Family Portrait

Which child did not obey their mommy when she said "Be normal!"?

It's not goodbye

This past week, the last "loose end" was tied when we received Christian's marker.
I know that many people feel guilty about not having a marker made right away. But really, what's the rush? It's hard enough to sum up your precious loved one's life in so few words without having to worry about a timeline. Besides, the marker is not for the person who has died, but for the people that are left behind-- for us! The final product was worth the wait and not rushing into decisions that we might later regret.

See the little oval on the right? There's a custom bronze frog right in the middle of it. When you lift the cover up, you see this:

There just doesn't seem to be enough years between those two dates up there. It reminds me that a successful life isn't the number of years lived, but that we fulfill God's purpose for our life in the time that we are given! It is not my place to question God-- He is The Creator and I am merely His creation. But I trust Him and I take Him at His Word.

It's not goodbye... it really isn't. It's more like see you in a little while.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18

"But I would not have you to be ignorant,brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

(This custom marker was made by CR Bronzeworks. We could not be more pleased with the quality of the marker and the care and professionalism of the staff.)

Creamy Blueberry Pie

In honor of temperatures in the 90s, I give you this yummy recipe that is neither too sweet nor too heavy. And the best thing is that this one recipe makes two pies-- so you can be neighborly and give one away, or be a happy hog and keep them both to yourself. :)

Creamy Blueberry Pie

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups whipped topping
2 (9 inch) pastry shells, baked
1 (21 ounce) can blueberry pie filling

Prick your pie crusts with a fork and bake according to package directions. My favorite is Mrs. Smith's Deep Dish (although the deep dish will give you shallow pies). Let cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Fold in whipped topping. Pour mixture into pastry shells. Spread with pie filling. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

A perfect birthday present

From my sisters and brother...

I thought it was perfect just as it was. Then I flipped it over to see this...

My first glimpse of those bright blue eyes literally took my breath away. I cried a lot after opening this unexpected gift, but it was a good kind of crying.

(This locket was handcrafted by SoulPeaces.)

Howdy from Cal-i-forn-i-a

I'm in northern California visiting my baby sister Debbie (aka Bobo) and her hubsy-wubsy Aubrey. They are a tres cute couple.

Today was our first full day here. Although the temp was in the 90s, it was still gorgeous outside! Our exciting day started off with a visit to the Jelly Belly Factory.

They had a pretty neat-o tour and gave away lots of free samples. While the boys were impressed with the soda flavors of jelly beans, I was rather engrossed with the nasty flavors of jelly beans-- the likes of skunk, toothpaste, and dirt. I even thought that the Rotten Egg flavored jelly beans weren't too bad. My little sis, however, almost puked it out. Sounds gross, doesn't it? But not as gross as Vomit flavored jelly beans!

We then made a quick stop at the Golden Gate Bridge...

...before we arrived at Muir Woods.

Even though I had these on my feet...

Boy did I feel silly clomping through the forest in these shoes! It made me feel like the girl that would show up to a pool party wearing makeup, giant hair and lots of jewelry. Silly and high maintenance.

The slightly sore feet and high-maintenance image were worth it though!

We leave on Thursday. I have a feeling it's going to get here all too soon!

*The reason I'm wearing those ridiculous-for-the-woods shoes is that it was a very last minute trip and there was no time to go back to the house to put on sensible tennis shoes. Just for the record and all...

Good times, good times

You know you've found good friends when:

+ You can sit in the same hotel room and still have a group chat going in googletalk.

+ You kinda laugh at how dorky you are for the aforementioned chat but do it anyway just because it's fun.

+ Even though you had never met "in real life" before, you will still travel from far away and be super excited about staying in the same hotel room together.

+ Gifts of matching sassy tinkerbell socks, Pringles and chocolate makes you happy.

Good friends are a blessing! What a blast we've had so far!

And although we're not rooming together, I am SO EXCITED that I got to hang out with Eeeemommy for a little while today! Look at how cute and very pretty she is!!! And tall. :)

What a fun convention it has been so far here in Cincinnati!!!

Your parents are Wii addicts when...

Your dad sends you this picture in an e-mail:

Yup. That's my mom's status upgrade in Wii Golf to "Pro". Needless to say, they are enjoying his retirement!

Come to think of it, I don't think they have EVER sent me a picture of themselves. But that's okay... I can just stare at my mom's Mii.

Poorly written randomness about shingles, brothers, Wii and shampoo

I have shingles.

There's a big stabbing pain in my neck... I'm okay though. Sure it hurts, but it's not debilitating or anything. I wonder if I just don't have a severe case of it? Or maybe I have a high tolerance for pain?

Could be the high tolerance thing. Speaking of high tolerance for pain and pains in the neck, that makes me think of my little brother Stephen (pronounced "steh-fun").

When we were little, my sisters were scared of my punk of a little brother. Scared of him because he was weird, mean and would hit really really really hard. But never fear, Marsha is here! I would go up to him and fight him even though I KNEW that it would really hurt me. It was just worth it and I learned to cope. Now that we're older and can talk about such things, I am happy to report that I also caused him much physical pain-- hooray for me! LOL

So I guess I should thank him for training me to be tough or something. Too bad he doesn't have a blog so I could send all of y'all there to harass him. I am very thankful that he turned out to be a pretty cool little brother-- although that didn't happen until he was almost 18 years old! Now he's a man and all-- husband to Terri AND father to my cutie-patootie nephew Caden (who is much fatter, rounder, noisier and busier now than he is in this picture).

You turned out pretty good for a punk of a little brother, Stephen! I guess I should cut you some slack though for being the only boy with 4 sisters. You can't exactly survive that and be completely "normal".

And my daddy up there? Yup, he is O-ficially re-tired! Congrats, daddy! My mom and dad have been spending their hours of free time on the Wii. They totally *heart* Wii Golf. So much so that my mom can use the terms par, bogey and birdy correctly! That's just weird, y'all.

On a final note, I have learned much and been quite encouraged from the A Woman Inspired Conference this week. But since I am not in a serious, self-reflecting mood, I would like to pose this particular question that I have been pondering since Shelly Ballestero's talk on beauty:

How do YOU choose a shampoo?

Are you swayed by commercials? Would you NOT buy a particular shampoo b/c the commercial or ad campaign is completely annoying a la Herbal Essences? Do you choose one strictly for its smell/scent? Do you still hold out hope that the claims on the packaging will be true? What is your favorite shampoo/conditioner of all time?

I'm just wondering.

Marsha-ology

Because I just need some light-heartedness (lighthearted-ness? lightheartedness?) around here, I thought it would be fun to do this note that I read on my little sister Bobo's Facebook profile. :)

Let others know a little more about yourself, re-post this as your name followed by "ology"

FOOD-OLOGY

What is your favorite salad dressing?
Homemade Ranch

What is your favorite sit-down restaurant?
Korea Garden-- YUMMY!

What food could you eat for 2 weeks straight and not get sick of it?
Asian (can't say just Korean because I do get rice-d out after a while).

What are your pizza toppings of choice?
Cheese, pepperoni, bacon, and veggies (no olives-- they just taste gross and salty!)

What do you like to put on your toast?
Butter and grape jelly, although I occasionally get wild and slap on some red plum jam.

TECHNOLOGY

How many televisions are in your house?
Oh man, this is embarrassing. We have 4 tv's in the house and an itty-bitty one in the trunk of the van that I've been toting around for the past several months because I keep forgetting to give it to my friend Nancy (Nancy, do you still want the tv with the built-in VCR?)... but the other day I forgot that it ended up in the trunk again and I hit the breaks and heard a not-good breaking kind of sound back there. Too chicken to check it out.

What color cell phone do you have?
Black

What does the first text message in your in box say and who sent it?
I have no idea. I think it's from my friend Linda and we were talking about getting together for lunch sometime this week- Vietnamese, hopefully.

Who was the last person to call you?
My daddy.

BIOLOGY

Are you right-handed or left-handed?
Right.

Have you ever had anything removed from your body?
No, but my sis Coco did have this tumor the size of a grapefruit removed once... and now I really want a full body scan to make sure there aren't any baseballs somewhere inside me.

What is the last heavy item you lifted?
My big fat wallet full of money. (Oh, I kid. It was the boys' penny jar for our church penny drive-- they are hoping to beat the girls this year. They have been saving up since the VERY NIGHT they lost last year! LOL)

RANDOM-OLOGY

If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die?
Absolutely not! But I think it's always a good idea to start each day asking yourself "Is this the day?" and live accordingly.

If you could change your name, what would you change it to?
I don't really like my name. While there are some beautiful names out there (Abigail, Christine, Leah, Deborah, Adeline, Isabella, Hope, Grace, Ava...), I couldn't imagine any of them being ME. So I guess I'll stick with what I have, thankyouverymuch.

Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1000?
Nope. My luck, I'll get 3/4 of the way through and have a heart attack or something. All that trouble and to not end up with the money-- that would really stink!

DUMB-OLOGY

How many pairs of flip flops do you own?
Believe it or not, only 1 measly rough-looking pair. I had these fabulously comfortable gold-ish ones but the dumb dumb DUMB dogs chewed them up!

When is the last time you had a run in with the cops?
David got pulled over last week by a state trooper. But I wouldn't say they were the cops.

Last person you talked to in person:
David- he was conveniently located next to me just a minute ago. :)

Favorite Month(s)?
April (spring weather and my birthday!)

CURRENT-OLOGY

Missing someone?
Absolutely! Christian... man, that boy is always on my mind! I cannot wait to all be together again one day.

Mood?
Kinda sad even though we had a very good day today-- A Woman Inspired Conference, smell of fresh cut grass, lessons with the boys (and we FINISHED them!), 2 cappuccino's and both of the bathrooms are completely clean.

What are you listening to?
KSBJ radio station- the song I Can Only Imagine

Watching?
My computer screen? duh!

Worrying about?
Nothing. :)

RANDOM-OLOGY

Last movie you saw
Prince Caspian with my boys.

Do you smile often?
YES!!! Even when I'm sad or moody, I have lots to be happy about! Speaking of smiling, if you saw this: >D Does that make you think "fish" or "smiling asian"? Just wondering..

Do you always answer your phone?
No. Not if I'm busy or if I'm just not in the phone-talking kind of mood. I also try to keep the phone off until after lunch so we can be sure to get school done.

It’s four in the morning and you get a text message, who is it?
It better be my friend Linda going into labor with her first child. She's due on my birthday this month!

If you could change your eye color what would it be?
I always wanted green eyes...would have loved to have inherited my dad's eyes! (Hey Bobo, we wished for the same color!)

Do you own a digital camera?
Yes- I *heart* my NikonD80

Have you ever had a pet fish?
When I was little we had LOTS of fish...but they all died when Diana Noel (a friend of the family) fed the fish TOO MUCH food!

Favorite Christmas song
O Holy Night (especially when you get to the part "Fall on your knees! Oh hear, the angel voices!")

What’s on your wish list for your birthday
I really really really want a birthday cake with 34 candles on it! Nothing else really (boring, huh?).

Can you do pushups?
I can, I just choose not to.

Can you do a chin up?
I wish I could, but I can't even do ONE! I am such a wimp. And the Presidential Fitness Award was not in the cards for me.

Does the future make you more nervous or excited?
I try to take it one day at a time, but I am definitely more excited than nervous.

Ever been in a car wreck?
Yes.

What is the last song to make you cry?
Be Still My Soul. The words ring so true for me... read them sometime if you get a chance.

Plans tonight?
Just need to clean out David's closet and sort through the overabundance of junk in this house.

Have you ever felt like you hit rock bottom?
Yes, although I'm sure it wasn't rock bottom... rock bottom is when you have no hope and can't see a way out. I am thankful for the hope that is found only through my Lord Jesus Christ!

Name three things you bought yesterday.
I went to the grocery store so I bought a whole lot more than just 3 things!!!

Have you ever been given roses?
Yes

Do you have an accent?
Yes, but it only comes out when I leave a voicemail for someone or when I say certain words, y'all!

Current hate right now?
Poison ivy.

Met someone who changed your life?
Yes, several!

What were you doing at 12 AM last night?
Reading a couple of blogs. I am such a party animal.

Backyard Discovery

I have been pretty emotional all month long. At times, there has been a heaviness in my heart that is impossible to explain. I am not sure why this past month has been so difficult, perhaps the absence of Christian is beginning to sink in... it just seems a little more real that he is not here.

I was in this state of heart and mind the other day when I came home to find this in the backyard:

You start chasing a PEACOCK through your backyard and see if it doesn't give you a change of heart! It made a horrific sound when our dogs started chasing it-- it ran, honked and then flew straight up into a tree!

Just when I get in a funk of feeling sorry for myself, God does this. :)

I'm sure I looked quite comical chasing this bird from who knows where all around my backyard, camera in tow (obviously). As I was chasing and laughing and seeing the ridiculousness of the situation, I realized something... I can't predict the future and I can't control everything around me. But God can and He DOES!

God has some amazing, interesting, funny, unimaginable and just plain good things in store for me and my family. Most likely given when I least expect it... and just when I need it the most.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusted in thee. ~Isaiah 26:3

As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the Lord is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him. ~Psalm 18:30