Love and Travel

I am so happy and excited for my sister...she is getting married AND having a baby :) So I'm totally planning the revenge...the noisy, messy toys I will buy for her child. I'm sad that we live so far away, I will miss so much. Her fiance is awesome, she deserves it. She has kissed a few frogs, as most of us did before finding prince charming. He fits great into our family like he has always been there...it's awesome how God works that out. We will be traveling cross country (again...for the 4th time in a year) in a few months for the wedding. The kids are excited because it's the first wedding they will be in. Me? I'm trying to figure out how to lose a few (ok, a LOT!) pounds in a short time. Wedding pictures add ten pounds don't you know? Fun.

37 Birthdays

In honor of my 37th birthday today I am posting 37 great memories :)

1. The day I was baptized
2. The day I met Charlie
3. The day I became a big sister
4. The day I got married
5. The birth of my children
6. Attending the births of my friends children :)
7. Deciding to homeschool
8. Moving to Japan
9. Koza Baptist Church
10. Deployment reunions
11. Coffee with my 29 girls
12. Crazy Starbucks nights in Okinawa
13. Tuesday nights with Melissa :)
14. Thursday morning Bible Study with Women By Grace
15. Buying our first home
16. Monday night Bible Study
17. Anniversary trip to San Francisco
18. Disneyland Trip
19. Meeting our friends Chuck and Marilyn and the lake....and Texas....
20. Too many great friends to count
21. Savannah's baptism
22. McKenna's baptism
23. When each of my children learned to read
24. Snorkeling for the first time
25. Spending the night with my grandma Jessie when I was a little girl
26. Vacation to Virginia
27. Scrapbook Convention in Las Vegas
28. Women of Faith in Sacramento
29. Leading a friend to Christ
30. Seeing old friends after years apart
31. Honeymoon in the Smokies
32. Cruise to the Bahamas
33. Koza deacon wives scavenger hunt
34. Our surprise dinner at Yoshi's with the Clarks and the Bensons
35. Hawaii
36. Disneyworld
37. Camping with our friends in Joshua Tree National Park

God has given me so many memories in so many places with such great friends! I can't wait to see whats in store for the next year!

Women of Faith 2011

I am beyond excited! Thanks to Book Sneeze and Women of Faith I will be attending the Imagine event in Charlotte Free! I will be keeping you up to date with pictures and posts throughout the event. Speakers include Shelia Walsh and Luci Swindoll, music by Mary Mary and Natalie Grant and even an appearance by Karen Kingsbury (one of my favorite authors!)

This is the second Women of Faith event for me, I attended Grand New Day 2009 in Sacramento. There is nothing like worshipping the Father with thousands of other women, it's definately an experience to remember! Here are a few pictures from Sacramento:

Children should be seen and not heard?

Have you ever been in a public place and there is THAT parent with THAT child that just will not stop screaming? Been on a coast to coast flight and YOU get the seat next to THAT CHILD? Been at restaurant for a romantic dinner and YOU get the table next to THAT CHILD? Well do I have some news for you!




Hungry? Try The Olde Salty Restaurant in Carolina Beach, N.C.! They recently placed this sign in their window. Reviews have been mixed with some patrons saying it's a great idea (I'm guessing they have no children...or fall in the "senior" category).

Or maybe you’re in Pennsylvania? McDain's Restaurant of Monroeville, PA has had it with noisy kids. In an email sent to customers, owner Mike Vuick wrote, "Beginning July 16, 2011, McDain's Restaurant will no longer admit children under six years of age…”

Flying internationally? Kick out that extra money and fly Malaysia Airlines first class…. Babies will no longer be allowed to travel in the first-class cabins of Malaysia Airlines flights. The ban, which will affect flights from Kuala Kumpur to London, Amsterdam and Sydney, is thought to be the first such imposed by an airline.
In February, airlines including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic also said they were considering creating children-free flights.
What?!
I noticed a trend this week while watching the news and I thought for sure these were isolated cases….then I hit up Google.
It seems to me that we are headed back to the times when children should be seen and not heard.
Not sure where I stand on this issue. At first I was shocked, mad, etc. but not sure at who. Maybe I should be mad at the parents who have autistic children and just can’t make them be quiet while I eat. Or maybe I should be irritated by that single mom on the flight with a screaming baby who is so exhausted because her baby has colic and her husband is deployed so she is flying out to be with her family for help? Or maybe it’s that young couple who couldn’t afford both a sitter and a nice dinner so baby came along?
You see my point. Oh, believe me, I have been in a restaurant where there is a screaming child and the parents sit completely unaware that you want to hurl a glass at their heads. And I’m sure I have been the one of the receiving end of that glass a time or two.
Yes, there are times when it’s just parents who don’t discipline their kids and just don’t understand why everyone in the restaurant is staring at them. But stop and think, instead of telling these children they aren’t welcome, step up to the plate. Ask that mom on the plane if she needs a break…..tell the parents who look terrified that their child is currently throwing mashed potatoes at the next table….”I have been there too” and smile.
My point is you don’t know where some has walked unless you walked in their shoes. Instead of getting mad because someone is intruding on “your” time remember it’s not all about you, really.

Wordless Wednesday

Things I am thankful for this month....

1. My husband is spending this 4th of July with us
2. We found a great Church family
3. We have a roof over our head
4. Great Friends
5. A Godly husband
6. Having the ability to homeschool our children
7. Family movie night
8. Rain
9. Quiet mornings
10. Coffee :)