Twins?!?

As you'll read in my first post today, my family is here with us this weekend. My sister went and helped out a ton at the fellowship for our church after our praise service. One of the ladies asked another lady if she was my twin!!! Now I realize we definitely look like sisters...and we act even more like sisters, but twins?!? We got that all the time growing up, but now I'm several inches taller than she is and much younger looking than she is, too! :-) hee-hee!!! What do you think? Do we look like twins?

One of the best things about family is laughing and reminiscing about all the family jokes from the past. It was amazing how quickly my food worked through my system when were growing up. As soon as supper was over and the dishes needed washing, I always had to go to the bathroom--and the dishes were always almost done by the time I came out. So of course that was brought up today when I went to print coupons off the computer for our shopping trip to Green Bay on Black Friday while my mom and sister were washing dishes. It was totally unintentional...this time! And we can never get together without calling each other "Sh-De-Bobby" a combination of all 3 of our names (Sheri, Debbie, and Bobby) that my mom used on a daily basis while she was trying to get one of our names out.

Fun times with the Fam!

My family is here for Thanksgiving this weekend, and we have been having so much fun! No stress in getting Thanksgiving "Lupper" ready because my mom, sister, and I just slid back into our old routine of working together in the kitchen just like old times--even after all these years! (Lupper is a cross between lunch and supper since we ate around 1:30...like Brunch, only later and better since we had yummy, yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast--well, I had the icing, others actually tasted the cinnamon rolls!!!) And to make it even better, my parents bought each of our families a Wii and gave it to the kids this morning so they could play while we putzed in the kitchen. It would also keep everyone out of the kitchen so we could snitch all the food ourselves--superior planning on our part, I must say!

Sarah has been warming up to everyone being here quite nicely. She's fighting a cold so she's getting a bit tired and cranky at bedtimes, but all in all she's doing her best to charm everyone's socks off!

One of our favorite things about the Wii is the "Mii" that you can create for yourself. You can pick out different facial characteristics and hair color even your "thin or thickness!" We got such a kick out of the Mii that Brent created for my dad. The likeness is uncanny right down to the really thick Kelley brows that are so characteristics of my dad!

And of course, after the kiddos went to bed, the adults pulled out the Wii and had a hilarious time bowling and playing tennis! Who knew 6 adults could have such a fun time with a video game! It provided some of the best laughter we've ever had for sure--I'm sitting here laughing out loud as I type remembering it all! Hence the reason for my posting this at 1:00am...the men are boxing where I'm supposed to be sleeping! And laughing so loudly I'm not sure how anyone in the house is sleeping at all! :-) So much to be thankful for these days! Family is so near the top of my list!

Sarah actually cooperated!

I had a few extra minutes after I got the kids ready for church so I snapped another quick picture. I was shocked when Sarah stood between Daniel and Hannah exactly where I told her! No squirming, no fussing, just stood there! She did get a bit distracted when she heard Brent come up the stairs (right behind her), but she went to see him, and then came right back and stood where I had told her! Perhaps she's getting used to it since I've been doing this every Sunday for the last several weeks. But I did notice something different about it this time--she's standing, not sitting and no one is holding her. She's an independent little one so I'm wondering if she enjoyed the freedom of not having to submit to her brother or sister by sitting in their lap!?!

Another reason for taking this picture...this is another outfit of Hannah's my sister had saved. Hannah gets such a kick out of seeing Sarah in her outfits. Sarah's gone through a growth spurt recently and I'm not sure we're going to make it through the winter in her current size! I noticed yesterday when I was working in the nursery that she's the tallest of all the kids in there. Hard to believe she'll be 2 in January!

This is one of my favorite things about our house--our laundry chute! I loved it when we moved in because of the convenience of it all, but I love it now so much more because of what Sarah does with it. The laundry chute goes down to the downstairs bathroom that Brent uses to get ready each morning. One day he was singing in the shower while I was doing Sarah's hair for church. She figured out that he was down the chute and would not stop calling for him until he came and talked with her. It was the start of something that happens all the time! If she hears Daddy anywhere downstairs she will run to the chute and call for him until he comes and talks with her!

It makes me sad to think...

This article is a sobering reminder that people are dying and going to hell today...and many of them don't care. When I was at Bob Jones, Dr. Bob would get up in chapel and say, "The most sobering reality in the world today" and the student body would respond, "is that people are dying and going to hell today." It never soaked in then, and I'm sure I still don't get the soberness of this reality today. But I see articles like this one that came across my homepage and am saddened by the future reaction of these people, who now deny the existence of God, when they stand before the Lord. At the name of Jesus every knee will bow--whether they acknowledge Him now or not, their knee will bow. And to think of the sheer terror and horror they will feel as they realize that it is too late. Now that, my friends, is a sad thought--people are dying and going to a very real hell today.

a few pics for the family

nothing special here about these pics...well...except that they're adorable children of course! Just something for the family who lives far away.

Our date

Even though we're going away next weekend for our anniversary, we wanted to do something on our actual day. We were able to get a sitter and go for dinner and a play at the college. It was so nice to sit and talk without being interrupted, and the play was wonderful as well. Brent surprised me by bringing home flowers. There are no flower shops between campus and our home...there's not much between campus and home when you think about it...someday I'm going to take pictures of our little town to help you all understand where we live (but I digress, again!) So this meant he took time out of his busy afternoon to make a trip to town. I'm on a bit of a sappy kick about Brent, but I'll leave it at this--what a guy! :-)

On a funny note, the sitter, who is a college student at Northland, asked Hannah what her daddy does at the school. Hannah's answer: He goes to work and has lots of meetings! We got such a kick seeing it from her perspective. But in thinking about it, He just came back from the big Northland Board Meeting, and when we talk at dinner about his day, it's usually about the meetings he's had that day! Still funny to think that's all he does at work--meetings--there are days when he feels that way, though!

The flowers Brent brought home for me--such a bright spot in a really dreary and potentially snowy Saturday--1-3 inches are forecasted for today! And to think that it was 72 on Tuesday!

I can't believe it's been 10 years!!!

10 years ago today I was so blessed because the man of my dreams married me! I was amazed then that he had chosen me from among all the girls around, and today I stand in awe at how the Lord has worked through Brent to bring me here. I was thinking the other day about one word that would describe Brent's character best. The word I came up with is integrity. He's a man who thinks carefully through a situation and is able to come up with the best answer. The integrity part really comes into play because he's willing to do the right thing no matter the cost. He's willing to say the hard thing to someone. He's willing to put his neck out there and state what no one else is willing to say. He's willing to stand alone and do what is right even if he's the only one standing. The amazing thing to me is that he's usually able to do it in a way that is not offensive. The Lord knew that I needed a man like that because I am by nature such a follower...one who takes the road with the least amount of confrontation. He's helped me learn to figure out what is the right thing, to think Biblically about an issue, and live by the principles gleaned from God's Word that pertain to the situation--regardless of the cost!

Another thing I love about Brent is that he truly dwells with me according to knowledge. He can look at me and truly see me and know something's not right--whether it's an emotional struggle or most importantly a spiritual struggle. He's been my iron sharpening me even when I didn't want to be sharpened! The Lord has used Brent to challenge me because of his example and outright exhortation to get in the Word.

I could go on and on about how amazing Brent is, but then again, most of the people that read my blog are people that know him and are just as amazed that he chose me as I am! How I praise the Lord for bringing Brent into my life--he's a man worthy of honor who loves the Lord more than he loves me, and I would have it no other way!

These last 10 years have flown by for a number of reasons. The Lord has been working and moving us around. He's given us 3 amazing children to train for Him. But I think the biggest reason they've flown by is because we've just had fun. I'd choose to spend time with Brent over anyone else. Thanks for making it this far through my emotional musings. Brent would get on here and say, "We've been happily married for 10years--praise God!" but I had to mush a bit more than that (no surprise there, heh?!?)

The theme of our wedding was, "This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes." And now
after 10 years of wedded bliss, I must say now even more emphatically, "This is the Lord's doing. It is marvelous in our eyes--now more than ever!"

Great shopping deal at Kohls!

For those of us who don't live near a kohls...deals like this are almost as good as walking into the store...almost! But honestly, even if you do live near a Kohls, you probably can't drive to it for less that the 99 cent shipping! And the online selection is often better and the most always have a better size selection...just a few perks I've found living in the middle of nowhere!

Use code ELECTION15 at Kohls.com from 11 am to 4 pm (EST) today only and get 15% off. 99-cent shipping per item.

A new dress and a new boy

Made a new dress for Sarah. I found this blouse at the Hartstrings outlet last year for $2!!! Can't pass up anything Hartstrings for $2! I made a big deal out of Sarah's new dress when I tried it on her after sewing it--when I put it on her today she walked around with it on saying, "pretty...pretty...pretty!" She's quite the ham--but still won't stay still long enough for a decent picture!

So there's a story here...We always keep the half door to our basement closed since it's in the main walkway and Sarah could easily tumble down them since she's blessed with her Mamma's gracefulness. Ever since she's started crawling around we have grilled it into our kids to "lock the door" We are forever asking, "Is the door locked?" Sarah has picked up on this and is terribly bothered if the door isn't locked. This morning it wasn't and she could NOT STAND IT!!! She could think of nothing else until someone shut the door! She's definitely our spit-fire, but she's showing signs of being our stickler for the rules, too!

I also gave Daniel a hair cut tonight since school pictures are tomorrow. You can tell by the before and after here that it was a long time in coming! That's his super cool airplane on the microwave behind him. We gave him the Klutz airplane book for his birthday. WAY WAY WAY TOO COOL! It shows you how to make a ton of different paper airplanes that really fly well. Most Klutz books are good, but this one is GREAT! It also comes with patterned paper to make so your planes look cool with fancy designs and such. It was about $16 at the teacher's store--if you're looking for a good gift for a 7-10 year old boy this is definitely it! Brent and I had to help him at first, but he's got the hang of it now and loving it! Unfortunately our house is overflowing with paper airplanes and one never knows when she'll get hit with one. I've banned them from the kitchen while I'm cooking supper because I'm tired of getting hit with them while I'm working!