what we do

My daily reality could be furnished entirely by The Dollar General. Who knew that orange plastic cones could provoke praise?? You might be wondering if I did a serpentine through them... Yes. Yes, I did! I was blessed by the beautiful rendering of Noah's Ark on the Baby Wash. Do I need to remind you that it was a dollar? They had "authentic" kick balls as well. I chose one in pink. I've never been more in the mood for a blast to the face. The plastic sound tube (you know the kind) also provided much entertainment. Does anyone remember that freak show movie called Mac and Me? It was right up there with Short Circuit. Well, the sound tube was the perfect accompaniment to my moving rendition of an alien from outer space. Oh, yeah, and you know its sad when you have the conscious thought to buy the blow-up pool that matches your kid's swimsuit. Help me, Lord.

My faux friends from the Lonestar state probobly can't relate (except maybe to the matchy-matchy bit). No "MDO" here. No trips to the Galleria here. Nope. Just the good ol' Dollar General to keep the fires of this domestic goddess burning bright.

Behold:

i love good sound

In fourth grade my Dad took me to Sharper Image at the local mall. I distinctly remember being captivated by the sounds I heard coming out of the stereo systems. I remember thinking that I loved the quality of sound. When Mark and I were first married I agreed to use some of our limited resources to purchase a surround sound system for our tiny apartment. I still struggle with the aesthetic presentation of audio systems, but am willing to overlook cords for the sake of sound. I want richness, fullness, clarity- I'm after goose bumps!

Wolf Trap is by far my favorite concert venue. The sound is incredible there!! The audience is small enough to really listen, and large enough to incite whistles and shouts. Its just a fantastic place. You can pack a picnic, spread out under the stars, and best of all, hear fantastic sound.

Here we are at the Trisha Yearwood concert.

Life raft to her identity

My mind is shot with the amount of blog-worthiness that transpired this week. There is so much to relay. I consequently took a Tylenol PM at 8:00, and won't awake until morning, Lord willing.

Enjoy the delight of His presence tomorrow!

Fireflies

I found the songwriter behind Stealing Kisses last night. Lori McKenna writes amazing songs. I just downloaded several from itunes.

Alexe- She is going to be in Ashville and you should try to catch her show!!

How it plays out

Tonight Mark and I hosted our first pre-marital counseling session. Jigga? Yeah. The Lord uses any willing vessel I suppose.

After I dropped Oscar I headed home, fed my family dinner, ran the vacuum, lit the candles, and voila! Dern, I wish I had a fresh sprig of mint for my dessert. I may not have had mint, but MYRA my 70 something neighbor did. Perfection! So the couple, whom I had yet to officially meet, is sitting outside in their car waiting for the clock to turn 8:00, when they were slated to come, see ME scaling a giant hill into my neighbors yard. Thievery!!!

Imagine it: giant white bowl with dark chocolate sauce drizzled artistically on it, whipping creme, freshly picked spring of mint, flawless fresh raspberries, and creamy cool all natural Breyers vanilla bean icecream. It was divine!

This is my anniversary month, ya'll. How special that the Lord would appoint Portico's first official "couple" to go through pre-marital counseling with us this month. My heart is stirred to think of all that has happened in us these past years. I met Mark when I was 18. At 26 I am just a babe, but wiser than I was. Life is such a ride, isn't it? I never would have dreamed up all that God has done- all that He has not done. I wonder tonight what the future holds for this young couple. Will they break dishes the first year? Will they have a dynamic flourishing ministry? Will they get pregnant right away? Will they wait? Will they find a new job? House? Will they cry or laugh more? God certainly knows. For whatever reason, He has chosen Mark and I to play a part in their story. I have never been more excited and humbled.

ready for prom

Gracie thought she was so funny. She did this herself.

Nothing could be more serious...

I was in line at Whole Foods when...

She says to me, "All my friends criticize me for how much I spend here. I tell them, you can either spend money on the doctor or on food, which would you rather? I used to be really fat. I had diabetes. My blood sugar was almost 200, and now it is down to the 70s thanks to shopping here. No amount of high fructose corn syrup is worth it anymore."

The clerk replies, "Yeah. I can totally relate. I switched from burbon to vodka." (What?)

You would be amazed at the convos I get into at Whole Foods and the amount of free products I manage to get as a result.



My dear friend Sarah first frightened me into Horizon Organic. She told me horror stories about engorged, blocked duct, bleeding, pussing nipples, and hormone ladden milk. She gave me websites to scour, and scary statistics. Her advice is credible, and I was scared, so I now go Organic. My conscious convicts me.

1 Corinthians 10:31

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

Fridays After Five

I cannot contain my joy over these girls. Can you stand it? The PK's at our church are mighty cute indeed. Tonight we went down to the downtown Pavilion to hear a free band and watch the girls play. They got a cheese pizza at Christians and washed it down with an old fashioned snow cone. Only God knows what life holds for them. I pray that their friendships always center around the One who first brought them together.



Father,

Capture the hearts of our girls and ruin them for life. Set your favor upon them and stir up your power and presence in their lives. Satisfy them in the riches of your beauty and sanctify them through and through. Raise them and keep them, protect them and use them, hold them, mold them, and call them Your own. Amen.

PAIN

Back at JMU there was a phrase that seemed to frequent Christian circles. It was "DTR", or Define The Relationship. DTR's were usually done on a date (say, several weeks/months into the deal). It appears that young smitten college students had an inability to continue dating relationships without an eventual DTR. Pre and post DTR usually involved the consultation of several trusted "advisors" (of the peer variety) who could predict the viability of the relationship under examination. Some relationships thrived post DTR, but many de-solved under it's scrutiny. It all seems mighty ridiculous to me now.

In keeping with the ridiculous, yet albeit occasionally helpful clarification, I propose a DTR on my own blog. I must say, I am derailing from the traditional method and have neglected the counsel of fellow bloggers. Being that the nature of our relationship (mine and my blogs) is so ego-centric, I feel content with a self-initiated DTR. So here it is:

For a season, my blog will go serious.

There you have it. Tankinis and cosmetics will take a back burner, friends. I just thought that I would alert you to the imminent change.

To commision this season of serious posts, I shall begin with a poignant quote on PAIN.

"For the Christian pain represents, at various times and from various angles, a design feature worthy of praise and gratitude, an affliction to be overcome, a potential vale of soul-making, and a spur to hope in a painless future."

The Desiring God blog pulls through yet again. Read the whole thing here.

See, that wasn't so bad. I'm all about design features, soul-making, and spurs.

Thoughts??

Cabo

Just wanted to make sure that no one forgot that I'm going to Cabo.

Riding Dirty

Why care for the vehicle your precious family is riding in? Why maintain it? Why consider another's tires as more important than your own?

PAIN 20 PSI people!!!

I "respectfully" recommended we stop at the Sheetz for free air on the ride home last night. Ah. Thank you, Jesus.