Even the rocks cry out!

We went on a hike at Red Rock Canyon on Saturday with most of The Family J. Becky couldn't come, but we managed to survive out in the wilderness. I was impressed with God's glorious creation!

My two-year-old niece Miss O took this pic of Tom and I. She's got a knack for photos, I think!

The girlies and Mr. Tom, as they lovingly refer to him.

In remembrance of my Grandpa Jerry!... and some other random things.

My beloved Grandpa Jerry died last Saturday at the age of 93. I loved him very dearly. And this picture is just the epitome of him- he always looked stellar, with pressed shirts and bolo ties! This photo of us is from about three years ago, which is unfortunately the last time I saw him not living in a nursing home. He had been in one for 16 months before he died. I feel very blessed that Tom was able to meet him-- twice! Once, in June, we stopped by the nursing home he was staying in. It always seems a little grim in those places, and it hurt my heart to see him look so weak and frail. When I first introduced Tom as my fiance and told him that we would be marrying in August, Grandpa looked at Tom with an amazed expression. "Oh, really?" he said. "Well, Tom, you're getting a good girl. A real good girl. I always thought she'd turn out to be an old maid!" We all burst out laughing at that one- it was just like Grandpa to lighten the mood with his jokes! I'll definitely miss him!

On a completely different note, here are a few things I've been learning while nannying for The Family J, complete with picture diagrams.

#1. When you can't find your almost 3 year old niece anywhere, and you have to bribe her with a snack to get her to make her location known, she is probably in her mom and dad's room, with the door closed. And she is probably not "just cleaning it up," like she hollers to you. She is actually probably doing her own make-up, emo-style. And not only is she applying makeup to highlight her blue eyes, she is also decorating her knees. And putting perfumed lotion on. That's all.

#2. Costco should NEVER have changed the shape of their gallon milk jugs. Even 25 year old college graduates simply cannot pour the dang things without spilling milk everywhere except where they intended it to go. It happens every time, folks, every time. I think it has something to do with the weird slope/dip before the opening. It is most certainly NOT operator error.

P.S. I looked up the weird jugs so I could put a pic of one on here. And I found this. This picture is a LIE. Not as easy at it looks, I promise. I bet you this is an altered photo. It has to be!


The website I found this photo on is called the dieline. And get this, it says that, "apparently consumers may need some re-education about how to most effectively pour from these new jugs... The pouring issue is significant enough that many retailers (including Sam's Club, Costco, and Walmart) are giving demos." Hilarious. And proof that I am not the only one.

addendum to my post from yesterday

to see a prayer you might pray for our country and senator obama, visit my cousin's blog called life outside the city limits.

a must read!

i have been getting annoyed lately at the number of my friends who push their political views on facebook. i've felt like saying: "hey, listen, why don't you go spout your opinion where it actually counts, you know, on your ballot." i didn't think i would get involved-- i believe that my political opinions are just that: mine!

however, i came across an article today that is a must read! of course, read it if you choose to. but please know that it comes highly recommended! let me tell you a little bit of why i am posting it on my blog:

i am and always have been pro-life. i believe that life begins at conception. GOD, Himself, says so in His word.

well, even being the extremely pro-life person that i am, i too became intrigued with sen. obama about four years ago when he spoke at the democratic national convention. i bought one of his books. it was very interesting, he has a way with words. as a result of the book and MANY other influences in the liberal city i was living in, i found my political views growing more liberal as my time in college grew, although i was still VERY pro-life. i found it almost easy to make my Christian views coincide with the liberal agenda (i've learned, now, that they generally do not!).

about a year ago, when barack obama became more of a national figure, i even considered that he may be a great choice for president! after all, it was hard not to get wrapped up in his eloquence, excitement and "vision."

i even went and saw him speak in portland, and shook his hand! thrilling, indeed...

but something wasn't right... that night, in the convention center, he didn't mention his extreme pro-abortion stance. this last wednesday night at the final debate, he dismissed that he is pro-abortion... because, who would be?

i always knew that my pro-life stance was not in cohorts with his views, but how EXTREMELY and FUNDAMENTALLY different our stances are is made clear in this article. please read if you are at all curious as to what stance senator obama actually takes. click the link below:

Robert George article: this man is a professor at Princeton, you can read on the article about his education and smarts and see that he a legitimate resource.

home sweet home!

we love our house! it's more spacious than we imagined, its got cute old-style character, it's just for own little family, and it has lots of storage (tom is very excited to use one of the bedrooms as a storage room- we didn't get a house with a garage but this very well might be almost as good. he's got his tools, camping/survival gear, surfboards, snowboard, etc. in there). thank you Lord, for the roof above our heads!

i've been on a huge organizing kick (praise Jesus for the energy to do this, and the fact that i actually really like this kind of projects) while tom has been working really hard both inside and out. he discovered we actually have a sprinkler system that looked like it hadn't been used in a long time- but he fixed it and it works!

here are some pics of some of the rooms that are set-up so far...

**notice the aqua tile--it covers the floor and goes halfway up the wall. under normal conditions this would have made me puke a little in my mouth, but no! it matches the decor we already had that was chocolate brown/tealish-aqua. hallelujah!

these leather (possibly pleather? or vinyl...) armchairs were a mere $25 at the outdoor rec center on base. apparently when the air force hotels remodel, they give them the stuff to sell for cheap. who knew? anyway, they work perfectly for us. AND, our good friend shawn found that lovely black armoir thing on the side of the road. FREE.

oh yeah, and the celebrate our first real meal in the new house.... drumroll please!...

my AMAZING husband made sushi for us. YES, real sushi, with the sticky rice, salmon, seaweed, wasabi, and everything. he's cool like that. i'm blessed, i know! all i did was make the sweet rice topped with mango and coconut milk for dessert.

DELICIOUS!

roll it!

the whole set up. there was some pretty amazing teriyaki chicken as well.

the sushi was so divine, it had me all delirious so i was trying to eat imaginary stuff when it was gone...

movin'!

tom and i are moving to our very own base house today! this is so exciting! please pray for our quick and efficient relocation and for the Lord to bless our first home together. may it be a place of love, peace, and growth together in Him. Amen!

Tom's b-day, our base house, and milkshakes!

we celebrated our first birthday together last week! tom, older than me by a mere 8 months, had his special day. we celebrated by going out to a special breakfast at black bear diner, just husband and wife (their 7-grain almond pancakes are amazing), and wandering around the bass pro shop (it is super cool in there! and tom got a piece to fix his sling shot). then, The Family J prepared us a super dinner of carne asada (sp?), homemade guacomole, and some brews. Then we enjoyed the cake my neices and i had made. it was tons of fun!

we are slated to move into our very own base house at the end of next week! although its an old house, it's OURS and we couldn't be more excited!! God is so faithful to us! we chose this one versus the other one because it has a real tree and rose bushes in the front, it is 3 bedrooms instead of two, and it has a grassy front and back yard!! Very cool for Vegas, where the norm is palm trees and gravel.

and finally, today while i was nannying for my nieces and nephew, we made our snack together. chocolate-peanut-butter milkshakes. mmm-hmm. very healthy, i know! we had fun and they loved them. the proof is in the pictures.