Better Late Than Never

The little man had a birthday party on SATURDAY and I'm just now getting around to posting this. You know, all the work to download pictures and stuff. Cause it's so much trouble to PLUG IN the camera. Now you know, I'm lazy. And this might actually take a while since I have a 3 yr old attached to my side and he keeps asking if he can type his name.

We just had family over for dinner and cake. A cake which I made. All by myself. Thank you very much. Hayes says his favorite part was his presents. And his favorite present was a soccer goal. So there ya go.

Here's the cake. And yes I know it has 3 Lightning McQueens on it. That's what happens when you actually let the child participate in the decorating. And while I'd like to blame the less-than-perfect white lines on him too, that would just be wrong. Because clearly it is all a problem with the icing itself. Clearly.

Moving on...

Blowing out the candle.

His favorite part!

Happy Birthday you big 3 year old!! You're so special you got 2 birthday posts!!

The Preacher Who BROUGHT. IT.

We're having a pastor's conference at our church this week. Tonight the pastor was really good. (Actually there were two but I had to leave before the second one started since it was getting late for the kids.) I'm sure the second guy was great too. :)

So this pastor, I have heard about him pretty much all my life. Let me 'splain. His family is friends with my home church pastor's family. And my home church pastor's daughter is my best friend from, like, the nursery! I just remember hearing about this man and his family growing up, although I never met any of them. So now he's a pastor in TN and friends with one of our pastors and he preached at our church tonight. And like the title says, he BROUGHT IT.

He preached from 1 Tim. 2:1-8. One of the things he said that really stood out to me was about the message that we all have. It's simple. If you are saved, you have a message. And you are to share that message. With everyone. EVERYONE. As in, "if they are breathing, you tell them!"

Sometimes we think we don't have anything to say. No huge, blinding light on the road testimony. But the Bible says that your message is Christ, that He saves, and that you have faith that He died on the cross for you. That's it. And that's enough! Because that's ALL that matters. God's Word won't return void! He has promised us that. As Beth Moore said in the "Psalms of the Ascent" video, "you aren't good enough to mess God up!" Even if your face gets bright red (I don't know anyone who does that. ahem) and you fumble your words and stumble over the Scripture, God can use it! Isn't that freeing?

Cause it's not about me.

Thank goodness.

Quick Idol Thoughts

Top three for me tonight: Jason, David Archuleta, Kristy Lee (who'd a thunk it?)

Best outfit: Brooke's dress

Best hair: Carly

Best show of 'the girls': Paula (come on, girl, cover up!)

Best news of the night: "So You Think You Can Dance" is coming back in May!!

Sorry that's all I've got. Up tomorrow--Idol Gives Back. Should be fun!!

I Am From

I got this idea from Heth's blog, and I was feeling a little sentimental after spending yesterday with family. So here's my attempt at poetry!

I am from gold shag carpet, from Volvo station wagons and real wood fireplaces.
I am from the beloved ranch house with multiple additions. From kids playing ball in the yard and learning to ride bikes in the street.
I am from the dogwood trees, the yellow bell bushes “decorated” while we were away.
I am from sledding down the big hill and real Christmas trees. From brown eyes and bad knees, from Mary and Lindon, Charlie and Toby.
I am from football, baseball, and basketball players and from the beach lovers.
From “We’re pulling that tooth on Friday” and “Swing Lo, Sweet Chariot”.
I am from Baptists and church on Sundays and Wednesdays and Sunday School teachers and deacons. I am from walking to church and to friends’ houses.
I'm from South Carolina on a Thanksgiving day, interrupting dinner and holiday plans, from moving home to small town USA. From barbeque and Coke in a glass bottle. From homemade birthday cakes and parties at Skateland.
From the burned bread on holidays, the Christmas Eve open houses, and the trips in the camper to the mountains and the beach.
I am from school pictures on the buffet, all three proudly displayed. From Mimi’s art on the wall, underappreciated until later. From T’s whittlings on the shelves, amazement at the talent of those loving hands.
I'm from laughter and crying, from fighting and making up. From unwavering support and unconditional love.


*Here's the link for the poem format. Try it!

NKOTB and Fond Memories

They are coming back! Oh yes ma'am, they are. The New Kids on the Block are reuniting! Except that now they are Old Guys in the Neighborhood cause they are pushing 40! But if you remember them from middle school, then you are too! ha!

Oh my, the memories. The first thing that always pops into my head when I hear something about them is my late friend Christy. She was a die-hard fan back in the day. And there's no die-hard fan for a boy band like a 14 yr old girl. I remember that she won a contest at one of their concerts for being the biggest fan. I can't remember what all she did but I know she wore some kind of hat with their names on it. She won a backstage pass and some other stuff. She was crazy about those boys and I'm sure she acted the fool when she met them. That makes me smile.

Cause I am SURE that she would have been the first one in line for a reunion concert.

So were you a fan of the NKOTB? Got any good memories? Wanna go to the concert and re-live our teenage years? (or toddler years, Faith?) ha!

**Edited to add: Don't know what is going on the with spacing here. It looks squished together and it won't let me put a space after the second paragraph. Sorry it's hard to read!

It's Tricky to Rock Around (Edited to : "It's Tricky to Rock A Rhyme" would actually be the words. Duh)

Ok who are the Clark Brothers and why are they singing "This Little Light of Mine"? That arrangement is a little wild and kinda cool! Not exactly VBS material. I'm just sayin'.

David Cook with the high blood pressure! Now I'm gonna worry about him. Is he on meds?

Ramiele looks about 3 feet tall next to Ryan and I'm pretty sure Ryan isn't that tall.

Kristy is killing me with the note. That was just dumb. Shocker, she's in the bottom 3 with Ramiele.

Syesha's safe?!? Oh, no! Brooke's in the bottom 3!! I knew I should have voted. Oh, Ramiele looks so funny between them!! How tall IS she?

And yes Randy the show IS about fashion! At least for some people. Ahem.

(so I googled the Clark Brothers. No, I didn't watch The Next Great American Band so that's why I don't know who they are. Their dad is a traveling evangelist though. Cool.)

Oh my. Simon is going to sprain an eye. Dolly is singing about Jesus and the Clark Bros sang about their little light. Let's have some church!! She totally just said "Hallelujah, Simon, how are ya!" LOVE HER!

Yay Brooke's safe! Rami's not. Not really a surprise, but kinda sad.

Next week---Idol Gives Back!!!

Idol Live---well, almost

Here I am, semi-live blogging on American Idol. Got home late and had to put the kids to bed, so now I'm watching.

Ok did anybody fall for that April Fools' joke from Ryan? A little cheesy.

Dolly Parton! woo hoo! That is some big...hair! Are they going to do a group performance of 9 to 5 tomorrow? Oh please no. Not a fan of the group songs.

---30 min later---
I'm no good at this. I've discovered I don't have that much to say about the performances. I either like it or I don't and then I just want to talk about what they're wearing or their hair. So I deleted what I had written and now I'll just sum it up without trying to dazzle you with all the music knowledge that is NOT in me. I mean, I didn't even know the names of all the songs. Whatever.

I liked Brooke, David C, Jason, Carly, David A, and Michael. Not crazy about Ramiele or Syesha. (was I the only one who was bored?) Kristy still needs to move around some more. She went from sitting to standing but that's about all.

More importantly, I really liked Kristy's dress, although i don't think I could wear it that long. I like David A's sweater, love me some argyle. He's a cute little preppy thing. And Ryan's comment to Kristy about her nails gave me the creeps for some reason. Not crazy about Syesha's hair. It has looked better. I think Ramiele is so cute, but that skirt looked weird, kinda bunchy in the front.

Speaking of clothes, what is up with that flower on Paula's chest? But she is more coherent this week, so I'll give her that.

So that's my Idol wrap-up. Not the typical play by play I guess, but it will have to do.

Jennifer, out!