i'm pretty much not old

children.... so easily amused......
to think, when you "grow up"... not all that much changes ;)
ha ha

thanks for the birthday fun--heidi, kelli, ben, sofia, barold, josh, sandra, amber, isaac, and mom!

check it!

http://picasaweb.google.com/iamayouthandthisismygroup/Peru

and

http://picasaweb.google.com/iamayouthandthisismygroup/Peru2

and...

...ya me voy! ya me fui! ;)

happy early birthday, mom!!!

well, last weekend i just had the nicest time celebrating my mom's 55th birthday with my beautiful mother as well as some of my favorite people in the world!! we celebrated early because i'm going to be away during her actual birthday....

so as for our adventure......

first my mom and i met my sister and the wood/kruser clan at ben & kelli's for some gooooood food and some excellent GUACAMOLE (gracias, amigos!!!). then went to the Brewer game (versus the reds for those of you who care to know) where my mom, sister, and i, had some excellent seats thanks to kelli ;)

i picked the HOT DOG to win the sausage race (because hot dogs are always winners!) and HE WON. unfortunately, didn't win the texting contest. here is the CHORIZO, a real delight!

well, this is the view from where we were sitting, but unfortunately, ryan braun bent over right when i went to take his picture. i didn't even get bored at the game at all!!! it was pretty fun.here's me and my mom and my sisterme and the k-dawgthen, on saturday night, matt & jenny hosted the nicest party for my mom! jenny and matt made tacos, i made a cake, and my mom made the frosting ;)lucas, the birthday elf, presented my mom with her gifts.
well, this is the partay crowd: mike, matt & jenny, jon & betsy, me, my mom, and of course don lucas! i don't know what lucas seems to be holding onto? what is that black thing? mike & the baby. this picture, of course, does not show the intense battle of the killer bunnies that ensued later that evening.
all in all, i think my mom had a wonderful birthday celebration. it was so nice to see her having so much fun :) i love you, mom!!! (even though i don't know that you'll ever read this! haha)

i wish i could crash like the waves
or turn like the autumn leaves
in effort to praise You

i wish i could smell like the forest

the fragrance lifting a mighty chorus

in effort to praise You

in effort to praise You

but I’m such a limited creature

and my word can only paint so many pictures

but somewhere I think I read

that I am treasured over all creation

so I know that I must try...

i wish i could roll like the thunder
to leave the earth below in wonder
in effort to praise You

i wish i could fall like the summer rain

and every drop would sing Your name

in effort to praise You

in effort to praise You

gloria, glory in the highest

forever i will hide myself in Thee

every breath that i breathe

every moment in my history

is an effort to praise You

an effort to praise You

glory, in excelsis deo

Friend for life
who took my pain
the cleansing flood
You remain
wash over me
til I can't be seen

Living Water swallow me

Deepest river wash me clean

Jesus, Savior more of Thee

Jesus, more of Thee

come and ruin me with Your love

so no other is enough

come and leave Your mark on me

Jesus, more of Thee

Jesus, more of Thee

Friend for life

i'll carry on

through the powerof this flood

let it spill over, over

til I can't be seen

deep is the stain

inside of me

but deeper the river

that washes me clean

i've been the one

who cries in the night

but you've been

the friend of my life

-"gloria"/"friend for life" by watermark

wha' hoppen?

oops?

happy soon-comes-the-baby to josh and sandra!!!

:)

what can i do for you?
what can i bring to you?
what kind of song would you like me to sing?

'cause i'll dance a dance for you,
i'll pour out my love to you
what can i do for you, beautiful King?

'cause i can't thank you enough.
all of the words that i find...
and i can't thank you enough,
no matter how I try...
i can't thank you enough.

then I hear you sing to me...
you sing, "you don't have to do a thing,
just simply be with me
and let those things go,
cause they can wait another minute...
wait, this moment is too sweet,
would you please just stay here with me
and love on me a little longer?
cause I'd like to be with you a little longer...
I'd love to be with you a little longer...
'cause I'm in love with you."

--"a little longer" by jenn johnson

to my beloved kelli:

if, by "famous, yet kinda gross, picture of a a half-eaten piece of Chicago-style pizza," you are referring to this picture of such a beautifully perfect, delicious, and mouth-watering deep dish spinach/mucho queso pizza, then i have two responses:

1) famous? i am honored!

2) kinda gross? i am revolted! ;)

mike? chicago? haha.

did we ever think we'd see the day?

Block Watch: New Kids on the Block to Reunite

yo!

some of you (okay, maybe just barry, and i don't even know if he reads this...) will be interested in this:

"the rumors are true, barring some unforseen catastrophy, reese roper will be playing two shows at soulfest this year. also, the third installment of the brave saint saturn saga, entitled "anti meridian" is nearing completion.look for it around june, as well as the reformation of www. bravesaintsaturn. com.word,byrnside!"

just to clarify... i don't necessarily think that *i'm* kind of a big deal, but i love how enthusiastic this girl is to wear that shirt! haha

one of my favorite pictures ever!

i concur

One-Issue Politics, One-Issue Marriage, and the Humane Society

By John Piper January 1, 1995

Investigating dog life in Minnesota has solidified my decision to vote against those who endorse the right to abortion. So then what is my response to the charge of being a one-issue voter?

No endorsement of any single issue qualifies a person to hold public office. Being pro-life does not make a person a good governor, mayor, or president. But there are numerous single issues that disqualify a person from public office. For example, any candidate who endorsed bribery as a form of government efficiency would be disqualified, no matter what his party or platform was. Or a person who endorsed corporate fraud (say under $50 million) would be disqualified no matter what else he endorsed. Or a person who said that no black people could hold office—on that single issue alone he would be unfit for office. Or a person who said that rape is only a misdemeanor—that single issue would end his political career. These examples could go on and on. Everybody knows a single issue that for them would disqualify a candidate for office.

It's the same with marriage. No one quality makes a good wife or husband, but some qualities would make a person unacceptable. For example, back when I was thinking about getting married, not liking cats would not have disqualified a woman as my wife, but not liking people would. Drinking coffee would not, but drinking whiskey would. Kissing dogs wouldn't, but kissing the mailman would. And so on. Being a single-issue fiancé does not mean that only one issue matters. It means that some issues may matter enough to break off the relationship.

So it is with politics. You have to decide what those issues are for you. What do you think disqualifies a person from holding public office? I believe that the endorsement of the right to kill unborn children disqualifies a person from any position of public office. It's simply the same as saying that the endorsement of racism, fraud, or bribery would disqualify him—except that child-killing is more serious than those.

When we bought our dog at the Humane Society, I picked up a brochure on the laws of Minnesota concerning animals. Statute 343.2, subdivision 1 says, "No person shall . . . unjustifiably injure, maim, mutilate or kill any animal." Subdivision 7 says, "No person shall willfully instigate or in any way further any act of cruelty to any animal." The penalty: "A person who fails to comply with any provision of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor."

Now this set me to pondering the rights of the unborn. An eight-week-old human fetus has a beating heart, an EKG, brain waves, thumb-sucking, pain sensitivity, finger-grasping, and genetic humanity, but under our present laws is not a human person with rights under the 14th Amendment, which says that "no state shall deprive any person of life . . . without due process of law." Well, I wondered, if the unborn do not qualify as persons, it seems that they could at least qualify as animals, say a dog, or at least a cat. Could we not at least charge abortion clinics with cruelty to animals under Statute 343.2, subdivision 7? Why is it legal to "maim, mutilate and kill" a pain-sensitive unborn human being but not an animal?

These reflections have confirmed my conviction never to vote for a person who endorses such an evil—even if he could balance the budget tomorrow and end all taxation.

* * * This article is from A Godward Life, Book I: Savoring the Supremacy of God in All of Life by John Piper (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 1997), pp. 279-280. Used with permission.
© Desiring God

Permissions: You are permitted and encouraged to reproduce and distribute this material in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and do not charge a fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For web posting, a link to this document on our website is preferred. Any exceptions to the above must be approved by Desiring God.
Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: desiringGod.org

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/1995/1524_OneIssue_Politics_OneIssue_Marriage_and_the_Humane_Society/

tag!!

okay, so jenny tagged me so i am going to... do what i'm supposed to do??? and then tag a few people??? haha. so i am going to copy and paste the rules from jenny's blog.

1. you must make a post called "tag!" (or some derivative thereof) and you must write a fact about yourself for every letter of your middle name.

2. each fact must start with that letter, like an acrostic poem.

3. then you have to tag one person for each letter of your middle name.

okay? so here we go!

A: attention deficient. as in: so easily distracted that it even annoys me...but then i forget about it in a couple minutes...

N: nerdy.

N: not my own--i was bought at a price: that i might belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead (1 corinthians 6:19, romans 7:4)

so i only have to tag three people! and i tag... sofia, kelli and anne!

on a side note... don't you love wisconsin in the winter??? hmmm....

happy birthday, jesus!

i love you!

this just in...

IT'S SNOWING!

point taken!

i am going to graciously receive the rebuke from christopher and state that, yes, especially when it comes to food, and especially since i followed my bold statement with an "unless" statement, i was probably out of line by using the word "never" and "always" with regards to donuts.

I guess that what I meant to say that I've noticed as I've grown older (I'm so old; I know) that to my appetite, donuts just aren't what they used to be. and I thank God for that, because I would be a lot heavier if they were. because let me tell you, i used to LOVE donuts!!! Now I just usually feel gross after I eat them (the problem being that I still eat them!); hence the frustration in my previous post.

regarding michael's comment, i have to say that krispy kreme never has won me over. (that was an appropriate use of the word 'never'). seeing them float down the river of grease just grossed me out.

this donut would like to say..."happy winter! it's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS! with white frosting and SPRINKLES!" :)

something i've realized...

donuts are never worth it. as tempting as they may look, it's always a letdown in the end.
UNLESS they're from dunkin donuts in guayaquil maybe...

see, the crazy thing is...

that my old computer did the SAME THING!
what's a girl to do?