Weekend Fun linkies!!!!

5 minutes for Mom is giving away a 37" Flat Panel TV courtesy of best buy! Go leave a comment for your chance to win.

Go here to see the story of Keith and Stephanie's engagement.

Check out the Essentials of a Happy Home by Tommy Nelson from the focus of the family archive.

We finished personalizing the house. You can check it out here.

Here is a cool site for candy wrapper making. I did some for teacher gifts here.

Have a great weekend!!!

Smores Party

Last night we invited the football team and their parents over for a smores/meet the coach party. We had fun and got to meet a lot of great new people. It took everyone awhile to start making smores and since I bought enough to make 150 I was worried that we would be eating smores for the next year. Finally the guys drifted over and then knocked out almost all of them. I think that it took inviting the cheerleaders over (they had just finished their practice accross the street) to get the guys showing off their "cooking" skills.

As you can see there is always a funny guy in the group. I think that he ate all of these is about one bite (that might be a slight exaggeration).

If you notice in the left upper corner that is the school which is just accross the street from our house. We still love that Rocky walks to work. The football field/coaches office/weight room/ and practice field are all just behind that school. We are looking forward to a great year in the land of the Swifts!

Warning headlight flashing

Ok, so be honest, have you ever flashed your headlights at oncoming traffic to warn of a police officer ahead? I witnessed this last night and I wanted to pull that guy over and tell him what my cousin, Jodi once told me that changed my mind about this. Jodi is a DPS officer and has a very strong opinion about doing this.

Somehow we got on this topic during a holiday and he asked us if we ever thought that perhaps the officers were looking for someone. Maybe they were looking for the person that you just flashed. They could be looking for a kidnapper, or murderer and by flashing your lights you may have just warned them and given them freedom to get away. You may have just kept the our officers from protecting you.

So please don't flash warning lights at others. You are not helping by preventing our officers from doing their job.

Awards and Degrees

So I won my first "bloggy award" from Maxine. She does riddles and my guess was correct. She has a wonderful blog that you should check out and maybe you will be the next riddle winner. Thanks, Maxine, that was fun!

Also, check out this article! It is about a 95 year old woman that is about to set a world record for oldest college graduate. Makes me feel better about being in college in my thirties. Have a great weekend everyone!

Blog Challenge

I would like to post a collection of stories that tell about.....

• A moment that changed your direction in life
• A person that changed who you are
• A lesson that you have learned that changed what you believe
• Or any other story that you believe to be MONUMENTAL in your life

Please email your story to me ( monicajsmart@gmail.com ) with either your blog link or email address. I hope to get some stories from people that you may already know and even some non-regular bloggers. I'll collect all next week and post on Monday, April 30th.

Top Ten Tuesday

Countdown of the top "most evil" villains and villainess!

A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether an historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain is the bad guy or the characters who strive against the hero. A female villain is sometimes called a villainess.

10. Gargamel (The Smurfs)

9. The Joker (Batman)

8. Lex Luthor (Superman)

7. Cruella Devil (101 dalmatians)

6. Marvin the Martian

5. Lady Tremaine, Anastasia, and Drizella (Cinderella)

4. Dr. Evil and Mini Me (Austin Powers)

3. Wicked Queen (Snow White)

2. Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)

1. Satan

What type of villain are you?....

http://onnachance.com/quiz/vq.php

Here are my results......

Take the Villain quiz.

A little this and that over here and there.

We got to enjoy an extra large weekend so I thought that I would share the details. We did this and this on friday. The bluebonnets are awesome this year so we had to take some photos with the kiddos. I would highly recomend seeing Meet the Robinsons. I honestly was not that excited about seeing it, but the kids really wanted to go. It may be the best Disney movie ever. It had a great message and very little "darkness". I left feeling good.

Rocky and Rylan went here and here while the girls stayed home for me to study this. We then all went together to see our cousins perform their drama at this and got to visit with my aunts and ran into this guy for a little bit.

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. We are rarely home on Easter so it was fun to be a part of the day at home. The Easter Bunny came and left us this. We went here, of course and listened to this guy. It was a wonderful sermon as expected. We then came home and had breakfast for lunch (pancakes, sausage and biscuits, and eggs) at the kids request. We all did the flight of the bumble bee clean and then took a short nap. Sunday naps are the best! Last night was our care group meeting. We had this and did this with these kids.

I almost forgot....Have you heard this song?

We had all of this fun wearing our jackets!

I hope that you had a great weekend, too!

Funny Day

A little dose of my day of humor for you....

1. Rylan asked me how you eat the kind of eggs that don't have candy in them (hard boiled). I explained that you have to crack them and eat them. He asked if you crapped them on a bowl or on the floor or what.

2. Then he actually painted a hard boiled egg at his school today and brought it to me because it had a crack. I assumed that he was trying to crap it himself so I peeled the shell. At which time he fell to the floor in a complete meltdown screaming "YOU BROKE MY EGG!" I don't think that he gets it. Hmmm.....is it the student or the teacher with the communication problem?

3. The best for last....I was stuck in traffic on the interstate this afternoon. We were driving about 3 miles an hour at best and traveled about 5 miles in 45 min. I noticed that a very feeble old man had pulled to the shoulder and started walking around his car. As I got closer I rolled down my window to make sure he was ok. Suddenly that feeble old goat unzipped and started relieving himself right there on the interstate amongst a million vehicles with no where to go. I had a hard time rolling up that window before anyone thought that I was looking. Poor old thing, I guess your blatter is the first to go.

Well have a happy easter everyone!

You were a child of the 80's if....

This is my bestest friend, Stacy and I sporting hair so BIG that it didn't all fit in the picture.
1. You've ever ended a sentence with the word SIKE.
2. You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
3. You know that "WOAH" comes from Joey on Blossom
4. If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock"
5. You wore two pair of socks that scrunched.
6. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head.
7. You remember the first swatch watch.
8. You had a large watch hanging on your wall as a clock
9. You expressed excitement with the words...totally awesome, rad, gnarly or shown dislike with...gag me with a spoon, grody to the max, and my bad.
10. You wore stonewashed jeans
11. You know the profound meaning of " WAX ON , WAX OFF"
12. You wanted to be a Goonie.
13. You ever wore fluorescent clothing.
14. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.
15. You have ever pondered why Smurfette was the only female smurf.
16. You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard.
17. Bad meant good.
18. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.
19. Michael J. Fox, Kirk Cameron, and Ralph Macchio were hot!
20. You added shoulder pads to any top without them.
21. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes.
22. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"
23. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up"
24. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates.
25. You remember getting the first microwave.
26. You had a Miami Vice Jacket and you rolled the sleeves.
27. You remember the first days of MTV and CD's.
28. You faithfully watched...Growing pains, Who's the Boss, Family Ties, The Cosby Show, and ALF
29. You tried (unsuccessfully) to breakdance.
30. Your favorite bands were...Van Halen, Twisted Sister, Aerosmith, Poison, Ratt, Skid Row, Mötley Crüe, Def Leppard, Cinderella, Whitesnake, Quiet Riot, Bon Jovi, Guns N' Roses, AC/DC
31. You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell," The ORIGINAL class.
32. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
33. You bought a shirt with flames on it and sang every Garth Brooks song on his album
34. You still sing "We are the World"
35. You tight rolled your jeans.
36. You owned a bannana clip.
37. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
38. You used to (and probably still do)say "What you talkin' 'bout Willis?"
39. You dedicated a song to someone on the radio
40. You LOVED you big hair and are patiently waiting for its return.

Top Ten Tuesday

Things that you can't believe that you actually had to say to your children!

1. Son, don't sit on your sisters head!

2. Don't look under the stall, other people are in there using the restroom.

3. Please don't ask Mr. Dan why his belly is so fat.

4. Don't check to see if you wiped good, with your fingers.

5. Please tell you sister that you are sorry that you drew "R's" all over her homework.

6. We don't stick pens, pencils, or forks in our ears or nose!

7. Please stop eating that candy from the ground, I know that it is yummy, but it is dirty.

8. You have to stop licking my face!

9. If you break off your power rangers legs they won't be able to walk. Oh, I forgot that Daddy tapes them back on. Ok, whatever makes you happy.

10. Who told you that you could do that? Oh, Jesus, well......Ok, then.

If you are a parent, I know that you have at least one of these. Let us hear it!

What does it mean to deepen your marriage?

Recently my brother told me about a series at his church called Love Song. I plan to listen to all of the series, but one title caught my eye, the art of deepening. After 10 1/2 years of marriage and still liking one another, we are finding that most everything you read about marriage talks about conflict resolution, love languages, time management, etc. All of that is important and still meaningful to us, but I love the idea of deepening our relationship. So here is what I know works and I would love to hear about your suggestions for a deeper relationship.

praying together

attending marriage seminars

reading books about your marriage together

making lists throughout the day to talk about at night

laughing together

My Celebrity Look-alikes

My cool celebrity look-alike collage from MyHeritage.com. Get one for yourself.

Could it be me? Hmm...

In an effort to better describe my wacky day yesterday, I searched the world over for just the right words. In case you have trouble following, I included the definitions.

I woke feeling absolutrific (Response to - How do you feel?)! I usually wake in a good mood. Of course it didn't take long before I became the flibbertigibbet (a silly, flighty, or scatterbrained person) that I truely can be. I had a million things to do and was already feeling caddywampus (the state of being grossly out of alignment, skewed, or uneven). Despite my enormous mound of responsibility, it was my goal to not niggle (According to dictionary.com, it means to criticize, especially constantly or repeatedly, in a peevish or petty way) my husband or children today. Also, being from a podunk ( small and isolated) town, you learn that it is important to be kind to strangers (they may be related), but I found myself just trying to avoid a kerfluffle (altercation) all day. There were the "other" bad drivers, the other annoying people, and even the guy at the sandwich shop that was very NAMBY-PAMBY(effeminate in behaviour or expression) and seemed to take forever to order the perfect sandwich. The whole day was filled with huggermugger (disorder or confusion). Then it occured to me that perhaps it was "I" having a terrible attitude. So I decided to expectorate (might seem to mean "spit"; it actually describes that horrid (or uniquely satisfying) experience of mustering one's phlegm into a suitable hunk that can be propelled up the throat and out into the world) on this blandiose (Relating to something that appears impressive or that has pretensions to grandeur, but that is actually bland) day and go to bed early!

Top ten signs that you are a MOM!

I am taking the "top ten tuesday" challenge from Trey. So here are the top ten signs that you are a mom.

1. You find yourself sitting in your mini-van in line at McDonalds knowing that the guy taking your order doesn't wonder what you want, but how many happy meals you want

2. The contents of your purse are as follows:

crayons

several bandaids

someone elses chewed gum inside a receipt

wipes

a sharpie

and not one single makeup item

3. Your kids are wearing the seasons hottest fashion and you are not sure which decade your wardrobe is actually from

4. You wipe someone else's bottom more than your own

5. You can barely remember to brush your hair but you have memorized every wiggles character, the PBS morning cartoon line up, and all of the cedamont kids songs on 4 different CD's

6. You say things that your mom used to say and with her tone

7. You have to check on the way to school to make sure that you put on your deodorant and brushed your teeth

8. You faithfully read mommyblogs to get the latest ideas for school party deserts (you must be the coolest mom)

9. You begin to realize just how smart, wonderful, talented, and giving your own mother really has always been

10. You lay your head on your pillow at night realizing that you better understand God's love and you can't imagine waking up to anyone else's life

Weekend reading!

Great marriage stories!

http://www.christianitytoday.com/marriage/features/humor.html

Help your child behave!

http://www.family.org/parenting/A000000798.cfm

This is on my sidebar, but the best inspiring stories in one collection!

http://www.christinyou.net/pages/e-inspire.html

Also on the sidebar, a cyber hymnal! I am always looking for lyrics of old "blue book" songs!

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/

This writer for the purpose driven life is excellent!

http://www.purposedrivenlife.com/devarchive.aspx

Don't forget you can always listen to Trey and Rick online. My favorite two preachers!

Great links

Check out these prayers written to God by kids

http://www.slibe.com/publicimage/abe78f10-1914_jpg/

Favorite Posts from my Favorite Bloggers

As I did my regular blog reading yesterday I came accross two posts that really touched me from Neva and Lisa. I started thinking about the many posts that I have really loved. Here are some from all of the blogs that I read DAILY. It was difficult to find just one, but these are my favorites.





Stacy - http://thedarwinfamily.blogspot.com/2007/01/5-things-about-me.html
Trey- http://rediscovering-church.blogspot.com/search?q=party+for+a+prostitute
Neva - http://dancing-in-the-light-neva.blogspot.com/2007/03/rock-dropping.html
Lisa - http://lisaleichner.wordpress.com/2007/03/15/leah/#comments
*you will have to scroll to the top*


BooMamma - http://boomama.net/?p=715
Shannon - http://rocksinmydryer.typepad.com/shannon/2007/03/dear_me_in_1987.html
Kristi - http://everythingispink.blogspot.com/search?q=unlikely+friends

Do you have favorites from the "bloggy world" that you want to share? Leave a link in the comments and we can all enjoy.

Letter to Me

http://www.miscmum.com/2007/01/dear-me-project.html

Found this challenge and couldn't resist!

Dear Me (1993),

First things first, Girl, your life is fabulous (one day everyone will overuse this word). There are a few things that I should tell you, because I KNOW that you certainly are not listening to anyone else right now.

1. Your mom is the smartest person in the world and she knows you better than anyone else. Even when you don't agree with her, respect her. One day you will understand the depth of her love.

2. This one will shock you....one day woman will wear their hair straight and sleek! Crazy, I know.

3. Floss your teeth! You will still hate the dentist when you are older and YOU will be paying the bill.

4. Love doesn't "happen" to you. It is a decision, so get your head out of the clouds. There is no prince on a white horse. There will be a time that you will love deeper than you can understand right now. You will soon have a husband and children that you love more than life itself and there is not a fairy tale that is even close to being this good.

5. Do you really want a tatoo? It sort of screams I WAS A REBELIOUS TEENAGER!

6. I know that you think that happiness is Childress in the rear view mirror, but one day you will long for the simpler life.

7. It feels like the friends in your life will be there forever, but there will come a time when you barely know where anyone is. Nuture those relationships.

8. Loss is a part of life. Tell your great grandmother how much you love her and memorize her face.

9. Those adults that you look up to will still be awesome when you are all grown up so find out more about them.

10. God never changes. You will, and when he feels far away you need to draw closer because nothing good happens when you are far from him.

You are going to love your life and God has great plans for you. Trust him and enjoy every day as a gift.

Twitterpated

twitterpated - confused by affection or infatuation

Flower: [about two birds fluttering around] Well! What's the matter with them?

Thumper: Why are they acting that way?

Friend Owl: Why, don't you know? They're twitterpated.

Flower, Bambi, Thumper: Twitterpated?

Friend Owl: Yes. Nearly everybody gets twitterpated in the springtime. For example: You're walking along, minding your own business. You're looking neither to the left, nor to the right, when all of a sudden you run smack into a pretty face. Woo-woo! You begin to get weak in the knees. Your head's in a whirl. And then you feel light as a feather, and before you know it, you're walking on air. And then you know what? You're knocked for a loop, and you completely lose your head!

Around our house the conversations have been about who likes who a lot lately. Rocky has always said that "kids get all twitterpated" in the spring. He should know since he is around all of those goofy high school kids everyday. I mentioned this word to my bestest friend, Stacy, yesterday and she had never heard it. I felt the need to pass along the information so that we can all watch out, cause spring is coming, and you may just become twitterpated.

Name Dropping

So I learned from Lisa that the definition of name dropper is : One who begins throwing out the credentials of someone he knows, "Doctor so-&-so from such-&-such university, who also has a PhD in yadda-yadda, was having lunch with me one day and we were discussing ..." and ends up rambling about nothing related at all to the topic.

For a moment just humor me with this name dropping session!

Rocky was having dinner with Herschel Walker on Monday and....

Gotcha!

He did attend a dinner and Hershel Walker was there speaking. I think that he has a book about his life coming out. They took their football team over to hear him speak. He didn't talk football or career. He talked about God and his life. Rocky was very impressed. Rocky said that he told a story that his dad used to tell him about a negative and postitive boy.

The negative boy constantly whined and complained and the positive boy was happy not matter what the circumstance. Growing tired of the negative boy's attitude, the dad decided to do a little experiment. On Christmas morning he placed all of the toys in the room with the negative boy and filled the positive boys room with horse manure. Christmas morning came and Dad went first to check on negative boy. He was grumbling and complaining because none of this was what he wanted. Dad told him that nothing in life would ever make him happy. He started towards the positive boys room and was amazed to hear him giggling. He stepped in to see the boy frantically shoveling the manure. He asked him just what in the world he was doing. The boy replied, "with all of this manure, there has to be a horse in here somewhere!"

My little brother

My brother Keith is an outstanding runner. He has been since high school, and continues to amaze me. He placed 30th recently in the Boston Marathon and today he won the Cowtown marathon! He finished in 2 hours and 30 minutes which is 5:46 pace. That was operating on just 4 hours of sleep from the night before (coaching b-ball playoffs Friday night). Plus, it was incredibly windy. You can click here to see him on fox news.

Congratulations Keith! You can send your congrats to keith.pierce@krumisd.net