Psalm 23

I found a site this week that I will probably end up spending HOURS on during the coming months. It's the Godly answer to YouTube - GodTube.com!

The first feature video for your viewing pleasure - a little girl saying the 23rd Psalms as only a child can do!

Religion

A coworker of mine has a blog about running. Now, normally I wouldn't read such a thing because running is a thing of my past and probably not even a blip on my future radar. A past high school sprinter, I never had the stamina to go long-distance, but this gal trains for marathons. I find that absolutely amazing and I'm very impressed with her drive and "obsession".

She had a great post recently that I needed to quote. Hope you don't mind AB, but I real loved what you wrote! :)

"Funny how the urge to believe or to pray sneaks up on you right as things start to really suck! Then how it sneaks back up on you as things start going really well... I don't know exactly what I believe, I'm still working that out in learning from my friends of so many different faiths. I do know that I believe in something greater than myself and that belief has gotten me through a number of struggles and gives me peace of mind."

It's wonderful to hear things like this from other people. I know what I believe, what I have always believed through my entire upbringing. But, sometimes it's good to hear these things, to be reminded of the need to pray not only when things are bad but also when things are going good, to say "Thanks!"

So, God, because I haven't said it enough lately, these are the things in my life I've very thankful you've given me:

• Mercy and grace
• Your Word
• The love of a good, strong, handsome husband who protects me and only wants the best for me. It's not always easy, but it's always worth it in the end!
• A beautiful step-daughter with whom I couldn't be closer if she were my own daughter; in fact, if she were my "real" daughter, we probably wouldn't get along so well!
• One wonderful son who is theatrical and goofy and one of the most caring people I have ever met. Watching him interact with other people and try to make them laugh and be happy warms my heart daily.
• Another fantastic son who is smart and serious and artistic. Determined and desiring of education and the need to do things right, he's a joy every day of my life, because I see so much of myself in him. And I only hope I can help him turn out better!
• Friends near and far. I couldn't get through it long-term without them!
• An extended family around the globe. Sometimes it's better that they're farther away, but it's all good!
• A strong church family where I'm accepted, wanted and, dare I believe it, needed
• A good, steady job with a lot of wonderful people.
• The ability to be well-rounded in my job and in my life - to excel at so many things simply because of the gifts you gave me.
• A deep love of music and theatre - I don't know how I would get through a day without music and a good TV show or movie!

And so very much more! Thank you Lord. And I'll try to do better at saying "Thank You" the next time I'm asking for your help or begging for your forgiveness!

The Happy Hippo

Really weird week so far:

• On Monday, I had an impromptu 4.5+ HOUR meeting to help a coworker complete a site. Weird meeting. Client sat and told us what was wrong and the project lead and I fixed them. We went through EVERY SINGLE PAGE - which we found out later was about 150-ish I think. Wow!
  
  
• On Monday I also found out the boys have been lying to us for three weeks! We told them they could take their lunches to school, but they had to get milk from the school (I just don't trust the thermoses to keep the milk cold enough!). Well, they did it once and never again. I found out when I got access to the fee management site finally. What's heartening is how quickly Travis was to give up the gig and admit he messed up. What's sad is that Tom still wants to say he wasn't doing anything wrong and he wasn't going to tell us the truth no matter what! Already I feel like a bad mom and they're only 5!
  
  
• On Tuesday hubby and I met with his surgeon for his disc replacement surgery. It's a little scary what could possibly go wrong and even scarier that he could end up worse if they can't do the replacement based on his physical build. They may end up doing a fusion with a steel plate by it, which will limit his movement and other possible issues. I was a little freaked out after that meeting.
  
  
• On Tuesday I also sorta played hooky (SHHH). After the meeting with the surgeon and by the time we finally met with him (we waited an hour and a half!) and ate some lunch (I had the shakes really bad so I had to eat) it just wasn't worth it to go into the office for 3 hours. So I worked from home - although I really didn't get much done. I tried, it just wasn't happening. Please don't tell my boss....
  
  
• On Wednesday, we had a 3 hour training with the client from Monday. So they could make their OWN changes. Whoo hoo! Nice people and it was actually one of my better trainings (if I may say so myself). The project lead and I have a crazy report, so that's probably part of what made it fun!
  
  
• On Wednesday, my boys did the coolest thing. Daddy had taken them to the store to buy steaks and they saw a HUGE hippo. And they convinced him that mommy just HAD to have it. Like a "second mother's day" is what Tom told me (maybe he WAS feeling guilty about the lying thing?!). They also got me a goofy card that plays the Hamster Dance Song (http://www.hamsterdance.com/). I just died laughing! So, we played the card over and over and danced around the house with the hippo. Talk about pulling me out of a funk!
  
  
• Tonight, the boys were just loving and cuddly. They kept playing quietly with puzzles and just being really good kids. Amazing! Now, if we could just teach them to stop TALKING all the time, life would be pretty darn perfect with them...NAH!
  

So - that's been the week so far. Just crazy. But, in the end I guess I'm doing ok with the kids and they're happy and healthy and they know they're loved.

To give you a smile today, here's the happy hippo:

Treads & Threads Photos - AT LAST!

Finally!
Pictures from Treads & Threads, creative black tie gala at the Kansas Speedway to benefit the University of Kansas Hospital Cancer Center. These are just some highlights - use the title link to view the whole photo gallery.
Enjoy!

About 1/2 of the whole DEG office. Eventually we'll get a picture with everyone! Left to right: Bethany, Amanda B., Lisa, Kim, Dan, Thad, Neal, Dale Ferris, Drew, Cara, ME & Amanda D. MIA - Susan, Sky, Chad, Jason, Singh, Asheesh, David, Dave, Justice, Ramsey, Jeff, Darren, Wing and Greg - maybe one of our graphic artists can add them in!

Our wonderful "bullpen" engineers - (they share a single office) Left to right: Dan, Kim, Ferris, Darren, Wing & Jason

Although Hootie and the Blowfish was the "headliner", the main attraction really seems to be the Bill Pollack Orchestra from Chicago.

Believe it or not, this is the best picture of me from that night. I'm SO not photogenic! But, Bethany is!

Treads & Threads 2007 - pics update (sort of)

Sorry people. I know you're all just DYING to see the pictures I took at TNT this year. However, I can't find the little converter thingy for my camera's memory card. And I think there's supposed to be some sort of USB cable that will also connect it, but it' not like my other USB cables and of course I can't find the right one. If you've ever seen my home office desk, you'd completely understand my conundrum. I will post pics just as soon as I find that darn thing....

New Sport...

The boys got a flyer on Monday about a sport starting up this week - KARATE! They were VERY excited. So, we took them tonight.

It was really interesting for me. I've never been in any class like that before and I really liked the way it was taught. They focus on "stranger danger" at this age and teach how to get out of wrist locks and block punches, etc. The sensei is a former band director and vice-principal/principal so he's really good with the kids.

The boys really enjoyed it and are really looking forward to continuing it. The only part they didn't like was that we didn't buy them the karategi (uniform). We didn't want to shell out the $30 each if they weren't going to stay in it. But, since they are, be sure to keep an eye out for them in their black outfits with the white belts.

The real test was of course daddy. He actually HAS done karate in the past, although he describes it as a "bloodier" version as they were learning to fight, not defend. But, he had heard of this guy and the group before and he liked the way they dealt with this on a kid level. As a past coach himself, I trust his opinion on coaching styles and abilities more than my own. =)

So - all in all it was a good night. And I look forward to 15 more weeks of it. Then - on to BASKETBALL.... (sport #4 for the boys!)

When God Paints...

He uses all the colors...

View Album

I received this in an email from my friend Teri so I don't know who took these amazing photos. I was just in awe of the photography and thought they were very uplifting. I hope they put a lift in your day as well!

My personal favorite is the swans with the multi-colored leaves. Yes Gram, I finally learned to look at the leaves! =)

Liberty Memorial Museum

During my mom's visit over Labor Day weekend, we took her fiance and my boys to the Liberty Memorial Museum. It's the only WWI museum in the country. I thought it would be kind of hokey, but it was really great. I honestly wih I'd had a few more (kid-free!) hours to really read the history and details.

Some photos from the trip are in the slide show below.