Blogger Friend School Assignment #6--"Precious Past"

age 3 months

I was born with club feet, so I am seen here with my first cast. My feet were straightened remarkably well and had no problems all my days of playing sports through school.

age 2 years

I love this little 'vintage' jumper and have always wished Mom would have kept it for me!

John 3:16 is also the verse that I most recall from childhood, as well. When I was 5, I accepted Jesus into my heart, and I'm told I said, "Jesus is tickling my tummy!"

Again, when I was 8, I accepted the Lord into my life because I just wanted to do it again to feel sure. This time I was old enough to really remember how good it felt to be changed. That night, I opened my Bible up, randomly turned to II Corinthians 5:17, and was fascinated to read a verse that spoke of how I was feeling at that moment. "If anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation. The old is gone, behold, he is made new!" I truly felt excited to be a new creation in Christ. I felt new, clean, and good. God has been so faithful to me throughout my life, and I will continue to follow Him.

Tag You're It!

I've been tagged--and now,if you're reading this, you get to do it, too--you're tagged. Post it on your blog!

Two names you go by:
1. Tam
2. Mommy

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. Adidas workout capris
2. hot pink tee

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. scrapbook
2. plan homeschool lessons

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. a clean house
2. a month with nothing to do so I can catch up

Two favorite pets you have had/have:
1. Tasha, my childhood dog--a Golden Retriever
2. Miss Banner, my first Hereford breeding cow I won champion with several times--the start of my herd--very docile and an 'easy-keeper', which, in cattleman terms, refers to how she stayed well-conditioned without much feed (I can relate)

Two things you ate(or drank) today:
1. blackberry-sage tea
2. caramel corn (because October is National Popcorn Poppin' Month, remember?)

Two people you last talked to:
1. of course, Jac & my 3 children--there are days when they are the only people I talk to...
2. ...but, as a surprise today, a neighbor, Alice, called

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. homeschooling
2. taking kids to choir, soccer, and a 4-H meeting

Two longest car rides:
1. Oregon to San Diego
2. Oregon to Alaska

Two favorite holidays:
1. Christmas
2. Thanksgiving

Two favorite beverages:
1. espresso drinks
2. iced tea

Blogger Friend School Assignment #3--"ABC's"

1. Using letters of the alphabet, describe yourself or things that are important to you using only one word per letter.
2. Share Scripture that is upon your heart this week.
   

Autumn
Believer

Creative
Dreamer

Education

Family
God
Homemaker
Intentional
Jac
Kids
Lists
Motherhood
Nostalgic
Overwhelmed
Perfectionist
Quiet
Reading
School
Teacher
Utopian
Vegetable Garden
Writing
eXuberant
Yahweh
Zinnias and Zucchini

"For the eyes of the Lord search the whole earth to find and strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him."

I Chronicles 16:9a

PersonalDNA.com Personality Test

Move your mouse over the colored squares to read traits about me from this personality test.

I've Been Tagged...

I've been tagged for a meme by Dawnelle. Here's the deal...

The rules: Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

11 facts/habits about myself (12 if I add that I have a habit of making my own rules!) :
1. I love coffee & chocolate...a lot.
2. I am slow to average speed at everything I do (I prefer precise & meticulous)--except for having babies. I had fast labors--4, 3, and 1 hour.
3. I love organization, however, I don't know that I am really good at it. I have perfectionist tendancies, but I'm able to relax and be sloppy, too. In the sixth grade I finally decided to try to let my desk get cluttered just so I would have something to organize during the clean-out-your-desk time. That certainly seems like a long, long time ago! I don't have the issue of no clutter to organize any longer, that is for sure.
4. Sometimes I stay up all night to get things done. I am a night person, who wishes she was a morning person. I love the days I get up really early when the house is quiet, do my devotions, workout, and have breakfast started when the kids wake up. This is what I strive for--what I want to become routine for me.
5. I love quiet and time to myself, yet when I go places, I love to be where the action is and don't mind crowds.
6. I love being at home. There are always so many things to do. It bothers me when people actually ask the question, "What do you do all day?', as if homemaking isn't valued. No wonder marriages/family suffer today.
7. I love writing, brainstorming, and making lists.
8. This may explain myself best, and why many of the above items contradict themselves: I have always scored pretty much in the middle of the four quadrants on all personality tests I've ever taken, which is why I have many interests, some conflicting , trouble focusing on just one project or activity at a time, and, as I have been told, the reason why I may occasionally feel "inner turmoil". One of the hardest things for me is when I have to choose between 2 or more places to be at once--especially on vacation or at social events where I want to explore/do active things and relax/sit and visit with people at the same time.
9. A few years ago, before I had Cate, I ran in a half marathon race and in two Hood to Coast relays, the final one while I was 6 weeks pregnant. I like playing sports a lot, and did basketball, softball, and some track in school. It is now so much fun to see my kids begin playing team sports and enjoying athletics.
10. I have never been to a drive-in theater or watched a Star Wars movie. That brings me to think about the few things I know I am not into that much--science fiction, music theory/instruments, foreign language, mathematics, fish & seafood, contemporary style, or the color teal.
11. I am the only one my husband ever kissed.

I tag Lindsay, Kelleigh, Mindi, Leigh Ann, and anyone else who wants to!

"What Have You Been Up To Lately?"

I thought I'd go ahead and post an email I sent to my sister-in-law today, in resonse to her question: "What have you been up to lately?" There's something interesting about how personal letters/emails capture such a candid snapshot of the little details of life. Here is a pic of Mindi and I at her wedding.

"Min-
Thanks, for the email. There are days when I longingly remember the life I had (all 16 months of it)when it was just Jim and I, and you trying to decide what to do on a day off reminded me of that, today. As well as when I saw part of a scene on tv where a husband called his wife from work and said, "Meet me at Alexander's for dinner at seven." She showed up in a pretty red dress...don't get me wrong, my life is fulfilling, but often in a less peaceful and glamorous way.

Jim got back from Brazil yesterday morning, and visited us in class at co-op on his way home from the airport. We came home and had a picnic lunch on the deck, then, he spent the rest of the nice-weather-day mowing and moving dirt with his tractor, while the kids played outside, and I went for a five mile walk. I weighed myself this morning and had apparently lost 4 pounds just yesterday!

We left for softball practice at 4:30 (Jim's coaching, so I'm 'the coach's wife' which makes me in charge of fun things--like handing out papers and uniforms yesterday--but I like to get in there and dirty practicing with the girls, too, when I can--which means when it's not in the 40s, pouring rain, and blowing 30 mph--which it was the last practice I came to, so I had to stay in the car with Catie--and then, Andrew, after he got too wet and cold.

Next, we all went straight to AWANA after softball where I 'pulled my hair out' because I had a headache, was hungry, tired, and the kids were SO LOUD--kind of ironic that we had to fill out a questionaire that very night on our intentions to help with club next year--Jim had to be my voice of reason on that one--I was in no frame of mind to say 'yes' right then--but he clarified that WE both wanted to be Sparks leaders at least one more year because we could do it together with Jess and Drew on a team together--and lastly, we were home at 8:30 where I GOT to make dinner. Luckily, we had decent leftovers and I whipped together a salad. As I was putting Cate in her high chair and removing her jacket, I saw a label stuck across her tummy that read 'PIG'--I remembered her nursery teachers were holding a labeler when I dropped her off (I assumed they were using it to label cubbies or toy bins), but it clicked that perhaps they were playing a joke with us because Catherine always crams down all the Cheerios at snack time--pretty funny. Yes, I do feed her. She gets 2 or 3 'dinners' on busy days like yesterday. She sat in her stroller and snacked all through softball practice, so I guess the label fits.

Love, Tami"