Movies continued...

I realized after talking to Ashley last week that I left off several of my favorite movies. So I decided to just continue that this week and get it out of my system. Ha Ha. So here goes...

1. Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood
2. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
3. Kate & Leopold
4. Sweet Home Alabama
5. The X-Men Movies
6. The Lion King
7. Armageddon
8. Mean Girls
9. Secret Window
10. All Elvis Movies
11. Ms. Congeniality
12. Two Weeks Notice
13. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

Ok, I'm done!! Have a great weekend!! It's almost here!!!!

Way to Go 24!!!

I don't usually blog twice in one day, but I couldn't let the night go by without giving a big nod to Keifer Sutherland for winning best actor in a drama series for 24... as well as 24 winning for best drama series!! :) It is my absolute favorite show and of course the best show on television!! :) Now I'm ready for January... a new season of 24 and a new season of American Idol! Whew Hoo!! Sorry... I'm back to normal now.... :)

A Parent's Prayer

I received this through an email and thought it was worth sharing for those of us who have children.
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OH, GOD, MAKE ME A BETTER PARENT

Oh, God, make me a better parent.
Help me to understand my children,
to listen patiently to what they have to say
and to answer all their questions kindly.

Keep me from interrupting them,
talking back to them and contradicting them.
Make me as courteous to them
as I would have them be to me.

Give me the courage to confess my sins
against my children and to ask of them forgiveness,
when I know that I have done them wrong.

May I not vainly hurt the feelings of my children.
Forbid that I should laugh at their mistakes or
resort to shame and ridicule as punishment.

Let me not tempt a child to lie and steal.
So guide me hour by hour that I may demonstrate
by all I say and do that honesty produces happiness.

Reduce, I pray, the meanness in me.
May I cease to nag:
and when I am out of sorts,
help me, O Lord, to hold my tongue.

Blind me to the little errors of my children
and help me to see the good things that they do.
Give me a ready word for honest praise.

Help me to treat my children as those of their own age,
but let me not exact on them the judgments
and conventions of adults.

Allow me not to rob them of the opportunity
to wait upon themselves,
to think, to choose, and to make decisions.

Forbid that I should ever punish them
for my self satisfaction.
May I grant them all of their wishes

that are reasonable
and have the courage always to withhold
a privilege that I know will do them harm.

Amen

-- Author Unknown

__________________________________

I know that know matter how hard I try, there are days when my children probably don't like me much. I pray that I will show the compassion & love of Christ to my children first and foremost. And for the days when I do mess up, and there will be those days, I am so grateful for a God who covers over all of our mistakes.

My Favorite Movies (at least of few of them :)

I love to watch movies!! I haven't really seen anything too terribly recent since Ashley went back to Abilene :( She is my movie buddy :) But anyway, here are some of my favorites... without a list of all movies in front of me, I know I'll forget something I really like, but here goes...

1. Gone With the Wind
2. The Notebook
3. RV
4. Pirates of the Caribbean
5. A Knight's Tale
6. Finding Neverland
7. You've Got Mail
8. What Lies Beneath
9. Grease
10. Shrek
11. Freaky Friday (new version)
12. The Santa Clause
13. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

These are in no particular order and I know I'm missing something. I may just have to do another movie 13 later :)

That Sinking Feeling

You know that feeling you get when your plate is soooo full you just feel like your drowning.... I think I have officially arrived there!! Dayschool is starting in a couple weeks. I was asked about 2 weeks ago to move up to the four year old department. Both 4 year old teachers are moving. I have been in the three's for about 4 years now and thought ok, this will be exciting. Well, the excitement has started to wear off and desperation has begun setting in! Really, the excitement has not worn off, that sinking feeling has just set in... school now starts in 2 weeks and I feel like I am no where near being ready. I feel like I'm drowning...like my life as I knew it is over :) Obviously that is a bit exaggerated :) I know it will all eventually come into place, right now it's all just overwhelming.

The first big thing was I had to change class rooms, mine was not big enough for the fours. That in and of itself was a huge undertaking. I am finally settled in after spending practically every day at school and now begins the enormous task of curriculum. There is obviously a good curriculum already in place, but every teacher is different. Their organizations skills are not the same as mine, not that they were not organized, we just all have our own preferred way. And of course there are always things you want to change or add to fit your style of teaching. I have been on the web getting new material almost every day and have finally begun to at least get the months organized. I figure if I can go ahead and at least put every month together, I can then go back and get each months activities together and organized. But I'm also to the point now where sleep is fleeting. I go to sleep fine...exhausted. But if I wake up before the alarm goes off to go the ladies room etc.... forget it, my mind is going a mile a minute with all the things I still need to get done.

Please be praying for me that I will be able to get everything together, get some sleep and keep my sanity in the process. I want God to use me through my teaching these children to not only teach them and prepare them for kindergarten, but to show them Him. To show them love, compassion and understanding. To show them Jesus with skin on. I pray that God's hand will guide me as I teach and love these children.

And now.... I'm off to school... again!! :)

My Favorite Desserts

I couldn't decide what to do this week and then I saw this graphic. It made me thing about desserts so I thought I would give that a try. I like desserts, but 13 may be hard to come with... we'll see. These are just in random order.

1. Homemade Chocolate Pie
2. Homemade Brownies
3. Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory
4. Peach Cobbler
5. Marble Slab Peppermint Ice Cream
6. Homemade Coconut Pie
7. Homemade Caramel Corn (thanks Tiersa!!)
8. Homemade Fudge
9. Hot Fudge Sundaes
10. Chick-fil-a chocolate Shakes
11. Italian chocolate Cake from Johnny Carino's
12. Watermelon
13. Peach Dump Cake

Well, I guess I could think of thirteen :) Just looking at the list makes me gain about 30 pounds!! As much as I love desserts, fortunately I don't eat them too often...I don't need any extra pounds. But it's at least fun to think about them all!! At least you don't gain weight just thinking about them :) Have a good one!

Chain Link Fences

A couple of days ago I was riding in the car and passed a big back yard with a chain link fence and a little boy playing in the back yard. It reminded me of my childhood. The days when everyone had chain link fences. You only had a wooden fence if you had a swimming pool in your backyard and there certainly weren't many of those. I know I'm dating myself... Oh well.

It really got me to thinking how sad our lives have become all surrounded by our wooden fences. When I was growing up you used to talk to your neighbor through the chain link fence, just visit with them for a while and sometimes even the neighbor a few doors down. You could practically see all the way to the end of street through the backyard! I miss those days!

Now pretty much everyone has wooden fences or privacy fences as they are sometimes called. I admit, I feel safer with my wooden fence, they aren't nearly as easy to climb as those chain link fences are. And admittedly, things aren't quite as safe as they were when I was a child. But I think not only are we keeping unwanted things out of yard, we are closing ourselves in from the outside world. We don't talk as much to our neighbors as we used to, you hardly ever see them. We pull up into our driveways, go in and close the garage door, we keep our front doors closed, we sometimes even drive by and pick up our mail before we pull into the drive way. It's like we have become so private that we don't even share simple hellos and common courtesy's anymore.

And how about just dropping in to visit a friend... we don't dare do that these days. When I was growing up it used to be so much fun when someone just dropped by to visit. Now we are so worried about how the house looks and if everything is put away, that we are literally scared to death that someone WILL stop by unannounced.

We are so closed up in our own little worlds, that unless it's scheduled for someone to come over, we don't just visit much. I miss the days of chain link fences and friends just dropping by to say hello. So what if the house isn't perfectly cleaned. Real friends don't care. How are we suppose to shine the light of Jesus to the world, if we are closed up in our own little worlds. I fear we have become so private that no one gets to see the real us and we are missing out on so much that life and friends have to offer. As well as possible opportunities that God is trying to lay before us.......I say, bring on the chain link fences!!

My Favorite TV Shows

I have some friends who have been doing the Thursday Thirteen. It's looks like fun so I thought I would give it a try. With all the new commercials for the new fall tv shows, it got me to thinking about my current favorite shows. And then I saw this image so I couldn't resist :) . So here are my favorite 13 in no particular order except for the 1st two :)

1. 24
2. American Idol (Here is a link to pictures from mine and Ashley's visit season before last in case you haven't seen them yet :)
3. Lost
4. House
5. CSI
6. CSI New York
7. CSI Miami
8. The 4400
9. Gilmore Girls
10. Gray's Anatomy
11. Criminal Minds
12. The Unit
13. Medium

I know it looks like we watch way too much TV, but most of them we spend Saturday watching. Except for 24, American Idol and The 4400 :) Is it January yet... I can't wait for 24 and American Idol!!

Back to Reality, But Hopefully Changed

We got back from our vacation last night. It was awesome! We spent 7 days on the beach of Galveston. It's beaches are not the blue and green of Destin or some of the other beaches, but it was great just the same. One of the best parts was the fact that the weather there was about 88 degrees every day with cool air blowing up off the beach. We pulled our trailer and our campsite was literally 50 feet from the beach. It was great. We are now back to 100+ hot, miserable weather here. I know I never want to be in hell. I couldn't take it!

The time away was great family time. We spent the first night having dinner with some very dear friends in the Houston area who are like family to us. It was great being able to catch up with them and see their new little one! We spent days on the beach reading, fishing or Jeremy searching for crabs or shells, nights watching movies or playing games. Jeremy actually caught 17 crabs and cooked them! They looked wonderful, but not quite our taste. Ashley wanted nothing to do with them at all. She reminded me of Kelly Pickler with Wolfgang Puck on American Idol! She didn't like looking at something that was looking back up at her! :) The people camping right next to us were from Louisiana so Jeremy took them over to them to see if they wanted them. They chowed down on them! And showed us how you are suppose to really crack and eat a crab! They told him he did a great job of preparing them. Jeremy and Zatterain's know how to cook!

I love the family time that vacation brings. Even though we are pretty much together the rest of the year too, it's just different on vacation. Everyone gets a long better and actually enjoys each other more. That part of vacation I wish I could hold on to every day!

It was great being at the beach and just watching the wonderment of God through the ocean and sea life. It's amazing to watch the ocean and the waves crashing in day after day. "Even the wind and the waves obey His commands." And to watch the birds who sit on the shore just waiting for the waves to bring in the seaweed so they can devourer whatever is in it. It really puts into perspective how God cares and provides for us.

We are now home and back to the realities of the real world. It's good to be home and good to sleep in your own bed. But I am hoping to keep some of that vacation magic alive this year. I'm hoping we can all love each other a little more, appreciate the beauty of God a little more and just keep that relaxed vacation feeling going. To try and remember that God will handle everything and not live the year so stressed out we are just longing for that one or two weeks. I want the year to have the feeling of vacation all year with just a joyous extra bonus of that feeling during the actual vacation. Man, how much better would everyday life be if we could all live like that every day... :)