Happy New Year!

B's birthday!

Twelve years ago today Brianna Joy was born at 7:37p.m. It was so fun to here the words it's a girl. In Bri's words we had a great day today. First off Bri slept in which she does every opportunity she gets.

She likes to stay up late and get up late. Later in the day the whole family went iceskating. What a nice thing the Clipper has going on there the atmosphere was fun and relaxing. I did not skate. Just looking at the skates made my ankles hurt. I instead took care of my grandaughter. When we got home we had some of Bri's favorite things. Shrimp, seven layer salad, and pizza. After dinner B opened her gifts. Then for her birthday cake we had sticky buns. I have an easy recipe for them. Yeah, she doesn't really like birthday cake. Then we watched "Invinceable" B had been wanting to watch the movie all week. It was finally the right time to watch it. Good movie. Really got me in the mood to watch the Eagles play on Sunday. It was a fun day. I should mention we weren't quite all there today we missed Elijah he was with his other grandmom for the day. We did see him later though.

God is good!

I have two things that kind of bother me. One is how come you here people say God is good when something good happens. God is good all the time not only when something good happens he is good even when not so good things happen to us. God has good in mind for us in all things especially the hard things. Cause it's during the hard times that we potentially have the ability to grow a lot. Isn't God so good to allow things into our lives so that we can grow in our faith and trust in him. So next time something not so great happens to you think to say God is good because he is all the time. =)






Next thing is something that is close to my heart. How many times have you heard someone say "stop acting so retarded" or "that person looks so retarded" or something along those lines and usually people laugh. Haveing a son who is mentally challenged it really disturbs me to here those words used in a negative way. I know that most people I here saying those words aren't trying to be mean spirited about mentally retarded people. They just aren't really thinking about what they are saying. But we do need to think about what we say. So say what you mean and mean what you say. And let's choose our words wisely.

breakfast...........

Saturday morning we woke up to a nice surprise. The girls had a friend overnight and they all decided to make breakfast for Edwin and I. First they set the mood with nice smooth jazz playing in the background, then set the table fancy and made place cards so we knew where to sit. =) They did a great job and the breakfast was quite good. They also cleaned up after themselves which is always a big plus.

What a nice way to start the day. Thank you girls!

my caregroup

Tuesday night our caregroup met together for a wonderful meal provided by everybody from our group. Upon arriving the Christmas mood was evident from the warm ambiance of candles and an inviting home to the beautiful set table. Karla did a fabulous job. As always we had a fun time talking, joking and eating. Hmm let's see is this beef stew or chili? Only the cook knows for sure. And wait is this the one with nuts or the one without I'm not sure. And ahhhh does this foot warmer, massager thing feel nice and look at the cool disco lights on it. Ahh yes fun stuff.

You guys are great. Love all my caregroup homies. Thank you Geoff and Karla a good time was had by all.

Fab 5........

So some of you know of the Fab 5. The Fab 5 consists of myself and 4 of my good friends from way back in the day before we were all married. We lost touch with one another for many years until a death of a mutual friend brought us back together again. I think Connie was the one that called us all to get together. We are all so glad to be back in each others lives and now we get together on a regular basis. Every few months we get together for a sleep over at Sharon's. That my friends is fun times. So recently we had our annual christmas gift exchange and this is a pic from that time.

So here's to the Fab 5!

left to right: Roxanne, Sharon, Carol, Connie, Phyllis

decision..........

I have made my decision. Drum roll please..........................I like the Volume Exact Mascara by Cover Girl the best. The Exact Lash is also nice. But the volume gives me just that.. more volume. The exact lash is good for those of you who just want your lashes to be more defined.

So there you have it.

Here's another tip. For those of you who add a little color to your life. Well when those roots start popping out before you are ready to color again just find a mascara color that is close to the color of your hair and just kind of fill in a little bit over the roots with the mascara just enough to blend it in. Aside from making your hair a little stiff it works great.

highway robbery.........

I thought this year was going to be kind of easy with the gift exchanging. I had 3 or so people who just wanted gift certificates to Park City. So I go out to P.C. to get them. And WHAT!!!!

You can't get a gift certificate for less then 20 bucks and to top it all off they charge you 2 dollars for just buying one. Hey ya all that just ain't right. Guess I'll be given hard cold cash. Ya heard!

a funeral..........

My Aunt Marian passed away on Dec. 3rd. Yesterday my husband and my sisters and our parents attended the funeral. Marian was married to my dad's youngest brother Aaron Jr. She died of cancer. It was a nice service attended by mostly Mennonite family's as my Aunt and Uncle are Mennonite. The older I get the more I appreciate my heritage. My parents left the Mennonite church a long time ago when I was but a wee child. But we definitely grew up around the Mennonite faith since most my dad's side is Mennonite. Something I really noticed yesterday during the service was the singing. Singing all accapella. Beautiful singing. Harmonic singing. Singing like you sing when you sing the songs over and over again where you know the tune inside and out. The sound was so calming and beautiful. Marian and Jr's oldest daughters family has 11 in there family sang a beautiful song together a song that there mom enjoyed. That was very touching. One of the pastors was reminiscing a little bit and quoted a phrase that my Uncle Jr. would say. It struck us all a little funny. It goes "If that doesn't ring your bell then your clapper must be broke" Ahh good stuff. Marian was buried at the Weavertown Mennonite Church's cemetary. That church holds a lot of memories for me. I grew up playing there at the church all the time riding my bike there round and round the church. My sister and I learned how to drive stick shift there on the little hill. And my grandparents are buried at the cemetary there so we often walk there to take a look at there head stones. Lots of good memories. As my friend Cynthia said one time to me. You never regret going to funerals. She's right I was very glad to be at the service and support my family during there time of sorrow.
Marian Elizabeth Lapp - October 23, 1939 - December 3, 2006

tidbits..........

First off I want to give a shout out to two incognito blog viewer friends. Kim and Danielle. Hey girls I know you're out there.
Next the school where my children go are having an assembly on Friday. Quay Hannah who he and his lovely wife just became members of Crossway Church will be speaking. He will be speaking on Racism. It's so great to know that he will be there and address such an important issue.
And did you see another Crossway member in last night's paper? Our very own Andy Long. Let's here it for the LancasterARTS!
Okay here's an update on the mascara issue. Covergirl just came out with another Exact Lash. Now they have Volume Exact Mascara. This time it's in a burgundy colored tube and wand. I'll let ya know how it is.

makeup review

There are two recent products I bought that are worth mentioning for those who like to indulge in a little inhancement. No. 1 mascara. Gotta use mascara it brightens any face instantly. I'm using Lash Exact by Covergirl. It really does what it says which is to give you nice lashes without clumping. Thumbs up. The other thing is coverup. I'm always on the search for good undereye cover. What I'm using now is Instant Age Rewind by Maybelline. It's definately good coverup. Has it ended my search.......... no. But till I find something better this is pretty good stuff. I'm currently looking for a better foundation to where. I use Bare Minerals. And it is a decent foundation. But I'm finding that it's a bit to shinny for me and I need to find something that has a more matte finish. But I'm being a good girl so far and finishing up what I got before buying something else. Something I would recommend to anyone who is interested is a product line called "Paula's Choice". This lady Paula Begoun has written many evaluations of skin care and makeup. Books like "Don't go to the cosmetic counter without me" Anyway she came up with her own line of beauty and skin care. Everything I've tried has been very good and cost effective. You can check her stuff out at http://www.cosmeticscop.com/. I use some of her skin care and I use her Constant Color Lip Paint. http://www.cosmeticscop.com/shop/product.asp?CODE=CCLP&PAGETYPE=M It's good stuff and really has staying power. I definately recommend her line. That's all for now ya all.