life... powered by God

2009 is flyin' by...

2009-06-24T00:28:00.000-07:00

YIKES! It's all racing past! It's SUMMER, 2009!
I've got scrapbooking to do...
Vacations to plan... (maybe! :o)
Work to do... (for sure)
How did this happen?

Matt, working out... he's getting to be so mature... sheesh...

Our dear friend Julie & her adorable daughter, at Judi's Surprise Birthday party! It was SOOO fun that night!!

Some of us girls at the party- SO glad we took a moment to do this! I think we'll look back at this when we're 60 and say "what were we all so worried about?? Why didn't we relax a little more??!" I hope so, anyway... :o)

Tom was the lead in a wonderful play put on by Saddleback Church called "You Can't Take It With You". He looks pretty cute for an old man... :o)

Jon, on one of our cruisers; we went out on one of our tours that goes out to Desert Hills. Fantastic SHOPPING out there... school clothes! everything...
We just finished the school year AND the Variety Show! Can't wait to post those pics as well... perhaps I'll even have time to scrap them!

I've had this song in my head ALL week! :o)

2009-03-14T00:26:00.001-07:00

Crazy Crazy Old Commercial! LOL

2009-03-14T00:12:00.000-07:00

A Little Slideshow of the Family

2009-02-12T11:28:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

a different set of eyes...

2009-01-19T17:09:00.000-08:00

Do you ever have those periods in your life where everything is moving so fast? Everything is in this constant state of flux and change... you want to keep up with it all but it's difficult; you feel like it might all slip through your fingers and you'll lose it all OR you'll step up and make it through in tact and all the better for it.

Well, that's not ME at all right now but I'm just saying... have you ever?

No, I'm Kidding. That IS me right now; that's my life and it's not necessarily a bad thing, it's just challenging.

I almost don't want to go into all of the things going on right now; it might be an incredibly long and tedious read. Suffice to say I am in a state of change right now; at 44 years old I am seeing life and things and people around me with a different set of eyes.

I think a few of the following images will clarify some of the things going on...

The day the Radcliffes moved to Arizona. We were close with them, they were our next-door neighbors, but not Super close with them. I miss that time with them and wish I could go back there and change some things. We were both so busy with our families and little kids but I just wish I would have gotten to know them better. It makes me think about a lot of friends in my past and what I could have done differently- but only as a catalyst for what I should do NOW with the friends I have and how I can reach BACK to these old friends and get close again. There are so many old friends who have popped up on FaceBook, it has put me in this weird spin with wanting so badly to connect with them all again...

I just thought this was a cute picture of Colin, Tait & Annika Radcliffe. They had come over for birthday cake. I LOVED that dining room... it was so perfect. This was probably about 1999...?

I am battling so badly with my weight it's driving me to the brink... here I am on my 21st birthday- I was like 122 lbs I think... I just LOVED that weight. I want so badly to get the lap band procedure done but we can not afford it and do not have the insurance needed for it; it breaks my heart. I keep TRYING to do it on my own power and I fail miserably every time... not sure what to do. It is making me more depressed than I can bear sometimes. I try to not let it get me down though because that doesn't help ANYTHING.

Not at all the most flattering picture of me... I am on the stage here about to sing with our band, the HolyTone Trio. We were opening for a comedy show, it was sold out (!) and very very fun but herein is my quandry again... I LOVE singing; it's everything to me and on the stage singing is where I feel the most alive... BUT then, I see pictures of myself and say "What on EARTH are you doing up on that stage?? Don't you know what you look like??" It is SUCH a battle...

sheesh... not good.

I've been having so much fun with my genealogy research lately... it is a bit frustrating though because I want to to it all of the time. I want to GO to these places where my ancestors were born and do SO many more things with it. It is truly an interest that consumes me and I love the discovery of it all... it takes away from other things I could be doing and should be doing... This is my Great Great Uncle Lee Sage and President Truman. He had the farm next door to Pres. Truman's mother.

Well... not my most fun post... but sometimes life is a challenge. It's not all perfect and clean and happy. I really hope I can move to a great place from this point I'm at right now. That I can take all of these new & old challenges and new & old friends and weight battles and everything and MOVE into a good direction.

Thanks for being there.

my boys lately...

2009-01-11T22:01:00.000-08:00

This picture is THEM.
Matt is in the middle. He is The Guy; the one that everyone relys on. The non-emotional stable guy that will do ANYTHING FOR A BROTHER. Getting a punishment? Matt will offer to take it for you so that you don't have to lose out. Need someone to go upstairs with you so that you're not alone and scared? Matt will do it. I do not allow him to take other's punishments but he is always pleading on his brothers behalf... Amazing.
Jon is kind of laughing and leaning on Matt. That's Jon. Almost always laughing and being silly (too much of that!) and needing to be close.
Cole, acting as The Goof Off BUT, notice his body language with Matt- He really loves and respects him.
They're so beautiful... I might be a tad bit biased though...
:o)

Our Christmas picture this year. It's shows each one's personality SO exactly!

they're growing.
they're changing... sometimes in ways I did NOT foresee.

Cracking me up lately:

1. they want me to tell them jokes before bed. I had this idea one night to get some great kid jokes off the web and print them out and tell them at bed time- they FLIPPED. such a boy thing to do. They still want me to sing, though... which is nice. :o)

2. Cole came up with this great idea tonight!! He said they'd get themselves up and get ready and everything and I wouldn't have to say a word about it (for instance, my usual: "come on now, it's time to go" or "better hustle or you'll be late") NOTHING. I'm in shock. I told them I would be the happiest Mom alive!! We're trying it tomorrow... (praying........ please work, please work!)

3. The way they talk to each other and other guys... hilarious. (since they don't read this blog I can say this!) but their voice goes down like, 2 octaves... "see ya later, dude"... that kind of thing; it's all low and 'guy-like', SO cute. They're little men. Well, actually kind of like medium sized men.

4. Their social calendar... friend's houses and stuff, all the time.

Looking at the Christmas Catalogs this past season... they always lay all over each other- they're very comfortable that way - but it inevitably ends up in a wrestling match, of course

5. When the 3 of them get together- how they love to chat! They have so many stories to tell each other and they laugh their heads off.... I love that they enjoy each other's company so much. They have their terror moments but most of the time, they really like being together.

(Cole, at Beach Pit BBQ... reading)

2009-01-08T09:16:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

i just hope she doesn't go too far...

2008-11-05T00:48:00.000-08:00

we really need a voice like Sara Palin's around now...

it is my passionate prayer that this election will be the WAKE UP CALL to all of those strong, conservative Republicans to get out and run for office!!

Let's give Republicans someone they can vote for without feeling like they're settling; someone of whom they can be very proud!

Packages of Spit... is it just ME??

2008-10-20T22:44:00.000-07:00

Ok... every time I see the stinking Yoplait commercial about how they'll donate 10 cents for every lid you send in the mail to them... blahhhgggg.....

IS IT JUST ME OR DOES THAT NOT GROSS YOU OUT??

People are LICKING these lids, IN THE COMMERCIAL, and then PUTTING THEM IN ENVELOPES.... IN THE MAIL....

Who is opening these envelopes?? Would YOU want to open envelope after envelope of spitty licked pieces of tin foil?? Seriously??

It makes my skin crawl every time... :oP

edit: COME ON NOW... Can I get an AMEN?? :o)

William Joyce

2008-10-16T00:17:00.001-07:00

... has been a favorite of mine forever.

I read him to my nieces... they're married now...

I read him to my daughter. we started with George Shrinks.

Then Shoes. Who can forget the line "... your very own, skinny boned, wiggly-toed feet!"

Something about his art is just mesmerizing. For ME, it was the precursor to Shag Art... it was the art that got me excited first, and then I saw Shag and it continued my love for this kind of eye-catching super cool art.

He went on to do Dinosaur Bob, The Leaf Men, Santa Calls, A Day in the Life of Wilbur Robinson- which, of course, became Meet The Robinsons. He did Robots... shall I go on?? He also did Rolie Polie Olie which was on the Disney Channel and was SO cool back in the day!

Unfortunately, he's gotten TOO popular... his art has gotten watered down. Just look at George Shrinks on PBS... it's terrible. Mr. Joyce's original artwork for that book is seriously gorgeous... someone has gotten hold of it and made it bland. I hate the thought of that happening to any of his other works... although he has some new cool things coming out, I hope they don't go awry!

why does that have to happen to some things??

Why does perfect art have to change?

Why does a character in a book ever have to change...?

this has nothing to do with books but why couldn't the commercial paper market continue on?? well, I know the answer to that one but I still wish it could have... with some regulation, of course.

why can't everything just have a pause button, so that we can have a minute to figure it all out??

* sigh *

Some Swell Pictures :o)

2008-10-09T00:20:00.000-07:00

I had a craving to add a few pictures that I just really enjoy... I've always had kind of a "thing" for cool images...
this car, above, is SO cool... I really wish ads looked like that nowadays, don't you?

this one is just adorable... :o) it reminds me of our dear friend, Mr. Alan Anderson, who started out as just a neighbor and ended up as a close member of the family. His pipe smoke would waft it's way over to our backyard. When I smelled it I knew he was happy; he seemed to smoke his pipe when he was in a good mood. He died a few years ago and it was one of the saddest days of my life... I think of him almost every day and miss him so much my heart hurts.

what a beautiful, tiny little impossible house... I picture myself as a child staring at this picture and wishing I had a house just like that but then trying to figure out where all of the rooms would be in a house shaped like that...

just a really beautiful image, i thought.

what a goofy title for such an amazingly dark and mysterious painting (the title came with the image)... maybe it's not supposed to be mysterious, that's what I think when i see it- it's really beautiful, though. What do you think when you look at it??

i've had this image for years... it's, of course, a 50's drawing of the Jungle Cruise ride. I love the whimsy of it.

THIS is advertising a new "executive" car that had a phone in it!! Remember that there were old cars that would have these?? Very few and far between... this was the beginning, though...

there's the sleek, polished look of those cars above, and then there's THIS... a BEAUTIFUL art-deco style ad from the 20's. Just Gorgeous!! Look at that diamond on the top of the ad, the little filagree work around the bottom edges and the choice of colors... pure poetry... *sigh*

I had to add some photos, of course!! :oD
Here's Fred & his sister Adele, before he got famous with Ginger and other partners, he started dancing with his sister. I can't remember what happened to her but I seem to remember she got married and quit show biz...

Isn't this a gorgeous picture of them?? It's funny that Betty Grable was such a star in her own right... but then you put Marilyn next to her and she just sort of fades, hmm? and Marilyn seems so happy here. It was during the filming of "How to Marry A Millionaire", one of my absolute favorite films... I've always loved the dress she wears in one of the last scenes; it's at Page's wedding... it's just gorgeous. Next time you watch it, notice and then you tell me if you think I'm wrong! :o)

SHAG...

2008-09-30T09:52:00.000-07:00

so, i just LOVE Josh Agle. His art makes me smile.

It's just so fun, quirky, odd, creative... it is, in my opinion, art that stirs emotion & feelings of some sort... it definately strikes me;

How does it strike YOU???

So, I knew he lived nearby, in Lemon Heights (I had read in an article) but never really thought that much about it until the other day when I saw him, right next to me on the road, in his car... I had just dropped Cole off for football practice at Foothill and there he was. I'm not usually a 'star-struck' sort of person but I sure was then. :oD I almost wanted to follow him- for What? you ask... I have no idea...
which is why i didn't, of course. that'd be silly.
but now that i'm in my fourties, i realize that sometimes silly is good. you lose silly, i think, in your 30's... you get all serious because you realize how serious life is; how much everyone is relying on you to take it all seriously & step up...
i NEED silly nowadays. too many things are way too serious...

You know??
but i digress...
I love Shag Art...:o)

The Comedy Show

2008-09-23T00:47:00.001-07:00

L-R (in the back) it's Cole, of course, trying to get in the picture... he did that it almost every picture that was taken that night! Then there's Eric (he played a good Ryan Seacrest!), then me, then our wonderful Jon (who said that night "there's really nothing better in the whole world than being on stage, is there Mom??" :o) then above, Jake Bergstrom, Chantelle Gibbs, Isaiah (the little blond kid in the front) then Michael Fontonesi, and Gabby Veneracion.

So, as most of you know, we participated in this new idea at Calvary... the Comedy Show.
What you may or may not know too, was that it was VERY hard for us to be in this show.

We didn't think it was funny.

There... I said it.

It's very hard to be a performer in a show and not think it's funny...
1. if you act as embarrassed as you feel, you look foolish and the show is no good
2. if you act as funny as you can, "selling" your performance for all it's worth, you end up looking like you think it's funny and then potentially you look foolish for thinking it's funny...

do you see my quandry here?? :oD
Tom & I both were going nuts... we had committed though, so what do you do?? It was an experience; it's all good. God places you in situations for a reason, and we definately prayed about that show BIG-time prior to joining the cast.
I hope the Lord was honoured there that night and that some came to Calvary who might not have otherwise, that's the whole point, isn't it?

You can't really tell here but this is when Tom is coughing up/spitting the water all over the "priceless antique painting by Thomas Jefferson" that ends up getting smeared and ugly afte he wipes the water all around and says "Did I mention it's a water color??" That was actually pretty funny...

Tony Nitz, doing his "Bunion" face. He was a BLAST...

AAaaarrrr......

2008-09-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

it be Talk Like A Pirate Day!

A New Species collected off Wassteri reef, ... - Yahoo! News Photos

2008-09-18T21:55:00.000-07:00

A Ctenophore or Comb Jellyfish collected off Wassteri reef, ... - Yahoo! News Photos
How many others have been on this Earth for thousands of years and we've not yet seen them...??

I find things like this to be very humbling... we should never begin to presume that we know all of God's creations... that we know everything He has done; just like we have NO idea what he has done for us personally in our lives.

That's my take on learning something like this.

School, Work, Performances...

2008-09-16T17:45:00.000-07:00

wOw, what an amazing time lately...
- Performances and Rehearsals for the Calvary Comedy Show (done now... SO glad)
- Vacations... (done now, NOT glad)
- 2 boys in Junior High... hmmm, not sure how I feel about that (AND the 2 in college, 1 in 5th grade)
- Cole in football practice nearly every day
- TONS of work, which is great, except for the "work" part of it
- getting back into the routine of school... huge for me
- starting Christmas musical rehearsals (SO fun!)

Matt trying on new glasses, hopefully he'll be able to see the board in the classroom this year! Did you notice how it looks like I'm taller than him... yeah, I wish- I'm holding the camera way above my head (no, don't ask me why I do these things... i just do)

On our way home from the cruise... that's JON laying across them. I love how they feel so comfortable with each other and don't mind if one lays on the other... they're really kind that way.

I added this because I look so calm and rested- this is just before Formal Night on the cruise... by this time I had let go of the stress of work, etc. and decided to just be calm... I feel "life" creeping back on me!! aaaaggghhhh.... LOL

Remember, if you're going on vacation!

2008-08-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

Stewart Travel Company
We have an incredible on-line travel web site!!
Tours to every country
Cruises (we're going on ours at the end of the month :o)
Flights and Hotels

But not just travel, there's:
Airport Parking
Flowers
Golf Tee Times
Passport procssing
Bridal/Honeymoon Registry
Tickets to events
TOO many to list...

Open Arms Backpack Drive

2008-08-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

Open Arms, an orphan care ministry of Calvary Church, is hosting a backpack drive throughout the month of August. We are collecting NEW, EMPTY backpacks and collapsible lunch pails to send to school age AIDS orphans at the Acres of Love Forever Homes in South Africa, and to local children living in foster care throughout Orange County. These backpacks will be given to children in K-12th grades.
Collections will take place on Sundays August 17, 24, and 31, at a marked table in the lobby before and between services. The church is located at 1010 N. Tustin in Santa Ana, between Fourth Street and 17th Street. HERE'S the link.

This Week!!

2008-08-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

Chris, our 5th & 6th Grade Pastor at Calvary... after he got slimed with a concoction of:
- green vanilla pudding
- oatmeal (ug!)
- fruit pieces
- corn syrup
- and baby shampoo... oh my...
what a GOOD SPORT he was!!

Jon & Cole thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing...

smashing slime in Erik's face. Honestly, I don't know that they planned (he & Matt) on getting slied at all... that was the BEST part. As Matt & Erik were trying to make announcements and talk about importatn things, Chris & Ben kept, ever so quietly, smearing slime all over their heads, putting slime down their shirts and then started smearing it on their faces. It was SO great!!

Miss Penny was sick, so "Mr. Bling" filled in!!! It was a riot. Here's Matt with Mr. Bling... just chillin'.

Cole, first week of this year's football practice... here we go again! (he LOVES it secretly... ;-)

for a laugh :o)

2008-08-03T23:16:00.001-07:00

poor guy... that's pretty disgusting, actually.

that's too painful to even think about.

and you've probably heard abou these... PERFECT VICTOR FLIPS, DON'T YOU THINK??

for those late-night jogs...

2008-08-03T23:13:00.001-07:00

light-up fashion... it doubles as a lamp... seriously.

Here's their site: Rhyme and Reason

Bubble Calendar, a poster-sized calendar with a bubble to pop every day.

2008-08-03T23:08:00.000-07:00

Bubble Calendar, a poster-sized calendar with a bubble to pop every day.
i would love one of these... actually, it would make a very fun gift.

The California Trolley!

2008-07-31T18:38:00.000-07:00

How fun is this Trolley??

It is part of our fleet of vehicles now that we charter. I think it's perrrty.... :o) It's getting a new engine though, right now, poor thing! It'll be ready by early August tho.

Uncle Jerry's Birthday :-)

2008-07-26T23:01:00.000-07:00

2 great Uncles... Ron & Jerry. *smooch*

Part 1- Cole & Dylan, he needed his shoes tied and so Cole came to the rescue.

Part 2: While he was tying it, Joey was checking it all out...

Part 3: Then Joey sits down and unties his shoes, asking Cole to tie them for him... it was really cute.

Uncle Ron & Jon playing "Super Monkey Ball" on my iPhone :-)

My cousin Kyle & his wife Candy. They just started going to Calvary! I'm SO excited... if you see them, be sure to say Hi! Also, he & my Uncle Jerry are the owners of "The King of Ding" J & K Appliances - if you need appliances, go there! And listen for their ad on The Fish; very funny.

Uncle Jerry & his daughter, Ashley & my girl Paris (on the right)

Cousins Ashley & Paris

Oddly coincidentally, my Aunt Darla & her husband Shawn are best friends with Steve & Melanie Duggins and so they came with their cutie-patootey daughter, Danielle!

I love this one... Matt & Melody Duggins were just sitting there on Uncle Jerry's patio, overlooking Orange & Chapman Ave, the lights were so pretty, it was such a nice night and they were just sitting there chatting & laughing. It's nice to see my boys growing up enough to enjoy themselves with other people, you know?

I actually really like this...

2008-07-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

very well done, funny, clever. there's a part in Act Two that I really would prefer the kids didn't see but other than that I found everything to be really FUN. Neil Patrick Harris is VERY good in this. You can download it on iTunes.

Dr. Horrible - web site