Is It That Time of the Week Already? Well, I Pity the Fool!
March 12, 2010
I Read:
I have been trying to read “The Portrait of Dorian Gray” for about a year. I signed up to receive a chapter at a time through email from www.dailylit.com. You can get it as often as you want. I chose to get one chapter a week because I am not the most vigilant email checker. Anyway, I finally finished the book. It was really interesting. It made me think a lot about how sin affects our souls. To me, the portrait represented the soul. Dorian hid it away when he noticed his corruption was reflecting in it and was constantly in fear of someone seeing it. We are the same way in our lives. We hide our sins and faults deep inside. Slowly our souls whither and die. Fortunately, we have a God that sees all and we have the freedom to go to Him for cleansing. That is something poor Dorian didn’t have. The book was very enlightening, but don’t expect me to start showing my “portrait” to the world. That is between me and the Lord.
I Write:
I wrote a new Easter play for church. If you want to know anything about it you will have to come to church on Easter and watch it for yourself. Yes, that was me inviting you to church on Easter.
I Pray:
Recently, I was informed that the mother of someone I go to church with has cancer. I don’t think I have ever met her, but God put a heavy burden on me to pray for her. That gives me tremendous hope and faith that she will be healed. If it was God’s time for her to go why would He be giving people a burden to pray for her? As I was thinking on all of this I started wondering about other situations too. Is God’s will set in stone or is it flexible? Can we truly change God’s mind through sincere prayer? In Genesis 18:22-33, Abraham pleads with the Lord to keep him from destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham finally talked God into sparing the city if there were at least ten righteous. Of course, there wasn’t and the cities were destroyed but that is besides the point. Also, in Exodus 32: 9-14, God was going to destroy all of Israel and start over with Moses because they were worshipping the calf. Moses then basically argued with God and changed his mind. I know I’m no Abraham or Moses but I am a child of God and I am going to pray for people as long as there is a chance I can make a change.
I Mother:
Evelyn has pretty much had an ear infection all winter. We have been to the doctor every two weeks then to the pharmacy for yet another antibiotic. Two weeks ago they prescribed her an extra strength antibiotic. The doctor said that if this didn’t work she would have to get a shot. We got the good news today that the infection is finally clearing up. Evelyn was so excited when she heard the doctor that she started clapping her hands and saying, “yeah me!” It was so nice not to make a return appointment and not going to the pharmacy for more medicines.
I Wife:
February 23rd was our 8th anniversary. We went on a little trip to celebrate and stayed at an awesome bed and breakfast. It was a real castle in Ohio called Ravenwood Castle. My only regret is that we didn’t get married in the spring instead of February. There is so much more to do there in the spring and summer.
I Watch:
Matt recently found a channel that plays the A-Team. It has been an exciting reunion. Oh how I have missed Murdoch’s crazy antics, Face’s charming personality, and Hannibal’s plans coming together. And I pity da fool who tries to get Mr. T in a plane!
I Geek:
When you need a good laugh go to www.mylifeisaverage.com.
When you feel bad about yourself go to www.iamawesome.com because you are awesome.
I Quote:
“We must not take the faults of our youth into our old age; for old age brings with it its own defects.”—GOETHE.
I’m turning 30 next month… need I say more?
Evelyn Says:
Evelyn was sitting at the table one day coloring or something. Everything had been going badly for her and she was getting frustrated. All of the sudden she says, “It’s just my time of the week!”
Did You Know Pirates Wear Stinky Socks & Have a Fake English Accent?
September 2009
I Read:
I have read so many books since I wrote last I couldn’t possibly name them all. I read several more of the Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown series that I have mentioned before. I also started reading books by Carlene Thompson. She is a mystery/suspense writer who lives here in Point Pleasant. So far I haven’t been able to put them down once I start reading one. They are very good and I would recommend them to anyone who likes mysteries.
I Write:
It seems like the only thing I’ve had time lately to write is my name on the millions of forms that they want you to sign for school! I can’t believe the stuff they make you sign for. I’m surprised they haven’t made me sign a form to give Evelyn permission to use their precious bathroom!
I Pray:
The prayer journal I mentioned in my last blog is working great. Not only does it help me focus better but it also helps me see and remember the prayers that have been answered. It seems like we sometimes forget too quickly about the prayers God has answered. With my journal I can go through the pages and see the proof over and over again.
I Mother:
Well, It’s that time of year again. School! Icky, yucky, inconvenient school! At least for me. Evelyn loves it though which I am told is a good thing.
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- 1st Day of Kindergarten
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- 1st Day of Kindergarten
I Wife:
What a wife is… #4
By Jessica
Being a wife is…
Making a separate meal for your husband because he likes bacon in absolutely everything and you don’t. ( I remember my mom doing this when I was a kid because my step dad liked everything spicy.)
I Watch:
We have been watching the last season of Monk. It is kind of sad yet a bit of a relief for me. I have noticed alot of changes in the show since it started. I think that Monk’s character has changed. He started out being sweet, pitiful, and endearing in a way but now he seems selfish and a little bit of a jerk. I also hate that they took his first assistant off the show. I liked her better. I thought about not watching it anymore but I have watched it faithfully from the beginning and since it is the last season I thought I might as well finish it out. I am also hoping he finally solves his wife’s murder at the end.
I Geek:
Evelyn’s Top 5 Websites
1. Playhouse Disney
http://tv.disney.go.com/playhouse/index.html
2. Noggin
http://www.noggin.com
3. Suessville
http://www.seussville.com
4. Veggie Tales
http://www.bigideafun.com/veggietales/default.htm
5. Sand Pictures
http://thisissand.com/
I Quote:
“Active natures are rarely melancholy. Activity and melancholy are incompatible.”–BOVEE.
I’m finding this so true lately since I started working out at Curves. My depression has dropped at least 80 percent!
Evelyn Says:
Evelyn came home from school one day and decided to play pirate. She donned “pirate like” clothes, eyepatch, hat, sword, and fake english accent. Yes, I said fake english accent! I overheard her asking Papa if he chose to be a pirate with her or not but didn’t stick around for the rest of the conversation. A little while later she came to me demanding my choice. “Are you going to be a pirate or not! If you choose to be a pirate you get the most dirtiest stinkiest job ever.” I asked, “What job is that?” She says (still in the accent), “Papa chose to be a pirate and his job is to pick up the most dirtiest, stinkiest socks in the whole world!” I said, “That reminds me, did you pick up your dirty socks when you got home?” She replies, “I’m a pirate. I do not pick up stinky socks, I wear them!”
Screw Social Networking! Let’s have Lunch!
May 2009
I Read:
I just finished reading a Mary Stewart book “The Spell of Mary Stewart”. It is a compilation of three of her early books. This Rough Magic, The Ivy Tree, and Wildfire at Midnight. They were all really good but “The Ivy Tree” was my favorite.
I Write:
I got all of my notebooks where I used to write all my poems out and I am going to start puting them on the computer. It’s going to be a big job. There are nine notebooks. Some of the poems aren’t even finished so I might try to finish them while I’m at it. Maybe in the next few months I can put some of them on here.
I Pray:
I have recently started a prayer journal and it has really helped me focus better. I can write things down and then when I go to pray I know I haven’t forgotten anything. I can also leave room for writing when a prayer has been answered so the journal also becomes a faith builder.
I Mother:
I did Evelyn’s spring pictures again this year myself and I have to say they are really good. She gets really excited about doing them too. When I have taken her to a store to do them in the past she gets real nervous and she doesn’t look natural in the pictures. The smiles you see in the pictures we do at home are real. I have her cracking up sometimes acting silly.
I Wife:
What a wife is… #3
By Jessica
Being a wife is…
Being happy for your husband when he loses more weight than you.
I Watch:
House, CSI, CSI: NY, Chuck, Heroes, Bones, and Fringe all had their Season Finale recently. I’m a little sad yet a little relieved. I hate that I have to wait so long to find out what happens next. Especially on Bones and House. But I wish that all of my favorite shows didn’t run at the same time. The shows just pile up on the recorder and we rush to watch them so they don’t get deleted. Then after they are done for the season there is nothing to watch. At least I can look foward to the last season of Monk coming up in June or July and Psych.
I Geek:
I have decided in the last month to spring clean my online closet. I dumped Myspace, EA, and Apostolics Connected. You wouldn’t believe how good it feels. I can now leisurly read the news without having the nagging urge to check myspace one more time to see if anyone has commented on my page. I can now check my email without getting sidetracked onto all the social sites reading the comments others have made. I do still have Facebook. For some reason it doesn’t bother me the way the others do so far, but if it starts to I’ll just get rid of it too. I say screw social networking! Let’s go have lunch!
I Quote:
“We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.” –LONGFELLOW
Evelyn Says:
Evelyn and I were playing outside a few days ago. We were playing frisbee when she decided she wanted to race the frisbee to the end of the sidewalk. I would throw it and she would run as fast as she could. Of course, it always beat her. She finally got mad, pointed to the frisbee, and started yelling, “You think you will always beat me but you’re going down! D-O-W-N down!”
“Don’t Blow up the Bridge!” A 5 Year Old With a Cause!
February 17, 2009
I Read:
I decided to try reading a series by Rita Mae Brown. So far I have read three and four of the series. Murder at Monticello (1994) and Pay Dirt (1995). The first two books weren’t at the library when I checked. The author claims that her cat, Sneaky Pie Brown, is her co-author, which is cute. The books are about a woman named Harry and her pets, a cat named Mrs. Murphy and a dog named Tucker. The animals talk but of course the humans can’t hear them, which proves frustrating to the animals sometimes because they know more about what’s going on than the humans. These books are set in Virginia and have alot of historical stuff in them. Murder at Monticello is about a skeleton found under the floor of the slave quarters at Thomas Jeffersons home and they have to solve the mystery of who it is and who did it and why. Matters only get worse when people who are getting close to the answers start to show up dead. Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie keep you guessing right up until the end.
http://www.ritamaebrown.com/content/books_mm.asp
I Write:
Valentines day has already past, but my anniversary is coming up so I will share one of the mushy poems I wrote right before me and Matt got married.
Fairy tale Love
For as long as I can remember
I’ve read it in the books
I’ve watched it in the movies
I’ve seen it in their looks
That fairy tale love
It could never be true
That’s what I thought
Until I met you
The way that you love me
Brings tears to my eyes
And whenever you hold me
I want to give life a try
When you look into my eyes
And tell me you care
I can’t help but believe you
And know you’ll always be there
All of life’s disappointments
Pale when you kiss my face
You gently show me how things will get better
And you wipe them away with perfect grace
Childhood pains and horrors
Melt when you hold me in your arms
You more than make up for my past
And you make me feel safe from harm
Our love is like a fairy tale
That’s how I feel when I’m with you
And that’s how I know
That fairy tale dreams can come true.
Jessica Thornton
2001
I Pray:
I have felt helpless in prayer in the last few years. It seems that all my prayers are ignored or come back with a firm no attached to them. I know that most of my feelings are Satan trying to discourage me but how do you deal with these feelings? Evelyn has been sick this week and she has me pray for her every few hours yet she is still not better. I am a firm believer of miracle healings. I have seen many and have been healed miraculously several times myself and I have great faith in what God can do. So don’t tell me my prayers haven’t been answered for lack of faith. But if my prayers are continually ignored how long can my faith go before fading? Not in what I believe God can do, but in what I believe God wants to do for me. I wonder what sin I have committed to cause this. I repent of unknown sins constantly wishing to be back in God’s good graces. If this is a trial, what is it He would like me to learn? I love God with all my heart and I know He loves me, but why does He not answer?
I Mother:
I have been having a hard time sticking with my good points program. Mostly because Evelyn keeps getting sick and don’t feel like doing chores. Some of it is because during the winter there is nothing to do for rewards. Especially here in Mason County where you die of boredom on a good day. I sure hope this place is either better when Evelyn grows up or that she doesn’t get stuck here and gets to have a good life somewhere better.
I Wife:
What a wife is #2
By Jessica
Being a wife is…
Occasionally making your husband mad. Then sending him numerous skype messages to annoy him into forgiving you. Then posting a “secret” message in your blog that says you love him very much.
I Watch:
I have been forcing myself to watch my shows lately so they don’t pile up on the recorder. Sometimes I just don’t feel like watching tv and I have been in one of those moods for weeks. I’ve been reading more than anything.
I Geek:
http://icanhascheezburger.com/
I have become addicted to this website. It’s hilarious if you can get past the bad grammar which I admit was hard for me at first. I couldn’t understand what they were trying to say, but this is someone who still can’t read computer lingo like lol.
I Quote:
“Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love. How on earth can you explain in terms of chemistry and physics so important a biological phenomenon as first love? Put your hand on a stove for a minute and it seems like an hour. Sit with that special girl for an hour and it seems like a minute. That’s relativity.”
Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955)
Evelyn Says:
One day we were driving over the new Mason bridge and Evelyn started talking about how she wanted to drive on the old bridge. I tried explaining how it was closed now and they would most likely blow it up in the future and that it might be cool to watch. Evelyn then started yelling at me not to let them blow it up and that she wanted them to leave it alone (As if it was my fault). I told her it was not my decision and that (I said this jokingly) she would have to write a letter to the editor. When we got home she wrote the following letter.
To the guys who will blow up the bridge
Don’t do it!
From Evelyn
Would You Eat a Praying Banana?
January 31, 2009
I Read:
One of my favorite authors is Mary Stewart. When I was about 17 or 18 I got really interested in the legend of King Arthur and Merlin, etc. That is how I became aquainted with Mary Stewart. She wrote a series of fiction books about Merlin. I read them and fell in love with her style of writing so I started reading some of her other books. Matt got me two of her books for Christmas. The one I finished already is “Nine Coaches Waiting”. It was originally published in 1958. It is about a young woman who goes to france to work as a governess to a boy who had recently been orphaned and was now living with his aunt and uncle. It doesn’t take long for her to see that things aren’t what they seem with this family. I won’t tell you anymore because it would give away the ending if you decide to read it.
I Write:
Since Valentines Day is coming soon I will share one of my valentines poems.
My Valentine
Today I got a Valentine.
It says, “Please be mine.”
I have received many valentines
But none were like this kind.
It says that He loves me
And He wants me to be His Bride.
It says His love is stronger
Than the most powerful tide.
It says His love is wider
Than the ocean or the sky.
It says He’ll always love me
Though I don’t know exactly why.
Because I have betrayed Him
One too many times.
I have turned to other suitors
Who gave me valentines.
But He says He still loves me
Though He won’t always be here.
And if I’m ready He’ll come to get me
And take me to His home so fair.
So I need to keep myself ready
No matter what the time.
Because I want to spend eternal life
With Jesus, my Valentine.
Jessica E. Thornton
February 10, 1999
I Pray:
The church we were going to gave Evelyn a “Princess” Bible for her birthday this year. It’s pink and in one of the kids translations. She has been having me read it to her at night and I must say it is alot easier to read. We decided to start in Genesis and read it all the way through. It really brings back memories for me. When I was about seven or eight I remember my Grandpa gave me a Bible that the church had given him that he wasn’t using. He had his own large print Bible that he read. I remember sitting on the porch with him every evening taking turns reading the Bible out loud. He said we should start in Genesis because Genesis meant beginning. I know it was summer because it was hot and there was a warm breeze that blew accross the porch and I remember the sound of the pages fluttering as we read. You have to understand what kind of man my Grandpa was to know how special that was to me. That is one of the only good memories I have of him. He was a nasty, selfish, abusive old man who liked to drive his kids and wife like slaves. There are alot of things I still can’t even bring myself to think about when it comes to him. Now that he’s gone though it seems that I would rather think on those rare golden nuggets than all the bad. I know that he had a hard childhood and that caused most of his meanness and that helps me forgive him. That helps me love him. In a way I realize that he helped instill a love for the Word of God in me that didn’t really manifest itself until he was gone. Wherever he is now, I hope he knows that. And I hope that I can instill that same love in Evelyn now.
I Mother:
Well, first I have to tell you about our virus epidemic. It started on Tuesday, January 6, 2009. Matt, Evelyn, and I went grocery shopping at the Wal-mart. We were almost finished when Evelyn, who was sitting in the seat of the buggy, started whinning that her belly hurt. I thought nothing of it because this is routine for her when she starts getting bored with our shopping. (Evelyn hates shopping! Just ask Mama Copen & Mama Harrah!) We finally made it through the checkout line and I was trying to pay while Matt was loading the cart when Evelyn started making the dreaded “I’m about to puke” noise. We grab a Wal-mart bag from the turny thingy and stuck it under her chin just in time. I finished paying the horrified cashier and took Evelyn to the bathroom. We then got in the car and started home with Evelyn in the backseat holding a clean bag. She threw up several more times on the way home and spent the rest of the night and some of the next morning throwing up. Matt and I naturally were afraid to eat and were wondering which of us would be struck down next. Everytime one of us made a funny face the other would ask, ” Are you going to throw up? Are you o.k.?” etc.. After a day of not getting sick we started relaxing and eating enough to help us go on but we stayed quarrintined just incase. Then a reliable source gave me the horrid news over the phone. She said, “I didn’t get it until two days after I was exposed.” Great. Sure enough we got it. It lingered for more than 24 hours too. It probably took us over a week to get back to normal. Only good thing about it was that I lost 10 pounds!
Evelyn is developing a love for cooking. We made cookies on Saturday, January 25th as her good points reward that week.
I Wife:
What a wife is. Wise Saying #1
By Jessica
Being a wife is…
Cooking Roman noodles on a Kerosene heater when the electric goes out. Then making everyone eat them even though they don’t taste that good.
I Watch:
You might think I’m crazy for this but I love cartoons. Not most of the stupid stuff they make now, but real cartoons. Pink Panther, Tom & Jerry, Looney Toons, X-Men, etc. Lately, I’ve been watching a newer version of the Justice League that came out a few years ago. I’ve also been watching what is becoming one of Evelyn’s favorites, Phineas & Ferb on Disney. It’s a fairly new one, but it’s hilarious. Then of course there is Spongebob. Evelyn and I could watch him all day.
I Geek:
Click the square in the lefthand top corner and it gives you directions. I was a little stressed out when I tried this and it relaxed me some.
I Quote:
“Love all, trust a few. Do wrong to none.”
William Shakespeare, “All’s Well That Ends Well”, Act 1 Scene 1
Evelyn Says:
Evelyn, my mom, and I went to the Chinese resturant after Evelyn’s doctor appointment on Friday. I was helping Evelyn get a bite of the banana she got for dessert. I got the bite on the spoon and was waiting for her to take it when she looked at the banana and said, “Say your prayers!” Then she took the bite.
