Archive for May, 2006

The Stole it From Me!!!

Posted by Bethany in Goofiness, Motherhood on May 31, 2006

I was looking at baby names on babynames.com when I read this bit of information….

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have a baby girl and name her Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt. The name Shiloh means “Peaceful One”.

All I have to say is that I got the name first!! My daughter Shiloh Mackenzie is 8 1/2 and this is the first I’ve ever heard of another Shiloh.

Hehe. I rarely know the names of celebrity babies. I may read them but I never remember them. Guess I won’t be forgetting Brad and Angelina’s baby girl’s name….

2 Comments

Gotta Love Them Remarks!

Posted by Bethany in Bloggity Blog, Family Matters, Motherhood on May 30, 2006

So what is it about getting married, or having a family that causes people to lose all tact?

Sallie has some interesting points about that on her latest Maternity Leave Update 3.

When people have made these comments, I’ve thought back to something a friend said a few years ago. I’ll call her Jane and her husband Tim (not their real names). Jane and Tim have a marriage a lot like ours in terms of personality, temperments, giftings, etc. They got married a few months after we did and you could tell by being around them that they were truly best friends and thoroughly enjoyed each other. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give them a 10 at their prospects of being happily married throughout life. When they found out they were expecting their first child, Jane made a comment about having children that I’ve never forgotten. She said (and I’m paraphrasing), “We’ve seen how much joy marriage has brought us by doing it according to God’s Word and I don’t have any doubts that raising children will be just as wonderful as we seek to do it according to God’s Word.” What a great attitude! Why is it that so many people speak so negatively about both marriage and having children? Why is it that people somehow feel they have to drag down your expectations before marriage or having children? Our marriage is not perfect and we’ve had our ups and downs like anyone. But marriage has far exceeded my expectations. I’m expecting the same thing out of parenting. I’m sure there will be days that this child will exasperate me beyond words. But I still expect it to be a rewarding and wonderful experience.

I agree completely with what Sallie says. As a mother already, I can tell you that my children have exasperated me beyond words on many occassions. But you are correct Sallie in expecting it to be a rewarding and wonderful experience. It has been.

We sat in a Bible study tonight, starting the book of Judges. My eight year old sat starry-eyed, hanging on every word. She asked questions and took notes !! “Hold on a sec please. Can you say that slower? I want to write that down!” Mothers don’t get much more proud than that!!

How’s that for rewarding experiences? The thirty minute Bible Study turned into over an hour…and had it been up to Shiloh it would still be going on!!

And I know I’m still a newlywed, so my being very happy with my marriage may be attributed (by others) to that fact. But Sallie is not a newlywed. And I must say, I have no plans on feeling any different in ten, fifteen or twenty years of marriage.

Sallie’s friends sound smart to me….

“We’ve seen how much joy marriage has brought us by doing it according to God’s Word and I don’t have any doubts that raising children will be just as wonderful as we seek to do it according to God’s Word.”

What a beautiful attitude…one I hope to copy!

Thank you Sallie, for sharing!

As a newlywed and an expecting mother, I can tell you I have certainly had my share of these comments.

“There goes your freedom.”
“Bless your heart. You’re gonna have a house full.”
“Were you trying to get pregnant?” (nosy!!)
“How’s married life?” (raised eyebrows three times….)

Those are some….that I can share on my family friendly blog!!

And Sallie, the belly-touching will come. I’ve always wondered what made people think being pregnant is an excuse to walk up and touch the stomach of a perfect stranger.

So, what have your tactless comments been? Or negative comments? On getting married or having children? I know some of you guys with larger than average households have some good ones….do tell!

By the way, you do know where babies come from, don’t you?

6 Comments

Memorial Day

Posted by Bethany in Uncategorized on May 29, 2006

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

~John McCrae, 1915.

We cherish too, the Poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led,
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies.

~Moina Michael

Taps

Day is done,
gone the sun,
From the hills,
from the lake,
From the skies.
All is well,
safely rest,
God is nigh.

Go to sleep,
peaceful sleep,
May the soldier
or sailor,
God keep.
On the land
or the deep,
Safe in sleep.

Love, good night,
Must thou go,
When the day,
And the night
Need thee so?
All is well.
Speedeth all
To their rest.

Fades the light;
And afar
Goeth day,
And the stars
Shineth bright,
Fare thee well;
Day has gone,
Night is on.

Thanks and praise,
For our days,
‘Neath the sun,
Neath the stars,
‘Neath the sky,
As we go,
This we know,
God is nigh.

2 Comments

What a Dirty Little Boy

Posted by Bethany in Picturesque on May 26, 2006

Looking a wee bit tired after playing in the hot sun all afternoon!

I Think It’s Cute How You Think I’m Listening

Posted by Bethany in Rants and Raves on May 26, 2006

I Think It’s Cute How You Think I’m Listening

Well, that’s what the girl’s t-shirt said today. A girl about six or seven, in line with her mother at MacAlister’s, where I ate lunch.

Sadly, I noticed the mother saying over and over, “You are not listening!” and “Listen to me!” She repeated directions over and over and basically stayed on the girl’s case the entire time I was in the restaraunt. I was rather relieved when they left.

Hrmmmm….wonder if the mother considered she might be endorsing not listening when she bought the t-shirt? Or allowed her to wear it. I dunno….

(Alright, I’m not even close to the perfect mother! Sorry for the judgemental post. Just felt like a rant.)

Summer Break

Posted by Bethany in Educator, Goofiness on May 24, 2006

Finally!

No more pencils,
No more books,
No more students dirty looks!

Hey, it works both ways, right?

Anyway, today was my last day of school. So hopefully I’ll have real blog content soon. I’m working on a few things already.

And since the Spurs are out of the play-offs, I won’t be spending every other night at my mom’s in front of the television.

So maybe I’ll see you around!

And for your entertainment, Stop horsing around! (Click on the horses…)

3 Comments

Game Seven

Posted by Bethany in The Great Game of Basketball and Other Mediocre Sports on May 22, 2006

Hrmmmmm….wonder what Bethany is doing tonight?

Wanna see?

Go Spurs! Go!

3 Comments

The San Antonio Spurs vs. The Atlanta Braves

Posted by Bethany in The Great Game of Basketball and Other Mediocre Sports on May 20, 2006

If you know me well, you know I’m a huge fan of the San Antonio Spurs. I come by this love genetically it seems, as my parents, especially my mother, are huge Spurs fans.

I haven’t written about my love for this NBA team a too terribly much, but here are a few of the things I have written about them. I started blogging after the playoffs last year (otherwise I’d probably have several posts concerning the Spurs) and since I moved over the summer we do not get outside television. Of which I’m much appreciative, it just makes it harder to keep up with my team.

My mother has kept me pretty up to date about the Spurs though. And last night could have been their last game of the season. They were playing in Game 5 against the Dallas Mavericks and were down 2-3 in the series.

I decided to drive north for thirty minutes in order to support the team that I love.

Now, if you follow baseball you know that the season is in full swing! My family happens to have a favorite baseball team as well. That would be the Atlanta Braves.

And you sports fans who know that the Spurs are basketball and the Braves are baseball are really wondering now about my title.

Let’s just say, it makes for an interesting ballgame when your favorite team is in a possible elimination game with one of its biggest rivals, a nail-biter where ten seconds are left in the game and you’re not sure who the winner will be, and your father flips to the Braves game during every timeout!

Yes…and after the high paced basketball game, the intensity, the ulcer growing in your stomach, having to watch a picher walk a player is agonizing. Atlanta Braves fan, or not!

So, it made for an interesting night. A fun night, considering my team pulled it off. Now if they can only win Monday night’s game……

And watching that play-off game gave me basketball fever in a big way. I think I’ll be visiting my mother again on Monday. And hopefully, several more times as the play-offs continue!

Oh yeah, the Braves won too! And I’m glad about that as well!

2 Comments

Mother’s Day Recap

Posted by Bethany in Family Matters, Motherhood on May 16, 2006

I mentioned already that I was having a wonderful Mother’s Day, but was too busy to talk much about it. And incredibly tired. And needing to get ready for night church….

We hosted/hostessed Mother’s Day at our house. Our house is right by our church which is 30 minutes from Josh’s parents/grandparents and 30 minutes from my parents…in different directions. So our house seemed a good idea.

And I still think it was. It was a lot of work, but so much fun. And I love having my house full of people…especially family! Our tiny little house had about 30 people in it! And Joshua barbequed for them all! Mounds of chicken and sausage….complimented by potato salad, broccoli cassarole, scalloped potatoes, green salad, baked beans, rolls, brownies and strawberry shortcake. (I’m not super-woman…everyone helped with food!)

It was wonderful having the house full. And kids everywhere!! (Joshua’s grandfather really seemed to enjoy the kids!)

Some of us ate at picnic tables in the yard, and my brother and brother-in-law brought their four wheelers and gave plenty of rides in the fields and around the pond behind our house. My mother snuck in a few of those rides herself with her grandchildren and Lizzie (my youngest sister-in-law).The weather was lovely, if a tad bit warm. The front porch swing stayed full of people and I even caught my mother-in-law and sister-in-laws jumping on the trampoline.

And my family spoiled me tremendously….see my gifts?

Shiloh specifically wanted to get me pansies…and Josh has already prepared the ground for them. We plan on planting them this very afternoon!