lessons from rain ~

Last night I awoke to the sounds of raindrops hitting our old windows. We sleep on the seccond floor, and the storms are so much louder up there. As I child I loved turbulant weather. I welcomed the sounds of rain pounding on the rooftop, and the deep barreling growl of the thunder. Every time it growled I pictured two massive black clouds running into one another right above my room. When the lightening flashed, it lit up the room like the lights were on. For one split second, I could see every detail in the room...what page my book was open to, a pile of clothes, my closet door that was slightly open... and so on the next flash, I would squint to see what I could identify in my closet...but only for one split second...becuse then as quickly as it came...darkness again..until the next one. And the thunder...the louder the better...I cherished the loudest, unexpected claps of thunder, where you feel your heart jump, and your insides vibrate.... I would fold down deeper into the covers, pulling them in tight around me...not out of fear, but out of delightful suspence...smiling, because somehow as the weather raged outside my window, I felt safe and secure just inside of it.

On some nights, when the storms were especially loud, I would see the familiar flashes of blue and green lights coming from downstairs...not from the lightening, but from the tv...my parents were up, awakened by the storm...a few lamps were on and they were moving about the house,...I was never exactly sure what they were doing, but something in that movement made me feel safe, watched over, protected...so again, after the blues and greens were gone...I would curl down further into the covers and wait for the next one...the next crash, the next flash and pray that I fell asleep before the silence after the storm came...that was always the worst part...because it was over...

As an adult, I still welcome the storms at night...but I assume another response to the beating raindrops on the roof...My husband and I almost instinctively and without verbal exchange begin going through an understood rain dance...I check for any casualties left outside...a bike, some cleats....I peek out to make sure the car windows are up, we squint through all the windows checking the trees searching for loose branches, and Jeff double checks any vulnerable spots in the house for leaks...and then, like I remember as a child, we welcome the familiar green and blue tv lights to check for any weather alerts. After a prayer against a lightening strike...it's back to bed, where I nostalgically curl up, sinking downward into my covers and wait with childlike suspense for the next...big...roar.

This last storm, as I watched the room light up, and pondered it all, it hit me...childlike faith...that was what I experienced in a storm as a child...complete assurance that my mother and father were on guard. I knew they were taking care of me, and I felt there active presence all through the house. They would not let me sleep through a fire caused by a lightening strike. They would not let a tree fall on my room...they might even be kind enough to retrieve my bike from the rusting rain.

Then I pondered...Life has storms. They come unexpectedly...they come at night sometimes, and often, I fail to realize that any storms that come my way have been filtered through his hands....the hands that can command the storms to "be still!" He is faithful to protect me, like I believed my parents to be...even more faithful than my own parents could have been.

In last night's storm, for the first time, I purposefully waited to hear it subside. I listened for the sweet silence that followed the noise, and in that silence, folded down into the covers, and thanked Him and I decided the next time a "life" storm comes my way, I am going to consider that "my father is up"...he is always up...and yes, I might double check the vulnerable places for storm damage, and I might bring a casualty in from the rain, but I will also stop and thank him...for always watching over me.. for staying up...for His presence in my house...in my life...in my storms...for sheltering me from the loud ones like my parents did, but also, for something my parents could never do...for calming them.

the dilemma of tackling ~

When I visualized my children in their grade school years, I had dreamy visions of taking the "less" path...less activities, less commitments, less intensity, less fuss. I visualized them sitting around the kitchen table after school doing homework and eating a snack...maybe even milk and cookies. And perhaps, we have actually acheived that "comparatively" speaking...but I have learned time and again that our realities don't always line up our visions.... and this past fall our lives took a turn...a turn towards "more."

Let me explain ~ In keeping with the "less" mentality, Fisher has never been allowed to do more than one sport at a time...I have often said that God would have to shout through a megaphone in the sky for us to choose that road. But as with all decisions, or should I say, convictions, it comes with sacrifices and consequences. Well we chose our "one" sport this past fall to be Football. Not just any football..but the kind where you hit one another...the kind without flags, not "touch" football, but full out, shoulders down, head up, tackle football.

This decision was not made flippantly, as we had never done an intense sport like this before this year. For months Jeff and I processed the pros and cons this level of sport would be for our family. You would have thought we were choosing a college or a academic major, but at nine years of age, he is our little trail blazer, and these seemingly "little" decisions are mighty in our eyes and in our lives.

Ironically, before we began processing the decision our minds were set against it. When Fisher was a baby I NEVER would have said he would play football, and I had a long list of reasons why, but that passion and vision did not include my little boy's big longing eyes starting at me with that "please say yes!" look. As we worked through all the pros and cons and set up the boundaries and deal breakers, it became more than obvious that for Fisher, and our family, the fall would be spent giving tackle football a chance. Funny how the reality of life "played out" changes from the visions we once had. When all the decision making was laid out on the table, the only "con" really was the time factor, but the pros, along with Fisher's begging, became heavy enough to tip the scales. The time factor has been a big commitment, but it is seasonal and it came with a sacrifice...no basketball after football season ended. Basketball runs from November - March, but we are not allowing Fisher to play in order to get back the family time we surrendered in the early fall.

So now entering December, we are heading into a season of no sport at all until baseball begins in March. This alone is something we have not experienced as a family since before Fisher was in Kindergarden. Football was not just Fisher's thing, but instead it became a "family thing." Decked out in our team colors and Adeline in her cheerleading uniform, the entire family went to EVERY GAME and in no time at all became fully engaged in the competition and spirit of the sport...in a surprising way, we all bonded around the new adventure that we entered into so cautiously. All our 'deal breakers" (yelling coaches, potential injury, stress shown on Fishers part, struggling grades) only became deal "makers." We LOVED the influence of the coach's, and Fisher did not stress at all, but instead, relished in the manliness of it all. When he wraps up a player or does suicides in the mud he does it with a smile that can only come from a newly found "rite of passage."

So, unexpectedly, for us, we chose to tackle...though the decision did not come lightly, it was a great one, actually, it was the right one. As I said, I am learning that my "pictures" are not the same as the reality that plays out in real life, but the trick is to "obey" in the present...the "where" and the "when" that God has placed us, and not our visions of the past, and remember to make our children's hearts and desires a "factor" in those realities...like I said, I never wanted a football player, but my son's little heart is overjoyed at the chance to wear his (tackle) football jersey to school every Friday! He smiles all the way! Oh, and when he gets home, he sits at our kitchen table in that footbal jersy and does his homework...just after a snack.... some days it's even milk and cookies.

do we need all ten fingers anyway? ~

We have just returned home from our family's annual beach trip. Every year at the beach is magical for us. Some are mountain people, some are city folk, some our hill country people, we are beach people...we just become one with the sun, sand and water and find ourselves lost in all that exists there. Fisher swims so far out into the waves. As I watch him, I hold my breath and pray, all the while relishing his fearlessness like an honor that manifests itself in a generous smile and a furrowed brow.

This year was an unusually perfect week at the beach. I am beginning to believe that the Lord drops down unusual nature incidents for Fisher and laughs as he watches as it all unfold...This trip Fisher caught a Shovel head ray, a sea snail, a crab, and multiple small fish (with a casting net) and a shark...yes, a shark.

The ray was first...it found itself somewhat stuck in the shallow waters of the surf and Fisher without hesitation grabbed it up with his hands and immediately drew a crowd. He became a pied piper of sorts on the beach, but instead of a pipe, he carried a sea creature. Everyone looked, some touched, and a brave few asked to hold, and then Fisher graciously sent it back to the ocean while whispering a prayer of thanks for such an awesome find.

The shark incident was one I was absent for (a big regret of mine) because I was up making Adeline lunch in the condo...but here is how the story goes as reported by all the viewers. A man was fishing off the shore where Fisher and his friends were swimming in the waves and he caught the baby bonnet head shark. Fisher saw him reeling it in and ran over to see what he caught. Upon realization that it was a small shark the man cut it lose, and it began to swim back out into the waves. Fisher followed it and eventually pounced on it and pulled it out of the water to show Jeff. He was holding it from the belly (near the mouth) with one hand and by the tail with the other, and it was squirming around trying to bite him. Jeff, wisely told him to hold it by the tail so as not to lose a finger. He took both hands and held it up by the tail and everyone crowded around to have a look and then he threw it back into the water whispering another prayer...his first shark catch, but most certainly not the last I am sure!

Often I am asked, why...why do we as his parents let him approach and worse, handle such mystery creatures....well, I have no "satisfactory" answer except that God has given me certain peace about Fishers uncanny familiarity with "wildlife." Fisher has no "fear filter" when it comes to God's creatures, but he does use a filter of wisdom and Jeff and I have both observed it in action. For example, he will not catch a snake he knows is poisonous and he would not have attempted to catch a shark twice his size...if he thinks death is even an option then he refrains, but simply losing a finger might be worth the adventure. He has caught countless number of insects, reptiles, amphibians, animals, birds, and now sea creatures that we have literally lost count.

God formed children with unique bents and specific designs that manifest themselves in their tolerances, passions and interests...I am convinced of that...so knowing that God made Fisher unique in that way, Jeff and I sit back and watch it all unfold...and sometimes it is just unbelievable the things he drops into our lap, our back yard, our neighborhood bayou, and our oceans right in front of Fisher as if He is saying, "here little buddy, this one is from me to you, enjoy, I made all of this for your pleasure!"

As a mom, it takes a great deal of calm, decisive allowance, but the journey is so much fun, and so very worth it... and as crazy as it sounds, I have come to terms with the fact that Fisher does not, in fact, need all ten fingers..

proper vessels ~

The vessel from which you drink, directly affects the enjoyment, and taste of what you drink...especially with diet coke, wine and coffee.

goals ~

Fisher has his first baseball game of the season tonight!!! Fisher's goal - home run; my goal - not to run along side Fisher to first base this year screaming RUN! (behind the fence of course).

'best-est' just works sometimes ~

One of my sweetest, best-est (I know that is not a word, but it just works sometimes) friends in the whole world is my friend Dana. We just “get” the same stuff. Laughter is an accessory to us, and though we can escape to deeper thinking, it is almost always accompanied by humor paving the way. Humorous scenario's seem to become mile markers and memorials in the history of our friendship...this is one of those memorials ~

Dana is a diabetic, and has been since she was 15 years old. As with most diabetics, when she was pregnant, she was “high risk,” but her pregnancy developed some more serious complications and so she had to be on bed rest most of the time. She did get out every once in a while but it was usually in a wheelchair.

Well, one Sunday, she was dropped off at the door of our church and as she was getting out of the car she chose to leave her middle finger in the door as she shut it. No other finger was a casualty of this happening… just the middle finger (how that is physically possible is beyond me) …she whimpered a bit and made her way into the church service. I was not present for any of this but I come into the scene later…

Sooooo… she is sitting in church waiting for the service to start, and she begins to feel the pain welling up in her finger…and upon further investigation she notices that it is rapidly becoming the size of a link of Jimmy Dean Sausage. Well either the sight of this or all the blood leaving her head and going to her finger cause her to feel a bit “queasy” and so she got up and headed to the kitchen area behind the sanctuary.

Here the scene turns quite dramatic…You see, during Dana’s pregnancy she was like a “rare and precious pearl” to all who knew her…it was difficult for her to get pregnant, and then to top it off with her diabetes and high risk pregnancy…she was like a walking emergency room…drama ensued everywhere she went…(I think she kind of liked it...shhh)

Well I innocently made my way to the kitchen to refill my coffee before the service started and this is the scene I find…(get ready)… Dana spread out on the long Kitchen table…lying there on her back, hands folded across her chest as if she is in a coffin. It was like a scene from ER, there were people moving 90 miles an hour grabbing ice and fanning her and yelling frantically... “Get help…get help”

If I had not have been concerned for her pregnancy, I probably would have laughed out loud…(that is just the way it is with us) it was quite the 911…so I rush over to her to see if she is like in labor??? or in a diabetic coma ??? or bleeding about the head and face???…and to my surprise and relief, she looks at me, whimpers, and holds up her swollen middle finger and says… “I slammed it in the car door…it really hurts”…I think I actually laughed out loud while others looked at me in disbelief. Trust me, my “inappropriate” laughter, was accompianed by a deep relief... it was just a finger 911 and not a baby 911…not a Dana 911

For the rest of the service she remained there on the kitchen table. With others checking on her periodically (me included), and to this day when I picture her 4’11 frame with her 8 month tummy and her swollen middle finger lying flat on her back on the table in the very middle of our little church kitchen I laugh…If only I had brought a camera…I am sure the visitors that day were quite confused.

Well, that finger of her's still has a mark under the nail and her beautiful daughter is now 6 years old…I guess the drama was merited, but hey, even merited drama can still be comical...at least when it comes to the two of us...thanks for the laughs, looking forward to many more mile markers...they make the journey much more fun!

familiar nets ~

Matthew 4:18 reads, “Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw… Peter…casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And He said, Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.” My son’s name comes from this verse...He can tell you that he will become a fisher of men, “catching them for Jesus!”

When I consider this call, I think, wow, what an invitation right?But, then again, not really… I don’t think Christ was politely asking …he was, in his wonderful authoritative way, commanding… Scripture says Peter immediately left his net and followed…why did he respond so quickly? Remember this was his livelihood…probably all he knew…and he had never met this stranger calling him so boldly from the beach…he had no obvious reason to go and no reason to follow…but this was his call to service and Peter’s response illustrates how authoritative, direct and powerful Christ’s commanding invitation must have been!

So I think, what familiar places am I willing to leave the comforts of for something presently I know nothing about? Have I entered into His authoritative command on my life to come and be a part of all that he has prepared for me? (Eph 2:10) Peter did, and what an amazing journey he began, journeys where he walked on water, and witnessed the many miracles of Christ…a journey miles apart from the life of a fisherman in the Sea of Galilee. I don’t want to miss my journey and the “big stuff” waiting there...I pray that I am not still holding onto familiar nets in my own Sea of Galilee.

Peter’s journey was one full of a zealous love and heart for Christ and His ministry. He was so full of passion...he truly “got it”…even Christ tells him that in Matt. 16:17. After asking His disciples “who do you say that I am” Peter answers, “You are the Christ, the son of the living God.” And Christ says to him… “Blessed are you Peter, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you but my Father in heaven.” He knew now who the seemingly bossy stranger calling him from the beach truly was and what that meant for him. When I think of my children, this is what I pray for them...that they understand what flesh and blood cannot “reveal,” but only the pricking of their hearts by their “Father in Heaven.”

I hope I don’t just get it once though, I hope to keep “getting it,” I want to continue in understanding who this maker is that pursues me with an unquenchable love? I don’t know that I “get it” all the time, but I have moments, days and perhaps seasons like Peter’s…when I say… “Wow…You are the Christ”…I hope to keep getting to know this authoritative companion who walks with me in life, but who also holds my future in his hand. I want to keep “getting it” more deeply.

But it is so comforting to read that Peter still had moments of weakness and confusion… Matthew 26:58 describes the zealous believer who had just proclaimed Him “the Christ” now, after Jesus’ arrest, following behind him “from a distance”…ouch…now he is lingering further away from this redeemer and following him “in secret.” “What happened to you Peter?”…I want ask as I read…and then I stop and think of my own life…as much as I think “I get it,” I know that I have areas of my life that I find myself, like Peter…following “from a distance”… areas that are hard for me to fully give up control. …Nets that are too familiar to just drop and walk away from for the unknown that awaits in following my savior totally and completely…so I stop and reconsider Peter and his denial and distant following…and begin to search myself and creep closer to the provider of all my needs and strive to follow more closely and more completely.

One of my favorite parts in scripture about Peter is found after Christ’s death resurrection…Acts 4:13 “Now as they observed the confidence of Peter…and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” Wow…what redemption…what restoration…what completion…He was fully living the call on his life…before he had been trailing his Lord at a distance, hoping not to be associated with this radical savior, and here we find him healing in the name of Christ and living in such a way that others were amazed and recognized him as “having been with Jesus.” Freed from the fear of association. I love the restoration and mercy this highlights for us all.

I too, want to try to drop my familiar nets…all of them…and respond quickly to the commands of Christ and his call on my life, leaving the familiar for the extraordinary, holding tight to the truth, striving to “get it” more deeply, giving over the areas that are “following at a distance” to the point that someday…hopefully…others recognize that I have been with Jesus. So for now…Lord…Show me the nets, help me to drop them and give met the courage to follow!

beth moore was my roommate ~

So, you know those questions you get asked from time to time..."If you could choose from anyone in the world...Who would you have over for dinner?...who would you want for your best friend?...etc."  Well, my answer is very easy and requires very little thought time...Beth Moore...

Every time I see her on a new teaching video, I actually get butterflies (weird, I know)..., and I find myself leaning in closer and closer to the screen to just get some clue, some hint as to how she does it. Like a kid would study Andre Johnson play football, I too, study how she teaches... like for example, last week she kept pulling little sticky notes off of a piece of paper  and moving them around.So, I got lost in thought about what was on all those sticky notes...a verse...a personal story... a joke??? What was it? I even said something out loud once without even realizing it to the woman next to me... I leaned over and said “what is she doing with the sticky notes?” and she said, “What sticky notes?”   ha...well...this is how it is with Beth and me, and I love it.

I am writing this because just last week on Tuesday night I had a funny dream about Beth. In my dream we were both on some kind of Ladies weekend retreat. And, somehow she was my roommate. Obviously, this makes no sense, but wow, this dream was so real. I don't remember much about the details of the dream, but I do remember that it was a blast...it was fun, funny and inspiring all at the same time. I woke up and told my husband that I had just met Beth Moore. He looked confused...but that's par for us ~ 

So, the funny thing is that yesterday, I got a text from a friend who works at Beth’s grandson’s preschool. She told me that Beth Moore had just dropped off her grandson...“BUTTERFLIES,” was all I could text back.  She responded by offering me a "chance" to see her at 2:30 when she came back up to pick him up.

But, 2:30 came and went, and my “chance” went with it. The way I see it, you cannot manufacture a dream...And a dream of mine is to meet her (ok...and like maybe have dinner with her...and like maybe be besties...).  And when I say meet her, I don't mean because of some synthetic chance that came from a tip in the form of a text from a friend who has her grandson in a local preschool. 

You see, for some reason, since my dream, I feel a bit differently about who she is and how much I admire her. I love the passion she has for women and scripture and her "man",  but something else hit me... I have complete, unwavering confidence that someday we will get that meeting, and it won’t be by chance. 

Because...Wow...We get to share eternity together! And I believe there we will get to talk at great length about all the things we love...about scripture, and history, and learning, and Jesus and the prophets, and prayer, and studying...and more studying..., and obeying, and "our men," and motherhood, and mostly women...precious women, women we teach, women we love and women we pray truth finds...OH...and I will finally learn what she does with all the stick notes ~ soooo....until then, I still hope with all my heart to run into her this side of Heaven, but if not, then, I will be content with simply bunking with her on a random retreat in my dream...it was a blast, after all!

effort counts for something, right? ~

I love making plans, lists, categorizing...so the idea of new years goals is heavenly..At the end of each year I set aside some time to "fine tune"...I divide my life up into categories and evaluate how I am doing in each of those areas...then I think of a few "un-overwhelming" ways to tweak those areas a bit in order to be moving forward in each...so as not to be stagnant. The way I see it, if I don't evaluate I'll never learn where I am stagnant, ya know...to some this list might seem overwhelming, but it is just a personal evaluation...I don't have a "paid-job" but this is the same kind of thing they do in the business world...right??? So, why not do a year end evaluation in my own private world...ya know! Anyway, most of the list involves "reading something" because I am an addicted learner, and I think that learning is the key to improving...knowing how. So that is really what most of the areas consist of...something to read rather than do...but my hope is that once I read, I will then "do" what I have learned. So having said that...T These are my "Goals for 2009!" As far as when I find the time to read all of this...usually in the a.m. between 5 - 7 or in the bed at night before going to sleep...I never read during the day...I can't find the time...oh, and just like with every list in my life...much will get pushed to the next list...2010...but hey, effort counts for something right?

2009 New Year Goals

Spiritual Goals –

Scripture memory ~ larger chunks (Beginning with Psalm 23, and Psalm 91)

Read He that is spiritual - Chafer

Read The Divine Conspiracy - Willard

Read The spirit of the disciplines - Willard

Physical Goals -

Vitamins – (Jeff sets them out for me every day, and I never take them.)

Brush teeth before bed - I know this one seems odd, but too many nights I just brush past the bathroom and b-line straight for the bed.

Skin care regiment - Hello...40 is not that far.

Personal Goals –

Read The Biography of George Muller

Read Through the gates of splendor - Elliot

Read Biography of Eric Lidell

(I would like to focus on amazing acts of others)

Watch College Football

Learn and understand photoshop and get a SLR Camera (I was motivated by the pictures we had taken in November - I don't want to go into business, just capture the great moments of life in my house as it happens...I thought...if she (the photographer can do this, I can do this...not always the case with everything, but worth a try)

Social Goals –

Keep up better with my girlfriends by initiating more phone calls - I get on auto pilot way too much...I can forget to look up!

Service Goals –

I want to make our support of Village Schools International in Tanzania more infused into our family through pictures,(one is shown above) and reading the ministry updates to the family.

Family Service projects

Marital Goals –

Re-read The Excellent Wife – Peace

Read The Love Dare

Continue bi-monthly date nights w/ sitter

Parenting Goals –

Read Raising Kids that turn out right – Kimmal

Re-read Being a Great mom raising great kids - Jaynes

Re-read Grace based parenting – Kimmal

Memorize our family blueprint and teach it to our children...infuse it into our home(I will list the blue print here)

Camping – do it (twice next year)

Scripture memory w/ kids

Daily devotionals with kids

Family meeting/devos - short and sweet - once a week!

Fantasy Goal -

meet and become good friends with Beth Moore

this was my president ~

confessions of a sore loser ~

Today is inauguration day ~ I wish I were happy. I chose not to watch the coverage of the inauguration of our newly elected president Barak Obama. I would love to be a witness to this historic event, but I just cannot bring myself to watch.

I have really wrestled with the outcome of this election and I wish I could say that my wrestling has been noble. But is has not..it has been mostly the heart of, for lack of a better word, a sore loser. I have been just that...and I gave myself until today to sulk and pout, to kick and scream, to whine and complain, telling myself that until January 20, he was not my president, but today, January 20th, he is just that...my president, my commander and chief...and the man my children will grow to know as the president of their youth.(sigh)

As I swallow hard and pray for the obedience to pray, I accept this man as my leader...like taking a big cumbersome vitamin, I choke this day down and accept the sovereignty in this affair. I have no more words, no more tantrums, and hopefully no more tears, (yes there have been tears)...I am resolved to give up my poor sportsmanship as of today.

So,as this historic day takes place, I look back at the last eight years with a grateful, endearing sigh and say, Thanks you President George W. Bush...thank you for keeping us safe, thank you for your fortitude and unwavering resolve in the face of extreme criticism, and thank you for your obvious love of The living God. And I look forward to the next 4+ years with a hope that comes only through my head's knowledge of God's provisional truth, and I pray that the hope trickles down form my head's knowledge to my heart's peace.

The only words left to say are that of the Apostle Paul ~ "Let us be subject to governing authorities for there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God." ~ Romans 13:1.

inestimable ~ nice word choice

The following is a letter I found in my inbox today My husband is good with words, and he blesses me  with that from time to time.  But today's letter is perhaps the nicest letter I have ever received     from him.  Not because it is long and deep, but    because he compliments me for the very things that I am striving to do successfully and his letter    gives me hope that in some small way that success is measured and noticed, maybe not by many, but the    person who matters most to me.  Love that man!
letter below~

Angel,

You are the greatest blessing that the Lord has given me.  I am both thrilled and  humbled by His gift of you to me. Your passion for our family is inspiring and  makes me     want to be a better husband and father. I love your      heart and sweet  spirit. I love the time we spend         together as friends and lovers. You bring me  great joy, and knowing how well you manage your household is a       comfort to me. I  love the life and family we have and           know that the years ahead will be full of  love and joy with you as wife and mother. Thank you for the        sacrifices you make  for us, and thank you for being        patient with your stubborn husband.  Your worth to me      is inestimable.  You are altogether beautiful         my darling, and there is no blemish in you. My  beloved is mine and I am hers.  I love you, 

Yours

25 random things ~

My friend tagged me to write this on facebook, but I thought it would be fun to post here too...here it is...

25 Random Things ~ by Laura

1. My alarm goes off every morning at 4:45 ~ from 5 - 7 is one of my favorite times of the day.

2. I love to wear pearls...with anything...a t-shirt and jeans to Wal-mart, and I still feel "girly" in my pearls.

3. I love where I live, I never want to move, and I want to grow old and die right here in my house an old woman (might need to move the master down)

4. I used to want to grow up to be the first lady, and deep down inside I envy them.

5. I sang in a band in college – we sang in bars and at Greek functions, and made good money – two guys and me ~ our name was “We’re Not Dating”

6. I have been in love with my husband since I was 15...seriously...can hardly remember my past without him. He says he married me because I laughed at him, and I say I married him because he made me laugh....still does.

7. I am a ridiculous creature of habit, ritual and routine! I park in the same parking spot at the grocery store, I will only buy my daughter purple crocs, I sit in the same seats at church, I will only clean my house on Monday’s, wine at 5:00, I won’t make my bed on Sunday’s, errands on Wednesdays...the list goes on and on and on and on...seriously...on and on.

8. I love to study and research just about anything...Someday I would love to teach/share the stuff I am learning... mostly history, scripture, and random unknown things...like why they put the word FISH in big letters on the back of trucks, or why our teeth chatter when it is cold.

9. I MUST laugh several times a day...laughter is medicinal, and necessary... life is funny and should be laughed at much and often lest one become cantankerous, judgmental and captious!!! (Refer to #6)

10. I have a love affair with coffee...and I think that a sonic diet coke and a trip to Target can cure almost any mood.

11. Commercials, movies, or sitcoms with any form of gratuitous physical comedy makes me laugh until I cry and my stomach aches...then I rewind it and do it all again...

12. I think Jesus of Nazareth is the original maverick, and just truly the most amazing person that ever lived and I can’t learn enough about him, but I hope to live my life trying. I love Him. (Phil 3:10)

13. I broke my collar bone falling into a handicapped toilet side rail in a department store. (I tell no lie.)

14. I love my kids in ways I could never pen....having them makes me feel like I have won the lottery...every day...

15. I would like to work on listening more and talking less...I am HORRIBLE at interrupting...I even interrupt myself sometimes, and who knows how much wisdom I have missed because I hardly let people finish their thoughts.

16. I resist the temptation to run everywhere...into the grocery store, into the pre-school, through parking lots, I tell myself “Don’t run, Laura, that is weird”

17. In 2006, Jeff left a family business and sold cars for a living while looking for another job, it was the hardest year of our lives, but also the sweetest and one of the most meaningful.

18. My family is deeply rooted in Texas history...My Grandfather ran for governor of Texas and lost to Wilbert Lee O’Daniel, in 1938, and he went on in polotics to retire as the Assistant Attorney General of Texas, and my grandmother is a Fannin as in Colonel James Fannin's from the battle at Goliad.

19. I have taught my kids to repeat to me on command “mom, you are so cool, you are cooler than cool, you are the origin of all coolness.” It comes in handy when they really want something they don’t deserve...I just say... “What do you say????”

20.I know every word to Alanis Morissette’s album “Jagged Little Pill” and I “might” have been known to lip-sync it on numerous occasions, using a cordless phone as a microphone.

21.My least favorite personality trait in a person is pretentiousness, and I teach my kids that “Everyone’s workin’ on something.”

22. I have a thing about nostalgic smells and as a result, I will never switch perfume...so that when my children smell it they think of me, and always will.

23. I get the hiccups every time I eat rice...every...single...time...

24. I was a high school cheerleader, and I can still do the KHS school song, and “may” have been known to put on my cheerleading uniform and perform it for my children.

25. I love clip boards ~ I’m just sayin’