9 as in... NINE?

Ever try babysitting 9 kids all under the age of 11?

1, 1 1/2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 10, and 11! Ha! Whaaaat a night :) -- Or... should I say, "morning"?

Kids; ya gotta love 'em!

Currently Reading It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life By Lance Armstrong, Sally Jenkins see related

One sunny winter day, Lance Armstrong walked into Panera Bread. He smiled at me with kind, greatful eyes as if he was admiring the wonderful world in which he lived.

What a great example of humility!

Mom, Ashley and I looked at him as if to ask him, "Are you Lance Armstrong?" And he looked back as if to say, "Shh... don't tell anyone!"

I wasn't 100% sure since I hadn't seen a picture of him in a while, so I didn't want to 'insult' him just in case he wasn't Lance Armstrong, and thought that he was like, the ugliest guy alive. All this to say, I didn't even shake his hand; dangit!

Oh well... At least he smiled at me :)

Honored...

My Amah

The other day, Ashley and I got a phone call from my aunt in California telling us that my grandma was wanting to fly us out there for Christmas this year to bake cookies with her and be with the family. We had just mentioned it to my mom last night when we checked the answering machine to hear my aunt asking us to call her back. She sounded a little unlike herself. So we called her back. She told us that my grandma had passed away in her favorite chair yesterday morning. She had been talking about us being there all day, and was so excited to be able to make Christmas cookies with us. Ashley and I had been talking the night before about suprising her with an aprin with pictures of the family all over it for her Christmas present. We'll still make it for her, but I wish she was here to see it. There are no words to describe just how much she will be missed, but she knows. There were so many things I wish I had said; things I wish I had done. Nothing will ever take away the guilt you feel when a loved one passes without your full expression of how you feel about them. She knows we loved her, and she knows we couldn't wait either to get out there and see her, but I just keep wishing I had another chance to call her back. To not have had wispered to Ashley last month to tell Amah I wasn't there, and tell her I'd call her back. Like Ashley said last night, "We all live as if we have another chance to make things right."

So I urge you, first chance you get, make an effort to talk to your family, or to visit with them. Cherish those moments you do have.

Amah, you were the best grandma that any grandchildren could have, and we were blessed to have had you in our lives!

I love you Amah.

"How would you like to go up in a swing? Up in the sky so blue. Oh I do think it's the pleasantest thing ever a child can do. Up in the air, and over the wall, till I can see so high. Rivers and trees and cattle and all over the country side. Till I look down on the garden green..."

Currently Watching Take the Lead By Antonio Banderas, Rob Brown (VI), Yaya DaCosta, Alfre Woodard, Dante Basco, John Ortiz, Laura Benanti, Marcus T. Paulk, Jenna Dewan, Katya Virshilas, Jonathan Malen, Jasika Nicole, Shawand Mckenzie, Elijah Kelley, Brandon D. Andrews, Lauren Collins, Alison Sealy-Smith, Phillip Jarrett, Jo Chim, Volodymyr Vynogradsky see related

Life.

"The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don't like to do. They don't like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose."

That's a thought from E.M Gray, and how true it is. Some people at times -- myself included -- think that everybody else has got life all figured out. When really, every single person in this world is just as lost as you are when it comes to understanding life.

I recently watched the movie "Take the Lead," and one of the kids said something like this, "Only some people get what they want." His teachers reply was, "And those are the people who show up to get it."

Just a little something I thought I would share :)

9/11

It is so tough to hear the voice of God when trying to figure out exactly what you're supposed to be doing with the rest of your life. Mostly because we have our own list of dreams and wishes of what we would like to do.

I want to be a chef..

I want to be a soldier..

I want to be a mom..

But what is it that God wants? Hm? I know He's the first and last thing on my mind without a doubt, but 'the norm' of this world is to figure things out for yourself. "Become independent" we're taught.

Did you know God never instructed us to be independent? He's called us to become so dependant! That's the only way we can truly hear His voice. The hand of God in our situation goes unnoticed so much of the time. I want to hear perfectly. To see clearly. To understand without a doubt.

So why is that so rough?

Because someone else is fighting for your attention. He's fighting for your soul. His only mission in this whole thing is to steal you from the grip of God.

That is exactly why God has instructed us to be...yes, dependant! To cling to Him. You see, He knows! He knows that without your constant stare into His eyes, you will become distracted.

So what is it exactly that I am saying?...

Listen.

Is that it? Yes! Wait no...

Hear. Ahhh, yes; hear!

See, we can 'hear' a whole lot of things at the same time. You're at the mall or a football game and you hear voices; but you don't truly hear them. Do those mixed voices mean anything to you? Noo. But when you listen... when you tune your ears into a conversation beside you amongst all the noise, you hear it right? Within all the other noise, you can intentionally listen, and hear. It's much tougher than listening in on a conversation at a coffee shop, absolutely! But possible, right?

It's worth the extra effort :)