Soundtrack to my life

It's so yummy, in my tummy!

2010-10-22T19:34:00.000-07:00

October 22nd, 2010

This is not a food challenge, but just something yummy!!

Tonight since it's Friday

and because I have a secret love affair with pasta (don't tell Brandon)

I made some fettuccine alfredo with grilled chicken!

Did you know that...?

Fettuccine alfredo was named after restaurteur Alfredo di Lello, who created it.

Know you know!!!

lol. Thanks Betty Crocker!

I grilled chicken breasts on the George Forman, which in my opinion is a MUST HAVE in all kictchens.
I added a dash of Mrs.Dash as it cooked.

Doesn't it look good enough to eat. Please, no licking the screen.

The alfredo sauce was pretty easy to make.
All you need is 1/2 whiping cream, 1/2cup butter (melted together till boiling)
reduce to simmer till it thickens slightly
remove from heat and add in 3/4 cup parmesian cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a dash of pepper.

DONE!

I actually doubled my alfredo recipie cause I had an already opened carton of heavy whipping cream that I didn't want to go to waste so I doubled it.

My suggestion is don't double the parmesean cheese. There was a lot of it, a little too much if you ask me.

Cook some noodles, pour on the sauce, top with chicken, and sprinkle with parsley!

Brandon loved it so much he had two helpings and made himself sick!

I like keeping my hubby happy like that! :)

~Becky

Busy day

2010-10-17T22:41:00.001-07:00

October 17th, 2010

Today is Sunday.

First was church
Then a potluck
Then some hang out time with my parents
Then a little shopping
Then a little mayhem
Then I made lasagna and pumpkin pie
Then I made a wreath

I love the picture on Woman's Day magazine of the candy corn wreath.
So i made one.

Step one:
Gather materials

Foam wreath, black duct tape, candy corn, black ribbon (silk is best!), hot glue gun and sealant.

Step two:
Wrap the wreath in black duct tape

Step two.five:
Play with duct tape:

Step three:
Lay one row of candy corn on the wreath, then hot glue one at a time.

Step four:
Contine to glue on the candy corn switching directions the candy points on each row.

DONE!! with gluing

Step five:
Hang with a black ribbon

Bam! Done!
Tasty!
~Becky

Food Challenge #4

2010-10-13T21:26:00.000-07:00

October 14th, 2010

This week was my turn to choose a meal!! YEAY!!

So I chose Stir Fry. Another dish I have never made.

And one that I looked at the day of and went, "ooops! Don't have that...and don't have that...and don't have that.... oh well! "

And that's my life.

In a nutshell.

or this recipe,

in a wok.

So here's the original recipie! :http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/12/monday-night-stir-fry/

and the following is the Becky version.

I used brown rice. I haven't always been the best rice maker in the world, so i was a little nervous pouring this rice in...hopefully it would turn out ok. *fingers crossed, knock on wood, wear a lucky charm*

I used pork loin for the meat...yum yum!

Cut into bite size portions and then drizzled with soy sauce.

Then it was time to cut veggies!! Like Onions!

"Ogres are like onions!"

Despite being in 4H cooking and all that, I still fail at cutting an onion. I've read about it and seen pics on it, but as soon as I get the onion in hand and the knife ready, all preparation I've made to cut this onion leaves me!

At this point you are supposed to chop all your veggies ready to add them in the wok. I opened to cans and I was ready!

Also prepped 1/4 cup chicken broth (thank yo chicken bullion) and 1/2 cup soy sauce mixed with 3 tbls sugar.

Now on to the fun stuff!!

We do have a wok!!
"Wok like a man, talk like a man!"
I sing that to Brandon when he uses the wok. :)

Fry up the pork soaked in soy sauce!! YUM!!!

Remove once it's cooked and set aside. And leave all the brown stuff!!

I added some veggie oil and sauted onions and minced garlic and ginger! yumm Yum!

and then add all the other veggies. In this case it was mini corn and water chestnuts!!
i LOVE water chestnuts!!!
Brandon doesn't.
Guess who gets his share!!

Add the meat!
Then add in the chicken broth and the soy sauce/sugar mix.
Now, you are supposed to have arrowroot mixed in with the chicken broth and when added to the stir fry, it thickens it up a little bit. The sauce that is.
But I didn't have arrowroot and so I didn't use any.
My sauce was runny, so i ended up draining half of it out.

Hooray my rice turned out great!! (I read the directions ALL the way through this time)

And viola!! There you go! Delicious dinner!!

And no, there are no left overs!!

~Becky

2010-10-11T22:21:00.001-07:00

October 11th, 2010

I just wanted to post some pictures.

I love pictures.

I love taking pictures of people
places
things
animals
plants
words
feet.

yes, even feet.

lol.

but no feet in this post.

~Becky

Fall Time!

2010-10-10T19:46:00.000-07:00

I love fall time.

When the leaves change colors to rich reds and yellows and oranges.
And the crisp fall mornings.

And the decorations.
These are a few around our house! :)

I love these little pumpkins! They are a little bit o' color and fallness!!

I have this great birdcage I love to decorate! And I have these AWESOME butterflies that are GLITTERY!!

And the wreath on our door! :)

And a little extra spooky picture!!

~Becky

Fight those leftover blues!!

2010-10-10T14:52:00.000-07:00

October 10th, 2010

If you are like me, I tend to end up with left overs.
And I hate making new dishes when I have perfectly good food left.

Part of the problem is nobody wants to eat the leftover food for the third night in a row even if you argue that there are starving children all over the world who would happily eat the same thing for the next 10 years as long as they were getting food!!
(But I still don't listen to myself)

Well, One way to fight the leftover blues and still use what you already have is by making a new dish! The easiest, and one of my fav's is Spaghetti Bake!

This is a specialty of my mom's!

It's quick and easy and is great on a Sunday (the food guys!!! Not my mom!! Sorry Mom, I am not responsible for the dirty thoughts that people have. LOVE!!!)

Pretty much you put in your spaghetti in a glass baking dish. Add your sauce on top.
We had left over mushrooms and chicken that we added in too! (see, you can recycle everything!! Perhaps it comes from living in Oregon....)

Add some grated cheese, cover in foil and bake for 15-20 min on 350 degrees aaaaaand...

You're done!
Have some garlic bread (melt butter, mix in garlic salt and spread on bread) and call it a meal!!

~Becky

Food Challenge #3

2010-10-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

October 6th, 2010

This weeks recipie, caare of Alexis, is Spaghetti and Artichoke Hearts and Tomatoes.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/10/wednesday-night-dinner-spaghetti-with-artichoke-hearts-and-tomatoes/

The thing I love about the Pioneer Woman, who is the wonderful author of this awesome recipie, she always talks about using what you have in your pantry.

Well, as I went through what I had, I realized I was missing half of the stuff called for!

But that's life.

So I did have artichokes,
but i had no tomatoes...
so I put in spinach and mushrooms.

I didnt' have chicken broth, but I did have chicken bullion, which is aparently a cooking faux pas, but WHO CARES!!! *laughs maniacly*

I didn't have olive oil, I used canola.

OH! And I used marinated artichokes!! SO THERE!!!

Anyways, it was delicious!

So there it is!

Yum Yum!
~Becky

SCTNow walk.

2010-10-03T16:33:00.000-07:00

October 2nd, 2010

So today was the Stop Child Trafficking Now Walk.

It was at 10.

Which means we had to be there before that.

Which meant i needed to be up Earlier than that.

I didn't really want to get out of my warm, soft, pillow topped, covered in down blanket bed.

But today wasn't for me.

It was for those who couldn't get up and help themselves.

So Brandon and I got up and got coffee.

Yeay coffee!!!

And we met up with Hannah and her mom and her adorable son Dominic.

They had a performer there, Enric Sefa, who is a Rwanda survivor from the genocide there. He was very talented.

Hannah and I decided we were NOT to old to have our faces painted!!

The walk was only 3 miles, which went by really fast!

Perhaps it was because I was walking for a good cause...

Perhaps it was because I was united with others a team determined to right a wrong.

Perhaps because 3 miles isn't very long...

whatever the reason, we crossed the Hawthorne, walked to Taylor, then crossed the Morrison.

Marcus joined us as we came off the Morrison bridge, better late than never!

It was a good walk and we celebrated with a trip to Chipotle!

I love Chipotle!

Until next year...
~Becky

Food challenge #2

2010-09-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

September 28th, 2010

So here is food challenge #2!
Make Ahead Muffins!

Which I took for "Go ahead and make them!!"
But really it meant "Make the night before!!!"

But whatever.

So the recipe is like an egg salad,
Hard boiled eggs (cut up)
Mayo
Bacon, but I didn't have bacon so I fried up some ham
Garlic Powder
Mustard
and I added paprika because it sounds cool...
and tastes good.

Honestly, I'm always afraid to boil eggs.
The first time I boiled eggs on my own I put the pot on the stove, added the eggs, turned up the heat aaaaaand.....
Completely forgot about it for 30 min and came back to a pot completely devoid of water and eggs exploded all over the kitchen.
I had no idea eggs could explode like that!
But they can. And do.

But I digress...
My eggs did turn out perfect!

SO you mix all the ingredients, you are supposed to refridgerate overnight, the part I skipped, and pile a scoop on half and english muffin and broil till bubbly!

I cheated and used my toaster oven which has a broil setting!!

And here they are!! yum yum!!

Thank you Brandon and Amy West for being my patient taste testers!!

Here's the link:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/07/make-ahead-muffin-melts/

~Becky

STOP Child Trafficking!

2010-09-23T22:24:00.000-07:00

September 23rd, 2010

Human Trafficking.
This breaks my heart.
Children are brought into the UNITED STATES to be USED!!

Used in exploitation, prostitution, pornography, migrant work, sweat shops, domestic servitude, forced labor, bondage, peonage or involuntary servitude.

Can you believe this!?

I dont understand how a person could be so unimaginably horrible!

If you have seen the movie Taken, think along those lines.

But not just teenage girls,

Children too.

And not just in some foreign land.

But right here in Portland.

This is one of the biggest places.

A group called Stop Child Trafficking Now is working to put an end to this.
There is a walk on October 2nd to raise funds and awareness.

It's only a 3 mile walk and it's free to register if you would like to join.
I will be there and so will Brandon and our friend Hannah.
You can join our group if you would like.
We are registered under Eastside Foursquare Church

Here is the link:http://www.sctnow.com/index.aspx

My goal is to raise $10. I think I can at least do that.

If you want to help us out here's where to donate: http://sctnow.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donordrive.donate

Think about it.
~Becky

Cooking Challenge #1

2010-09-20T20:25:00.000-07:00

September 20th, 2010

So a group of us have decided to blog together and cook delicious foods as a loving community!

Alexis has graciously put us together to create amazing homemade masterpieces with the help of The Pioneer Woman http://thepioneerwoman.com

This week Melissa Silva (http://ms07123.blogspot.com/) chose the recipe.
The delicious Crispy Yogurt Chicken
Here's the link: for the Pioneer Woman's recipe and instructions. http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/08/crispy-yogurt-chicken/

Here is my delicious concoction.

Ingredients:
Chicken Legs, Plain Yogurt, Bread Crumbs, Butter, Garlic Cloves, Lemon Juice, Salt.

I had to use what I had in my kitchen already. I've been grocery shopping already for this week and i really didn't want to have to buy more chicken since I already bought meat. So I had to use what I had...which was 3 chicken legs.

Also Ree suggested plain breadcrumbs, but I had pre-seasoned crumbs with garlic salt, and onion powder and parsley.

In a bowl, put 1 cup plain yogurt. Remember I halved my recipe, so double this for a regular batch.

Add in parsley. I also decided to throw in some rosemary. mmmmmmm.....
Ree used fresh parsley, but I don't have a huge garden in which to pick fresh parsley.

Mince one clove garlic. (I can't wait till I have a garlic press! Then I will have no more yucky garlicy fingers that chase away even the thoughts of vampires from other peoples heads for the next 2 days!)

Mix into yogurt and seasonings.

In a second bowl measure out breadcrumbs, about 1 cup is what I used. My breadcrumbs are pre-seasoned, so that's what you see there.

Butter a glass cooking dish. Cause NObody want's to scrub baked on ANYthing!

Wash and salt the chicken and slather on the yogurt mix.

Bread the yogurt drenched chicken and place in the pan. Put a slice of butter on the largest part of the chicken, cause breadcrumbs will dry it out.

Cover in foil and Bake at 350 for 45 min. The last 15 min I uncovered it till it was brown and sizzling. The regular recipe is bake for1 hour.

And here's our delicious dinner!

Brandon says it's blog worthy.

I quite enjoyed it!
Good pick Melissa!

~Becky

Crispy Yogurt Chicken
c/o The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients
2 cups Plain, Unflavored Yogurt
2 cloves (to 3 Cloves) Garlic
Parsley, To Taste
1 whole (juice Of) Lemon
Chicken Legs (or Thighs, Etc.)
Salt To Taste
2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
Butter (1 Pat For Each Piece Of Chicken)
Preparation Instructions
Pour yogurt into a mixing bowl. Peel and mince garlic; add garlic to the yogurt. Chop up a small amount of fresh parsley and add it to the yogurt. Add lemon juice. Mix together to combine.
Rinse chicken and pat it dry. Sprinkle with (kosher) salt.
In another bowl, place the bread crumbs. Sprinkle with salt and stir lightly.
Butter a baking dish. With a pair of tongs, place the chicken, one piece at a time into the yogurt mixture. Turn it over thoroughly to coat. Then roll the chicken in the Panko bread crumbs. Cover each piece thoroughly with bread crumbs and place in the baking dish.
Place a slice of butter over the large part of each chicken piece. Cover with foil and bake in a 350Âº oven for 1 to 1 Â¼ hours, removing the foil for the last 15 minutes of cooking. When the chicken is nice and golden, remove from the oven and enjoy!

Deliciousness!!

2010-09-20T18:53:00.001-07:00

September 20th, 2010

Hooray for Christina and David getting married!!
We had them over yesterday for dinner and dessert.

And I mean both.
Together.
Combined.
In one.

Dinner and dessert that is.

This is one of my childhood favorites made by our affectionately named Mam!

My dear friend Cassie's mother.

Warning: This is thick and rich and delicious.

This is on the no list of every diet EVER! And will probably cause you to gain 10 pounds by smelling it.

But it is SOOOOOO GOOOOOOD!!

Chocolate gravy and biscuits:

Key players here:

Cocoa powder and Evaporated milk!

Start by melting 1/2 cup butter in a pot

Add in 4 Tblsp Cocoa powder

and 1/4 cup flour

Stir continuously!

Stir in 3/4 cups sugar and 2 cups evaporated milk.

I just used one can.

It's really important to keep stirring, because now it gets thick and you dont want it to over cook!

Bake biscuits as directed on packaging.

Drizzle, or glop, chocolate gravy on top.

Enjoy with a LARGE glass of milk!

~Becky

I love Music!

2010-09-14T22:06:00.000-07:00

September 14th, 2010

I love music.

I have a song for everything and every moment.

I hear music

and now I see music.

~Becky

Photobooth!

2010-09-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

September 8th, 2010

One of the great things about having a webcam is taking pics on it.
They aren't always the best quality, but it's handy!

~Becky

P.s. I'm feeling better!

Green and Yellow

2010-09-06T21:45:00.000-07:00

September 6th, 2010

So yesterday was probably the worst day of my life.
I was sicker than sick.
Thank goodness I had Brandon there to take care of me and my issues.
Seriously guys, you don't even want to know!

Thankfully I am feeling much better!
Thank you to everyone for the prayers and well wishes!

And now for something not sick...

CUPCAKES!!

Happy Birthday Brandon!!

2010-09-04T22:24:00.000-07:00

September 4th, 2010

Today is Brandon's 25th Birthday!!

Happy Birthday!!

Thank you to everyone who came and to those who helped with food!!

And a big thanks to my Mom who made this AWESOME Pinata!!

Of course Ducks themed!!

Origianlly we were gonna have a Ducks viewing party but Brandon read the time wrong and it was on earlier than the party. So we watched a different game but we still had all yellow and green things.

Here's Brandon holding his pinata. I told him to look happy.

And doesn't he!?

~Becky

Sightings!

2010-09-02T20:37:00.001-07:00

September 2nd, 2010

Happy 90210 day!

________________________________________________________________________________

You guys!
I have been having these strange feelings that we are not alone in the apartment.

Sometimes I will here these feet softly padding across the ground.

Other times I will be sitting on the couch and I will hear this scratching noise on the back deck.

A few nights ago I was laying in bed about to drift off to sleep when all of a sudden I was jolted awake by this "presence" at the end of the bed. Like a 10 pound weight was added.

There have been times when it is really quiet that I can swear I hear this almost purr like noise!

For the longest time I thought I was going crazy. But I have recently come to believe that we are in fact housing another "presence" in our apartment.

I had a few days off this week and I spent some of that time steaked out on the couch with my camera ready to see if I could discover if these strange occurances where coming from a solid creature.

Finally after hours of painstaikingly waiting in one position, I heard that soft padding noise and something that sounded very much like purring.

I carefully turned my camera on as quiet as I could, I raised it to eye level and then sneezed!!!

But I did manage to snap this photo before the creature ran off!

Hopefully I will be able to steak out the couch again in hopes of catching this creature again!

~Becky

Who doesn't like cake!?

2010-09-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

September 1st, 2010

Come on Oregon! Just because it's September doesn't mean that summer has to leave!!!!
grrr....

Anyways...

Today at school I did a project which raised a few eyebrows on some adult faces, and a few kids too.

But HA!! We should them didn't we kids!?

Kids: ...* crickets chirping *....

Me: Aaaanyways, since it seems I'm on my own on this one.

I asked the kids at work, or really, their parents to bring in micorwavable coffee mug by September 1st. I gave them a week and a half.
Plenty of time.
So of course there were only 6 out of 16 kids that actually had them.

Parents: "Bye sweetie! Have a good day!"
Me: "Did you bring a mug for today?"
Kids: "No. (almost crying) Am I not gonna do our project!
Me: "No, you can still make it, I brought extra."
Kids: "yeay!"
Parents: "Oh, they are supposed to have a mug? I had no idea. Well bye!"
Me: ... unamused face ....

So here we are with most of my own cups and we are making cake in our coffee mugs!

Here's what you do.

1.Make cake mix. Follow the instructions. It can be any kind.

2.Mix in instant pudding. This can also be any flavor.

3.Grease your mug.

4.Pour in 1/2 cup of batter.

5.Microwave for 2 min.

CAREFUL!! It's Hot!!

6.And enjoy.!!

You can also add chocolate chips in the batter or marshmallows.

And there you have a delicious treat!!
Yum yum!

Oh and don't rely on the parents to remember anything!

~Becky

Balance

2010-08-31T21:22:00.000-07:00

August 31st, 2010

Balance.

Do you have it?
can you get it?
can you keep it?

Careful!

Don't fall!
~Becky

Once upon a time...

2010-08-30T22:46:00.000-07:00

August 30th, 2010

Once upon a time...
there was a young couple who left their apartment to shop for groceries.
They left their capable friends there to finish painting the walls.

But when they returned...

they found the door left ajar and the apartment empty.

As they walked down the entrance hall, every step creaking beneath their feet.
They entered the living room to find it empty. All traces of their friends gone!

except this!

And then their friends came out of the back room and giggled.

did you like my horror story? Lol.
It wasn't very good. That's ok though.

This is actually a friends hand in the paint that we painted part of our apartment in. It looks really nice, now that it's done and you can't see the hand print.

Here's a bonus horror pic!

I could have danced all night!

2010-08-28T23:53:00.000-07:00

August 28th, 2010

Cassie is back in town for a few weeks!

So she got us together to go square dancing!

Oh MAN! It has been so long since I've been dancing, but we all jumped right in and danced every dance we could!

Christi and I are planning on starting lessons again this fall.

Anybody want to join us!

~Becky

Leave a Legacy

2010-08-27T21:35:00.000-07:00

August 27th, 2010

This month is Leave a Legacy Month.

Did you know that?

A legacy.

To leave something behind, or pass down something to future generations.

What do you want to leave a legacy of?

Maybe your family is your legacy?

Or money, or property?

Or family traditions?

Or maybe something else?

Something like love?

How can you leave a legacy of Love?

By being love to others

Embracing others in Love

Showing love to others

Loving like the one who created love loves

Like it was once said:

Leave your favorite Love Quote, or something you have learned about love or through love.

~Becky

Books

2010-08-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

August 25th, 2010

Welcome to post #80.

On a side note, I almost typed 2004 today. Talk about living in the past.

On to today's topic.

BOOKS!!

I love books.

I love to read them.

Smell them.

Touch them.

Organize them.

Open a brand new book is amazing!

sigh...

I love to shop for books.
It's like treasure hunting!

these are my favorite spots to hit:

1. Goodwill. Especially the ones in Portland because they have a lot of books that are new or popular. That's where the extra books from libraries, schools, and desperate housewife bookclubs end up after the newness has worn off.

2. Powells. Hello!! The city of books! It's still the only place that I can get completely turned around in. I'm almost 50% sure of where the different sections are located and how to get there.

3. Borders. Not only do they have books, but they have music AND coffee, my next two favorite things after books. Plus this is one book store that you don't have to pay $25 a year to have a membership. It's free and you accumulate points which can get you books at ridiculously low prices, or even free!

4. Barnes and Noble. There are more of these than Borders, but they are a little more expensive. They also have music and coffee. But again more expensive. But hey! It made my list.

so.. What is the latest book you finished reading.
Did you like it? Why or why not?
What genre?
Would you recommend it?

Mine is The Vampire Assistant series. I had seen the movie and was curious. The movie was cut vastly short and was different. Same basic premise though. The book series was 12 books long, but they were easy reads.

I did enjoy them but they were completely predictable as in I pretty much had a good idea how the books would play out. who would live and die, how they would die, who would develop into important future character rolls in the book and such. But it was still good.

It was young adult fiction, in the almost horror. It wasn't really horrific, but it would probably go in that category. Nothing bad or gruesome happened.

I would recommend it for those who are middle through high school, or like to read young adult fiction novels. If you like books about vampires, NOT TWILIGHT VAMPIRES!!!, then you would probably enjoy it.

So let me know what you've read now!

~Becky

Wolfie

2010-08-24T22:15:00.000-07:00

August 24th, 2010

Wolfie.

Plain and simple.

~Becky

The Eyes

2010-08-23T22:21:00.001-07:00

August 23rd, 2010

Some say the eyes are the windows to the soul.

So what would a person be like if only their eyes did the talking?

Would they speak of love?

of tragedy?

of hope?

of sadness?

of joy?

of loss?

Would they tell you the story of that persons life

or be the reflection of how they see you?

If you look into the eyes of someone who is dead but had such a lively spirit,
would you see them still and all they loved and believed in?

And if you looked into the eyes of someone who is alive but dead inside,
would you find nothing but the abyss to which they have succumbed?

Do we have the strength to look into the eyes of the ones we love and tell them what they mean to us?
Can we forgive the past?
The hurt and the envy.

Do we have the courage to look into the eyes of those we don't know and speak the truth in love and kindness?
Do we have the right?
Are we honest enough?

I'm sorry for the eyes that have seen their last sunset,
their last sunrise,
their last rainbow and rain fall.

The eyes that will no longer see the colors of fall
or the flashing power of lightening.

I'm sorry that I didn't look you in the eyes the last time I saw you.
Maybe it would not have stopped the inevitable,
but maybe you would have known one more person cared about you.

~Becky

Fred

2010-08-21T22:37:00.000-07:00

August 21st, 2010

This is Fred.

Isn't he cute!

He's not mine.

But he's soooo cute!!

~Becky

Let's Chalk it up to good artwork.

2010-08-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

August 20th, 2010

They colored.

And I cleaned.

~Becky

CHOCOLATE!!!

2010-08-19T21:15:00.000-07:00

August, 19th, 2010

Dude!!

Chocolate!!

Need I say more?

~Becky

A Day at the Park

2010-08-19T00:04:00.000-07:00

August 18th, 2010

As I continue to build my repertoire of photo's, I hope to eventually start my own company.
Hense the name.

I also am in the process of creating release papers for the kids at the learning center to use as promotional material for myself because these kids are SO FREAKING CUTE!!

I LOVE to take pictures of kids, but I am limited in what I can actually post. So the one's I have chosen for today aren't really the best ones but are ones I can post because you can't tell who they are. Unless you are Crystal and know them like I do.

First!

We saw a blimp today.

And this picture is cool.

Trying to stay out of the hot sun.

I love her tat!

Hopefully I will have better pics to post of kids soon.
~Becky

Toesy-Roseies

2010-08-18T23:49:00.000-07:00

August 17th, 2010

That's what I call Sydney's toes.

Tosey-Roseies

Sydney's a girl from the Learning Center.

But these are not her toes.

These are my toes and Amy Wests' toes.

Let's Build!

2010-08-16T22:51:00.001-07:00

August 16th, 2010

Today I built a ship.

That is all.

~Becky

Kung Fu Fighting

2010-08-15T19:58:00.000-07:00

August 15th, 2010

My Aunt and cousin were visiting this last week.
This is my cousin,
she's a kung fu expert.
But only when she wears a rubber band across her head

~Becky

Cherry Cheesecake!

2010-08-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

August 14th, 2010

Here is the cheesecake I made last night.
I slaved over this beauty.
Perfecting the finely crushed graham cracker crust.
carefully mixing the cheesecake.
Waiting so patiently for it to set.
Gently layering the cherry toppings.
And here it is!

Jk guys.

I bought a premade cheesecake filling and put it in a ready made crust and opened a can of cherries. That I did have to add gently.

I tried lying. But I can't.

~Becky

It's Friday!!

2010-08-13T23:13:00.001-07:00

August 13th, 2010

It's Friday!! YES!!!!

and to celebrate, here is an adorable picture!!

Enjoy!

~Becky

CUPCAKES!!!

2010-08-12T23:48:00.000-07:00

August 12th, 2010

Today we had a field trip.

And on that field trip....

we got to decorate ...

CUPCAKES!!!!

here are some of the kids'

Can you tell a boy decorated this one?

And here is mine!

Yummy!!

I <3 Cupcakes!

~Becky

2010-08-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

August 11th, 2010

Hello everybody!!

At least the three people who actually read this!!

Lol.

Today is President Joke Day!

And in celebration of such a momentous day, I have a special president joke for you!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVnk891ChPc

Seriously guys... follow the link....

And here is a random of a dog.

Trying to sneak some food.

Nice try.

~Becky

THIS IS MY LIIIIIIIFE!!!

2010-08-10T20:19:00.000-07:00

August 10th, 2010

Today is just one of those days....

you know....

those ones where you wish you had a big pit so you could do this.

Chest kick someone screaming

"THIS IS SPARTAAAAAA!"

Yea...

It's one of those days.

~Becky

Photo from: philipblaiklock.com

2010-08-09T23:30:00.000-07:00

August 9th, 2010

Two things.

1. Today is 8.9.10

2. It has been a week since I posted something and for that I am very sorry.

In the hubub of moving we lost internet. And while I had the full intention of taking advantage of local businesses that did, my life became subject to that classic syndrome of spouse planning.

Ya know, that one thing where you plan to do something and you come home to find out your day has been scheduled for you.

Complete freedom of your own schedule is something you trade in on your wedding day.

Not that i'm complaining.

Anyways... to kick things off I thought I would post a picture of a ball.

And a boy.

This is Isaiah.

He is helping mom blow up his beach ball.

~Becky

Moving Day!

2010-07-31T22:52:00.000-07:00

July 31st, 2010

Out with the old...

And....

In with the new!!

Dying to know what our new place looks like?!

Well you will just have to wait till it's done!! HAHA!!

Thank you to Shawna, Crystal, and my Family for helping us move and paint!

You guys are the heroes of the day!

~Becky

Sunset

2010-07-30T22:03:00.001-07:00

July 30th, 2010

Ahhh... a beautiful sunset.

What you don't see is the thunder storm creeping up behind me.

And what you do see is me procrastinating the last of our packing...

sigh....

well procrastination over!

~Becky

Rivercrest Park

2010-07-29T22:25:00.000-07:00

July 29th, 2010

Today was field trip day!!

I love the water.

~Becky

Bike Day!!

2010-07-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

July 28th, 2010

Today is Bike Day at work! Pretty much the kids brought their bikes, or scooters, or skateboards and ride around the parking lot. It's nice and empty since it's summer. The kids love it.

I decided I would also teach them hand signals for bike riding, then set up a path to follow and use their hand signals.

There was one girl who showed up in the middle of the ride and seriously was on her bike for 5 seconds when she crashed her bike into someone else and fell down scraping both her knees.

She was fine.

I told her so.

She cried for 30 seconds.

The trick is to act like it's no big deal, then the child will be fine and calm and wont be bawling in your ear. The problem is other people who freak out and make it sound all bad and worse than it is. Then the kid starts freaking out.

So...

to everyone out there...

PLEASE GO AWAY AND STOP SCARING PEOPLE!! IT'S NOT THAT BAD!!!

gosh...

~Becky

P.S.
I didn't have my regular camera on me so I used my phone to take pictures.

We're Moving!!

2010-07-27T21:04:00.001-07:00

July 27th, 2010

We're moving!!

Aaaaand..... here it is!!
Our new home!!

Just Kidding!!

We are moving to Tualatin this weekend into an apartment.
I'll post pics of it when we are there!

And if you would like to help paint or move we would love you forever!!

~Becky

Lost and Found

2010-07-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

July 26th, 2010

A few years ago I bought an ipod.

Which I then promptly lost a few months later.

I searched high and low for this thing.

For months.

I gave up eventually...

But low and behold

IT HAS RETURNED!!!

Thanks Dad! XD

Pie in the face

2010-07-25T22:40:00.000-07:00

July 25th, 2010

Literally....

That's me and that's Brandon putting it in my face. I guess you could call it payback for this:

For the rest of the pictures see my Facebook.

~Becky

My favorite city...

2010-07-24T19:36:00.001-07:00

July 24th, 2010

Portland.

My favorite city.

sigh...

Emma

2010-07-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

July 23rd, 2010

Today I had the wonderful opportunity to hang out with my fav girl EMMA!!

Here is our story:

Once upon a time, A little girl named Emma came over to her good friend Becky's house to hang out.
They sat down and enjoyed a wonderful feast of ham and cheese sandwiches. Then they finished up their supper with some dried blueberries! They were a little bit sour, but they enjoyed them anyways.

After their delicious meal they strapped on their beautiful slippers and headed out side to take a stroll

Along the way they came across a playground. They decided the best way to pass this area was to play on it. So that's what they did.

They climbed to the highest platform...

And slid down the tallest slide...

And stopped for frequent water breaks...

Until it was time to return home where they had ice cream and dreamt beautiful dreams!

The End

A Bicycle

2010-07-23T00:27:00.000-07:00

July 22nd, 2010

Today I met a friend at the mall.
I rode Brandon's bike.
Half way there both tires were flat.
I was very tired by the time I got there.

I miss riding bikes.

On this site...

2010-07-22T05:07:00.000-07:00

July 21st, 2010

I thought it best to inform you all of the significance of that place.
Lol.
I laughed very hard when I saw this. If I had a historical looking site I might just put this up.

July 20th. A child on the beach

2010-07-20T22:14:00.000-07:00

Today's pictures are care of a young boy from the beach.
I don't know his name or age, but he was very entertaining to watch.
He reminded me of all the great things of being a kid at the beach.
I hope you enjoy watching his antics.
I did.

One Year

2010-07-19T21:35:00.000-07:00

Today is our one year anniversary. It's crazy to think how fast time flies. We went away for a few days to the coast in celebration. Woo-Hoo!!

Here we are after one year!

Obviously still having fun. :)

The year has been interesting and looking back I'm not sure I could tell you everything that has happened.

Brandon and I have made some new goals for our second year, just some things we want to improve upon. But for me personally I'm going to try something that I tried once before which is doing a photography journal.

I tried doing one a few years ago and probably would have continued but printing out the pictures for every day was hard.
Essentially it's daily journaling with pictures. I would print out a picture for each day of the year as the year went on. For example if I went to a concert then I would print a picture of the concert and maybe journal something in there. Sometimes it would be big, sometimes small. A quote, a song, or something completely random.
I think I made it a month. lol
So instead I have decided to try making my blog my year long picture journal.
Some days it will be one and some days it will be more.
Consider this day one.

Will you take this adventure with me? Let's see how far we go!

~Becky

Oh and here is what my AMAZING man got me for our anniversary!!

God's Creative Beauty

2010-06-30T09:47:00.001-07:00

Psalms 140

This passage is amazing! It is so full of God’s creativeness and glory. As I was reading so many songs popped into my head that use these lines.

“He wraps himself in light” (vs. 2, How Great is our God)
“You set a boundary they cannot cross; (Vs 9, My Redeemer)

And then this final declaration of God’s greatness!!

“May the glory of the LORD endure forever;
may the LORD rejoice in his works-
he who looks at the earth, and it trembles,
who touches the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing to the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
as I rejoice in the LORD.
But may sinners vanish from the earth
and the wicked be no more.
Praise the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD.” (vs 31-35)
I just thought that I needed to share God’s creative beauty with others!

Pictures!!

2010-06-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!! It has been a while, so I've been told by some friends....
And I've been wondering what my subject should be of blog renewal.
I really don't have anything profound to write like Brandon does (Lol)
So i thought I would post some of my pics! I love to take pics and I love to edit them on Picnik! So here are some that I have taken and edited to make look LOVERLY!!
Thank you to all my fabulous subjects! You were wonderful!!

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo!

2010-01-23T17:10:00.000-08:00

This last week we took the kids to the zoo, that is the kids from work.
It was a very nice day, not to hot and NO RAIN!! YEAY!!!

Of course I had my camera with me! :)

I got some amazing animal pics and some awesome pics of the kids, but I'm not allowed to publish them :(
I wish I could because let me tell you these kids are ADORABLE!!! Especially at the zoo!!

But what I can publish are my pics of the animals!

King of the mountain!!

This owl looked at me as I was taking his picture!!

A cute little owl. Seriously like the size of my hand!

Aww.. nap time!

And Now...The rarest creature of them all...
The illusive MAN AT WORK!!
So rare they could only find 2 to put on exhibit at the zoo!

Lol...jk! They are building the new primate exhibit.

We did see the new roar area but I didn't take pics, sorry. You guys will just have to go see it for yourselves!

Loves!!
~Becky

Christmas thoughts

2009-12-22T21:07:00.000-08:00

Today Elizabeth, one of my coworkers, asked me about Christmas. How things were going and all that. I actually answered honestly instead of the usual fine, or good, or GRRRRREAT!
I want to say that it has been super-fantastic-awesome! Not that it has been bad. But I don't have the usual traditions that I am used to and that is mostly due to this whole thing called marriage.

It's awesome that I am married and Brandon and I get to start our own traditions. But at the same time I was happy with my own traditions. I don't really want to change. And while I keep some, like with my family, I am also adding his family traditions and starting our own.

My perspective on Christmas and the spirit of it that I love and enjoy so much is not at all in Brandon. It's just a new thing.

What I love about Christmas is the hope and the joy and the love of the season. There is all this hope. The hope of the Savior coming and fulfilled that we read and hear during the season. The hope for presents, the hope for snow (that's me!!), the hope to hear Santa's sleigh, the hope that everyone can be there together to celebrate.

The joy of seeing a person get a gift, the joy of finding that perfect gift, the joy of music.

The love of family and spreading joy and hope to others. (sigh)

So I just wanted to share that thought.
Or those thoughts.

~Becky

Christmas Cookies!!

2009-12-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

On Saturday mom and I had our Christmas Cookie Bake Off!!
We've done this for who knows how many years now. We bake a ton of different treats for the holidays and share with friends and others who have really helped us out this year.
It was a little different this year since I am now married and had to go back to Canby to my parents house.

We started at 9am...

The stage is set...

And we're off!!!

Mom starts with a Neapolitan rice krispie treat

I love making Spritz! And these poinsettias look awesome with the little drages in the middle!

Oh Christmas Trees...oh Christmas trees...

Peanut Butter Blossoms with Almond Kisses and Raspberry Drizzle

Chocolate Blossoms with melt away mints

And the classic Peanut Butter Blossoms!

These are delicious Mint Cutout cookies!

Look! I have little green men!! hee hee! ;)

Yum...here they are finished and drizzled with chocolate!!

These are my new cookies for the year! I found it in a magazine. They are called Chocolate Peppermint cookies. The chocolate cookie dough turned out really gooey and I gave up trying to fix it to follow the directions and cut out circles. So I rolled them into small balls and flattened them with a cup. :) And they turned out AWESOME!! And then of course they are dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with crushed peppermint! I ran out of white chocolate so I used regular chocolate too!

My Peppermint bark! Yum!

Mom's Fudge. It's not the crazy, rich, about-to-die-from-chocolate-overload fudge. But it's still good.

And Peanut Butter Balls.

12 hours later... we are finally done and ready to share!

I love Christmas time!!

~Becky

p.s. If you would like a recipe of one of these delicious treats just let me know and I'll hook you up ;)

Christmas Traditions

2009-11-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

Last year my extended family decided that instead of exchanging gifts for Christmas we would do something for someone else. My Grandma introduced us to Operation Christmas Child.

The organization, headed by Samaritans Purse (click on the link above to see more) is really an amazing thing. Essentially you provide Christmas gifts to kids in impoverished places while spreading the love of Christ at the same time.

All you do is get a shoe box and fill it with toothpaste and hairbrushs' and toys and school supplies and soaps, and underwear and candy and other fun things like that!Then you add $7 or more in the box and drop it off at a specified location. You can pay online and then track where your box goes! (Which is what we are doing this year!)

My family gets together and we have snacks and drinks and then we put all our stuff that we bought for the kids into piles on the table and fill up shoe boxes till we are out of stuff! It is so super fun to shop and pack boxes! I LOVE it! And it's a great way to spend time with your family in a selfless way! It has totally become a new tradition with us.

We have to do it in early November though cause the dates to turn them in are in November. It's still not too late to do it though! It is so worth it! Check out the site and watch the video. Get some friends together or your family and start a new tradition this year!

2009-11-05T06:50:00.001-08:00

Time for om-noms!!

I've been getting off work earlier this week so I'm home before Brandon. Which means I get to cook!!!!

For dinner I made a favorite from my teenage years.

Biscuits and chocolate gravy!!!

Cassie's mom, a.k.a. Man used to make it sometimes when we (the girls) were over. It is sooooo good!!! And it's like having dinner and dessert at the same time!!!

As Brandon said, It really sticks to your ribs.

Thank you Man for sharing your recipe with me!!!

~Becky

2009-11-02T15:48:00.001-08:00

Heart of stone

I saw this heart shaped hole in this pillar today.

It figures that I move out of my hometown of little 'ol Canby and they get a movie theater...

The first picture is of the brand new theatre that just opened on Friday.

(The other pic is of a hole I found in this pillar today.It has nothing to do with the movies.)

But that's okay since I don't live that far away and tickets are only $6!!!
My dad gave Brandon and I two free tickets for the movies last night. We saw "Cirque details Freak: The Magicians Apprentice. " It was pretty good, definitely a movie from a book. I'd like to read the series of which there are 7 in the series. Hopefully they will make at least one more in the movie series because this one was left WIDE open at the end. If they don't then don't bother seeing it cause it will confuse you and leave you hanging off a steep cliff of endless confusion and dissatisfaction, which may end your faith in the capability of the movie industries ability to produce quality book to movie translations that satisfy our reasonable desire for quality entertainment.

Becky Bakes Beautiful Bounties

2009-10-28T22:52:00.000-07:00

I really love to bake! I enjoy cooking but baking is really what I love to do.

I have discovered though some new uh.... joys.

I decided to bake a pie for the FORGE potluck tomorrow! YUM!!
And instead of using a pre-prepared crust I decided to make my own. I've never done my own pie crust before.

The ingredients started easy enough, flour, salt, shortening. and then I needed a pastry cutter to blend them together...but I don't have one of those!!
Fortunately they suggested using two knifes if you dont have one! :)

Phew! That was close!

The dough is done!

Then I needed to roll out the dough. Uh-oh! I don't have a rolling pin!!

Fortunately I DO have a smooth water bottle! It turned out to be pretty useful!
The rolling was pretty easy... The hard part was moving it into my pie pan. It kept falling apart and cracking!! It was aggravating. I finally got in there and repaired it the best I could.

Now it was time to make the filling. I decided pumpkin was fitting for the season.
Don't you hate it when you start something and realize you don't have a key ingredient? Well I forgot I didn't have any eggs...so it was off with the oven and off to the store for eggs.

15 min later I'm back in the kitchen finishing my pie.

Here it is going into the oven

And here it is coming out! (of the oven people! Come on!)

Lessons learned:
~I have taken advantage of my moms baking tools and I really need to get some of my own now i guess.

~You don't always need a mixer to make things. I've already made 3 cakes, 2 pies, cinnamon rolls and a few other things without one...but it would be nice to have one.

Here is one of the cakes I made recently by hand. And I mean by hand!
Remember NO MIXER

My mom asked me to make a cake for my brothers birthday. I wasn't sure what to decorate it as and I have this one "fancy" cake pan that is flowers in a pot.

To make it more "boy" friendly (a.k.a. no flowers) I made a bouquet of skulls.

You're welcome Alex :)

~Becky

My favorite toddler!

2009-10-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

I was very excited to get a call from Alexis asking me if I would be interested in watching Emma and I totally was!

Brandon came with and we hung out with her for a few hours.

Emma showed me her moms hat. She looked very cute in it!

Emma was very happy to show me her room. I love the way her room is set up and everything is at her eye level (good job Alexis!!)

She showed me her table and her very own chair, which she was very proud of. And we colored on her white board.

Emma showed me her marble works.

And her animal stickers.

And her sponge numbers!

And a big red balloon!

We went downstairs and Emma showed me her friend Chloe.

Then she shared some snuggles with Brandon!

And that was pretty much our evening!

I Loved it!

2009-10-03T13:18:00.001-07:00

Today is cinnamon roll day!!

A group of us made these delectable goodies today to share with each other (and the world) our products.

After a long morning i finally started my rolls! Alexis suggested using a little more flour than what it called for because they were really sticky. (Thanks Alexis :) )

To make my cinnamon rolls more personalized I added chopped walnuts. I don't usually like nuts in my food but I thought i'd try it out.

Here are my cinnamon rolls all cut out and put in my pie dish! I discovered I really need more counter space. I didn't have quite nine cinnamon rolls and they were kind of small but I didn't have a lot of space to stretch them out.

20 min later the delicious aroma of cinnamon and brown sugar filled the air and 30 min later delicious cinnamon rolls came out. Which I promptly drizzled my icing on! Mmmm...they are so good!

I think that I would add more cinnamon and nutmeg (which I didn't have today) to the filling and more brown sugar to the dough. Just a hint.

Here is the recipe for those that wish to make some! It is so super easy and i have a feeling that the basic dough recipe can be used for other things.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Recipe:

Quick Cinnamon Biscuits

Adapted from The Moosewood Collective’s “Moosewood Restaurant New Classics”

Yield: 9 biscuits

Cinnamon Sugar Filling

1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Biscuit Dough

2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
Icing

6 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
4 to 6 teaspoons milk or heavy cream
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. For the Filling: In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

3. For the Dough: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups cream, and stir until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute. With your hands, fold the dough over a few times in the bowl, until the dough is smooth.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour your hands, and pat the dough into a 1/2-inch-thick rectangle, about 9 X 13 inches. Brush the surface of the dough with the remaining tablespoon of cream. Sprinkle evenly with the cinnamon sugar topping.

5. Starting from the long side, roll the dough into a cylinder. Slice into 9 equal rounds. Place the rounds, cut side down, into an ungreased 8-inch square baking dish or a pie plate. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the biscuits are lightly browned.

6. For the Icing: While the biscuits bake, mix together the confectioners’ sugar and milk or cream until smooth. When you remove the biscuits from the oven, immediately drizzle them with icing. Serve warm.

Mancaotti and football

2009-09-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

Corey invited Brandon over to learn how to cook manacotti, while I came along as "morale support". Which really means I came to eat. :) Wonderfully Charis was there too to help in the support!! And watch some football!!

Brandon and Corey stuffing the cheesy goodness into the noodles!! Yum Yum!

And this is what Charis and I did while they cooked. Watched football!!!

Ready to go into the oven!

A well deserved break.

Yummm...Fresh goody-goodness!

Time to dig in!!

Thank you guys for the awesome meal!! You rock!

2009-09-19T23:46:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling creative lately and since it is fall and I now have my own place to decorate in seasonal decor!! Hooray!!!

Fortunately for me I went to Mom Kraft's stamp class and we got to make some really nice fall cards and such!

Here is our first project a really cute magnet that now resides on my fridge!

This was our second one. A little red wagon and a box! The box is great cause it can be used for many different things, like baby blocks or to hold candy as little prizes! Mine is actually lopsided, but fortunately you can't tell here! :)

This was a fun card that is really a tri-fold. It is a good way to also use up all those little scraps of paper you have lying around from scrapbooking.

This card turned out really cool with the spotlight effect. I think that it would look cute with a small owl in its branches too!

2009-09-05T22:41:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Brandon's Birthday with a little BBQ with family and I volunteered to bake a cake and bring ice cream.

But instead of a cake I decided to make cupcakes!!!

Brandon's favorite cake is carrot cake. So I make him that for his birthday every year!

I wasn't sure how to decorate the cupcakes though... so I started with some frosting which I tinted Green and Yellow

And this is what I came out with!

Yes I went Ducks theme though it pained me to blaspheme so I did it for him.

It was fun though! Thank you mom for all the great baking supplies!!

I love baking!! :)

I should have stayed in bed.

2009-09-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

I am having one of those times where it just isn't going the way it should.
I would say that it is more than just having a case of
the Mondays... more than just a few bad days... I would say it is turning into a bad week.
It started with an innocent beach trip where my wallet was stolen. Not fun. We cancelled the cards but still license gone.
And it's not easy finding time to get a new one.
And since I'm married it's time to change my name too. But getting all the necessary paper work has proven difficult through a series of unavoidable events.
To add to it I have broken 2 water bottles, a really nice one of a kind bracelet that can not be replaced, and have been ill.
Though these events don't seem extraordinary horrible they have just continued to add up. And to end my "lovely" week, I discovered that my wallet was not stollen but had been at work since last Thursday.

I feel lame.

Garage Sale!!

2009-08-23T17:17:00.001-07:00

Brandon and I had a garage sale this last weekend at my parents house in Canby. It went pretty well. We made some money, at least enough to go camping next weekend! YEAY!!!

Here I am playing around with a petticoat. I actually had been chasing Brandon around with it.

It's amazing how much stuff we had! My neighbor couldn't believe that we had that much since we had just gotten married (35 days ago ;) )
Some of it was from my parents, but most was ours.

Saturday was REALLY slow compared to Friday. But that's ok. we had enough free time to make signs like this.

And time to shoot rubberbands at eachother. Eee hee hee!

Sickness! Bah!

2009-08-08T17:42:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here at home keeping warm and resting. I woke up with a bad sore throat. :( Not fun.
As I was vegging I decided to put on a movie so I poppoed in Hulk (the good one). In one of the scenes a scientist was talking about how Bruces' blood could be used to keep people from ever getting sick again. While a noble idea i think it would be bad. Even though it royally sucks being sick whether a cold or more life threatening diseases, sickness has its place in this world. Including population control.
Sorsy if it sounds harsh. It would be nice to get rid of some really bad illnesses.
Maybe it's just my ill body's take on today...

BTW... I'm actually using our WII's internet channel to post this. lol.

Introducing the new couple!!

2009-08-02T22:33:00.001-07:00

So Brandon and i FINALLY got married (lol).

My favorite pic!

We absolutely loved the wedding! Thank you SOOOOO very much to all of you that helped out! Like Alexis!! And our parents! And those that helped with all the details.And to all of those who came. It wouldn't have been the same without you!!

Applause for all of you!

I'm sorry for those that we missed greeting that day too. It was really such a blur. I felt like I was in the standing still in the middle of all of the commotion going around me.

We also had a blast in Disneyland!! It was a ton of fun. It was humid more than hot so that wasn't fantastic... but it was still great!

Our Wedding Ears!

Hollywood Tower of Terror!! My favorite ride!!

Sorry about the long wait for the post. We dont have internet at home so I am trying to update as often as I can, which really isn't that often. It's also hard to do when you don't have a laptop * unamused face*

We will hopefully have more Disneyland pics up and our professional wedding photos too soon! And those of you that have pics if we could get them from you that would be AMAZING!! If possible could you burn them to discs? If not Facebook works just fine!!

Thank you again to everyone for your love and support and prayers!!

~Mrs.Kraft

'bout that time eh?

2009-07-12T19:45:00.000-07:00

It is now July 12th. I can't believe it!
I feel like someone should call me and say "7 days...." in a creepy voice and then hang up. But i don't know how many people actually get that reference... hee hee.

I am starting to get excited about the wedding. I can't believe that it is almost here.
I think that part of the reason that I am feeling good this week about it is because I am realizing just how much help that I am getting. I am not a person who asks for help. I've always just had this belief that I should be able to do all things myself and if I can't do them myself I shouldn't do them. Essentially I just don't ask for help cause it is weakness. I'm not really sure where this mentality came from but I have had it all my life. Asking for help for the wedding has not been easy, but I have tried to be better and I think I am starting to get the hang of it. I can't be everywhere doing everything that day. I can't cut the cake or pour the punch or tell people when to do things, so I have to tear down the walls and ask others to help us out.

And I want to give a HUGE thank you to all of you that are helping us and blessing us with your gifts of service! Especially Alexis!! Thank you SOOOO very much!!

sigh....7 more days....

Right'o!

Thank you for your faith

2009-05-16T01:08:00.000-07:00

One thing that I have learned this year, or have had repeatedly pounded into my head (so it seems), is that as Christians we need to step out in our faith and surround each other in prayer. We need to be open to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and when we have a word or feel that we need to pray for them, we need to set aside our inhibitions, step out of our comfort zone, and move in the Spirit. Because when we do, we are blessing that other person, and in return being blessed.

I have to say that I better understand that now. And not because of anything I did, but because a friend stepped out in her faith and followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit and blessed me.

I was having a hard time on Thursday. I was at war spiritually all day. Brandon and I were scheduled to lead worship for the college group. I was to be the lead singer, and I knew from my previous leading experience that I could not do it on my own. I knew that in order for God to be glorified by the worship that evening, I had to let go and let God. I needed to release my fears, worries, and anxieties about leading worship and put my self in the mind set that it was not about me and the band and how we did or how I led; whether I sang the chorus enough times, or sang the right song (which I had a problem with before *wink *wink * for those who remember) but that it was about God being glorified through that evenings music.

No matter how I tried to reason with myself though, no matter how much or hard I prayed, something inside of me wouldn’t let go of the fear and anxiety. A voice kept telling me that I would fail, that I wasn’t good enough. It lied to me about everything and anything it could get its hands on to tear me down. I really just wanted to stand in the back that night and worship with my voice loud and hands raised high just for Jesus. While that isn’t wrong to want that and to do it, I knew it was wrong for me. God had asked us to step out and fill a need for time in the college group, and Thursday was the night that He had asked us to, that He had asked ME to step out in faith and be a leader.

Well we got through practice, kind of ungracefully, and I was more worried and anxious than before. But I still couldn’t let go of my self. I couldn’t drown out the noise of all the lies the enemy was whispering to me. Tony broke us off into our own individual prayer time afterwards and I went to the back of the room behind the sound system where I felt I was in my box. I prayed and pleaded for release and comfort and the lifting of the “I-Centered” view I was holding, but it wouldn’t let go. We were then asked to spread out around the room and cover it with prayer. I decided to stay where I was on my own. I still wasn’t ready, I needed more prayer.

I saw my friends move around praying over the room. Charis (I hope I don’t embarrass you) moved towards the back of the room. I realized that I hadn’t said hi to her yet that evening since I was onstage when she came in. She moved to the back corner of the room near to where I was. I lost sight of her once she was out of my peripherals, but soon I found she was right next to me asking if she could pray for me (thinking about it now is making me tear up).

I told her I would love it (or something like that) and she prayed over me. She prayed SPECIFICALLY for what I was feeling right then, and what I had been feeling all day. She prayed for the release of the struggle with the enemy that I was going through and the release from all the lies I had been told that evening. I hadn’t talked to Charis at all before now, and I hadn’t told anyone but God my struggles and fears that I was feeling that day.

You see, God had prompted Charis that day to move to the back of the room and then over to me to pray. And her step of faith, her step out of her comfort zone to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit blessed me that evening and released me from the bondage I had felt that day that I couldn’t be released from on my own.

I want to encourage everyone to listen to the little nudges we feel from the Holy Spirit especially when it is stepping out to pray for someone or share a word or a vision. We can’t see how it will effect them from our very limited view. But it may truly release that person from what they are going through like it did for me that night. I just wanted to say thank you so much for your faith Charis, it has encouraged me and made mine stronger. I am incredibly blessed to call you my friend.

Monday

2009-05-04T20:54:00.000-07:00

A good way to start a Monday?
With a flat tire...no way.
But I did.
I went to fill up my tire.
And a very nice gas attendant did it for me.
That was a very good start to a Monday.

Rainy Day Thoughts

2009-03-28T15:58:00.000-07:00

As I was driving to work last week, it was raining. No big surprise here in Oregon right?
Well this day was not a hard rainy day nor was it a light misty day, but somewhere in between. More of a drizzle, but a steady one. And this particular rain fall put my mind in a set that I haven't been in for a while.
I didn't really enjoy high school. I pretty much complained about it everyday. I loved my friends. And most of the time my classes were tolerable. I didn't like the whole "school-clique-lameness" parts. I was pretty good in school. The only C's I got were in math cause I was never good at that but everything else came pretty easy.
I was a "goodie-two-shoes", at least in other peoples eyes, and it was really that I was nice, I respected the teachers, and I did my work, so I was likable by teachers and others. And I knew how to look smart. And I was in "smart" classes, or had the opportunity to be in them (like a few AP classes that I decided to NOT take).
Anyways, this rainy day reminded me of days like this in high school when I was really a zombie. I had a routine down and I would easily fall into it so that I would not have to use any real brain power.
I contributed nothing to classroom discussions unless directly asked, I listened and observed other people during conversation for when to respond with the correct emotion they were looking for without actually having to listen intently. I would brush off inquiries of my distance with a comment of being tired.
I wasn't tired though, just brainless.
The rain reminded me of that. Another mundane rainy day with nothing going on.
I wonder now what I missed those days I checked out.

Crafty Craftiness!

2009-03-17T19:55:00.000-07:00

I am having fun and relaxing while being productive!! What could be better I ask you?

Well I am making cards and scrapbooking for a contest, but even if I don't win, I will love my new ideas and finding more creative cards and layouts!

I don't have the two scrapbook page layouts I want yet, but I have pretty much everything else. I kind of need to make a decision on my cards though cause I can only submit 2 different types.

This was a fun card. I love the ribbon! It's silky and reminds me of chocolate!

This is one of my fav's!! It looks so cool and delicious! I got this pattern from Brandon's mom at one of her stamp classes!

This is attempt 1 and 2. 2 turned out better. I think I may take the sliding cover on the blue one and create a new card to match it better. I like these but I think I used too much stamp for the contest. But they are still pretty!!!

I LOVE THESE OWLS!!! They are so cute!! I found the card online and made my own pattern, which I will totally share! I used sparkly puffy paint for the colorful owls' (which is my favorite owl) feathers.

This is a trifold card and I like it but I may make another model. A different one...hmm...

I like this one. This was fun to make and it's super colorful! Which I love! And it has ribbons and sparkles!

2009-03-05T00:18:00.000-08:00

I have a job now which I am so very excited about!! I will be working at Horizon Christian Daycare Center. I will work with preschool and kindergarten kids all day 5 days a week and it's in a Christian school!! Which is a super blessing!! I am so thankful that God has provided this job for me. And I am so very grateful and blessed!!

So all my free time is going out the window. :( but it's not really all that sad. I will finally have something productive to do that makes money.
Speaking of being productive... I made this today. And I wore it tonight when I went to see WICKED!! (And I got a comment from some one at the theater too!!)

I got to see Wicked and it was AWESOME!!! I really loved it and we had pretty god seats too. I really really loved it!! Even if I did have a very sick fiance there too. I felt bad that I dragged him out of bed to come with me since he wouldn't let me go alone. Which was very gentlemanly of him. But I hope he gets better and I don't get sick!

I did some research on the cameo cause I was interested in where it started and all that. It became popular through Queen Victoria in England. It started about 300 years before the birth of Christ in Egypt. It appeared in many cultures like the Greeks and the Romans and many Europeans. Used for various things through time like as lessons of morals and epic heroes. Memories of people, memories of travels to places, pictures of beautiful women, of gods and goddesses, Biblical stories, or worn by young women to express desire. They were also frequently worn by men and Napoleon even started a school that taught how to make them!!
Sigh... oh the history...

Cameos have been made out of rocks, shells, gems, and lava.

Time for Num-Nums!!!

2009-02-24T16:18:00.001-08:00

I love to eat food! And I love to make food and make it fun and pretty!! So here are some pics of a new treat I made for tonight! I got the idea from a picture, so it's not really original.

I <3 Kutless!!

2009-02-23T13:23:00.000-08:00

Kutless rocks!!
I went to the concert this last weekend with Crystal and her parents, who bought us tickets WAY back!

They are so amazing and I got this really cool hoodie!!
So here are some pics.

And Disciple and Esterlyn were there too. Both rocked!

New Hair Cut

2009-02-16T17:25:00.000-08:00

I got my hair cut!

"Why?" You may ask.

Well I'll tell you why!

I like my hair short.

That's why!

The Watchers

2009-02-15T01:16:00.000-08:00

Ch.4

After the last meeting and my outburst of objections to the total disregard of a serious threat in our neighborhood, I was voted out of doing watching duty for a while for my own health, so I was told. Which after the vexatious surprise, I was actually glad to have that time off. I was able to sleep comfortably indoors and try to spin out a plan without being interrupted by neighborhood troubles. I was interrupted by my only advocate Jelly-Ann, a small bite size grey kitten with as much sense as a dog. Well a very smart dog. Ok, she was smarter than a dog, but I still didn’t see how she was going to help me out with this case.

I decided that if I couldn’t convince the Watchers as a whole, I’d have to do it one on one, which meant canvassing, not one of my favorite pastimes. I decided I’d try with my closest neighbor Sprinkles. So I walked as proudly and as seriously as I could to the side house window, she usually slept in the youngest girls bedroom and luckily today it was cracked open. I cleared my throat a little and let out a squeak of a greeting. I waited a few seconds to see if my pitiful attempt had done anything. Obviously it hadn’t as I could still hear Sprinkles deep breathing coming from inside. I tried again, this time with a little more purpose and volume. Sprinkles even breathing stopped so I figured she must have woken up.

“Sprinkles” I whispered, “Sprinkles! I need to talk to you!”
A tall feline shape appeared at the window.
“What do you need Rissi?” she yawned.
“I need to talk to you outside” I hinted.
“yea, yea yea” she said. “I’ll meet you out front.”

I walked around to the front and hid behind some bushes along the walkway. I heard the door open and Sprinkles bell jingling as she sauntered down the path.

“Hey,” I said as she came into view, scaring her half to death.
“WOAH!” she hissed, hair standing on end, “thanks a lot! Ya’ know you cant sneak up on a girl when she’s just woken up.”
“I didn’t sneak up on you,” I corrected her. I changed my tone quickly though, I really needed some help from the other cats and I couldn’t afford not to kiss a little tail.
“Thanks a lot for coming out. I really appreciate it. I’m sorry I disturbed you during your nap,” not that there wasn’t a time she wasn’t napping, “but this is kind of urgent.”
“ok, I’m listening.”
“well you remember at a few meeting ago when I told everyone about the ‘Beast’ that has invaded our once peaceful neighborhood?” I began.
“Yea,” Sprinkles replied as she began cleaning herself, “I’m listening.”
‘As if she is really listening’ I thought, ‘she probably wasn’t listening then either’
“Well, I continued, I still think it is a valuable threat and I want to form a task force to deal with this unsightly creature before anyone is seriously hurt.”
“Oh,” she responded. Then pausing in her cleaning routine she replied “Didn’t Gus say to drop it?”

That took me back for a second. I didn’t expect her to actually pay attention at our meetings let alone remember anything Gus said. She had a habit of continually forgetting things that Gus said, like the time he told us to stay out of Mr. Potter’s backyard with all his prize vegetables. Little did Mr. Potter know that he had a patch of delicious herbs that drove us all batty to get at, but the consequences if caught near his ‘beauties’ would be a hose in the nose. Did Sprinkles listen when she drug Genevieve out there and then leave her high and dry or really wet in the nose when they were caught? Oh yes she did. And poor Genevieve had to go to the vet to make sure she was not drowning.

“Yes,” I managed to stammer out. “Yes he did say that, but I don’t think he realized how bad this situation really is!” I finished.
“yes, well…if Gus isn’t worried then I’m not worried either. And we really should listen to Gus,” she added pointedly.
‘Oh yes! As if I didn’t already do that! Little miss “do-whatever-I-want-only-when-it-benefits-me”!’

And with that she turned and sauntered off, as if she had better things to do. I sat there stunned for a moment and then turned towards home. I was flabbergasted. Apparently this was not as easy as I thought. I was sure that Sprinkles would be in on it. I had almost reached my door when I heard a little voice from behind me.

“So any luck with Sprinkles?”

I turned around to see where the voice was coming from and there on an old upside down egg crate sat that little grey kitten Jelly-Ann. I didn’t respond.
“Yea, I didn’t think so,” she concluded after seeing my dejected face. “well you’re not giving up are you?” she asked.
I shrugged my shoulders and began to clean my front paw as if it mattered little whether I did or not.
“I dunno,” I replied.
“Well, I wish you would have told me you were going to ask people individually. It would probably help if they saw that you had another feline on your side.”
I looked over the small ball of fur and doubted that anyone would feel like my cause had a chance with this thing on my side. She probably picked up on that because the next thing she said made me start running after her.
“Well whether you think so or not, I’m going to help,” and with that she ran off across the street.

At first I thought she wouldn’t dare ask other cats, she was just running off with her hurt feelings to cry somewhere. But then she headed directly for Oscar’s house and started yelling at the front door. I quickly ran after her to try and get her to stop before Oscar’s humans came to the door and shooed her off with a broom or something. As I ran up behind her and began to tell her to knock it off we turned our heads to the front window where Oscar had appeared apparently disturbed with the racket going on out side.

“Hey! Cut that out!” He yelled out through the screen.
“Sorry” huff, huff, “Oscar,” I panted. “The kid,” huff, “doesn’t always think”.
“Excuse us Oscar,” Jelly-Ann began very matter of factly, “but we request an audience with you”.

“Ok, just stop all the yelling,” he chided, and soon presented himself out front.
I wasn’t expecting this and after my last failure I had lost my gumption.
“Well Rissi,” Jelly-Ann began, “go ahead and ask him”.
“Uh,” I started, “Well, do you remember how I talked about uh the the thing that is out here?”
“The ‘Beast’,” Jelly-Ann chimed in.
“Yes, yes, the uh ‘Beast’. Well I, or we are asking our fellow felines to see if they would be willing…”

“We need your help Oscar,” Jelly-Ann cut in. Apparently I was not doing so well at explaining. “You see, this is a real threat to our community. And although some felines believe that the threat is minimal or even non-existent, it really is existent. There has already been one casualty that we KNOW of. Although it was a dog, a small dog, this creatures behavior could escalate. If a small dog, put above, in the human world, cats as far as defensive ability is concerned, how safe are we making our streets for new comers? Can a family really feel safe here knowing a potentially dangerous animal is on the loose? Is it safe for children? Is it safe for someone like me?” and with that she locked her bright, innocent, blue eyes into Oscar’s deep, reasonable ones like the saving of the whole world rested on him.
Oscar, apparently moved by this small grey kittens speech nodded his head twice in firm agreement and with all the conviction of a feline curing homelessness agreed to help Jelly-Ann out in this noble mission to save the neighborhood.

Jelly-Ann graciously thanked him and promised to tell him before anyone else of our first meeting, which she assured him, would be soon. I stammered out a quiet thanks and turned to follow Jelly-Ann as she led the way back across the street.
I was stunned. I was amazed! I was grateful!

“I told you I would be helpful”.
“Thanks,” I said, “I didn’t think I would ever get Oscar. How did you do that?” I queered.
“Sometimes, it helps to be small and cute,” she answered very seriously. “Let’s try a few more houses”.
And off she trotted with me following close behind her.

Superbowl, Friends, and Candy Sushi

2009-02-02T16:38:00.000-08:00

This Superbowl game was pretty sweet. Even if the Cardinals lost :(. But still a very cool game. Also hanging out with really awesome people! I love to hang out with them all so it makes me sad that I live all the way out in Canby. Man! I wish I didn’t live so far away…but that will hopefully change soon. Maybe not that soon, but I don’t want it to be too long.

Anyways, for the Superbowl I made some candy sushi which everyone seemed to like which made me happy! I love to make food that people enjoy. I found the idea in a magazine and really liked the idea. So I looked it up online and there were various ways to make the candy sushi.
I tried a few and I think I really like the rice krispie treats and the Twinkies. It was hard to wrap the fruit roll up around the marshmallows because of all the powder on them. I didn’t try the peach rings and pillow mint ones, but that is one that I would like to try in the future. The powdered donuts were a good one too, even though it has powder.
So here are some pics.

2009-01-27T16:50:00.000-08:00

Why do bad things happen in our life?

That is a really loaded question.

We could get into a big theological debate about God and our purpose and His purpose and eternal life and on and on and on...

But I think the more important question to argue, or debate, or just think about is

What do you do when bad things happen in your life?

A persons true character is tested and revealed when they go through the hard parts and the bad things in their life.

Some people have really horrible events that happen to them. Others not so many, or not as bad.

Notice that there are some people that work themselves into a tizzy because of a real minor issue?

The other day I was talking to one of my third graders said she was having a bad morning. I emphasized with her and inquired into her reasons for saying that her morning was bad. She said that the soccer game was bad at recess that morning, so I asked her how she knew it was bad.

She looked at me with a puzzled expression and said because it wasn't good.

So I asked her how she knew the other games were good games and not bad games.

She looked at me puzzled again, so I asked her again:

"How do you know that today's game was bad and not good?"

"Because I've had good games before and this was not one of them," she told me matter of factly.

"Ok," I consented "But what if you never had a bad game ever, how would you know your games are good?"

"what?"

"If you never had anything bad happen to you, if it was all good, how would you know it was good? What would you compare it to?"

She thought for a moment, and decided life would be sweet. So I asked her how she would know. If you never had anything bad happen to you, how could you compare it to anything. We know that things in our life are good because of the bad that happens.

Sometimes the bad we know about isn't always ours, sometimes we learn from others, but we all know that you can never truly know how something can hurt you until you experience it yourself.

And that is what I have learned about life so far.

I can only enjoy the good moments in my life because I go through the hard and painful times too.

And how I act and react in those times is a true test of my character.

2009-01-03T23:08:00.000-08:00

sigh... vacations are nice. The sad part is coming home. Coming back to reality. But that is part of life. Or really what life is.

But vacation was nice. A nice little reprieve from life. My fam and I (and Ben's girlfriend) went to the beach and hung out there for a few days. The weather was pretty nice, not the horrible Oregon winter weather we usually get. We didn't get trapped in the flooding, but just by a hair. And we had some snow on the way home which made the drive really beautiful! Enormous Douglas firs with snow all over them.

Today's thoughts

2008-12-09T21:50:00.000-08:00

I'm so bored right now. I should be doing other things but I don't have any motivation.

Thankfully I'm graduating this weekend. My bill is paid off to the school and my cap and gown are here.

I have good friends who bring me food.

I sometimes wonder if I had been able to look at my life in the future if I would like where my life is. Would I be surprised that my closest friends I grew up with aren't the people I talk to everyday anymore? Would I be happy with being a teacher? What about getting married? Would I think I would be ready by 23?

I wonder sometimes what people actually think of me...do they like me? do they put me in a box, stereotype me? And where do i fall in that?

I noticed that I don't sing as much as I used to. I don't mean in a choir or voice lessons. But just sang to myself. I used to wake every morning and start singing. In the shower, as I dressed, all day. I don't anymore. Sing the song inside of me. I can't find it anymore. That simple song that is in me from the moment I wake up. I used to be able to sing a song at a moments notice, but now when I try my mind is blank.

I wish I could capture that carefree, unburdened life of my childhood. When I didn't know. When I was still naive.

I was watching Heroes and I teared up. I'm watching House now and it is very interesting.

I hope that I have learned how to have appropriate reactions to conversations I participate in. If I haven't before, than I'm sorry if I've offended you.

This is just my rantings. Don't worry about it. I'm really ok. Theses are just some observations.

Free Gifts

2008-11-28T22:20:00.000-08:00

I was sitting in church last week and after the sermon I came to a new understanding of my faith. Maybe I’m slow, but maybe I’m not. I know that I’ve heard that God’s gift of salvation is free, and I understand it but now it has a new meaning for me.

Gods’ gift is free. It’s free. I don’t need to do anything. It’s not a buy one get one free deal. It’s not a do this for the free gift. All it requires of me is acceptance of this gift. Other religions you have to follow these steps or do things. ‘If you meditate enough during the day you will find your inner peace and your heaven. If you only eat certain foods, if you pray everyday, if you give this much money, if you are good, you do good things for other, you will make it to heaven.’ That is what other religions tell me; If I work hard enough I will be free from my burdens and worries, I can free myself!

But God tells me, “ You don’t need to do anything. You don’t need to pray, you don’t need to do good things or give money. I’m giving this away and all you need to do is accept it.“

What kind of God is this? He requires nothing? There’s a catch right? I have to do what God tells me? Buy into a church right?

No. Just plain acceptance of this gift. Acceptance of this completely undeserving gift? I want to know more. More about this God that requires nothing from me. A free gift given so simply. What is this God thinking? That is why I follow Him. That is why I do what God asks me. He doesn’t make me, I don’t have to love others, to give to others, to tithe, to pray, to read my Bible, to share God’s love, but He asks me to do these things. He simply asks that as someone who loves Him, who has accepted His gift, that I do these things.

Maybe that still isn’t clear, but to me it makes sense. I don’t have to pray. I don’t have to love others, but God gave me a free gift with no strings attached so these things that He asks me to do are the LEAST I can do in thanks, not in repayment, cause I can never repay what has been given to me. I love and follow God to try to better understand why He has blessed me so much.

Waiting on the world to change

2008-11-26T13:24:00.000-08:00

I was sitting in the teachers lounge the other day and the conversation turned to the economic “crisis” that is sweeping the nation. They were talking about how they had stopped watching the news and reading the newspaper because it was so depressing and that some were surprised that there weren’t people jumping off buildings because they have lost everything, others chimed in that there were in fact suicides from this recent downturn of the economy . That made me think about the sad estate of the U.S. When people have put all their stock, their hard work, their worth in the things of this life it makes me sad. Because it is inevitable that all things on this earth die, they waste away and nothing lasts. When those things fade, your wealth you have built, your possessions, your status in your job that you have worked so hard to obtain and it is gone on the whim of a breeze, what is there left to live for? Does anything matter anymore now that it’s gone?

Perhaps I am not the one to be speaking on this, I don’t have a 401K, I don’t have stocks that I have lost, or a pension. I haven’t been in a big disaster where I’ve lost all my belongings. So maybe I can’t speak from personal experience, but I can say that I am not putting much stock in this world because the world can hang at any minute. The world revolves around, not just physically but also in history. This is not the first time the U.S. has gone through this, and it most likely won’t be the last. The economy will recover and the gas prices will go up and the world will keep spinning around and people will still jump off buildings. Only one thing remains the same, God. And that’s were I invest my time and put my fortune, cause He never fails, He never crashes, His prices don’t change.

I think that one of the biggest reasons that we have this problem is the consumer attitude that we have here in America. The best way to illustrate it is the recent Subaru Forester commercial that is on t.v. A man’s voice comes on and narrates on how much they love their old Forester, but they heard that the newest model had come out and they really wanted it. So they had to make room in their garage for the new Forester. At first you think, oh, they are selling their old one, but no they are just buying another one and getting rid of a boat. That I feel epitomizes the American mentality. “If it’s new, I need it! Even if I have one already!”
I’m not perfect, and yes I do sometimes fall into that pit. It’s hard not to when that has been your whole life. People have lived at certain level in their life, and now that times are hard instead of changing their lifestyle or their thinking on how to use and handle their money, they need more! More to continue living in their comfortable lifestyle! But bailing out big corporations isn’t working. One of the big loan companies took a huge trip for their CEO’s that was in the millions once they got their huge check. They don’t need more money, WE don’t need more money! We need an attitude change, we need a life change!

I want to say again, I am not perfect. And those who know me know that can attest to my many imperfections. But it saddens my heart when I hear about people giving up on life when things are hard, when the life they are used to, the things of this life that they think are important come crashing down and there are no other options in their life. I don’t really know what else to say. It just is so…

Revelation of shortcomings

2008-11-02T20:25:00.000-08:00

I was reading Mark 8 Friday night and a part stuck out to me. It was when Jesus warned the disciples about the "yeast of the Pharisees and Herod", and the disciples were all like, (summarizing here) "oh, it's cause we don't have any bread with us". Jesus realizes that they are totally confused and missing the whole point and brings up again the feeding of the 5,000 and 4,000 that had jsut happened recently but they are still clueless.

And I sat there wondering how lame I would have felt to be a disciple after Jesus' resurrection cause here I was walking with Jesus, the Son of God, and I missed so much and I could have learned so much more than I had if I had not been so concerned about myself and earthly things.

I was about to share this revelation with my friend Crystal (who was spending the night) when I was hit in the face (metaphorically) by my own conjecture.

How much have I missed and am currently missing from God and what I could learn and grow from my time with Him because I am so wrapped up in myself and my life?

Ouch! Wow! Am I not myself a disciple? A follower? How many times has my heart been hardened against what God has been telling me simply because I'm so concerned about my and my life and can't see beyond my own nose?

OBJECTION!!

2008-10-28T21:42:00.001-07:00

I saw a quote the other day and it was one that I disagreed with. Usually when I find a quote I don’t agree with or don’t like, I’ll just skip over it or ignore it and move on, But this one really stuck with me and really bothered me. The quote said,

“Live your life so that you don’t need a diary”

I have no idea who said it cause the place I saw it didn’t properly reference it. But I really don’t like it. I do have a journal yes, I don’t write in it all the time but I do have one. And I had a diary or journal growing up. When I look at my past writings I don’t care so much who reads it because it is my past. But there are things that I write that I don’t want anyone to see. Not that they are bad or hurtful, but they are my own private thoughts and ramblings a lot of times when I am emotional. It is a good way to get out my feelings and really organize my thoughts without worrying about what I am saying or who is reading or listening or anything like that. I don’t have to be completely coherent or make sense to others because my journal writing is between myself and God and we understand what I write and no one else needs to.

I think it’s impossible to live that kind of life. To me it’s like saying that you can’t have your own space to write down your feelings. If you can’t share your feelings with people than you have to keep them bottled up. I don’t agree with that. Sometimes writing out your ideas and your feelings helps you think through situations that if you had just said them to people would have caused a lot of hurt. Also sometimes the best stories and songs come from peoples diaries, their private thoughts and life.

All I wanted to say about that quote was I don’t like it! I really don’t! It can give young impressionable people the wrong idea.

The Watchers

2008-10-14T21:28:00.000-07:00

Chapter 3

The next few days were filled with a thunderous cacophony of rain limiting the time I spent outdoors to a bear minimum. When the rain finally subsided I called together a meeting of The Watchers at our usual spot. The back corner of Mrs. Browns was grown with grass and wildflowers creating a dense forest only broken by the old tool shed. Mrs. Brown was old, but not quite as old as her lifelong guardian Augustus, or Gus, as we called him. Gus had horrible hearing which was unfortunate for us when we spoke to him as we had to practically yell and often create quite a ruckus. It was fortunate though that Mrs. Brown was just as deaf and never heard anything coming from her old shed.
Oscar, a tabby from down the street called our meeting to order.

“Everyone, please come to order,” she instructed.
It took some time but the chatter eventually died down to a murmur and than finally silence.
“Thank you,” she continued. “Now. We are here today to hear an account of Rissi’s watch from a few nights ago and to discuss our actions in response to it. Rissi.”

I nodded toward Oscar as I stepped forward and began to give my report.
“There is a stranger here among us” I began.
The room filled with exclamations of surprise and confusion. Everyone started speaking at once.

“What?”
“Here? Now?”
“But I recognize everyone!”
“Maybe they’re hiding somewhere”
“Quick lets find them.”

I tried to get control of the situation before they started a full out search party.
“Wait, wait!” I called out, “Not HERE, here. Out THERE! In the neighborhood, there is a stranger. Out There!”

“Eat pears!?” Gus shouted back.
“Out there!!!” three cars yelled back.
“Ok, ok, out there. No need to yell!” Gus replied quite flustered. He began to lick his paws.

“As I was saying,” I continued with a sigh, “there is something out There” I emphasized “ that I believe needs to be addressed> I was ruthlessly chased down by this…this…BEAST” I exclaimed.
Several cats gasped, a few ‘oh my’s’ were heard. I quickly picked up my story again before I completely lost them.

“The yappy dog up the street…uh what’s his name? That horrible annoying black one. Well he’s disappeared.” That caused more gasps and a lot of nods of approval, which probably was inappropriate but not unexpected.

“It was the last clear night we had. I was on patrol for Bobbin when I saw a pair of glowing eyes watching me. I desperately tried to escape the fierce glare of these eyes but they followed me over fences, through flowerbeds, across grassy yards, even into the road!” I was awarded many supportive exclamations for my bravery. “ I at last had a stare down with my pursuer. His taunting voice was like nails grating in my ears. His fangs dripped blood as he approached.” By now everyone had grown silent leaning closer to me, feeling the tension rising in the room.
“ Suddenly the door behind me opened and I took advantage of the momentary distraction and bolted in side the doors.” I finished with a flourish of my tail to add finality to my story. Silence followed my story as all the watching cats eyes were glued on me.

“So what.” A voice called out into the silence.
As if waking from a trance, noise started to fill the room.
“So what? So what!” I exclaimed. “Who said ‘so what’?” I demanded searching around the room for the source of this outrageous statement.
“I did,” said Gus as he stepped forward. It seemed that he could hear just fine now. “Yes. So what? We’ve had many a stranger invade our area before now. And no one gives a whisker what happened to that yappy pup down the street. We are all better off.” He finished.
“Yes, but” I tried to reason.
“Leave it be” Gus responded. And with that he turned his back on me and waltzed out. At least I think that was what he was trying to do but it was more of lumber out of the dingy shed. As if his exit was the final gavel, the meeting ended. The magical spell that my story held upon my audience was broken and they began to disperse.

I sat there, dumbfounded, my mouth wide open till I was left alone in the shed, the words from Gus still reverberating in the room. After a time I collected the shattered bits of my pride and slowly walked out in to the bright sun. Momentarily blinded by the piercing sunlight a stark contrast to the darkness I just left, a voice spoke behind me.

“I think it matters.”

I looked around me but found no source of the voice. My eyes slowly adjusted to the light as an almost inaudible thump of paws hitting the grass behind me. I turned and saw a small grey kitten with bright blue eyes walk toward me.
“I think it matters. About the stranger and the disappearing dog. Even if no one liked him.” It informed me.

“Thanks,” I murmured back.
“I want to help you,” it continued, “ my name is Jelly-Ann.”

I looked at this small grey kitten in front of me with disbelief. This small creature who could barely frighten kibble out of its bowl wants to help me with this hideous, frightening monster. I looked around me to see it maybe, just maybe, there was someone else, someone braver more capable waiting to offer their help. But I was alone except for this youngling barely out of the womb.

“Well…”I sighed finally looking back at it., “ok.” I shrugged. I had no idea what this kitten was thinking. It was insane! And I was insane thinking that anything good would come of this. More than likely I would end up protecting it more than doing anything else, but what choice did I have now? I started walking past the small kitten. I didn’t hear anything behind me. ‘Maybe it took off’ I thought as I looked over my back to check, but there it was following me. ‘Wow!’ I thought, ‘It sure is quiet. Maybe that could come in handy.’
“What’s your name again?” I asked facing forward again.
“Jelly-Ann.” It replied, her voice filled with the confidence of a full-grown cat.
“Jelly-Ann,” I affirmed.
I had no idea what I was going to do now, but I at least had one feline on my side.

2008-10-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

With the changing of the season hastening in the many wonderful holidays, my mum and I have started our yearly tradition of listening to Christmas music.

While I love Christmas music there is one song that has always confused me as to why it is considered a Christmas song as it has nothing to do with Christmas and is not even known for being in a Christmas movie! That song is "My Favorite Things" made well known by The Sound of Music.

It's a fine song, I just don't like that it is played at Christmas cause it has NOTHING to do with Christmas.

Also when I listen to this song I think,

'Wait a minute...these may not be my favorite things...sure they are nice, but I don't consider them my favorite things!'

So I wrote my own lyrics to My Favorite Things with what MY favorite things are.

(And just to clarify the tune is My Favorite Things.)

Sun on my face, and the warm summer breezes
Sweet scents of flowers and hot cups of coffee
Portland at night all lit up and sparkling
These are a few of my favorite things

Leaves changing colors, long drives thorough the country
Dark chocolate and dancing and innocent kisses
Music that moves me that I love to sing
These are a few of my favorite things

What its raining for 3 months straight
And it makes me sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don't feel so bad

Jazz music, movies, and ball gowns that sparkle
Hot showers and dark nights with stars shining brightly
Thunder storms grumble and lightning flashing
These are a few of my favorite things

Warm snuggles and campfires and blankets so cozy
Shooting stars, beach days the smell of fresh laundry
Wind in the trees, bright green hills, friends hugging
These are a few of my favorite things.

Visit my blog at http://beckymae39.blogspot.com/

Life questions or tired ramblings?

2008-10-07T22:50:00.000-07:00

Can you do nothing all day and still be tired? Not that I don't do anything. But my job (or jobs) are not that physically tiring but I can barely keep my eyes open. When did this happen!? It seemed like only a little bit ago I could stay up late and run on very little sleep and here I am at age 22 and I am sleeping with my eyes open! Not really cause it's hard to sleep like that.

Can you miss someone so much! And yet never cry? I've tried. Thinking that if I can make myself cry than I might feel better. But when you can't cry does that make you real?

Do you ever feel that your life is so good, so blessed, that you have no idea what life is really like? Like you are in a dream world where things are strange and you move too slow, but you can't wake up? And you think you are dreaming, but you can't be sure. And you want something horrible or something that hurts to happen to you just to be sure that you really exist and have feelings.

Can you hate your life for being mediocre? For having a safe life?

Is it ok to be one of the crowd? To not do anything wonderful or spectacular or worth noticing? Can I just be one of the masses. The faceless in a crowd. Nothing is expected of me to produce something great or change the world. Just live and go along with whatever happens.

Maybe I'm just tired.

The Watchers

2008-09-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

Ch. 2

I ran as fast as my four legs would take me but it seemed that the longer I ran, the closer the menace behind me got. I knew I couldn’t get into my house because my family had this ridiculous obsession with closing doors; but if I could at least make it to into the bright porch lights, that might get it off my tail.

I buckled down and gave I my all toward the light with all the strength I had left in me. I skidded into the lights and turned around to face my pursuer, my back arched and my fur standing on end. I let out a bright hiss to let it know that now I was ready to face it. I stared into the blackness I had emerged from but nothing moved, nothing approached, it was still as if I had imagined this chase. A dead leaf scuttled across the pavement breaking the deafening silence and slowly dying away replaced by a deep chuckle.

“What’s wrong little kitty?” the deep dark called out.

I growled low at the bodiless voice, it chuckled back in response.

“Oh, ho, ho. Think you can evade me with a little light?”

I tried to respond but my voice had frozen in my throat and only a meager half squeak mad it out. I backed up till I was pressed against the side of the house. The light glinted off a pair of murderous black eyes, highlighting a blood red ring in the center. I backed up further into the wall desperately trying to become part of it. Another low chuckle rumbled out from the direction of the approaching eyes, slowly it was accompanied by a nose black as the darkness it came from. Yellow teeth cast into a wicked smile that came to sharp white points at the end came next causing my body to seize up in fear. All ability to move or make a sound of desperate help vanished in the sight of those horrific teeth, teeth that could rip out a dog’s throat…

Suddenly the front door opened casting a new warmer light upon my rigid body, a huge silhouette framed in the doorway. The sudden appearance of a new force made me jump a turn my back to the hideous teeth. Realizing that I had just made a critical error in my movements I jumped back to face the teeth. Booming laughter coming from the doorway jarred my brain out of its trance. I ran pell-mell to the door and past the giant legs into the safety of my house. I hadn’t realized that I was holding my breath during the whole showdown until I made it inside and collapsed on the living room floor in a heap letting out a staggered breath.

“Looks like the cat’s had and adventure” the big voice commented to 2 other family members in the room as he shut the door behind him.

‘CH! An adventure!?’ I thought to myself as I lay sprawled out on the carpet trying to catch my breath. ‘Those humans think they are so safe. They have no idea what we felines do to keep them safe from…’

Well from whatever was outside. I wasn’t sure what it was I had just faced down, but it sure was not good. Sooner or later I was bound to find out what it was that was prowling our once peaceful neighborhood. Hopefully it would be later rather than sooner.

Anxiety VS. Provision

2008-09-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Last night I had some real trouble sleeping. While I laid there in bed I wondered why my mind wouldn't rest, why was sleep evading me so readily...? I eventually put my finger on it, and it was my anxiety over the coming week.

I was placed last week (finally!!) in a 3rd grade classroom and I met my teacher and supervisor on Thursday. I have the nervousness of meeting a new class, taking over lessons, and actually teaching! i love to teach, but well, I get nervous before I do it. and I really don't know what to expect so that adds to it.

So now as I lay in bed I have unearthed my reason for my anxiouty and nervousness and I confess it to God whole heartedly and I am reminded of a verse I read earlier this week.
It was from Psamls 127:2, the second part of the verse... it says:

"...he grants sleep to those he loves."

and at the footnotes of this page concerning this verse it says:

"...for while they slepp, he provides for."

I clung to this verse! I know that God loves me and He will grant me the sleep I need.
He also provides for me.

To do my student teaching I need to have a badge. I went to get this said badge last Wednesday so I could start teaching lessons Monday. When I went however, they said that TSPC (the teaching liceseure for Oregon) had misplaced my fingerprints and I was unable to get my badge until I either had them redone or they were found.

I was not happy! I had waited all this time to be placed and now here was something else holding me back!! When I met my teacher and principle Thursday and confessed that I did not have my badge yet, I was informed that I would not be able to teach until I did but I could observe. Still, I was not happy...

But as I lay in my bed thinking about this I realized that God had provided for me while I slept earlier that week. He knew my fears and anxiousness about jumping in and having to teach right away. But he provided a way that I could not be allowed to teach.

Maybe I sound lame, but I believe that God understood my nervousness and made a way to relieve me of my worries until I can be sure in my abilities and the place he has put me. He thought of me and cared about my feelings, He validated them and understands them. I am so thankful.

So although, yes, it is a pain that I may have to be re-fingerprinted and have to take time out of school to get my badge, I am so thankful that I don't have to jump in and teach yet.

The second verse that was in the footnotes I love also cause it makes me think and wonder....what is God providing for me while I lay here at night and rest? God never rests, He has the time to provide for me.

What is He providing for you?

AMAZING!!! WONDERFUL!!! I LOVE HIM!!! THANK YOU!!!

2008-09-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hooray!!! I am so happy!

Brandon sent me flowers!!!

They are beautiful and wonderful and he is wonderful!!!

I love them! And I love him!!

Thank you Brandon!

I love you!

The Watchers

2008-09-23T22:25:00.001-07:00

Ch 1.

I sat on the corner lot watching passing cars, their headlights reflecting off my bright green eyes startling hapless nighttime wanderers. I was on patrol. Rumors of a dangerous predator had moved into our neighborhood, which had supposedly been confirmed when the annoying pup down the street had mysteriously disappeared. Though no one is that concerned or distressed about his disappearance as he is by far the most annoying and obtrusive of all dogs, or any animal for that matter, that I have ever met. So the rumors that this new mysterious creature of the night did him in was plausible, but it was more likely that one of the neighbors, tired of that pups annoying antics of running in the middle of the street, chasing their small ones down the sidewalk and just generally making a big mess of things had finally done something about it. Things had gotten a little more serious in the past few days when many of my cohorts and friends had been trapped in their houses by their pets.

Humans, though smart enough to open doors and to put their appendages to good use, were too engrossed in their own lives to realize that it was, of course us, that had ownership on them. But the fact that these humans had the capacity and ability to open doors faster and more efficient than we could, many of us were trapped indoors most nights now leaving me to patrol the nights, like tonight.

So far it had been a quite night as I went on my patrol cruising my way through the arborvitaes of Mr. Brooks, the single older man living on his own next door to my house. It was theorized by our group that he was allergic to us, which was why he had never found a suitable caretaker, for that is what many of us became, in our own sense. You see my cohorts and I, from around the neighborhood, had decided to create our own group of watchers, keeping peace on our turf, watching out for each other and those in our area. And that’s what we became, The Watchers.

Like I said, it was quite in the neighborhood, however in the stillness I could feel eyes watching me. I sat still, holding my breathe, not one part of me moving, waiting for the stalker to show him self. The wind whispered over the late summer grass and tickled my nose. I couldn’t smell the intruder quite yet, but I could sense him sitting not far from me. I decided that I might try luring him out for at least a glimpse; I had no desire for a confrontation at this time, only quite and careful observation. I meandered across the lawn to the surrounding fence, lightly hopping to the middle support beam and then to the top for a better view. I heard a rustling behind me. I jerked my head in the direction it came from, my ears perked forward, listening intently. Waiting. A hiss from below me made my tail hairs bristle. The whole fence shook as something ran into it. I dug my claws into the weather worn wood and let out a short hiss. The fence shook again, this time I bolted. I wasn’t ready to take on whatever creature that could shake a whole fence. As I ran out of the yard and down the sidewalk I heard the scrapings of claws coming after me. Oh No! This nameless unknown force was after me. I darted across Ms. Walkers yard but the clawing only turned to thudding on the dead grass, and it got louder! It was gaining on me! I took a chance on the open street, hoping that this creature had more sense than to follow me out there where the human’s large movers ran wildly, and sometimes without hesitation, down our streets. But the clicking of nails on concrete only got louder and continued as it continued it’s pursuit. I buckled down and ran at my fullest. Trying desperately to escape. None of my evasions were working as I darted to a fro. What was I going to do? Stand and fight?

2008-09-23T19:51:00.000-07:00

Hooray! I am placed! It has finally happened! I was placed today at Winterhaven Elementary School in south east Portland. I will be in a 3rd grade class which is cool. I'm really excited to start!
Now that I am placed the real work begins...

I have to do my background check

I have to get a Portland Public School badge

And start writing and teaching lessons.

This is what I wanted...to start teaching. Finally I can begin to finish my degree!

Thank you for your prayers and support!

In the calm...

2008-09-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

The other night as I was dreaming, there was a song playing over and over again in my head. Well actually a phrase from a choir song that I sang at college.

"In the calm of Your presence
I am listening Lord.
I am still, I am quite, I am Yours."

In my dream I kept singing this line over and over. The whole song is beautiful and I love it.
Here is the entire song.

In the calm of Your presence
I am listening Lord,
I am still, I am quite, I am Yours.

In the calm of Your presence
I am listening Lord,
I am still, I am quite, I am Yours.

Let Your word speak to me
Let Your spirit draw near,
I will obey the truth that I hear.

In the calm of Your presence
I am listening Lord,
I am still, I am quite, I am yours

There's a thirst in my soul
For Your wisdom divine
I long for the peace
And life that I find

In the calm of Your presence
I am listening Lord,
I am still, I am quite, I am Yours
So still, silent, I am Yours
I am still, I am quite, I am Yours
I am Yours

Childhood

2008-09-21T21:26:00.000-07:00

As I was sitting in church today watching a humorous skit on prayer, there was a little boy, maybe about 4 or 5 in front of us and he was enjoying the skit more than most of the adults that actually understood and related to it. But he was laughing and finding the actors and the situation hilarious!

It got me thinking about when I was a child and why I find that I wish that I could return to the days of my childhood. And then I wondered why...

Why do people envy the young?

Why do we wish that we could go back to that time in our life?

For me, it is because I was "innocent". I was unhurt, I was sure, I was full of life and love and joy beyond reason. I remember laughing like that little boy I saw today, laughing just because I could, because there was something funny going on. I may not have understood it, but I knew it was funny therefore I laughed.

I was unhurt by the world. I didn't know the disappointment in my own faults, the angst in worry, the betrayal from the shortcomings of others, the fear of failure...I wish that I could go back to that time when things were black and white. Love was simple, right and wrong were easy to see, you knew how to be honest without hurting anothers feelings. That time when you could forgive a friend and actually forget all together the reason you were mad in the first place.

That time when I was sure of who I was, what I wanted out of life, who I wanted to be, what I was supposed to do till then. When my judgment wasn't skewed because of all the things I have been hurt and disillusioned by. I didn't have to understand something fully to accept it as truth when it came from someone I trusted, like my parents, my friends, and God. So why now have I lost that trust in them?

I feel like I have scales on my eyes and with every new experience that happens (from what I listed above) the scales get thicker and the true person I am, the person God sees, the person I should see in the mirror, becomes more and more blurry.

I miss childhood and wish that I could have that again.

Romancing a stone

2008-09-17T22:18:00.000-07:00

There are days when I feel distant from God, ya know? I know that HE is there, and I know that HE is providing and blessing me, even though I don't see it. That is where my faith comes in. I gain my understanding that "...faith is the evidence of things unseen..." ("In my minds eye" by DC Talk). I sometimes can't see it, or maybe I don't completely understand it but I know and I believe it.

What I really wanted to say though is the times God is providing and faithful and blessing me in my life and I DO see it!

Last week I hung out with one of my best friends Christi. We had lunch, did some shoe shopping and then went to the book store. While there I found a book I really wanted, which isn't hard cause I LOVE BOOKS!!!! And I tend to buy a lot of them. But this was a book that had been recommended by several people and that had been on my lists of books to buy for a while. It was of course at full price but I picked it up and said I'll just hold onto it while I think about it. Christi happened to have a copy which she would let me borrow so I was considering that.

While we continued our shopping time we wandered into the music area of the book store and I found a display of head phones. I lent mine to a friends sister on a trip and I haven't received them back, but it's really no big deal. So I have been thinking about buying a new pair for a while, but I just haven't. so this day I thought, "well, maybe I'll pick up a pair..." while I stood there deciding what type of headphones I wanted, I rationalized with myself that I really didn't need to buy headphones today, plus I'm trying to be wiser with the little money I'm blessed with, and I figured that I have lived with out headphones for over a month and it hasn't killed me yet, so I could wait a little longer before I got some. I also decided that the book could wait and that I could borrow it from Christi later on, besides I'm reading another book right now so I prolly wont read it for a while. So in the end I walked out of the store with no purchases (which is pretty good considering it was a book store!)

Later that day I was hanging out with Brandon at his place, and he nonchalantly handed my a pair of headphones he had bought earlier that summer. I didn't think anything of it at the time, I was kind of surprised, but he explaind that he had found a pair in storage the other day and didn't need these anymore. I took them thnakfully and stuck them in my purse. Later that night I realized what had happend and I had to thank Brandon again. He had just given me a free pair of the same headphones I had been looking at earlier that day! It was amazing, a total God thing that I didn't buy them and that Brandon gave them to me!

I was so thankful for God's provision on something so small! It totally made my week to see his blessing in my life. But HE wasn't finished with me yet!

That next Sunday I was hanging out with a friend and we took a trip to Goodwill (which is, btw, the BEST place to get books!) and I spied a book by the same author of the other book I wanted to buy at the bookstore. I wasn't sure if it was the dame book I wanted cause the cover was different, so I asked my mom to check my book list for me, which I had left at home, and it turned out it was! I was amazed! Here was the very same book for $4!! God had provided me with the very book I desired at 1/4 of the cost! Not only that, but there were 2 copies and I had my friend buy the other one cause this was too good a deal to pass up.

God had provided me with 2 things, 2 things I desired that week! I don't know what I can attribute it too. It was nothing that I did. I didn't pray for these things, I didn't ask God, I never thought that I would find these things at a better price and save myself money. But God saw the desire in me for these things, and maybe they are trivial and small things, but to HIM, HE saw a small trinket, a toy that costs pennies to HIM but would make his daughter happy and HE bought them for me. HE provided these things!

It just amazes me to think about how much God loves me and shows me HIS love when HE does that. HE can see into my desires, I don't need to tell HIM! HE already knows! I love it! I love HIM!

My Father, my God...He is providing, He is romancing me, I am falling in love with HIM more and more, not because HE buys me things, but because HE cares about me, even down to the smallest most insiginificant desire or want I have. I can't even begin to fathom the depth of HIS love...

2008-09-16T16:39:00.000-07:00

So I was thinking that maybe I should start with that obligatory "Welcome and Hello" blog, but I figured I'd skip that since no one really wants to read that.

Today I hung with Brandon, which is what we do every Tuesday, and we went to his storage unit to move some of his stuff that he doesn't use out of his room. While there we were goofing off and I tried to run away from Brandon and I lost my footing and fell. In the process of falling I hit the door frame where the door part (the thing that sticks out) goes into the frame (the part with the hole) and I scraped my arm by my armpit and tore my shirt. I also scraped my knee a bit and slammed my hands into the ground. I'm doing just fine, I have a lovely scratch and bruise on my arm from where I hit the door frame, and a little blood on my shirt.

Brandon was very concerned, but I laughed. I think it is hilarious when I fall, and I have fallen so many times in my life that it doesn't bother me anymore. Plus having scars makes me feel COOL!! I relate my fall though to my Christian life.

(I'm gonna make this specific, put it in self terms and not general "we", "us" terms)

I think that sometimes I'm afraid to "fail" or "fall" so I don't do the things that God has planed for me. But sometimes I think HE wants me to "fall". Not because HE is mean, or vicious, or that HE relishes in Schadenfreude (Pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune. Pretty much why we laugh when people fall down or get hit or something like that), but I think that sometimes HE wants me to "fall" because through that pain and experience I learn a lesson and I grow as a person.

I also can attribute this experience to running ahead of God. And sometimes falling is God's way of telling me to SLOW DOWN!!! I can get ahead of God on things and maybe that's not where HE want's me or I'm supposed to get there a different way but I want to be there NOW so I run, and I loose my balance cause my focus is no longer on God and HIS will but myself and my will.

So "...in the end" (Phrase from Golden Slumbers from Happy Feet soundtrack), what was the lesson I learned?

Don't run with flip flops on smooth cement.

~Becky