Wisdom of a Young Wife

I haven’t shared much about my daughter’s wedding because there isn’t much to share.  She and her sweetheart were married in San Antonio while he was in Air Force Tech School.  It was a very small affair, with only a few of his classmates in attendance.  There will be a traditional ceremony eventually, perhaps on their first anniversary, when both families will gather to celebrate their union.  Hopefully, by then her parents will be in a better financial position to fund the occasion.

She stayed about a month in San Antonio, then returned home for the remainder of the summer to wait for him.  They left in September for Great Falls, Montana where he will be stationed for the next few years.

She calls me nearly every day to talk about everything and nothing.  I hear all about their trips to state parks, trips to the video store, furniture shopping, their dinner menu, and both sides of their petty arguments and major disagreements.  Apparently, her husband trusts me to be unbiased, because he’ll have her call me to help settle a dispute.  Not that they fight a lot.  Usually, it’s a minor difference of opinion that gets blown out of proportion.

In one particular instance, she didn’t share with me what they weren’t seeing eye-to-eye on, just that she happened to be proven right.  She said she told him, “Baby, when I say something and it sounds like I know what I’m talking about, you need to listen.”

Wise words indeed.

It’s beginning to smell a lot like Christmas

We decided this year to buy a pre-lit artificial Douglas fir rather than hassle with a live one. Lindsey said “Aww, I’m gonna miss the smell of a real tree.” And that got me to thinking. We could use pine-scented car air fresheners as ornaments!

She didn’t love the idea (too white trash for her taste), but she did agree that it would be fun to do just for photos – then we’d take them off and hang the real ornaments. So we went out last night and bought the tree. And a 3-pack of air fresheners. Yes we did.

After setting up the tree, I opened one of the air fresheners and hid it in the branches. One is enough, y’all. Our whole house smells like pine, only not overpowering like it would be in the car. So what started as a joke actually turned out to be a pretty good idea. (Works-for-me-Wednesday, anyone? Stop by Shannon’s for more great holiday tips!)

Since I stopped at one “ornament” we didn’t take any photos, but I will have some photos of the real decorations to post later. Hopefully, it won’t be too late for the Tour of Homes.

I’m going to Arkansas tomorrow to bring Sarah back for winter break, and we’ll be spending Christmas at home for the first time ever! Carl and I are excited about having our children gathered around our table for Christmas dinner that we prepared in our own kitchen.

All we need now is one of these.

**Update**  Sarah called me late Wednesday night just as Lindsey and I were getting ready to go and said she’s not coming.  Her dad stands behind her decision.  Our trip has been cancelled.  Please, please pray for my child. 

Funniest thing I’ve seen in a while

I recently signed up for a facebook account so that I could keep an eye on my kids’ profiles and keep in touch with my nieces and nephews.  After I set up my account, I clicked “browse groups” and was checking out some of the group names, when I saw this one:

CDO- it’s like OCD but alphabetical, like it should be.

and it cracked me up.

Yeah, I know.  I don’t get out much.

Cell Phones and Teen Health

Studies show that cell phone usage may be hazardous to your health. Yeah, I know this is not news, but I find it interesting that of all the dangers mentioned here and in this article, as well as here, here, and here, there have been no warnings to teens about the hazards of excessive use of text messaging.  I know!  I’m outraged.

You’ve all seen the ridiculous warning labels they put on hairdryers, curling irons, and coffee cups.  Why are there no warning labels on cell phones?  I have half a mind to write to the manufacturers of these devices and demand action.

I’m thinking something like this might be an effective deterrent:  Warning!  Blatant disregard of plan limits is strongly discouraged.  Exceeding your minutes may have dire consequences, including, but not limited to, dismemberment and/or death, especially if your mother has already grounded you in the past for the same offense.  Now go to your room!  

Welcome!

Hi! So glad you dropped by.

Here’s wishing you a wonderful labor day weekend, and to those of you who have Monday off, “May the 4th be with you!”

Gullible’s Travels

If you’ve never spent countless hours in a car with 2 teenagers and a 7-yr-old, you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s a lot like a regular road trip, but with triple the potty stops. And double the decibels. At least. Oh, and the bickering.

And oh, the blog fodder.

Like the time we saw a tractor trailer rig with the company logo on the side of the trailer. “Aunt Brenda, what does that say? I can’t read Spanish.” (It was cursive.)

Or, after several attempts to get Sarah’s attention, when my niece said “Jesus told me he doesn’t want you to ignore me.”

Or last Saturday, on the way to meet my sister and her husband halfway to return the child to them, when she announced that she was starving. “Can we stop at McDonald’s before we get there?” I reminded her that we had stopped for breakfast just a few hours earlier and that we were going to be meeting somewhere for lunch. “We’re all going to eat together? Oh yaaay! Can I ride with you?”

I’ll be back soon.

Thanks to Melanie. . .

I’ve got lots of great ideas like this one. Other items can be seen here.

A VBS design is coming soon!

I’ve been tagged…

I had almost forgotten to do this. Last month, Sandy at Because Nice Matters tagged me for a Random 7 meme, and my friend Gordon at Incrediblog! tagged me last week for this one.

I hope nobody minds if I combine the two. I’ll randomly list 8 things about me and tag 7 people.

Here they are in no particular order:

3. I love chocolate (who doesn’t, Barb?) but I can’t stand YooHoo.

8. My shoe size is the same as my dress size.

5. I don’t like hard candy, except peppermints.

1. I’m terribly unorganized.

6. I weigh as much now as I did during my 2nd pregnancy.

2. I have MIRLed twice with Dawn from My Home Sweet Home and once with Dawn from Call Me Grandma Dawn.

7. I have finally managed to start emptying my garage. I liked Bev’s idea of having a garage give-away, but I think it would be more fun to anonymously donate the stuff to someone else’s yard sale. At night, while they’re sleeping.

4. I stay up too late nearly every night.

Okay, now I’m tagging Paulette, Dawn, Melanie, Dawn, Clemntine, Connie, and Diane. Oh, and for good measure, if you’re on my blogroll and you haven’t done this one, please join in and let me know.

Fortunately/Unfortunately

Hello, internets. Fortunately, I’m back. Unfortunately, I am terribly behind in my blog reading. I’ve missed a lot of good stuff while I was away. I hope to catch up with all of you soon!

Fortunately, we had a nice vacation. Unfortunately, a week isn’t long enough. Fortunately, I did get to spend it with both my girls. Unfortunately, only one of them (Sarah) came home with me. Fortunately, Lindsey’s BF broke up with her, so we don’t have to worry about her running off with him. Unfortunately, she’s heartbroken. Fortunately, she’s in God’s hands. Please pray that she will seek Him with all her heart.

Unfortunately, Sarah is not planning to stay beyond summer break. Fortunately, according to Proverbs 19:21, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” Unfortunately, we tend to make our own plans anyway. I am so thankful that God is in control. His plans are perfect, and He will not fail!

Fortunately, my 7-yr-old niece also came home with us for the summer. Unfortunately, Carl and Andrew are outnumbered 2 to 1. Fortunately, they don’t seem to mind. Unfortunately, they still hog the remote!

Fortunately, you have reached the end of this post. Have a wonderful weekend!

Because I’m a Dweeb

Well, it’s not like I don’t have anything post-worthy. It’s just that I don’t have a lot of time to compose a well-written post. Not because the days here in Georgia are shorter than anywhere else, but because I’ve got a lot of different things going on all at once. For instance, this and this.

Oh and, of course, stuff like this:

If things go as planned, I will be starting a blog for each of my stores where you can preview new designs and grab money-saving coupon codes.

Have a memorable Memorial Day weekend, y’all! I’ll be heading to Arkansas shortly, so you know I’ll have something to post when I get back.