Top ___ Reasons To Lose Weight

Reason #1. Because you DESERVE IT!! Repeat to self over and over. Slam fist on table for added emphasis.

Reason #6. You have an exceptionally good-looking husband, and he deserves an equally exceptionally attractive partner. Ever heard someone say, "They just don't match"? Yea...

Reason #13: You go to TJMaxx to shop for clothes and you get really frustrated because out of a 1387 square foot area, there's a 2 foot rack with clothes in your size. And 80% were made for Vestal Goodman. Don't know who Vestal Goodman is? I mean was. Google her. No offense Vestal. RIP.

Reason #28: It's HOT. And you have too much insulation. And when you go to the zoo and walk around in said heat you get blisters on your thighs.

Reason #65: You need a crane to lift yourself into your hubby's new truck.

Reason #82: You see cute little underwear in the store and you know if you were to put them on they would go to the Land of No Return.

Reason #103: You double chin is evolving to a triple.

Reason #141: You're tired of people asking you when your baby is due.

Reason #2736: People peer at your bridal portrait and ask, "Is that YOU?"

Reason #3041: You're starting to break furniture.

Reason #6200: You think of a new reason every day.

Did I mention I'm on a diet??

Weekend In Review (Lousiana Purchase Zoo)

It seemed like forever since our family had done anything FUN. So hubby decided to use one of his vacation days and take the family on a little get-a-way on Friday. We drove about two hours East to The Louisiana Purchase Zoo in Monroe, LA.



Our entire family of 5 was admitted to the zoo for $15.00! Can't beat that with a stick!

Hubby & I had visited the zoo about 6-7 years ago, as newlyweds, and even then, it was not in the best of shape. And it's located right in the heart of the "quarters" if you kwim. So, we knew we weren't going to a huge, state of the art zoo and we were OK with that. We just wanted somewhere to take the kids for a short, enjoyable outing and they were tickled pink.

We kicked things off with a little picnic lunch:


Then posed for some silly pics:

That's a really fierce expression there, Hon. Yikes!


It didn't take us long to realize it was HOT, so when we spied the (covered)boat tour, on we hopped and away we floated to view some of the interesting and beautiful creatures our God made...

A Mom with her new baby. She was a little protective. Can't blame her for that!

I think we fit into the category of 'interesting and beautiful' :).

Next, we strolled around and looked at the many different kinds of monkeys. It's amazing how many variations God made of the same species!


This couple kept giving one another sugar. Get a room already! :)



The kids & hubby visited the Reptile house. I declined. No, thank you, little snakies.




One of my favorite things about the zoo were the peacocks and ducks that roamed freely around the zoo. We also got to touch and feed a hippo, which was probably the neatest thing about the day. Didn't get any pics of that, though. :(

We left the zoo and headed to Wal-Mart to meet with some dear old friends of ours, but on the way, we spotted a Dirt Cheap! Hubby slammed on the brakes and whipped the truck around faster than you can say "bargain" :). Dirt Cheap is a salvage type store that we love to shop at back home, but there have never been any here in Louisiana, to our knowledge. So we were SUPER excited to find it! Got some great deals!



We ended the day with supper at Cracker Barrel and a three hour visit with an older couple who have been wonderful mentors to us over the years. We don't get to see them as often as we would like, though.


This will probably be my only post for this week, as we are in revival at church and there will be no extra time available for such leisure activities. Unless I get really inspired by one of the services and feel like preaching a sermon :). Look out!

Have a good week, my dear readers!

What I've Been Doing:

1. It seems I have been running behind on EVERYTHING lately, and just can't mussel together enough energy to get myself up and going. BLAH. Drag, drag, drag. OK, onto more positive content.

2. Making Homemade Bread!!! I've been wanting to try it for awhile, but you know, every day I would put other things before it. So I just broke down and DID IT. I was really surprised at how easy it was and it turned out DE-LISH-US :). I used my SIL's recipe. She's good like that :). p.s. I'll probably devote a post to that soon--be prepared :).



3. Making hairbows! And hairbows, and more hairbows! I signed up as a cosigner at a local Children's Consignment Shop and so I had to make up a good supply. I did a few every day and I am SICK of making bows! :) But I am excited about this opportunity to make a little extra $$ from home. Here's hoping it works out.



4. Remodeling our Master Bathroom. It's been sitting there for TWO years, waiting for us to make it useful. We have all the pieces of the puzzle. We have the garden/jacuzzi tub. We have the tile. We have the sheetrock. So, now is the time to put it all together. If you've ever remodeled anything, you know that no matter what room of the house it's being done, no matter if it's a room that's 3 square feet, the rest of the house suffers. Ugh. Here's hoping it gets done quickly! YEA! I'm excited! Here's a pic of the board and batten design hubby is putting up in there:



(Courtsey of the Nesting Place. She never ceases to inspire me).

5. Enjoying our backyard with my babies. We pulled last year's pool out and cleaned her up, and the kiddos have been having a blast! I've been leaving everything inside and soaking up some rays while enjoying their fun. Their joy really is contagious.
No pics of that to share, but here's a cute one of my littlest stinker:



Just wanted to say, I love you, my dear readers! I hope your summer is kicking off to a great start! :)

Sheesh

I've been working on this joy thing.

After all, the joy of the Lord is my strength (Neh 8:10). I need all the strength I can get.

In Christ, we are supposed to have an abiding joy down deep no matter what our circumstances. Is that joy always visible? That's what I want. I want visible joy. Especially for my children, as the only joy they understand is the visible kind.

So today I put it into practice.

I'm singing a silly, joyful song to Emma about bath time.


Opera style. LOUDLY.

Then I realized all the windows are up and my neighbors are all on their front porches, having their evening visits.

Sheesh.

Then I get tickled, wondering what they are thinking. And Emma & I have a dose of visible joy. At the expense of a little embarrassment, but I guess it was worth it.

I'm hoping some of that joy spilled out onto my neighbors. If so, it really was worth it.

His First Crush (Tuesdays Unwrapped)

Do you remember your first crush? I do. I was in kindergarten.

He was adorable.

Glossy brown hair and puppy dog brown eyes, fringed with thick lashes.

Siiighh...

Unfortunately, every other little girl in the class thought he was adorable, too. Worse than that, my best friend was the prettiest girl in the class and she was the one who caught his eye.

I slipped him the "check yes or no" letter, and opened the reply with eyes squinted shut.

He checked "no".

Gloom.

Despair.

Agony.

You'd think I would've taken that lesson into the teenage years and kept it to myself when I liked a boy. But I didn't. And that's another post.

Now, my adorable little boy is 5. He has little girl friends that he likes to play with and tease. But this one is different. Sunday, he went to church with his Beamie (paternal g'ma) at a sister church about an hour's drive from here. When he came home, he told us about Children's Church and his teacher, and then...

"There was this girl. Her name is Cassidy."

"Yea? Did she talk to you?"

"No, she just winked her eyes at me."

(trying to hide a smile).."Did you talk to her?"

"No, I was too shy." ...hhmmm...

"Well what did she look like?"

"She was like one of those blonde-headed girls."

"OOoohhh..."


He's not going back to that church. :)


p.s. Who could resist this face?



Visit www.chattingatthesky.com for more sweet stories about celebrating the small things in the midst of your ordinary days.