Monday, March 31, 2008

Welcome My Sister, Charlene

My sister has joined the world of blogging! She is ...

  • a wonderful mom to Alandria (almost 4)
  • a supportive wife
  • a pastor's wife in a tiny town in Iowa
  • very intelligent (Double Honours in English and Philosophy from McMaster University)
  • my little sister (even though she's just a hair shorter than 6 feet tall)
  • known for being sarcastic ... just a wee bit!!
  • a gifted artist ... painting, drawing and even decorating
  • one of the most frugal people I know! She knows how to get a deal on almost everything!

Visit Charlene at http://www.witandwishdom.blogspot.com/.

Alpha Marriage Course
Desert Stream Christian Fellowship
March 30 - May 11, 2008

Your Chef ... Ted Shepherd
Your Sous-Chef ... Andrew Martin
Your Assistants ... Sharon Shepherd and Vicki Martin



Ted and Sharon are our wonderful friends and it is a joy to help them maintain the standard of excellence they have established cooking for this course. Last night was the first of eight nights. Don't let the spiffy outfits fool you ... we were having a blast!!


Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Enjoy!

Found this today and it made me giggle ... thought you might enjoy it too!


The Bra (Cowboy Poetry)
By Bill Hirschi

You know, I've never been much for shopping,In fact I try to stay away from town -
Except when shipping time comes, I ain't easily found.

But the day came when I had to go, And I left the kids with Ma.
But before I left, she asked me,"Would you pick me up a bra?"

Without thinkin' I said "sure,", How tough could that job be?
I bent down and kissed her and said, "I'll be back by three."

Well, when I done the things I needed I started to regret
Ever offering to buy that thing, I was working up a sweat.

I crossed the street to the ladies shop, With my hat pulled over my eyes,
I wasn't takin' any chances, On bein' recognized.

I walked right up to the sales clerk, I didn't hem or haw.
I told the lady right straight out, "Ma'am, I'm here to buy a bra."

From behind I heard some snickers, So I turned around to see
At least fifteen women in the store, And they's all gawkin' at me!

"What kind would you be looking for?", "Well," I just scratched my head.
I'd only seen one kind before, "Thought bras was bras," I said.

She gives me a disgusted look, "Well sir, that's where you're wrong.
Come with me," I heard her say, And like a dog, I tagged along.

She took me down this alley, Where bras was on display.
Well I thought my jaw'd hit the floor, When I seen that lingerie.

They had all these different styles, That I'd not seen before -
I thought that I'd go crazy, 'fore I left that women's store.

They had bras you wear for eighteen hours, And bras that cross your heart.
There was bras that lift and separate, And that was just the start.

They had bras that made you feel, Like you weren't wearing one at all.
And bras that you can train in, When you start off when you're small.

Well, I finally made my mind up, Picked a black and lacy one.
I told the lady, "Bag it up," And figured I was done.

But then she asked me for the size. I didn't hesitate.
I knew them measurements by heart, "Six and seven eighths."

"Six and seven eighths, well sir, That really isn't right."
"Oh yes ma'am, I'm positive, I just measured them last night."

I thought that she'd go into shock, Musta took her by surprise.
When I told her that my wife's bust Was the same as my hat size.

"That's what I use to measure with, I figured it was fair;
But If I'm wrong I'm sorry ma'am." This drew another stare.

By now a crowd had gathered, And they's all crackin' up.
When the lady asked to see my hat, To measure for the cup.

When she finally had it figured I gave the gal her pay
I turned to leave the store, Tipped my hat and said, "Good day."

My wife heard the whole story, 'fore I ever made it home.
She'd talked to fifteen women, Who'd called her on the phone.

She was still a-laughin', But by then I didn't care.
Now she don't ask and I don't shop, For no more women's underwear.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Monday, March 17, 2008

CD GIVEAWAY

In the spirit of Spring Cleaning my husband (International Award Winning Artist, Andrew Martin) is giving away a few CDs!! We have found a box with some some of Andrew's Award Winning CDs in it that have not been in circulation for over 3 years and decided to offer them to you!

The rules are simple:

~Visit Andrew's blog ANDREW'S RAMBLINGS
www.martinmusicgroup.blogspot.com

~Have a look around and then leave a comment on the post called CD Giveaway

~Your name will be entered into a hat

~If you advertise the CD Giveaway on your blog or website, simply say so in your comment and get your name in the hat twice!

~Let your family and friends know so they have a chance to win as well

~The draw will be held on Sunday, March 30, 2008

I can't wait to see who wins!!

Here's hoping that Spring really IS on it's way!

Saturday, March 15, 2008



It Started with a Phone Call .... or .... Giving and Receiving

Wednesday morning I got a phone call from my friend, Brandy. She was crying. She was sooo sick, her hubby had worked nights and was sound asleep, her baby, Abby, needed a diaper change and Brandy couldn't even lift her and she needed gingerale. I got to her place as soon as I could delivering gingerale, getting Abby cleaned up and fed and ready for an afternoon nap and waited until Jason had showered and was ready for the "afternoon shift". When Jason went back to work that evening I went and spent several hours with Brandy looking after Abby, tidying up, emptying the dishwasher and loading it, fluffing Brandy's pillows and tidying her bed, feeding supper to Abby, bathing her and getting her ready for bed. I left after Abby was tucked into bed and Brandy was ready for bed. I was glad to help ...

Over two years ago now, I spent 7 weeks in bed and I had friends who came and helped the entire time. Friends from church and my homeschooling group delivered meals for my family, offered to taxi my kids back and forth to events, and even brought one daughter a new swimsuit when they noticed hers was getting thin at swimming lessons. One friend from church delivered a whole box of movies for me to watch while I was laying in bed! Many friends came by or e-mailed that they were praying for me. So many researched and offered solutions to my health problems and many of them worked. One friend connected me to an Osteopath who was vital in my recovery.

So, when I had the opportunity to give back to a friend in need, I was glad to do it. What I didn't plan on was that the flu is the gift that KEEPS giving!! (Just for the record, this isn't the first time I've helped a friend in over 2 years, but it's current so I decided to blog about it!)

Andrew and I both invited folks to our house last night ... two different families who had never met each other. When I realized it and tried to get one to come a different night, it wasn't possible. So, they all arrived here for the afternoon and evening yesterday.

Problem was, I woke up in the morning knowing I was getting sick!! I wasn't sick enough to cancel ... until they were in the driveway and I was in the bathroom!! YIKES. Too late. Thankfully, I have wonderful friends who helped get supper ready and one husband even barbequed the burgers because by late afternoon, Andrew was also starting to feel sick.

By bedtime I was feeling a lot better, but my poor hubby was as sick as a dog. He was sick all night long and has been snoozing on the sofa all morning. He was supposed to sing at a funeral this morning, but had to cancel.

So, I've learned ... the flu is the gift that keeps on giving!!! My advice ... try not to get it!

PS. not for one minute do I regret helping a friend in need. It was a joy to do it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Friday, March 07, 2008

Add a smile to your day: Stories about my nearly 4 year old niece, Alandria

Earlier this week Alandria had the hiccups and she kept saying, "Excuse me, I have the cupcakes!"

My sister sent this story this morning ....

When I was putting Alandria to bed I began praying with her about God getting all the 'yuckies' out of our heart. When I was talking about God taking the 'yuckies' out of our hearts she said "like that blue thing what you use to get the yuckies out of my nose? that hurts me when you do that!" Of course, I went on and on about God taking them out, and Mommy can't do that, etc, etc. She said, "God is in my heart? With Jesus?" So, I asked her God's name . . . and she said "Jesus." Then she proceeded to tell me that there wasn't room in her heart for God. "Mommy, I don't have any room in my heart for God. I don't have any room in there. Well, maybe at the bottom of my tummy. No, there isn't any room in there. " So, I started to attempt to explain that God is actually in our heart . . . but I hardly got started and she sat up (she had been lying on the floor while i rubbed her back) and, "Mommy! Mommy! I have a great idea! God can go in my ear . . . where you clean it? He can go in there. He can go in there and slide down into my tummy!"