Illegal immigrant counterfeit I.D. of the week!

REMEMBER!!

When making a fake ID, attach a picture of yourself only... no matter how much you love your girlfriend!

Happy Birthday Leap Year Babies!

I read this today:

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (AP) — Tillie Iverson is observing her 24th birthday Friday — at the age of 96!

Isn't that fun! Turns out she doesn't much like having a birthday every four years. I always thought it'd be cool. But what do I know?

So go out and celebrate if you are a leap year baby. Happy Birthday!!!

OMG!

I know I haven't blogged in a few days. I really didn't have much to say if you can believe it.

Or I did, but... well just not bloggable material.

But now! I just held my breath for 40 minutes as I watched tonight's LOST.

UNBELIEVABLE! The best episode yet. (And I'm including last season's finale, which was mind-blowing.)

Time travel. Changing the future. Quantum physics. A dead rat.

This episode had it all!!!

Watch this short clip to see what I mean:



I have goosebumps. I need to go lie down.

Chandler's Suitcase

Chandler and Regan came home from camp yesterday, but seconds before they pulled up, I got the bad news from Darrenn: Chandler's suitcase had fallen from the roof of the vehicle onto the freeway.

Poor Chandler. She is attached to her stuff and is very sentimental, but her whole life, I've been teaching her that "stuff is just stuff." We have talked numerous times about how Jesus tells us that the stuff of this will world will be destroyed. Everything will either decay or get stolen. It all ends up in landfills. Not "may" but "will".

So she started off being sad as we made our list of each item contained in the case. Nothing too expensive on it's own, but of course it adds up. Three outfits, pj's, her Bible, shoes, socks, underwear. Thankfully they had the foresight to forbid electronic equipment!

Once the list was made and I assured her nothing was irreplaceable, we set off to Justice. Most was replaced in that trip alone. We'll hit Target as well and a Bible bookstore for a new Bible and cover.

She'll be fine.

The interesting part was a conversation we had in the car on the way to the store.

I had just learned from my Jon Courson audio files that God never allows something to happen for which we are not prepared. So I might look at a situation and think, "I could NEVER handle that!" And it may very well be true. God has not prepared me for that circumstance.

So when Chandler mentioned how "ironically" the speaker had just that morning talked about not putting our hope and trust in stuff, I saw a teachable moment. We discussed that the topic was not in fact ironic, but was God's way of preparing her. We talked about other ways He has prepared her for this sad event. She has a mother that does not value stuff and has always taught her that, for one thing!

So in the grand scheme of things, far worse events have occurred. But for her this was her little trial and character-building episode.

She's doing fine.

A Great Picture

Regan took this one of herself a little while back and I found it on the camera card much later. I think it's fantastic!

VOTE!

No, I'm not talking Presidential politics. Enough of that already...

This is far more important. Our friend Ray Hedgpeth has entered a video for a Pepto-Bismol commercial. Click here, and check out video #1. I watched the others and his is definitely the best.

You can watch it here, but go the the link above to vote for Ray!!

Gross!!!!

Here is the report word for word: A Thai worker prepares grubs to cook in the kitchen of Insects Inter in Bangkok. Insects are on the menu Tuesday at a UN meeting in Thailand, where experts are considering the dietary value of bugs and ways to farm the creatures which are delicacies in some countries.

Again, I have no words.

Dylan's 13th Birthday

Well, this crazy weekend is over, but we ended it on a bang!


What started on Thursday with an awesome Valentine's Day celebration, continued on Friday when we set off camping, led right into Saturday where we danced all night at a Ball, moved into Sunday allowing us to tour the home and visit with Sir Kirk, and finally ended today in a Hummer limo!

As you already know, until Thursday, I was a limo virgin. Now, two limos in five days?!? Well I should probably end the analogy here before I venture into PG-13 territory!

My kids are so spoiled! I have lost count of how many times they have been to Hawaii, three times to Walt DisneyWorld, numerous wonderful vacations, and now they have ridden in a limo twice - before their teenage years!

But I won't focus on that! We were honored to be able to help Dylan celebrate his launch into teenagerhood. Every person who has a child, or knows a child, or has heard of childhood, knows that time flies too quickly, so I won't focus on that either. Suffice it to say Jenny and Darrenn did a great job planning a very fun party. The kids started with Guitar Hero, jumped in a limo headed to Downtown Disney for a mini-scavenger hunt, flew off to McDonald's (Dylan's choice) and then hopped back in the car to cruise around some more.

Dylan is turning into quite a young man. He is smart and responsible and funny. I'm glad to have him in our lives. His dad on the other hand...

Chamber Music Hero

I love this comic strip - Foxtrot. The kid, Jason, reminds me of my nephew Jordan. He loves Guitar Hero, but I've often said I wish they would have a cleaner version of the game.

So when I saw this comic, I laughed out loud. It's perfect!

Saint Valentines Ball

The Valentines celebrations just keep on comin'!

The Bambricks invited us to go camping with them a month or so ago, and in the meantime, they were invited to a Saint Valentine's Day Ball at a friends house. Since we were going to be camping together at that time, they cajoled an invite for us as well.

Rick had already sent us a picture of the house. It's a fully restored Tudor Mansion from 1906. Absolutely gorgeous. We gave ourselves the self-guided tour and discovered a cool attic/billiard room and a haunted basement. The attention the owner showed to detail was amazing.

So we got dressed up in our finest for this black tie affair.

They had cleared out the living room and made a dance floor. It didn't take much to get us out there - especially when Rick heard this song from Flo Rida.

We danced from about 8:00 until after midnight. Our feet were killing, but that didn't stop us.

The group was definitely multi-generational, but the older folks just sat around. Apparently we generated a buzz with the younger set. When we told our kids about it, we described how we danced all night and showed the kids how it's done!

Rick shot this video of Dawn and I dancing to Love Shack. If you watch until the end, you'll see I wasn't able to go as low as I wanted!

We had such a great time. We were invited back the next day for lunch. So we took the kids and gave them the tour as well. What an amazing adventure.

chrono-synclastic infundibulum

Here is a new word I stumbled across in my LOST fanaticism: chronosynclastic infundibulum.

It basically means "those places ... where all the different kinds of truths fit together." This could be a very helpful word when people want to believe we all have our own truth and all truths are equally valid.

I could reply, "What? Do you think we exist in some kind of chronosynclastic infundibulum?"

That'll stump 'em.

Valentines Day Adventure

Last night, we celebrated Valentines Day in a big way. And I do mean BIG!

Tim and I usually don't do much, because we never seem to have the money for anything extra. But Rick really wanted to go all out. He heard about a deal The Melting Pot was offering and invited us to go. Of course, Tim told him no. Too expensive!

Well when Darrenn and Jenny heard we weren't going, they were also disappointed. So between the four of them, they made it happen!

I was very surprised to find a Limo when we arrived at the Bambrick's house!! I've never been a in one - a limo virgin if you can imagine. It was so cool being driven to dinner and driven home.

On a side note, I've never really aspired to be super wealthy. I don't think I'd be comfortable surrounded by extravagant trappings of riches. We don't have a gardener, we don't have a housekeeper (we do however have a pool guy in the summer for our doughboy pool), and I certainly never dreamed I'd ever have or even want a driver. But I'm telling you - I could get used to be driven all over town. That was nice!



Of course The Melting Pot was great. We ate too much but really, could you blame us?

What a wonderful Valentine's Day!!!

Thanks to Rick for the pics.

Winning One of a Million Dreams... kinda

On Monday, my sister won a chance for her family to go to California Adventures after hours.

Tim had just told us about this a few days earlier. Apparently, they have a little party with the chosen guests while they clear out the park. Then the guests are allowed to an hour all to themselves!

Since she was unable to attend that night, we got a phone call asking if we wanted to take their place. So off we went, with my mom, for a night at DCA all to ourselves!

You can see in this picture here, how empty the park is! They only pass out 2000 passes, but not everyone shows up.

We headed over to Soarin' over California first. There were so few people, they didn't even fill the ride up before they began. One whole section (one-third of the ride) was empty!

Next we went to California Screamin' which had no line at all! You walked right up to the track and waited for your train. Everyone except me went twice!

Chandler had to get this picture of the queue. You will never see it this empty!

Next, off to Tower of Terror where we made it with seconds to spare before their 9:30 closing. We were the ONLY ones on the ride! Here we are all by ourselves in the library.

We thought we'd get an elevator all to ourselves, but when the doors opened there was a small group already on it. Apparently they were just riding it over and over. How cool is that!

So that was our Disney adventure. It was a late night for a school night, but... what are you gonna do?

Chocolate Caramel Heaven

I just got an email advertising this. It's called Chocolate Caramel Heaven and it's made with real Ghiradelli chocolate.

I have no words to add. But I do have a Coldstone gift card...

Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions

I just finished this book and I loved it. I believe it is a must read for every Christian parent that wants to see their child encompass a Christian worldview.

It's written by George Barna, who has been doing research on church effectiveness for years. He admits that in all those years, he not only missed the boat, he missed the ocean. He now believes that children should be the PRIMARY FOCUS of all church ministry.

He gives interesting stats to back up that claim:

Although 9 out of 10 thirteen year-olds claim to be Christian, when closely scrutinized the number of actual Christians is only about 34%.

When their beliefs are even further scrutinized, the number of "evangelical, born-again" Christian thirteen-year olds is only 4%.

If you are not a Christian before your teenage years, only 4% more will do so between ages 13 - 18, and only 6% of the American population come to know Christ as adults. So basically, if you haven't begun to follow Jesus by your 13th birthday, the odds are slim you ever will.

Just as devastating is the discovery that your spiritual identity is largely set in stone by your thirteenth birthday. These include beliefs about the existance of evil, how to gain admission to heaven, the accuracy of the Bible, the sin nature of human beings, Jesus sinlessness, and the existance of absolute moral standards. Trying to undo whatever misinformation an adult had come to believe as a child is almost impossible!

However, it is NOT the church's job to raise your child into spiritual maturity. IT IS YOUR JOB! This book provide all the information you need to convince you of this fact. But churches definitely need to partner with the parents to be successful.

Many churches measure their success in children's ministy by a growing number of kids, parental satisfaction and few behavior problems. Instead, it should be measured by level of parental involvement, existance of effective and practical ways of equipping parents, and genuine, measurable transformation in the children's lives. Successful churches incorporate prayer for their children at every level - with the other teachers, with the kids, by the prayer team, in the corporate adult settings, and among groups of parents. Growing strong spiritual champions enters the DNA of these churches and is not simply relegated to the children's department. This requires a top-down mentality and the entire church must be on board.

I am very challenged. Although Christian parents say they are raising their children to be spiritual champions, most are not actually doing anything. Few have Bible studies or devotions with their kids. Few pray with their kids (other than meal or bedtime). Few have spiritual conversations with their kids. Few parents are actually discipling their children. One hour a week on Sundays, no matter how strong the program, is NOT ENOUGH!

So that's my review of the basic highlights. I highly recommend this book. It will scare when you realize how dire our situation is!

Prosperity or Clinton

This is an actual picture from a Reuters news story:

A road sign points the way to nearby towns Clinton and Prosperity in Newberry, South Carolina, January 25, 2008. US Democratic presidential candidates Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY), former Senator John Edwards (D-NC) and Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) have been criss-crossing South Carolina ahead of the state's Democratic primary election.

I thought it was funny.

Back at the House of Mouse

Well, we saved our pennies (literally) and bought our passes tonight. It's like we never left!

Well... did you vote?

After listening to Dennis Prager all day, I voted for Romney...

We'll see how this plays out.

Legoland

Just another day of "homeschooling". We went to Legoland with the Bambricks one last time before Regan's pass expires. This time Tim and Rick joined us, so we had even more fun!

SUPER TUESDAY!!

O.K., moment of truth... who are you going to vote for? You are going to vote, right?!?

Here is a website that gives a lot of infomation from a conservative point of view. I didn't see a presidential pick, but she gave some info on the props. Here are her basic recommendations.

91 - YES - gas taxes devoted to transportation projects.

92 - NO - more funding for community colleges

93 - NO - "phony term limit reform..."

94-97 - YES - Indian gaming. More slots, more money to the state.

If you want more information, her site is invaluable. She has TONS of articles and links so you can research it on your own and make up your own mind.

As far as president goes, I say pick your most important issue - taxes, Iraq, immigration, abortion, the economy - and vote for whomever best represents your view on that issue. You are not going to find the perfect candidate in this election. Sorry.

Favorite Superbowl Commercial

I liked the Bud Light with the cheese which held a 6 pack, the Pepsi Max waking everyone up, and the parade balloons chasing a Coke, but I think this is my fave.

Hawaii - 2006 Scrapbook pages

I had a little time today, so I finished this batch. It was hard, because my dad took 605 shots -very hard to narrow down.

Oh, this makes me want to go!!!

Whom to vote for????

ht:bobby for graphic

I admit I blatantly stole this from Rick Bambrick. I really like it because I am feeling very uneasy about this upcoming election. My guy is long gone... (Better Fred than Dead), so I'm torn.

This quiz helped. I'm only in 68% agreement with McCain, so apparently I'm not a McCaniac. But I was very surprised that there was this much agreement, enough to put him up at the top for me.

So please take the quiz and let me know what happened.

	John McCain Score: 68	Agree Iraq Immigration Taxes Stem-Cell Research Health Care Abortion Social Security Line-Item Veto Energy Death Penalty Gun Control Environment	Disagree Marriage Education
-- Take the Quiz! --

Panjandrum

pan·jan·drum
–noun
a self-important or pretentious official.

In my goal to look up words I come across of whose meaning I'm unaware, here is the latest.

I found it in this article by Peggy Noonan (one of my favorite political commentators). Here is the quote concerning Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Barak Obama:

But people do what they know how to do, and objects at rest tend to stay at rest, and Teddy has long led a comfortable life as a party panjandrum who knew to sit back and watch as the dog barked and the caravan moved on. In a way he seemed to rebel against his own tendencies. He put himself on the line.

See how the sentence is enhanced now that you know the meaning of this very well chosen word!