American Idol - Top 5

This. Is. American Idol.  Rat Pack style. 

And everybody's sporting suits.  Some a little, ahem, brighter than others.

And either it's Prom Night for the girl judges or they're dressing for the genre.  Gotta give it up for a girl who likes a theme. 

AND the mentor is....Jamie Foxx?  Really, Idol?  Really?  Couldn't get Michael Buble, huh?

Kris - "The Way You Look Tonight"   Oh bless it.  These kids today just don't wear the tie clips, do they?  Wow, Jamie Foxx is really complimentary of Kris.  I think this song fits his voice and style so well.  Swoon.  Just sayin'.  In it to WIN it, dawg! 

Allison - "Someone To Watch Over Me"  Happy birthday!!  Ok, I might have to take back my initial reaction to Foxx.  He's got some good advice.  She knocked that out of the park.  Although I think I'd like her, just ONE WEEK, to please sing something YOUNG.  Not sure what that would have been this week, but still.  And I'd like to ask Simon what 17 year old do you know that has the kind of confidence he's talking about?  Or maybe that's just me channeling my inner 17 yr old. Never mind.

Matt - "My Funny Valentine"  Ok, so if anybody could kick this theme's hiney, it's Matt.  I figured he'd be at the piano where he's more comfortable.  Might be a mistake. Not the strongest voice in the bunch.  I'm not crazy about it.  Is he pitchy?  I don't know, but I'm very surprised at Simon's critique.

I really want some chocolate right now.  Think I could talk Daniel into going to get Frosty's? 

Danny - "Come Rain or Come Shine"  Jamie's all in Danny's personal space.  All up in his GRILL.  That some kind of weird acting technique?  How about some French cuffs and cuff links.  And a pocket square.  I think this is one of my favorite performances of his.  I'd stand up and clap if I didn't have this dern laptop on my lap.  (Burning the tar out of my thighs, I might add.)  Bravo, buddy!  Bravo!  Hey!  I understood everything Paula said!  STELLAR!

He's making fruit smoothies instead.  Oh well.

Adam -  "Feeling Good"  Can we just have ONE WEEK WITHOUT ALL THE SCREAMING?  Ok, I'm expecting him to start stripping.  Tell me you didn't think that when he's walking down the steps.  Sorry.  Anyway, I know he has a huge audience and he'll probably win, yada yada yada.  Really, Randy?  A little theatrical and dramatic?  And Paula.  I'm sure Michael Phelps loved that comparison.  Or maybe he needs the positive press right now. 

My fave of the night--- Danny and Kris

In trouble---Matt. 

Go over to BooMama's to see other Idol recaps.

American Idol - Top 7 (again)

It's Wednesday morning and I'm just now watching!  Is this even worth doing?  I haven't seen any other re-caps though, so we'll pretend it's Tues night.  Man, I feel incredibly rested for 8 pm.

Disco Night!  Get out your platforms, ladies!

Lil - "I'm Every Woman"  Chaka! Chaka Chan Chaka!  It's time for her to go.  I'm sorry. The vocals just aren't there.  It seems all over the place to me.  Why oh why is she talking?  Shut up already!

Kris - "She Works Hard For the Money"  Hey they aren't doing videos this week.  And they are letting all the judges talk.  That is a crazy arrangement.  I like it!  Oh goodness I loved that!  It was cool and new and wow!   Ready for the big time, dawg!!! 

Paula is just so weird.

Danny - "September"  It's hard to listen to that song without dancing a little, ya know? As evidenced by my 4 yr old right now.  I think it was good.  Vocals were pretty good and it was a great performance. 

Allison - "Looking for Some Hot Stuff"  I was getting ready to comment on her outfit, but my daughter walked in the room and said "Whoa."  I think that says it right there.  I'm not sure I liked that arrangement.  Her vocals are always great, but I didn't really like that.   Hey Dawg agrees with me. 

Looks like taking out the videos is working.  They're half way through the show and have 3 more performances.  Good call.

Adam - "If I Can't Have You"  I don't want nobody, baby.  I'm just sayin'.  Ok that's a very interesting arrangement.  Totally not how I'm singing it right now.  And of course we have the token screeching in the middle.  I'm just not a fan, in case you didn't know.  Oh gracious, Paula gives me a headache.  All that talk about him tearing out his heart and leaving it on the stage.  Maybe a teeny dramatic.

Matt - "Stayin' Alive"  There were some parts that made me cringe, but overall I liked it.  I like his cool vibe, his JT-ness.  I agree with Simon that he can't win it, but I like him and think he's going to make some great music. 

Anoop - "Dim All The Lights"  Ooo what about that 'stache? Not sure I like the song choice.  He's sounding a little pitchy.  Oh dude, that last note.  Yikes. 

Kris is my favorite tonight.  Lil and Anoop are in trouble.  

Gotta go!

Scripture Memory Challenge - Verse 8

I am really loving this scripture memory challenge.  I've started writing my verses on our white decorative plate by the sink.  And considering how much time I spend there, I should seriously have my new one memorized by this evening. ha!  (Thanks for the idea, Deidre!)

And now I will astound you with my memory:

"Be joyful always, pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus"               1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Ta-da!  You'll just have to trust me that I typed that from memory.  And I did, except that I left out "always".  Just being real. 

So next time's verse is this:

^"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  Hebrews 4:16

Ready, set, memorize!!

American Idol - Top 7

So I totally missed blogging last week. I didn't get to watch until Wednesday and by then, well, what's the point? I read lots of re-caps and honestly, right now I can't really remember anything that happened. Except that everybody missed Adam's performance because the judges (hello, Paula) were long-winded and they went long and THAT'S WHAT WE GET FOR DEPENDING ON A DVR.

Luckily my sweet husband was watching and recorded Fringe so that I could see Adam (um, thanks?) without scouring YouTube.

Tonight the theme is Songs From Movies and the mentor is, naturally, Quentin Tarantino. Seriously? What does he know from music? He makes movies and movies have music, therefore....he knows music. Okaaaay.

Nice. They are only letting 2 judges talk per contestant. We'll see how that goes.

Allison Iraheta - "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" I think this is a good choice for her. Great, great way to start the night. I loved it. Knocked it out of the PARK!

Anoop Desai - "(Everything I Do) I Do It For You" Quentin Tarantino giving him singing advice is seriously giving me a twitch. Oh goodness, I'm 18 again. Love me some Bryan Adams. I liked it. I really like his voice. Not sure what is up with that jacket though.

Adam Lambert - "Born To Be Wild" Back to rocker mode. I gotta hand it to him, that was a star performance right there. And you know how bad it hurts to say that, right?

They really just shouldn't let Paula talk. Simon, however, cracks me up.

Matt Giraud - "Have You Ever Really Loved A Woman" This seems like it will be a good song for him. I think I liked it better when it was just him and the piano. Ooo, that part near the end when his voice squeaked was bad and just off. Yikes, he might be in trouble this week.

Why is Simon making weird faces while Kara is talking? Is he 7?

Danny Gokey - "Endless Love" Ok, great, now I'm going to be watching his hands. I thought it was ok. A little rough in places actually. AND he lost his glasses. What's wrong with the world?

Oh the bright side, Michael and Lincoln are coming back FRIDAY! Glory!

Kris Allen - "Falling Slowly" It started out, um, slowly, but I really think he can do no wrong. I just love him. Wouldn't it be great if he sang some Chris Tomlin one night? Simon's head might explode.

Oh my word. Lil is singing "The Rose". WHO in the world is advising her? She is just singing herself right out of the competition.

Lil Rounds - "The Rose" To quote my sister-in-law, I just don't think she's as good a singer as she thinks she is. She's pitchy and she's putting in too many riffs and changing the melody too much. How's that for some opinions?

In trouble this week: Lil and Matt

Next week, Songs About Animals with mentor, Lassie. Y'all come!

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*Edited to Add: Y'all I just read this post about Idol and it totally cracked me up. Girlfriend is hilarious!!

A day late, but still.....

A few of the blogs I read participated in this at It's Almost Naptime yesterday.  I thought it was a great idea!  To just brag on my kids a little.  Because let's face it, we tend to dwell on all the things that drive us nuts daily.  I, for one, am way better at fussing at them or about them than praising and bragging on them.  Just being real here. 

So, let's commence with the bragging!!

Here's Becca.

                      

The firstborn.  Gorgeous blue eyes, long eyelashes.  Thoughtful, sweet, quiet, tender heart, and helpful.  She loves to draw, do math, and play sports.  Her reading has improved by leaps and bounds in the last year and she enjoys it. 

She's a loyal friend.  She still misses her little buddy who moved away 2 years ago.  I find little notes on her school work like "I love my brother" or "I miss Hailey"(the dog). 

She remembers lines from movies and quotes them at random times.  And she wants to be dentist when she grows up. 

And Hayes.

                      

The baby.  Sweet little smile, fantastic blue eyes.  Funny, energetic, loving, and silly.  He's all boy.  Loves cars, trucks, balls, video games, and just running around.  He's great at coloring, loves to write his name, and likes to be read to. 

It might take him a little while to warm up to you, especially adults, but once you're his friend, he'll love you forever.   He likes for his daddy to carry him on his shoulders.  And he's gotten quite snuggly lately and I love that! 

Hayes is SO ready to play sports it's not even funny.  He still has another year before he can play but he is having fun practicing.  He can hit a ball like nobody's business and has really good control of a soccer ball for a 4 yr old.  But maybe I'm biased.  We shall see!

Ok, brag party is over!  I'm off to squeeze my kids and smother them with kisses!!

Date Night

What do you get when you take Chris Tomlin, add Israel Houghton, a little Christy Nockels, and top it off with a cheeseburger and cherry-lemon-sprite from South 21?

Well just the best date night ever, that's what!

It was the greatest night of praise and worship! If you don't know who Israel Houghton is, he's basically the guy who has written and recorded every praise and worship song you've sung in church in the past 10 years. Does "Friend of God" ring a bell? What about "Here I Am to Worship"? "Lord You Are Good"? Yeah, that guy.

And Christy Nockels sang backup for Chris Tomlin! So cool. And then he and his band played for her to sing her newest single, "Life Light Up". And he didn't just go backstage for a rest while his band played for her either. Dude rocked the guitar! You can download the single here. It's really good.

So thanks to my husband, who planned the night, (and a sweet babysitter), we had an awesome time. Thanks honey!!

*Edited to add: (Anybody else think Chris Tomlin looks like Michael J. Fox?)

Scripture Memory, Verse 7

I picked out my verse for the next 2 weeks yesterday and even wrote it in my notebook but never got around to posting about it.  It's just par for the course lately around here.  As I sit in my pj's at noon.  Sigh.

Here's the verse I've been working on:

"The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love.  He will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

I've struggled with the exact wording on this one for some reason.  But I get the overall meaning of the verse and I don't want to be all legalistic.  I'm going to keep working on this one in addition to my new one.  Especially the "quiet you with His love" part.  Sometimes I just need to be quieted by Him. 

My new verse:

¹⁶Be joyful always; ¹⁷pray continually; ¹⁸give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

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If you've been praying for Jennifer and Stellan, you'll want to check this out.  Her local news channel did an interview and story on them earlier this week.