100 Posts~Wow!

I really find it hard to believe that I have actually posted 100 times! (I know, Rita, yawn...400 posts for you!) However, I've decided to follow the example of Barb, and post 100 things about me. Sounds so self-centered somehow... Anyway, I hope there are 100 things to write about me!

1. I was born in Dearborn, Michigan, at a very young age (hahaha), in the same hospital that my brother-in-law, Mike, was born in!
2. My dad didn't see me until I was 3 months old because he was in the USAF in Turkey at the time.
3. My mom was due on Aug 1, and I was born on SEPTEMBER 13. Yikes!
4. I REMEMBER when my sister was born, and I was 2-1/2!
5. The LORD saved me at the age of 4-1/2, shortly after my Grandpa Queen's funeral.
6. I lived in Queretaro, Mexico, for one year when I was 5.
7. I love peanut butter sandwiches~especially with raspberry jelly. No crunchy for me...only good ole creamy Jif!
8. I love travelling, especially alone.
9. I have said goodbye to too many people too many times.
10. If you haven't guessed already, I'm an MK (Missionary Kid).
11. My parents were missionaries in Lima, Peru, for 25 years. They are now missionaries in Caracas, Venezuela.
12. My parents are neat freaks...they wonder where I came from!
13. Although I am not really *fat*, I am always trying to lose weight!
14. I speak excellent fluent Spanish...it's a gift!
15. I have 5 beautiful children!
16. My children were born in 3 different countries.
17. I met my husband 2 months before I graduated!
18. I have a wonderful husband!
19. My FAVORITE food is shrimp. It is my youngest son, Aaron's, too!
20. My son, Seth, and I share a love for bbq ribs...yum
21. Morgan, my oldest daughter, looks a lot like I did at her age.
22. I love to stay up late and get up early...I also like to take naps with my youngest kids!
23. I love Venezuelan food~hallacas, arepas, pabellon criollo...
24. My favorite restaurant is KC Masterpiece in Overland Park, KS.
25. I hate to talk on the phone...
26. Love to go barefoot, but rarely do...flip-flops
27. I'm very friendly; I think you would like me!
28. My favorite authors are L.M. Montgomery, Francine Rivers, Terry Blackstock, and Charles Dickens!
29. I get all choked up every single time I hear "The Star-Spangled Banner". I love America!
30. Even though I grew up in Peru, I have no desire to go back there. Period.
31. My favorite city in the world is (sorry, Rita) Caracas, Venezuela.
32. One of my favorite things to eat...but I rarely do...is pistachio pudding. Isn't that weird?!
33. I could talk to a wall.
34. I can't.tell.jokes....
35. I wish I could decorate like my mother-in-law.
36. I read my Bible almost every day.
37. I teach a preschoolers Sunday school class.
38. Did I mention that we are missionaries in Maracay, Venezuela?
39. I love scented Yankee candles!
40. I always use bath gel and apply BOTH scented lotion and spray on after a shower.
41. I love COLD showers!
42. I own a violin and I need to learn how to play it!
43. I wish I had been in a singing group in college...I didn't think I could make the audition. I now believe I could've.
44. The first time my husband and I sang together was at Matt's grandparents 50th wedding anniversary party. We've sung quite a few times since then!
45. I really hate it when my husband is gone overnight...but I've gotten used to it.
46. I love Israel!
47. I want to visit Israel.
48. My husband is a hopeless romantic. HE cried at our wedding...not me!
49. I hate back rubs.
50. Being tickled just panics me to death.
51. I rarely find the shortest, easiest way to do something...always the long, hard way. What's up with that?!
52. My two best girl friends are miles and miles away... Viv and Cyn
53. We always spend Thanksgivings on our furloughs with the Neumann family
54. My family always puts up the Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving while I make goodies for our "Christmas Tree Party"
55. My pantry and fridge look like Hurricane Katrina...shame on me
56. I love hillbill...I mean Appalachian music. It and Venezuelan folk music are my favorites!
57. My mother is from a holler in Kentucky. It's kind of weird to be related to everyone on a holler....
58. My favorite pics to take at the beach are pics of my family's feet...weird
59. If I could, I would get rid of half the junk I have around my house...but I can't stand to part with anything!
60. My favorite colors are yellow and blue
61. I'm not really an ice cream fan...but I do like Frosty's and milkshakes
62. I live in a country where it cost a little over a dollar to fill up the tank in a minivan. Sorry!
63. Hate to be hot...love to be cold...live in Maracay, Venezuela, where it is very hot!
64. If I could, I would go to the Swiss Alps
65. I am absolutely fascinated with the Holocaust and the Amish
66. I love to play volleyball, especially if I can be on my HUSBAND's team!
67. I did very well in college, although I didn't study very much
68. I was in Drama class in college. Does that surprise you?
69. I think that if I lived in the States, I would live in Wisconsin
70. I hate to cook, but I'm not too bad of a cook
71. One of my very favoritest things to do is to shop (in the States...heavy sigh) the day after Thanksgiving!
72. My favorite shopping buddy is Shell
73. Shelley and I were best buds in college. We both spoke Spanish, and we tried to room together. That didn't work. We became friends again after we weren't roommates!
74. If I could do it over, I never would have ever dated anyone but Matt!
75. I do not really care to receive flowers...I prefer potted plants or chocolate!
76. I cannot scrapbook. Period. My sister inherited all the creative genes in the family. Quilting, scrapbooking, sewing, you name it!
77. I wish I lived in the same town as my sister. Right next door, in fact!
78. My husband and I were introduced by a mutual friend. Her name is Tammy and she was born in Maracay, Venezuela, where we now live!
79. I am going to Heaven when I die. Thank you, Lord Jesus!
80. I am taking way too long to write this list.
81. I wish my hair were waist-length. I think that's strange too...
82. I can't sleep unless I have at least a sheet on me.
83. My son, Ethan, and I have the exact same personality--talkative!
84. I want to be like the Proverbs 31 woman...this blog probably isn't helping
85. Probably my favorite candy is a Hershey bar~no almonds please
86. I love Venezuelan coffee and latte's with raspberry flavoring
87. I drink a lot of Venezuelan coffee
88. I fell through a roof and landed in the bathroom sink once...don't ask, it's a long story
89. I almost drowned once. Aunt Pat saved me.
90. I won 1st place in a dramatic monologue and a national spelling competition. Same year. A guy named Patrick Henry won second...go figure
91. I love the smell of rain
92. Irish music is my other favorite music!
93. I've discovered that the best thing to take to the beach is a hammock!
94. The very thought of having a mouse or rat in or around the house makes me crazy~a very real possibility in South America!
95. One of my favorite places is Chicago...love that waterfront!
96. Hate the color RED...NOW
97. I'm glad I'm not blonde...sorry blondies
98. Can't stand any kind of melon...gross
99. I wish I had a polka-dotted dress...
100. I once jumped into a pool, fully clothed, to "save" my youngest daughter~who had a life jacket on! Oh well....

Airplane Days

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I grew up in Lima, Peru, where my parents were missionaries for 25 years (they are now in Caracas). Some of the most awesome events back then were "airport days". These were the days when we went to the airport to pick up (the leaving-off times were not so fun =( ) missionaries returning from furlough. Back then, missionaries didn't travel back and forth very much and furloughs were always very long! Another neat thing was that we could go outside on the deck and watch the airplane land and our friends get off the plane on the little outdoors stairway (I know that you're now wondering, "HOW OLD ARE YOU ANYWAY?"--not as old as you might think....) Anyway, a year in the life of one of your friends away is a very long time. We would always go with mixed feelings...will we still be friends?....what "new" things have they learned in the "Promised Land"?....etc, etc. You get the picture! Another big question was..."What new clothes will they all be wearing?" How superficial is that?! Anyway, everything always turned out okay...we're all still friends...family...after all these years!

Things you know about blogging that I don't...

To all of you who definitely know lots more about blogging techniques than I do...

How do I make the title a different font?

Where do I get more fonts and how do I get them into my blogging space?

*more later, I'm sure!

SUPER Saturday!!!

We've had a really nice Saturday together...busy, as usual! Our daddy is not here, and we really miss him; but we know he is having a nice time visiting family and getting a class toward his doctorate done--YEAH!! Sophie, Morgan, and I started the day picking up empanadas* for everyone. They were yummy!!!! Then the girls and I went to the beauty shop, about which I blogged earlier. When we got home, all of us loaded us to go to McD's for ice cream and a little fun in the play place for the little ones (since we were still full from our breakfast). We had a fun time there...Sophie's face tells the whole story. Then, joy of all joys, we went to the grocery store (I've been to 3 today...more about THAT later...regime living...heavy sigh!). We just finished our supper of apples & carmel, popcorn, and palmizulia* cheese while listening to one of our favorite CD's (Steve Petit's "My God, My Lord, My All"). Now I need to be off to clean the kitchen, put some wash in, and get S.S., etc. ready for tomorrow. Have a wonderful LORD's Day!

*Somehow, as I was posting this...I didn't get a picture of EJ included. Sorry, Ej, we love you too!

*an empanada is a half-moon shaped "pie" made of cornmeal flour, filled with any number of things! ours were cheese, chicken, and shredded beaf


*palmizulia cheese is a soft, squish-in-your-teeth white cheese. looks kind of like swiss, but much softer. we love it!

*the link is not working...can someone tell me why not????

Sunday Scripture & Spurgeon

Galatians 4:19 ~ "My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you," This is an interesting verse. What does it mean that Christ should be formed in me? Of course, this is only possible if He lives in me as a result of the new birth (John 3). I think Paul referred to the process of the "measure of the stature of Christ" mentioned elsewhere in Scripture. We are to die to self and let Christ live and mature in us! What a challenge! This is, as I read in a post at Christina's, NOT dying once and then you're good to go...it's day by day, minute by minute. Lord, help me to do just that today!

Spurgeon, on I Chronicles 4:23 ~ "The place of our habitation is fixed, and we are not to remove from it out of whim and caprice, but seek to serve the Lord in it, by being a blessing to those among whom we reside."

*Photo courtesy jupiterimages.com

$11.03!

Today, as part of Super Saturday, Morgan, Sophie, and I went to the beauty salon. I got my hair styled...

I got a manicure and a pedicure...

AND Morgan got her nails done too...

ALL for the amazing price of $11.03!!!! (including tip *U* )

Have a great day, SUPER Saturday!

Show and Tell Friday at Kelli's

Hey gals! I decided to participate in Kelli's contest this week. This is what I got when I asked my husband to go get me some cocoa earlier this week. Doesn't it look yummy?!

Morgan is going to make some brownies with it right now. There probably won't be any left to post pics of!!