." over and over again!

Richard and I saw Mystere when we were in Las Vegas about 8 years ago and I've never forgotten it so I knew I wanted to take Josh and Roman to this one. They were crazy amazed at the stunts just like I knew they would be. I hope I haven't sparked any wannabe-circus performers in them!!


These photos are from our newspaper. You know I had my camera in my purse and was ready to sneak it out to get some video and pictures for y'all - but Richard said if I got caught he would not get me out of circus-jail!! These are better than anything I would have snapped, anyway. If you have time, there are some videos out on YouTube you can drool over.

Sunday night we had a dodgeball party for Josh's soccer team which was tons o' fun! We are so blessed to be part of teams for both Josh and Roman that are filled with kids and parents that we truly enjoy spending time with. Throw in some pizza, diet coke and a cookie cake - what could be better???

But, today was filled with a lot of sadness. Lin and Laur - Todd Hannon's mom and aunt were killed in a car wreck last night and his dad and uncle have traumatic injuries which are keeping them in ICU. We spent a little time with them at the hospital this morning but have kept them in prayer all day. The Hannons are special people so, all my blog friends, lift them up as you can. I believe the prayers of the faithful will sustain them.

Still working hard on my Drive Thru Difference campaign - but, incredibly enough, I haven't been back to a drive thru!!! I went to happy hour at Sonic today but that's a pull-in situation. Arrrrrgh. I did get to see many people smile today. A group from Roman's school rang the bell for the Salvation Army and sang Christmas carols for all the shoppers. They were a "lively' little group - making up words they couldn't remember, adding in a few dance moves, etc!! Everyone that passed by seemed to enjoy them. But, then again, we were at Hobby Lobby - I get a big ol' grin on my face walking in there any time of the year!!

So that's it for me! I'll be blog-hopping in the next few days catching up with you all. I've missed you and can't wait to hear/read what you've been up to!

Peace out,

B.

Work with me, people!

First of all, this is not my house. This is my neighbor's house - well, my across the street neighbor. This is what I get to look at every night as I drive to my house. Isn't it purdy??? I do wish the photo was better so you could get that warm, gushy feeling I get when I just stand on my corner, freezing, staring at all of its fabulous-ness!

I have a confession to make.

I'm trying really hard to do the Drive Thru Difference. I was at BK on Wednesday and Starbuck's yesterday and NOBODY PULLED IN BEHIND ME!!!

Either time! I even lingered a little at the window while the cashiers gave me that "move along, lady, or maybe she's a robber" look. So, now I'm plotting where I can go today to do it. I prolly should be worried about packing on some unwanted holiday weight from too much fast food. All in the name of doing a random act of kindness! It might force me into a random act of excercising! Oy vey!

But making someone smile has been much easier. It's amazing how little things like giving up a spot in the shortest line or holding a door or complimenting someone's bright pink-striped hair will evoke a smile! :) There's one for you all!

Thank you all for your concern about the Christmas tree. No worries - it was all hypothetical, remember??

Gotta jet. Roman will report me to the principal if I spend too much time on the 'puter when I'm s'posed to be teaching!! *wink*

B.

Oops! Happy Birthday, Patrick!

So, I get the bad mom award. Yesterday was Patrick's birthday and I didn't blog about him. He doesn't read my blog so he would never know, right? But, his little sister reads and she would know.



And...she would tell him!! So here I am trying to make up for it! Don't think I forgot him. Quite the contrary - we were on the phone all day yesterday for different things. From shoe size to where we are eating dinner tonight to how he did on his oral Chinese exam! We covered it allllllll!

He turned 22 fabulous years old yesterday. This picture is how he looked when I first met him. (He's on the left, Brandon's on the right.) He was 7 years old and just a spark plug! I was crazy about him and Brandon from the very beginning.



I have to share a story because it was my first glimpse into parenting.



First, you should know that Richard and I met in September of 1993, got engaged in January of 1994 and married in March of 1994. (Get your minds out of the gutter, peeps. It wasn't a shotgun wedding. We just knew we were supposed to be together and did not want to wait.)



In December, while we were just dating, I had the boys by myself and we were out doing some Christmas shopping. I was very high on myself on what a fabulous mom I would someday be - things were going so well. They loved me! Brandon had a Book It coupon, that he'd gotten for reading, to Pizza Hut good for a personal pan pizza. So, we decided to use it and eat dinner there. Well, with the personal pan pizza came a BADGE and a certificate.



To put this mildly........Patrick absolutely fell apart. Melted down.



He starts crying and wailing and I'm sure there was gnashing of teeth - maybe mine. All because he wanted a badge, too. He gets louder and louder. And, with a big smile on my face and a soothingly calm voice, I try to make him understand that this was Brandon's reward. Not his. Then he starts a little bit of flailing in the chair - ya know, kind of a temper tantrum but not on the floor.



By this time, everyone is looking at me and the red-faced child. I want to shout "He's not mine!!" but I simply take his hand and start to lead him to the bathroom so we can discuss this further. And then.....and then...AND THEN...he wet noodles!! I mean completely limp with me still holding his hand right there in the floor of the restaurant. I really can't remember what happened after that. I did manage to get all our food into boxes and get out to the car where I'm pretty sure I called my friend Tammy for some help!



But, I didn't give in. I stood my ground. And, I still married his dad.



I'm still crazy about that boy.



We're leaving in a few minutes to go up to Stillwater to take him to dinner to celebrate. Maybe I'll pay him back and throw a fit of my own at Mexico Joe's!! That'll teach him, right?



B.

Just How Many Strands of Lights Can You String Together?

Let me just answer that question in a hypothetical manner.

It could happen that a person who wraps every branch of her Christmas tree requires many strands of clear lights to complete that task. Perhaps as many as 15-20+ strands. Because that makes the tree really sparkly.

Of course, that person would naturally just plug one end of the strand into the end of the next strand never having read the warning label on the lights. Really...who reads warning labels anyway?

At a certain point, the lights become warm-ish and they might begin to spark a little. Just a little shuzizzle. And then the lights go out.

Completely out. Not-coming-back-on-no-matter-how-much-you-jiggle-them out.

And a burning smell might come from the tree. No smoke - just a stinky smell.

All hypothetically speaking, of course.

B.

Drive Thru Difference

Each year, we try to involve our children in something to take the focus off of them and their dreams of getting everything on their Christmas list. We try to be creative and make it something that's appropriate for each child. But, it always involves money that we have saved to spend on them that they now spend on someone else. Like Roman once spent money buying books - because she loves books- for the Children's Hospital to give out to their patients. Josh bought toys for the foster children of some of our friends one time. They get to choose but it's always knowing they are giving up something for themselves to do this for someone else. I would like to say they {heart} giving up gifts for themselves - but that's not entirely true. But, once they get going, they really enjoy it.

This year, we heard about something that a local radio station is doing and we're going to participate. Go to www.thehousefm.com and you can read about the Drive Thru Difference. If you choose to pay for the food of the person behind you in line at a drive thru, you can give the cashier a letter to give to them once they get to the window. It doesn't say "I did this because I love Jesus" or "Now you're required to come to my church." It just says, at the end, "I hope this encourages you today."

It has the number for the station so that person can call and share his/her story of being the object of a RAK if they want to. We're excited to start hearing some of those stories! I'm a firm believer in what the Bible says about "they will know us by our love for one another." People want to be accepted and loved without having to change how they look or smell or speak. We just want to be a drop in the bucket that might start a ripple effect this time of year.

I know some of you bloggy peeps will have great ideas to share about how you bless others this time of year. I can't wait to read about them. I'm always open to new ideas to spread the love, babeeeee!

Singing Christmas carols at the top of my lungs,

B.

It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like...

Christmas!!!!!

Guess how I spent my weekend?? Instead of shopping Black Friday and Black Saturday and Black Sunday...(tee hee)...I always stay in my jammies and put up all my Christmas decorations - inside and out!

This is my mantle.

I have a little challenge for all my bloggy friends. I will eventually post a picture of my Christmas tree and I want to see yours. I enjoy how unique everyone is when it comes to their tree! So, sometime during this season, I'll show you mine if you'll show me yours!! *wink* And, I want all the deets behind your decorations. K?

Now on to a difficult topic.

Give me a minute to collect my thoughts.

It's hard to speak of it.

My precious Cowboys lost to the Sooners last night after they fought their hearts out in the Bedlam football game. I know. I know. You've all been there, right? You can feel my pain. (Except you, Laura!!! I can hear you cheering from here!)

We watched the game with 5 other families - all OU fans. (Even our own children, except Patrick, are all OU fans.) They were loud and obnoxious and big-clappers. And, I love everyone of them! Jase S. - who is 8 years old, mind you - said to me in the hall, in a threatening/intimidating kind of voice "You know your kids don't even like OSU." I was a little skeered of him!

But, I am very excited that OU is going to the championship game. We do enjoy OU football.....when they're not playing the Pokes! I would say that there's always basketball since we usually ROCK that sport but this season isn't looking so good either. What's a girl to do?

Peace, Love and Poinsettias,

B.

Smashing Pumpkins

Another Thanksgiving holiday into the history books. We had a fabulous day and my cup has been filled to overflowing in many ways.

All the fall decorations are put away. My house is "starting to look a lot like Christmas!" :) We didn't smash the pumpkins but they were all - what's a good word for rotting here?? - soft and some fell apart (i.e. their guts fell out!) in my flower beds. Totally grossed me out.

Here's the highlight of our holiday:

-Making these supah-cute turkey cupcakes with Roman and her pal from Texas, Katie C.



-Stuffing my hand between the skin and meat of my turkey to rub herbed butter in there cuz the How To guy said this is THE best way to cook your bird. Yes, it was disgusting. Yes, it tasted yummo.

(I put a cranberry glaze on that guy and he came out beeeeautiful. But, only my mom, Richard and I got to see how pretty he truly was because we carved him before anyone else got to admire him.)

-My 12-year-old saying "Dad let me go up on the roof to help put on lights. I went all the way to the top!)

-Peeling 5 pounds of potatoes.

-Looking at every ad for Black Friday - twice - and not finding anything worth dragging myself out of bed for that early.

-Sharing a meal and lots of laughs with 23 of our family members.

It was an amazing day. Now, I gotta jet. Richard is calling me to help put up the decorations outside! Yee haw!

B.

Thanksgiving Prayer

This prayer was written by the original Dear Abby and is one of my favorites. Keeps my protected world in perspective.

Oh, Heavenly Father,
We thank thee for food and remember the hungry.
We thank thee for health and remember the sick.
We thank thee for freedom and remember the enslaved.
May these remembrances stir us to service,
That thy gifts to us may be used for others.
Amen.

May we all recognize how blessed we truly are and make every day about being grateful for every gift, no matter what package it comes in.

B. - who thinks she is the most blessed of all

Time to Eat!

First of all, isn't this a sweet picture? This is prolly the way it looks around the table at most houses with the patriarch carving the turkey while the rest of the family looks on lovingly.

Not at our house. Picture all those National Geographic specials you've ever seen of tigers attacking their prey and then the feeding frenzy that follows that! That's how Thanksgiving goes at our house! And I can't wait!!!

So, I just have to share a story from 10 years ago today for 2 reasons. One, it's a miracle I can remember anything from 10 years ago when I can barely remember why I walk into most rooms in my house. Two, it's just darn cute and I'm very - what's a good word to use here - emotional lately about how my babies aren't babies any longer so I like to remember when they were!

10 years ago today, Josh was about 2 1/2 years old and Roman was 2 months old. I had to get to Hobby Lobby for some un-remembered treasure and it was raining. A lot. Everyone else in Norman had to be at that store at the same time and there wasn't a parking space to be found. Of course, knowing Jesus cares about me wanting to keep my babies dry as I wrestle a baby carrier and little boy into the store, I was silently praying for a spot. When a car backed out of the space right in front of the door, I said "Thank you, Jesus" outloud. Josh perked up from his carseat in the back, full of wonder, and said "Jesus was in that car?"

I thought that was the funniest thing and it has stuck with me all these years.

I know now would be a good time to talk about all the things I'm thankful for - family, friends, health, yada, yada, yada. But, if you know me, you know that I live a blessed life and I'm always willing to give up the gratitude for those things.

So, today, I want to be a little more practical in my thanksgiving.

Here goes: I am thankful for Skintimates shaving gel that makes shaving all my shaveable body parts, including toes, so much easier. I am thankful for the Chi product that I put on my hair before I straighten it because the smell makes me really happy. I am thankful that our indoor pet is a cat and that cats automatically know how to use a litter box. I am thankful that Sara Lee makes a pumpkin pie better than I could ever make. And, finally, I am thankful that the Coca Cola company saw the need for a soda that offeres no calories and created Diet Coke, thus changing my life.

After all, it's the little things in life, right?

B

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Today is the birthday of our favorite girl on the other side of the world!

Roman and Hannah formed an instant friendship in the Baby Room at EHC that has lasted for 10 years. They are so very different but at the same time so very similar.

And even though Hannah and her fab family are bazillions of miles away from us, Roman thinks about and talks about her everyday.

I know it's already tomorrow where you are - but we hope you had a wonderful day to turn double digits!

We love you!

Thanksgiving Prep

So glad to see that some things just never change!

Happy Tuesday!

A Concert Review...

...from a 40-year-old mom who has never been to a concert harder than REO Speedwagon in her life!! We just got home from seeing Toby Mac and Relient K and some other bands.

Give that video a lil' lookie. And just let me say - magnify that pitiful volume by a bazillion, add in a thousand screaming voices and let someone play the bass with your head strapped to the drum and that is what I heard for 3 hours tonight.

And I L.O.V.E.D. it!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I loved most of it. Except this particular band, Family Force 5. That's an innocent enough name, right? I was expecting something like the Jackson 5 or the Von Trapp family. This group consisted of 5 people who screamed like banshees for 20 solid minutes. The beat of the bass was pulsing in my throat convincing me that maybe I was having a heart attack because I have never felt this weirdness before. Right at that moment, when I was considering calling 911 but knowing they would not be able to understand a word I was saying, I picked up on some of the words the band was singing. It was their version of "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer." (It was a Winter Wonderslam with a Christmas theme concert.) There was nothing similar to the tune that we know this song by - but the words were there and when it was time to sing the chorus they would say, in sort of a chant-ish way "Hey now. Wait a minute. Put a little love in it." Which was quite catchy! Or maybe I was just reaching for a way to connect with these peeps.

But here's what really just cracked me up with this band: They all were jumping, screaming, flailing, shaking, etc., all over the stage. But one guy in particular seemed to have zero purpose. Didn't play a guitar, didn't sing in a mic - kwim? But he had a tambourine at one point. Seriously?????? A tambourine???? With all that screeching and loudness going on??? He's playing a tambourine????!!! He might as well have been playing the spoons!

But Toby Mac...........ahhhhhh, Toby Mac. He was worth waiting for and put on the best show I have ever seen. Really amazing. He put on a rockin' concert but everything about it pointed to Jesus. We were on our feet dancing and singing the whole time he was on stage. He sang Jesus Freak in the oncore and from there got to "Freak Out" and then to "We Are Family." Of course, Richard and I are really shakin' our groove thangs to those and Roman just looks at us and says "What are you singing?"

She wasn't familiar with this music from our "ancient days" as she calls it. She knows every word to "Diverse City" but was clueless with that blast from the past! I can't wait to hear what Josh has to say about us "enjoying" the concert. He and Paden hardly rocked out at all. Let's just say I'm already a little hoarse and my muscles in my "groove thang" are sore!!

Just fabulous!

B - back-up singer wannabe, rock star at heart!

Change

Change has really been on my mind lately. Obviously, the political change in our country has been a biggie. But, I'm waaaaay over that one! We've had lots of change in our family in the last 6 months. We've changed churches, schools, cars, soccer coaches, and living arrangements for some of our family members, just to name a few.

And then there were the Christmas lists that my kids gave me. All of a sudden, in one year's time, I can go to Best Buy, buy out the electronics department and be done with my Christmas shopping in one stop!! This is a toughie for me. I love to give gifts. It's my love language. I love to shop for the perfect thing and then I have a hard time waiting to give it to the person! On Thursday, I wandered around Toys R Us - which used to be the MECCA of my holiday shopping - and only managed to find one thing to buy...for a stocking stuffer! This is one change that might just do me in!


So, of course, in my adhd state while looking at video game systems, I started to think about all the changes I've seen in my lifetime. (Sounding old here, right?) First...aahhhhhh...the Atari. The father of all game systems. We got ours for Christmas - not sure when - but my brother and I loved it.

Guess who loved it more? My mom!! I think she played Pac Man all day while we were at school. My dad even built her a table with slots and attached the controller to it because her wrist was starting to hurt from holding the joystick! I'm sure Atari was the beginning of all the carpel tunnel problems of our day!

What about the progression of LP's to 8 tracks to cassettes to CD's to iPods?? That's been a crazy ride! I still have some cassettes but I don't think I have a player anymore!

Some others: VHS tapes to DVD's to DVR. Bell bottom jeans to pegged-leg jeans to wide leg to skinny jeans. Cell phones the size of a purse to now the size of a credit card. Big hair from a spiral perm to slick, straight flat-ironed hair. (I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY want big permed hair to come back. I will be all over that one!)

My friends have changed. My home has changed. My job has changed. I know I can't stop change. One of my favorite quotes is "Without change, there would be no butterflies."

But there is one thing that doesn't change. Hebrews 13:6 says "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." For that, I am truly thankful.

So, I know I've left many things off this list of changes I've seen. Do you have some to share with me?

I'm off to see Twilight! I'm a big fan of the books - I hope my boyfriend Edward is as great on the big screen as he is on the pages!

B.