Thankful Thursday

13 4 Things I am thankful for today

1. Choices. I am so thankful I have choices. I don't have to do what everyone one else is doing, and they don't have to do what I'm doing.

2. Homeschooling. It is work, but I love having my kids around, and there are so many teachable moments throughout the day. I would hate missing those.

3. Friends. I am bad at finding a lot of time for life outside of my family, but my friends seem to understand, and forgive me for not always being there.

4. Grace. Not only do my friends lavish grace upon me, but I have been forgiven much. I am SO thankful that God and people have bestowed grace to me.

*I was going to do a Thursday Thirteen but ran out of time. Thanks for catching that Molly!

Thursday Thirteen

Here are thirteen things my kids learn

1. Be kind to everyone. Everyone is struggling as bad...or worse than you are.

2. Live your faith. Don't compromise. Don't get in a position where you have to make the tough choices. But live your faith with love for others.

3. You have a choice on how you handle things. It is so much better to smile, but it is ok to cry also.

4. You always have time to be kind. Nothing you do is so important that you become nasty towards others.

5. You are blessed. You have a family that loves you, food on your table, blankets and sheets on your own bed.

6. Enjoy your family. You have siblings, parents, grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. And that's just the start of them. They are all really great people. Take time to let them know you care.

7. It is never to late (or early) to admit your mistake. Ask for forgiveness. Sincerely

8. Is is never to late (or early) to forgive. You don't need to wait for someone to ask. Just do it. Include yourself in that.

9. You can hold a lot more with an open hand than a closed fist. Be giving. Share. You will be blessed beyond anything you could ever do otherwise.

10. Resentment and bitterness only hurts you. Most of the time the other person doesn't even know you are upset. Let it go.

11. Your way is not the only way. Lots of other people live a different way, think a different thought, dream a different dream. That doesn't mean they are bad. It means there is diversity on earth. Enjoy it.

12. Joy is not the same as happiness. Happiness is dependent on the moment and circumstances. Joy is dependent on nothing but having true peace in Him despite your surroundings. Desire joy in your life.

13. Nobody is around forever. Enjoy them now, while they are here. And let them know how you feel.

I'm not saying I live all of this everyday. But I do hope that somehow they can learn, even through my mistakes.

Thursday Thirteen

13 things in this country I have yet to experience but want to...

1. Thunder over Louisville

2. Congress Ave Bridge, Austin TX at Dusk

3. Creation Museum

4. Grand Canyon

5. Arlington National Cemetery

6. Chincoteague Pony Swim

7. The Badlands

8. New Orleans

9. San Diego Zoo

10. National Air and Space Museum

11. Shedd Aquarium

12. Snorkeling in the Florida Keys

13. Disney's Animal Kingdom

What other events or places should I have on my list?

Thursday Thirteen--Leeann style

I saw this on Leeann's blog and thought it would be fun to play along.

13 Things I Want To Know About You

1. Would you eat spoiled food from the garbage, or go hungry?
Go hungry as long as I could. Eventually I would probably eat it, but I would have to be starving to death. Literally

2. Would you make one adult film, if it meant that you would never have to work again?
Absolutely not.

3. In your relationship, you find out that a baby has been conceived. One of you wants the baby, the other doesn't. Who has the right to choose?
The one that wants it. But they also have to take care of it in every way

4. You are in a serious accident in the middle of nowhere and you only chance of survival is to cut off your own arm. Would you do it?
I don't know. Because I would probably die anyway

5. Do you think it is important to tell the truth, or spare someones feelings?
I err on the side of grace. I don't necessarily lie, but truth does not always need to be said out loud. It's ok to just shut your trap

6. What is something you find yourself constantly thinking about?
The mess in my house

7. If your house was on fire, what is the one thing you would have to save (of course, I am assuming that all people/pets are safe)?
Car keys, cell phone, insurance papers. (No, not the pictures. That is why I use web albums.)

8. Forgive and forget? Or forget to forgive?
Forgive, but who ever really forgets?

9. Why are you best friends with your best friend?
Because we can be real with each other

10. Name one challenge you are faced with on a regular basis.
Depression

11. Do you think its possible to only love one person for the rest of your life?
In a perfect world, yes.

12. If you had the skills, what is your dream job?
Flipping houses

13. What is your favorite quote/saying/scripture?
“No bastard ever won a war dying for his country. You win a war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.” — General George Patton I read this in Flags of our Fathers and thought it was great.

Thursday Thirteen

Being thankful that Grandma pulled through surgery fine and hopefully we will have her around for many more years now, I got to thinking how often someone in our immediate family has been in the hospital in the last 1 1/2 to 2 years.

We had made a rule for 2008 that we were not going to do the hospital thing this year. But Grandma, being the rebel that she is, had to break the rule 15 days into the new year. Here's a glimpse of the prayers we have prayed.

1. Mom's heart issues

2. Mom's intestinal issues

3. Sister's first surgery

4. Sister's second surgery

5. Sister's third surgery

6. Step-dad's appendix

7. Rara's appendix

8. MIL first foot surgery

9. MIL second foot surgery (today at noon)

10. Mom's foot surgery

11. Grandma's heart

12. Nephew's minor surgery/ procedure

13. Grandpa's heart

*Not really posted by Knight. Posted by De*

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen of the best memories from Christmas 2007.

1. J-Bell and Grandpa golfing 18 holes on the wii

2. J-Bird opening a pair of gloves from Grandma and getting very excited, exclaiming sincerely "this is EXACTLY what I needed!"

3. Mom deciding that this Christmas she will make ME her lasagna. What a wonderful treat, even if she did encourage me to share it with the rest of the family.

4. Uncle M, when trying the wii boxing nearly punched Aunt M, not knowing you punch toward the tv, not the person your boxing.

5. The kids playing the card game "pig" with Grandma in order to figure out who picks out what present.

6. Watching Rara play the new karaoke game, standing on a chair with a headset on. We couldn't hear the music so we just listened to her belt out "Shout to the Lord"

7. Finishing the Jesse Tree. I love doing new things to focus our minds on the meaning of Christmas.

8. Seeing people we don't normally see and talking to people we don't normally talk to. Family get togethers are fun.

9. Having Christmas morning at home. Normally we are staying with someone. We were home because of the puppies. A great way to spend Christmas morning playing with the new gifts from Knights side.

10. After spending time convincing Knight to let us bring the wii to his side of the family, it working out so well that now Grandpa wants one so he can golf in the winter. Hee Hee, I was right yet again!

11. Having an over-abundance of food. One member on my side brought 9 dozen buns and enough lunch meat to fill the buns...all for 24 people. Add that to ALL the other food and we can't say we are not blessed

12. Finding out about real need in our community and being able to bless others. Nothing is better than giving.

13. This year the focus seemed to be off the presents and onto the people. We didn't get a lot of "stuff". We are all happy and thankful with what we have received. We did not have to rearrange our house. And yet the kids have more memories of time spent with the family to cherish.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things I hope will happen in 2008 (no matter how far-fetched they really are)

1. Get down to a good "hundred and plenty" number on the scale instead of the REALLY good hundred and plenty I am now.

2. Be better at keeping house

3. Be better at our school schedule

4. Be kinder to everyone

5. Give to others more often

6. Take more energy keeping and developing friendships

7. Play more with my kids

8. Say "yes" more often

9. Eat less cr*p and more healthful

10. Be more faithful in what I start

11. Be more transparent (yeah right!! I'm SO funny!)

12. Look on the positive side more often

13. Be at peace no matter the circumstances

Thursday Thirteen--visitor on the horizon

Thirteen signs that Aunt Flo is on her way...

1. My husband decides to be completely obnoxious.

2. My husband feels the need to touch me. talk to me. Be near me.

3. My kids are louder

4. The mess in my house multiplies.

5. I don't get enough sleep.

6. The house runs too low on chocolate.

7. My whole family tries their hardest to tick me off.

8. People start driving worse.

9. The public in general decide to get in my way.

10. The idea of being romantic is nauseating

11. Hallmark Movie Channel gets really stupid movies.

12. The people that have the most annoying voices decide to talk more.

13. I think I have less patience.

Thursday Thirteen

13 Great Proverbs and Sayings. All of them have great truth in them. Take your time. THINK about the meaning.



1. After the game, the king and the pawn go into the same box.~Italian Proverb



2. All things good to know are difficult to learn.~Greek Proverb



3. All sunshine makes the desert.~Arab Proverb



4. Listen or your tongue will keep you deaf.~Native American Proverb



5. Whoever gossips to you will gossip about you.~Spanish Proverb



6. We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.~Winston Churchill



7. We have no right to ask when sorrow comes, "Why did this happen to me?" unless we ask the same question for every moment of happiness that comes our way. ~Author Unknown



8. When it is dark enough, you can see the stars. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson



9. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgement that something else is more important than fear. ~Ambrose Redmoon



10. Be kind. Everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ~Attributed to both T.H. Thompson and John Watson



11. Remember that everyone you meet is afraid of something, loves something and has lost something. ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.



12. Opportunities do not come with their values stamped upon them. ~Maltbie Babcock



13. Don't do what you'll have to find an excuse for. ~Proverb

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Google searches that brought someone to my blog....yeah, really. I don't get some of these ones either, but oh well. If you click on the phrase, it will bring you to the post it brought them to.

1. "living in Wisconsin not fun"

2."Akiane Kramarik and home schooling"

3."Little Debbie Distributor"

4."aww shucks"

5."woke up in another reality"

6."Meditation on Trust"

7."Miracle on Main St"

8."Billy Mays"

9."the battle for helms deep"

10. "Menards Fire pits"

11. "blogs on living in Wisconsin"

12. "when I was in my younger teans"

13. "Wisconsin homeschooling"

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen autumn signs that we have already experienced here in WI







1. Ice in the bird bath in the morning.






2. The furnace turning on, when it is set at it's lowest setting.






3. Friends firing up their wood stove





4. Geese flying south for winter





5. Taking hot baths just to take the chill out of the bones.





6. Breaking out the hot chocolate.





7. Scraping windows if you get up before the frost has a chance to clear





8. High School football starting





9. Wearing sweat shirts and shorts in the same time (and at the same time every once in a while)





10. Actually thinking the words wind chill already





11. Wondering if I need to take down the trampoline yet (it actually snowed the day J-Bird was born---Oct 5th!)





12. Making plans to winterize the boat.





And of course.....





13. Leaves

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Thursday Thirteen--Blogittyville

Here are thirteen reasons why I choose to spend time in bloggityville...



1. I get to peek inside other people's windows, with their permission.



2. I can only see what others want me to see, and generally that is the best part of themselves. Bloggityville tends to be a pretty upbeat place to spend your time.



3. You can go and visit people as your schedule allows. Take as little or as long as you'd like. They are just happy you stopped by. Come by at 6am, noon, or midnight. Makes no difference



4. You meet some really great people.



5. You meet people that you normally wouldn't. You also get a different perspective than you might not normally get staying in your own circle of influence. Sometimes you get the perspective of a duck.



6. You can choose everyone you want to spend time with. If their is someone you don't click with, no hard feelings, you just don't go visit.



7. You tend to remember the funny or good things that happen around and to you. You are always looking for a "good post" moment.



8. I can live in a world that will make believe with me that my house is clean, my kids are well groomed, never fight, and I can do it all.



9. The same ones that make believe that my life is perfect will put their cyber arms around me if I need to admit that I am not perfect (not saying that has EVER happened. I am perfect. Just read my blog! ;-)



10. Bloggityville is a great place for an outlet for my emotions. I may not let everyone know what those emotions are, but it gives me a place to talk.



11. It shows me how the Lord is working, not only in WI, but all over the world.



12. I never know what to expect when I pull up to someones place. It may be funny, sad, heartwarming, or routine.



13. Remodeling your place doesn't have to be expensive. Or take a lot of time and skill.



If you are a part of bloggityville, let me just say thank you. You brighten my day. Bloglines (the town crier) is so wonderful to let me know when something is new in town.

Thursday Thirteen...

Thirteen Steven Wrightisms that make me giggle...

1.I intend to live forever - so far, so good.

2.Who is General Failure and why is he reading my hard disk?

3.I installed a skylight in my apartment... the people who live above me are furious!

4.I like to reminisce with people I don't know.

5.Join the Army, meet interesting people, kill them.

6.If you think nobody cares about you, try missing a couple of payments.

7.I wrote a few children's books... not on purpose.

8.My theory of evolution is that Darwin was adopted.

9.Sponges grow in the ocean. That just kills me. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be if that didn't happen.

10.When I was a little kid we had a sand box. It was a quicksand box. I was an only child... eventually.

11.I almost had a psychic girlfriend but she left me before we met.

12.The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

13.Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

Thursday Thirteen

Here are thirteen things that have been keeping me busy while the girls are at camp.

1. Meeting Knight for lunch everyday.

2. Making a different chore organizer (won't the girls be thrilled).

3. Printing and copying maps for school in the fall.

4. Washing all the bedding in the house.

5. Getting caught up on laundry.

6. Cleaning the vehicles inside and out.

7. Making flash cards (again for school).

8. Cleaning my bedroom .

9. Deep cleaning the living room.

10. Deep cleaning the classroom.

11. Downloading songs onto my phone.

12. Watching a movie with J-Bird.

13. Helping Knight with his work.

Honestly, I feel as if I'm on total vacation. I have been having really great days. These things are all things that I've been meaning to get done. I do feel that I have been ignoring the outside world, but if you remember, I just don't need that all the time and my true friends are not taking it personally. So, I'm off to do more chores. Ahhhh, Paradise!

Thursday Thirteen

It's almost summer (technically anyway) so here are my favorite things about this time of year (not in any particular order)

1. Sitting by the pool, watching my kids get better at swimming and diving. I bring a book. In the last couple of days I have gotten a total of 3 pages read.

2. Mommsons have put up the shade tent and that is a sign that the strawberries are almost ready!! Pick your own or go buy a bucket. Yummy!

3. I can feed my kids something like fruit salsa, strawberry/ rhubarb crisp, or just fresh fruit and call it a meal. Yummy and nutritious.

4. Watching the plants grow and slowly turn into food. The raspberries are looking nice this year. I just need to remember to water them.

5. Actually feeling like I have the time for helping others the way I want. I want to be available all the time, but I do have to keep my priorities a little more in check during the school year so we are taking the time to learn.

6. Camp. I'm not talking about camping. I'm talking about sending the three girls to camp next week and having J-Bird all to myself for a whole week.

7. The river. Mom lives on a river, has a nice boat, and there is a sandbar down river that is like a little private island. You can only get there by boat. Sitting on the boat at the sandbar chatting while the kids play feels like Margaritaville.

8. Planning out the next school year. I know it sounds crazy, but I am already looking forward to the fall and opening up our school year. We need our break, but we are ready to get back to it by the time August comes around.

9. Having the windows open all the time. The price you pay for no air conditioning is you need to have the windows open, but after being shut in all winter, I love to hear most of the sounds the open windows bring.

10. Garage sales. I normally don't shop at them or have them, but it is nice to have something you can do if you so choose. Sometimes it's nice to be able to shop and browse and if you actually find something, it's not that expensive.

11. This is new, but Knight wearing shorts. I nearly made him buy some shorts for work. He reluctantly tried them on, not knowing if he would like them, but I was able to say he did like wearing shorts. It kept him cooler, and I like the look.

12. Sandals. What's to say? I'm lazy and I like it when I don't have to tie my shoes. My feet don't get hot. Easy on, easy off.

13. Skiing. I have really enjoyed watching the kids get good at skiing. We also like tubing. Fun in a boat. Who wouldn't love it?

On a side note--For those who saw her fall, we are still unsure on what is wrong with Desti. I took her into the ER last night because she fell off the monkey bars and landed on a rock that wedged into her skin. The x-rays looked fine, but they put her in a splint just in case. I'm supposed to watch it, and if the pain doesn't subside in a couple days I'm to take her back in. She is still in pain today when we take the splint off and she has full range of motion. Hopefully it's better for camp next week.

Happy Thursday all!

Thursday Thirteen

13 Countries I would love to visit

1. Italy, (Pompeii, and Rome)

2. Egypt (the Pyramids)

3. Australia (The Outback)

4. Micronesia (Yap)

5. Palau (Koror)

6. Fiji

7. France

8. Germany

9. Greece (I'd like to go back to Crete)

10. Galapagos

11. New Guinea

12. Mexico (Baja)

13. Kenya

Anyone notice I did not say anything about skiing the Alps, being snow bound anywhere. If I want to see a penguin or polar bear I will go to a zoo!

Thursday Thirteen...

Here are thirteen things I never, in my wildest dreams ever thought would come out of my mouth, but I have kids.

1. Stop! You may not take that stick of butter up to your room.

2. No, the point of baseball is NOT hitting someone in the head with one.

3. When is the last time you showered....You thought too long, time to go take one.

4. Seriously people, try to act like humans when we meet these people. I don't want them to see our true selves just yet.

5. I'm sorry, but you are going to have to wait to go back to the dentist. Your next appointment is still a month away.

6. Stop jumping on the couch...Ok, no hopping either.

7. No, you cannot have just Reddi Whip for breakfast.

8. How do you loose one shoe? (we were not at home)

9. Who cut your hair? Yes, someone cut your hair. Go look in the mirror if you don't believe me... I can tell because your bangs are totally gone.

10. I know that Dakota did not pee on the floor because that is your Aunts' dog and they were not over lately. (my sister had to say this one)

11. I don't care if he did ask you to kick him, we don't hurt one another.

12. Why did you tape bugs all over your walls? (if she saw a bug crawling on her wall, she would tape it to it)

13. When I asked you to go outside for a while, I didn't mean go sit on a swing and read.

I decided to actually have a Thursday Thirteen for the first time. This is partly because there is no news on Phil (they still have not been able to bring him out) and partly because I don't have much else to write about. So here it is....

Here are the thirteen jobs I think would like to be when I grow up. For those who know me, you know that I can get bored pretty easily and therefor I haven't found a job that I wouldn't eventually get bored with. So these jobs would be something neat for a season. If only they didn't have all the training and schooling involved....

1. Airline attendant, stewardess or whatever they call them these days

2. OB nurse

3. Field Scientist

4. Computer programmer

5. Archaeologist

6. Veterinarian

7. Professional Organizer

8. Adoption Coordinator

9. Travel Guide in Ancient Cities

11. Hospice

12. Professional Photographer

13. Architect