thank our troops...

. . for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.

-george elliot
from middlemarch



If you go to the web site www.letssaythanks.com, you can pick out a thank you card to encourage our troops....
Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving in Iraq. You can't pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services. It's free and it only takes a few seconds.

i should be sleeping...

... but i saw this on a friend's blog & had to try it! (he should have been studying greek, by the way :)

it's a map of all the countries mike & i have been to (not necessarily together)... it would be interesting to split it up & see our individual maps, but not tonight... i really should be sleeping...



create your own visited countries map
or vertaling Duits Nederlands

flight leaves at 8:30 tomorrow morning... probably won't blog again until November!

i found it on the internet, so it must be true....

i can honestly say that i have never been mistaken for any of these women.... i know you're shocked.



mike, on the other hand is constantly being asked for his autograph over here... now we know why...

create

"problems are nothing but wake-up calls for creativity."
-unknown

the above is from a lovely website with free printable paper creations you "make" yourself... they've done all the beautiful work.. all you need are glue & scissors.
http://www.thetoymaker.com/2Toys.html

here are some other websites & blogs that have been inspiring me lately:
http://www.papress.com/designityourself/index.html great tips if you want to "design" anything... business cards, t-shirts, etc.
http://foodiefarmgirl.blogspot.com/ fun times on the farm... yummy recipes
http://www.maizehutton.com/ check out the "diy" & "blog" sections
http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=learn-cat&id=cat242&navLevel=2&rsc=mslnav you don't have to like her to appreciate her genious :)

enjoy!

my ring

here's my first silver creation... made while my mom & grandmother were visiting...


here's the proof i did it (i don't quite have the stamp-engraving method down, eh?)...

picasa

my darling husband downloaded picasa & started the arduous task of organizing all the pics we've taken since we got married... almost 4 years ago... very few of which i've organized & almost none of which i've printed out...bad.
anyway, he came across some amazing pictures like this one... from our drive across utah, on our way to colorado from the northwestern rim of the grand canyon. gorgeous.

Healing the Wound

I get little snippets like this everyday from the folks at Ransomed Heart ministries... most are quotes from their books (most of which i've read) & are always short, but powerful, encouragements & reminders for me.

Healing the Wound 08/17/2006

If you wanted to learn how to heal the blind and you thought that following Christ around and watching how he did it would make things clear, you’d wind up pretty frustrated. He never does it the same way twice. He spits on one guy; for another, he spits on the ground and makes mud and puts that on his eyes. To a third he simply speaks, a fourth he touches, and for a fifth he kicks out a demon. There are no formulas with God. The way in which God heals our wound is a deeply personal process. He is a person and he insists on working personally. For some, it comes in a moment of divine touch. For others, it takes place over time and through the help of another, maybe several others. As Agnes Sanford says, “There are in many of us wounds so deep that only the mediation of someone else to whom we may ‘bare our grief ’ can heal us.”

So much healing took place in my life simply through my friendship with Brent. We were partners, but far more than that, we were friends. We spent hours together fly-fishing, backpacking, hanging out in pubs. Just spending time with a man I truly respected, a real man who loved and respected me—nothing heals quite like that. At first I feared that I was fooling him, that he’d see through it any day and drop me. But he didn’t, and what happened instead was validation. My heart knew that if a man I know is a man thinks I’m one, too, well then, maybe I am one after all. Remember—masculinity is bestowed by masculinity. But there have been other significant ways in which God has worked—times of healing prayer, times of grieving the wound and forgiving my father. Most of all, times of deep communion with God. The point is this: Healing never happens outside of intimacy with Christ. The healing of our wound flows out of our union with him. (Wild at Heart , 127–28)
From The Ransomed Heart, by John Eldredge, reading 229 Ransomed Heart Ministries

If you'd like to subscribe to this daily mailing, go to the "My Profile" section on www.ransomedheart.com and create a new profile... then you'll need to check the Daily Readings List checkbox in your profile.

quick fixes

thought i'd pass on some domestic wisdom i've learned lately...

when __________ .... just _________________.
1. one of the holes in your vinyl shower curtain rips.... apply generous amounts of hot glue to the torn section. it's clear (unlike duct tape) and seems to be working. i'll give you an update on durability after we actually take showers.
2. you turn all your husband's favorite t-shirts various shades of pink.... wash again with non-colorfast clothes that are a more "acceptable" shade for a guy. i threw them in a hot-water wash with a dark navy thai outfit... voila! sky blue beats pepto pink anyday, & looks great on my hubby!
3. you have a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.... rest a bit, & wait for a dear friend to show up with chocolates. thanks Catherine!

feel free to share any of your own tips.

mail

someone made a request for our mailing address....
i thought, "i'll post it, in case others want to mail us handwritten notes, good books, green beans from cracker barrel, or anything else i long to get from the states."