30 Days of Thanks!

Nov 1. - thankful for God's grace. i need it.
Nov.2 - my girls playing together so sweetly.
Nov. 3 - noah's good hugs, and thinking the same thing.

Nov. 4- sleep

Nov. 5- portland, or. beautiful fall colors, and time with kristen (idaho mom)

Nov. 6- God, and that he made us each unique and wonder-full (the german and mexican couch surfers, glen, the batoligists, a witty arizonian man named corvin, and his sweet/tolerant wife).
Nov.7 -kristen, wading through portland, gondola ride, and Disneyland in my mouth (the melting pot).
Nov. 8- my hungry Spirit and Bob.
Nov. 9- my awesome family, i LOVE coming home to them!!
Nov 10- Chocolate Milk Tuesday and Spinner's spin on it.
Nov 11- being plugged in with my guitar at praise team practice! ahhhhh!!
Nov 12- that God loves my neighbors.
Nov 13- cherry pajamas, "color me mine," and memories made with sylvia, maddie, emilie, and josie.
Nov 14 -quiet
Nov 15 - i "threw up" and now i feel better. and i hugged a falcon (a ford falcon) a perfect way to finish my 35th year!
Nov. 16- Birthday breakfast for dinner! Discovering that i'm the whole package (of candles that is).
Nov. 17- surprise packages in the mail, and overcoming my fear of changing the guitar strings.
Nov. 18- coffee and reading thomas merton with michael.
Nov. 19- it's a GIRL, i'm going to be an auntie!
Nov. 20-good food, good worship, good people.
Nov. 21- Fall colors
Nov. 22- singing with Sylvia. that God changes the score to- Life 1, Death 0.
Nov 23- my funny gangsta rapping kids.
Nov 24- kristen's cookies for lunch (sshhh! don't tell anyone).
Nov 25- property taxes are payed
Nov 26- good stuffing. vava crocheting emilie's table cloth.
Nov 27- aunt vicki's strength and grace
Nov 28- a christmas tree, plus a fridge and cupboards full of groceries.
Nov 29- Psalm 23- he provides, leads,breathes into me, is with me, tells me who i am, protects, gives freedom, chases me with his love, is my home.
Nov 30- my home that is filled with laughter, giggles, peace, kindness, and love. i am BLESSED!

You Let Me Catch My Breath

God, my shepherd!
I don't need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.

True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.

Even when the way goes through Death Valley,
I'm not afraid when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherds crook makes me feel secure.

You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.

Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I'm back home in the house of GOD
for the rest of my life.

Psalm 23 The Message

funny bird

The turkey is a funny bird
His head goes wobble, wobble
The only word that he can say
is gobble, gobble
(sing to the tune of pop goes the weasel)


HaPpY tHaNkSgIvInG!!!!

Give Thanks!

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the Lord is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100

some of my favorite worshipers- entering His courts with praise.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Homes Cool in the Mommyhood

Yo Dawg!
Yo,Yo, Yippity, Yo!

Watch this sick video of the
Gangsta Science Rappers-
(Noah, Emilie, & Josie)

N Hood a.k.a. Busta Beatbox, Lil' Emilie J, and J.J. Nugget



Video by "D Chill" (Mommy)
It's COOLAWESOME!
("coolawesome" word rights belong to Busta Beatbox)

Want to Create your own rap name? Go here.

Whose Kid Is This?

Hey, check out the chic in the Falcon

This was the perfect way to finish my 35th year of life.
Happy 36th Birthday to me!

Seat 12A

I was tired, and ready to settle into my seat and the last chapters of my book when I walked down the isle of the Alaska Airline plane, looking for seat 11B. Another woman had mistaken her seat for mine, so I agreed to take her seat one row back.

I didn't want to talk, to be friendly, to make conversation. I wanted quiet (are you surprised that i like quiet?). And then Bob sat next to me.

We introduced ourselves, quickly bypassing the awkwardness of being strangers.

Bob asked what I was reading. I shared that I was reading A Million Miles In a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. I told Bob that Miller was an author who shared thoughts on Christianity. I came out of the Christian closet, and briefly let Bob know that I love Jesus. I shared a bit about the book, that it is about living a story, living intentionally. Miller says, "that living a life without a story is like reading a book about nothing." I told Bob that I wanted to start living a better story.

I didn't shove Jesus down his throat. I try not to do that anymore. People don't want Jesus shoved down their throats.

Bob shared a bit about his family, his job, a little about his story.

Now that small talk was over I had hoped to settle into my seat, read, close my eyes, but I couldn't. My Spirit was hungry (you can think i'm crazy. i thought it was wonderful and crazy). The Spirit was in my belly . The Spirit was growling, hungry, wanting more from Bob (i could literally feel this happening).

So our conversation continued. I discovered that Bob loves Jesus too. He hadn't shared that yet, he hadn't come out of the Christian closet. I liked that. Bob shared more of his story, he let me read chapters of his life where the pages were filled with disaster.
He had been a pastor, had become addicted to pornography, had been removed from ministry, had almost destroyed his family, his life.

but God. (i think "but God" is the most beautiful sentence by the way. those two words can say everything).

God has rescued, redeemed, restored, and is rewriting (writing again) Bob's life... and Bob is BEAUTIFUL.

I can't recall most of what Bob said, but I remember his face, and the Spirit alive in him. My Spirit was hungry for his Spirit. The Jesus in me had to sit with, meet with, cry with, rejoice with, the Jesus in him.
Because of the story he had lived, and the story he was now living Bob was radiant! His words, face, person, were radiant with humility, compassion, tenderness, grace, glory, love.

As Bob shared I recalled a scripture a friend had shared with me a few days earlier.
"When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, He was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord."
Exodus 34:29

I shared the scripture with Bob. I told him that like Moses, he was not aware that he was RADIANT!

When Bob got off the plane (he was on his way to his father's memorial service), I just sat there in quiet tears, absorbing the place my soul was in.

The woman in my assigned seat got up from her seat, and said, "it looks like you two were meant to sit together," and then she asked for prayer for her 6 month old grandson she was on her way to take to the hospital.

Bob said, "good bye" again, and began to exit the plane.
And I sat there in seat 12A, staring out the window, into the next chapter of my story that waited for me outside.
I sat there not yet, ready to turn the page on this short chapter. "God, I'm going to miss Bob."
And He replied, "it is the Jesus in you that will miss the Jesus in him."

"When I look at you it is as if I am in the presence of Christ... It is the Christ in you who recognizes the Christ in me...Yes, He indeed is in our midst.. and from now on, wherever you go, or I go, all the ground between us will be holy ground."
Henry Nowen

Rachel & Norah

on our last day in portland, kristen nora (the video will explain why) and i (rachel) took in the saturday market, a bit of wading (it was RAINY), a gondola ride, and dinner at the melting pot.

btw- there is video footage i haven't shared from our trip- me discovering kristen doesn't like pesto! who doesn't like pesto? and did you know she makes, likes, and feed hers family tater-tot casserole!
the video footage i didn't share (to cut down on lengthier videos) is of me asking random people (of course) if they would eat tater-tot casserole. ICK!
so tell me would you (ingredients: hamburger, tater-tots, corn, cheeses, and cream of potato barf soup)?
and do you LOVE pesto?

Waiting To Be Discovered

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."

this video makes me laugh and smile.

kristen and i had no idea that our little adventure to portland would lead us to meet some interesting and wonderful people!

this adventure caused me to be in awe of God, of how He creates people. scripture says we are all made in the "image of God." there are so many sides, layers, colors, fragrances, tastes, personalities... to God, all displayed in people. each person like a portrait, painting, book, movie, song, waiting to be discovered. God waiting to be discovered.

i envy God, He KNOWS each one of us.
He knows home-schooling mommies, "know it alls" from arizona, and their sweet wives, dad's from miami, couch surfers from mexico and canada, and batalogists who say "app uh lach in."

Oh how i would love to sit with God, and have him tell me each of their stories. I'd watch His face light up as our Father told me about each of His children.
He would get out His wallet and show me pictures of the "know it all" and his wife from Arizona, He would show me how beautiful His children are.
He would tell me about bats (shiver). He would be enthusiastic to share every detail (shiver). He'd tell me how cool batologists are, and how He delights in seeing His children be passionate about His creation.
He would tell me about glen- quiet, thoughtful glen.
And He would tell me about mexico, germany, and couch surfing, and how it pleases Him to watch his children embrace new cultures, new people, new experiences.

Hearing him, and watching Him, tell me about His children and how He loves them, would cause me to love him more, and to better grasp how He knows and loves me.

i won a give away!

Enjoy the video above from the first day of my weekend getaway to portland, or. with blog friend kristen, from the blog idaho mom.

kristen would tell you that our friendship began through a give away i had on my blog. she left her first comment, and won a c.d containing one of my favorite mommy songs, "Sacred".

i would like to tell you that i was the real winner of that giveaway. i won a friend.
a laugh with, cry with, jump with, dream with, hope with, breath with, believe with, ride a gondola with...friend!


tell me which blog friend(s) would you most like to meet, and why?

where in the world is denise jones

guess where i am.

guess who i am with.

(it's not donald miller, but i am reading his new book)

so make sure you have popcorn in the house, and maybe a pair of depends,

because vlogs (video blogs) are coming, and you might laugh so hard you wet yourself!

holy jeans

part of being the baby in the family is coming to terms with the fact that most of what you wear is going to be a hand-me-down.

thankfully i'm a first born, so i never had to wear last seasons out dated polo shirt or previously pegged jeans. my sister was just 17 months behind me, and she was cursed with wearing everything i'd outgrown. though her favorite color was pink, she was typically stuck wearing my favorite color from last year- which was usually lavender. until jr. high that is when i had a love for everything florescent.

these jeans were hand-me-overs (clothing handed down by someone outside our family) for josie. when we received them they were "singing God's praises" in the knees- "holy, holy, holy." josie and i put our thinking caps on, and came up with a plan to give them new life.

josie requested leaves to cover the holes. i ironed them on with wonder-under, then stitched around them with embroidery thread (i used two shades of pink). material was added to the pockets with more wonder- under (love the stuff), and iron-on ric-rac was added on top of that to frame it.

i think they turned out darling!

after seeing the finished product josie went through her sister's old clothes and happily discovered another pair of holy jeans. she is planning her design, and is ready to put me to work
revamping her hand-me-downs.

bringing home the bacon chocolate

after the kids were dressed up in their halloween best, we loaded them up and took them to a local church to "trunk or treat."
before exiting the van, we had a very important discussion with the kids...
me: okay, here we are. now this is your one chance a year to earn your keep.
emilie: what does that mean?
michael: to provide for the family
the kids were puzzled.
me: some people say that a man provides for his family by bringing home the bacon.
emilie: but daddy doesn't bring home bacon.
noah & josie: we like bacon, i want daddy to bring home bacon!
michael: bacon means money, and this is your chance to bring home the bacon.
josie: i thought we were getting candy?
me: you are getting candy, and chocolate is bacon. now provide for the family kids, mommy needs CHOCOLATE!