Update...

I haven't posted in a few weeks because I've been tremendously busy. I've been working on my dad's 60th birthday party. We are having it at their local fire department, because we can use it for free and it's big enough to lay everything out. I ordered invitations today from www.vistaprint.com. I'm trying to decide on a cake design now. I want it to look like his 1947 Ford truck, and that's presenting a problem. I don't have a ton of money to spend on it so I'm trying to figure out my options for the design. I'm going to a local bakery tomorrow to see what ideas they have. Ed's Bakery has the most amazing cakes & cookies so I know they will come up with something awesome!

At the party, we are having people bring acoustic instruments so we can sit around and play and sing after we all eat. It's something Dad has wanted to do for a while, so we thought we could incorporate that into his birthday celebration. I think I am going to also buy a photo book (the kind you write in) and have everyone sign it as a guest book. Then we can put photos of the party in it & give it to Dad. For food, we are going to just do appetizers. We will have veggie & fruit trays, deli trays, chips, dips, and maybe a few more things. And, of course, the cake. We are also working on a photo slideshow to play throughout the party.

We wanted to do a more elaborate party, complete with a diner-style ice cream bar, but money would not allow it this time around. I'm sure it will still be a fun, memorable party.

So that's what I've been up to! More updates to come...

Vacation???

Well, the hubby & I just got back from Missouri a few hours ago. One of his cousins is in chiropractic school there so it seemed like a good place to go on a weekend vacation with the little bit of money we had saved up. Here are the pros & cons of the road trip.

Pros

1. We got to see Josh & Shea

2. The St. Louis zoo is amazing!

3. A little alone time with the hubby is good

4. I got to relax and read some magazines

5. Our hotel room had a jacuzzi tub

Cons

1. Six hours in the car is enough for anyone

2. Somehow I miraculously hurt my foot while walking around the zoo on Saturday. (I always seem to hurt myself in the most random ways)

3. The air conditioner in my car started blowing warm air about halfway to St. Louis, leaving us to drive way too many hours in a hot car

4. Vacation laundry!

I guess that's about it for the vacation update. All-in-all, we had a good trip. It was just a little bit warmer than we had anticipated.

Babies...

I'll start this post off by saying that I am not sad! Today I made a visit to my friend who had her first baby last weekend. He is a precious little thing and I know God has great things planned for him. This is just another one of our friends to have a baby before us.

It used to make me really upset and I would cry for days when I found out that another person would be a mother before me. And, don't get me wrong, sometimes I still get upset. But now it's different. I think a not-so-selfish side of me has come out. I've never been one of those people that got mad if you got something before me, and I don't turn my back on my preggo friends. But after trying for over 6 years, it's a little aggravating when person after person after person has a baby while we are just sitting here.

I can see now though that God has a different plan for us and that's okay. We still want to be parents very badly but I'm okay with us being the "aunt & uncle" for now. Keith & I both enjoy playing with our friends' kids and getting them little presents for no reason. That is something we may or may not be able to do if we had children of our own right now. And we do truly love our "nieces & nephews".

So if we haven't told you lately, we are so proud that all of you have become parents before us! You are amazing parents and we can't wait to learn from you!

Nice weekend again

Last weekend we had a great weekend on the river with our best friends. We spent it at my in-laws' little one bedroom cabin. Its a great little getaway, just to cook out and visit.

This weekend the hubby & I spent it at my in-laws' bigger four bedroom cabin on the other side of the river with our young adults' class from church...and a few strays too. Keith & a few other went fishing today and the rest of us just hung out. Last night we had some good food, courtesy of the hubby and his should-have-been-brother. We also had some great music from some of our strays. They are some very talented brothers & I expect to hear them on the radio someday.

Also on the music note (ha ha...I'm so funny), the hubby's cousin & I got to sing together a little. It's something we try to do but don't have much time for. He's an amazing singer & I love singing with him. He's always been like a brother to me, so it's a lot of fun. And we actually don't sound terrible together.

This time of year is a great time up at the river, so we spend a lot of time up there. We're skipping next weekend though so we can go up to St. Louis and visit another cousin & his wife. Yay for another great weekend!

Things I remember...again

I did one of these blogs a few months ago and ever since I've been thinking of things I left out that are important. Some are sad and some are happy, but all are very vivid in my mind. Enjoy...

1. Singing badly to old songs all night with my boyfriend (now husband) when we first started dating and knowing that I had just released all of the inhibitions I had

2. Seeing my Ya-ya in the hospital, knowing that it was the last time I would see her alive

3. Playing Sardines in the mall in New Hampshire

4. Watching my Pearl dog "chasing" planes out of our back yard

5. Taking 2 hour lunches with Jalynn to go eat in LR and go shopping

6. Slapping a girl when I was in the 6th grade

7. Playing with Barbies and GI Joe at my Maw-maw's house with my cousin

8. My Pop teaching me how to drive when I had no interest in it

9. Pop & Ya-ya's chicken houses

10. Riding the 3-wheeler with my friend Justin when we were kids

11. Laying on the beach on Grand Turk island

12. Cutting Allyson's hair and my instructor "fixing it" by completely chopping it off

13. My aunt trying to make me learn tree and flower names

14. My dad getting my birthday confused one year and giving me my present a whole month early

15. Moore family vacations...

That's all for today. I'm pooped after a long day. More to come...

Revelation of the Day

I was researching some stuff today for the adoption process that we have been looking into and slowing creeping toward and found something interesting. I found a website for adoption funding (www.cafaadopt.org) that had some great stuff on it. I found an article called "Should Christians Fund Adoptions?" Now I didn't read it because I wanted someone to fund my adoption (would be nice...) but it caught my attention. Here's a little of what I found there.
God speaks of taking care of orphans and widows throughout the Old Testament.
Psalm 10:14 - God is the helper of the orphans
Psalm 10:18 - God will vindicate the orphan and oppressed
Deuteronomy 27:19 - "Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the fatherless"

Then the author, B. Alan Keener, goes on to bring up a New Testament verse, just to show that the command continues throughout the new law. James 1:27 says, "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of God our Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world." I have heard this verse used countless times to show that we should take care of our widows. I have heard it used a couple of times by the sponsors from the Children's Home. But I have never really looked at that verse as it being a direct command to care for orphans, as well as widows. My husband and his friend have talked about this verse a lot in the last few months and I still never thought about it like that. I think maybe God was trying to get me to see that all along.
I have always wanted to adopt, because my mother is adopted, and I love the idea of helping someone by showing them a loving, God-fearing home, when they may never get that otherwise. But now I feel more compelled than ever to do so. I feel that we should get our butts in gear and get this going. We have questions about finances because it is incredibly expensive. But I know that the money will find its way somehow, as long as we focus on what's important.

Reflection

Today has been a crazy day full of bad news. A lot of people I love are hurting very badly today. In twelve hours, I heard about 5 deaths in this immediate area. Five. There was a very bad helicopter crash last night of the Air Evac team in this area. My friend's grandpa passed away yesterday. And my friend's son committed suicide. So many people are hurting and sad and it hurts me that I have no idea what to do.

I've been surrounded by death since I was young. I grew up with older grandparents in a community full of older people. The first death I remember was when I was four. I think I started going to funerals before that. I have no clue how many funerals and visitations I've been to in my thirty years. I know that when someone dies, the best thing you can do for them is be there. You can take food and paper goods to make the time easier on them. You can take them flowers to make their house appear cheery. But you can do nothing to take the pain away. I've done these things for a long time. But what do you do when someone commits suicide? I'm not sure that there is anything you can do to make that time easier. I'm completely at a loss.

But I'm taking this time to do some reflecting on my own life. That may sound selfish but I'm trying to be better. I know now that I've been through all the funerals and death so that I can help other people. Maybe that's what God's purpose has been for me all along. I don't believe God only has one purpose for us, but maybe that's a big part of mine. I always feel obligated to do something when someone dies, whether I knew them well or not. Maybe that's the Holy Spirit guiding me into my purpose.

So now I have to figure out my purpose in this time. I'm praying that God will guide me toward what I'm supposed to do right now and that He will be a comfort and strength to so many people that are in pain.

I love Lucy!

I was watching "I Love Lucy" this morning & decided to look up Lucille Ball (for the millionth time) on www.imdb.com, my favorite website. Which also led to several of my other favorite redheads. Here's some of my favorite redhead quotes.

Lucille Ball

"The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age."

"I'm not funny. What am I is brave."

"Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead."

"A man who correctly guesses a woman's age may be smart, but he's not very bright."

Bette Midler

"I try not to drink too much, because when I'm drunk, I bite."

"If somebody makes me laugh, I'm his slave for life."

Carol Burnett

"Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me."

Sophia Loren

"A woman's dress should be like a barbed wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view."

Julia Roberts

"I'm too tall to be a girl, I never had enough dresses to be a lady, I wouldn't call myself a woman. I'd say I'm somewhere between a chick and a broad."

Out last night...

But it wasn't last night. It was last weekend but I haven't written about it or shown pictures yet. Some friends & my hubby & I went out to a piano bar last weekend and had a blast. It's my new favorite place to go. It's nice just to relax and sing really badly to crazy songs. Going out isn't a typical thing for the hubby & me so it was nice just to get out. These are a few pictures from the night. Enjoy!

Lyrics = Life

I'm a music freak. I love almost every genre of music. It is an art form that many take for granted. I love listening to music but I also love the poetry of it. Here's a few I've been thinking about this week.

Sugarland has a song on their Love on the Inside album called Take Me As I Am. Here's my favorite part: "I know these corners, I know these streets. Curbside prophets, they're yelling at me. He can save my soul for a drink and a dollar. Yea, they're yelling about my tattoos but we all live with the scars we chose. They might hurt like hell but they all make us stronger."

Miranda Lambert's new single, Only Prettier, starts out like this: "Well I've been saved by the grace of southern charm. I got a mouth like a sailor and yours is more like a hallmark card. If you wanna pick a fight, I'm gonna have to say good night. I don't have to be hateful, I can just say bless your heart."

From one of my all-time favorites, James Taylor, Fire and Rain: "I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end. I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend. But I always thought that I'd see you again."

Gotta love Your Song, Elton John: "And you can tell everybody that this is your song. It might be quite simple but now that it's done. I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words how wonderful life is when you're in the world."

And let's close out this blog with my favorite diva, Bette Midler. You gotta have Friends!

"Oh you got to have friends, the feeling's oh so strong. You got to have friends to make that day last long. Had some friends but they're gone, something came and took them away. And from the dusk to the dawn, here's where I will stay. Standin' at the end of the road, boys, waiting on my new friends to come, I don't care if I'm hungry or cold, I gotta get me some of the them."