Sullivan Family Headlines

Wondering why I’ve been slacking off on blogging? Check out our headlines! It’s crazy around here!

Host Student Makes it Home for Summer


College big-timers Yaw and Ezekiel rolled back into Huxley, IA over the weekend! Poor guys have their work cut out for them because their every move is shadowed by some cute little munchkins!

Justice Sullivan Breaks Question Asking Record

Are there some dinosaurs still alive?
How are there black people in America who weren’t born in Africa?
How do I get into the army?
Can I have my birthday party at Chuckie Cheese?
Who mows that grass in the center of the streets (the median)?
The golf course is SO BIG. How do they see where the golf ball goes after they hit it?
What kind of cow do we get chocolate milk from?

JJ Sullivan, Age 4, Has World Figured Out

Me (in parking lot in Lawrence, KS, frustrated and driving in circles): “How do I get out of here?!?!?!”

JJ (without missing a beat): “The way you came in.”

And these words of wisdom coming from a guy who goes on deep sea diving adventures in the bathtub!! I’ll take it!!

Little Miss Purple Gets Even Purple-er

A ‘Girls Only’ Mother’s Day spent with Grandma Jane up in Minnesota creates the perfect conditions for a little purple purchasing paradise.

Couch Doubles As Trampoline

HINT HINT birthday gift idea HINT HINT

Gobble Gobble

The other morning I woke up to….

Not a dog barking.

Not a baby crying.

Not a rooster crowing.

But to….

TURKEY’S GOBBLING!!!! This gang of turkeys was wandering through our back yard with a few of their duck friends. Weird.

There’s A Baby in Da House!

Well, she’s a baby in comparison to my munchkins anyways! A few weeks ago we found ourselves chasing this sweet thang around a few days a week (and enjoying EVERY minute of it!). She is a part of helping a young man overcome his past, and to start on a new path. This relationship hasn't come easy to him. But the God we serve is a God of new beginnings in which all things are possible. I am so thankful to be able to watch God transform a life, one step forward at a time.

What God is Teaching Me Right Now

Walk with Me in holy trust, responding to My initiatives rather than trying to make things fit your plans. I died to set you free, and that includes freedom from compulsive planning. When your mind spins with a multitude of thoughts, you cannot hear My voice. A mind preoccupied with planning pays homage to the idol of control. Turn from this idolatry back to Me. Listen to Me and live abundantly!

Do not search for security in the world you inhabit. You tend to make mental checklists of things you need to do in order to gain control of your life. If only you could check everything off your list, you could relax and be at peace. But the more you work to accomplish that goal, the more things crop up on your list. The harder you try, the more frustrated you become.

There is a better way to find security in this life. Instead of scrutinizing your checklist, focus your attention on My presence with you. This continual contact with Me will keep you in My Peace. Moreover, I will help you sort out what is important and what is not, what needs to be done now and what does not. Fix your eyes not on what is seen (your circumstances), but on what is unseen (My Presence). ~Jesus Calling~

Compulsive planning. Trying to make things fit my plans. Idolatry of control. Scrutinizing my checklists.

I’m giving these things to you, Lord. Help me to mind the present, while leaving the future up to you. I surrender my grasping for control over my life. Take it. I trust You.

My New Motto

This is the blessed life – not anxious to see far in front, nor eager to choose the path, but quietly following behind the Shepherd, one step at a time. ~F.B. Meyer~

Off to Ghana, Upcoming Posts, Refugee Update, & Books that Changed Everything!

We are off to Ghana this morning! Our flight leaves Des Moines at 7am and we will arrive in Accra, Ghana tomorrow afternoon…around 1:50pm (Ghana time)! Today will be my last blog post until we get back from our trip. I am looking forward to having a little break from writing, but I know I will have much to share about our time in Ghana when I get back! I was hoping to get a write-up done yesterday regarding the Adopt-A-Refugee-Family program that we are launching this month, but there are so many details to share that I didn’t want to rush through getting it written. Be watching for that information when we return. I am also getting ready to start a new series on my blog called “Everyone Has A Story Worth Telling”. I’ve had the idea for it for about a year now (those of you who live near Ames know that this is the signature slogan of our local coffee shop!) and will be starting posts soon. Mainly through Jake’s Kingdom Hoops program I have been meeting SO MANY people from all walks of life who have the MOST AMAZING stories. Everything from miraculous healings, to fleeing from Hurricane Katrina, to cool adoption stories – one family in Jake’s program has adopted 8 times! God is doing incredible things in the lives of many people, and I want to start sharing about it. I’ve also realized that many people are going through some really hard things, but they are making it through, and I want to share about what they are learning amidst their trials. Like the title of the series says, I really, truly feel that each and every person in this world has a story worth telling. I am hoping to feature a few stories per month to start. I’d been praying that God would bring along the perfect intro story for the series, and last week He did. Once you hear this gal’s story you are going to FREAK OUT! :) I have been putting this series off because I knew it was going to take a lot of time and work….mainly finding the time to do interviews, preparing questions beforehand, and sort of becoming like a newspaper article writer…turning interviews and thoughts into stories…something I am not sure that I know how to do. However, seeing the results of Dau’s incredible story a few weeks ago really inspired me that these sorts of stories need to be shared more!

Also, along the lines of blog posts, I was asked to do a guest post on a friend’s blog regarding practical insights for ‘How to Start an Adoption’. If you are interested you can watch for my post which will be on her blog sometime next week: http://601hicksfamily.blogspot.com/

Here is a little update from our friends over at U.S. Committee for Refugees & Immigrants (USCRI) – I bold-faced the best part:

As many of you know, we are continuing to collect donations- from clothing and household items to tables, beds and couches. We are looking for interested volunteers who can assist with picking up donations and bringing them to our office or storage space. Please let me know if this is a service you think would fit your schedule and interest. There is not much time commitment but it is a great help that will allow us to better serve our refugees.

Along with our wonderful influx of donations- we have been lucky enough to gain additional storage space from Dino's Storage on 2nd Avenue. However, in the last few weeks our donations have surpassed our space and we are now searching for a larger storage that can accommodate the generosity of donations. We are contacting our leads and we ask you to do the same. If you, or someone you know has spare storage, warehouse or garage space- we are in need!

For an update outside of donations: we are now on Facebook! Search for our USCRI Des Moines page and help spread awareness and interest by becoming a fan. We will continue to update our Facebook page with other information, news, pictures and events- including our upcoming Volunteer Orientation Thursday, March 24th at 6pm.

Your support and interest in refugee work has been awesome! If you have any other questions or ideas don't hesitate to contact us. Email: valeriemayerstubbs@gmail.com Phone: 515-310-0117

HEE HEE, I LOVE IT!!!! I KNEW you guys would rock the house on donations!!! Seriously, I have been AMAZED every time I am in Jake’s gym as to how many people have dropped stuff off. Just an FYI – each night we move donations from the front office area to a storage space in the back of the facility, so if you’ve dropped items off and didn’t see any others in there that is why. Also, please keep the donations coming, the need will be ongoing, especially as more families start to come in. A lot of people have asked me if they need clothing donations – the answer is YES! USCRI has a new office space that they will be moving into soon, and within that space they will have one entire room in which clothing and smaller items will be kept. This will allow the refugees to come and sort through clothes/sizes and select what they need for their family. If you have no idea what any of this refugee stuff is about, you can read my initial post here: http://team-sullivan.blogspot.com/2011/02/refugee-resettlement-in-des-moines.html

Lastly, I realized the other day that I haven’t ever posted about the awesome books Jake and I have been reading that have really encouraged us to start living out our faith. All of these books were recommended by good friends, and each time we read one of them it seemed like scripture opened up in a whole new way. I am posting them below in a good order of which to read first and so on (a good order according to Jake that is). Maybe over spring break you can start in on one of these! I just finished up Forgotten God and will be reading The Hole In Our Gospel on our trip (I’ve only read excerpts that Jake has pointed me to, not the whole thing yet so I am very excited). All of these books are extremely scripturally based. Here is the rundown:

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed By A Relentless God
By: Francis Chan

God is love. Crazy, relentless, all-powerful love. Have you ever wondered if we're missing it? It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe—the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor—loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrifi cing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss. Whether you've verbalized it yet or not.we all know something's wrong. Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts-it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same. Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything.


The Hole In Our Gospel
By: Richard Stearns

"Preach the Gospel always. Use words if necessary." - St. Francis of Assisi - It's 1998 and Richard Stearns' heart is breaking as he sits in a mud hut and listens to the story of an orphaned child in Rakai, Uganda. His journey to this place took more than a long flight from the United States to Africa. It took answering God's call on his life, a call that hurtled him out of his presidential corner office at Lenox-America's finest tableware company-to this humble corner of Uganda. This is a story of how a corporate CEO faced his own struggle to obey God whatever the cost, and his passionate call for Christians to change the world by actively living out their faith. Using his own journey as an example, Stearns explores the hole that exists in our understanding of the Gospel. Two thousand years ago, twelve people changed the world. Stearns believes it can happen again.


Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit
By: Francis Chan

A follow up to the profound message of Crazy Love, Pastor Francis Chan offers a compelling invitation to understand, embrace, and follow the Holy Spirit’s direction in our lives. In the name of the Father, the Son, and … the Holy Spirit. We pray in the name of all three, but how often do we live with an awareness of only the first two? As Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to send the Holy Spirit—the Helper—so that we could be true and living witnesses for Christ. Unfortunately, today’s church has admired the gift but neglected to open it. Breakthrough author Francis Chan rips away paper and bows to get at the true source of the church’s power—the Holy Spirit. Chan contends that we’ve ignored the Spirit for far too long, and we are reaping the disastrous results. Thorough scriptural support and compelling narrative form Chan’s invitation to stop and remember the One we’ve forgotten, the Spirit of the living God.


Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
By: David Platt

WHAT IS JESUS WORTH TO YOU? It's easy for American Christians to forget how Jesus said his followers would actually live, what their new lifestyle would actually look like. They would, he said, leave behind security, money, convenience, even family for him. They would abandon everything for the gospel. They would take up their crosses daily... BUT WHO DO YOU KNOW WHO LIVES LIKE THAT? DO YOU? In Radical, David Platt challenges you to consider with an open heart how we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences. He shows what Jesus actually said about being his disciple--then invites you to believe and obey what you have heard. And he tells the dramatic story of what is happening as a "successful" suburban church decides to get serious about the gospel according to Jesus. Finally, he urges you to join in The Radical Experiment --a one-year journey in authentic discipleship that will transform how you live in a world that desperately needs the Good News Jesus came to bring.


The Irresistible Revolution: Living As An Ordinary Radical
By: Shane Claiborne

Many of us find ourselves caught somewhere between unbelieving activists and inactive believers. We can write a check to feed starving children or hold signs in the streets and feel like we've made a difference without ever encountering the faces of the suffering masses. In this book, Shane Claiborne describes an authentic faith rooted in belief, action, and love, inviting us into a movement of the Spirit that begins inside each of us and extends into a broken world. Shane's faith led him to dress the wounds of lepers with Mother Teresa, visit families in Iraq amidst bombings, and dump $10,000 in coins and bills on Wall Street to redistribute wealth. Shane lives out this revolution each day in his local neighborhood, an impoverished community in North Philadelphia, by living among the homeless, helping local kids with homework, and "practicing resurrection" in the forgotten places of our world. Shane's message will comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable . . . but will also invite us into an irresistible revolution. His is a vision for ordinary radicals ready to change the world with little acts of love.

On our trip Jake is going to be finishing up the book he is currently reading called When Helping Hurts: How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor…and yourself. And he will be starting The Price of Stones: Building A School for My Village.

See you all when we get back!!!!!!!!

Bingo with a Zing!

The most popular game to ever hit the Sullivan household is....

Zingo!! It is just like Bingo, only it can be played by little kiddos too. The box says 4 and up, but Jayla LOVES this game, and so do the older kids! Each playing card has pictures on it…the dispenser kicks out chips with corresponding pictures….if a picture on your playing card matches the chip yell out what the picture is….be the first to do so and you win the chip. Be the first to fill up your entire card and you win the game! You can imagine this gets pretty heated when you have a bunch of people playing! I just had to blog about this one in case you love board games at your house like we do! It’s really perfect for the little ones.

Here’s a video of me and Jayla playing. We had just played a round before I videotaped this one so she had memorized the pictures on her old card so you’ll notice me saying ‘warning’. You get a warning if you yell out for a chip but you don’t have the matching picture on your card (if you get 3 warnings you have to remove a chip from your playing card). You’ll have fun listening to her chat along as we play. :)


One morning when I got back from taking Justice to school I walked in the house and found JJ and Jayla playing the game all by themselves! Jake was in the shower and they had gotten the game out, set it up, and were playing just like two little old people play cards! :)

So sweet!
♥

Hiy-Yah!

I am so not a movie person which is why it is laughable that I am writing a post on movies….which you would have never known from the title of this post….which was purposeful because I thought no one would take the time to read this if you knew it was about movies. But now you know, and now you’ve got to read on. So, have you seen this movie?

This is the new Karate Kid movie….a remake of the classic. Jake rented this one a few days ago for JJ and Justice, but everyone in the house got hooked! It was on continuous play for almost half a day, and I wish you could have been here to see the crazy boys in my house…..the picture below was taken on the 3rd time the movie was playing. By this point they sort of had certain scenes memorized and were really into it. This was the end of the movie at the big match. And all my boys were on their feet, cheering on ‘Dre’. I think they seriously thought they were there in the stands. Of course by the time I fumbled around and found my camera the mass chaos was almost over, but you still get the point....

Notice Justice doing some kung fu moves. He was definitely the one who completely embraced this movie the most. After the 3rd run on the big screen he wanted to watch it again. Since we had to return it the next day, I figured we might as well make the rental worth it so we moved it to our little portable DVD player. Jayla decided to snuggle in as well. :)

If you would have gotten to observe Justice watching this movie as I did you would have seen how he seriously may have thought that he himself was the main character. The main character of this movie, Dre, gets bullied in school, which causes him to want to learn how to be able to fight back. During the bullying scenes, Justice would talk to Dre out loud, really seriously saying ‘don’t do that’ or ‘watch out he’s gonna get you’ and on and on. Whenever Dre was fighting Justice would get up on his feet and pretend to fight along with him real intensely! It makes so much sense that Justice would love this movie because about a week after he was home with us Jake asked him what sport he wanted to learn. And he said he wanted to learn how to fight. Hence, also, his Halloween costume choice….the ninja. The day we came home with his costume he put it on right away and then within about 10 minutes he was out at the end of our driveway practicing ninja moves. I wish I would have gotten it on video. People driving by had to wonder what on earth was going on.

Since I’m on a movie roll, let me tell you about one more movie I just saw. If I am going to watch a movie I usually have to go to the theater where I am forced to sit there and get my money’s worth. Otherwise if I try to watch it at home I feel myself being pulled away into housework and the millions of other things I should be doing rather than sitting on the couch! Anyways, here’s the movie....went to this one with some girlfriends the other night....

Wow. Wow. Wow. From the opening scene I was hooked. This movie was so emotional, stressful, and so REAL. The characters were just so every day REAL. There’s no other way to put it. This movie is actually about adoption, and it does a really good job of elevating the love birthmothers have for their children in making the decision of adoption for their child. I literally woke up with knots in my shoulders the next day though. There are some really stressful and heart-wrenching scenes in this one.

There you go. Two good movies to see for all you movie-goers out there.

Tag I'm it; bucket list cross off; san fran giants; & Jesus loves me Jayla style

TAG I’M IT:
I’ve been tagged by the Dillinger Family blog and I am supposed to answer some questions - these things are kind of fun. Here we go:

1. What was the last book you read and what did you learn from it?
Well, I am sort of notorious for reading a couple of different books at the same time and never really fully finishing any of them! So, the last book that I can say I actually read completely start to finish was Crazy Love by Francis Chan. Definitely my favorite book ever. The book was really a great ‘bubble burst-er’…..you know we can all get caught up in our own little world, and this book sort of pops your bubble in a ka-pow sort of way! I just loaned my copy to a friend so I can’t type up my favorite excerpt, but one chapter started off like this – “You could die before you finish reading this chapter….”

2. Where in your home do you like to go to relax and unwind?
I have a little nook concocted in our master bedroom closet when I need some quiet (and it has a door that locks out little crazy people - very important for this season of life when you need some peace).

3. If you could relive one day in your life, what date would that be and why?
Man these are good questions! I think I would relive our wedding day!!!!!!!!!!!! All that planning and excitement and then it was over too fast! Plus, I spent too much time talking to all the guests during the reception and not enough time out on the dance floor!

4. What is your favorite movie?
Marley & Me, Hope Floats, Love & Basketball, Save the Last Dance. I can’t ever pick just one.

5. Would you rather lose a friendship because of honesty, or keep a friendship because of a lie?
I dig honesty.

6. How long does it take for you to get ready in the morning (from the time you get up, to the time you walk out the door)?
I could be ready and out the door in as little as 15 minutes if I need to get flying. Otherwise, if I can take my time and actually shower (!) then it can be done within 1 Dora the Explorer episode! :)

7. What is your favorite holiday and why?
CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!! The snow, the music, the food, the warm and coziness, the celebrations, the sights, the LOVE. No other holiday beats any of that.

BEFORE I KICK THE BUCKET….
I will soon get to cross one item off of my bucket list!!!!!!!! Any guesses? I’ll fill you in next week.

THE GIANTS
When the San Francisco Giants made it to the World Series last week Jake reminded me of a funny story. I have family that live in San Francisco, and a few years ago Jake and I traveled out there for my cousin’s wedding. And while we were there we took in a game…..

I almost don’t even recognize us in this picture because it was before we had any kids! Just me and Jake! Anyways, you see that popcorn in the picture? Well, about 2 minutes before this picture was taken, I had asked Jake if he would go and get me some popcorn. I was FREEZING and couldn’t move for fear that I would turn into an icicle. Being the nice guy that he is, he quickly ran to get me some popcorn during the beginning of the game…..and…… unfortunately, within the first few minutes that he was gone Barry Bonds hit a homerun (and it was during the time when BB was on track to break the record). And it ended up being the only one he hit the entire game. And, now, almost 7 years later, Jake still will not let me live this down! Now that you’ve read this entire story and were probably thinking that it was going to be a better story than it was, well, it’s my turn to tag some of you! So, whoever is reading this and wants to do it, share a picture on your blog that has a ‘story’ behind it – a story that none of us would have ever known just by looking at the picture. :)

And last but not least…..here is our sweet Jayla singing Jesus Loves Me. :) She has been breaking out into song randomly throughout the day, and I just love it! You have to crank the volume because crazy man #1 (JJ) and #2 (Justice) are having a heated game of NBA Wii while I was recording. I sort of missed the first part of her song, so this video starts out with her singing ‘for the Bible tells me so, little ones to Him belong…’



♥

If Randomness

If you would have been standing with me in the paint aisle at Lowes the other day, you may have wondered as I did – If I were a paint color, what would I name myself, and what color would I be? I thought long and hard about this for some reason. The color came to me easily - I would be an orange color with a hue of brown….so orange-ish brownish I guess. But, what sort of catchy name would I make for myself? With names like Kiwi Burst and Milkshake and Sweet Caroline and Come Sail Away I had to think of something. I came up with Tuscan Sun. I don’t know if I like it…I might keep thinking. If you were a paint color, what color would YOU be and what would YOU name yourself?

If you’ve been around me the past two days you would know that I have lost my voice due to a cold. It happens to me every year, and every time I am reminded of how interesting it would be to live life without a voice. You’d be surprised at how many times you need to use your voice throughout the day….like every minute or so. I’ve had to whisper to communicate. And, the funny thing is that JJ and Jayla have been whispering back to me. I don’t think they even know that they are doing it. :)

If you are wondering where Jake will be this week, you should know that he will be permanently planted in section 107 of Wells Fargo Arena, watching game after game of the high school boys state tournament. He will be eating endless orders of nachos and ice cream and fountain pop and pizza and strawberry smoothies. And, he will be doing what he loves at this time of year….watching his Kingdom Hoops players play with their highschool teams against the top competition! He already got JJ warmed up last week with a few sessions during the girl’s tournament, and JJ loved every minute of it! However, JJ did end up ditching Daddy for a seat by his buddies….


If you haven’t heard, Yaw and Des Moines Christian got upset last night by Caroll-Kemper at the state tournament. It was a BIG HUGE BUMMER. We are all still kind of down about it. I don’t think any of us really saw that one coming. But, now we move on. On the bright side, Yaw was lookin snazzy in his warm-up stripes….

And the rest of Team Sullivan was looking good in their DMC tees…

(What will the chances be of getting all of us to look straight at the camera and getting all of us to smile at the same time? Will it ever happen? At least this one was 4 for 5 so I’ll take it!)

If you think I can put this book down…..

…..think again! I am H O O K E D! This book is a collaboration of real-life adoption stories written by adoptive families and by those who have been adopted. It is awesome. I think I have teared up at almost every story. Each story is very personal, detailed, and different than the one before it. I cannot believe what talent these people have at writing. They really pull you into the emotion of their situation. I also like that this book shows the many realities of adoption….from stories of international adoption in which fraud was involved, to the emotions of what it feels like for the adoptees who have no idea what their family history is, and how that feels from their eyes. This is good stuff.

If you have been driving on South Duff in Ames and noticed the green grass in the median where the snow has melted, don’t worry, YOU ARE NOT HALLUCINATING. I saw it too.

If I had somehow forgotten that grocery stores and two red-heads don’t mix, I surely was reminded of it a few days ago. Picture 1 red-headed boy in blue-race-car-grocery-cart seat #1 crying because he had been poked in the eye by red-headed girl sitting in blue-race-car-grocery-cart seat #2 (actually I think she had scratched his eyeball with her fingernail…not good). Not to mention red-headed boy was also mad at his mommy because she would not take him to the gym until after the grocery trip and nap. Then picture red-headed girl crying because she no longer wanted to sit in blue-race-car-grocery-cart. Picture crying of two red-heads for the last 15 minutes of the 45 minute grocery trip by the mommy who was frantically trying to scurry through her grocery list and get outta there. Then picture the mommy trying to sweet talk two red-heads into stopping crying. Picture sweet-talking not working. Picture mommy bribing kids with Burger King to stop crying (Burger King kid’s meals that I had in my purse, but had earlier been refused by red-heads because it wasn’t McDonalds). Picture Mommy remembering that she was mad at McDonald’s because they wouldn’t serve lunch in the drive-thru 3 minutes before 11am. Then picture entire grocery store giving ‘the look’ to mommy…..you know the can’t-you-control-your-kids-look (because I surely don’t need to remind you that red-heads don’t cry quietly). Picture Mommy finally making it to the check-out line to wait her turn to unload her cart while every eyeball in the store stares at screaming kids and then stares at Mommy with a different kind of look that says ‘Do Something!’ Then picture Mommy giving a helpless look back to onlookers that says ‘I’ve tried EVERYTHING!’ Then picture this McDonald’s boycotting, race car driving, family of 6 shopping, sweet-talking, dirty look provoking, on-the-verge-of-losing-it-Mommy running into her old boss who takes one look at the situation and says, “Boy, you have your hands full!” Then picture Mommy……losing it. No screaming. No yelling by Mommy. Just tears. Sobs. This Mommy who had lost all control (and who maybe never had it in the first place) was All Done. Defeated with a capital D. Actually, better just make that all caps. DEFEATED! So there we were, 2 scream-crying red-heads, one sobbing Mommy who couldn’t calm them down, and one old boss who just entered into the most uncomfortable situation in his life. (Pretty sure the guy scanning my groceries would have also picked to be any other place in the world but there.) Picture silence all around except of course for the crying red-heads and crying Mommy unloading groceries. Then picture grocery scanner guy smiling and then saying, “Did they plan this?” Crying Mommy smiles in relief and thinks Yes they must have planned it. And someday I am going to plan on going to the grocery store all by myself. And it will be peace-filled and glorious. But then my red-heads will be all grown-up and I won’t get to kiss their cute crying faces, and I won’t get to put them in the cute race car grocery cart, and I won’t get to hear the nice people stop and say ‘What cute red-heads you have!’, and I won’t get to stand for 5 minutes in the sticker aisle while my red-head searches for the perfect ones, and I won’t get to hear my other red-head exclaim in delight as she sees an Elmo balloon in the flower shop. Yes, this Mommy comes to the conclusion that she better enjoy this while it lasts. Because someday, she’s going to miss this!

25 Random Things About Me

I cough when I eat ice cream.

Each Sunday night I make a to do list for the following week.

My favorite movies are Hope Floats, Marley & Me, Love & Basketball, and P.S. I love you (I cried every 15 minutes during this movie!)

We put up our Christmas decorations the day before Thanksgiving (now, if we had Thanksgiving dinner at our house instead of my mom’s I wouldn’t do this, but there is freedom when you don’t have to keep up the fall décor for the main event!). 5 years ago I bought a fakey tree at Lowes that I loved, loved, loved. It was a 9 foot tree. When we got it home (at our other house at the time) and put it up, I soon discovered that our ceiling height was only 8 feet!!!!!! No, I didn’t think to measure. Seriously, who does that? :) So, enter my step-dad and his chain saw. He cut off the top, we plopped a star on it and it was as good as new. Now in our new house, it fits like a charm with room to spare up top!

I ♥ chips and salsa.

In college Jake and I used to eat at King Buffet every Sunday evening. One time I made him try pot stickers and he acted like he was poisoned. He’s not much for trying new types of foods, especially ones that look a little different, but pot stickers are my fav!

Since I started blogging I’ve fallen completely behind on my scrapbooking! I think the time I spend writing my posts is the time I used to spend taping pictures, and writing notes, and making fancy schmancy pages.

I love to play cards. Spades and rummy 500 are my favorites.

I DO NOT like seafood Sam I am (even just the smell of it makes me queasy).

The minute I get home from going somewhere I change into my comfy clothes and pull my hair back!

The inside of my car is a disaster zone.

In highschool I was a waitress at Taylor’s Maid-rite. I bet you didn’t know that they have cow carcuses hanging from the ceiling in the basement cooler? It’s like a scary movie down there. But, at least you know your juicy bun of grease is fresh fresh fresh!

I didn’t find out Santa wasn’t real until 4th grade!

I love getting dressed up!

I’ve never had a cavity.

I always wanted to be a sea animal rehabilitator. I think I actually made up the name of this career, but it sounds pretty cool doesn’t it? I didn’t want to be a marine biologist. I more wanted to help injured ocean animals and take them back to Sea World and rehabilitate them. Too bad we don’t live by the ocean.

I love Tuscan and Mediterranean style home décor.

I was born 1 day before my mom’s birthday, and JJ was born on my birthday. No inductions, au natural.

I’ve lived in Minnesota, Nebraska, Arizona, California, and Iowa.

I want to open up a dessert restaurant called Nelly’s. I would sell every kind of dessert you could imagine…pies, cheesecake, every type of bar under the sun, ice cream, frozen desserts, fridge desserts, fruit desserts, chocolate desserts, yum, Yum, YUM!

Flies give me the heebie jeebies. And, whenever I grab the fly swatter the flies diappear.

I started dating Jake because he looked like a rebel with his shaved head and tattoos. Then I found out that he is a teddy bear disguised as a rebel.

I ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ having a little boy and a little girl. I wish everyone got to experience having a child of each gender.

The only place I can fully relax is at my mom’s house. Can you say quiet country road, wood stove burnin, apple cider brewin, and kiddos entertained? Ah, sheer bliss.

And, #25: I’ve been dreaming about dogs. I want one SO bad. But, we will never be able to have one since we travel almost every weekend. I can’t imagine having to find a place for him to stay every travel weekend. Golden retrievers are my weakness. Have you seen this video?

A Few Random Things

Let’s start with a table runner update!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is how my glue gun runners turned out on the tables:

The cool thing was that the caterers had actually upgraded us to the floor length black linen cloths (originally we were getting the usual white ones), so the table runners looked even better up against the black than they would have the white. Next time I wouldn't have made them quite so long, but they worked out. And now, to put my trip to the fabric store all in perspective, check out the tulle that we swayed from the poles….

That, my friends is what 80 yards of fabric looks like. Almost goes the entire length of one basketball court. Uh, yeah, that is a loooooooong time at the fabric counter.

As for the fundraiser, it went beautifully. Jake was able to clearly share the vision of the project to a very, very excited crowd. Shortly after the fundraiser we received an email from Bernice (she is originally from Ghana and attended the fundraiser) and she said she is IN on the vision. IN was written with a capital I-N, bolded, and highlighted. So, it was exciting to have her completely on board……I know it was nerve-racking for Jake to be doing an entire presentation on Ghana while Bernice, the lone Ghana native in attendance, sat and listened. But, I knew he had done his research and planning well, and it was exciting to get the confirmation from Bernice that this project would now be in her prayers and she was IN! :)

And, now, excuse me while I have some business to attend to....

Dear fellow Huxley-ans,
It appears that one of you may have dropped, lost, or misplaced a certain men’s athletic undergarment in our yard. If this is yours….

You can come pick it up. We haven’t touched it. It is not any of ours. If you come to get it between the hours of 4:30-6pm we will not be here, so you can be sure that your retrieval will be done without onlookers.

Ahem.

So, what’s your latest ‘mommy moment’? You know, that moment in time when something happens and you think, this would only happen to a mom. Well, mine was yesterday morning when I was fishing for my keys in my purse, and I pulled out a wet, soggy, 2 day old, half eaten chicken nugget. Wet and soggy because a sippy cup of milk was also spilled in my purse. About that time I smiled and showed Jake the nugget and said, ‘this would only be in the purse of a mom.’ He smiled and held up his hand to show me his cut that was now covered up with a bright, shiny, hot wheels bandaid. ‘And, only a Dad would be wearing this,’ he said. I guess Daddy moments happen too. :)

T P

Our house was TP'd last night for Ballard homecoming...

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The clean up is going to take hours.....

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It might even take us ALL day.....

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Just see for yourself the amount of work we have ahead of us....

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Hee Hee!!!!!!!!!! Oh the advantages of living on a newly formed lot with NO full grown trees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)

However, seeing that we got TP'd did bring back LOTS of memories! This is such a FUN time of year!

GOOOOOOOOOOOO BOMBERS!

those pants; living breathing tomato; starts tonight; little girls and trucks and little boys and babies; crickets; mom's night out; rolls

(Time to get out some randomness)

Did your kids ever become attached to a certain piece of clothing? Well, this is all new to me. JJ recently has found a certain piece of clothing that is his favorite.......

BRIGHT ORANGE & BROWN pajama pants! The minute we get home from going somewhere, the first thing he does is change into these pants. We are used to JJ getting fixated on certain things like his blue blankey, the same old song that must be played each time we are in the car, starbursts at the gym, toaster scramblers every morning for breakfast, and Dora the Explorer every morning from 8-8:30, but I cannot get used to seeing him wear these pants every waking hour - and sleeping hour!

Remember when your mom used to say, 'if you eat one more (insert something) you are going to turn into one!' Well, I am about to turn into a fresh garden tomato, JJ is a macaroni & cheese noodle, Jayla is starting to look more and more like a cheez-it, and I swear I woke up next to a 44 oz diet pepsi this morning. What are you about to turn into?

My favorite tv show starts back up again tonight:

I studied Exercise Sport Science in college and I must say, I am a wanna-be Jillian! That girl knows her stuff! My favorite part about the show is that the trainers emphasize the emotional connection we have with food. One of the first things the trainers do other than execute work-outs and revamp eating habits, is to somewhat become psychologists. By about show 4 the trainers have gotten to the bottom of almost every contestant's emotional reasons as to why they are in the physical shape that they are in. This show does such a good job of showing the correlations between our feelings, emotions, life experiences and our physical bodies. You know where you will find me on Tuesday nights at 7pm!

Have I mentioned that kids are funny? Like Jayla who loves to play with JJ's monster truck....


And JJ who likes to play with his 'baby'...

He feeds baby, dresses baby, and puts baby down for naps! I love 3 year olds.


Crickets drive me crazy. The chirping, the hopping, the creepy whiskers or eyebrows or whatever those things are. Last week there was a cricket in our entertainment center and I could not find it anywhere. First I heard the chirping over here, then over there, then in the front, then in the back. Finally I got so annoyed that I unloaded the entire entertainment center and stuck our big fat cat in it so he could find it. Kudos to Vegas. He did his job and the cricket was found and squished. I could do without crickets.

The other night at my dearly treasured - much anticipated - what will I wear - who is coming - pick us up in the mini-van - blast the Jon Mayer - margaritas and lettuce wraps - vaccination talking - did you hear what my kid did chattin - picture takin - Daddy is babysitting - MOM'S NIGHT OUT, we played a fun game. The game was to go around the table and share something that everyone else might not know about us. I thought of 2 things: 1) I was salutatorian of my graduating class (okay, okay it was only a class of 49 but I bet you didn't know that about me!) and 2) I've dissected a human cadaver. I know you didn't know that! Dare to play?

You've waited this long for the end of my randomness, and now it is here! My mom sent me the below pictures the other day....that is me as a toddler on the left, and Miss Jayla on the right.
Now you know where Jayla has gotten her rolls from!

2 answers, strike out text, dead-head, adoption update, college major, bridezillas, background, prize, and first day of school.

A few fellow bloggers have recently done randomness blog posts in which they chat through any and every random thing they have floating through their brain. Today I feel like getting my randomness out. Here we go:

I haven't told you yet that I found 2 answers to my previously posted questions:

1) My step-dad told me that the reason they put flags on top of cranes at construction sites is so that they can see the way that the wind is blowing. That way the crane operator can account for the wind when moving the crane around so he doesn't bust something up. Not sure of the significance of why the flags are always American flags, but maybe they just want to show their USA spirit.
2) The kitchen bouquet browning and seasoning sauce is in the aisle with the gravy packets (next to the potatoes) at Hy-Vee.

My mom told me how to cross out words in my posts. Just adds in a little more pizazz! I like it love it! Don't you love the people in your life who are technologically alert and updated. Jake and I know nothing about technology and we usually don't modernize ourselves with updated gadgets until someone else shows us how. We still use printed off yahoo maps for driving directions, I still listen to the radio via my armband walkman when I run, and I still don't know how to work my ipod which I received as a gift 3 years ago. If I gave myself more time I could think of many more examples.

Have you ever heard of the gardening term 'dead-head'? I didn't know what this term meant until both my mom and Jake's mom said it - and they even said it within the same week's time. Dead-head means to pluck the dead flower blooms off the stem so that the new ones can grow. You need to especially do this with marigolds otherwise the new ones won't grow in when the other ones sluff off. In my 27 years of life I had never heard this term before this summer.

We received an adoption update yesterday from our social worker (we last left off thinking Pastor Gideon would be heading to an orphange last Saturday to enlist children and find out if the youngest child there was a boy). Here is the update:

I spoke w/Pastor Gideon earlier and he indicated he was unable to make it to the town for the update. He is going to work very hard over the next couple days to locate a number to contact 'the house' I assume this is the orphanage or director's home..I couldn't quite understand over the phone. He said he very much hopes the child is a boy so you will continue to put your faith in him to do God's work--it was very sweet. However, it doesn't justify the massive delays. as I mentioned he is taking the program over and I am trying my best to help make this happen. It's funny the only two things he desperately needs is a laptop to communicate with me and a motorcycle to get to the small towns/villages and help the orphans. (He doesn't have a car).

After I got done giggling about picturing a pastor in his traditional robe on a motorcyle, bible in tow, I came to the realization that it is going to take nothing short of a miracle for us to complete this adoption. There are so many barriers right now...it just seems like there is no end in sight. But, I am not giving up. Anyone have a spare laptop or motorcycle they could part with?

With all this event planning that Jake and I have been helping with this summer I started wishing that I would have majored in something else in college. I graduated with an exercise sport science degree - and don't get me wrong it is a great degree - but I wish I would have majored in graphic design. I don't know how to draw, or how to sketch or anything like that, but I would have liked to have learned how to create formal invitations, event programs, etc. I am sure with the right software I could have figured it out, and it would SO come in handy. I can't imagine all that I could have learned if I would have studied it for 4 years! I did figure out how to make address labels one day. That is about as far as I have come.

Another job I would love to have is to be one of the attendants at bridal boutiques that help brides-to-be find THE dress. I realized this the other day when I went with my friend to look at bridesmaid dresses. Yes, I could handle the bride-zillas, yes I could find the perfect veil for that dress, and the perfect earrings for that one, and oh, check out this hair clip with these earrings. Yes, yes, yes.

By the way, is the text in my posts too hard to read on this black background? I've been wondering that since I switched it.

Still reading? Oh good, you get a prize. The prize is a little humorous story to keep you chuckling today: The other day I mentioned to JJ what a good eater he had been lately. I said, "Pretty soon if you keep eating like that you are going to grow big and tall like Daddy." JJ nodded and said quite seriously, "Yep pretty soon I'll be big like Daddy. And pretty soon I'll turn black like Yaw." He said it so sincerely and so seriously that I knew without a doubt he really thought this would happen at some point. I said, "Oh, you actually have to be born that way...you don't just change colors." He said, "Oh." And went on munching his crackers.

And for the last random bit of information, today was Nana Yaw's first day of school in the United States! He and Jake were out the door at 7:10am.

Today was one of those days that I wish I knew how to quickly put the date & time on my camera for this picture. I don't know how to do it right off hand, so I would have had to take a look at the manual, and by then these two would not have waited any longer for their first day of school picture. Oh well.


Signing off from left field,


-Janel-

Let's Talk Whipped Top

When I go grocery shopping I usually buy about 60% store brand items. The other day I needed some whipped topping for my ever famous snicker apple dessert that I was bringing to a BBQ. Well, Hy-Vee was out of their store brand version of the whipped topping that I normally buy….so, I had to buy the top class Cool Whip brand of whipped topping. Wow…MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR difference. The Cool Whip brand was SO MUCH better. I think it was the consistency of it or something, but my snicker apple dessert tasted better than ever before. So good that when we got home from the BBQ Jake looked at me with some sad brown eyes and said that by the time he got up to get some of it, it was gone. If you know Jake, missing out on this dessert could possibly constitute him labeling his day as a bad day. Now, I am not going to quit buying store-brand items altogether, but from now on, I am buying COOL WHIP!

Try it baby!

Snicker Apple Dessert

1 pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 c. milk
12 oz. container COOL WHIP
2 good sized granny smith apples, cut in bite-sized pieces
4 snicker bars, chopped

Mix together instant pudding mix and milk. Add thawed Cool Whip, apple pieces and snickers pieces. Mix together and refrigerate until serving.

Cinnamon & Sugar Toast

A few days ago I stopped by my neighbor’s house to pick up some clothes she had set aside for Jayla. I walked in the front door to the kitchen area and was greeted by her and her sweet little kids. I looked to the right into the kitchen where I saw her daughter, Mya, propped up by the toaster on her footstool. As I chatted with my neighbor I watched Mya as she buttered some bread and then reached for a tall glass shaker….full of a mixture of cinnamon and sugar! All of a sudden the memories came flooding in and I exclaimed (actually I think I shouted), “IS SHE MAKING CINNAMON & SUGAR TOAST?!?! I USED TO MAKE THAT ALL THE TIME WHEN I WAS HER AGE!” Somehow throughout my last 20 some years of life I had forgotten about this sweet treasure….literally, I really have not remembered it in 20 years! But in those moments I flashed back in time to when I was a little girl....I used to love cinnamon & sugar toast and I made it all by myself, all the time. We also had a little canister/shaker of the mixture all ready to go for breakfast time….just like Mya did. The next morning I decided to re-live the glory days and I made myself a few pieces of my somehow forgotten treasure. It was just as I remembered. That morning I also made it for JJ, who refuses to ingest any sort of breakfast except for a glass of milk. Could this possibly be the one thing that he hasn't tried that would spur a new found desire to eat breakfast? I prepared him beforehand for the excitement that his taste buds were about to enjoy. I waited in anticipation as he took the first bite… “mmmmm….yummy” he said, and then he didn’t eat any more of it…..not even one more bite.....hmmmm, I guess I am the only one that could get this excited about 2 pieces of bread. However, I do wonder how many other things like this I have forgotten about?

Here are some other newly found favorites of mine (Jayla & JJ were my 'Barker Beauties' this morning):

Dunkin Donuts Coffee

For those of you who need caffeine to survive (I am with you) this is the best coffee I have found. Smooth, no aftertaste, and no stomach-rot feeling after the first cup! Seriously, try it. You’ll never go back to TAR-bucks again.

Flip Sides Pretzel Crackers

I can't even explain these....just try them.

Hooray for the rediscovery of forgotten memories. :)