...road to Oz...

On the way home (to my parents house) in Kansas, there is this sign on the road the they live on that says, "Road To Oz". I never really even thought that it was funny or even really out of the ordinary. See...if you keep going on that road, there is a Wizard of Oz museum so, it's sort of fitting.

And THEN...I brought Trent home for the first time. And he about had a heart attack. Just on a side note: I NEVER heard a Wizard of Oz joke until I moved here. (I can't even count the times I've been asked where ToTo is.)

So, changing the subject a little bit--last night it was BEAUTIFUL out. So we sat out on the porch almost all evening. And of course..it reminded me of home. Being around lots of family, and even when family wasn't there, SOMEBODY was always stopping by. My dad saying, "Who the %*&$ is here now?! But then talking them for hours."

Home is like: your first pet, your first love, the songs your grandma used to sing to you....everytime I think about these things, my heart breaks, just a little bit. Sometimes its just a good memory, sometimes its sad, and sometimes I miss it.

There's no place like home.

Exercise is NOT fun.

-This Saturday I woke up bright and early (errr...10:00a.m) and decided to go on a jog. Granted, by this time it was REALLY hot, but I ran for what seemed like 3 hours, then I got home and realized it was only 30 minutes. Ok, whatever. So anyway, later that day Trent decided it would be fun to go rollerblading and I thought it would be fun too. And the first part (the downhill part) was pretty fun. Then on the way back....we had to go back UP the hill. Not so fun. Did I mention, it was really REALLY hot? Then we decided to go jump in the pool, which also seemed like a good idea, until I had this great idea that we would have swimming races. "3 forms of exercise in 1 day...is very healthy, athletic, good for you, ridiculous, tiring, and makes me want sit right here on the couch the rest of the night:) I think next weekend I'll stick with LAYING by the pool :)

One Day....

I always feel like I can relate to this song SO WELL. Because sometimes I get so wrapped up in all the mistakes I've made, wrong choices, disappointed people, hurt people, and just plain screwed up. You know that feeling when you feel.....{ } this big? I DO!
But the great thing is that, I can't "over-use" God's grace. He forgives me EVERY TIME, the SAME WAY. He keeps walking with me, and when I fall..."He knows I am but dust". I think sometimes, "Will I ever arrive at the point where I stop screwing things up?" and I realized last night....that 'no', I won't! Not in this lifetime anyway..nobody will "arrive" at perfection on this side of Heaven..and that's ok :)

Well the past is playing with my head
And failure knocks me down again
I'm reminded of the wrong
That I have said and done
And that devil just won't let me forget

In this life
I know what I've been
But here in your arms
I know what I am

I'm forgiven
And I don't have to carry
The weight of who I've been
Cause I'm forgiven

My mistakes are running through my mind
And I'll relive my days, in
the middle of the night
When I struggle with my pain,
wrestle with my pride
Sometimes I feel alone, and I cry

When I don't fit in and I don't
feel like I belong anywhere
When I don't measure up to much in this life
Oh, I'm a treasure in the
arms of Christ ‘cause
I'M FORGIVEN

What Makes You.....

What makes you happy? What makes you smile? What makes you feel good? What are the things that you can't live without?

But what if you were asked to live without those things that you "CANT" live without? Would you still be happy, smile, and feel good? Would you be able to?

I have been learning a lot in the past year or so about "being happy". And I'm learning that my circumstances don't have to control my attitude.

Someone that has continued to remind me of this is Jessica Johnson. For those of you who don't know her, check out her blog! http://prayforjohnsonfamily.wordpress.com/ She goes to my church, she's a mom of two ADORABLE kids, but I never knew who she was until her adored husband was dignosed with cancer, and went to Heaven earlier this year. HOWEVER, I want to be respectful and not introduce her as "lady who lost her husband", because that is not true. She is a friend to many, a daughter, a mom, a sister, and most importantly, a child of a God who she loves. She also just happens to have different set of circumstances than many.

Every time I read her blog I'm blown away by her decisions to CHOOSE joy. I could go on about different examples, but I'll let you read for yourself!

I'm realizing and learning, that sometimes days or weeks come along that are...hard, heartbreaking, disappointing, or just don't go the way we planned. I'm learning that during these days I have to FIND things to be thankful for. FIND the good things that ARE there, but that I just overlook. But no matter what your day looks like, no matter what your life looks like, no matter how high the mountain may look...there is always SOMETHING to be thankful for. Jessica is proving that to me. If she can face her circumstances and still CHOOSE joy, surely we can too.

A Dad's Love

Every time I hear this song, it reminds me of my dad. He loves all of us kids so much and a big way that he shows it is by fixing our bikes, our cars, our sinks, our doors, our heaters, our tables...and everything else that might break. I have never seen anything, that my dad couldn't fix!! I say, "I love you" and this is how he says it back...


He checked the air in my tires
The belts and all the spark plug wires
Said "When's the last time
"You had this oil changed"
And as I pulled out the drive
He said "Be sure and call your mom sometime"
And I didn't hear it then
But I hear it now
He was saying "I love you"

120,000 miles
Six years down the road
A brand new life and a brand new wife
We'd just bought our first home
When he finally came to visit
I thought he'd be so proud
He never said he liked the place
He just got his tool belt out

And put new locks on the doors
Went back and forth to the hardware store
Said "Come and hold this flashlight"
As he crawled beneath the sink
And "These old wires ain't up to code"
And "That circuit box is gonna overload"
And I didn't hear it then
But I hear it now
He was saying "I love you"
The only way he knew how

Last Sunday, we all gathered
For his 65th birthday
And I knew he'd stiffen up
But I hugged him anyway
When it was finally time to say goodbye
I knew what was next
Just like he always does
Right before we left

I'll Stand By You

To start off, I appologize in advance, this is yet another post about my husband. Since I don't have kids to write about, and my job either isn't that exiting (or I can't write about it because of HIPPA), Trent and our house is what is left! :)

On my way to work today I flipping through radio stations and started listening to a song on...I don't know what station, something my mom would listen to lol. But whatever song it was said, "You can't confess anything that will make me love you less. I'll stand by you." And my first thought was, ya that's what I'd do for Trent. But then I thought in reality, thats what he does for me. Sure, I'd like to think that I'm a good person and good wife, but lets face it. Trent is better. I don't ever even know how to refer to him, except that he is a "good man". And he is. I have done alot to push him, hurt him, make him mad, even probably make him leave me if he wanted to. But he hasn't. And every time I "confess" something to him (no matter what it is) it "doesn't make him love me less". He forgives and forgets.

Our first year of marriage was pretty rough and if Trent didn't have this quality and honestly don't know if we would have made it. So...GUYS: Be like my husband! GIRLS: If you find a guy like this, hold on to him like crazy, because they are rare!!

"Somebody STOP me!"

Ever since we moved in to our new house I've felt torn between "I want my house to look nice NOW" and...well...our bank account. I promised myself that I was not going to just slap paint on the walls and then throw pictures up (which, yes, is what I usually end up doing). But, I also promised myself that I wasn't going to pay full price for anything to decorate at a "real store". Meaning I'm sticking to places like Big Lots, craigslist, garage sales, the Habitat Re-Store, and I've even attempted a few Good Will projects. So far it's worked pretty well, and I've been especially proud of the things I've gotten at Good Will and with a coat of paint, have looked good!
However, even with my frugal attitude I still feel guilty. Even if I'm buying things for half price off craigslist, it's STILL costing money and still adds up if I go crazy. Trent reminded me this week that its going to take awhile for this place to look "put together". I'm so thankful for him! But then tonight, I was in Big Lots and I found this pictures (that was 1\2 price) and I stood there and looked at for probably 20 minutes telling myself, "Its a good deal and will look perfect in the living room," then..."You've spent enough money this week on 'home' stuff, just put it back". I even almost asked an Army guy that was also looking at pictures if he thought it was worth it. So in the end....I bought it. And felt good about getting a good deal....for about 5 minutes. Then I felt guilty again. And the words, "SOMEBODY STOP ME!" came to mind. I think its from the movie 'The Mask'?
I want this place to look 'together' so bad...but my husband is right. It's just going to take awhile, and that's ok! :)

Things you hear in the bedroom....

No...it's not what you are thinking! So keep reading! I was thinking last night that I could probably make a whole blog post about things you hear from our room, when we are going to sleep. Yes, I said SLEEP! .... Here we go....

Trent: Get on your side of the bed!
Me: I love you.
Trent: Well then..love me from YOUR side of the bed.

Trent: If you don't get over on your side in 3 seconds, I'm sleeping in the other room.

Me: Can I touch you with just one toe, please?

Trent: Honey, I love you, but STOP talking. It's sleep time. We can talk in the morning.

Me: Can I just tell you one more thing?
Trent: No!
Me: I think I'm going to make lasagne for supper tomarrow.
Trent: UUGGGHGHHHHHHHAAAAHH (that's an exasperated sigh)

That's all I can think of right now, but hopefully it made you laugh :D

What A Day...What A Week!

This week.....

...was VBS at church. I helped out with the 2's and 3's and it was so fun! The kiddos were great to be around, and the theme was "Under the Sea", so fun, but exhausting!

...we closed on our house. On Wednesday we signed all the final papers, and are officially home-owners. Fun, but exhausting!

...we started to move. We've been moving boxes every night, so its not such a huge ordeal on Saturday. Fun, but exhausting!

...I painted. I said I wasn't going to until after we moved, but I couldn't help myself. I painted tonight after work. Fun, but exhausting!

...and last but not least....

This week I locked my keys in my car....again.

I went to Home Depot today after work so I could get started painting and would hopefully be done early. Well, long story short---I came out with my gallons of paint, brushes, ect....looked in my window and there were my keys...dangling in the ignition of my locked car. Oh boy. Trent is at work with the only spare key. When I'm starting to freak out, a friend calls and says she is off work early and is coming to get me. Aaahhhh, SIGH OF RELIEF..! This part of the week so....not so fun. Just exhausting.

So after all that---I think it's safe to say that I'm TIRED. And tomorrow is moving day. I think that a large amount of Starbucks will be required :) Bring on moving day :)

Mr. Steady Man

In Debbie Pearl's book "Created to be his helpmeet" she describes men in three different ways: Mr. Command Man, Mr. Visionary Man, and Mr. Steady Man.

Mr. Command Man will not yield to his wife. He is dominant, content in himself, and his wife has to EARN her place in his heart.

Mr. Visionary Man loves confrontation and change. They are "visionaries".

Mr. Steady Man is slow and cautios, he does not make snap decisions and will not spend his last dime on a new project. He gets the job done without all the bells and whisles. He is like deep, deep water, you rarely can see the movement, but nevertheless he is very strong under the surface.

I am most definatly married to Mr. Steady Man! There are so many good things about his personality traits that I often overlook or refuse to be thankful for. Debbie makes this point in her book, "His very steadiness keeps him on his middle-of-the-road course, and it will drive a controlling woman crazy." Yup, that would be us!! I am anything BUT steady, I make somewhat irrational decisions, like to take chances, and walk all over the road, not just in the middle.

But thank God for my husband! We even each other out perfectly. Which is probably why we are married, and also why we drive each other crazy sometimes. My mom said one time, "Poor Trent probably looks at you and wonders what on earth he is going to do with you and how he is going to bring some sort of control to situations." I told Trent this and he just very seriously and somewhat ditressed replied, "Yeah, that's pretty much true."

The way I see it, we make a great team. I make sure we have the glitter and he makes sure we have the glue so we can actually USE the glitter! :D

Michael Jackson

I saw a sign today that said, "Ask me why Michael Jackson deserves hell."

The thought of this sign doesn't SURPRISE me, but no matter how many things I see like this, it never stops making me irritated, sad, and well..disgusted.

My first thought was that her sign should say, "Ask me why I deserve hell." Now, before I look like a hypocrite, let me explain. I don't think that this woman deserves hell because she was holding a rude (to put it lightly) sign. The reason I say this, is because of this:

"We have ALL sinned and ALL fall short of the glory of God." -Romans 3:23

Who has sinned? We all have. There isn't a measuring stick for how good or bad you are. We have all sinned. God has not given any of us the right to judge others. He has given us the right to LOVE others. Speaking of love...my next point:

"While we were sinning, God died for the ungodly." -Romans 5:6

While WE were sinning. That means all of us. And apparently we actually HAVE sinned, otherwise Christ wouldn't have had to die for us, right?

"If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and BELIEVE in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" -Romans 10:9

"For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." -Romans 10:13

"It is by GRACE that you have been saved, through FAITH. IT IS NOT OF YOURSELF, IT IS A GIFT FROM GOD, SO NO ONE CAN BOAST." -Ephesians 2:8-9

Now, where does it say that we can get to Heaven by being "good enough". No where. All I see is that I am not a perfect person, and that Christ died for ME, and that I need to believe in what He did for ME on the cross. And be forgiven.

THAT is why statements like, "Michael Jackson deserves hell" irritates me SO much. Because I am not better than you, you are not better than me, and neither of us are better than anyone. Not Michael Jackson, not Obama, not the pope, and not anyone. We are all the same. We have all sinned. Am I better than the lady with the sign? Absolutely note. Am I a bigger sinner than my pastor? Absolutely note. We are all in the exact same boat. Christ died to forgive us.

I would like to point out, on a side note, that these are not "my views". The only reason I believe any of this is because it's what is in the Bible. Not because of my church or my family or how I was raised or anything. I believe it because I believe the Bible is the truth.

Bachelorette Buff??

I am almost embarrassed to admit this, but I am really into this season's "Bachelorette" show. Before you puke, let me explain. If I could put a picture on here, I would (so someone tell me how to put pics on a post). Anyway, this season's bachelorette is the most adorable thing you've ever seen. She's like this sweet, girl next door, and the nicest person you'll ever meet...uurr...watch on TV :D
So, why do I like watching her being swept onto these romantic dates while 25 guys try to win her heart? Well...that part is just my silly, girly, romantic kind of personality coming out. The show does make me think about real love though. As much as I'm "owed" at these helicopter rides, picnics on the beach, candlelight dinners, and romantic hot tub swims, I know this isn't real life. I've only been married a year and a half, but since last March, my view of love has changed tremendously.

Every girl dreams of being swept off her feet, getting a romantic proposal, looking like a princess on her wedding day, and flying off to the beach to an even more romantic honeymoon.

But then you get back from your honeymoon and your real life starts. And the vows you promised your husband are tested. It's easy to promise someone "for better or for worse", when you are living in the "better". Often, when Trent and I are going through a hard time or when we're fighting I'll say to myself, "Yup this is the 'for worse' part," and the 'worse' comes with the 'better'. Anyway, back to my point: My view of love has changed. Because let's face it, romance to a man will never match up exactly to a woman's. We are just different. So in conclusion...

~Love is....

~Loving my husband, more than my annoyance. Like when is pokes me with a yard stick. Which yes, he is currently doing!!

~My husband loving ME, more than my messes. It's hard to believe, but Trent is a VERY clean person and I'm well, not so much.

~Loving my husband more than my hurt feelings. Cuz let's face it, men arn't as sensitive as your girlfriends.

~Loving each other more than our own families. Leave and Cleave..that's been a hard one.

~Loving each other one the days when you look at each other and say, "Who ARE you?! And where is the person I married?!"

~Loving my husband when I go to the bathroom, sit down and realize he left the seat up. Come on, I know this has happened to you too! :D

Life is messy and marriage is even messier. Some days it's filled with burnt dinners, fighting on the TV remote, and lets face it....farting. But if we let it...those things can all be a "comic" version of our love stories. Who says love has to be perfect to be true love?

2nd Try

Ok, so I've tried this blogging thing before. This is my second try, maybe I'll have more to say this time around! I couldn't even remember what my old blog name was, so I had to make a new one. AND this time, I figured out how to put our picture on it. Very impressive, I know :)

The last couple days around our place, have been a little crazy. Maybe that's why I decided I finally had something interesting to write about on a blog.

If you haven't heard, we bought a house in Waukee and we are rreaaddy to be move. Want to know why? Here is a glimps:

We'll start with last night. I am trying to do a couple "furniture updates" before we move, so we can keep some of our old stuff, rather than buying all new. So I'm outside on our deck, painting a shelf and some end tables. The lady the lives below us (and has for 2 years), yelled up, "WHAT IS GOING ON UP THERE?!". I told her what I was doing, and she went on with her business. Then in a few minutes I hear her talking to her cats (well, the stray cats she feeds), telling them how much my paint stinks. I yell down that I am sorry, and she yells back that its getting all over her porch. I'm not sure how that is possible, but she is a little protective over her porch..eer..cement slab :)

Anyway, the story continues...

I lug all of my projects outside, to be respect of our her porch..and cats..and stuff..so once I'm out there, she stands behind her curtain and watched me. But when I look over, she hides behind that curtain...with her cats...of course..
I continue painting until Trent gets home, by now its getting dark. So I let everything dry about 45 minutes, and then Trent carries them back upstairs for me. When I go to check on them this morning...I realize they were NOT dry...and that the paint peeled off...major FAIL!