fear

"Pretty people" are afraid of being unloved and disliked just as much as I am.  That's a lesson I wish I understood in middle school so that life wouldn't have been so traumatic.  But I guess it's not until you get older that your guards come down enough to actually admit those sorts of things to one another.

Help raise money for Kenya!

 The spa party I'm hosting this Friday evening has turned into an all-out fundraising event!  Thanks to Selina's kindness, 30% of all purchases will be donated to my September trip to Kilaatu (about 3 hours outside of Nairobi, Kenya) with Angel's Center of Hope.

If any of you can't make it on Friday evening...or for some reason didn't get the invitation (let me know if you didn't get an evite...I might have missed your email address), then PLEASE check out www.sensaria.com!  If you see anything you like, you can place an order with Selina (via myself) in the next 2 weeks and it will count toward this fundraiser!  Their products are wonderful and are completely guaranteed (so if you don't like it, you can get a full refund or replacement)!  They even have products for men...and I hear from the men that their products are good...and easy to use!

For those of you who might not have a need for spa products right now, but want to give to the cause, please feel free to write a check out to:

Angel's Center of Hope

c/o Leanne Lytle

8356 5th Street #107

Downey, CA  90241

(please write "Leanne Sept '08" in the memo line)

For those of you who need a personal invitation to give, don't worry...there are support letters coming!  

Thank you to those of you who've already given and to those of you who will continue to make these fundraising efforts a success!  Spread the word!

www.paymyphonebill.com

I got our Verizon bill for the last month.

It's over $500.

To help alleviate this unexpected cost,  I'm thinking of starting a website called www.paymyphonebill.com.  

Or maybe I should just call it www.DavidTrottershouldpaymyphonebillsinceitshisfaulteveryoneandtheirmomwascallingus.tv.

Just a thought.  

:o)

I am remiss

I've ignored my blog for way too long.  I guess it's only been a week, but it feels like forever.  And it's not that I haven't had anything to blog about.  It's just that I've not wanted to sit still long enough to bring life to the thoughts running through my mind.

Good things have happened this past week.  First, Jazzfest's first weekend just passed (www.nojazzfest.com), and as always, I mourn the sad reality that I am not there to enjoy the amazing music, food and heat.  But I actually felt like I was there for a little while on Friday morning at the park.  Between the thoughts of Jazzfest, leading the New Orleans trip for Revolution and walking in a park for the first time SINCE living in New Orleans, I was almost there....walking at Lafrenierre park instead of Wilderness park.  I had a little more pep in my step that day.  :o)

Secondly, although there were some sad feelings mingling with the good, Lakewood and Downey were "Reunited" on Sunday morning.  It was good to see the entire family.  It made my heart happy that after everyone else had left (except the tear down crew), everyone from Downey (who'd gone to the 11am service) was still hanging out on the patio.  We're all just used to being together until the very last cable is wrapped and tent is torn down.  

And I would be totally remiss if I didn't mention fondue with the Twal's as a high point of the last week.  Wild and crazy...that's what fondue with the Twal's is.  I highly recommend it.

Well, I hope that is a sufficient update.  I was attempting to embed some pictures and music in this blog, but am having some technical difficulties.  Sorry I couldn't make it more interesting for you.  :o(

1963 it is

This morning, Rachel commented that my jacket was very 1963...not '62, not '64, but 1963.  I decided to do some research to see if this was correct.  I must say that I am very impressed with Rachel's knowledge of fashion history after finding that both sites I checked out did in fact verify that 1963...not '62, not '64, but 1963...was the year of jackets like mine.  1962 was the end of "the Cleopatra era" and 1964 gave way to "softer" looks, leaving 1963 to be what I will deem "the year of the big-button jacket" and the beginning of the Jackie-o soft, but tailored look.

There you have it, folks.  If anyone needs reference to fashion history, ask Rachel.  Apparently she knows about it.

The results are in...

And I would like to say that for our first Mouse Adventure, Christopher, Andrew, Amanda and myself did pretty darn good.  We placed 16th out of 139 teams.  All I have to say to the rest of the teams (including the Platt's and Lasch's) is watch out next time.  Now that we've got our feet wet, this competition is OURS!

And I would also like to point out that I am blogging about this before my husband.  :o)  

Not really sure if that's a good thing or just proof that I've been sucked into his crazy Disney-love.

Pastor's Wives

So I guess my struggle as a pastor's wife isn't so different from most other pastor's wives since I got this letter in my inbox this afternoon.  I always get emails from the Pastors Wives Network but I NEVER read them.  I guess I was supposed to read this one.  I wanted to share it because it speaks so deeply to the feelings of insufficiency I (and I guess lots of other pastors wives) have sometimes as well as validates the desires that I have but am afraid to act on.  After all, I never wanted to be a Pastor's wife...or a stay-at-home mom.  But here I am.  Wanting to do the best that I can with where I'm at.

The email I received discussed the struggle we have when we're asked the question, "So what do YOU do?"  I don't know about other women, but I struggle with the answer to that question because, with all my heart, I want to make a difference.  I want to be the one doing something worthwhile.  But with the position I'm in, I'm NOT the one making a difference (at least I'm not the one in the spotlight), and that's hard for me.  

One personality profile has labelled me "The Entertainer".  Believe it or not, I like to be in the middle of everything.  I like to know everybody and I like them to know me.  I like to make people laugh.  I like to have a platform.  I like to change people's lives.  And right now, the lives that are the most important for me to be a change agent within are my husband and daughter.  That's so hard.  I take a back seat so that Christopher can have the support he needs.  I spend my time at home because I want Bella to have her mom with her.  

And that honors God.  That encourages Christopher.  That supports the ministry he's a part of.  That changes my daughter's life.  

And it changes my life.  It forces me to be humble.  It forces me to be quiet.  It allows me to grow while I'm in the background.  It's a good thing.  And I think I actually believe that.

Bella's First Birthday

I've had these pictures for a while (and there are a lot more where they came from), but now, a month after the fact, I've finally put together a show for your viewing pleasure! Enjoy!

T. F. D.

Tumor. Faced. Duck.

That's right. For those of you who know what I'm talking about (and there are at least 2 of you), I was shocked this morning to find one of these unfortunate creatures crossing my path at Wilderness Park in Downey, California. Apparently they are less angry out here on the West Coast because I got close enough to take this picture before it even thought to turn and walk in my direction...let alone chase me off the path. So without further adieu...



Proof.

A birthday quiz

This might be my favorite quiz thus far.

Happy tax day!

It's not really tax day. I mean, it is. But tax day is not nearly as significant as what today REALLY is. And that's my birthday. And Calvin's birthday. And probably lots of other people's birthday. And to those people I say...Tax day babies are best. :o) Happy birthday!





Blue boxes are good.






If you make me a cake, make sure it doesn't look like this.

Idol Gives Back

Annie shares my heart. There's much more I could say about IGB, but I will let her portion of the message sit with those of you who haven't already seen it.





If you want to love on kids like these, talk to me. We are planning a trip to Africa in September. You could be a part of it. Just do it.

Oh the things I come home to...

Wednesday evenings are my "night out". This Wednesday evening, as many of you know, was also Idol Gives Back. About 40 minutes ago, I walk in to my husband watching IGB, more angry than I've seen him in at least a month.

Not angry at the Idol people. Not angry at the point of the show. Angry at the wastefulness of the Church and the neglect many Christians show UNTIL something like Idol Gives Back. I'm sure I'll do another post tomorrow about IGB. Right now, it's still my "night out" and I'm going to go read my book. But in the meantime, you should check out Christopher's response (you can get to his blog by clicking on "Hubby" to the left of this) and get involved here and now.

Not many things could make me feel guilty about eating chocolate...

HOW MUCH CHOCOLATE DO YOU EAT IN A WEEK?

One form of trafficking is the use of children to harvest the cocoa beans on farms in Cote D'Ivoire. These children are likely to be working to make your chocolate.

Where did all the chocolate come from?
Nearly half the world's chocolate is made from cocoa grown in the Cote D'Ivoire, in Africa.

AN ESTIMATED 12,000 children have been trafficked into cocoa farms in Cote D'Ivoire
When we buy chocolate we are being forced to be oppressors ourselves as we have no guarantee that the chocolate we eat is 'traffik free'

Traffik Free Guarantee
We want all chocolate companies to be able to stamp onto their chocolate wrappers a guarantee that the cocoa beans have not been harvested by trafficked labour. We can then choose to eat chocolate with a Traffik Free Guarantee.

This came off of www.stopthetraffik.org. Check it out. It's amazing what ignorant lives we live on our side of the globe.

Another Monday

This last month of Mondays has been really bad for me. It's like I go to bed upset about something on Sunday night and I wake up in a worse funk than I went to sleep with.

The other night, Bella woke up in the middle of the night terrified. We think it was a spiritual attack because it's completely out of the ordinary for her to wake up in the middle of the night; let alone to wake up and be inconsolably scared.

I looked up "spiritual attack" online this morning and it talked about two main groups of people who get attacked...new believers and effective believers. I am married to an effective believer. This article discussed the means of attack coming through the people closest to them...friends who accuse them or hurt them, leaders who abandon them, etc., etc. So as all this has been marinating in my brain, I can't help but wonder if these "funks" or "bad moods" I've been having are a means of attack on my husband.

I don't spend a lot of time in "the Word". Neither do I spend a lot of time in "meditative prayer". I struggle with turning to food instead of God when my negative feelings get the best of me. I am, by no means, the strongest person I know.

What does any of this mean? Well, I can tell you that I know we are up against a sly opponent. I can tell you that I know there is work to be thwarted and that my family has been called to said work.

I can also tell you that Mondays are my husbands day off.

Coincidence?

Hmmm...I doubt it.

I wanna be like Kingston

For all you non-parents out there, these lyrics are from Sesame Street's Kingston Livingston III. I searched for a copy of the actual clip from the show, but no such luck

Im Kingston Livingston the Third, as in three
Named after my dad, and his dad before me
But Im an original, one of a kind, unique
So kick back and listen up while I speak

I watch all my friends flip their caps to the back
But I kept mine to the front because I like it like that
Not trying to be different, just doing my own thing
So come on, clap your hands and sing

Be yourself, easy as ABC
Cant be no one else
Just happy to be me

I went to a party just the other day
With all my friends from school and around the way
The music was playing they all jumped to their feet
But I danced to a drummer with a different kind of beat
My friends want to know why I dont move like them
I said, your dance is cool, but I dance like Kingston
I like your style, but Ive got my own thing
So come on, and clap your hands and sing

Be yourself, easy as ABC
Cant be no one else
Just happy to be me

I was reading a book one day at home
When I heard the ring-ring of the telephone
It was a couple of friends inviting me out to play
But I said Im kind of busy, maybe later today
You see, right now Im exercising my imagination
Id rather read than skate, I said without hesitation
Not trying to be different, just doing the Kingston thing

So come on, clap your hands and sing
(When hes cooking up a meal)
I do it my way
(When hes got a base to steal)
I do it my way
(When hes riding a bike)
I do it my way
(When hes going for a hike)
I do it my way
(When hes picking clothes to wear)
I do it my way
(When hes combing out his hair)
I do it my way
(When he wants to just cool)
I do it my way
(When its time to go to school)
You know I do that the right way!

Be yourself, easy as ABC
Cant be no one else
Just happy to be me
Just happy to, happy to be me
Me!

I'm an exclamation point

Would you guys expect this? I would have expected this 3 years ago...but not today. Maybe I've retained more of my former self than I realized. :o) Great. As Christopher would say, it's the Baltimore coming out...
And to those of you whom I'm guilty of spilling secrets without meaning to, I'm sorry. PLEASE tell me when I do it, but know that I never mean anything malicious by it.

You Are An Exclamation Point

You are a bundle of... well, something. You're often a bundle of joy, passion, or drama. You're loud, brash, and outgoing. If you think it, you say it. Definitely not the quiet type, you really don't keep a lot to yourself. You're lively and inspiring. People love to be around your energy. (But they do secretly worry that you'll spill their secrets without even realizing it.) You excel in: Public speaking You get along best with: the Dash

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Happy Birthday to ...........

I'm making a birthday calendar (because I'm awful at remembering), so click on the link below and enter your birthday for me. It will take less than one minute. I can't promise that I'll get you anything, but at least I'll remember to wish you a Happy Birthday!

http://www.birthdayalarm.com/dob/82490177a126560705b362


Thanks guys!