Blog Bouncing

I'm sure there is a term for when you look at one person's blog and then use their links to see another new blog, and then keep doing that for hours at a time. I came home a bit early from work not feeling well and wanted something mindless to do. I must have read through 20 blogs already, and need to stop so I can go face my kitchen! Which I need to do because I want to make soup and swiss steak tonight. But blog bouncing does not give me any motivation to do this! Though it does give me some recipe ideas!

I'm fighting a never ending start to a cold. My throat is raw, my body is aching, I feel feverish half the time and I have these annoying little coughs...but it just stays like this forever and ever and ever. I thought my three day weekend of sloth would help the cold go away and it seemed to, but Tuesday morning it joined me again when I returned to work. Bah!

TJ is making supper tonight...fish sticks and homemade fries. He said he cut up 6 potatoes for the fries...we got a new deep fryer for Christmas!

Everything is quiet here. Next month we'll be helping friends move (Craig & Donna) and host a baby shower (for Lisa). And spring break will be at the end of the month. I think March will be fun!

This was a HUGE rainbow from last month. The pine trees in the picture are 100 year old huge trees...to give you a bit of perspective on how big it was. :)

Valentine

I'm copying here a post that Amber posted (http://korensonthecob.blogspot.com). I really like her post and think it really expresses the reality of our relationship with God. Amber and her husband Chris are our Bible study leaders.

14 things I love about my Valentine:

1. He is consistent and never changes
2. He is truthful and never lies
3. He understands me fully…physically and emotionally
4. He weeps with me and is compassionate
5. He always follow through with what is promised
6. He loved me first and more than anyone else ever could
7. He always forgives me and never holds anything I do against me
8. He prays for me
9. He is willing to do anything for me…even die
10.He strengthens me when I’m weak
11.He brings me joy and peace
12.He’s my rock
13.He is always there for me
14.He chose me to be His bride


*** I know that some of you are thinking…”Man, that Chris guy is a pretty awesome husband; Amber is so blessed!” That is true, but I wasn’t writing about Chris…I was writing about CHIRST. Don’t take my word for it…

1. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
2. ~”In the same way God, desiring even more to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His purpose, interposed with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.” (Hebrews 6:17,18)
~ “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” (John 14:6)
3. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)
4. ~When Jesus is with Mary and Martha mourning the death of their brother, the Bible tells us “He was deeply moved in spirit…Jesus wept…again being deeply moved within” (John 11:33,35,38)
~ The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness (Psalm 103:8)
5. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23)
6. “We love, because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19)
7. ~“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)
~ “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12)
~ “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17)
8. “In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27)
9. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
10. ~ “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:30-31)
~ “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)

11. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)

12. “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.” (Matthew 7:24-26)

13. “…for He Himself has said, ‘ I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,’” (Hebrews 13:5)

14. “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” (John 15:16)

Snow & Rain

Yet another odd weather day here in Oregon. And more proof that I really am changing elevations when I go to work!

I left the house today and slush was falling from the sky. By the time I got up to 500 ft where I work it was pure snow.

TJ called at lunchtime. It was raining where he was and still snowing where I was.

I left work after sending a message to all our preschool families letting them know the roads were starting to get yucky on the hill. I pulled out of a very snow covered parking lot and drove down a very slushy road, snow falling in thick flakes the whole time. Got on the highway and drove about 2 miles and there was absolutely no snow and it was raining. Then I was the odd car out because my car was covered with snow and no other cars were!

Oregon is odd!

Tonight for supper I was going to make a tuna dish but the sun dried tomatoes in my fridge were all moldy. :( So TJ is making fish sticks and fries for himself, I'll eat fish sticks and a salad, and we'll be quite content! But now we're out of fish sticks...which is very sad!!

This & That

It's already February and this year is flying by. I haven't updated lately because there hasn't been much interesting to say. So this is a random list of thoughts I write tonight. They may or may not go in any logical order. :D

• In January I had an endoscopy, a CT Scan and some more blood work. This is all related to my digestive troubles...silly digestion anyway. There is some definite irritation shown in my stomach, and now I'm keeping a food diary to show to my doctor next month. On a huge praise note my nausea levels are the lowest they've been in 2+ years, and I am enjoying that!

• I had my endoscopy on my 30th birthday! They gave me Vicadin (sp?), the ether and a drug that causes amnesia. So I didn't feel anything, and even if I did I don't remember! My friend Donna picked me up and apparently had a hoot on the drive home. My favorite story is that we were almost home and I was telling her a story. She started laughing and asked if I knew that it was the third time I'd told her the same exact story word for word since we'd left the doctor (probably 20 minutes earlier)? I sure didn't (and don't!) remember telling her the story before. The rest of the evening I lazed on the couch and felt soooooooooo relaxed! So relaxed! It was wonderful...till the next day when I was still feeling a bit loopy and had to get up and go to work.
  

• TJ still loves his new job. It is so wonderful to have him come home each night exhausted from hard work but not from a hard soul day. Now he's training a new guy!
  

• Every morning at work I have to stand in the lobby for half an hour letting families in to the building because the building doesn't open to the general public till after school starts. I am trying to memorize 1 Peter 2 for our Bible study. So a few days ago I was standing there memorizing, mulling that scripture in my mind, thinking very holy and lovely thoughts. And then a parent walked by that always gets on my nerves and I immediately became angry thinking bad things about the parent. They walked out the door and I returned my attention to my very holy memorization, and burst out laughing realizing the stark contrast! Isn't it funny how we can switch so quickly between the thoughts of God and the thoughts of man? I was quite amused for quite some time! And bummed because I know I'll fight my "natural man" until the veil between this life and the next is torn. Oh what a lovely day that will be!
  

• This morning when I left the house I got 20 feet down the drive and looked to my right. Mt Hood was out in all its splendor accentuated by a sunrise of the most vivid and startling pink hues. I almost turned the car around to go back to the house and get my camera...but sadly for you I kept driving. It was so beautiful!

• This morning one of our preschoolers was racing his dad to the door to come in the building. He beat his dad to the door and turned to me as he went in stating, "I have my fast shoes on this morning!" It was very cute!

• We spent the Superbowl with Kris & Andrea, Ben & Katie, Brian and Danny. And of course Rubye & Grady. I brought my quilt and managed to get one square quilted. This group was rooting for the red team who lost. We had really yummy food and greatly enjoyed the company.
  

• TJ and I went to a farm show in Portland. It was three HUGE buildings with lots of tractors and implements and booths about crops and insurance and financing. I was completely out of my element and TJ was a kid in a candy store. We had a really fun time!
  

• We've had lots of freezing fog lately. In the mornings we'll wake up and outside it will be quite foggy and the ground will have frozen from the moisture in the fog. The other day it was so bad that a lot of accidents happened. One van just down the road from us had slid somehow and landed (as though someone picked it up and set it gently down on its side) with it's front tires resting on a telephone pole. TJ passed another accident on his drive to work, and two cars rear ended each other in the lane next to mine on my way to work! I think we both felt very protected that day.

• Our car needs work! Poor little car. The rearview mirror is coming unscrewed, the headlight covers are so foggy our low beams are not that effective, the clutch and brakes need replaced ($$!) and my right tire had a slow leak caused by a small nail! We just found the most wonderful mechanic though! He is a hoot, very old school and not into fancy anything...just a lot of common sense, and I like that! I think he and his son are partners. Today I got my oil changed and an interior filter replaced. And my tire fixed. He did more for us in one day than our Toyota service center did for us in a year!! The good news is that once the brakes and clutch are repaired they should last for a long, long time...one more reason we own a Toyota.

• Having to get the car fixed today reminded me that I never wanted to graduate high school for this exact reason: adult responsibility!
  

• The other morning I was almost to the top of our lane and saw something ahead walking across. I thought it was a cat but in fact it was a skunk! I slowed down and let him pass with a wide berth. Very wide berth!!

• We had a beautiful spring like day this week. TJ convinced me to go for a walk when I got home and it was great. The grass is green, the berry vines are purple, birds were out chirping and the air smelled great! Sunshine and good smelling nature...it was lovely.
  

That's all for now. Sorry I don't have any photos- we've been hibernating this last month!