Adventures with Allie #1

I thought I would start off this first "Adventures with Allie" by saying, that when we were teenagers there was never a dull moment. Hence the word, Adventure. Life is always an adventure with Allie. For real, no joke, just ask her mom.

***And second a disclaimer, if my children or her children are reading this, or YOU if YOU are a child/teen, I do not recommend you try these pranks at home. Or Outside your home. Or anywhere, ever, never!!

I mean it!

I am raising my eyebrow, that's how you know I mean it!

Do not do this at home.

That being said, BOY HOWDY, did we ever have so much fun, and if you do decide to do this don't skimp on the Toilet Paper, you'll only be sorry that you did!!

This would be the first of many pranks that I remember with my Allie Dawl.

Let me set the stage for you.

It was youth group night at Jamie and Judy's. They lived in Carson City in a great big house on Arrowhead Way. We gathered there once a week for a bible study, and well, we would try to sing, but Doc the Westons Cocker Spaniel would chime in and then it was all over. We would then just turn into a bunch of giggly teens, and it would be past the point of no return.

"We" (at first) consisted of Jamie, Judy, Carl, Allie, Noel, Jentry, Chad, Matt, and sometimes if we were so lucky The Vendelin boys.
So this particular night "we" consisted of the above listed, minus the V-boys. It was one of our first gatherings. I was still getting to know this group, and so I was happy that Allie was so friendly. Little did I know just how friendly or how brazen she could be.

I'm not exactly sure how long Allie had planned to TP Carls truck that night, but what I do know is that I got dragged into the fun. It is at this point that I would like to point out that Carl was not a teen. Oh no. He was a HUGE, GIANT, BIG, VERY TALL youth group leader. I feel you need to know this information for future reference.

You also need to know that I was not the type of girl that TP'd anything,(that was sister Jen's gig) let alone a GIANT Leaders, truck. But Allie, well she has a gift. She actually has several gifts, but the one that I am talking about here is her persuasion gift. She is a good convincer that Allie dawl. Let me tell ya, she has skills in the convincing department. There used to be a time she could convince me to do anything. And I do mean anything. Really, her convincing me to do things I'm not so sure I want to do, is a big part of our friendship. It's been kind of an ongoing challenge I think on her end, and frankly she wins most of the time. She never lost the challenge back then. And up Until right about now... she started talking about marathons, and running. She lost me at running! hee hee hee. If you see us with numbers on our backs running the beaches of sunny California... well then you know she struck again.

Anyway, Allie took me aside and told me what she was up to and I half not knowing what was happening, and half giddy on adreniliene, blindly took the roll of TP. And then before I knew it there I was outside wrapping Carls truck up in the fluffy white stuff. We were working fast so as not to get caught, but apparently not fast enough because at some point they noticed that 2 of the 3 girls that were there that night were missing. It never occurred to us, that with such a small group the lack of our presence would be noticed so quickly. We never really were good with math equations. Well, and then it happened. We were caught, red handed, and here came Big Ol Carl bolting out J&J's front door.

I almost crapped my pants.
You have to remember, This was back before the days of me being used to Giant people.
I was scared.
I was nervous.
I thought, oh man... who ? what? where? how?
And then I realized I could climb inside Carl's truck and lock the doors and just wait while Allie took the beating.

I know.
I'm a giver.
I will always have your back in a TP-ing situation.

Psh... I jumped inside the bed of that truck so fast, and I was safe. Phew.

But wait, OH NOOOOOOO!!!
Allie was stuck and outside and "SHE WAS A RUNNING" said like Forest Gump :)


I bet you can imagine the end of this.
He was a Giant with long legs.
She was a little itty bitty with little legs.
Yep, 2 Giant steps and he caught up with her.
And then, well, then his Giant heart kicked in and he gave her countless noogie's or something of that sort and all was well again.

I didn't come out of the truck for a very long time :)
AND Carl still scares me. Giggle, no not really. Ok maybe a little.

My Friend Allie

Do you ever come across someone who is so larger than life in personality that you just want to be their friend so you can ride along on their "coat tails" of life so to speak?
Ya know, just so you can be a part of the adventure?

Well, that's how I feel about my friend Allie.

Let me take you back to the first day we met.

A very long, long time ago... I would say around 23 years to be exact(I am SO old) I met my treasured friend Allie. I started going to a church in Carson City called the Vineyard. I'm not exactly sure how I ended up going there, but there I was. At a new church. No friends. No familiar faces. And We were meeting in this warehouse, office type building(which was a step up from the tents we soon would be meeting in) and it was also quite the change from my Catholic days of big, beautiful church buildings, where no one spoke to each other, before or afterward. You got in. You got out.
Very anti-social. Church was not about meeting friends. It was a much more reverent event back in those days.

Honestly, that's not entirely true. But it sounds good doesn't it? And don't forget my theme word here on my blog is hyperbole.

So there I was standing in the back of this new church talking to this lady named Judy, who was so friendly it was almost frightening, but not, because she was just so fun to listen to and she asked so many questions. She was talking about this girl named Allie that I should meet and in walked this shorter than me, bigger hair than me, naturally curlier hair than me(I was a tad jealous of that since I used to pay the big bucks for my curls)little bit of thing with a great big smile.

We became kindred spirits right from the start for many, many, many reasons.

It's funny how a friendship starts. There are of course many books, quotes, and poems about friendship, but this is one I think best describes ours at that moment in time;

"Friendship is born at the moment when 1 person says to another, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one" C.S. Lewis

We had so much common ground to walk upon, and that is where it all began. We learned that,
We both loved babies and children. I would call what we had a baby romance for sure. But that wasn't all that caused our instant friendship. We both talked really loud. Laughed really loud. She burped really loud. We kind of both Lived Out Loud. Her laugh of course was louder, and world re-noun... she was after all nick-named Gunner Allie for a reason. We blamed this loud tone on the fact that our parents came from the east coast, but really I don't think we can blame either Vinnie, or Ellen for our loud factor. She at the time played the Saxophone, and I sang. She could talk like she was from the east coast,(for that we can give the credit to Vinnie and Ellen) and so could I. She was so funny. She burped really loud. She loved Jesus, so did I. Instant friendship. Did, I mention she burped really loud?

We were like:
Laverne and Shirley.
Lucille Ball and Ethel.
Thelma and Louise.

There are so many memories that I could share about my friendship with Allie, so many in fact that I think I am going to start a series called, My Adventures with Allie.
I do this, if for nothing else, but to lure her back to reading my blog, and also hopefully to inspire her to write as well. That girl has got some stories she needs to share with the world.

So this is my intro, to Allie, stay-tuned for more Adventures with Allie.

P.S. The picture above from Left to Right, Judy(who I mentioned in the story)Allie, Sista Jen, Jentry, and Me. This is my beloved Birthday Club. More stories to come about all of these girls.

Good News, be it ever so small

Today while I was preparing to take some preschoolers out for play I found a ring I thought I had lost. I went to put my gloves on and there it was. I had been whining about losing this ring for weeks now. I had asked my kids to be looking around for it and I had just felt sick over losing it.

I bought this ring for myself at Genoa's Candy Dance a few years back and it was one of my most favorite rings. When I came home from grocery shopping a few weeks back I realized it was no longer on my finger and after retracing my steps I thought it must have fallen off at Winco or something and I was so bummed. 

But alas, all this time it was in my glove!! I was happy to say the least.

Then when I got home from picking up my kiddos today I was happy to see that my hubby got off work early and being as how I throughly enjoy that man's company and can never seem to get enough of it I was glad for the time together.

After that my treasure friend Allie called with some even more good news that only a friend like her could give me. (Those of you who know her, she did not tell me she was pregnant)

Finally, tonight while hanging out with hubby we got some very good news for him about his recent Ink career and all I have to say is that in this life when you are given good days like this you just have to take a moment and give a shout out to the giver of ALL good things.

Whoot woot!! or Hallelujah!! (which ever floats your boat)

27 Dresses

27 Dresses is a great, clean(as clean as they come these days) chic flick. I took my girlies to go see it on Friday and I was so pleasantly surprised by how cute it was. It also got me thinking of all the weddings I have been in over the years. I made a list and out of the 9 weddings I was in only 4 are still married. 2 were widowed and 3 divorced. The dresses in these weddings ranged from butt-ugly to something I have worn again truly because I really could. That was one of the funnier parts of the movie was how many times the brides would tell their bridesmaids that "the great part about this dress is that you could just shorten it and wear it again" . Then I started to think of my wedding day almost 13 years ago and my poor bridesmaids and what I made them wear. Sorry girls, I am truly really sorry for the hats especially.

John Alvin Ford Munnerlyn

OH HAPPY DAY!!

My treasure friend Allie gave birth to baby FIVE today and I am so thankful that even though I couldn't be with her Jesus was. Thank you to everyone who prayed for baby and mom and please continue to pray for healing for momma and health for that baby boy who has no name yet but when he does I will be sure to announce that as well. What a precious, precious thing life is.

Country Music, Me ,and This time of year

I have the compulsion to tell you of yet another wierd trait about myself. Around this time of year, and this time of year only ,I really love to listen to country music. I can give the credit of this quirky trait to my all time treasure friend , Allison. Ever since we were teenagers she used to say that she loved to listen to country music, but only when it is cold outside. At that time in my life I was studying voice, and learning opera songs left and right by a very formal voice teacher who happen to HATE country music, therfore I did! Whenever Allie would mention country songs I had no idea what she was talking about and didn't care to find out until my cousin became a member of the then famous country band, Collin Raye. When they came to Reno I got a free ticket to go see them, and well... needless to say I was not so impressed with the country fans(mostly the girls that where crazy out of control over this guy in a pair of Wranglers)but the music did make an impression. I started to fall in love with the stories that the songs tell. I ventured out, and started listening with my friends advice to listen only when the weather started to get cold . I have been hooked ever since.
I dont' really think about it . I just start to listen the minute the trees turn yellow, or the air becomes cool . Somehow my ears tune in and my fingers just move the station over to the country music that I hear on the radio. I love the fall and when the trees are turning I love to just reflect upon seasons changing always in life. Some things you can just count on. Change and country music are two things that I can count on to cause a point of reflection.
I didn't even realize how this had become a tradition until today when listening to Rascal Flatts on the radio I thought, "Why haven't I heard this great song before? Oh I know, because I don't listen until it's cold outside) Then it dawned on me that this is a very strange trait. Why do I only want to listen when it's cold out. It makes no sense. Is it because that is what was suggested first by a friend who does have a way of persuasion with me and I have a deep respect for Allie ? Is it because in the fall/winter I want to go inside and listen to reflective music that tells a story? Is it because I am only patriotic and therefore a country kind of gal around voting season?
I DON'T really know, but this is a trait that is not going away. I am really enjoying what I have been hearing these past few weeks and when spring rolls around maybe I will keep on listening. Maybe not. Just thought I would share. Any other country music fans out there? Got some suggestions for other great songs that I might have missed out on between spring/summer months?

The story of Mo..el Part 3 of 3

Learning to be complete in God's love and to trust in Him fully for the future was what the time in between my sophmore and senior year taught me. Ephesians 3:14-20
Okay, so this bring us to my Senior year of high school. In between all that time like I said I truly didn't think again about Moses but that was partly due to the fact that I didn't see him again because he had dropped out of high school and partly due to a distraction that I entertained for a bit about another boy. Ya know , I was after all in high school!! Mostly though I really was growing alot in my relationship with Jesus and I was fortunate enough to be able to go on several missions trips during this time that kept me pretty busy.
My Senior year was very hard because I really didn't want to be there anymore. So the year was draggin a bit for me up until mid year one day when I walked into my last class Art, and there was Moses. Whoa!!! I was so shocked I cannot even tell you but again not knowing if he ever got my letter or if he knew who I was now, I just walked on by and sat down at my table in class. Then, when I looked up there he was. Closer than we had ever been before he sat down right next to me and said, "You are Noel right?" To which I replied "Yes" He then said, " I never got to thank you for that letter but it came at a really important time in my life and I just wanted to thank you for it." He then went on to say, "I would really like to get together with you sometime and talk to you about what you believe in" to which I said, "NO"(just kidding) I said yes of course. The class proceeded I left and went right over to my youth pastors house and told them what had happened. I was on cloud 9 you better believe it. I could hardly wait to go back to school the next day but when I did to my total disappointment he wasn't there. The art teacher told me that there was a mix up with the school and that they weren't going to allow him to come and assist in the class anymore. I was pretty upset but I didn't even know how to get a hold of him and certainly didn't want to fall back into my bad stalker habits again so I didn't even try.
Another year went by. I graduated from high school and decided not to go away for college as I originally had planned. I was working at a preschool taking classes at WNCC and had a new roomate at my parents house, my good friend Allie. We would stay up late almost every night into the wee hours of the night(not good for her she was still in high school) but made for some very great memories for me. Anyhew, she asked me whatever happened to Moses to which I replied I have no idea. She then suggested that I look him up in the phone book and see what happens. So I did. I called the listing and to my shock and amazement it was his house but he wasn't home. His roomate Scott answered and said he would give him my message. What I didn't know was that around the same time I was looking for him he had thought of me again as well. Running into a mutual friend he asked where I was and what I was up to. So after a day or so of phone tag we spoke and I invited him to come to our Saturday night college service. He said that sounded great and I was so excited just to see him again. At the same time I was a bit weary because I knew for sure that I wasn't about to just start dating him right away unless I knew he was serious about persuing a relationship with Jesus first. I watched from a distance as he was faithful to come every Saturday and then when he was asked to live in Guys house for the purpose of becoming a stronger Christian (it was called a discipleship house) I knew that he meant business with Jesus and not just with me. This meant a lot to me, his decision probably more than he realized at the time. So for a long time we went out with a big gang of people and then as I got more sure of his intentions for Jesus and for me we started to go out just the three of us, Me , Mo, and my good friend Allie. Poor guy , now that I think back on this time I have to laugh because of the hoops I made him jump through but I had to be sure. Anyway, he didn't seem to mind and even paid for Allie's night out as well(what a gentleman) but it didn't take long before he wanted to know when we could go out on a date alone. I was at this point to be honest a little scared but excited at the same time. We dated for about 2 months before he made his intentions clear that he didn't want to just "be dating" but that in fact he wanted a life partner. I was on board. So at the young age of 19 he asked me to be his wife and the rest is history....present and future.

Happy B-day Allie

Happy Birthday My Dear Old Friend Cali- Allie. Hope it's a good one.
Hey have you heard the new country song "My next thirty years"??
It's a good one. Also "She's somebody's hero" that one made me cry.
Ya know it's our time of year for listening to country.