Memorial Day

Happy Memorial Day--if there is such a thing when you think about the men and women that died for our country. Thank the Lord for their willingness to serve the United States of America.

This weekend has seemed long. That is rare in our home. Usually the weekends fly by. It will be a short week for Olaf as he is taking Friday off for his stress tests. Hopefully all will go well with that.

We have kind of been on a Ben & Jerry's kick lately. Blame it all on Cheri. I wouldn't normally buy Ben & Jerry's because they are SUCH commie libs that I HATE to support them. However, when she mentioned a flavor called Oatmeal Cookie Chunk, I relented. Oh my goodness! Is it heavenly. Since then we have tried, Everything but the..., Pistachio, Pistachio (YUM!), The Godfather, and Chunky Monkey. It's on sale at Kroger this week for $2.50. Do you know that they have about 19 grams of fat for 1/2 cup??? What the???? Who eats only 1/2 cup of that stuff? The entire container is 2 cups, so if you eat the whole thing (like me) then you get 56 grams of fat ALL AT ONCE! That is about twice as much as a Big Mac. Lawdy he'p me!

I tried to do one of my FIRM DVD's today. It started skipping toward the end. I called their customer service (Goodtimes) and told them about it and they are sending another out to me. That made me happy. It is a really tough cardio workout and I rarely do it. They only use three pound weights in it and focus ALL on cardio. I am sucking wind at the end.

I am totally PMS'ing this week. My hormones are crazy and I have about one nerve left in my entire body. I am trying to keep my flesh under control but it is even harder than normal when the hormones rage. My poor poor family:) Pray for them.

Have I ever said how dern cute my children are? They are all so cute! Grace cracks me up. I asked her recently what she wanted to be when she grew up and she said to me, "I want to be a pirate. ARRRGGHH!" Oh, it made me laugh. Out of all my children, only Grace would say that.

The children are SUPER excited about next MAY and Disney! The year is going to drag by for them. It will fly by for Olaf and I though.

Need to run. Josiah is hyperventilating. Olaf spanked him and he won't calm down.

Woo Hoo!

Wanna see where we are staying next May when we go to Disney? Go ahead and look! All this for $198 FOR THE ENTIRE WEEK! Praise the Lord!

Sad day for me

My friend Karen has an agressive form of cancer. It started in her breast and has spread to her liver. Please pray as they decide whether or not to do chemo. I pray constantly for her and her family. I think I will register for The 3 Day Walk in honor of Karen. In honor of a lot of women actually. In honor of Dana. In memory of my mother-in-law. For a hopeful future for my girls.

Time to get back on the wagon

After a full month of eating any and everything, I am getting back on the bandwagon. I only gained about 2 pounds, but I continued to do the FIRM at least three days a week. I am committed to FIRMing 6 days a week and eating better. Grace's birthday cake is almost gone, so that will help tremendously! I was working out today when I heard a loud "thump" from my room. Josiah was on my bed watching Dora and obviously he rolled (or jumped) off. Our bed is fairly high off the ground too. As I raced in there he was laying on the floor unable to breathe. I think he got the wind knocked out of him. He calmed down relatively fast though and I don't see any bruises yet!:)

My friend, Karen, is still in the hospital. They are trying to find out what is going on. The family won't let me post any speculations that have been made by the doctors. They want a firm diagnosis before they announce it to anyone. I find that completely ludicrous, but I am not in their shoes. She has been up at Emory since Saturday and they still have not done a full body MRI. They were supposed to do that on MONDAY! In the meantime, her five children are being watched by a young woman from their church. The children are confused and miss their parents. Please pray for this family. I cannot imagine what they must be going through right now. The fact is the news will NOT be good about Karen unless the Lord heals her. Last night I had a dream (I fell asleep praying for Karen) that I had stomach cancer and was terminal. It was an awful dream. Then I awoke to remember Dana's post awhile back. We are ALL terminal, aren't we? I am not guaranteed today. Neither are you. Live like it!

FYI-The homeschool post below was not authored by me. I just thought it was funny.

I am trying to play catch up with the Believing God Study. I am still in week 5, but I love it! Love it! I highly recommend every woman reading this blog to do it! You watch videos online and print out your homework.

I need to shower. I stink. In my 100 Things About Me, it says I don't sweat. Well, I sweat now. Since I have lost weight and have been FIRMing, I sweat a lot! And I stink too. I'm not sure what happened, but my metabolism shifted or something...

Tomorrow is my crown build-up appointment with the dentist. Almost 2 hours in the dentist chair. FUN!

It's a gorgeous day today. My little man would rather watch Dora. The other three are all outside playing. I love that. Have a great day!

Public School is better than homeschool

Why Public Schooling Is Better Than Homeschooling

10. Most parents were educated in the underfunded public school
system, and so are not smart enough to homeschool their own children.

9. Children who receive one-on-one homeschooling will learn more than
others, giving them an unfair advantage in the marketplace. This is
undemocratic.

8. How can children learn to defend themselves unless they have to
fight off bullies on a daily basis?

7. Ridicule from other children is important to the socialization process.

6. Children in public schools can get more practice "Just Saying No"
to drugs, cigarettes and alcohol.

5. Fluorescent lighting may have significant health benefits.

4. Publicly asking permission to go to the bathroom teaches young
people their place in society.

3. The fashion industry depends upon the peer pressure that only
public schools can generate.

2. Public schools foster cultural literacy, passing on important
traditions like the singing of "Jingle Bells, Batman smells, Robin
laid an egg..."

1. Homeschooled children may not learn important office career
skills, like how to sit still for six hours straight.

Grace is four!

Today is my baby girl's birthday! Here are a few pictures! It's is hard to believe that four years ago she was born right here at home. In my bed. Caught by her Papa. Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

May 20th, 1985

Twenty years ago today, I graduated from high school. WOW! All I can say is I'm old. I was young for graduating though. I was only 17 and didn't turn 18 until November. I started college at age 17 and remember reading signs everywhere saying you couldn't be on campus unless you were eighteen without a parent. This August is my high school reunion. I am not sure if we will go. Actually, I'm 90% sure we won't go. Flying five hours to Oregon, and then driving another two to get to my hometown with four children is not an easy task. Not to mention the time change is awful on little ones and mentally challenged boys! My children go to bed at 8:00 pm. That is 5:00 pm in Oregon. Our dinner time is 5:00 pm. That is 2:00 pm in Oregon. Caleb gets up at 5:30 am. That is 2:30 am in Oregon. Get my drift?

I am getting a cold. Josiah is too. He woke up again very early and is being a complete grump. I think this may be the day we put him in Caleb's room. It is time.

Olaf's cardiologist appointment is this afternoon. It is just a consultation. There will not be any testing. Please pray for him. My friend, Karen, also gets the results from her liver biopsy today. Both of those appointments happen this afternoon (around 3 and 4 pm est) so pray, pray, pray!

Caleb is in school for just a half day today. I have tried to explain all week that this is the last week for school and for the bus. I don't think he understands. School starts in early August here in Georgia, so by the end of July he will probably be adjusting to the "no school" routine. Just in time for school to start again. His last baseball game is tomorrow. He will play again when school starts up. I think fall ball starts in late August or September. At least he has CORRAL until the end of June or July.

I added a weather icon in my sidebar. That is a cool website. You can actually add a three day forecast and other weather stuff too. Check it out.

My friend, Dana, is doing the three day breast cancer walk. I am trying to raise money to sponsor her. If you would like to make a purchase of Longaberger, let me know and ALL profit will go to sponsor Dana in her walk!

Everyone is awake and I need to make brek-est as my Gracie girl calls it.

Summer is officially here!

We went to Caleb's school this morning to see him get his "Certificate of Completion" for the school year. Josiah got up really early today so we were able to make it with no problem. Josiah has been up since 6:45 am and hasn't napped yet. I am hoping he doesn't nap so he will go to bed at a normal time!

My friend, Stephanie, just announced she is pregnant! YIPPEE! I love celebrating with pregnant women! What a blessing.

Tonight is Bible Study. Ella gets a shot today. Tomorrow is Caleb's last day of school. Summer is officially here!

One more thing...

Diet Pepsi with Lime is da Bomb!

By the way

I rented A&E's version of Pride and Prejudice. Loved it! Now I really want to read the book.

Ella Smella

Cami and Grace

This is before Camille's Choir performance on Monday.

Jo-Shi-Sha and Mama

Olaf Jorek is my hero

My sweet husband surprised me and took yesterday off from work. We went out to lunch at Red Lobster. We cannot go out to eat with Caleb, so if we want to eat in a restaurant we need to do it while he is in school. Caleb's last day of school is this Friday, so Olaf took the day off for one last "hurrah." The weather was gorgeous. When we got home from lunch (and a little shopping) Olaf laid in the hammock while I read my new Homeschool Digest. (Cheri, I subbed you to this and their other publication, An Encouraging Word. It will start with the next issue) It was a lazy and relaxing day.

My friend, Karen, had her liver biopsy yesterday. She is supposed to get the results this Friday. Please keep her and her family in your prayers. She has 5 small children to take care of and she is in a lot of pain. I am praying for a complete healing.

My dog, Ella, isn't doing very well. She won't come up the two stairs into our house after I take her out to go potty. Picking up a 53 pound Beagle is no easy task! Her picture is below this post. I have no idea how to post small pics and then click on them to see them full size. Dana, wanna help me out on that?

I need to go. I just put Josiah in the corner and I need to speak with him.

Three Things Meme

A bunch of questions in groups of three.

THREE THINGS THAT SCARE ME:
01 | Skydiving.
02 | Riding in an airplane. (although I do it)
03 | Anything where I am not in control.

THREE PEOPLE WHO MAKE ME LAUGH:
01 | Olaf
02 | Cheri
03 | My brother, CJ

THREE THINGS I LOVE:
01 | Being a wife and mom.
02 | Newborn Babies
03 | 70's music

THREE THINGS I HATE:
01 | Crowds
02 | Driving behind idiots.
03 | WalMart

THREE THINGS I DON'T UNDERSTAND:
01 | The Trinity
02 | God's Mercy
03 | God's Grace

THREE THINGS ON MY DESK:
01 | Digital Camera
02 | Fax Machine
03 | Calculator

THREE THINGS I'M DOING RIGHT NOW:
01 | Listening to Dora the Explorer on TV
02 | Yawning
03 | Rubbing dog hair off my shirt

THREE THINGS I WANT TO DO BEFORE I DIE:
01 | Get my will in order
02 | See my children happily married.
03 | Hold a grandbaby.

THREE THINGS I CAN DO:
01 | Speak Ubbi Dubbi from Zoom
02 | Wiggle my right ear without touching it.
03 | Project my voice really loudly.

THREE WAYS TO DESCRIBE MY PERSONALITY:
01 | Extroverted
02 | Funny
03 | No facade

THREE THINGS I CAN'T DO:
01 | Walk in high heel shoes.
02 | Enjoy going to the beach.
03 | Eat just one Doublestuff Oreo.

THREE THINGS I THINK YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO:
01 | Word of God
02 | Chris Tomlin's "Arriving" CD
03 | Your husband

THREE THINGS I DON'T THINK YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO EVER:
01 | Gangsta Rap Music
02 | False teachers
03 | satan's lies

THREE OF MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE FOODS:
01 | Fried vegtables.
02 | A good cheeseburger.
03 | New York Bagels.

THREE THINGS I'D LIKE TO LEARN:
01 | Guitar
02 | Self Control
03 | Sign Language

THREE BEVERAGES I DRINK REGULARLY:
01 | Water
02 | Diet Pepsi
03 | Crystal Light

THREE SHOWS I WATCHED WHEN I WAS A KID:
01 | Charlie's Angels
02 | Love Boat
03 | Fantasy Island

Sunday and waiting for Survivor

Yes, it is the finale of Survivor tonight. That means for two hours I will be plopped mindlessly in front of the TV seeing who is going to win the million bucks. I know you super spiritual people will be closing out my blog now. I do the same thing. I make judgment calls all the time. One blog in particular. She writes about things that she does or things she enjoys and I think to myself, "How in the world can you reconcile that to your life in Christ?" And here I am watching the epitome of reality TV. First remove the log from your own eye, then you will be better suited to remove the splinter from your sister's. (That is my interpretation. The MIV. Misty Inspired Version.)

I worked out today. Saturday was a rest day, so I really needed to do some sort of workout today. I love my transFIRMer and still haven't seen the infomercial for it. I really want to see it because Carla is in it. I joined the Firm Believers Club on their website and have gotten to know a lot of the gals that were on that last infomercial. If anyone catches it and can tape it for me, I'd pay you!:)

We are heading to Disney World next May. A woman we don't even know is graciously giving us a week at a timeshare in Orlando. The cost will be about $200 for the entire week. Can you say Hallelujah? Otherwise it would not be possible. Disney tickets are so expensive and we have four children to buy for! We will be going the first week of May if it works out with the timeshare. Is timeshare one or two words? I don't know. The plan is to use our tax refund to pay for the trip next year. It should be fun. We may go to Sea World too. I used to have a friend whose husband works for Anheuser-Busch and got free tickets to Sea World. However, she is not my friend anymore so no free tickets for us!:) She ended the friendship btw. She said I was "more of a burden" than she could handle. Yeah, that's a true friend! I'm not bitter! LOL!

I really want some Ben & Jerry's that is in the freezer. I think it is calling my name. "Misty, Misty...you're a Chunky Monkey. Come eat me!"

So excited

First of all, my dog is fine. The vet thinks it is just her arthritis and gave her an injection of some sort. She does seem to be walking better today. We are supposed to take her in weekly for her shot, then taper it off to once a month. Basically it is glucosamine/chondroitin and was originally made for horses. I will also give her a glucosamine/chondroitin pill every night and see of that helps. But why am I excited you ask? I have new cellular service and I GET A SIGNAL IN MY HOUSE! This is huge! We have never, ever, ever, had a signal in our house before. To top it off, we got an awesome phone for FREE. Better than free. They are giving us a $30 rebate on each phone! Woo Hoo! I love Cingular! If you are a Cingular customer and want to call me, e-mail me and I'll give you my number!:) And you know what else I did? I downloaded a ringtone. Yep, "Lights" by Journey is my ringtone. Love it! I love new technology. I'm a techno junkie. My husband just laughs at me because I am so excited about this phone.

I mowed the lawn today. Whew! That is hard work. I was absolutely beat when I came in. Not to mention filthy. There will be no FIRM workout today. I am a bit sore from my workout yesterday. I used the 8 pound dumbbells for the chest work and shoulder work. I am feeling it today. I LOVE that feeling. Woo Hoo!

Caleb has a horse show at CORRAL tomorrow. That will be fun for him. He loves riding even though it looks like he never pays attention.

OK, I need to get busy. Have a great day!

Dog Day Afternoon

My doggie is not doing well. Olaf is going to take her to the vet this afternoon. I am afraid it's something more than just arthritis. Amy Jo and Mari from WAH just had to put their doggies to sleep last week. It looks like I may be next. Ella is a beagle and the cutest, fattest dog you have ever seen. I will have to post a picture of her.

I must exercise today. I missed yesterday. I had to go to WalMart and that messed up the day. As soon as Camille is done watching Racing Stripes, I will get to it. I certainly have not been eating clean and I can blame it on Olaf. He brought home junk food galore a couple of nights ago. Fritos and Bean Dip, chips, Ben & Jerry's. What was that man thinking? That I have mastered the fruit of the Spirit? I wish I could say that all my sinful gluttonous eating behaviors were under control, but I still fail now and again. I am doing much better, praise God!

It's been hot here. Well, hot for me. Anything over 80 is hot. I really don't like hot. I'm a cold person myself. Not Alaska cold or anything. Just not hot. If it could be 72 degrees and sunny with a nice light breeze everyday...ahhh, heaven on earth!

I really wish Melissa was still cleaning my house twice a month. It was the only time that the floors were mopped, the bathrooms were cleaned, and the house was dusted, all at once. I cannot get all of that done in one day while homeschooling and fixing lunches and on and on... I know some of you who can get it all done and I totally admire you! I'm just not one of those people. Maybe I'm just slothful and need to take a better look at my priorities.

Laundry calls...

Swonderings...

Courtesy of

Today I am counting my blessings!

The big ones:
God's infinite mercy and my salvation.
The delightful gift of my lord and lover, Olaf.
The blessings of four children.
Financial provision and the ability to stay at home with my family.
To live in this country where we have the freedoms we do.
The men and women who die to protect those freedoms.
My few girlfriends who love me no matter what.

The smaller ones:
Diet Pepsi
Chocolate kisses the day before your period.
Having my husband say he's crazy about me.
Having the time to do this meme.

I have never read this book. I'm so ashamed.

Take the Quiz here!

This good day, it is a gift from You.

I love Fernando Ortega!:)

This morning I awoke to my children and husband singing "Happy Mother's Day to You" and to handmade cards from each of the children. Olaf took a digital picture of each of the children and printed it out. Then he taped it to a piece of cardstock and let the children decorate their own page. It was very cute. After church we went to Lowe's to look at patio furniture. I thought maybe I wanted that for Mother's Day this year. I soon learned that patio furniture is way too expensive to be a Mother's Day present. Olaf did wash, wax, and detail my van which is the best Mother's Day gift ever! After Lowe's we went to Target and I bought a pair of Capris that actually fit me (2 sizes smaller than I am used to wearing). Most everything I have is hanging off of me so it's nice to have a pair of pants that fit. I will not wear shorts, so capris are the closest things to shorts that these legs will ever see. I also bought a running bra that zips up the front and holds these girls in place! How exciting is that?!? We stopped by Publix and got a few things so Olaf could grill out this evening. I had a turkey burger. And a hot dog. And chips. And about 15 Hershey kisses! Not so good as far as the diet goes, eh? I did do a sculpting workout today on my transFIRMer. I really, really, really need to eat "clean" as they say on the FIRM bulletin boards. I am premenstrual and really craving chocolate right now. I bought the kisses thinking I could practice some self-control and still have a taste of chocolate, but alas, I cannot.

Tomorrow will be a busy day. Camille has riding lessons then I have to drop her off at Molly's because she has a choir performance at Christian City. I cannot take her because of Caleb's bus schedule, so Molly's mom is going to take her for me. Her real performance will be May 16th at 7:00 pm. They are doing a program called "In God We Trust" and looks like a great program.

I need more chocolate. Yes, most definitely. More chocolate.

transFIRMer ROCKS!

I love my new transFIRMer! I just 55 minutes on it and used muscles that I didn't even know existed! Woo Hoo!

Homeschool Conference

Yesterday I went to our state homeschooling conference. They are always fun. Doug Phillips from Vision Forum was the keynote speaker. I listened to The Wise Woman's Guide to Blessing her Husband's Vision. I already bought this CD set last year, so the information in the session was not new. It was still just as convicting! As I took notes, several things JUMPED off the page and into my heart. The first one being Proverbs 31:11-12 "The heart of her husband trusts in her. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. Do I intentionally go around thinking of all the evil I can do to my husband? No. Do I do him evil anyway? You betcha! The words I use, the tone of the home, my attitudes all can do evil to my husband. Doug then proceeded to ask three questions.

1. Are you more apt to teach or listen to your husband?
2. Do you view your mission in life as being your husband's "completer?"
3. Do you rejoice in the task of taking care of your home and family, or do you find it more of a burden than a blessing?

OK, OUCH number 2! SO, I have a lot of praying, reading, and repenting to do. That is always a good thing.

Olaf went to the homeschool conference today and listened to Doug speak on The Visionary Father's Role in Home Education. He said it was really good. This was Olaf's first homeschool conference. He wanted to see everything that the homeschool world has to offer. And there is a lot of it!

I got my new transFIRMer yesterday. I am going to go workout just as soon as I end this blog entry. I am SO stoked! Just in time for Mother's Day. Speaking of that...my husband completely detailed my van while I was at the conference yesterday. I mean, he spent 4 or 5 hours on the inside alone. Right now he has all of the children outside while he washes and waxes the outside for me. What a man! My van was disgusting, folks! Let's just say that a person could have lived in there for about a month on the old french fries and Nutri Grain bar crumbs. It is SO clean right now it feels like new. Wootylujah.

OK, off to sweat.

Your English Skills:

Spelling: 100%

Punctuation: 80%

Vocabulary: 80%

Grammar: 60%

Does Your English Cut the Mustard?

March of Dimes and abortion

I know the March of Dimes walk is going on, but I just wanted to point out that MOD is a big abortion supporter. If you do a Google search for "March of Dimes abortion" you will find a host of information. Just in case you're interested. I once heard (and I have not verified this myself) that MOD buys aborted babies for their research. It makes sense to me, but again, I have not verified that information for myself. FYI...

My root canal went fine. I am in no pain. No pain whatsoever. The Lord blessed me there. My next appointment is for the crown build up. That will be a long appointment which is never fun.

I am behind in my Believing God Bible Study. I need to watch week 5 still. I really like it though. I have been blessed by it.

Well I need to go rock Josiah in the chair. Momma duty calls...

I took Camille to the concert tonight. She had fun. Of course I had to buy her a SCC T-Shirt since it was her very first concert ever:) I really enjoyed everyone except TobyMac. I mean, even Toby was fun...but the rap scene isn't for me. Chris Tomlin was really great. Tree 63 was good too. We left halfway into SCC's set though. I didn't want to fight traffic and it was already late. We went through the Taco Bell drive through and ate in the car on the way home. I have eaten SO horrible this week. I will not weigh in tomorrow because I don't want to know. I am starting over tomorrow. There's always tomorrow, right?

My root canal gets finished tomorrow. Olaf had to take the day off so I could go. What a man!

Off to bed. Just wanted to tell you we went and it was fun.