Another great quote

Watch your thoughts they become your words;
Watch your words they become your actions;
Watch your actions they become your habits;
Watch your habits they become your character;
Watch your character it becomes your destiny.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

Shylie Rayell and peppered lasagna

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted. This will probably be another really random boring post, but at least I'm posting something, right?

The baby's name is Shylie Rayell. (In my last post I wrote: "as of right now...") She is doing very well and is so beautiful! She's very alert and very observant. My mom and I were commenting a few days ago how she's our only baby who has been this observant this young. I think her vision perception is also more than the other babies. When you dangle something over her face, she'll notice it and start looking at it. Then if you start moving it side to side, her eyes will follow it. That's amazing and very unusual for babies her age. She also follows voices, and when she's staring intently at you, her eyes don't cross or drift like most babies. It's been so fun to have a baby in the house again!!

It was my birthday on the 25th. My siblings, Jeff, Catie and I went to see the High School Musical 3. Out of everyone who was invited, only Catie showed up...sniff sniff. I see how I rate. (Thank-you Catie for coming!!) I had originally planned on giving you all the guilt trip for standing me up, but after watching the movie, I can't harass you guys. The movie STUNK!! It was extremely disappointing. I'm not going to go into details, you'd have to watch it yourselves but I was sorely disappointed. After the movie, Jeff and I brought my siblings home and went to grab a bite to eat. After we ate, we went to Target and returned a bunch of blue and green baby clothes for my mom. Then we got to pick out a bunch more pink clothes. It was so much fun!! After we went to Target, we ran next door to the shoe store. Jeff tried on a few pairs of Converse and finally settled on the basic black and white pair. I think they look great on him! When we were done at the shoe store we headed home. My mom had invited my aunt and uncle over for dinner, which was fun. We hardly ever see my uncle (only on birthdays,) so it's always a treat to see him. My mom had made lasagna for dinner. It was amazing tasting. Everything was going great--the food and the fellowship--until my uncle decided to use a pack of Round Table pizza pepper on his lasagna and salad. (Don't ask why...he's strange like that.) He did this on his first serving and thought it was delicious. Then he also did that on his second serving. He was scarfing his food down like a starving animal...when he suddenly stopped, fork in the air. He stared at his plate for a long time. My aunt (seeing his face) says, "Micah...are you okay? Are you going to get sick? Micah?!?" Someone else says, "Is there something in there?" My uncle nodded his head, unable to say anything. Jeff, jokingly asked, "Is it moving?" My uncle nodded his head again, and everyone jumped out of their seats to look at his plate. (Before I go on with this story, I want to add...My uncle is a sheriff, a detective and also on the swat team. All his co-workers know him as: "Officer Green." He gets sick so easily and so often!!) A few moments go by, as everyone is staring at his plate and announcing with horror that his lasagna has little larva on it. (From the pepper packets, which we've had in a drawer since May from Round Table!! eeewwww...)Without a warning, he jumped up from his chair and rushed to the front yard and got sick everywhere! Those of us in the house were laughing so hard, yet we were so disgusted! After my uncle gained composure and came in, we all started cleaning out the drawer. We dumped absolutely every sauce packet, cheese packet and pepper packet in there. Then we boiled the utensils and wiped out the drawer. My uncle didn't lose his green shade of color for several minutes after this situation occurred.

I'd write more...but I'm supposed to go to a meeting at church and I need to leave in about ten minutes. So I'm off to get ready...

High School Musical!!

Okay...so here's my plan for the movie tomorrow:

McHenry Regal theater @ 11:30.
I'm going to be there at least 15 minutes early to get good seating.
I hope to see you all there!!

It's a GIRL!!

On October 23rd at 11:27am we welcomed a little baby girl into the world. As of right now, I believe her name is: Shylie Rayell. (Spelling might be a bit off.) She weight 8lbs and 2-3oz. She is absolutely beautiful and perfectly healthy! I haven't had the chance to get any good pictures of her, but when I do...I will definately post them. For the mean time though, I will post these... (Sorry that most of them are blurry, the lighting was really bad.)





After the baby was born, my mom kept repeating: "It's a girl!!" "We have a girl!" "A girl!" We were all so surprised, we would have bet money she'd be a boy!

Another hsm update

For those of you who asked: I want to go to a EARLY morning showing. I'm thinking 10 or 11 am. I will post a for sure time sometime Friday.





For those of you who have different questions about Saturday:

My house phone number is: 531-1124
My cell phone number is: 409-4581

Laboring in Vain & a Shannen Funny

I am super tired and have nothing to post about, but I am going to do my best to write a decent length post.

Last night my mom went into labor. We called the midwives around 8 o'clock, and they got here around 10 o'clock-ish. My mom was having contractions only a few minutes apart, and we all thought that we would have a baby by morning time. Jeff came over last night around 8:30, hoping that the baby would be born while he was here. But at 1:00, he decided to head home, knowing he had to be up for work the next morning at 5:00. My aunt also came over and decided to stay the night, as she too wanted to be here when the baby was born. For the next four hours, my aunt, both midwives, my grammy, and I all lay around trying to sleep. (Might I add...i'm very frustrated with this: those darn midwives slept on MY pillows!! Without my permission!! EEEEWWWW....gross.) Around 5 o'clock, her contractions fizzled out and she fell asleep. She woke up this morning and labor has stopped. (And this was NOT false labor, might I add. This was heavy labor, and we were all positive we would be holding a baby right now.) The midwives left at noon and told us to call them when she goes back into labor. Needless to say, my mom is highly discouraged. As she labored in vain all night long, and is going to have to do it again. The midwives said this is fairly common, and the baby just isn't ready to come out yet. If you could all pray that she goes back into labor soon, and that it is quick and easy, and also pray that my dad can stay calm and not be to anxious or stressed, that would be wonderful.

This is a funny story...The other day, I was talking about the baby. Shannen was listening to my conversation. I was making a joke (over the phone to my boss) that "by the time this baby is born, it's going to be burnt. It's over cooking." Of course, I was totally joking. I left for work and later on my mom called me. She says, "I just got done trying to console a very worried little boy." I was confused as to what she was talking about. She says, "Shannen is very worried about our baby. He is convinced that it is going to be burnt." I started laughing, I had no idea that he thought I was serious! Apparently, my mom and Shannen's conversation kept going. After my mom assured him that the baby wasn't going to be burnt, he asks, "Is that how black babies are born? Are they over cooked?!" Oh the innocence of children. Needless to say, my mom was not very happy with me, and was overheard by multiple siblings to have said, "Oh, I am going to kill her!" LOL. Shannen now knows that every baby is born when it is ready to be born, and that Jesus is who made black babies and that babies can't be burnt if they are overdue. (Wow! I've never told a Shannen Funny before!)

Okay, I'm ready to go take a nap. I'm super super tired. Please keep my mom, dad and family in your prayers!

High School Musical 3

High School Musical 3 comes out on the 24th!! I'm planning on going on the 25th. ANYONE who wants to come is invited. I'm hoping to hit an early showing (around 10:00-10:30ish) at the McHenry theater (probably.) I will post a definite time and place on Friday the 24th. Feel free to invite all your friends. I repeat: This is an open invitation. If you own any High School Musical apparel...wear it. (Can anyone tell I'm excited!!)

babysitting and sickies

I know it's been a while since I last posted...all I can say is: ooops.

Not much has been going on in the Ney house lately. My mom is still very much pregnant and everyone is out of patience. We've had another round of sickies go around and finally everyone is feeling better. Of course though, that doesn't last long. (Unfortunately in a big family when someone gets sick, it will go through everyone else. When the last person gets it, it starts all over again.)And now I have a cold. It started out really minor; I scratched my throat on a candy bar and it turned into a cold. Isn't that a bummer?!? And I was so excited to escape the families germs and I ended up choking on a stupid candy bar...which turned into a cold. Oh geez. Needless to say, I'm not very happy about that. Then...Poor Jeff came over and caught my bug also. (Hey...I warned him!) So now we are both sick together, which makes it a little better, but it still stinks. I feel so bad for Jeff, he looks so sad! He was over today and spent about two hours laying on the couch looking so pitiful. I made him vegetables, gave him vitamins and rubbed his forehead. So anyways, please keep him in your prayers.

Tonight Shelbie and I babysat for the Brooks. Their cousins, the Porters, were over also, so we had 11 children. One word: insanity!! lol. It actually wasn't that bad, until bed time. The two of us alone, had to get 11 children (who haven't seen eachother in a month) ready for bed and laid down. They were all so excited to be together and were so hyper! We laid them down at 8:30. When we left at 11:00 they were all still awake and giggling and goofing off together. My throat is SO hoarse from standing at the bottom of the stairs and yelling: GO TO SLEEP!

This was a really scattered and boring post. I'm sorry. But it is almost midnight, and I am exhausted. So until my next post...

Charlie Bit My Finger

This youtube video was so darn cute!! Click on the link to view it. (I tried to figure out how to post it directly into my blog, but it wasn't working...sorry.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

Candy Quiz!

I read this quiz in the Modesto Bee and it was pretty fun. Hopefully you will enjoy it...







1. What holiday has the highest candy sales?
a. halloween
b. Easter
c. Christmas
d. Valentine's Day

2. What candy was named after the maker's family horse?
a. Three musketeers
b. Bazooka Gum
c. Reese's
d. Snickers

3. What U.S. regions consume the most candy?
a. South and Southwest
b. Northeast and Midwest
c. West and Midwest?
d. Mid-Atlantic and South

4. The candy bar Baby Ruth was named after whom?
a. Grover Cleveland's daughter, Ruth, the first baby born in the white house.
b. Babe Ruth
c. The inventor's wife
d. The inventor's mistress

5. What country has the highest per capita candy consumption in the world?
a. Canada
b. United States
c. Denmark
d. France

6. What were the first individually wrapped penny candies?
a. Charleston Chews
b. Taffy
c. Tootsie Rolls
d. Caramels

7. How many miles of Twizzlers are made in a year?
a. 500
b. 1 million
c. 2 million
d. 5 million

8. How long does it take to make a batch of M&M's?
a. 48 hours
b. Four to eight hours, depending on if it's milk chocolate or peanut
c. Ten to twelve hours, depending on if it's milk chocolate or peanut
d. Two hours

9. What is the most popular color of gummy candy?
a. Green
b. Orange
c. Red
d. Purple

10. When first introduced, 3 musketeers were three separate candy bars. What were their flavors?
a. Vanilla, Caramel & Nougat
b. Vanilla, Strawberry & Chocolate
c. Strawberry, Chocolate & Caramel
d. Caramel, Vanilla & Chocolate

11. Who invented the candy bar?
a. Milton Hershey
b. Joseph Fry
c. Forrest Mars
d. Count Chocula ...WHAT?

12. How many Hershey's Kisses does it take to make one pound of chocolate?
a. 417
b. 220
c. 95
d. 225

13. Outside the United States, Milky Way bars have a different name. What is it?
a. Earth bars
b. Venus bars
c. Saturn bars
d. Mars bars

14. What candy bar gained popularity after Bart Simpson became it's "spokesperson?"
a. Snickers
b. Heath bars
c. 100 grand
d. Butterfingers

15. What state has the most cocoa-producing establishments in the nation?
a. Iowa
b. California
c. Pennsylvania
d. New York


So...how do you think you did? Here are the answers:

1. a
2. d
3. b
4. a
5. c
6. c
7. b
8. b
9. c
10. b
11. b
12. c
13. d
14. d
15. b

Life lately

I don't really have anything of interest to write about right now. But I know I haven't written anything in a while, so I am going to try to come up with something. Life has been so busy lately, my blogging is suffering. And I apologize about that, but I'm not going to make any promises about improving. (LOL...I'm sorry!)

So let's see what's been up lately?

Yesterday my mom went into false labor. (Which is very common) She had contractions all day long and we were all excited and hoping it would turn into more. It fizzled out in the afternoon (much to our disappointment!) They are back today though, and they are very minor and not painful. She is still totally mobile and is up and walking around carrying on in her everyday life. We are all getting very excited and very anxious. I'm running out of patience. And I think I'm speaking for us all when I say that.

On Friday evening, Jeff and I went on another double date with my parents. That was a lot of fun. We went to Olive Garden. After dinner we ran a few errands and rented a movie. We came home and watched "De Ja Vue." (I have no clue how to spell that.) It was a really good movie, we all enjoyed it. (The last movie we watched was: "Awake"...that movie is SO intense and I didn't enjoy it one little bit.) On Saturday, he came over at 9:00am for brunch. He hung out with us all day long. It was so much fun!! He didn't leave until midnight. The whole day was amazing.

Yesterday, Shelbie and I went to 1st service and served in 2nd service. Jeff came home with us and hung out until he had to head back to church for worship practice. We all ate pizza and watched a football game. (By the way...what color are the 49ers?? Jeff and I were arguing about this yesterday. How many of you think they are purpleish and gold?) We went to the evening service and hung out for a few minutes afterwards. On the way home, Jeff and I decided Mexican food sounded yummy. So after we got home, we took Shelbie out to dinner. That was a lot of fun. We came back home and he hung out for a while before he had to head home.

Well, I would probably be able to come up with more, but Jeff is on his way over and I need to go get ready. Hopefully next time I post it will be about something more interesting.

Paparazzi!!

I wasn't planning on posting this picture, since Jeff blinked when it was snapped. But due to all of your requests...he has sweetly agreed to my posting this picture. Enjoy...

We say...God says...The bible says...

You say: "It's impossible" God says: "All things are possible Bible Verses: Luke 18:27

You say: "I'm too tired" God says: "I will give you rest" Bible Verses: Matthew 11:28-30

You say: "Nobody really loves me" God says: "I love you" Bible Verses: John 3:16

You say: "I can't go on" God says: "My grace is sufficient" Bible Verses: 2 Corinthians 12:9

You say: "I can't figure things out" God says: "I will direct your steps" Bible Verses: Proverbs 3:5-6

You say: "I can't do it" God says: "You can do all things" Bible Verses: Philippians 4:13

You say: "I'm not able" God says: "I am able" Bible Verses: 2 Corinthians 9:8

You say: "It's not worth it" God says: "It will be worth it" Bible Verses: Romans 8:28

You say: I can't forgive myself" God says: "I forgive you" Bible Verses: 1 John 1:9 & Romans 8:1

You say: I can't manage" God says: "I will supply all your needs" Bible Verses: Philippians 4:19

You say: "I'm afraid" God says: "I have not given you a spirit of fear" Bible Verses: 2 Timothy 1:7

You say: "I'm always worried and frustrated" God says: "Cast all your cares on me" Bible Verses: 1 Peter 5:7

You say: "I'm not smart enough" God says: "I give you wisdom" Bible Verses: 1 Corinthians 1:30

You say: "I feel all alone" God says: "I will never leave you or forsake you" Bible Verses: Hebrews 13:5

Scattergories

SCATTERGORIES...it's harder than it looks!

Here's another one of those chain e-mails. If you wish to partake in this fun game...

Copy and paste my answers into a comment, erase my answers, enter yours, and post it!

Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following. They have to be real places, names, things.. nothing made up!

Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question. And you can not use the same word twice.



WHAT IS YOUR NAME: Shyloh


BOY NAME: Seth


4 LETTER WORD: Sure, Ship, Star, Stop, Step, Song, Same, Sang...no I didn't get a dictionary out.

GIRL NAME: Susanna


OCCUPATION: Sitter ...okay, I know that was really lame and unthought out. ...Hey I got one!! ...SALAD MAKER...ooooohhhhhhh, I am so creative.


A COLOR: Salmon Pink...okay, I know...I stink at this game!OH WAIT!!...silver


SOMETHING YOU WEAR: shoes, shirt, sandals, skirt, sleeves,


BEVERAGE: Suicide Soda (How's that for creativity?...Or...strawberry cream soda


FOOD: Strawberry Pizza! (it's really good actually, it's strawberries on top of a pizza crust made out of sugar cookie dough. Cream cheese mixed with sugar is spread on top of that, then a strawberry spread is spread on top of the cream cheese, and then it is topped with strawberries....yum, yum, yum.


Something sweet: ...sugar...salt water taffy


A PLACE : San Francisco


REASON FOR BEING LATE: sisters ...do sisters count as a reason for being late?


SOMETHING YOU SHOUT: Stop!!...(drop...and roll!)

Hay Maze

Last night my family and I went to the hay maze. Of course, Jeff came with us. (I mean that in a very good way, I just worded it that way, because you can all pretty much assume Jeff will be joining us on most of our family outings from here on out. He's pretty much family.) It was a ton of fun. We didn't leave our house until 6:30, and the hay maze closes at dusk, so we didn't get to stay for very long. Still the time we did have, was fun. When we got there, we first went and looked at all the animals. We found a few baby kittens, which me and my sisters tried to catch (with no such luck), they were very skirmish and unfriendly. We petted the horse, the goats, and the ugly emu. There was also a donkey, but there was a sign on it's cage that read: "Don't pet me! I bite." Normally, I might be tempted to test the sign...but I saw it's teeth and decided to just trust the sign. That was probably wise of me. After we looked at all the animals, Jeff and I raced each other through the tiny kid hay maze. It was actually more difficult than it looked. Jeff made it through within a 60 seconds, I couldn't figure it out and ended up jumping over a wall to get out. By now, it was getting dark and we were the only one's there (other than the workers). We decided to quickly run through the maze before we left. Jeff and I went off through one door, and Shelbie and Shaylah went through the other door. My dad and the boys followed behind us a few minutes later. We spent about twenty minutes running through the dark, trying to scare each other. Sometimes we scared them, sometimes they scared us...er, uh...me. (Ahem.) After we played in the maze for a while, it was time to go. But of course, before we left, we had to take pictures. (lol...my family is notoriously known for taking pictures on outings.) We first took several pictures of all of us kids and Jeff. Then, my mom wanted to take a picture of just Jeff and I. As we are smiling into the camera, I sensed that someone was behind us. After a few pictures were taken, I turned around, expecting to see Shannen...but it was my dad. My dad had been standing behind us through all the pictures (of us kids and of Jeff and I.) It was really quite comical. Then, my mom wanted to take a picture of Jeff and my dad. That was so hilarious!! They sat down next to each other on a bale of hay, and randomly, Jeff grabbed my dad's hand. This picture is a riot! Neither of them are being serious, they're holding hands and have the most ridiculous expression on their face. Us onlookers were dying, we were laughing so hard. My mom(who was taking the picture) could barely steady the camera long enough to snap the picture. (As a humorous side note: as I was typing this part of my post, Jeff and I were texting. Out of no where (remember, this is as I am writing about this situation) he texts: "So I wonder what your dad thought when I held his hand." Ha ha, what perfect timing! Lol...if only he could have seen my dad's face!! He looked so shocked! Afterwards, you could tell that he appreciated that glimpse of Jeff's Ney humor. He (my dad) couldn't stop smirking.) After my dad and Jeff took their picture together, it was my turn to take a picture of my parents. Of course, everyone had to try to sneak into that picture as well! It took countless shots before I got one of just them. We finally headed home. We ate dinner at 8:00, and while the kids cleaned the kitchen, Jeff and I sat on the couch and talked. After the kitchen was cleaned, the girls, Jeff and I all ate ice cream. He hung out until 10:00, then he went home. Thus ending another wonderful evening together.

Here are some pictures from last night:

The History of Chocolate

How many of you have wondered what the history of chocolate is? ...Don't tell me that I am the only one who cares...??? Okay, well anyways... I love chocolate and I recently read a book about how chocolate originated. It got me thinking, and today I researched it online. I thought I would share what I learned...


Cacao, (which chocolate is created from), originates from the Amazon, where it was discovered at least 4,000 years ago by the Aztecs. The Aztecs were so enraptured with the cacao bean that they associated its creation to their god Quetzalcoatl. (Legends have it that this "God" Quetzalcoat came from heaven (riding a beam of a morning star...ha ha ha!) carrying a cacao tree stolen from paradise.

The Aztects were so in love with the cacao bean, that they ended up using at as their currency. A rabbit could be purchased for 10 beans and a slave for 100. The Aztects first discovered the cacao bean by watching the monkeys who played in the rain forest trees. These smart monkeys would pick the bright pods that grew on the small cocoa trees. They would break the pod open, suck out the sweet while pulp and spit out the bitter beans which were in the middle of the pod. The bean would fall on the ground and grow into another cocoa tree. Soon the Aztects started copying the monkeys. They would all suck out the pulp and spit their seeds into a pile. After a while, the villagers started noticing a delicious smell coming from the pile of rotting beans. The farmers started trying to figure out a way to turn this wonderful smell into a delicious drink. Eventually, they figured it out. They called their new drink "Chocol haa." It was a very bitter drink, but they liked it.

This "Chocol haa" drink soon became part of the Mayan's daily life. They began to drink this bitter drink daily.

Hundreds of years later, a group of merchants journeyed onto the Mayan's land. The Mayans were worried about this new group causing problems, so to keep peace they offered them some of their beans. Soon the two groups became friends. They were completely obsessed with this new drink and the cacao bean. They worshiped the beans, bought and traded with the beans, and painted it on everything they owned.

In 1519, Hernan Cortes, a Spanish explorer went with army to fight the Aztects. After many battles, the emperor of the Aztect's invited Cortes to his court to make peace. He gave Cortes a cup of their "Chocol haa" drink. Cortez loved it, but thought it was rather bitter. In 1528, Cortes sailed back to Spain. On his boat were sacks and sacks of cocoa beans. Once he was back home, Cortes shared the delicious drink with his friends. They soon altered this bitter drink, by adding sugar and drinking it hot. Thus becoming what we know today as: Hot Chocolate.

Soon, someone learned a way to turn this wonderful drink into a paste, which just needed water added, to drink it. Soon a group of monks went to visit Philip, the Spanish prince. Prince Philip loved it and it was soon made the drink of the Spanish court.

Eventually, people everywhere over Europe were talking about chocolate. Unfortunately, making this delicious drink was a long hard process, therefore only the rich people could enjoy it.

A short time later, the steam engine was invented. Factories started popping up all over Europe, turning cocoa beans into chocolate drinks with much ease. Eventually, hot chocolate was not just a delicious drink for the rich people...but people everywhere of every position could enjoy this wonderful drink.

In 1847, Francis Fry decided to try to turn the drink into a chocolate bar. He decided that the only thing that could be better than drinking chocolate would be eating it. A short time later Francis Fry invented the very first chocolate bar ever.

Soon factories everywhere were making bucket loads of chocolate bars. In the 20th century chocolate makers were starting to figure out new ways to make chocolate. They invented new flavors (dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, ect. ect.) learned how to make it creamier, richer and started experimenting with adding ingredients to the mix (such as nuts, ect.) and they also started shaping their chocolates into various shapes (i.e. chocolate kisses and m&m's.) Today chocolate is as we know it...getting better every day.

Fetching at straws...

I haven't posted in two days...but it feels much longer.

I actually don't even have anything to post about, but I am going to try to come up with something...

Well, this is exciting: My mom thinks that baby Ney #9 will arrive some time this week. Woot-Woot!! I am so excited. I am praying for a girl, though I would be happy with a baby boy too (I won't send it back or anything if it's a boy.) I think the 9th or the 11th would be a good day for it to come. Doesn't October 9th just sound good? October 11th? I guess she could always wait until the 25th...that's a good date. She'd only be a week over due...my poor mom!

Today I had to work. I cleaned three toilets, folded six loads of laundry, polished all the stainless steel, cleaned a kitchen and cleaned all the windows. I was complaining in a text to Jeff about how by the time I quit working for Joslyn, I am going to deserve a metal for how good I am at cleaning toilets. His response was: You should compete. Ha, ha, ha...he's a funny one! In all, the day was pretty long and dull, but I got through it.

My mom and I are ready to kill our female goat, Lucy. She won't shut up! She has been bleating since 5am this morning! Not just a cute little: blah blah...but a super loud scream. She sounds like a toddler is being murdered. It's ridiculous. I think she's in heat. None the less, she'd better shut up soon. My mom is ready to shoot her with the air soft gun a few times. Lucy is currently locked up in our garage, and my mom is looking for scraps of material to tie around her mouth and hopefully work as a muzzle. Does anyone want a goat? She's all yours...

Yesterday afternoon after church, Jeff and I decided to go out to lunch and then go to the mall for a while. We decided to bring the girls with us, which was a lot of fun for them. We went to Mimi's for lunch, and it was really yummy. Then from there we went to the mall. After we got into the mall and had been walking around for a while, Jeff and I realized that we don't actually like the mall. We spent about twenty minutes shopping for a pair of jeans and a pair of shoes for him, (with no such luck by the way,) and we also picked out a pound of See's Chocolate before we headed back to my house. We hung out at my house for about an hour, before Jeff had to leave to head to church for worship practice. Shelbie, Shaylah and I headed to church about an hour after Jeff. After church, we all headed back to my house. Jeff hung out with me until 10:00.

I think I have allergies. My eyes are really itchy and burn, my nose is stuffy and I've had an ongoing headache for the past few days. I need to track down local honey and start taking a table spoon a day.

Speaking of my eyes, I have an eye appointment tomorrow morning. I don't think my last prescription was correct, so I'm eager to find out how far off it was.

Okay, I am fetching at straws to find something to write about. I'm done...Hopefully I will have something of interest to write about soon.

Vote for a baby Sh name

I set up a poll on my mom's blog to vote on baby names. Hop over and place your vote! Only 10 days to go! http://shhfamily.blogspot.com/

Bad Cookie Day

Yesterday I wasn't feeling very good. My boss' family has had the stomach flu and colds recently, and I think I had a touch of both of those. I felt achy all day and very drowsy. I took vitamins all day long and went to bed super early. Well, I woke up this morning to my daily phone call from Jeff, who calls me every morning on his way to work. (He calls every morning at 6:15 and we talk for about 35 minutes...isn't he sweet?) So anyways, I woke up and we talked on the phone for a while. Usually, after I hang up with him, I fall back to sleep for a while longer. But I didn't today. I gave you this whole background story, because EVERY time I don't feel good, the next morning that I wake up and feel better, my first thought is always: "Hmmm...I should make some cookies." I am totally serious! Everytime I am sick, when I finally feel better, I wake up in the morning and I make cookies. So after I hung up with him, I was quite happy that I was feeling better and I decided to make cookies. I always bake something on Thursdays anyways, but today I was going to go above and beyond. I got it into my head that I was going to make three new cookie recipies: honey cookies, spiced molassas cookies and a different chocolate chip cookie recipe. I got online and found my honey cookie recipe and mixed that dough up. While I was baking those cookies, I made the spiced molassas cookies dough and the chocolate chip cookie dough. The honey cookies turned out very well. They weren't my favorite taste wise, I don't think I will make them again, but they turned out okay for my 1st time making them. The spiced molassas cookies are just plain scary looking!! I didn't have light molassas, so instead of the cookies being a light brown color...they are a super dark black color. Not to mention, they have a really strong flavor: yuck, yuck, yuck. Now, I've used the chocolate chip cookie recipe before, and they are really yummy. But the thing with this dough is it can NOT be over stirred...which is impossible in a big family. That dough was stirred over a million times...at least!! (okay, not really.) They still taste really yummy, but they are so ugly looking! I was so disapointed. I didn't even take a picture of them to post, that's how bad they looked. So in a nutshell...it was a bad cookie day.

True Martyrism (Modern Day Martyrism)

I started reading a book today about martyrs. It is called, "Martyrs" and it written by various authors.

I've only read the 1st chapter so far, it is an extremely deep book that I don't want to rush through, but rather let it sink in and I want time to digest it and think about what I've read. But I wanted to share a little bit of what I read, it really struck me, and I want my readers to read it also and spend some time thinking on it. The first chapter was written by: Susan Bergman.

To be a martyr you have to believe that something matters more than life.

"Martyr," who's root meaning is "witness," was first used in reference to early Christians who were put to death for their confessions of faith in one true God. These witnesses expressed not what they had seen with their eyes, but what they envisioned in their hearts. They endured their present suffering because of their confidence in God's ultimate reign on earth and the hope they placed in a heavenly lie to come. The term "Martyr" has expanded in modern day usage. The modern day definition in the simplest terms is for an individual to deny Christ and live...or confess him and die.

I was reading a story in this chapter, about a man named Polycarp (yikes!), who lived and served God for 86 years. During his 86th year, he was caught and was tied to a stake ready to be set on fire. One of his captors asked him one last time if he wanted to deny Christ and claim Caesar as his Lord, therefore living. Polycarp responded, "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King and Savior." This story struck me as amazed. It's so true, how each of us can live for God and claim him as our King. He has never and will never do us any harm, yet in our day of trouble, we might be so easily ready to give him up to save our skin.

"The essential element in martyrdom, is not the physical act of dying but rather a disposition of the will to live for Christ, with the necessary corollary that, by a strange but wholly Christian paradox, living for Christ may involve the necessity to lay down one's life for him." ~Gerald Bonner~

"The true martyr, is he who has become the instrument of God, who has lost his will in the will of God, not lost it but found it, for he has found freedom in submission to God. The martyr no longer desires anything for himself, not even the glory of martyrdom." ~Thomas Becket~

If we are not called to this extremity of submission, we can at least recognize--in our own choices to persevere despite personal cost, to honor our beliefs in the contest with doubt--the significance of the daily, incremental decisions that influence who we become and how we behave.

Martyrem non facit poena, sed causa ... (The cause, not the suffering, makes genuine martyrs.) We can all be martyrs in some way. It doesn't have to be our death for Christ that makes us a martyr. Think about this for a few minutes...in what way, practically in our lives, can we each be martyrs for Christ?

If we refuse to take up our cross and submit to suffering and rejection at the hands of men, we forfeit our fellowship with Christ and have ceased to follow him. But if we lose our lives in his service and carry our cross, we shall find our lives again in the fellowship of the cross with Christ...to bear the cross proves to be the only way of triumphing over suffering. This is true for all who follow Christ, because it was true for Him...


He who wants to keep his soul will lose it. But he who loses it will find it. If we have died with Christ, we will also live with Him.

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to find his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake shall find it." Matthew 16:24-25

When such faith is involved, those who suffer are not "victims." Victims suffer loss, are injured, are massacred against their will. Martyrs choose this for their lives. They choose to live for God, knowing that their life could also end for God. This is their gain, an honor, their way to say thank-you...to die for Christ, as he once died for us. It's the least we can do.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." Psalm 116:15
"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord." Revelation 14:13

Though tortured, persecuted or stricken, the lives of His children are never wasted in God's sight.

"Christians, don't be caught off guard...when you are captured and imprisoned it will be too late to equip yourself to face the enemy with love. Practice today. Practice breathing so you are calm when you are questioned. Practice physical pain so that you don't betray your brothers or sisters when you are put to the test." ~Pastor Wurmbrand~

"I hope that you can find some consolidation from Christianity's affirmation that death is not the end. Death is not a period that ends the great sentence of life, but a comma that punctuates it to more lofty significance. Death is not a blind alley that leads the human race into a state of nothingness, but an open door that leads man into life eternal. Let this daring faith, this great invincible surmise, be your sustaining power during these trying days." ~Martin Luther King, Jr.~

While I have been writing on the physical death, likely none of us will be faced with that situation. Still...we can practically lay down our will for Christ. We can be martyrs for him in our every day life...what can we do?

No one is demanding us to deny what we believe...but have we denied ourselves? Living in conditions of privilege and safety that much of the world has never known? Do we daily take up our cross and live in order to follow Christ?

We will not be silent, this is the life we've chosen. The faith we life for and the faith we live by. How can we be martyrs for Christ in our daily lives?