random ramblings...

Aren't pointless posts fun sometimes?! :) Life is crazy (when is it not?) around here right now, so I thought it would be fun to do a "my life in bullet list form" post. :) Here goes:

• football: I am blogging during half time of the Cowboys vs. Eagles game. (Go, Cowboys! :) They were leading, 10 to 6, going into the half). I like the Cowboys, of course, and I also like the Manning brothers...which means that, as long as they aren't playing the Cowboys, I cheer on the NY Giants and the Indianapolis Colts. :) So Peyton and the Colts won their game today over the Houston Texans (20-17), but Eli and the Giants lost, their fourth loss in a row, to the San Diego Chargers (21-20). :( Jonathan's favorite team, the Arizona Cardinals, won their game over the Chicago Bears (41-21).
• house hunting: we'll be moving back to San Angelo in December, so we've been trying to find a house. We looked at one in Robert Lee; the property it was on was nice, but Robert Lee is nearly 45 minutes from San Angelo, which is a little farther away than we really want to be. And, the house just seemed kinda smallish (despite the square footage number...). Then we found one in Grape Creek (about 10-15 minutes from San Angelo) that we *loved*, but it had foundation issues, as well as water and termite damage. :P More than we want to deal with! Now, Mom and Dad have found a house in Christoval (also about 10-15 minutes from San Angelo) that seems just about perfect for what we need right now. We've made an offer, and are waiting for what happens next. (lol, I say "we" have made an offer as if I were actually part of the offer making process. :D)
• quiet weekend: most of my family went to San Angelo this weekend. Mom had paperwork she needed Dawn and Carol, the other two midwives she has trained under, to sign in order for her to turn in her paperwork to graduate, and they wanted to see "our" house again...and maybe look at some other property just in case this house doesn't go through. So, Mom, Dad, Micah, and Jonathan took off on Friday, and should be back later tonight. Why did Josiah and I stay? Well....
• puppet team/bake sale: ...we're both on the Peculiar Party Ministry Team at our church here, and the team was doing a bake sale today to raise money for a puppet festival in OKC we're going to later this month. The PPMT is SO much fun; I have loved every minute of being on this team, and am soaking up every minute we have left.
  Also, I was part of the group that did a special presentation in children's church this morning. We did a blacklight song...it was fun creating the props and stuff for it, and performing it was also fun, although we had not ever practiced. At all. Not even once. We all knew basically what we were doing, and everyone just kinda grabbed props at what we hoped was the right times. It actually turned out well, though, especially considering all that! :) Josiah videoed it, so maybe I'll get that video up soon. And, I'll also try to get the video posted from when his group did their skit. (it was great! :) )
  
  *Cowboys game update: Tony Romo just busted his "games with no interceptions" run. (which, I think, was 3 games...?) :P*
  
• puppies: the boys got lab mix puppies a couple weeks ago. Micah and Josiah each have one...Jonathan is still hoping that he gets the one he wanted (it was the runt, and the family giving them away wasn't sure they wanted to give it away). They are soooo cute. Micah's is black with white markings, named Bella; Josiah's is light brown with darker brown and black markings and her name is Princess. They're going to be big dogs, so they have been designated as outside dogs. Right now, they don't seem to mind; hopefully, it won't get *too* cold this winter... ;)
• Christmas: yes, I know it's only the first of November. I also know that we're not going to have a tree or decorate this year because we're moving over Christmas. But Christmas is a dearly loved holiday around here anyway, and we have our Christmas music in the CD player. All 34 CDs of it. :) And, I have already started working on planning/gathering/creating presents. After all, most of the fun of the holiday is the stuff I get to give other people...and the fun of keeping it a secret until Christmas Day! :)
• birthdays: November is a busy month for birthdays on my calendar; in our immediate family, we have 2 birthdays in November. Jonathan turned 10 last Sunday (the 1st), and Micah will be 17 tomorrow (the 9th). I can't believe how fast they're growing up! My "baby" brother (he hates that... :) ) is now into double digits. That's crazy! I gave a Jonathan an afghan for his birthday (he's been asking for one since I made some for people last Christmas). Except it's not finished... I told him that now that I can work on it when he's around, I'll get it done faster. :)
• school: I'm finishing up this "Project Treatise" for Leviticus...basically, I'm looking up a whole lot of Bible verses and figuring out the best phrase or statement to represent the point being made in an essay written by Dr. Pent. When I finish this, I'll be done with Leviticus... :)
  
  *touchdown, Cowboys! :) Way to go, Miles Austin...finally!*
  
• family relationships: I'm trying to make sure I spend time with the boys, not just getting lost and wrapped up in my own little world (believe me, it is *easy* to do!). In many ways, I've become someone who just happens to be living in the same house as my family (and just happens to feed them regularly...). I want to fix that. Oh, and speaking of relationships and living in the same house, I'm excited because when we move back to San Angelo, Amber is going to move back in with us and I'll have my sister back! :) I have missed her so much!
• sorting/organizing/downsizing: However, the flip side to that is the fact that, after each having our own room for the last two years (for the first time in our lives!), we will be once again sharing a room. There is considerable doubt that our bedroom in our new house will hold her big bed, 4 bookcases, 2 hopechests, a harp, a doll cabinet, a sewing cabinet, 2 desks, a filing cabinet and other miscellaneous stuff and boxes. SO, I'm going to try to go through some of my stuff and get it better sorted and organized and perhaps either get rid of some of it or pack it away somehow. :P Organization isn't usually my thing. *rolls eyes*
• babysitting: duh, right? :) Right now, I mainly just babysit for the other student at the birth center; her little guy is about 14 months old now and I've been babysitting him since he was about 6 months old. He is cute, happy, easy-going; I adore him, my brothers adore him, and he adores Josiah. :) He really likes Micah, Jonathan, and Dad, too...he calls all the male members of our family "Dad". It's hilarious.
  I also occasionally babysit for a family with three kids (Mom helped deliver their littlest one back in May). They are also adorable; the older kids like to play Candyland and Playdough and dig in the dirt, and the baby is just so tiny and precious. :)
• Pioneer Clubs: because babysitting isn't always enough "little kid time" for me. :) I help with one of the 2-3 year old classes at church on Wednesday nights. They are so cute and precious and I absolutely love, love, love working with them. And, I get to work with Maegan and Michelle, and they are both a lot of fun, too!
• reading: always. I love books. I've been reading some Francine Rivers books (Redeeming Love and The Atonement Child), Keith Green's biography (No Compromise by Melody Green) and Rees Howells: Intercessor (by Norman Grubb). Any book suggestions by anybody? :)
• writing: of course. :) I'm still writing poetry/lyrics, and an e-mail devotional (www.psalm686.com/MorninSunShine). And whatever else pops into my brain at times! Micah and I actually wrote a song together the other day; he came in with an idea and the beginning of a tune, and next thing we knew we had a song. It was a lot of fun! :)
• cooking: no bullet list of my life would be complete without this one. :) I love cooking and certainly get plenty of opportunity to do it. Micah cooks on Fridays, and Josiah and Jonathan each have a day where they are responsible for lunch, so I'm also getting to help teach them to cook. Hey, they might not become gourmet chefs (though Jonathan has said he wants to own a restaurant some day. and they will never have chef salad at his restaurant. ;) ), but they will know enough to be useful in the kitchen and they won't starve if left on their own. :)
• new favorite website: http://www.thedailyplate.com/ is becoming a favorite "tool" sort of website...it's a very easy way to track what I'm eating, which helps me stay conscious of what I'm eating and how much. Which, in turn, is helping me lose weight. It's easy to track stuff, easy to add recipes, etc. And it's free! :)
• break from Facebook: so, with this kind of crazy busy life, who has time for Facebook, right?! I thought about deactivating my account, but there are too many birthdays between now and January or later (yes, I use FB for wishing people a happy birthday...not exclusively, of course!). Besides, I wasn't sure how easy it would be to just reactivate it when I was ready to come back. Sooo...I changed my password to a random string of numbers, letters, and symbols, wrote it down and tucked the paper away in a memorable but not-convenient-to-get-to place. Then I set it to not remember me or my password (all those little conveniences I've always utilized to my full advantage before!), and voila! getting on Facebook is no longer so easy I don't even think about it. :)

*and, with the end of this post, the Cowboys game has also come to an end. 20-16, Cowboys win their 4th game in a row and are now on top of their division. :) *