High Hopes for 2007

New Year's Resolutions seem somewhat cheesy as well as necessary to me. A holiday time tradition that can jump-start many excellent new behaviors or just a bunch of pipe dreams?? So many TV commercials are already out there pushing weight loss and quitting smoking (both admirable things, mind you). For some actual research on New Year Resolvers and their success rates, click here

Every year I hop on the resolution band wagon. Last year was the classic "I'm going to get in shape and tone up the saggyness that has become me!" The goal made even more attainable with the purchase of a treadmill. Yes, I was on a roll until February when Dan & I went to Mexico and the endless supply of salsa and tortilla chips got the very best of me. Danny-boy ran on the treadmill ONE time for TWO miles and since then will not even look at the thing.

So with our personally high rate of failure, is it worth it? The research says yes.

"While a lot of people who make new years resolutions do break them, research shows that making resolutions is useful. People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don't explicitly make resolutions"

There you have it--resolve away. You know I will. But my list is far too long and revealing for the Blogosphere.

Merry Christmas, belated.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all you bloggers!

Praise God From Whom All Blessings Flow.

We welcome with love Lilly Marie, born to Ross and Bethany! What a precious gift during the celebration of the most important gift.

Thanks be to God for His Indescribable Gift --2 Corinthians 9:15

"Back in my day..."

Remember that Grumpy Old Man from Saturday Night Live? Here are a couple of his more famous ramblings.

Grumpy Old Man: I'm old and I'm not happy. Everything today is improved and I don't like it.
Grumpy Old Man: In my day, we didn't have video-games! We just sat around and watched a potata' bake, and that's the way we liked it!

I mean no disrespect here but sometimes we tease my mother about things she says similiar to Grumpy Old Man. Back in her day, they laid babies on their stomach, there was no such thing as acid reflux--that was just a colicky baby. And another famous one--we just didn't go out as much as you girls do nowadays with your kids, we just stayed home. I love you Mom!! :)

The sad thing is I have caught myself saying the following:

• What's the deal with teenagers? Back when I was in high-school NO ONE had a cell phone. I knew of two dudes that had pagers, and even that seemed fishy. We were just fine, if we needed to call someone, we'd find a pay phone.
  
• In my day, we were modest--we wore big, baggy clothes and we liked it!
• I didn't even use the internet until 1999! I brag about how I used an actual word processor and not a computer for my college papers. (papers might be a bit of a stretch. let's call them writings that were exactly the length required not a word more.)
• When I got my driver's license a gallon of gas was only .89 cents!!!!
  

So as you can see I have turned into Grumpy Old Woman. Having said that here are a few good things about today's day and age.

• Most of the fathers of my generation are VERY helpful. Changing diapers, putting kiddos to bed, loading the DISHWASHER (another perk), things that dads from previous generations just did not always do. Thanks, Dan!
• Today we have opportunities to be involved in a church community in which people aren't just there to show their face but to really worship and praise God, really care for each other, and really fellowship. I don't claim expertise on how Christians of the past few decades perceived church, I just know that some things have changed--for the better.
  
• And last but not least...can I get a shout out for MINI-VANS!!!???
  

How lame are we?--wait don't answer that.

Last Friday night Dan and I had the kids to bed early and stood in our kitchen catching each other up on the week's events. All week I had been eyeing a certain break-n-bake cookie block in my frig. It was time to bust it open! You should have seen the expression of joy on Dan's face at the thought of those cookies--now only minutes away! I made him pose for this photo. The simple pleasures in life.

I'm glad to be at a point in our marriage and our lives where it is just as fun to stay home and eat factory made cookies and talk as it is to go out for dinner just to get away from home.
And for those cookies-they didn't last the weekend.

just say no.

It seems I have had many an issue with my blog since switching over to the Beta-version. I should have known better, but I wanted to see if the changes were in fact fancy fun improvements to regular 'ol Blogger. They ain't. So, if you blog and are considering the switch, maybe you should just wait until they force you kicking and screaming to switch to the new version (that's the rumor I hear anyway).




I'm sorry about all the issues, they promise to fix the bugs soon. happy blogging!

This dude is going to be a Daddy!

As we anxiously await the celebration of the birth of Christ, our family also eagerly anticipates the birth of Ross and Bethany's firstborn somewhere around Christmas.

Last Sunday evening we witnessed the Baptism of the triplets and soon we will welcome a new little one. I want to give God the glory for the tremendous blessings he has rained down on our family this year. I am so proud of my siblings, watching Stacey stand up in front of church with her three girls brought over me a sense of gratitude I don't think I have felt since the birth of my own children. I can hardly wait to see my little brother holding his baby in his arms. Ross was talking the other night about how he is ready for the pregnancy to be over, that it has been long, and not without surprises. I teased him saying, "poor you" as if he was the one carrying the extra 20 some odd pounds around and having contractions. But really, he is one of the mose supportive husbands I have ever known, being there for his wife every single step of the way. He didn't gain any sympathy weight, but he has truly experienced this pregnancy.

So while we wait let's offer up Ross and Bethany's some parenting/birth/newborn advice.
Keep it clean folks :)

Take the Challenge

Due to a lack of interesting things for me to blog about, I am just answering a question to a blog reader. I've been curious about this. Remember the Pepsi Challenge? I always wanted to go to some mall and sip two cups of cola and choose the tastier one.

So, which one do your prefer? If you know me, my favorite is easy to figure out.

Coke?





or

Pepsi?

Jingle Bells...

Batman smells, Robin laid an egg. The batmobile lost a wheel....you know the rest.

This is the most un-Christmas song ever, so why was Chase singing it as we strolled through Target?

It is so silly what kids learn from each other at school.


Speaking of Christmas tunes. You should be listening to a medley of favorites---Yes, it is so 1980s, but it reminds me of being a kid at Christmas time and my Mom listening to Sandi Patti. Stacey and I would belt out the tunes and dance around along with the cassette tape that Mom had. What nerds say you? Yes we are.

What's your favorite Christmas song? And you can't pick Jingle Bells, Batman Smells.