June 18, 2008 by Kelly.

That was the title of the email, along with the telltale “Fw” in the subject line. Another one of those… an email-go-round… a tear-jerk story, a warning, a chuckle-producer… I didn’t know which this would be, but I guessed the first. I was almost right.

The email was an excerpt from a book titled Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy. The author states, “your ‘frog’ should be the most difficult item on your things to do list, the one where you’re most likely to procrastinate; because, if you eat that first, it’ll give you energy and momentum for the rest of the day.”

I must admit, most mornings my “frog” is my Bible and my quiet time with God. Sometimes I won’t understand what He’s saying to me through my Bible, other times I hear Him loud and clear and don’t want to listen. (Most days I do– I’m just like you.) It’s so much easier to just start my day and leave my Bible sit on the table.

But, yeah… it stares at me, and calls to me… I know I need to pick up my Bible; but I don’t want to be convicted to change anything about myself, so I avoid my quiet time. Then my day(s) start to go bad, and I know I MUST crawl back to God and apologize for neglecting Him.

He always takes me back–no questions asked–because He loves me. The quiet niggling in the back of my mind tells me that I’ll ignore Him again someday soon–and then the niggling laughs…

Lord, draw me closer to You every day!

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May 15, 2008 by Kelly.

Alyice, from http://thedabblingmum.blogspot.com/, tagged me. I’ve not participated in something like this as of yet, but thought it might be a way to let my readers learn more about me. Not sure how I will decide what is “unimportant” about me… unimportant to me, or to others, or… ??

The rules of the game are:

1. Link back to the person that tagged you.
2. Post these rules on your blog.
3. Share six unimportant things about yourself.
4. Tag six people at the end of your entry.

Six unimportant things about me are:

#1- I love Garfield the cat. I used to collect everything and anything related to him. Although I don’t collect anymore, I still have many of the things I acquired years ago. Candles, salt & pepper shakers, pewter figurines, erasers, pencils, comic strips, telephone… yes, I have a Garfield telephone. I also have a huge alarm clock with Garfield on it. It’s round, with the two bells on top. I love it!

#2- I’ve had two nicknames in my life so far: Kiki and Punkin. My maternal grandparents called me Kiki (right up until their deaths), and my dad called me Punkin when I was about 10 or so.

#3- I was a tomboy growing up, but now I love to wear dresses.

#4- Birds fascinate me. I love to hear them sing, love to look at them, and wish I could fly like them.

#5- I’ve always wanted to be a housewife.

#6- I enjoy painting the walls in our home, but I’m totally clueless when it comes to figuring out how much paint to buy and how to prep the walls and prepare to paint… Lay it all out for me and I’ll do it, otherwise, I’ll live with whatever color is currently on the wall.

Now I have to tag six people… (I’m not sure I know six bloggers!)…

Tara
Brandy
Missy
Lindy
Heather
Holly

There! Had to do a little searching, but I found blogs of six friends.

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May 7, 2008 by Kelly.

For many homeschooling moms/writers, summer is their time to write. No lesson plans, no teaching– just writing and hanging out with their children (besides the normal day-to-day upkeep of the home). I never seem to have that luxury. Summer is our busiest time, second only to the seven weeks that cover Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. There’s yard work to do (and I’m not much of a landscaper or gardener), house renovations to make (and I am a ‘helper’ not a ‘take charge and do it myself’ person), various church functions including camps and other activities, trips to the zoo and other parks, swimming here at home and at Grandpa and Grandmas… and the list goes on.

Luckily I have a new laptop. My old laptop, Mary, has grown old and slow. Even after reformatting her, she’s still sluggish. Mary was very faithful, and will always hold a dear spot in my heart. Two months ago I purchased a new laptop, Phoebe, with some earnings from a writing job.  Phoebe has built-in wireless capabilities. Phoebe is fast, and her battery lasts much longer. I like Phoebe!

I hope this summer will allow me to do a little more writing. Phoebe can (and does) go just about everywhere with me. She’s become a very faithful companion. Places like Panera Bread, Esspresso by the Book, and public libraries are great for writing time while my children participate in some form of activity nearby. I can even find a quiet spot at church while the children participate in AWANAs! I’ve also been known to write in front of the TV while spending time with my family.

I prefer the uninterrupted time, but I’ll take what I can get. Hopefully, my company will understand.

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April 20, 2008 by Kelly.

I received an update on the Avocet my son and I helped rescue early last week. Apparently the clavicle wasn’t broken, but there was a fracture in its wing. Since there are two bones next to each other there, the good bone will act as a natural splint and it should heal in a few weeks.

Rather than bring the bird back to the golf course where it was too exposed and out of its natural migration path, it was taken to Great Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge in northwest Oklahoma. This refuge has non-public areas and many Avocets nest there. To read the full story, check out the Tulsa Audubon Society’s page.

(The rescue has also been mentioned at the Ducks Unlimited website and the Tulsa World.)

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April 15, 2008 by Kelly.

I just had the privilege of assisting (ever so slightly–I took photos) with a bird rescue. I’d noticed an American Avocet hanging around the pond at the local golf course, so I contacted the Tulsa Audubon Society and let them know. Today, on our way home from piano lessons, my son and I saw people at the pond trying to catch the bird. We stopped to see if we could help. The gentleman who lives across the street had a really good dog who also assisted. Here’s a few photos…

The Avocet is now being cared for by a veterinarian who specializes in rehabilitating wild animals.

Thanks go out to John Kennington, current President of the Tulsa Audubon Society, and Gail Storey, Vice-President.

And, of course, a special thanks to Zoe for her help in rescuing the Avocet!

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April 12, 2008 by Kelly.

I found this on my friend Tara’s blog and wanted to give it a shot. So, here are my One Word Answers…

You’re Feeling: Happy
To Your Left: Window
On Your Mind: Writing
Last Meal Included: Beef
You Sometimes Find it Hard To: Decide
The Weather: Cloudy
Something You Have a Collection of: Garfield
A Smell that Cheers You Up: Citrus
A Smell that Can Ruin Your Mood: Perfume
How Long Since You Last Shaved: Hours
The Current State of Your Hair: Disheveled
The Largest Item On Your Desk/Workspace Right Now (besides computer): Printer
Your Skill with Chopsticks: Beginner
Which Section You Head to First In the Bookstore: Bibles
…and After That?: Nonfiction
Something You’re Craving: Chocolate
Your General Thoughts On the Presidential Race: Scary
How Many Times You’ve Been Hospitalized this Year: Zero
A Favorite Place to Go for Quiet Time: CoffeeShop
You’ve Always Secretly Thought You’d Be a Good: Librarian
Something that Freaks You Out a Little: Blood
Something You’ve Eaten Too Much of Lately: Chocolate
You Have Never: Sky-dived
You Never Want To: Sky-dive

Ha! That was kinda fun! Really made me think. I like that.

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November 8, 2007 by Kelly.

Does anyone know how to speak “vacuum” language? I don’t. I was vacuuming today, trying to spruce up for company from out of town, and apparently my vacuum wanted a break. Since I don’t speak its language, I didn’t give it one. It took a half hour break on its own. :-\

I think this is a good example of where sign language could come in handy. All I had to do was use my hand to feel how hot it was, and I would have known to give it a break!

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November 2, 2007 by Kelly.

Garbage bags from his hoodie pocket!

We spent the whole day raking leaves. It’s been dry, so all the bags are free of wet, heavy leaves. We did eight bags between 9 and 11 A.M. Between 12:30 and 3 P.M. we did twelve more bags! Not only that, but we got most of the root of the plant/tree growing under our gas meter removed.

Tomorrow we’ll work on the area around the pool. Next week we’ll work on the front yard. Yup, those twenty bags were all from the driveway (top and bottom) and behind the house (upper yard and lower boardwalk). I’m just glad the leaves were all dry.

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October 24, 2007 by Kelly.

As I’ve mentioned before, Wednesday is my afternoon to write. Imagine my chagrin this morning as I thought about taking my youngest to the dentist at 2pm — and then realized today is Wednesday!

My husband’s parents are in town, and they offered to take my son to his movie production class. I find it easy to get turned around up in that neighborhood, so I couldn’t send them up there in good conscience.

I will have to sacrifice some of my time today.  Hopefully, the dental appointment will go quickly and then I can get some time to write. I will leave it in God’s capable hands.

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October 22, 2007 by Kelly.

Recently, I shared in a discussion about how to be the best wife possible. One woman stated, “This is my first and most important ministry, even above [caring for my children]!”

How true! Like I always tell my kids, “Someday you’ll grow up and move away, but I’m stuck with your father for life!”

Seriously, this is something I’m passionate about. The anonymity of the Internet has made it so easy to complain about our husbands to others. Once we’re in a complaining mood, it’s easy to make a snide or snippy comment to his face, too. Is that honoring God?!

Eph 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Col 3:18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
Col 3:19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

You’ll notice in the above passages that we are never told to “love” our husbands, but to submit to them. Proper submission is a form of respect. Men need respect! Men are told to love their wives. We need love — they need respect.

That is not to say that men don’t need love and women don’t need respect. But, it’s our inherent perceptions of the above that make us feel loved. For years I would do things that I thought would make my husband feel loved… but I was doing what would make me feel loved. Once I changed my way of thinking, and held my husband in the highest respect, his attitude toward me changed as well.

Yesterday we celebrated 19 years as husband and wife (24 years as “us”) and I must say, I have never felt more loved than I do at this point in my life!!

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