The Girls Are Back In Town!

The Girls are Back in Town

My wonderful Hawaiian friends are back in town and we went out on the town tonight. We got dressed up in our best dresses and had a wonderful dinner at Red Lobster and then went over to Opryland Hotel to see all of the awesome Christmas decorations. It was quite spectacularous. Noni, Keo and Pomai were in rare form as the sisters three toured the hotel for the first time! Quite a treat for us all. We ran into my good friend Teagan and her boyfriend Chris. A magnificous time was had by all!

What Does Love Mean?

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:
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"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got
arthritis too. That's love."

Rebecca- age 8
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"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."

Billy - age 4
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"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."

Karl - age 5
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"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."

Chrissy - age 6
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"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."

Terri - age 4
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"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."

Danny - age 7
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"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"

Emily - age 8
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"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."

Bobby - age 7
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"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"

Nikka - age 6
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"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."

Noelle - age 7
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"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."

Tommy - age 6
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"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."

Elaine-age 5
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"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford."

Chris - age 7
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"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."

Mary Ann - age 4
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"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."

Lauren - age 4
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"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."

Karen - age 7
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"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn't think it's gross."

Mark - age 6
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"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."

Jessica - age 8
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And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly
gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry"

Out of the mouth of babes..................

Christmas at Mom and Dad's

Christmas at Mom and Dad's

Well I just returned very late last night from East Tennessee where I have been since last Saturday. I spent Christmas with my parents and my brother and his wife and my sister and her two kids came also. It was a great break from the craziness of life. You can go home where things don't change much, and it just renew's you somehow. I did not have any access to a computer, so it was also nice to take a break from that as well. It was a nice Christmas, non eventful, low keyed, but great to be with family. Mom and Dad were so glad we were all there. We ate too much, watched too much TV (my brother got Mom and Dad season 3 of "Everybody Loves Raymond", and we pretty muched vegged. Kaitlyn was thrilled with getting a cell phone for Christmas and Mark was pretty pleased with all of his gift cards. Mom and Dad were surprised and very happy with the new bar stools and cushions that me and my sister got for them. Boy were those others on their last legs (ha!) Made a coconut cake, coconut cream pie, dressing, my sister made a pecan pie, Mom and Dad made the ham (it was yummy) and my sister in law made a great dump cake and cookies. Can't wait to get back in the gym this week! I ate way too many sweets! I hope you all had a wonderful, glorious Christmas! Be blessed!

Lazer Tag, Bumper Cars, Ice Skating

Family Fun Center

We went to the Family Fun Center last night and had a great time! We played Lazer tag......and hey! I didn't do too shabby! Beat everyone the first game at least. But I did pick a dream team to go into battle with! The Parry's boyz, Danny and Jonathan. Sorry about the "frendly fire" Danny! The guy let us play twice without getting back in line. It was great. Ice skating was funny to watch. There were so many people on the ice I decided to just watch......besides they had not "smoothed" the ice before everyone skated, so it was a mess. Jess & Trey were an ice skating couple with lots of great moves; and of course who could top Danny when he blew everyone away with his NSYNC moves to "Bye, Bye, Bye". Stuart was doing some pretty wild and crazy moves of his own, but I don't think they were on purpose :-O Bumper cars was a blast and they let us stay on twice. It was a good time. Everyone have a wonderful Christmas, I love you guys!

Christmas for Kids.....Kids for Christmas

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Christmas For Kids.....Kids for Christmas

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Picture this, over 350 under priviledged kids, on 63 buses from all around Nashville, at the Hendersonville WalMart, meeting up with 350 "Chaperones" to help them shop for their Christmas presents! Its was amazing! This was my first year to volunteer to be a Chaperone and I want to do it again next year. The kids were great. They got to spend $175.00 each for what they wanted for Christmas and we each had a child and a calculator to help them keep track and shop! I had Jadn and she was quiet, but knew what she liked and didn't like! We were able to help her get several sets of cloths, shoes, pajamas, CD Player, games, batteries, gloves, coat and more! What an amazing experience. The kids from church went to the Parry's this past weekend and Dance, Dance Revolution was a HUGE hit! It is so addictive! None of us could stop! Elliot and Stu were up until 2AM challenging each other. Karoke was another great favorite as everyone sang along with every song. Kids and Christmas, I love both. IT is like seeing things totally from a new perspective when you see it through the childrens eyes. Wonder of wonders.

A Beauty to Unveil

From John Eldredge 12/12/06

Is there any doubt that the God John beheld (Rev. 4:3,6) was beautiful beyond description? But of course. God must be even more glorious than this glorious creation, for it “foretells” or “displays” the glory that is God’s. John said God was as radiant as gemstones, richly adorned in golds and reds and greens and blues, shimmering as crystal. Why, these are the very things that Cinderella is given—the very things women still prefer to adorn themselves with when they want to look their finest. Hmmm. And isn’t that just what a woman longs to hear? “You are radiant this evening. You are absolutely breathtaking.”

Saints from ages past would speak of the highest pleasures of heaven as simply beholding the beauty of God, the “beautific vision.”

The reason a woman wants a beauty to unveil, the reason she asks, Do you delight in me? is simply that God does as well. God is captivating beauty. As David prays, “One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may . . . gaze upon the beauty of the LORD” (Ps. 27:4). Can there be any doubt that God wants to be worshiped? That he wants to be seen, and for us to be captivated by what we see? (Wild at Heart)

But in order to make the matter perfectly clear, God has given us Eve. The crowning touch of creation. Beauty is the essence of a woman. We want to be perfectly clear that we mean both a physical beauty and a soulful/spiritual beauty. The one depends upon and flows out of the other. Yes, the world cheapens and prostitutes beauty, making it all about a perfect figure few women can attain. But Christians minimize it too, or over-spiritualize it, making it all about “character.” We must recover the prize of Beauty. The church must take it back. Beauty is too vital to lose.
(Captivating , 35–36)

The Many Faces of Christmas and Friends

I have taken a lot of pics over the past several weeks and just have not had time to download them. I have included several in this album. Christmas is a wonderful time of year. The lights, the hustle bustle, the wonderful fragrances, the smiles, the colors...............friends, life, love, wonderful memories. This is probably my favorite time of year. It is cold outside, the sky with the stars and moon at night are so clear and beautiful. I love giving and seeing the great expressions on the faces of those you want to be a blessing to......it is priceless. It's not about giving presents though, and not about getting them either. It is about relationships.......friendships.....creating memories that last a life time. Spending time with and sharing life with those that we love and care about..........creating those wonderful memories together. We only have right here, right now to create those memories, once now is gone, we don't get it back. I don't want to waste time when there are so many out there who need Jesus, who need a kind word, a smile, a hug, encouragement. We have such a great opportunity every day to touch someones life, especially those we care so much about, those closest to us. They are usually the ones we take for granted the most. Life is too busy, slow down and share yourself, share your time, share the love God has filled you with, with those around you. We can't love too much, we can't laugh too much, we can't hug too much, we can't say too many encouraging things to one another. May we all be the greatest blessing to others not only now, at Christmas, but throughout 2007. God is so faithful and loves us so much. I do love you all very much and I wish you much love, laughter, blessings and friends now and always.......................

(I am having problems with HTML, click on my profile, then click on Wishlist to get to my webalbums and view the latest album)

The Final Burden of Remembrance

When I consider all that is at stake in this journey I am on, how vulnerable are my heart and the hearts of those I love, I am moved to fall on my face and cry out to God for the grace to remember.

George MacDonald says it better in poetry:

Were there but some deep, holy spell, whereby

Always I should remember thee . . .

Lord, see thou to it, take thou remembrance’s load:

Only when I bethink me can I cry;

Remember thou, and prick me with love’s goad.

When I can no more stir my soul to move,

And life is but the ashes of a fire;

When I can but remember that my heart

Once used to live and love, long and aspire—

Oh, be thou then the first, the one thou art;

Be thou the calling, before all answering love,

And in me wake hope, fear, boundless desire.

(Diary of an Old Soul )

The final burden of remembrance does not rest on us; if it did, we should all despair. Jesus is called the “author and perfector of our faith” (Rom. 12:2). He is the One who put the romance in our hearts and the One who first opened our eyes to see that our deepest desire is fulfilled in him. He started us on the journey, even though we may for long seasons forget him, he does not forget us. I am always with you;you hold me by my right hand.You guide me with your counsel,and afterward you will take me into glory . . .My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

(Ps. 73:23–24, 26)(The Sacred Romance , 208–9)