Nacho Libre Sleeps!!

why are they always so stinking cute when they are asleep??

i feel i should explain why my son fell asleep with belly exposed and mask on. after watching nacho libre about two weeks ago he has been a bit obsessive about the character nacho who is a spanish monk turned secret pro wrestler in his off time.

anyhew- isaiah now is definitely in a phase(at least i sure hope it is a phase) of taking his shirt off, putting something over his head(even if it is his brother's dirty underwear) and running into the room hands up exclaiming, "nacho libre!!"

if you haven't seen the movie it's a good one for laughs and if you haven't seen the reenactment yet from isaiah, stay tuned you probably will shortly.

My final English Essay

My final English essay for this semester has to be an argument, and in case you haven't already noticed I really don't like to argue nor do I care to write a whole 4 page essay based on an argument. I could so easily hand this over to the giant who should've become a lawyer he is so convincing, but I fear she will not recognize the decisive tone of the paper and also not to mention the fact that would be cheating.
I gave every idea possible to other students who were struggling for ideas on what to argue about and yet when I try to think about what I want to argue about, I Got Nothing!!!
I started to get something about the hot topic of same sex marriages but then it got all muddy and now, now here I sit needing to write a paper but instead choosing to blog because I am once again avoiding an argument.
Oh did I mention that we have to read these in class? That should be argued as cruel and unusual punishment.

Me and the Dentist

I had the best dental experience today that I have ever had. I forgot I was at the dentist because my new dentist and his assistant were so incredibly funny. I got up from the chair when it was all done and felt I should tip them for their comedy relief. Later today when thinking back on the experience they put a smile on my face not only because my teeth got fixed but it was so easy, and dare I say it, fun!!! The icing on the cake for sure though was the bill which was incredibly lower than what I am used to. Gotta love that.
So this is a shout out for my new dentist, located off of Greenbrae in Sparks, Dr. Bobby Locke.

Holidays and a Tribute to Jen

As the bigger holidays are approaching this year I am more aware than ever that my sister is half-way across the globe and it makes me miss her something fierce.
I have been fortunate all these years to have all 4 of my siblings close enough to share all the big holidays together, and this is the first year that we won't be all together. I know that might seem like something silly to be bummed about, but I adore my big sister Jenny and she lights up the room like no other. So this is a tribute to her and to her namesake who will also be missed this holiday season.

Too much fun

Here is the fall photo of our little ones minus the elephant aka Isaiah or Izillia as Joey so nicely deemed him.
Solomon won the costume contest this year which was pretty great. The expresion on his face is priceless to me in the photo of him with his prized puppy. Not too many more years of this fun dressing up stuff so I am fully enjoying thier creativity and imaginations right now.

A beautiful Fall day

Today has got to be one of the most beautiful days I have ever seen in Nevada. The explosions of color that are happening on every tree around here is amazing. I drive by these trees so much slower just to take it all in. By next week, the trees will mostly all be barren and empty and the weather will get very, very chilly. Right now though , once again I am amazed by The Creator, and how year after beautiful year He produces such awesome beauty for His kids to enjoy. You couldn't paint these colors even if you tried.
I made a carrot cake with maple cream cheese frosting, lit candles that smell like fall, and hung out with some beautiful brand new moms while our babies fell asleep in our laps (probably from our non-stop chatter) the leaves fell off the trees right outside my window and I thought, what a gorgoues fall morning. I couldn't ask for better ingredients in life. Good company, Good food, Good scenery, and a very Good God who knows my name and made explosions in the sky just for me.

Bagpipes and Airbags

Sol-"Mom, does gramma's car have bagpipes up there?" Pointing to the front of her van on the dashboard.
Me-"What?"
Sol- "YOU know bagpipes?" This time pointing right at the glove box.
Me-"Oh, no her car doesn't have bagpipes that's why you can sit up here."
Sol-" I like gramma's car and our bus cause dad's bus doesn't have bagpipes either."
Me- In my head thinking , Well sometimes it has bagpipes but only when dad is bringing those pipes somewhere special.
Hee hee hee!!
Please don't tell him the difference.

Life according to Chloe

Apparently being double jointed means much more than I thought. While talking on the phone , my daughter Chloe told her friend Keelin that she is double jointed and this is what it really means; "Yeah, I am talking on the phone and putting on my shoes at the same time cause I am double jointed."
Huh, I guess I missed that one.
Also, last week while she was trying to convince me to sign her up for a tap class that she wanted to take Chloe said, "Look mom this class even pays you money!" while pointing to how much it cost. I wish they paid us money!! My sweet Lo lo. Did I mention that both my girls believe that are betrothed to some wonderful boy who they don't get to know about until they are 18. Please don't tell them otherwise.

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?

Hunter and the hunted

Last night after I got home from class I noticed that my cat Hunter was planted in front of fridge ,and he wasn't moving. Hmmm..... I thought well, I wonder if he's hungry, (no just kidding )I knew he was on the prowl for something found not inside the fridge, but probably under or behind it. This cat was named appropriately. He was waiting for that nasty rodent to show it's face. I love my cat. He does such a good job of being the hunter that we hired him for. Okay, back to my story. So fastforward to about 3a.m. in the morning. I wake up from a dead sleep to hear the cat shuffling his paws in and around the bookself that is right outside our bedroom door. Ah man, the mouse made its way out of the kitchen, and is now finding a safe retreat right outside my room. I look over to the giant who is sawing logs, totally unaffected by this game of cat and mouse.How can he sleep when the game that is being played out rather loudly I might add is right outside our room?? Well, as any woman knows you can't just go back to sleep knowing there is a nasty rodent near by so I do what any brave woman would do in this situation and I wake the sleeping Giant. I love my husband. He does such a good job of being the protector that I married him for.He wakes up, and gets in on this game of cat and mouse. He ups the anty for Hunter by moving the bookcase out of the way which then provides the mouse the straight path right into my room and under my bed. Can you say , EEEEEKKKK!! If it were not for the fact that it was 3a.m. in the morning and we had 4 sleeping lil ones I would have been screaming. I did scream but under my pillow and then I had to resort to singing. Why, you might ask? Well, because my wonderful cat decided to EAT his tasty morsel right underneath my bed at 3 AM in the morning(well, it was more like 4AM now) and if I didn't keep singing I could hear every crunch. Can you say, EEEEKKKKK!!! SO , because I couldn't be vocal about this while it was happening I am choosing to share this wonderful story with you all. Hope you enjoy it and sweet dreams tonight.

A personal heater

This morning I started reading in 1 Kings and the very first story that is told there is of a virgin girl named Abishag. This story has always stuck out to me because I have always wondered what it must have been like for this girl to snuggle up to a strange old man every night. The bible states that she was beautiful and a virgin so I am sure her social life wasn't left wanting and then she gets the job hire of personal heater. What must it be like to be a personal heater? I am sure the Giant could answer that question because he is my own personal heater. Sometimes in the winter my feet get so cold they are numb and then it is only when I get them close to Mo's feet that I am reminded that I have feet. Anyway, enough about us playing footsies. I really thought about this differently though this morning. I wondered if this girl may have realized who it was that she was asked to care for and warm. I wonder if she realized this was one of Israel's greatest kings, and a man after God's own heart. Did she realize the job she was asked to do was a blessing, or did she just think it was her duty and that she had no other choice? Did she realize her placement and the great wealth of wisdom that was within that man she was warming, or did she resent this position because it was her job. Clock in . Clock out. Clock in. Clock out.
I often think that in America especially we take our elders for granted. We don't glean nearly as much wisdom as we should from them. We don'tthink we have the time to hear thier life stories and listen to what they have learned so that we might learn from them. This is truly a shame in my opinion and something that shouldn't be.
This story made me think two things. First, never to take for granted the place that God has put you in or the people He has surrounded you with, and two that those older than us have a wealth of wisdom to give if we have the time to listen.
1 Kings chapter 1

A picture played out right before my eyes

The other night on my way to TMCC I turned onto Sullivan off of McCarran, and looked to the left to see the sun shining on this beautiful home that is literally built on a rock. This house must have a gorgeous view of the city of Reno, and was probably very difficult to build. I don't know much about construction, (that's the Giants job) but I imagine they must have had to cut into this big rock in order to build this house.
Then as my eyes wandered off to the right I noticed these other houses that I never really payed attention to before, but my sister Gina and her husband Izzy are currently house shopping and this group of houses were all up for sale and for a great price. My sister Gina wanted me to take a closer look at these homes the other day because she really liked them, and you couldn't beat the price, but what she didn't realize at the time was that their foundation is shaky. Brand new homes, very nice , in town, great price, but not built on solid ground.
It was a picture from the bible that is played out right before my eyes on my weekly route to school.
Now, here is my thought, it took just as much time, energy and money to build both of these houses. I would say that the one on the rock probably cost more but the outcome is evident. That house is a way greater value than the other homes and it is noticed just from looking at it from afar. Still, the other homes took as much energy and I am sure the owners love them just as much, at least until they find out theirs was built on a shaky foundation. When you start to realize that your home is not structurely sound most people start looking for another place to live,(hence all the for sale signs in that neighborhood) and probably start suing left and right.
It takes the same amount of time (life that we are all given here) to build your house on either the sand or on the rock. I am so glad that my life starting building on a firm foundation from a young age and that when the winds of life have come my way I didn't come crashing down.
I feel sorry for those people stuck in those houses that are going to be very hard to sell now, and the value is probably no longer as good as they thought. It makes me think that when I look back on my life what will really be of value. What is really important to build on, and what could stand to be washed away like sand on the seashore?
Matthew 7:24-27 "Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise .Llike a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on the rock. But anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash."

A quote that has been lingering....

"Success will take you where character cannot."
I cannot remember where I heard this quote or even who said it but I wrote it down in my journal a long time ago and came across it the other day.
When I first heard this quote I thought of how famous successful people seem to fall by the waste-side in character issues all the time. The truth of this is quite obvious when you look at the cover of any People magazine . The covers are plastered with divorce or drug and alcohol abuse. This is an example that makes this quote easy for me to understand.
After some thought though I started to think about how this quote could be applied to Christians who think they are achieving spiritual success. I don't know what many of you would define as spiritual success but there was a time when for me it meant being used by God in the Billy Graham sort of way. Now, I don't think that way anymore. A long , long time ago this was what I thought it meant to be spiritually successful; to read your bible every single day without fail, to pray for everyone, help everyone, go on as many mission trips as possible, prophesy, sing prophetically, read one or more books on being a good Christian, go to every bible study available at the church, pray prophetically, you get the idea. If you weren't living this way you weren't a successful , victorious Christian.
When you apply this quote that way it makes me think of how many Christians I have known over the years who were living this way, constantly looking for the mountaintop moments to affirm their salvation, and now they are not even going to church. All of them having these Billy Graham sort of moments on a daily basis. Used to perform miracle after miracle. Now a few years later when I look back on them I see that the core issues of their lives fell apart. Why? I think because they thought that what they were doing was for God so how could it not turn out good. Sometimes we put the God-tag on things that He isn't behind.
Now, I realize that the day to day life is where it is at. The little victories in my character that are changing but have taken a very long time to get there. Sometimes God heals and miraculously we are changed overnight , but more often than not it is an every day choice in my life where I get to obey or not obey.
It has made me appreciate the times when I know that Jesus is working on me and my character issues . I don't embrace these times when they are happening but when I look back I realize their necessity. I realize that it is because Jesus loves me that He corrects me.
I want to obey in every area . I want to have the character that comes along side the miracles.

Fall is in the air around here, and it's about time.

I am so happy that fall is finally here. This is my favorite time of year. Today was a perfect weather day in my opinion. I sat outside and the air was cool but the sun was warm and it made me thankful for season changes. I might not like other changes so much but the season changing is something that I can really enjoy. One thing that I will give credit to Nevada for is the fact that we get a pretty good dose of every season. That's about all that I can say that is positive regarding the state of Nevada. More times than not I wonder why I live in this state, but that is a topic for another blog on another day.
Every year when the leaves start to change it makes me remember that changes are good.

1 year ago today and then 5 years ago.....

One year ago today my beloved grandmother Joan LeSage passed away from this earth to go home. I loved this woman so much and it hurts to think of her not being here anymore but I am thankful that the sting of death is not all that I feel on this day. I know in my heart that I will see her again and so this time apart doesn't hurt as bad. I know that I will see her smiling eyes again. I know that her hug will warm my spirit again. I know this like I know that my name is Noel, or that my hair is brown, or that I have 4 children. I know this.
This makes me think of the other saddness of this day. All those lives that were lost 5 years ago. They were taken way before the long full life that my grandmother was given. Thier deaths were not nearly as peaceful. She died in her sleep , they died in terror and fear and long before they should have. Thier families didn't get to say goodbye and many of them don't have the assurance that they will ever see them again. That assurance is a gift. It steals the pain away from the sting of death like nothing else can. It is I believe what we are here to realize . That we are eternal beings and that one place or another we will live on.
This was a strange day for me with mixed emotions. A visit from my brother and then from my dad and then with a close friend. I am left feeling sad for those people who are still in fear of death and happy about my grandmother's beautiful long life lived. Mixed emotions. Trying to make sense of it all.

What a face!!!

Isaiah says,
"Je yes!" to all things. It's good to be 2.

Always have time for a friend

This article was about a college professor who started his philosophy class by presenting his students with a large empty mayonnaise jar. He then proceeded to fill it with golf balls. "Is this jar full?" he asked his students. They nodded in agreement. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles under the table which he dumped into the jar, which he shook to allow the pebbles to roll into the open areas. "Is the jar full now?" he asked again. And again the students agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of sand, also from under the table, which he poured into the jar. The sand filled up what little space there was left. "Would you say the jar was now full?" he asked. The students responded with a loud "Yes!" This time they were really sure. The professor smiled and then produced two cups of coffee which he poured into the jar filling the empty spaces in the jar. When the professor announced that the jar was now full, the students laughed. The professor then told his students that the jar represents each one's life. The golf balls are the important things -- your God, your family, your health, your community, your friends -- whatever you consider to be the most important things in your life. "Things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full," he said. The pebbles, on the other hand, represent the other things that matter to you such as your job, your house, perhaps your car. The sand is everything else -- the small stuff -- like your computer, your cell phone, your HDTV, your DVDs, your shoes and clothes. If you pour the sand into the jar first, the professor told his students, then you won't have space for the golf balls and the pebbles. "If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff," he said, "then you will never have room for the things that are truly important to you." The professor told his students to pay attention to the things that are "truly critical to your happiness." You should make time to spend with their family, he said. You should go on vacations together. You should take time to get your medical check-ups. Play golf or tennis or go swimming at the YMCA. There will be time enough to clean the house or buy another shirt or skirt. "Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand." As his words sank in to his students, one of them raised her hand and asked the professor "What about the cups of coffee?" "I'm glad you asked," he said. "It just goes to show that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room to share a cup of coffee with a friend."
I just thought this was really great and very true. Thought I would share it with my bloggin friends.

Labor Day, and some ponderings about sleep

I slept in til 11:30. The giant got up with the kiddos and I can hardly believe myself that it is still possible for me to sleep that long. When I looked at the clock I had to rub my eyes to see if it was really almost noon. Haven't slept that long since I was a teenager. Do you know what is so wierd though??
I am STILL tired!!!!! Someone tell me please why it is when you get more sleep than usual that you wake up feeling more tired?? How can this be?? Just doesn't make sense.
Also, someone told me once that all the nights that you don't get a full 8 hours sleep you will have to catch up on all those lost hours later in life when you are older? That can't be true. Most older people I know require less sleep. Why is that?

LAME

I feel pretty lame today. Last night we recieved back our first lil writing assignment that I shared with you all in the previous post, and well it turns out that I didn't read the article correctly and so therefore my lil arguement that I was feeling oh so proud about was null and void.
LAME. LAME. LAME.
I don't feel as stupid only because so many other students in the class misunderstood the very same thing that I did, and therefore it is partly the writers problem BUT all the same I feel pretty LAME.
Apparently , I will be learning some things in college , like how to read :)