Friday Fluff~ Lots of Random with a Side of Ranting

I haven't done a Friday Fluff in a long time! Basically it's a post about a whole lot of nothing that is swimming around in my brain.

If you are totally bored, grab a cup of coffee and enter my world.

God is great, coffee is good, people are crazy.

People ARE crazy! And I admit, I'm right at the front of the line with the crazies.

But, why do some people insist on living their life in dysfunction?

It's not like they've never heard about God's peace...but apparently it doesn't appeal to them.

Yes, I know they are just so deceived that they don't see the truth for what it is...blah, blah, blah.

Maybe it's time to put your big girl pants on and grow up.

(Ok, that was not random, that would qualify more as a rant...guilty. Go ahead and tell the world about it on your facebook page...that's where all the rational people settle their disputes right?! Ooops, ranting again...time to move on...)

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Let the randomness begin...

Mothers, do you ever find yourself saying the craziest things and when you hear them come out of your mouth you just shake your head?

Just yesterday I found myself saying:

"NO! I don't want to draw an igloo!"

I mean, what is wrong with me?

Do I have a problem with igloos?

Maybe it's the cold I'm avoiding?

Why am I so opposed to such a simple task?

Maybe because I was up to my elbows in dishwater.

But still, a better mom would have dried her hands and drawn an igloo.

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Speaking of drawing, Lauren drew a portrait of me the other day.

She made me hold perfectly still for this...I'm not kidding! I was scolded if I even tried to itch.

She would stare at me for what seemed an eternity then turn and draw my nose which as you can see is practically a perfect interpretation of my actual nose.

Then she came and lifted my hair and said, "I can't wait to have big ears like yours."

I didn't think I had big ears but I'm never pulling my hair up again.

I do agree with Facebook friends who saw this and said that I am looking noticably thin. Might need to double up on the chocolate.

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I went for an oil change this week. It really brings out the crazy in me. Something about driving in that garage with a huge hole under the truck freaks me out.

I'm just sure that I'll fall into the hole and never be seen again.

Once I pull in safely and breathe a sigh of relief...I quickly turn off my truck, yank my keys out of the ignition and throw them down to the floor. I know that I will accidently forget where I am in the middle of the oil change and start my truck to hear music or check the time. It will be just the moment that there is no oil in my truck and it will immediately burst into flames. So I hastily throw them to the floor.

It never fails, this is when the scary man with few teeth, listening to AC/DC's "Back in Black" approaches the truck to ask me my mileage, which means I have to turn the key on.

So I fish the keys from my floor board while he stares at me perplexed at their location.

This is when I become a frightened school girl again and nervously admit that I'm 1,000 miles over. I wait for the slap on the wrist...nothing, whew dodged the bullet. But of course he's thinking about what a loser I am for not taking care of my vehicle.

After I give him my mileage, I quickly pull the keys out and decide they can sit in the cup holder just in case I need them again.

Lauren picks this time to get up and start bouncing a basketball in the truck (it's an Excusion, we have a full court in there) and I immediately scream at her to stop because surely the bouncing ball in the truck will upset the scary men under the truck and who knows what could happen then.

I spend the time Twittering my anxieties while Lauren sulks until I hand her my phone to play games on. The scary men can't possibly be bothered by that.

Finally it's over. I drive out thankful to be done again for a few thousand miles, and breathe a sigh of relief that no one was hospitalized.

I told you it brought out the crazy in me.

******

I am leading a Bible study at my house this month on Wednesday nights, it is a great group of girlfriends and we are having a wonderful time.

This week though, for some reason my nose got a tickle. I sneezed 486 times in 2 hours. I literally held my finger under my nose as I shared my heart and soul about the beauty of a woman of faith.

It was bizarre.

I don't know what else to say except thank you to all those sweet ladies that put up with it.

I have awful allergies, especially to cats, but I don't think anyone brought a cat...at least I didn't see one.

Next week I will double up on the Claritin and check their purses for cats.

******

Ok, if you read this far, you really need to get a hobby because you are one bored woman!

But thank you, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend!!!!!

EDITED TO ADD:

I'm so sorry if you left a comment and it disappeared, I am using a new comment system and not sure what happened, but they all disappeared. I did read them all though and am hoping that doesn't happen again!

I ask a lot of my pantyhose...

Wow, what a crazy week! I've been running around trying to get ready to go away to a writer's conference this weekend. Any moms out there that can relate to the "preparing to leave" routine?! Laundry, food and all the extra little emergencies that we try to prepare for.

• Make sure they don't run out of dog food.
• Tell them where the dog food is.
• Buy plenty of cereal...the boys can survive on cereal for weeks if need be.
• Tell them where the cereal is.
• Wash everyone's underwear...they can deal with a lot, but no underwear becomes a crisis.
• Tell them where the underwear is.
• Remind them again about the dog food.

(In my husband's defense, he is AWESOME! He does take care of everything and they are all in good hands...and Lauren is thrilled to have Daddy all to herself for a couple days!)

And then there is the fun of preparing my own clothing choices. Now that it's a new season, everything has to be tried on and tested again. Not sure if you knew this, but in Michigan clothing can shrink from season to season.

So I put on an outfit that I really like, but it's just a bit snug...you know....the "Michigan thing." But I tell myself, it will be fine when I put pantyhose on. Then I realize...I ask A LOT of my pantyhose. Truly, they are expected to preform like no other piece of clothing or accessory. I can honestly tell you that if the pantyhose decide to get lazy on the job, somebody could get hurt. Just saying.

I was also busy sending out 25 Praise and Coffee Leader Packets to women who want to start them in their communities around the nation. From Maine to Arizona, women are busting out the Praise and Coffee and I am just thrilled to be a part of it! I hope to get to travel to many of them this next year!!

I am heading to Florida on October 28th to do a Praise and Coffee Night in Ft. Lauderdale with Melissa from Mel’s World. She's a long-distance blogging girlfriend that I just can't wait to meet in person. I think we will have hours of conversation and lots of laughs, just like girlfriends should!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, I'll let you know how the conference goes and most importantly, how the pantyhose hold out. Pray for me (or should I say, THEM).

Friday Fluff

The other day I was having a "discussion" with my 16 year old daughter and as she left the room I jokingly said, "you better watch it or I'm gonna spank you!"

Lauren looked at me with amazement ...I could see it in her eyes, oh what a joy it would be to see someone else get a whooping!

Then she ran up to her bedroom and hurried back down the stairs, she came up to me with a wooden spoon in her hand and said, "here Mom, I found this under my bed."

She's such a little helper :)

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Ok, I'm going to confess. On Christmas day we played a cruel joke on Lauren. As she unwrapped her gifts...well first-get this picture. The six of us are sitting around the Christmas tree. Two brothers ages 20 & 18, one 16 year old sister, Mark and I and of course-the center of attention-Lauren.

So she's opening her gifts and as she sets them aside to move on to the next, one of the older kids would grab that gift and sneak into the other room, put it in Sam's (the German Shepherd pup) kennel. Then they would say, "Lauren, where is your __________?" everyone would look around and someone would suggest that maybe Sam took it, and she should go check the kennel. So she would run in the other room, to find her toy in the dog kennel and yell, SAM! She would grab her toy, bring it back and the whole cycle would begin again with another toy. All the while Sam is minding her own business gnawing on a bow in the corner.

We all got the biggest kick out of it, but it has served to bring a little contention between she and Sam. To this day, when she walks out of a room, she makes me promise not to let Sam get the toy that she is playing with at the time.

I'm surprised she hasn't brought the wooden spoon out for Sam.

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Life is never dull around here. God has been so good to our family, I'm grateful everyday.

Friday Fluff and other random happenings

I know, I know I've been kind of quiet lately. I'm trying to get better, still struggling with strep throat and now on my 2nd antibiotic. I've been so tired, I've hardly done any writing.

So here's some ramblings....

I hope you are enjoying your Christmas season. I know it can be so stressful. This year I chose to lighten the load of the holidays. Our family has decided that Christmas has been way overdone and under appreciated, so we are only buying gifts for the kids and plan to emphasize the importance of family and being together.

Also, this is the first year that I have not sent Christmas cards in 21 years!! I feel a little guilty about it, but couldn't get the kids together for a picture. I have to admit though, it really took a load of work off my plate.

So if you didn't get a card from me...you weren't snubbed...technically I snubbed everyone!

But I still love ya!

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Matt is coming home today...providing his planes get through these storms! It will be good to have the family together again- maybe I'll get a picture this time!

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This past Saturday I went to a Kennedy girls get together.
Evidently I am a shirt-tail relation to the Kennedy's.

We tried to nail down exactly how we were related to the Kennedy's of Camelot but no one was real sure. Grandma's last name was Kennedy and the fact that one of the Aunt's was rumored to have a very large portrait of JFK in her home seems to be the proof that there are a few drops of Kennedy blood corsing through our veins.

This got me thinking. Maybe I could re-invent the Kennedy name. A conservative, God-fearing Kennedy.

I'm thinking..."The New Kennedy"
or "Kennedy 2.0"
Or maybe "The Softer Side of Kennedy"

But how would that work? Would I change my name? Susan Kennedy-Cramer?
Now that Caroline is looking for a Senate seat in New York, I could be her counter part over her in Michigan.

On second thought, Michigan has some really serious issues these days. Jobs, the big 3 and do I really want to represent a state that looks like a mitten?

I'm just not sure politics is my thing. I think I'll just stick to blogging and skip the whole name change.

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I hope you have a wonderful weekend, I'm sure many of you will be gathering with friends and family. I think this year especially has caused us all to re-think our priorities and place value on what is truly important.

Mark 12:30-31
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'
The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.
NIV

Love God, love your family and friends. That's what matters.


Much love,
Sue

Friday Fluff and other random happenings

So here's my conversation with Lauren the other day...
Lauren: I haf to poop!
Me: Ok, go to the bathroom.
Lauren: Mom...I at school...I say, "I haf to go baf-room"...I at home I say, "I haf to go poop!"
Me: (giggling) yes, that's right...we don't say poop at school (we have worked on this one after some very embarrassing moments in Walmart)
Lauren : (big smile) poop...poop...poop! (as she runs to the bathroom).

Hey, poop happens.

***

Oh, did I ever tell you (if I did please stop me) about the time that Lauren was "helping me" clean up the house? She was so proud to be wiping down the tables with her little swifter. It was pre-pronoun days for her, so she would say "help Mommy" ie: "I am helping Mommy." And she repeats it over and over...kind of like the poop thing.

She was so pleased with herself that she ran down the stairs to tell her brothers. I did not realize this until one of them came racing up the stairs to see what was wrong with Mommy.

***

Word is getting out girls! I was sitting at Lauren's gymnastics class and this sweet woman who I see every week but have never spoken with, says, "I heard about your Praise and Coffee Night."
She was at the coffee shop and they gave her one of the postcards and told her about it. She checked out my blog and recognized me. She is a woman's director at a church that I planned to invite. Isn't that cool?

Also, there is a special guest coming...well, you're all special...but this one will be sharing some encouraging words with us.

She's a blogger, she's an author, she's a friend and sometimes she can be a bit irritable...any guesses??? Give a guess in the comments, Ali- not you, you already know. :)

So, I was thinking about how fun it is to get together with women. I've led women's ministry for so long and always been a facilitator of women's get-togethers. I've hung out with some fun women.

They are not only fun , they are funny. I've learned that if there are more than 4 moms in a room...for any reason...somehow the conversation always turns to child bearing. One women mentions the birth of a child and it's ON. It brings up story after story of water breaking, pain, lots of DRUGS, and gory details of things that should not be spoken of in public.

This is especially cruel if done at a baby shower...the poor mommy-to-be. She has to sit and listen while fear builds in her heart. And then without a doubt someone will look at her (sweat beading down her face) and say...'oh but I'm sure yours will be nothing like that'. The mommy-to-be indulges in a little more spinach dip and chocolate covered strawberries. Why not, according to these women, she's about to encounter a fate worse than death.

But if talking abour birth brings us together for some laughs, game on. I'm sure we'll have all kinds of girl-talk on November 20th at the Plainwell Coffee Mill.

I'm looking forward to meeting some of you and hanging with old friends.

Have a great weekend!

Friday Fluff and other random happenings...

It's been a while, but I had a few things to throw out today, so here goes.


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Do any of you with little ones have to lock up your tape?

I mean, it might as well be a loaded weapon the way I have to hide this stuff!

First of all, I don't want her to get cut on the dispenser, but worse of all is where she puts the tape. I still have yet to find a razor blade to get it off my glass sliding door, and the dog is none too happy about seeing her coming with a big wad in her hand and a skip in her step!


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Over the 4th of July we were at a Pro National/Amateur motocross race. It's kind of the "Woodstock" of motocross.
As these things go, people do some very crazy things. Two very beautiful young girls decided to make some money and do some advertising for the vendors. They donned their tiniest bikini's and used the uncovered space on their bodies to write the names of vendors and walked around all day..."advertising."
I was sitting at our picnic table with a group of little boys when they walked by.
One of the boys said, "Did you see those girls??!!"
I thought, oh no, here we go.
Another said "yeah!"

Then, "that is PERMANENT MARKER!!!"
I just had to giggle.


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Ok, this would go under the...you know you're having a bad day when:
Woman Gives Birth on Front Lawn

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Lauren-isms...
When we brought Lauren home from China a year and a half ago, she was two years old. Due to the cleft palate, she did not speak much at all. She understood Chinese but couldn't speak it.

She quickly caught on to understand English, but still could not speak it well. So I started one word at a time teaching her sign language. She picked it up right away and would tell us when she was hungry or wanted milk, etc. We made up a lot of signs for things like family members and she made up a few of her own signs for other things.

We have been taking speech class this year and her speech has improved dramatically. I can understand most of what she says and will interpret for others if they are not sure.

For her Dad, she calls him "Daddy-o" not sure why the "o" but now we all call Mark "Daddy-o."

For the word OK, she says "oh-day."
And it is usually said with a big sigh attached as she asks for a treat or to do something fun and I tell her, "later."
OH-DAY!


Lately she will come up to me out of the blue and say...

"I me-member you!"

The other day we were in a public bathroom and someone walked into the stall next to us. This is usually the time that she says loudly..."who that?!" To which I try to quiet her and get about our business.

However this time, I was able to head her off and I motioned her to be quiet.

She leaned forward to peak under the stall and then looked at me knowing that she should be quiet and signed the word "shoes."

(I promise, I did not take this picture!)

It was so funny because she hasn't signed that one in a long time and I wouldn't have thought she remembered it, but she did and she couldn't hold back some sort of response to our neighbor in the bathroom.


Now that she's 4 we've been working hard on teaching her to say the word four because everyone asks her how old she is. The letter "f" is a tough one for her, so we sit in front of a mirror and practice. Now, when asked how old she is, she says fuf-fuh-fuh...door!

One more thing about that...the other day we ran into and old friend of mine so I introduced her, and Lauren's first question was, "how old are you?"
I guess she figures, that must just be the right thing to say when you meet someone!

Hope you have a great weekend!!!
Sue

Friday Fluff ~ and other random happenings...

I was driving through town the other day and saw a billboard for a local radio station. This station has been around since I was a teenager. Back then they played hard rock music.

Now they play "Classic Rock."

It occured to me that they are playing the exact same music, but because it is 25...(cough-cough)something years later, it is now called, Classic Rock.

Same music, but now it's "Classic."

That got me thinking...

Wendy's has a Classic cheeseburger...same burger...years later...now it's a Classic.

What about the old Mustangs and muscle cars of our day?? Same cars as before...now their "Classics."

That old pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals in the back of the closet...now "Classics."

Can we do this...

Wednesday night's lasagna is Thursday's "Classic" lasagna!

Why not?!

So I've concluded that the wrinkles and grey hairs don't make me old,
they make me a "Classic."

*****

So I went to my "yearly" (actually year-and-a-halfly) check up this week. My doctor is an old friend (girl-friend) and there's nothing like catching up on what the kids are doing while your feet pointed at the ceiling.

But this is not as bad as when I am answering all the nurses questions and I tell her the ages of my children...20, 18, 16 and 3. "Wow" she states, "kind of like having a grandchild huh?!" (Clenched teeth *grin*...eyes squinting)..."yes, kind of like that."

Also...am I the only one that stresses about how fast to dis-robe when the nurse leaves the room? I wish there was like a little switch I could turn on that worked a light in the hall so that it would go from red to green when I was ready. It's really silly because they are about to come in and see the whole show anyways, but I am traumatized by the thought of them coming in WHILE I'm in the process of taking my clothes off and before the little gown is on.

So now I put the gown over my head while fully clothed and then take everything off as fast as possible while that is over my head- by the way, you have to plan ahead for this and wear button down shirts.

*****

In honor of Mother's Day, here are some fun quotes for women:

"I refuse to think of them as chin hairs. I think of them as stray eyebrows." -Janette Barber-

"You know the hardest thing about having cerebral palsy and being a woman? It's plucking your eyebrows. That's how I originally got pierced ears." -Geri Jewell-

"I'm not going to vacuum 'til Sears makes one you can ride on." -Roseanne Barr-

"I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb . . and I'm also not blonde." -Dolly Parton-

"I want my children to have all the things I couldn't afford. Then I want to move in with them." ~ Phyllis Diller

and finally...

"My mother had a great deal of trouble with me, but I think she enjoyed it." ~ Mark Twain

Happy Mother's Day! Love, Sue

(I am gone for the weekend, so the drawing for the May giveaway will be on Monday- If you haven't yet- go sign up on the May 1st post!)

Friday Fluff and other random happenings

****** Well, the hubby had a birthday last week. 43. That makes me almost 41.

Hmmm. Now I'll be IN my 40's.

See, when you turn 40...it's kind of like the top of the 30's...now 41 is actually over the top (it's not a hill, just a top...like a muffin top) and into the next decade.

OK- it's my little fantasy...let me have it!

But hey, this is about him anyway right?

Happy Birthday Hubby!

****** Cooking for 12 at the drop of a hat

I've never been so happy that I bought all the ingredients for a double batch of White Chili!
12 people showed up at our house to ride motocycles on our motocross track.

It's so fun to use words like..."I threw this together when I saw you were all here." As if I'm some sort of always prepared - on top of it all - kind of woman.

My friend said, "my throwing something together is grilled cheese sandwiches, yours is chicken chili!"

I was honest and admitted that I thought we may have riders over and I stocked up.

They came to ride motorcycles, they left with full bellies, better than a sharp stick in the eye.

White chili
Double batch (in case 12 people come):2 large glass jars of Northern beans (not drained)
1 large (Hi-C fruit juice size) can chicken broth
1 small can of chopped green chili's
1 large chunk of monterey jack cheese shredded
1 large chunk of pepper jack cheese shredded
3-4 cooked and cubed chicken breasts

Throw it all together until the cheese is melted. Always awesome the second
day!

Top with a dollop of sour cream if you so desire and
serve with slices of Italian or French bread

*****Steph took her driving test last week

After the road test, the almost 16 year old daughter decides she wants to stop at KFC for some raspberry tea. Being the cool Mom, I'm all about it, after all- 3 year old daughter is home with Dad- so she swings into the drive thru with our jumbo-size Excursion.

As we sit and converse about her new life as a driver and the freedom she is about to experience (and I smile and carry on while cringing and weeping on the inside because my baby is not going to need me anymore...) now that she can drive herself around town...(more internal weeping)...

Suddenly we realize that the car in front of us is slowly creeping backwords....

...I notice it's reverse lights on...

...it starts to pick up speed...

...as it comes within inches of slamming

(maybe not slamming...maybe bumping...but slamming sounds so much more exciting)

...into us, I yelled BEEP!!!

(not AT the car mind you...it was an order to my daughter to warn this obviously confused person)

and as I'm yelling, Steph throws the truck into reverse causing the truck to fly backwards at an alarming rate of speed and with tires screaching she lays on the horn.

The crazy-backwards driving person- slams on their brakes and stops abruptly as we jerk backwards. I couldn't tell if he hit us or not.

My daughter throws it into park and jumps out of the truck....I seriously thought this child was about to rip the guys head off! I couldn't believe my eyes.

She looks at the front of the truck and sees that we did not collide with one another as the man steps out of his car. He apologizes and thankfully she smiles and nods while climbing back into the truck.

It was so much more exciting than parallel parking.

******* Seeing myself in my kids...

Lately Lauren is telling on me in a big way. The other day she dropped her marker on the floor and made this loud huffing...sigh-like...kind of growly noise. My husband's head swung towards me so fast I'm sure he got dizzy, as I shrunk back into the couch.

There it was. She's got my growl. That's not good.

But it was funny! The first time.....

So, now she does it all the time and the cuteness is gone. All that's left is the blinding reminder of my lack of patience and discrection.

Ok, ok...but in my defense, she also feels the need to pray anytime someone is hurt, especially the dog. Not that the dog gets hurt much, ( I promise) but the other day she was limping and Lauren kept asking me to pray and she would bow her head so cute and...shouldn't that count for something!

Have a good weekend!

Sue

Friday Fluff and other random happenings...

I had the pleasure of meeting a blog friend yesterday!

Karen Hossink of Surviving Motherhood was speaking at a MOPS meeting in my area so I met her there and then we went to lunch.

I had such a nice time. Karen is just a doll and as you can see, she's the cutest little thing!

We had some awesome "girl time" and talked all about our kids, family and faith while having lots of laughs in the process!

I hope we get to meet up again sometime, she's the real deal and if you get a chance, go meet her at her blog and get her book while you're there! Her message to the MOPS group was so honest and encouraging.

Her book called "Confessions of an Irritable Mother."

It is a must read for anyone with young ones in the home!!

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Speaking of young ones in the home...

Here are some pictures that Lauren's big sister took of her while Mom was gone!

Can you see the love on Macy's face?!

(Disclaimer: No animals or children were hurt in the taking of these pictures.)

Riding her "motorcycle."

She "cased" it on a jump in the garage!

Being silly!!!

Oh my joy! She keeps life fun!

As Karen and I talked about yesterday, we have to enjoy these days...they go by so quickly!

Have a wonderful weekend friends!

Sue

Friday Fluff and other random happenings

Hello! Happy Friday!

As I was packing to go to Texas, Lauren filled several of my kitchen towels with ice from the ice maker. I have no idea why....maybe she heard we were going somewhere warm and wanted to bring the cold with her!


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One of our Team Allegan Motorsports riders is absolutely adorable- well they all are, but this one was so funny the other day.
He’s 5 years old and ripping it up in his class. He’s a natural rider and fast as fast can be. This is his first National race, and he got 2nd place even after he fell.
Of course we’re all very excited and he’s getting high fives, fist bumps and lots of hugs when he comes back to the trailer. Then he looks at his Dad and with incredible enthusiasm says, “Dad, I’m just warming up for the Nationals!”
He has no idea that he’s AT the Nationals!!! I mean, dealers are lining up to sign this kid, he’ll probably be in MX Magazines for this and he thinks he’s at practice.
We all laughed so hard!

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Ok, here’s some-not so fluffy talk, more like a Hot Topic…

Our evenings have opened the door for some good “talking” around here lately. The conversation so often comes around to the Lord which is so cool.
But, I have to tell you, I’m really grieved about something.
I can’t tell you how often, and it happened again yesterday, that the conversations takes this turn…. "I used to go to church and really loved it but I got so tired of them talking about and asking for my money.”

I’m not kidding, I think it is at least half of my conversations with people not in church.

This is a great guy. Good honest person, loves his kids and family…and loved his church. UNTIL it seemed to become all about money.

How about you, have you experienced this also?
I have. Maybe that’s why it bothers me so.

I know churches need money to operate, we have helped plant one church and then planted a second with my husband being senior pastor. Thankfully, we were in a position to pastor without taking a paycheck and thereby relieving a lot of the financial pressure of the church. But, I think we all know that this problem is generally not related to necessary operating expenses.

Let me step up on my soapbox now and tell you, I don’t think it will be tolerated much longer. I believe a shift is coming in the body of Christ.
Forget the bells and whistles, give me what’s REAL.

People are leaving churches because of the greed…this should NOT be.

James 1:27
27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
NIV

And what about this one…

James 2:2-4
2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.
3 If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," 4 have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?
NIV

You know what I love about being out here? It is that, nobody pretends. It is what it is. They are real. Give me a real sinner over or fake Christian anyday.

On the other side of this…most of them leave those churches because they realize that it is not what it is supposed to be. They see the counterfeit for what it is. They know that Jesus is not like that.
So, we may not be able to change all that, but we can start with ourselves…let’s live real, and let’s pray.

2 Chron 7:14
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
NIV

Our hope is in Him!

Sue

Stop by and enter the drawing for March!

Friday Fluff and other random happenings

I wrote this early in the week...

Lauren decided on a more trendy look for her hair, it's a new symetrical "do." From the right side of her head it looks like a mullet, business in the front, party in the back. This makes the pig tails a little "off" but we're getting used to it. She is quite proud of her new look.



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How lame is it that watching Top Gun still makes me cry?!

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I was talking with a girlfriend the other day and she was referring to her "Blackberry" but she called it her "Blueberry!" She'll never live that one down!

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I have to say a special thank you to Melissa at Mel's World for sending me a card with a gift certificate to Starbucks! What a sweetie!!!!!

Check out her Speak to my Soul Sundays, they are so uplifting!


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Well, my plans have changed again! I am going to Texas! I'm pretty excited because the weather there is going to be in the low 70's- that is PERFECT in my book!!! Although it will just break my heart to leave all this snow and cold. :-P

We have satellite in the motorhome, but I've been told that it doesn't work at this track. So I asked my sister-in-law to post a few things for me this week. But I sure hope I will be able to keep in touch! I will miss you!

Anybody down near Whitney, Texas?!

Just in case there any bad guys reading this getting bad ideas because we are gone...there is something you should know.

I have 2 cubs that will be at home. The oldest cub 6'2" tall and military trained. He takes great pride in the fact that he knows how to kill someone with his bare hands.

The second cub is 6' tall and over 200 lbs. He loves the thought of protecting his home with the arsenal of weapons he has stashed away. His motto, "shoot first, ask questions later."

If that is not enough to deter you. My otherwise sweet and lovable dog would defend this place to her death, I'm quite sure of it.

For those of you who are not bad guys, disregard the threats and have a Happy Jesus day! ;)

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I have a special guest that will be posting the Two shall become One ~ Tuesday post, so be sure to check it out!!!!!

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Sign up on the GIVEAWAY if you haven't done so for the month of March! I am extending the drawing until the 18th because we are traveling. I will be adding another prize too!

Our hope is in Him,
Sue

Friday Fluff and other random happenings

The older sister took some gnarly shots of the little sister.

Like the moto wear?

Matt (my 19 year old comedian) went to the dentist the other day because his tooth was hurting. The dentist told him that he had a dead tooth. It is probably from his past motorcycle accident.

The dentist told him, "when you hit your head you killed your tooth."

Matt: "I killed my tooth?"

Dentist: "Yes, you killed your tooth."

Smart aleck son: "Wow....(shaking his head)... I didn't mean to kill it ... I just wanted to teach it a lesson."

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The other day Lauren and Matt were playing....actually Matt was teasing her and she was fighting back. At one point she looked at her "target of opportunity" then bent over and ran across the room straight at him. When she got 2 feet in front of him she stopped and threw her head forward with a loud sneeze!

His face was priceless as he realized he had been "sneeze bombed!"

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It's that time of the year again and she knows it! Lauren came out of her bedroom with a drawerful of her pajamas overflowing in her arms, I asked her what she was doing and she said, "mo-home."

She was going to pack the motorhome!

Texas is next week, but I don't think Lauren and I will be going.

However, it won't be long and we'll be on the road again, coming to a moto-cross track near you!

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Have a great weekend, stop by tomorrow for the March giveaway!

Our hope is in Him,

Sue

Friday Fluff and other random happenings...

I'm the glove on the right...

Seriously! We are in a "lake effect" zone and it just keeps coming. I'm so looking forward to spring!!

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I saw this headline the other day in the local news:

"Numerous semi-trucks collide, cow gets loose."

I hate it when that happens!

I looked online and found a few more good ones for ya:

Police begin campaign to run down jaywalkers

Milk drinkers are turning to powder

Smokers are productive, but death cuts efficiency

Blind woman gets new kidney from dad she hasn't seen in years

If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges

Man Struck By Lightning Faces Battery Charge

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So, what kind of incentive do you use to motivate your children to behave?

I've used (of course these must be spoken with great enthusiasm):

...(at the grocery store) I'll let you ride the dinosaur if you behave!
...(at the grocery store) we'll go to McDonald's after this if you're good!
...if you give Mommy a couple more minutes on the computer I'll let you put on a bandaid!

And one that I'm about to use tonight...

...if you sleep in your own bed, I'll buy you a pony!

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So, yes, something has come between Mark and I. It is 3 foot tall and filled with enthusiam.

Last night, I put her to bed. She was fine for a while, but then decided she was done in her bed so she cried. Then she screamed. Then she cried again, this time with big alligator tears.

She falls apart into this heap of heaving, sobbing, weeping child, looking at me with those "don't you remember that I was an orphan" eyes.

I finally can't take it anymore so I bring her in my room and lay her on my bed. (Stop with the look- I wanted to see the end of Apprentice!)

She giggles with glee!

I've been had.

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I have another wonderful website to share with you.

It is "Pennies In My Pocket"

It is full of fun! From great deals on all kinds of things for ladies like you and I, to giveaways! And on top of it all, Melody is just a sweet thing and fun to be around!

Jump over there for a visit! You'll quickly become a friend!

Our hope is in Him!
Love,
Sue

Friday Fluff and other random happenings

There, are you happy now? I made a Friday Fluff button. :-P

I have to tell you though, I am not promising that I can do a Friday Fluff post every Friday. We will be traveling again soon and though that may give me fodder to write about, I may not be able to punch it out every week.
But when I do...this is the button!
Feel free to take it and use it on your blog if you also do a Friday Fluff thingy.
You don't need to link it, just feel free to use it!

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So we have come to the conclusion that Lauren will be a soccer player, she can kick and head butt with the best of them. We have to dose her with Benadryl before she plays however because she seems to be most on her game at 3 AM while fast asleep in our bed.

EDITED to add: my husband pointed out to me that this may make it sound like we give her Benadryl to sleep- I assure you we don't. I was saying that she does her best moves while sleeping, so she may need the medicine if her game is during the day.

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Politically speaking...
*Bill Clinton stated, "I waited all my life to vote for a black man, and I've waited all my life to vote for a woman, sometimes I look up at the sky and say, 'God you're playing with my mind again.'

Yes Bill, that's what this is all about, God playing with you. ~sigh~

And then with regards to another candidate...

*Really...we could have a president with the middle name 'Hussein?'

Crazy.....

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The other day I was getting ready to go to the store and I thought to my self, 'oh my back hurts, I need to call the chiropractor.'

A few minutes later I looked in the mirror and noticed way too many gray hairs and thought, 'I'd better get a hold of Char to touch that up.'

As I was washing my hands I noticed my nails and thought, 'I need to get a hold of Janice to get these nails filled.'

It was at that moment I realized...oh mercy...I have handlers.

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I was recently reminded of a time that I went to Walmart. I had this very hip pair of black shoes on. While at Walmart, the wooden heel of said shoe came loose but did not fall off so it was hanging there. With every step I took it made a loud clunking sound.

With the squeaking of the cart and the cluncking of the shoe, I sounded like a 4th grade band walking down the aisles.

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Lauren is really progressing in her speech. However, she has not learned the proper placement for words such as: who, what, where, when and how. Instead she uses the word "why" for all of the above. As if a 3 year old does not say "why" enough, she uses it 5 X as much as any other 3 year old.
For instance:
"Lauren (I yell up the stairs so I can find out if she's in her bedroom or has snuck into my room)?"
"Why?" she yells back.

(me to Lauren) "Guess who's coming over today?!"
(Lauren) "Why!"

(me) "Look what I bought for you at the store!"
(Lauren) "Why?!"

You get the picture.

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Lauren loves the song I posted a few days ago, 'Trading My Sorrows'. She asks me to play it really loud! Her favorite part is the la-la's. She will sing and spin in a circle singing la-la-la-la....

As I look at that little girl that has been through so much in her 3 1/2 years, filled with joy and singing, I realize that she is the one who has rescued me, not the other way around.

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One more thing. I am so thrilled to be praying for some blogging friends that will be traveling to Africa for Compassion International. They leave this Sunday.

Let's pray for them as they take this amazing trip!

Here's a link to learn more about it.

UGANDA

Have a wonderful weekend! I will be drawing for the February Giveaway on Sunday.

Friday Fluff and other random happenings

Ok...I'm at it again, but NO sidebar button!
If you missed the first installment of FF, go HERE


*** It has been cold and snowy here in Michigan for far too long now. I'm ready for a break.
This is what we do when we can't go outside to play:

We build forts in the house. That is Lauren, Daddy and if you look real close you see the dog in there too! In case you notice that she has no shirt on...the child is hotblooded and I have a full time job trying to clothe her. Sometimes I leave the room for just a moment and when I come back, she down to her unders. Occasionally I fight it, mostly we've all gotten used to it.

***However...she was just given a lifesize (her size) Barbie, and my boys do not at all appreciate seeing Barbie in nothing but a pony tail holder. I have had to convince her that Barbie is sick and needs her clothes on. So now we have to wipe Barbie's nose. The nose I can handle, if it gets any weirder, I'm done.

***Last time I did this, a few of you wondered about a comment I made about my son Matt. Matt is a character and always giving me ammunition for the blog but I try to be discreet with the kids. However, you have to hear about his latest antics.

He is in college and is studying genealogy in one of his classes. They are supposed to look up their family history and make a family tree etc. Well, that seemed too involved for Matt, so instead of calling his grandparents and getting all the information, he decided to make up his own family and NAMES!

Mind you...some of these precious people are still living and he is changing their names!

If he had done the slightest bit of research he would have found that his ancestry goes back to people like Helen Keller on his Father's side and the Kennedy's on my side (sorry, I can't be responsible for that!).

But no, he made up names and occupations just to finish his project with the least amount of sweat on his brow. I'm not excusing his behavior mind you, but he did catch me off guard when I mentioned his Great-Grandma and he said, "Oh Grandma Stevens?" which is not her name in the real world, only in his pretend, liar world.

*** Another "Matt-ism" is that he loves to do illusion and tricks. He especially like amazing his littlest sister with his slight of hand. She's always good for a good jaw-dropping when he makes her toys disappear. Then the music starts of course!

Lauren thinks she's figured this all out and she will take a nickel into her hand, put both hands behind her back and then ask you to choose. When you choose an arm, she will transfer the nickle to the other and show you her empty hand. She repeats this until she finally drops the said nickel behind her and shows you both her empty hands as she gasps with amazement at her ability to make things disappear. Of course we all gasp too.

*** So last week I finally threw out the Christmas tin with a handful of mixed up caramel, butter and cheese popcorn at the bottom, how about you? Did you hesitate thinking that maybe you could re-use that tin, or did you just pitch it like me because you already have 2 in your basement?

*** Everyone in this house, except my dear husband, loves ranch dressing. We have a local restaurant here that makes it best! I used to have a friend who worked there and would bring me home the packet to mix it up and make my own. The only problem was that it was a large packet and I wasn't good with fractions so I had to make it all, and as much as we love it, a five gallon bucket was more than we could handle (just kidding- don't send letters to help me with the fractions).


But seriously, I do plan meals according to what we can dip in ranch dressing. That waitress no longer works there, but I found an awesome recipe that I can make in smaller portions.

Here is my tried and true favorite:

1 cup buttermilk
1 cup Kraft mayo
1 Tbls Hidden Valley Ranch BUTTERMILK mix
1/2 tsp. coarse black pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
Mix and eat with anything and everything!

Friday Fluff and other random happenings

Hello friends,
This week's posts have been so serious, I feel the need to post about nothingness. Kind of like a Praise and Coffee version of Seinfeld.

Don't worry, I will not be starting a new meme, "Friday Fluff" and posting a button with cotton candy on it for your sidebar!

So here's some randon thoughts about things going on around the Cramer household these days.

*** Did I tell you that I got a speeding ticket? Yup.
I haven't had a ticket in years, but this time he got me. It was the first time I was out of the house without Lauren in quite a while and I was feeling FREE!
The speed limit goes from 50mph down to 35...but I didn't.

He asks, "do you know why I pulled you over?"
Of course I knew, didn't he see me slam on my brakes?
Then, "do you know how fast you were going?"
Me: "I think 50."
Him: "no, 47 but the speed limit is 35." (I would think that honesty here would have gotten me somewhere!)

It just went downhill from there. I wanted to tell him that I was without the 3 year old and feeling free, no limits! But I didn't think that would go over well.
I thought about breaking into the ugly cry, but really- I knew that I deserved a ticket.

You would think that would have helped me slow it down, but no.
I have had to slam on my brakes on that road 3 times since because I keep forgetting that the speed limit goes down there.
I don't have a problem speeding on the highway, but going 35 and below seems to be an issue for me. If I could just drive 50 mph everywhere I go, I'm sure I would never get a ticket.

*** I was at the doctor this week with my son and asked him about my arm (we tend to make one appointment and them bombard him with every problem we have). I have been having alot of pain in it and thought maybe I was getting carpal tunnel or something. He did a few little pain tests on me and said that I have tennis elbow.
Tennis elbow?!
I've never even picked up a racket.

What he meant to say is that I am 40, out of shape and strained a tendon while using a screwdriver to hang my new curtains.
For the love of donuts, can you believe it? There is really nothing I can do about it, but try to let it heal. Do you know when I feel it the worse? When I reach in the top of my fridge all the way to the back to get out my 2 gallon container of cream for my coffee. That hurts.
I guess I'll have to lay off the tennis for a while too.

*** Took Lauren to speech class the other day. She is still in the evaluation process. The teacher shows her pictures and asks her to say what they are.
The teacher shows her a duck and Lauren says, "dut."
The teacher shows her a cow and she says "moo."
The teacher shows her a candy bar and she makes the (sign language) sign for Meijer (our neighborhood grocery store).
This much she knows, if we are out of chocolate, it's off to Meijer we go.
Yes, I'm training her up in the way she should go...she should go to Meijer for chocolate.

*** After speech class we go to McDonalds for lunch (after stopping at Meijer because I remembered that we needed chocolate).
Lauren loves to play in the playland there.
My goal is get her through 3 bites of her chicken wrap and 10 french fries before the shoes come off. The best part about playland is the de-shoeing.

A couple other things note worthy...

*** On Monday, Mitt Romney called me 38 times. He wanted me to vote for him on Tuesday. That was thoughtful.

*** I noticed a few more gray hairs this week, and you know what that means. That's all I going to say about that.

*** Lauren STILL loves the movie Elf, so I listen to it everytime we are in the car as she watches her DVD. Because we can not see it, only hear it...15 year old daughter and I describe what is happening in all the scenes and then laugh hysterically.

That's about it for me, I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
I love you, I'll call you in 5 minutes!

Sue