I think this is the first time I have ever responded to a tag (no...make that the second time). Not that I don't like to be tagged, I'm just a lazy blogger at times. So, here goes...
Here's how it works, I’ll write 10 facts about me and/or habits of mine.- I’ll tag 10 people.- If you’ve been tagged, you do your own list and tag 10 more people...or however many you wnat (”No tag backs.”).
1. I am not very well organized (if any of you who are rotfl can get up now--I know this is common knowledge). If I need something organized, my sister volunteers to come over and help me because she loves to organize. I hope she will still volunteer even after we move to Texas! ;)
2. I do not like to talk business on the telephone and will avoid it at all cost. If I have to make a doctor appointment for one of my children, I would much rather go to the clinic and set it up face-to-face. If I have to make a phone call I will write down word-for-word what I am going to say and rehearse it or else my mind will go blank while on the phone. This does not bode well being a nurse...you have to talk to doctors on the phone every day--and sometimes in the middle of the night!
3. I like to sleep on my stomach. This is hard to do when you are 7 months pregnant!
4. I love to go for walks!
5. I'm not too keen on formalities. There! You have the dirty scoop on me! I don't understand why, if you are able to give a heartfelt "thank you" on the telephone or in person, you are still required to send a thank you card? I am working on getting better at this one, but don't know if I will ever understand it.
6. I don't mind being corrected. If I have offended someone or have done something wrong, I would much rather someone tell me instead of keeping it to themselves.
7. I do not want to be a man. I love the role of a woman! I love being able to nurture and take care of my children while my husband is out slaying dragons. What an honor (and huge, scary, responsibility) to be able to raise the next generation to love the Lord!
8. I am not a very good reader. I don't know if it has to do with the phase of life I'm in, but I don't read very much and it bothers me (yes, I is a learnin' my children at home). I have great respect for people like my husband who read and read! I'm working on this one too!
9. I have lived in Chetek all my life. This move to Texas will be a huge transition.
10. I love shopping!
And the 8 people I tag are...
Froggy
Mommy
Fannie
Mindy
Branching Out
Gknee
Zack S.
Paul (my man!)
"When I look at Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have set in place,
What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the Son of man that You care for Him?"
It's official--I can now tell the world that we are moving to Texas in the fall. The main reason we went to Texas on vacation was to check out To Every Tribe Ministries, a mission board that specializes in church planting to unreached tribes. Though we do not know specifically where the Lord is directing us, we are going to be training at the school there in Texas. This has been mulling around in our heads for over a year now and today it became official (well, public anyways). I would love to share with you how the Lord brought us to this point, which I think I will save for another post.
Now the kids are in bed, Paul is at Applebee's with a good friend of his and as I sit here in the silence of our house my heart sinks. I don't know if it's just the release of finally making all of these plans public, or even what it is exactly, but the tears just will not stop. I have no doubt of my Lord's leading thus far and I am so very excited about this next step but I think tonight it really became a reality as we shared the ministry with our home church; we are moving from the place that has been my home for the last 28 years--my parents, my sisters, my grandparents, and the church that I grew up in, all these people that I love so greatly--everything that is so familiar to me will change in a matter of months. I am going to miss everyone so much that my heart aches already. Why is it that sometimes doing what the Lord wants you to do has to be so hard? I hate change! In my flesh I want to stay here and have life continue on as it has been...
...but then my all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful God reminds me that He is never going to change. It is He who brought me out of the pit in the first place and He is not going to leave me. He will be with us in Texas and wherever He sends us after that. The very same God that is in Wisconsin as I type this is also in Texas ( not to mention North Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, South Dakota...). I don't really know what else to say except that I love all of you that I dread leaving and I love my never-changing GOD!
"I know, O LORD, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps." Jeremiah 10:23
Daisy with her "dashing" young escort, Dash.
Just minutes before the wedding, Daisy was getting very nervous, but Twiggy was right by her side to reassure her.
I love this picture of Daisy with the bride, Becca.
We serve an awesome God who not only will be victorious in the end, but already has the victory! Death has been defeated because Christ is alive! What a cause for celebration!
Well, we did make it to San Antonio last night, but the drive took a good 6 hours instead of the 4 we thought it would take. Between potty breaks, a Wal-Mart run, potty breaks, stopping for food, and potty breaks, the trip took a little longer (I'm thinking that having everyone wear diapers would not have been a bad idea after all, ha ha).
A little back-tracking...
In Dallas we went to The Sixth Floor, the JFK assasination museum. "Why," you might be asking, "would you take your children to a place like that?" Well, I must admit, the museum was a little bit over their heads, and maybe a little sobering, but it was still very interesting to see the place where JFK was shot and to learn a little more history on the subject.
Though this looks like just a picture of a street, the "X" you see in the middle of the street is where JFK was shot. The two handome men in the background (the one in the blue shirt who's holding the one in the green shirt) are my huband and son.
Here are Daisy and Twiggy sitting on "The Grassy Knoll".
Fast forwarding...
Today in San Antonio, we went to see the Alamo. Is that where Custard had his last stand? I think I learned too much of my history from Patch the Pirate. : ) No, seriously, another interesting landmark in our nation's history that if you are ever in the San Antonio area I would highly recommend visiting...or if you are homeschooling your children (Froggy) and would like to take a little field trip during your study of the Alamo ; ). Call me really dumb, but I did not know that Davey Crockett was killed at the seige of the Alamo...guess I should have paid more attention in my history classes.
Well, so far it may seem like we've had a kind of morbid vacation (at least the sight-seeing part), but we are hoping to take the kids to the zoo and the gulf on Thursday and Friday. They were very excited to get to our final destination, Los Fresnos, this afternoon, where we will be spending the next three days...a few days of not riding in the car is always a good thing for small children, a pregnant woman...and her husband. I'll close with a few pictures of the kids during their favorite pasttime:
I forgot to tell you...
We do have pictures of the Alamo, but we'll have to post them when we get back. I did not have the memory card in the camera and forgot the connecting cable at home. Oops!
We arrived in Dallas, Texas yesterday afternoon at about 3:30. The trip couldn't have gone better. The kids did great and Paul and I stayed awake when we needed to. Thanks to the Lord, I had no trouble with my restless legs while I was driving and that was a huge answer to prayer!
Today we are going to do a little sight-seeing here in Dallas and then drive the 4 hours to San Antonio where we will be spending a day or so. We miss you all there in Chetek! Twiggy sends her love to Mimi and Papa. She has already said through tears that she misses you, Papa and Mimi! Stay tuned...
Bird, Twiggy, and Daisy in the mud puddle.
Bird, Daisy, Twiggy, and an orange in the mud puddle.
I think Bird may have sat in the mud puddle.
Beautiful Bird!
Thawed mud...and my sweet Twiggy!
Rocky sporting his brand new DQ hat from Papa and Mimi!
He looked pretty funny, being so much bigger than a normal swaddled baby, however, as you can see from the picture below he looks pretty content (especially for a kid who did not like being swaddled as an infant). 
I love how they notice things about other kids at such a young age (which means they probably notice things about parents at a young age too...scary)."You know you can see if you're blinded"
I had a dream last night that I walked outside on a sunny day just after a snowfall and was blinded by it's brightness.
Does anyone else think strange things during the middle of the night? Should I be worried? I think pregnancy is taking it's toll on me.
The eldest sister anxiously awaited the arrival of her tasty delicacy of mild boneless buffalo wings (for 1/2price, mind you).
But the youngest was slightly miffed, for how could she partake in mild buffalo wings--despite the "mild" name, they were still quite spicy. "The honey BBQ would have been a much better choice," she murmered to herself.
The middle sister, however, was just happy to be out with no children.
While waiting for her food, Melinda (that's what we'll call the eldest daughter) said, "I'm parched," and took a drink of her strawberry lemonade...
...but as she did, a lemon fell out right into her mouth. She made an awful face (as one can imagine she would).
Suddenly she thought to herself, "When life hands me lemons, why not make lemonade" and gracefully smiled.
But the youngest sister did not think it was something to smile about.
Just then, two young gentlemen approached the table where the three were sitting and asked if they could join "such lovely beauties..."
...these lovely beauties (don't they look thinner?).
But after discussing it amongst themselves, Felicity (the second sister) kindly stated that they would sooner eat with a wombat than with the two gentlemen standing before them...
...and sent them on their way.
At last their food arrived and Felicity promptly "dug in".
She thought the food was delicious and was so overjoyed that she smiled.
But Tiffany (the youngest) was not amused.
Finally, the bill was brought to the table. Tiffany grabbed the bill and sweetly exclaimed, "I'll pay for it!"
And that is the end of the story...
...or is it?
