It's always best to go first for our answers to Jesus Himself. Don't be afraid to tell Him exactly how you feel. He's already read your thoughts anyways. Then listen to his answer.

Each time God gives us a hard lesson, He desires to give us Himself. If we open our hands to recieve the lesson, we open our hearts to recieve him.

Yay!! A new one!!

Hey! Here's one I've never done!! WOO HOO!!!!!


Three Names You Go By:
1. Shyloh...by all
2. Lolo...by little girls
3. Sweetie...by Jeffrey

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. sweat pants and a "Harvard" t-shirt
2. my engagement ring

Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment:
1. to be in bed asleep :)
2. to be walking with my sweetie

Two People Who Will Fill This Out (And The First To post it as a comment):
1. I'm gonna go with Anne this time...
2. and...Janell???

(If you're getting tired of responding to these...you won't hurt my feelings!!)

Two Things You Did last night:
1. went to dinner (Applebee's) with Jeff, Julie (his sister) and Loren (his dad)...it was tons of fun
2. then went to the Afterglow with Jeff, Josh (his brother), Julie, and Debbie (his mom)

Two Things You Ate Yesterday:
1. oriental chicken salad wrap from Applebee's
2. ...a granola bar (I'm counting calories now. hopefully it'll work!)

Two people you last talked to:
1. on the phone? Jeffrey
2. in person? Jeffrey

Favorite Drinks:
1. Sweet Iced Tea
2. hmm...maybe water or speckled lemonade

LIST 2 PRAYER REQUESTS:
1. to continue trusting the Lord on decisions we are making concerning finances, living arrangements, our wedding and all those other "fun" details we're working out. :)
2. for us to just continue growing closer to the Lord and to each other

Children...God's Gift

After creating heaven and earth, God created Adam and Eve. And the first thing he said was 'DON'T!'

'Don't what?' Adam replied.


'Don't eat the forbidden fruit.' God said.





'Forbidden fruit? We have forbidden fruit? Hey Eve...we have forbidden fruit!'



'No Way!'





'Yes way!'





'Do NOT eat the fruit!' said God.





'Why?'





'Because I am your Father and I said so!' God replied, wondering why He hadn't stopped creation after making the elephants A few minutes later, God saw His children having an apple break and He was ticked !





'Didn't I tell you not to eat the fruit?' God asked.



'Uh huh,' Adam replied.





'Then why did you?' said the Father.



'I don't know,' said Eve.





'She started it!' Adam said.





'Did not!'





'Did too!'





'DID NOT!'





Having had it with the two of them, God's punishment was that Adam and Eve should have children of their own. Thus the pattern was set and it has never changed.



...THINGS TO THINK ABOUT...





1. You spend the first two years of their life teaching them to walk and talk . Then you spend the next sixteen telling them to sit down and shut up.





2. Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your own children.





3. Mothers of teens now know why some animals eat their young.





4. Children seldom misquote you. In fact, they usually repeat word for word what you shouldn't have said





5. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own



6. We childproofed our homes, but they are still getting in.



ADVICE FOR THE DAY: Be nice to your kids. They will choose your nursing home one day





AND FINALLY:
IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE,


DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:
'TAKE TWO ASPIRIN' AND 'KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN'!!!!!

An Update on Life

A lot has been going on lately. Here's what we've been up to...




Jeff and my new years resolutions are going well. We are both being faithful with our devos as individuals, are still working on our premarital book together and we are praying together on a daily basis. Not only are we growing closer to the Lord, but also to each other. We've also been trying to make family more of a priority; which means spending more time with my parents and siblings. We're still doing great on our diet/workout goals. Most every morning, I get up and go brisk walk 2-3 miles before I start my day; and after work, Jeffrey goes to the gym and does the elliptical for 2-3 miles. When he gets home (to my house) we take Shelbie and Shaylah and go walk or bike ride 3-5 miles. It's been a lot of fun, I've never enjoyed exercises more!!

We used to only go to the park and do our miles around the park. But we've gotten bored with that, and are now expanding our horizons. The other day, I decided we'd go on a bike ride out in the country. We pulled our bikes out (they hadn't been out in a few years! They were trashed.) and spent about an hour replacing tires, raising seats, loosening breaks, ect. ect. We finally set out, with a backpack full of water and a few small snacks. We decided to go to my grandparents house first. By the time we got there, it was already almost 5. My tire was starting to go flat (I had a hole in it) and it was getting a bit dark and cold. (Jeff and I were in shorts and a t-shirt.) My grandpa kept insisting that we wouldn't make it, it was going to get cold and dark soon, but I refused to heed his warning. We raided their kitchen and with our arms full of snacks, we headed back out. I led the way to Service road (out in the country) and it took us about fifteen minutes to get there. We went by my boss's house for something and the continued on our way. We got a little further, and I couldn't peddle one more time, my tire was flat as flat could get. Shelbie and Shaylah were exhausted and complaining. Jeff was getting chilly. There was nothing left to do...but to call my grandpa to come pick up our bikes. What a sight we must have been! As we are sitting with our broken down bikes on the side of a country road, eating food as it is getting dark out. My grandpa finally pulled up and was laughing at us, as we loaded our bikes up in the back of his truck. Then he opened his door and asked how we were going to fit in his two passenger truck. Shaylah attempted to jump in, but I quickly said, "Oh we're going to keep walking." Jeff, Shelbie and Shaylah all groaned. My grandpa kept insisting that it was getting dark and cold, but I insisted we would make it back home. He finally left. My goal was to keep walking to Hughson, but I was outvoted, and we turned around and started to walk home. We walked until it was dark and cold out; the girls were complaining, and Jeff kept saying "We should have gone with your grandpa." By now, I knew we should have...but I wasn't about to admit that! I was feeling proud about our progress and was trying to encourage my troops that the end was almost near (whoa...that sounds bad) when guess who pulled up? My dad. The girls jumped into the van without a seconds hesitation, but I balked and complained and whined and argued. I just knew that I could make it home, Jeff all but threw me into the van when I asked my dad if we could at least continue walking. It was a humbling experience. Next time, I will be prepared. (HUGHSON...HERE I COME!!)

On Saturday I went to see "Bride Wars" with Annie. It was a lot of fun to hang out with her and catch up on life. It was a very cute movie, but also very inappropriate, I'm not encouraging any of you to go watch it. After the movie, we went to LA Cultures and got some ice cream. It was delicious. We sat and talked for a while, before heading back to her house. We hung out there for a while, then I had to head home. While I was out with Anne, Jeff and my dad went to go see a movie also. But after seeing the long line, they decided to instead go eat lunch then go to the Bowling Alley and play a few games of Pool. They had a lot of fun together, bonding and developing a friendship.

That afternoon we attempted another bike ride, but didn't get very far. (My bootie really hurt from the ride the day before. LOL.)

On Sunday we went to church. After 1st and 2nd service, we ran some errands for my mom. The girls were our chaperons, and we decided to treat them to In-and-out Burger...yum. We finally got home around 3-ish. We lounged around for a while, then started to get some things done. We planned on taking Shelbie and Shaylah to Monterrey the next day. So we made some fried chicken and a small potato salad, and got everything we'd need packed. Then we headed back out to church again. After church we ran another errand, to get some drinks for our trip the next day. Then we got home, finished our packing, looked through some baby pictures, then Jeff left and we all went to bed.

The next morning, us girls got up a 5:30...okay...the girls got up at 5:30...I didn't get up until about 6:25. (And Jeff was due to arrive at 6:45, because we wanted to leave at 7:00...ooops.) We quickly got dressed and threw everything into the back of my car. I was still getting ready when Jeff got here, so he helped the girls finish our last minute preparations. When we finally got into the car, I was amazed. One would have assumed, with all we packed that we were packing for a family of ten, not a group of four!!! The girls watched a movie on my i-pod during the ride up. Jeffrey and I laughed that they were being the "ideal chaperons," they were there in body, but not in spirit! I don't think they said two words to us for the whole 2 1/2 hour drive up. We were blessed with some quality chatting time. We finally got to Monterrey, and we drove around looking for the Aquarium. We finally found it and headed in. We only spent about two hours at the Aquarium, before we were all hungry and headed back to the car. We planned on picnicking at the spot Jeff proposed to me. We found the exact location and spent some time reminiscing before laying out our picnic blanket and eating our delicious spread. We hung out there for a while, before packing back up and heading to a cove we like to go to. We got there and unloaded a ton of stuff, then trekked down to the water before we decided we'd only stay for a few minutes because it was too crowded to enjoy. (And the old man in a leopard printed speedo also helped us decide that we wanted to leave. Lol) So after about ten minutes we gathered up our bags and blankets and food and headed back up to the car. The girls put their head phones back on and we drove around for about 30 minutes looking for a beach. We found the beach we wanted to go to, but couldn't find a parking spot. We drove around looking for parking for nearly 20 minutes. Finally, we found one. (yay...about time!!) We then unloaded ALL of our stuff and headed down to the water. The girls ran around on the sand for a while, while Jeff and I snoozed on our blankets. Then they came back and pestered us for a while, before we finally got off our lazy bums and went to dig a whole with them. The weather was gorgeous! We stayed at the ocean for nearly 2 hours, playing in the water, playing in the sand, trying to bury each other or toss one another into the water, sleeping, and of course...eating. We were all bummed when it was time to head back. We got home around 7:30 with many stories to share. All together, it was a wonderful day!

Last night Jeff and I went over our buget that we will have to stick to after we are married. We are totally excited, because after everything is paid for, we will have $77 left over!! Sweet!! LOL. We sat down with my mom and she helped us map it out. When we were done, we felt very encouraged and happy, as when we had mapped it out ourselves a few weeks back, we were in the hole $500 dollars. Lol, don't ask how that happened. We're currently appartment seeking. We're trying to decide where we will live, and whether Jeff should move in now, or wait until the begining of August. So many decisions to be made!! We still haven't even begun to start wedding planning. We know where we will have it and the date, but that is all for now. (By the way, it's August 15th at 7pm) We will probably start planning in April. I can't wait!!

Let's see...what else?

I think that is all for now. I need to go "put my face on" and get ready for when Jeff gets here. Today, my goal is Hughson or 6 miles. Whichever comes first.

So until next time...

Silence is a very precious thing. We must be quiet in order to know God and to hear Him and to hear Him answer us.

It's time for...Q & A's

1. What is your occupation right now? Personal assistant (AKA...nanny, cook, maid, ect.)

2. What color are your socks right now? pink and yellow striped with Tigger on them

3. What are you listening to right now? my siblings talking about going to the library

4. What was the last thing that you ate? candy cane kisses

5. Can you drive a stick shift? nope

6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? my sweetie

7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yes (my mom and alyssa)

8. How old are you today? roughly 6,280 days old

9. What is your favorite sport to watch on TV? none

10. What is your favorite drink? iced tea or water

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? colored, highlighted but I've never dyed the whole thing

12. Favorite food? ice cream and french fries

13. What is the last movie you watched? Snow White and Aladdin (With Jeffrey--my idea.)

14. Favorite day of the year? The day after Christmas

15. How do you vent anger? pray, and talk to Jeff

16. What was your favorite toy as a child? my stuffed puffalumps

17. What is your favorite season? I love ALL seasons!!

18. Cherries or Blueberries? Cherries

19. Do you want your friends to e-mail you back? ...um, in a form of a comment, yes!

20. Who is the most likely to respond? Darylyn? I dunno.

21. Who is least likely to respond? Um...Jeffrey

22. Who do you live with? Daddy, Mama, Shelbie, Shaylah, Shayden, Shannen, Shadd, Shaynah, Shallyn, Shylie, and Grammy

23. When was the last time you cried? psh, last night

24. What is on the floor of your closet? laundry

25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that is going to read this? Annie

26. What did you do last night? Jeff and I walked 5 miles and did our pre-marital book

27. What are you most afraid of? not being able to dial 911 during an emergency

28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? cheese

29. What is your favorite kind of dog? Cocker Spaniel or Australian Shepards

30. Favorite day of the week? Sunday or Friday

31. How many states have you lived in? Wisconsin and California

32. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds

33. What is your favorite flower? hydrangea, daisies, I love most flowers.

The day Papa almost won...

Yesterday we spent the day with our Papa & Nana, who are down visiting from Texas. (It was so nice to see them again!! As we haven't seen them in over a year.) We have a tradition, of playing 21 with my Papa when he comes down. We play with our change...and there is NO mercy in this game. If you lose...you lose. Papa has no problem taking your money and keeping it. He's the kindest, sweetest man around...but when it comes to card games...yikes. We always play for fun, usually with no more than three or four dollars in change; sometimes we come away with several dollars more, and other times, we leave with several dollars less. My Papa was been robbing poor little children of their money since my mom was in High School. She tells stories all the time, of her girlfriends coming over with their pockets full of change to play Papa...and leaving with nothing. In all the history of 21-playing with Papa--he's never lost. Somehow, one way or another, he always comes out on top. Last night tells a different story...

The day Papa came to town...

All of us Ney kids (with our tiny piles of change), Lynette and Uncle Micah, Papa and Nana and my parents all gathered around our kitchen table to try to break Papa. He's always the banker, and he's so shrewd as he wins the round and scoops every one's money off the table and pulls it towards him, the whole time bragging and boasting: "You must be real mean to your money...'cause it's just runnin' over to me!" (Picture this in a heavy Texas accent.) The game went on for hours. As our piles grew smaller and smaller, his grew larger and larger and larger and larger and...anyways, you get the picture. Eventually, those of us who hadn't lost all our money, wisely decided to drop out before we did lose it all. But there was one brave soul, who decided to single handedly take on the Man. (dum dum dum dum...dum dum dum dum...de de de do do da...) Her name was Lynette. We all expected this post to be a sorrowful post of the final fate of our poor beloved Lynette. But alas...it is only the beginning. For the next hour, Lynette and Papa went at it. No longer were they playing with chinchy silver...but paper. Laying down dollars at a time, they battled for the winning title. Papa would win almost all of Lynette's money, only for her to have an amazing card recovery, and win back most of his. Back and forth back and forth it went, until our heads hurt. Cards kept being shuffled and dealt. Finally...Papa was down to his last dollar. The room fell deathly quiet as we all witnessed a history changing event. The cards were shuffled and dealt again. We all held our breaths as Papa said, "Hit me..." and Lynette asked him, "Are you ready for another "bust" card?" He licked his lips and slowly nodded his head...everything moved in slow motion as Lynette flipped another card and it landed with a thud on top of his other cards. All eyes were glued to Papa's cards, counting them in our heads. Suddenly..."HOORAY!!" For the first time in 22 years...Papa lost. History has been redefined.

The players shook hands cordially, as us onlookers cheered for the winner and consoled the loser. Lynette stuffed her little money bag full of her winnings, then passed it around the room for all of us losers to hold and marvel at the heaviness of the small bag, which had been half as heavy when she first arrived, all while Papa graciously offered a kind and encouraging speech to Lynette. The game was over, forever etched into our hearts and minds.

Good job Lynette! ...Better luck next time, Papa!

This is the day, we will all remember as the day Papa almost won.

I could think of more to write...but Lynette is on her way over with her little red bag...I'm off to challenge her at a game of 21.

He will make our way known...

Strangely and wonderfully, when we turn our thoughts to Him, with whom nothing is an impossibility, He smoothes the path for us. We ind it possible, maybe even easy, to move forward. Think of Him! You may find your path suddenly smoothed.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your path.

Children's Nursery Rhymes

Last night, Jeff and I were dancing around singing children's nursery rhymes. As we were goofing off and talking, we embarked the topic of little children's rhymes having a negative meaning behind the cute rhyming words. I got online today, and looked up the origin of a few of them...

Ring around the rosies,
Pocket full of posies,
Ashes, ashes
We all fall down.

Ring around the Rosies, is about the black plague- the symptom of which included circles around the eyes (ring around the rosies), and coughing up dried blood from the lungs, resembling ashes. The pocket full of posies was a medieval belief that posies held some curative measures against the plague, so carrying around that flower would keep you safe. Finally, the last line spells out the unavoidable ending to the story, of everyone falling down, dead. (Ahhh...so adorable.)


Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water
Jack fell down and broke his crown
And Jill came tumbling after

The roots of this poem, of Jack and Jill are in France. Jack and Jill referred to are said to be King Louis XVI - Jack -who was beheaded (lost his crown) followed by his Queen Marie Antoinette - Jill - (who came tumbling after). The words and lyrics to the Jack and Jill poem were made more acceptable as a story for children by providing a happy ending! The actual beheadings occurred in during the Reign of Terror in 1793. The first publication date for the lyrics of Jack and Jill rhyme is 1795 - which ties-in with the history and origins. ( C'mon Poppet...let's sing about people being beheaded...)


Mary Mary quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And pretty maids all in a row

The Mary referred to in this nursery rhyme is supposed to be Mary Tudor, or Bloody Mary, who was the daughter of King Henry VIII. Queen Mary was a strong Catholic and the garden referred to is an allusion to graveyards which were increasing in size with those who dared to continue to object to the Protestant faith - Protestant martyrs.

The silver bells and cockle shells referred to in the Nursery Rhyme were colloquialisms for instruments of torture. The 'silver bells' were thumbscrews which crushed the thumb between two hard surfaces by the tightening of a screw. The 'cockleshells'...well, I'm not even going to go there. The " Maids" or Maiden was the original guillotine! The 'maids' were a device to behead people called the Maiden. Beheading a victim was fraught with problems. It could take up to 11 blows to actually sever the head, the victim often resisted and had to be chased around the scaffold. These problems led to the invention of a mechanical instrument (now known as the guillotine) called the Maiden - shortened to Maids in the Mary Mary Nursery Rhyme. (...This is my personal favorite. lol, I'm KIDDING!)

Isn't this horrible?!? And these nursery rhymes are what we are teaching young children to sing.

Our Traveling Companions

There are places in each of our lives where we seem to travel alone, sometimes feeling as though we must surely have lost the way. But God has been there before-it is no wilderness to Him, and he walks with us.

Shylie Update...

I thought it was time for a Shylie update. Only a few of you have even seen her in person (as it's winter, and my mom doesn't want to bring her out into the cootie infested world...lol.) So, I wanted to post updated pictures for you all.









































Isn't she cute?

He was learned at home...

Last night at dinner, we were talking about Tabasco sauce (it was a very interesting conversation, I promise!) Shayden proceeded, in dead seriousness, to tell the story of how Tabasco sauce came to America...

It all started when Christopher Columbia brought his wife Santa Maria, from England to America, looking for Tabasco sauce. He sailed on the Mayflower with his two companions: Pinta and Nina. And that...is how Tabasco sauce was discovered in America.

We were all laughing histarically, as he and my uncle (who was helping to develope the story) gave us a very important lesson in history.

~First post of the New Year...2009~

Happy New Years!!!

This will be a semi-random post.

On Tuesday I went to Yosemite with Jeff's family. I've never been to Yosemite before, so I'm really excited that all my memories will include Jeff. It was super cold and covered in snow. We had so much fun! We had snowball fights, made snow angels, had more snowball fights and took so many pictures!! I got soaking wet (my fault for rolling around in the snow, lol.) I left my house at 7:30am and I didn't get home until 11:00pm. It was an amazing day!

Yesterday was New Years eve...duh. My mom, sisters and I cleaned and cooked all day. We made a million snacks and candies for our late night. The Kee family came over (Kevin and RoseAnn Kee) and everyone had a blast! We ate food and fellowshiped all evening.

Today we all slept in until 11am. Jeff is leaving for Detour today, so he came over at noon to eat lunch with me and say our "goodbye's." I was woken up this morning by my mom's perky: "Goodmorning merry sunshine!" song. I groaned. Lol, the day after Christmas is the best day of the year (because all we do is eat leftovers and relax) and New Years day is the worst day of the year. Why? Because it does something strange to our mothers. Somehow, overnight they completely change. Tell me, are your mom's like this? New Years eve they are completely normal, and in the morning they are completely different. Their new favorite word is: "Simplify. And suddenly the only thing on their mind is: "It's a new year!! woo hoo! Let's clean our rooms, go through our drawers and closets, go on a diet, run a mile, copy the bible!!" It's so...exausting. Usually I don't like New Years...but this year, I'm actually excited. I laid in bed last night before I fell asleep thinking..."It's a new year!! Yay!! Tomorrow I'm going to empty all the candy out of my dresser drawers (I admit, my drawers are FULL of candy), go through my clothes, clean my room...start jogging, do my devotions..." I'm really excited to get started.

Jeff and my New Years Resoluntions are:

A) we are going on a diet and are going to be in perfect shape by the time of the wedding.

B) we want to do daily devos and start praying as a couple more.

What are your new years resolutions? Post your answer in a comment form.


A few days ago, my flat iron broke on me (it fell apart...litterally.) So yesterday, I went out and bought a new one. This thing is SO high powered!! It heats up so hot! Shelbie and my aunt ran an errand yesterday. While they were gone, I straightened my hair. They got home while I was still working on it, and as they walked through the door, they both exclaimed: "What is burning!!" From the bathroom I called, "My hair!!" Needless to say, I'm getting a hair cut hopefully tomorrrow.

This afternoon my mom and two sisters and I all made tamales. It took forever, but they will be so yummy when we eat them tonight!

Ok, this is all I can think of to write. I am not in a blogging mood right now, which explains the lame, pictureless post. I am off to dress in black and mourn the absense of my sweetie. Lol, I am kidding. I am going to go start emptying the candy out of my dressers. Happy New Years!