a little bit of this and that

I've been unable to write for days, so my head is crammed with lots to say in this post. That explains my choice of title. So, hold on to your hat and get ready to ride the ramble.

   The other day I was sitting somewhere thinking about faith. I was reminded of the verse "so then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" I thought about it for a while and then said "duuhhh!" Why is it that you can hear a verse a million times and then one day it wacks you upside the head? If you want stronger faith you need to listen, Lisa! Well, how do you hear from God, through his word!! So simple yet I have just danced across it for years. 'Oh, yeah that's a good verse, doo to doo to doo....' and on I went totally clueless. So, I reach for the toilet paper and realize there is none. (Because, I was pondering this verse in my favorite "thinking" place). I thought to myself, Faith is sitting down to do business without even checking if you have all the supplies to finish the job!

   Robert and I have been married for almost sixteen years! Like most of you, we went through the normal financial highs and lows that married folks endure. When we were first married we were broke! I stayed at home and baby sat to earn a little money, Robert was working three jobs including his National Guard, and each payday we played the bill lottery. That is where a few lucky establishments got their bill pulled out of the grab and got to be paid that week. It was a fun game of trying to make the money stretch beyond human possibility. As the years went on Robert moved up the business ladder and our income increased. Then there was a lay off that put us back down the ladder and again playing the bill loto. Robert always pulled through though, because he was a hard worker and goal oriented. Now he has a job that he loves and makes more money than he ever has. What I find interesting though, is that while the income has fluctuated over the years, some things to this day stay the same. Apparently whether we are poor or financially stable we will still get down to one roll of toilet paper that has to be yelled for from one bathroom to the next, I will be forced to wash my hair with the boys old spice body wash occasionally because someone took the last bottle of shampoo to the other bathroom, and I will still refuse to buy a toilet brush for both bathrooms- forcing myself to tote the one brush from bathroom to bathroom! Some things just don't change!

Zach taking his first flight!

    Zach, my oldest was going to town with me the other day and is telling me about eating at some fast food place. He stops for a minute in his story and asks me if I feel like some places are off limits because I like other places. I say, " huh???" He laughs and explains that he likes Subway, therefore, he hates Firehouse Subs. They are enemies he explains. You can't eat at both, because they are competitors. I prefer Subway so I would never eat at Firehouse Subs. Same with Burger King and Hardees. I like McDonalds, so they are the enemy. He goes on to explain this concept holds true with him in more areas than just food. It applies to drinks, clothing stores, you get the idea. I'm laughing but I'm thinking to myself. "you are so my child! Weird like that is born into your genes! "
He is popular and extremely athletic and very smart! At home though, he won't let anyone even touch his pillows, sleeps only on his dinosaur pillow cases that I made him, and won't eat his food if it touches. I just roll with it and thank the good Lord above that while he has some pretty weird ways, he only has a smidge of my crazy and for that he's blessed and doesn't even know it. Besides, how lucky is he to be so unique. See how I put a positive spin on that? We're not crazy, we're unique! lol!!!!!

Emily hanging out with me!

   My twin sister, Liz, and I joke all the time that God gave us each others daughters. My daughter, Emily, is my sister made over. She is confident, uninhibited, very adventurous and a social butterfly. She is beautiful in every way, while being a mess at the same time!

Ashley visiting us at Thanksgiving

 Ashley, Liz's daughter is just like me. She worries about everything no matter how many times some one tells her it's okay, she is shy, quiet, and would rather sit quietly back and watch everyone else rather than have people looking at her. She is amazingly smart which is unlike me, but like me, comes alive when she is in her element. She loves to play basketball and becomes uninhibited when she is sailing down the court and shooting three pointers. As she shoots her free throws, it never crosses her mind that all eyes are on her, because it is one of the rare moments when she feels free.
   Liz and I have decided that God gave our daughters the personalities they have because he knew Liz would push Ashley to break through her fears and become stronger while I would grab her and run until I found a good place for us both to hide from the world! lol! He gave Emily to me to remind me how fun and inviting confidence can be and also to learn the art of relaxing every now and then. As Emily would tell me, "Mom, relax. It's okay if my room is a little messy. I like it this way." (as if anyone could relax and actually enjoy a messy room!). The message is clear though, lighten up! Enjoy life now and stop trying to clean your life away!! lol! Plus, this way even though my sister and I are married and now live several states away, I will always have a little piece of her with me and she will always have a little piece of me with her thanks to our daughters.

Well, my funny Nathan story will have to wait cuz my computer is dying and so is my energy. It's a good one though so stay tuned. Nathan saw Jesus meditating on a tree stump in our back yard the other night. The conversation that went a long with this "sighting" was great. Move over Bigfoot, we've got Jesus in our woods!!