The Dizzy Peanut

just call me louise jefferson

2007-03-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

i'm movin'! follow me here.

sickos.

2007-03-16T08:26:00.000-07:00

i like to keep up with current events, so my homepage is foxnews.com. i think i'm going to have to change that. here are some of the headlines from this morning:

1.) Jailers Find Drug-Filled Bible in Inmate Mail

2.) Obama: John Edwards is Kind of Cute

3.) Man Taunts Guards with Cellmate's Entrails

4.) Ohio 13 Year Old Charged with 128 Felonies

5.) Granny Accused of Pimping Grandkids Online

Life is Short...

2007-03-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

and so am i.

No one's ever seen or heard anything like this,
Never so much as imagined anything quite like it—
What God has arranged for those who love him.

i'm so excited to see what God has in store for us. i always thought that when i got pregnant, that would be it for me. i'd be a mom, nothing more, nothing less. i've had this vision of myself being the good mommy and wife standing in the background supporting my husband in his goals for ministry, but never really putting my hand to anything for at least a few years while i bear and raise our children. it seems as though God has other plans. i will still be a good mom and a supportive spouse, but in my own prayer time and in prayer with others, i have found that i will put my hand to more than my baby's butt. i'm not even really sure what it will look like, but i know God has a plan and i trust in that. it blows my mind that God would use someone like me and i never want to waste a minute of the time i've been given.

profound, i know.

2007-03-06T12:28:00.000-08:00

there's a relatively new doughnut shop in howland and it's fast becoming my favorite. it's called the Fractured Prune - i know, a pretty unappealing name - and it's the only one in ohio! i guess it's growing pretty quickly, though, so if you see one go in and eat a doughnut. and don't feel guilty. it's delicious. i recommend the "morning buzz" or "o.c. sand". yum!

where are the Depends when you need them?

2007-02-28T12:52:00.000-08:00

my hubby sent me this email today:

If you don't laugh out loud after you read this you are in a coma!
This is even funnier when you realize it's real! Next time you have
a bad day at work think of this guy.
Rob is a commercial saturation diver for Global Divers in Louisiana .

He performs underwater repairs on offshore drilling rigs.

Below is an E-mail he sent to his sister. She then sent it to radio
station 103.2 on FM dial in Ft. Wayne , Indiana , who was
sponsoring a worst job experience contest. Needless to say, she won.

Hi Sue,
Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother.
Last week I had a bad day at the office. I know you've been feeling
down lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with
you to make you realize it's not so bad after all.

Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you
with a few technicalities of my job.

As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit
to the office. It's a wet suit. This time of year the water is
quite cool. So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel
powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment
sucks the water out of the sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature.

It then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose, which is
taped to the air hose. Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and
I've used it several times with no complaints.

What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the
hose and stuff it down the back of my wet suit. This floods my
whole suit with warm water. It's like working in a Jacuzzi.

Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my butt started to
itch. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse.
Within a few seconds my butt started to burn. I pulled the hose out
from my back, but the damage was done In agony I realized what had
happened.
The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into
my suit. Now, since I don't have any hair on my back, the jellyfish
couldn't stick to it However, the crack of my butt was not as fortunate.

When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually
grinding the jellyfish into the crack of my butt.

I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator.
His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with
five other divers, were all laughing hysterically.

Needless to say I aborted the dive. I was instructed to make three
agonizing in-water decompression stops totaling thirty-five minutes
before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber dry
decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing
but my brass helmet.

As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter
running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub
it on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber.

The cream put the fire out, but I couldn't poop for two days
because my butt was swollen shut.

So, next time you're having a bad day at work, think about how much
worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your butt.

Now repeat to yourself, "I love my job, I love my job, I love my job."

Now whenever you have a bad day, ask yourself, is this a jellyfish
bad day?

May you NEVER have a jellyfish bad day!!!!!

this is bad

2007-02-23T13:11:00.000-08:00

i may end up gaining a little too much weight during this pregnancy. i'm not exaggerating even a little bit, but i eat CONSTANTLY. i can't stop or i'll get nauseous. it's really nice having a husband who's so willing to run out and get me whatever i'm craving at the moment!

janine and i met joy at the blue iris today for lunch and then lorin and mikel showed up as well. if your in the area, you HAVE to go there. it' s amazing. try the "day after thanksgiving" sandwich...yum! i'm getting hungry again.

when janine and i were walking to the restaurant, we passed a display for a local photographer's business and saw matt and bree!!!! the most beautiful wedding pictures, i have to say. i snapped a shot with my cell, but don't want to spend the money to email it to my computer, sorry. you'll just have to take my word for it and sooth your disappointment with a rosewater lemonade and a parisian ham sandwich.

welcome to the family

2007-02-20T10:09:00.000-08:00

pastor joe is hilarious. i was so impressed this weekend, i have to share...and brag on my hubby and the rest of the CT a little. :)

2007-02-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

i don't have a title for this post, mainly because i'm not even sure what i want to say. last night, lorin and i watched "jesus camp" with our friends matt and joy. i think it's pretty safe to say we all walked away a little frustrated and confused...maybe even a little upset. lorin and i had a loooong talk after watching and are determined not to "indoctrinate" our children. without getting into too many of my own opinions, i think it's worth seeing.

random thoughts

2007-01-30T08:48:00.000-08:00

i'm warning you now - i'm all over the place.

my life is in constant transition. i'm not kidding. it never ends...i guess it's a good thing, though - i'll never be bored. i love the newest transition more than the others. it's unbelievable.

i will have been with lorin for 7 years this fall - for those of you who know me, i'm not counting the first time we dated. i am the luckiest woman ever to spend my time and my life with my absolute best friend. i couldn't be prouder of him. he's the most talented person i know. i love you, bubb.

ok, 24 is the best show on tv. with prison break coming in close second. and ace of cakes in third...and dr. g: medical examiner in fourth.

back to 24 - if keifer sutherland was not on that show, there's not a chance i would watch it. good acting overall - but jack bauer is 24.

prison break - i'm soooo glad they updated haywire's story! i can't stand bill kim's lips!!!

that's all.

2007-01-24T13:59:00.000-08:00

times have changed and so have i
i once was young and starry-eyed
now i have these bittersweet memories

songs were long and gas was cheap
no cell phones and water was free
daddy paid and i never had to worry

not no more
not no more
my oh my
look how the time flies
look how the world changes
in the blink of an eye
my oh my
look how the years have flown
turning around before you know it
up and gone
oh my, oh my, oh my

the illusionist

2007-01-12T12:45:00.000-08:00

lorin and i rented "the illusionist" a couple nights ago...it's a really good movie. i highly recommend it...in fact, i might watch it again tonight!

the most beautiful thing...

2007-01-08T13:05:00.000-08:00

we saw our baby today...

holidays

2006-12-28T06:58:00.000-08:00

are crazy! although, this Christmas we only went to 7 places instead of the 10 we were expected to go to. blah! i hate running around everywhere in fear of angering relatives.

i have a secret...

i can't even believe this

2006-12-14T11:37:00.000-08:00

a while back i posted about a lady who had been on Fox news because she was protesting soldiers' funerals. recently, a young man from warren was killed in the line of duty and his funeral will be tomorrow. guess who'll be there?

i'm alive

2006-12-13T07:50:00.000-08:00

and that's enough. this past week, a member of my step-mom's family passed from this life to the next. she wasn't afraid to die. she knew the Lord and she knew where she would spend her eternity. i still think she was too young, but God makes all things beautiful in their time. when someone close to you or to someone you love dies, it makes you think about your time on this earth. it all goes by so fast. i hope to make the most of my life. i care less and less about what other people think, partly because i don't have time for it. i'm doing my best. all we can do is trust that God will lead and guide us and help us make the best decisions. why get all caught up in drama when there are people around you who don't know the Lord? i'm not perfect...i never will be, but i can strive to be better. i trust God to take care of me and my family. i'm so thankful for the time i have here, but i know this isn't my home.

ministry is not at all what i expected it to be. when i was a teen, i thought, "how great it would be to be at church all day!" and it is. it's an amazing blessing and honor to work among so many Godly, upright people. it's always encouraging. but, there is a side to ministry that most people will never see. lorin and i have had to grow up big time. it's not easy. and from what i can see, it never will be. but, this is where God has called us. i love being in the ministry. i love how it stretches me, even though in the midst of change and heartache, it can feel like it's not even worth it. but, it always is.

tuba ruba

2006-11-27T13:01:00.000-08:00

this was one my my sister and my favorite games when we were kids. it's also what she asked for, for Christmas this year.

r-e-s-p-e-c-t

2006-11-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

what makes someone deserving of respect? i know it's not perfection, because if that was the case, none of us deserve it. growing up, we all learned - or should have learned - that you respect your elders. (Leviticus 19:32) it doesn't matter if you don't agree with them...you respect them in spite of it.

respect: willingness to show consideration or appreciation; polite expressions of consideration or deference.

Proverbs 24:21
fear God, dear child—respect your leaders; don't be defiant or mutinous...

funny...it doesn't say respect them if you agree with them. it doesn't matter who you are...if you disagree with the president, it's fine, but you have to respect him as our nation's leader. what happened from the time i was a teen until now? it blows my mind.

our society needs a lesson in responsibility.

Romans 13
To Be a Responsible Citizen
1-3Be a good citizen. All governments are under God. Insofar as there is peace and order, it's God's order. So live responsibly as a citizen. If you're irresponsible to the state, then you're irresponsible with God, and God will hold you responsible. Duly constituted authorities are only a threat if you're trying to get by with something. Decent citizens should have nothing to fear.

3-5Do you want to be on good terms with the government? Be a responsible citizen and you'll get on just fine, the government working to your advantage. But if you're breaking the rules right and left, watch out. The police aren't there just to be admired in their uniforms. God also has an interest in keeping order, and he uses them to do it. That's why you must live responsibly—not just to avoid punishment but also because it's the right way to live.

6-7That's also why you pay taxes—so that an orderly way of life can be maintained. Fulfill your obligations as a citizen. Pay your taxes, pay your bills, respect your leaders.

8-10Don't run up debts, except for the huge debt of love you owe each other. When you love others, you complete what the law has been after all along. The law code—don't sleep with another person's spouse, don't take someone's life, don't take what isn't yours, don't always be wanting what you don't have, and any other "don't" you can think of—finally adds up to this: Love other people as well as you do yourself. You can't go wrong when you love others. When you add up everything in the law code, the sum total is love.

11-14But make sure that you don't get so absorbed and exhausted in taking care of all your day-by-day obligations that you lose track of the time and doze off, oblivious to God. The night is about over, dawn is about to break. Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. We can't afford to waste a minute, must not squander these precious daylight hours in frivolity and indulgence, in sleeping around and dissipation, in bickering and grabbing everything in sight. Get out of bed and get dressed! Don't loiter and linger, waiting until the very last minute. Dress yourselves in Christ, and be up and about!

neil...this beats yours

2006-11-14T08:16:00.000-08:00

Do you know how to go?

my top 5 on itunes at the moment

2006-11-01T12:33:00.000-08:00

1.tonight - jeremy camp

2.when it's over - adie

3.drifter - decemberadio

4.the time has come - hillsong

5.say the word - classic crime

not feeling creative

2006-10-30T10:05:00.000-08:00

yesterday, we had a bonfire for jr. refuge...it was perfect! the weather was beautiful, the teens loved it, we made hot dogs and s'mores and played kickball and football. couldn't have asked for more.

crave is coming up...i'm so excited!! joe hohman's coming!!

stuff rolling around in my head

2006-10-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

joe mackey is one of my favorite people

i'm married to the perfect man

nestle crunch dark choclate stix are really good

i can't control a darn thing, except the response i have to everything around me

i wish i was turning 24 again...instead of 25

i love our woodburner

lorin's grandma can't say fajita...she pronounces it like "fygeeta"

eastwood

2006-10-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

if you haven't seen the eastwood mall in a while, drop what your doing and go! you'll wonder if you've lost your mind!

holidays

2006-10-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

lorin and i are going to florida to be with his mom for thanksgiving this year. i'm really excited to get away for a while, relax, and eat some amazing food. it's my kind of holiday because i only have one place to go.

last christmas wasn't even fun for us because we ended up having to go to 9 places in 2 days. i realize now that we are never going to make everyone happy. what's the point in killing ourselves to get everywhere when it's never enough? this year, we're only committing to seeing our parents. i want to enjoy my holiday and focus on my husband and what christmas is all about.

kashi

2006-10-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

my new favorite granola bars. i love fall and eating one of these pumpkin spice flax bars is like packing the season into a snack and eating fall. that sounded a little crazy...but, i don't care! they're good!

simplify

2006-10-09T07:50:00.000-07:00

the weather was gorgeous yesterday, so i went for a drive. i went alone and it was completely refreshing. i drove around vienna for about an hour and a half with the sunroof and window open. it was just me and God...me thanking Him for His handiwork, Him ministering the peace i needed. it's amazing how uncomplicated life feels in His presence. i've learned i don't have the slightest clue what i'm doing...and it's ok. He knows. i've given up on any plans i think i should have. He'll tell me when i need to make a move and He certainly makes it clear when i shouldn't.

proverbs 19:21
"many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."

c3 continued

2006-10-06T10:11:00.000-07:00

c3

2006-10-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

here are some pictures from this past weekend

2006-10-04T16:36:00.000-07:00

love it...drifter, specifically.

this weekend

2006-10-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

lorin, mikel, mackey, janine, and i got back from georgia yesterday at 10:30am after a 15 hour drive. my head is still in a fog. there is so much i could write about, but i'll leave the good stuff for when i get the pictures from janine. free chapel was the church where the conference was held. one word - gorgeous.

we hung around the church after the conference was over and met some amazing people who showed us around. we saw the stage, backstage, editing suites, everything. it was so fun!! one of the guys we met, let lorin and mikel take a couple t-shirts based on pastor franklin's series:

if you've noticed that the title of my blog is in italian, it's my ode to joy.

2006-09-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

In the quiet, in the stillness
I know that You are God
In the secret of Your presence
I know there I am restored

When You call I won’t refuse
Each new day again I’ll choose

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

In the chaos, in confusion
I know You’re Sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will

When You call I won’t delay
This my song through all my days

All my delight is in You Lord
All of my hope, all of my strength
All my delight is in You Lord Forevermore

c3

2006-09-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

we (me, lorin, mikel l., and janine) might be going to this. I'm so excited!!

**edit**

we are definitely going and mackey's coming, too!!! woohoo!

Pastor Thom

2006-09-19T06:35:00.000-07:00

my weekend

2006-09-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

was so fun! bcf had our first annual fall festival yesterday. it went better than i expected...we had over 1,000 people sign up and come to the spaghetti dinner alone! the weather was amazing, the food was great (cliffy made french fries, hot dogs, and jalapeno popcorn!) the only thing i didn't like were the bees. i had to man the hot cider station and literally killed over 100 bees with my plastic folder. that part was crazy, but overall, this weekend was an enormous success!

my husband and his boyfriend

2006-09-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

got milk?

2006-09-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

lorin and i have switched over. we no longer consume milk. the more i read about the way milk is produced, the more i want to puke. it was actually lorin who decided we should no longer purchase our normal gallon of fat-free milk...which really surprised me. we buy silk now and it actually isn't as bad as i thought. lorin can just drink a glass of it, but i haven't come that far yet. the more i think about it, it's really gross that humans are the only mammal that continues to drink breast milk after infancy...and it's some chemically injected, sick as a dog bovine's milk we're drinking. ew. so, if you're ever visiting the foster's, don't expect milk with your cookies...maybe we'll convert you, too!

expect the unexpected

2006-09-05T11:07:00.000-07:00

i always thought that was a dumb saying. it seems to be an oxymoron, but that phrase carries new meaning for me. it's amazing how quickly life changes from one year to the next. looking back over the last year, i never would have guessed things would shift and change the way they did. i feel older, wiser, more grown-up, i guess; and in some ways, not at all. i don't know if i can be surprised anymore. when things happen that you never expected, it forces you to expect the unexpected. like when your friends tell you they're moving to australia.

i still can't believe steve irwin died...it reminds me of a song...crrazay...

it's funnier in my head

2006-09-05T06:21:00.000-07:00

i think this story could very easily be funnier in my head than in writing, but let's find out.

yesterday being labor day, my dad invited us over to my aunt's house for a barbeque. there were 9 of us there: my dad, step-mom, sister and her boyfriend(matt), my aunt, 2 of my aunt's friends, me and lorin. everyone wanted to play volleyball, so matt and my aunt set up the net. since there were 9 of us, i volunteered to sit out. they played for a while (that alone looked like a game of catch the chicken, palsy-style), and after the ball rolled into the neighbor's yard, my dad decided to kick the ball 30 feet into the air, only to have it land peacefully atop a very large tree. everyone (except me) scrambled to find something to knock the ball down with - some had sticks, some had large rocks. lorin was the first to attempt the virtually impossible. as he threw the small log up into the air, i noticed it was headed not for the tree directly above him, but the neighbor's car! it came down with a loud crash and everyone came barreling towards me...i started running for fear of being trampled, but turned around just to catch a glimpse of the madness. i cannot describe in words how hilarious it is to see 40 and 50 year olds running in panic to hide like children. when i turned to look, i saw each of them running like bulls, nostrils flared, cursing aloud. my sister ran into the house and sat on a couch, to act as though she had nothing to do with it. eventually my dad and lorin walked over to assess the damage...turns out the neighbor didn't hear it and no damage was done. the rest of the night was spent trying to retrieve the dumb ball. we never got it down.

hutch!!!

2006-08-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

i found your twin!!

ownership

2006-08-18T09:09:00.000-07:00

that's what dr. jesse spoke on last night. i love services that force you to change your attitude. it was soooo good. he's hilarious! i don't know anyone who can get away with mentioning his naked wife and 2 bowel problems from the pulpit and not be offensive, but he can.

last night was so much fun. although, we didn't get home until 1:20am...i hated that part. we went to friday's with a bunch of people we met at revolution this year. everybody was so cool. hopefully we'll get the chance to hang out more.

tonight, lorin and i are going shopping to find him some sweet clothes to wear for the 4 services he's preaching this weekend. i'm so proud of him! i'm going to try to be the good little wife and go to all 4, but we'll see how that works out.

popcorn!

2006-08-17T08:18:00.000-07:00

tonight, lorin and i are going to canton for ffc's camp meeting. tonight is jesse! (if you've never heard dr. duplantis' story about a car accident and popcorn, ignore the title.) i'm so excited because i've never seen him in person before. plus, we get to hang out with derek and kristen!! popcone!

juicing

2006-08-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

while in peru, pastor joe convinced lorin to start juicing. so, yesterday we went out and bought a juiceman by that guy with the huge, bushy eyebrows. then, after the feast of the assumption (which was our last solid meal for the rest of the week), we went to the grocery store and bought tons of fruit and veggies. we planned our meals for today and went to bed. i woke up early and washed our breakfast and lunch. for breakfast, we had carrot and apple juice. the first taste was pretty good, but after a few more, i started feeling queasy. i sat down and literally had to talk myself down off the ledge of hurling. i don't think i'll be having anymore carrots this week. And now, i give you "the father of juicing".

the feast

2006-08-11T09:11:00.000-07:00

i am so excited it's friday cause that means sunday is right around the corner. catalyst is going to the feast of the assumption in little italy on sunday and since i love murray hill...i'm like a kid hyped on sugar excited. (my favorite places to go are trattoria on the hill and, after my fill of the most delicious gnocchi ever, i love to go to corbo's across the street - they have the best fresh filled cannoli.) i'll probably eat enough to last me the rest of the week on sunday. wish me luck!

a special thanks to my girl, gabby, for the lovely gift of ginger snaps!

yay!

2006-08-11T07:19:00.000-07:00

my hubby's back home and all is right with the world again...ok maybe not in the middle-east, or the uk, ok, anyway...here's some pics from their trip: (lorin took most of them, except the ones he's in)

the last one made me laugh hysterically. they had something like 918 salvations in 7 days or something. i'm so glad lorin had that opportunity, but i'm really glad he's home!

bad day

2006-08-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

friday was a bad day for me. actually, it was a bad night. i'm missing lorin like stinking crazy, so on top of anything that may disrupt my happy little world, i've been on the verge of tears for over a week now. so, friday night i thought i had plans, but they fell through. so i decided to go shopping and my mom wanted to go with me, so i was thrilled to have company. after we were done, she asked if i wanted to go to her house for dinner, to which i will forever answer with a resounding yes because the woman knows how to cook! on the way over to her house (we drove separately) my cell phone rang and it was the love of my life. i was so happy to hear from him! about 2 minutes into the conversation, his calling card ran out. i lost all control and was sobbing like a baby without its binky. i kept praying, "God, please let him call back! PLEASE!!!!" he didn't call. i pulled into my mom's driveway, we both got out of our cars and she opened the gate to let her dog (who is about the size of a german shepard) out to see me. he must not have recognized me because he came darting out growling and sunk his razor sharp teeth into my hand. already having an emotional breakdown, i crumpled to the ground as my mom kicked and screamed at preston (the aforementioned dog). we went into the house to clean the blood off my ravaged finger and put ice on it. as my mom was in the middle of praying over me, my cell rang again. rudely, i jumped up and answered it...it was lorin. at this point i was hysterical. i don't know that he understood a word i said. "pre..ston...bit..my...h...and...and...i...miss...you... so...much...." was about all i remember. after i calmed down and ate some homemade greek pizza, my mom and her boyfriend handed me a container of ginger snaps..one of my favorite cookies...that they had bought for me at one of my favorite stores, trader joe's. i was so excited because they were really good. at about 11:45pm, i headed home. i pulled into my driveway and figured i could handle carrying everything in one trip. i put the cookies in one of the bags and slowly made my way to the door. suddenly, my cookies were scattered all over my driveway. i don't know if i've ever in my life shown so much restraint as i did in that moment. i carefully put the items down in the house and went back out to clean up the mess. the entire time, i thanked God that the day was almost over, although i wanted to scream a profanity, instead. i went to bed and woke up to the most beautiful day i've seen in a while. tomorrow, i will pick up my squish and bring him back to our home. it'll be the first time i'll feel normal in the past 9 days.

it's official

2006-08-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

i can sincerely pity the leper.

geoducks

2006-07-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

i mentioned recently that one of my favorite shows is dirty jobs. well, i watched an episode featuring geoduck farmers the other day and it was by far one of the most disgusting things i've ever seen. geoduck is actually pronounced like gooey-duck. it's something like a clam, but it's got this long siphon thing coming out of it. it's really gross. if a re-run comes on, i recommend watching it. yes, i think it's funny when things are gross. :)

people actually eat these things!!

you think i look like a guy???

2006-07-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

i found this website where you can upload a picture of yourself to compare it with celebrity faces and find out who you look most like. i thought, why not? it could be fun. so, i took a picture of myself with my cell phone and uploaded it to my computer and onto this website. it scanned my picture and posted my results. i was very happy to see i had been compared to the likes of anne hathaway and kate beckinsale and then, to my deep dismay i saw that they also compare your face to those of the opposite sex. i do not want to know what guys i look most like!!!! this guy, who i've never heard of was the one they apparently think i look like:

i think i'll leave it at that.

killing me

2006-07-17T08:34:00.000-07:00

i hope this isn't too vague or confusing...

i've found that without even realizing it, i've begun to kill the critic in me. i like myself so much more when i'm just a little less critical and a little more loving and accepting. i think i was way to critical as a teen. i can see why people saw me as cold or distant. i'm not that person anymore. i love the things God can do in you when you let go. it's so much easier to let go than to hold on to things that seem important and ultimately will never make a difference.

i had a conversation with my mom's boyfriend last night that really made me think. we were talking about choices that people make. my question is, are the choices i'm making and the things i am doing going to make a difference or matter in the grand scheme of things? i hope so. i love conversations that make me think and change.

dirty jobs is one of my new favorite shows.

cleanliness is next to Godliness

2006-07-17T06:52:00.001-07:00

yesterday, i spent all morning and most of the afternoon cleaning my house from top to bottom...i know how it sounds, but i really enjoy doing it when i'm the only one there. lorin was out to lunch with 2 really cool guys, so i had free reign. i love to put on some music (which artist is dependant on my mood-yesterday was allison krauss and union station) and just clean till i pass out. after i was done cleaning, we went to pastor mike's house to swim because it was hotter than a habanero outside. then we went to my mom's and hung out with her and tim. both were fun, but the part i enjoyed the most was getting home and smelling my clean house. there's nothing better than coming home to a clean house and freshly changed sheets. it's my favorite.

so...it's been a while

2006-07-14T07:48:00.000-07:00

it seems like forever since i last blogged. i don't even really have much to talk about. camp went really well. i love the fact that the only thing the teens talked about when we got home was how much God touched them in every service. that's success to me. we're gearing up for our missions trip to peru. my husband is going but i'm not. it's weird to think it's been a whole year since guatemala...it doesn't seem that long. well, since i've probably put sang-won su to sleep already, i'll post this picture of our new dinette in hopes it will arouse some interest:

i know...thrilling, right???

kameron

2006-06-28T08:56:00.000-07:00

how cute is she??

one way or the other...

2006-06-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

she's baaack...and one way or the other she's gonna get burned.

2006-05-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

3 wonderful years

2006-05-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

At last my love has come along
My lonely days are over
And life is like a song
At last the skies above are blue
And my heart was wrapped up in clover
The night I looked at you
I found a dream that I can speak to
A dream that I could call my own
I found a thrill to press my cheek to
A thrill that I have never known
You smiled, and then the spell was cast
And here we are in heaven
And you are mine at last

happy 3rd, love!

what is it?

2006-05-15T11:34:00.000-07:00

i've come to a place in my life where i feel very much in limbo. i'm not sure what i feel i'm missing. it's not like there's some gaping hole in my life. i've got God, my husband, my family, some friends left and i can't figure out why i feel so weird.

i love music and i love when i find a song that expresses the way i feel when i can't find the words myself. for some reason mutemath reminds me so much of guatemala. i'm listening to them right now and this song just happens to be perfect for how i'm feeling:

Come on can’t I dream for one day / There’s nothing that can’t be done / But how long should it take somebody / Before they can be someone / ‘Cause I know there’s got to be another level / Somewhere closer to the other side / And I’m feeling like it’s now or never / Can I break the spell of the typical / I’ve lived through my share of misfortune / And I’ve worked in the blazing sun / But how long should it take somebody / Before they can be someone. / Cause I know there’s got to be another level / Somewhere closer to the other side / And I’m feeling like it’s now or never. / Can I break the spell of the typical. / The typicalI’m just the typical / Can I break the spell of the typical / Because it’s dragging me down / I’d like to know about when / When does it all turn around

babies, babies, babies!

2006-05-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

it seems as though some those closest to me feel the need to tell me to start having babies right now. it's not that i don't want to have children, it's that i'm being selfish! i love the time i share with my husband. we can travel anywhere without any concern about the baby we have to care for. i don't necessarily think there's a "perfect" time to have kids, but i do feel there's an "ideal" time. i want to be sure we can financially support a family and still go on vacations. i feel like the best i can do right now is be patient and use wisdom. i want my husband to be ready as much as i am. i know kids are a tremendous blessing and i'll be so excited when the time comes, but i don't feel the need to rush it. i've been married for 3 years and for some reason, people think that's long enough and we need to start a family...i feel like a stinkin newlywed! i know i'm 24, but that doesn't mean i'm ancient! i'm not past my child-bearing years...it'll happen soon enough, but until then, i'm happy where i am. :)

thanks for lettin me rant!

Someone call the psych ward...

2006-05-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

this lady's on the loose! i stole this from someone else's blog, but it made me so angry i thought i would share it with that one taiwanese kid.

peace out.

slow down for cryin out loud!

2006-04-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

do you ever notice how fast your life flies by? it's crazy! it's already april of 2006. those things that have always seemed so far in the distance seem to always be days away now. i have been graduated from high school for almost 6 years! crap, i'm getting old. i'm going to be 25 this year. if you think back over your childhood, doesn't it seem like that time went sooo slow? i remember thinking days would never end, that teachers lived only to torture me and force me to sit at my desk until i died. now i wish i could make time slow down. i think i've talked about this on here before...i need some new material.

anyway, lorin and i went to see jerry seinfeld a couple of weeks ago...he was hilarious! i didn't stop laughing once. it was fun...thanks, neil!

joy!

2006-03-31T10:12:00.000-08:00

i'm so excited!! my wonderful friend joy is getting married tomorrow! it's going to be a beautiful day. she and matt are so great ...they are stinkin hilarious together! anyone who has spent any length of time with them knows how much fun they are.

joy, if you are reading this, i pray only God's very best for you and matt in your new life together. i hope you know how much your friendship means to me. i know tonight and tomorrow are going to be crazy hectic, so i'll just say now that i truly believe you and i crossed paths the way we did for a reason. i'm so happy for you! you've worked so hard to make this day perfect and i know it will be. i'm praying for you!! love ya!

oh...and, amy...you're next!!

blardy blar-blar

2006-03-22T14:02:00.000-08:00

i love that saying. and i love lexi for saying it.

tonight is bab nite. should be good.

i'm probably the only person who is ever going to read this. except for maybe some random taiwanese kid who has nothing better to do. sorry, taiwan, i got nothin.

Pressy

2006-03-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

my sister sent me some pictures of my mom's dog preston...we call him pressy for short. he is the sweetest, squishiest dog ever.

nothing

2006-03-02T07:50:00.000-08:00

i'm not really sure why i'm even updating this thing because i have nothing to write about.

ummm....i really have nothing. you know how you read someone's blog and they're like, "i don't really have anything to write about..." but then they end up writing a whole paragraph on some random topic? i do that.

refuge and jr. refuge went great last night. i love the new seating set-up. i love the new lighting. i love that we can haze again. it felt good. the energy was good, p&w was awesome, mike did a great job. i am so excited to see where God is taking us. this generation is very different than the ones before it. i feel myself loving them more and more. i've never seen so much hurt. if we can be a haven for them, i'll do anything to make it happen. we've got an amazing team. the leaders in refuge are the best in the world. i love them all. it's like they're all experts at what they do. they do it in excellence and they do it for others, not themselves. that's the way it should be. we're just gonna keep getting better.

this is totally off topic, but i'm all over the place today. my husband and i recently started tivo-ing ed young's program. it's so cool. once i start, i can't stop watching. if you get the chance, watch it, you'll be intrigued.

k, kiddies, that's it for now!

wind

2006-02-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

whoa, holy majoley, the wind was psychotic last night. i think i heard that it was like 60 mph. it was so loud it kept waking me up. when i finally woke up to get ready for work, i looked outside and our trashcan was flying down the street! i was in my pajamas, so i wasn't about to be the nutso neighbor chasing down an awol trashcan. i got ready and decided before i left that i'd go get the dumb thing. it was so stinkin windy! i was running down the road fighting the wind and i cannot even imagine how ridiculous i looked. it was like walking against a wall. try to picture it. you'll laugh...i did.

lauren = 400lbs

2006-02-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

my wonderful hubby got me an elliptical trainer for valentine's day. i've wanted one for a really long time, so i was thrilled! he put it together last night so i could use it this morning. so, i got up half an hour early and started my workout. i was panting like a dog i was so short of breath. you would have thought i weighed 400 pounds! once i was done, i ran upstairs to take a shower, cause....ew. anyway, when i got in the shower, i was so dizzy i almost passed out like 3 times! i'm really seriously out of shape!

valentine's day

2006-02-14T08:19:00.000-08:00

this day has always been kind of an enigma for me. i never really understood the concept. as a kid, you buy valentines, sign them, seal them, and put them in each others decorated boxes. back then the only significance i saw in it was who got the most cards. it was fun. but as i got older the idea of it changed. ok, so this is the day you do something special for the one you love. see...the only thing is, valentine's day will never convince me of something i'm already sure of. my husband does such an amazing job of letting me know how much he loves me. he does it everyday. don't get me wrong, who doesn't like feeling special on this lovers holiday? but the goal should be to make sure that person you've committed to feels special everyday. i guess my point is, i don't need some fancy holiday to prove how much i'm loved. today, i want to be at home, not in some fancy shmancy restaurant, with my husband. i want to cook dinner together. that's all i want. maybe i'm weird, but just being with him is enough for me. i hope i don't sound like a scrooge. i'm just thankful i've been blessed with an amazingly generous, caring, romantic, loving, handsome, sweet husband who shows me everyday how much he loves me. i love me some lorin foster.

relationships

2006-02-09T09:05:00.000-08:00

i find it strange how relationships can change over time. it's not always intentional. sometimes it just happens. distance, be it geographical or emotional, causes a gap between people that may have at one point been close. as much as i wish that wouldn't happen, it does. the love is always there, but maybe the relationship has been neglected. i guess that's the way our relationship with God is. you could have at one point been so close to God you could hear His heartbeat, but somehow, over time, the relationship was neglected...only the one being neglectful is always us. He still loves us with all of His heart and it's not that we've stopped loving Him, but we don't put the time in to get to know Him more. just something i was thinking about...

great driver

2006-02-03T06:43:00.000-08:00

i went to a baby shower on sunday. on my way there i got stuck behind someone going kind of slow and i was seriously tailing them. as we were driving, i realized they were also going to the baby shower. i felt awful! i apologized and we laughed it off. well, yesterday i was pulling into giant eagle and as i was turning into a parking space, i realized the person on the right hand side had their back door open. i slowed down after almost crushing them and thought i had better apologize to this poor lady trying to put her child into his car seat. as i was getting out i heard my friend joy (who was meeting me there) talking to the lady and i thought she must really be mad because she's complaining to my friend! as i came around the car i saw that it was the same person i was tailing on the way to the shower! i barely ever see this person and in less than one week, i almost wrecked into her twice!!!

oh...and hi, dad!!

just like Him

2006-01-24T06:54:00.000-08:00

isn't it just like God to provide exactly what you need when you need it? yesterday was what i needed. He's so faithful. isn't it great that no matter how much we fail He stays faithful. we don't deserve it in the least bit, but He's always right there...even in the small things. i'm not going to get into details, but my dad called me yesterday and said the things i needed to hear and he doesn't even know it. i love that!

my cakes 2

2006-01-22T08:09:00.000-08:00

i had to split the posts...

here's another pic of lorin's b-day cake.

these are some of the cookies kelli and i made for Christmas!

this was my last cake for course 3. (it got a little smashed in the car.) it took 4 hours to make the roses and leaves for this cake.

let me know what you think!

my cakes

2006-01-22T07:52:00.000-08:00

here are some pics of the cakes i have made over the past 3 months:

this was my very first cake. it's looks weird. it looked better in person - ask josh.

this was a cake from course 2. it took about 9 hours to make all of the flowers on the cake.

this is the cake i made for lorin's birthday.

emergency?

2006-01-20T07:02:00.000-08:00

i was driving down elm rd. yesterday and was coming up to the intersection of n. river road. i heard a siren and saw people pulling over which created a bit of chaos considering 4 lanes of traffic were all trying to get out of the way. i saw a fire dept. ambulance coming through the intersection very slowly with it's lights and sirens blaring. i naturally assumed there was an emergency until i saw them get through traffic only to turn there lights off and pull into kfc. some emergency. they couldn't have waited for the lights to change and get through traffic, no no...they NEEDED their greasy chicken NOW. please, people.

anyway, we're getting a chilis and a coldstone in niles!

woohoo!

2006-01-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

i know after a post like the previous one, this will probably make me sound like an emotional psycho, but i am so excited!! i just found out joy is moving into our neighborhood!! she and matt are going to be living close to 1 minute from my house! woohoo!!

enough

2006-01-18T09:14:00.000-08:00

the way i've been feeling lately is something i have a hard time describing. I wish more than anything i could, because i'm getting tired. for those of you who have been there for me, thank you. you mean more to me than you know. i wish i could scream. i wish i could tell the world how i feel, but i can't. it's so hard to describe. i'm in this new place in my life and i've never felt more unsure. the only thing i can be sure of, aside from my husband's love, is the reason i live in the first place. i need God. words don't do justice to how much i need Him. it's easy to say that, but when i feel scared and alone, for some reason, He's the last one i go to. i don't understand it. maybe this is what i need. maybe i need to be absolutely at the end of my rope to become as desperate as ever for Him. i realize what a cliche it is to put a song on your posts, but i don't care.
all i have to give/this is all i have to give/ broken without words to speak/through it all, i hear You calling me/You say come, You say come/ let My arms around you be enough/ You said come, child come/ to My arms of love/this is all i have to give/ this is all i have to give/ lay it down here at Your feet/ offering You all of me/ this is all i have to give/this is all i have to give/ broken without words to speak/ through it all i hear You calling me /You say come, You say come/let My arms around you be enough/You said come, child come/ let My arms around you be enough

"enough"-daniel eric groves

today

2006-01-16T16:52:00.000-08:00

first of all, i'd like to thank God for the beautiful weather we've been having! so, today was nice because i had the day off...thanks martin luther king jr.! anyway, i cleaned the house, did laundry, and went grocery shopping. i know, i know i'm so "domestic". when i got home from shopping, lorin and i decided to make dinner together. it was so much fun! we made parmesan crusted chicken and lemon, cilantro, and parsley stuffed tomatoes. it was sooooo good. i've been trying to be supportive of my husband's diet (low carb) even though i'm italian and could live off of bread and pasta alone. so, the tomatoes were something i've never tried before. you hollow out big, beefsteak tomatoes. then you mix ricotta cheese, lemon zest, cilantro, parsley, garlic, an egg yolk, and 2 scallions and put the the mixture into the hollowed tomatoes and bake them. they were amazing! i know those few of you who read this are probably already asleep, but sorry! this is what interests me. well, i think that's enough boring info for now. i'm out.

my couch

2006-01-14T09:14:00.000-08:00

our new couch was delivered today. i loooooove it!

random

2006-01-14T08:49:00.000-08:00

this is going to be a pretty random post, because i don't really have anything specific to talk about. do you ever look back over your life and think, where did the time go? i feel like i'm standing still and time is running full force past me. lorin and i will have been married for 3 years in may. this year, we will have been graduated from high school for 6 years and will have been together for that same amount of time. if someone would have told me 10 years ago where i'd be right now, i'd have smacked them and called the police. i never would have imagined i'd be married to the guy that picked on me relentlessly in 6th grade. i never would have imagined i'd be living in howland -- my sister's probably the only one who would understand that. i never would have imagined so many of the things i'm walking through right now. sometimes life scares the crap out of me. i guess what i'm trying to get at is it's easy to look back over your life and wonder how and why things happen the way they do, but what good would it do? i could very easily get lost in the past, but i know there is something in front of me that is so much greater. i have gotten so frustrated lately with people bad-mouthing our area. it's not like i don't see what is in the natural. there's a lot to doubt looking through our eyes. but, deep in my heart i know that our area is called to something amazing. no one in the world has to believe it with me, although i know some do, but i know that God did not create warren just to abandon it. when lorin and i got married, we where dead set on moving to south carolina. we would have done anything to just go. but, in submitting to God's will, we realized that's not where we were supposed to go. we are right where we're supposed to be. bottom line, if you hate our area, that's fine, but wait till you see what i'm believing for.

Christmas

2006-01-10T05:39:00.000-08:00

amy sent me a couple pictures from christmas at my uncle's house:

pictures

2006-01-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

here are some pictures of where we were:

this was our cruise ship. it was called the mariner of the seas.

here's dunn's river falls in jamaica.

this is pinnacle peak in scottsdale, arizona.

this is the spa where i had my facial in phoenix.

six different states, six different countries, all in one year.

i'm baaack...

2006-01-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

so, i haven't had any sort of epiphany, and i doubt anyone will ever check this, but i felt like blogging again. how 'bout that. a lot has happened since my last post. i realize more and more the fullness of my life. that might sound sort of big headed, but trust me it's not. i see the blessings in my life because of God's faithfulness, not because of me.
we had thanksgiving at our house this year. it went unbelievably well. it was so much fun cooking and entertaining. i think i'd be willing to do it again. after thanksgiving lorin and i went on a cruise. we went to labadee, hispaniola which is in haiti...dear lord it was beautiful. we rented waverunners and got massages on the beach...it was sweet. then we went to ocho rios, jamaica and climbed dunn's river falls...there's a funny story behind that one, but it's funnier coming from my husband. georgetown, grand cayman was the next stop...the beach was incredibly beautiful. we also rented a waverunner there. then we went to cozumel, mexico. it was awful. i felt so bad for the people there. the hurricane ravaged the area, there was no beach left and the port was torn to shreds. the time we spent on the ship was really fun too. we climbed the rock wall, ate constantly, laid by the pool, and saw some shows...which my cousin was in. it was so bizarre. we were walking down to our assigned deck for the muster drill and the girl taking role call was my cousin mishay!! she's an amazing dancer! that trip was definitely one i'll never forget.
christmas was so crazy, i don't even want to talk about it...although my husband gave me the most amazing, romantic gift ever.
we went to arizona for new year's to visit lorin's aunt and uncle. it was so much fun!! we climbed pinnacle peak, hung out in the hot tub, ate really good food (stuffed lobster tail, rack of lamb, steak, so much more...). the last day we were there, lorin went to the fiesta bowl and i went to a spa and had a facial! it was unbelievable!
we've had a couple of really busy months, but i'm glad to be home and to get started on some new projects. in the midst of all the fun i've had, my husband and i dealt with the most painful blow we've ever experienced. a lot of changes are coming...some i feel ready for, others i could do without, but in spite of the fear that could very easily grip me, i know there has to be a reason. i'm excited to see where God is taking all of us individually and corporately. He's been amazing. i have had so much revelation and encouragement from the Holy Spirit.
i'm listening to "everyday". i love the part that says:
"everyday, Lord, i learn to stand upon your Word and i pray that i might come to know you more. that you would guide me with every single step i take and everyday i will be a light unto the world."

that's it for now...

i'm done.

2005-10-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

this is my last post. unless i have some sort of epiphany, i'm done.

bab nite and bats

2005-10-19T22:13:00.000-07:00

tonight was bab nite. i thought it went really well. we wanted to have a band in for this month and originally had stellar kart booked. they weren't able to do it, so we got kids in the way. they weren't able to make it, so we got staple. i had never heard of them before, but i was pretty impressed. they were incredibly nice and easy to work with. their sets went well and after service we took them out to eat. during a conversation about bats, israel began telling a very creepy story. all four guys used to live together and had tons of bats in the building they rented from. israel said one day he went in to the bathroom and lifted the toilet seat to find a bat hanging from the inside. he said it started screeching at him with that creepy face bats make. i would have crapped myself.
anyway, i'm happy we got to have staple in. they were really cool and hopefully we'll get to have them back someday.

the end?

2005-10-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

i'm considering deleting this blog. with the burial of neil's blog, i just feel used. he urged everyone to start blogging and then seemingly vanished. neil, you've hurt me to the core. so, this could be it for mrsfoss...maybe i'll start a new blog under the surname layla bucksnort. it seems the new "thing" is making new identities for blogs.

yeah...it's a cake topper

2005-10-13T21:34:00.000-07:00

i was looking for cake stands and stumbled upon this.

ummm...............................what?

wedding cake

2005-10-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

here's the picture, joy! i think it's really pretty, but let me know what you think.
obviously, the ribbon and flowers wouldn't be burgundy and we wouldn't use ivy...ewww.

guatemala

2005-10-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

i am moving to guatemala. i miss it. it's funny how one of the most painful times in my life has become something i miss daily. i sometimes wonder if it's actually guatemala i miss or the life i lived down there for 2 weeks. i've never felt so close to God. there were no distractions. every day i was focused on 1 goal: reaching guatemala for Christ. i want that fire back. i want it for warren, ohio.

dreams

2005-10-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

have you ever had a dream that felt so real that when you woke up you questioned whether or not it really happened? i was talking to gabby about dreams the other day and she told me she had a dream that both of her arms were amputated. i was losing it as she demonstrated how she tried climbing a mountain with the nubs that were left. anyway, i had a dream a couple of nights ago that i was in a room full of babies that were up for adoption. it broke my heart that these tiny newborns had no home. i decided to adopt one of them. she was beautiful...blonde hair, blue eyes. i fell in love. i picked her up and showed her to my husband and family before i filled out the paperwork and they all agreed she was perfect. i placed her back in the bassinet and the man in charge came up to me and said, "you may not want that one." i replied, "why wouldn't i want her? she adorable!" "when she grows up, she's going to want to eat you" he said. i was shocked he would say such a horrible thing, so i reached down to pick up my little angel and realized she had turned into a baby grizzly bear! somehow i didn't care and adopted her anyway...then i woke up. weird...huh?

scriptures

2005-09-30T08:41:00.000-07:00

2 Corinthians 12:10 “That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weakness, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

2 Corinthians 6:3-10 “We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, in hardships and riots, in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger, in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love, in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as imposters; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on, beaten and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing and yet possessing everything.”

half ton man

2005-09-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

this is the half ton man. i watched a show about him on discovery health the other day. (it was actually right before the two-headed baby show) his name is patrick deuel. he weighed 1,072 lbs. before he had gastric bypass. if you see that this show is coming on, watch it, it's really interesting.

so creepy...

2005-09-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

oh dear God...i am watching a show right now on tlc called "born with two heads". it's by far the weirdest thing i've ever seen. this baby was born with a second, functioning head. it's like conjoined twins, but the other twin doesn't have a body...just a head. it's bizarre. i'll let you know how it goes...

pom wonderful

2005-09-25T17:36:00.000-07:00

lorin and i just ate dinner. i have to admit, it was pretty good. chicken, couscous, zucchini with garlic and onions, and biscuits. after such a satisfying meal, i could really go for something sweet. my favorite dessert right now is something i concocted. it's a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a few raspberries, and pom juice poured over the top. it's wonderful! lorin thinks it sounds gross, but it is soo good! now i just have to talk him into taking me to giant eagle...

marriage

2005-09-24T21:45:00.000-07:00

tonight in the car on the way to the house party, my husband looked over at me and said, "one day i want to do marriage conferences with you on how to have a happy, healthy marriage." i've said before how lucky i feel to have a man like lorin to share my life with, but in that moment, i was his all over again. he and i have been blessed with an amazing relationship, which did not come easily. there have been so many obstacles that stood in our way, and by no means would we ever have been able to get through without the strength we receive from God. i saw the cover of a magazine today that had 3 pictures on it. in one corner was jennifer aniston - will be legally divorced in october from brad pitt. in the center was renee zellweger - having her four month marriage to kenny chesney annulled. on the bottom was tori spelling - also getting divorced after a $1 million wedding. i don't know all the reasons these marriages failed, but i can guarantee you one: God was not involved. God created marriage. He knows more about it than anyone. wouldn't you want his input on the topic? stars seem to get married as often as most people eat food. do they even know what it means to be married? marriage has become so demoralized because of our society and with what has become acceptable. my parents got divorced when i was 9 years old. i learned so much from their mistakes, but it seems like more and more people are learning that if it gets to difficult, you can just bail. whatever happened to marriage being a lifelong commitment? if you aren't willing or ready to work and fight for your marriage till the day you die, i suggest you take some of matt's advice.

geez...that's like the 4th post in a row i've referenced matt!

wild child...or child in child?

2005-09-24T21:12:00.000-07:00

tonight lorin and i went to the catalyst house party at joe c's house. it was pretty cool...there were more people there than i expected. i was sitting in the living room with jamie, amy, nicole o., kelli, and kristen. i started telling them about a tv show i had just watched about feral children and fetus in fetu. it sparked some interest in everyone there, but i think i may have grossed them out a little more than i intended. i find that stuff really interesting. what's so bad about expanding your wealth of knowledge? nothing in my opinion, but there is something wrong with wrapping your face in saran wrap.

muddy buddies

2005-09-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

how many people does it take to make something as simple as muddy buddies? for those of you who don't know what that is, it's a chex mix type thing. you melt chocolate, peanut butter, and butter then pour it over chex cereal and shake the cereal in a bag of confectioners sugar. it's really good, but apparently too difficult for lorin, matt and me to make. we were really bored tonight after ascend, so we went to eat at max and erma's and then had nowhere else to go because it was 10pm in warren, oh. so, matt suggested making muddy buddies. we went out to buy the ingredients and came back to our house. while lorin tried figuring out how many ounces are in a cup to make his coffee, matt and i started on the chocolate mix. when it was finished, it looked more like what i saw in many toilets in guatemala than lucious, pourable chocolate. after 2 sad attempts, we just mashed it all together and stuck it in the fridge. i know, i know...i'm boring. sorry!

i'm gonna go check on the mud...

glue

2005-09-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

so yesterday, i put a bookshelf together for our family room. there were dowels that came with it to secure some of the shelves and with that came glue. when i was finished assembling it, i brought the glue upstairs where my husband was playing madden '06, of course, and proceeded to squirt some onto my hands. see, as a kid, my dad always used to squirt a little glue in mine and my sisters hands and when it was dry, we'd peel it off. it was fun. i know he probably just did it to keep us from getting into trouble (like trying to drive to mcdonalds when i was 10), but we enjoyed it. so, as i rubbed my hands together, my husband looked at me like i had just pooped on the floor. "what the heck are you doing?!" came loudly from his mouth. i never really thought it was that weird. anyway, today joy came over. we were watching "the biggest loser" and i asked if she'd ever put glue on her hands and peeled it off. turns out she had and loved it! so the rest of the time she was here, we sat contently staring at the tv and peeling glue from our hands. the more i write, the sadder my life sounds, so i'm gonna stop.

wait till you guys see the game room...it's pretty sweet.

look

2005-09-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

matt santone has sweet hair

moving

2005-09-13T06:34:00.000-07:00

on september 9, 2005, lorin's grandpa passed from this life into the next. thanks to our ever faithful God, i can say harold is in heaven. the funeral was yesterday and it was a beautiful tribute to a man we all loved.

lorin's mom and i talked a lot while she was in town. she wants so deperately for lorin and me to move to florida. never gonna happen. neither of us have any interest in living there. it's so hard to explain to her that we feel this is where we are supposed to be because it's God's will. it's kind of funny to me because when we first got married, all we wanted to do was find a home in south carolina. believe me, that is still something we long for, but knowing we are walking in accordance with the will of God makes living here easy. i was so discontent before. i hated it here. i was one of the people bashing our area, wishing i was elsewhere. lorin and i know that as long as we are led by the Holy Spirit, we will walk in the blessings of God. i wouldn't want to be anywhere else. when He calls us to, we will go wherever He asks...but i'm hoping it's not florida...

scriptures

2005-09-07T14:17:00.000-07:00

when i was in guatemala, my husband had written me one letter for everyday. they were such an encouragement to me. at the end of every letter he gave me a scripture to stand on. i am going to try to post a scripture weekly or daily, not only to encourage others, but to keep it in front of me. so here's today's scripture:

Romans 12:1-2
"therefore, i urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will."

amy

2005-09-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

the soon to be mrs. petronelli told me i had to post something so, here it is! amy, i know you get bored at work, so i'll try to be interesting.

i am constantly amazed by God's grace. i would consider myself a daily failure. my mind just cannot fathom how God can remain so faithful when i fail Him daily. i thought of it this way: i love my husband more than anything (except God, but that's a given). lorin is my world. he's the single most amazing, handsome, exceptional man on the face of the earth if you ask me. but, should he ever betray my trust by cheating on me, i don't think i could stay married to him. now, granted, i don't know what that feels like, but i know it would hurt deeper than anything i've ever felt before. on almost a daily basis, i cheat on God. i ignore His voice or don't take time out of my day to spend with Him...everyone's done it i'm sure. can you imagine being cheated on everyday by the one you would give your life for? i can't even put in words how i feel right now. He's so amazing.

Father, forgive me for not putting you first everyday. you sustain me. you are the air i breathe. help me to see you more. i love you.

all for love a Father gave
for only love could make a way
all for love the heavens cried
for love was crucified

oh how many times have i broken Your heart?
but You still forgive...if only i ask
and how many times have You heard me pray
draw near to me

everything i need is You
my beginning, my forever
everything i need is You

let me sing all for love
i will join the angel song
ever holy is the Lord
King of glory, King of all

all for love a savior prayed
Abba Father have Your way
though they know not what they do
let the cross draw man to you

"all for love" - hillsong united look to you

i hate exercising

2005-08-26T06:46:00.000-07:00

my friend joy and i have been getting together a couple of times a week to work out. believe me, if i didn't have her to keep me accountable, i'd be laying on my comfy couch eating chips and watching full house reruns. as much as i wish i didn't need to work out, i know i'll be happy with the results. even though i don't like exercising, i have to admit i feel much better after i push myself through it. last night i watched a show on discovery health called, "627lb. woman: jackie's story". that seriously motivated me. i don't care how bad it hurts to do 80-100 leg lifts, i'm never gonna look like jackie.

my hubby

2005-08-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

my husband is the most amazing man. i love him so much because in spite of my flaws and faults, he loves me and accepts me. although i don't deserve him, i am thankful every day that i wake up next to him. he's just adorable. i love his laugh and sense of humor. he's one of THE funniest people i know.

anyway, i'm done being mushy. gonna go watch the office. if you haven't seen it, you are missing one of the funniest shows on tv. go watch it. or tivo it like i do. i'm out.