BeBe... too cute not to post

Here ya go:

BeBe as a baby

sleepy...ZzZzZz

Me and BeBe

BeBe in Rodney's Hair

Random Closeup

Chillin

He is just the cutest and prettiest lovebird around! I may be a little biased about that.

Five Factor Personality Profile

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have high extroversion. You are outgoing and engaging, with both strangers and friends. You truly enjoy being with people and bring energy into any situation. Enthusiastic and fun, you're the first to say "let's go!" Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have medium agreeableness. You're generally a friendly and trusting person. But you also have a healthy dose of cynicism. You get along well with others, as long as they play fair. Neuroticism: You have low neuroticism. You are very emotionally stable and mentally together. Only the greatest setbacks upset you, and you bounce back quickly. Overall, you are typically calm and relaxed - making others feel secure. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is high. In life, you tend to be an early adopter of all new things and ideas. You'll try almost anything interesting, and you're constantly pushing your own limits. A great connoisseir of art and beauty, you can find the positive side of almost anything.

The Five Factor Personality Test

Hehe...

Boston Creme Donut!

You Are a Boston Creme Donut

You have a tough exterior. No one wants to mess with you. But on the inside, you're a total pushover and completely soft. You're a traditionalist, and you don't change easily. You're likely to eat the same doughnut every morning, and pout if it's sold out.

What Donut Are You?

I love Boston Creme Donuts, too! Hot original Krispy Kremes are best though!

The Dress

So, this is my dress.
Yes, I love it.
No, I won't be prettier than the bride.
The bride is always the prettiest.
I am just the matron of honor.
Wow, that sounds like I am old.
There is a maid of honor too-- Beth!
I am not sure what to call this dress.
Bridesmaid dress? Bridesmatron dress? I am not a maid... hmm.
Just my dress for Jen's wedding.
I will probably wear this dress again.
Jen's so sweet to let us pick our tops.
I can't wait to wear it.
I can't wait for Rodney to see me in it.
I'll probably cry at Jen's wedding.
She's not supposed to grow up!
We grew up together with Beth too...
Always sisters!
We are truly blessed!

a few more Niger photos....

I just love it when Beth sends pictures from Africa! The captions are from the file names:

Ruth and Beth

Jim's Party

Turtle Munchin'

I am still just so proud of her and looking forwards to seeing her in June!

Books and Speech

Here are a few quotes from the book An Enemy Called Average by John L. Mason:

Choose to think eternally, but act daily.

Don't accept your present, temporary situation as your future, permanent situation.

The impossible, many times, is just simply the untried.

Great leaders always rise above obstacles.

It is not the absence of problems that gives us peace; it's God's presence with us in the problems.

When God sees someone who doesn't quit, He looks down and says, "There is someone I can use."


Here are some quotes from The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson:

Your Giant is strong evidence that you're right on track to achieve the Big Dream God put in your heart.

Your dream lies in the direction of an overwhelming obstacle.
(which you AND God can overcome)


Here is part of a speech I gave about dreaming/business:

You must commit to serve others. By serving others first, you, too, shall be served. "Do unto others what you would have them do unto you."

Part of my commitment to my business is to personal growth. If you aren't growing, you might as well be withering. Everyday you choose not to grow, you are forgetting whose you are. I thank the Lord everyday that he hasn't forgotten me.

I consider myself "A diamond in the Rough."

Cure yourself of excusitis. Build confidence and destroy fear. Action overcomes fear. Keep your momentum going by persistently and consistantly taking action to achieve your dream.

Listen to the people who support your dream.

All in all, choose to be happy everyday, no matter what!

Medical Humor

Jesus, Satan, and the Computer

Jesus and Satan were having an on-going argument about who was better on the computer. They had been going at it for days, and frankly God was tired of hearing all the bickering.

Finally fed up, God said, "THAT'S IT! I have had enough. I am going to set up a test that will run for two hours, and from those results, I will judge who does the better job."

So Satan and Jesus sat down at the keyboards and typed away.
They moused.
They faxed.
They e-mailed.
They e-mailed with attachments.
They downloaded.
They did spreadsheets.
They wrote reports.
They created labels and cards.
They created charts and graphs.
They did some genealogy reports.
They did every job known to man.

Jesus worked with heavenly efficiency and Satan was faster than hell.

Then, ten minutes before their time was up, lightning suddenly flashed across the sky, thunder rolled, rain poured, and, of course, the power went off.

Satan stared at his blank screen and screamed every curse word known in the underworld.
Jesus just sighed.

Finally the electricity came back on, and each of them restarted their computers. Satan started searching frantically, screaming: "It's gone! It's all GONE! "I lost everything when the power went out!"

Meanwhile, Jesus quietly started printing out all of his files from the past two hours of work.

Satan observed this and became irate. "Wait!" he screamed. "That's not fair! He cheated! How come he has all his work and I don't have any?"

God just shrugged and said,

"Jesus saves."

Morning Prayer

This one was passed on via email to me:

Lord God,
What am I to do with the many things in my life:
church,
family,
job,
house and car,
exercise,
education,
social life,
community service,
friends who come and friends who go,
food and drink,
this repair or that,
this interruption or that,
this illness or that,
e-mails and correspondence,
finance and investment,
books and movies,
newspapers and magazines,
longings and ambitions,
love and sexuality,
travel and leisure?
Is it really "simplify, simplify, simplify"?
I ask only that my life may be totally transformed
by your Spirit of love, O God.
All these things and more will likely stay.
What is new is
that I am set free
from the compulsions of this world
and my heart is set on the only necessary thing.
What is new is
that I no longer experience the many things, people and events in my life
as endless causes of worry,
but I begin to experience them
as the many, colorful ways
in which God makes his presence known to me.
AMEN

Who am I (according to this quiz)?

Your Birthdate: August 4

You have an extraordinary character - moral, responsible, and disciplined. Your sincerely and honesty shine through in almost every situation. Driven and focused, you rarely let your emotions get the better of you. You're level headed and rational. People count on your to look at things objectively. Your strength: Your unwavering loyalty and ethics Your weakness: Your rock solid stubbornness Your power color: Navy blue Your power symbol: Shield Your power month: April

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Loss

Deep Loss
by Tamara Money

Death, Loss, Sorrow
What can comfort
Thoughts, dreams, tears
Who can gather
When pain is constant,
Can death be the only release
For we know what lies ahead
No tears, No loss, No Sorrow
No more suffering
Who can empathize
Truly one can
Amidst pain
There is deliverance
To a life true and free
Never ending and glorious
Until we meet again
Let us not live in anguish
Regretting
what was not
what cannot take place
Love endures
Forever
Strength is given
In loving arms
Only in loss
Can we understand
The blessings of life
Through those
who come and go
This world is not our home
It is only a path
Thus we give ourselves
To eternity

We will meet again, Praise the Lord.


In dedication to Sandy Adams, who waits in anticipation for our arrival.

Fat and Happy: Why Most People Don't Diet

By: Benjamin Radford
Skeptical Inquirer

By now most people's New Years resolutions are as stale as any leftover Superbowl potato chips or Christmas fruitcake. The resolve to quit smoking, or lose weight and get fit, fades quickly. They are great ideas, but the self-improvement fever lasts only a few weeks, and by March gyms across the country are cashing in on unused memberships.

Why is this? America is often described as a nation of chronic dieters. In a Jan. 16, 2006, cover article in U.S. News & World Report, Amanda Spake suggested that Americans should 'Stop dieting. Stop obsessing about every morsel you put in your mouth, stop weighing yourself twice a day, stop letting your quest to be thin control your life." Good advice—if it were true.

The idea that Americans are obsessed with weight loss is a myth.

Journalists cite misleading statistics such as that Americans spend $33 billion each year on weight loss—everything from fad diets to books to exercise equipment. As impressive as the number sounds, it is not a true measure of commitment to losing weight. Books, diet plans, and Stairmasters don't make people lose weight. People make people lose weight. Spending money is easy; the problem is the follow-through.

The surprising reality is that most Americans are not dieting, and are not really trying to lose weight. If Americans were truly committed to getting fit and losing weight, they would eat less and exercise more. Yet most people steadfastly refuse to do it.

In 2004, the Centers for Disease Control reported that Americans are eating more than ever, and women in particular are eating over 300 more calories a day than they did in 1971. Two-thirds of Americans are overweight, yet fewer than one-third get regular exercise.
The simple fact is that losing weight just isn't that important to people.

A 1993 Yankelovich survey found that over half of Americans said they weren't at all concerned with watching their weight, and studies show that fewer than one-quarter of Americans are dieting. In 2002 Glamour magazine asked more than 11,000 readers what they would give up to slim down permanently. Three-quarters would not give up eating dessert, and only 41 percent would pay $3,000 to be thin forever. Almost a quarter said they would not give up anything to lose weight.

Many of us would like to lose weight in the same way we'd like to get rich by winning the lottery: We'll do it if it doesn't take too much effort. Americans don't want to take the figurative and literal steps to achieve our goals. We want to eat more and weigh less. Diet and exercise—the only proven method for effective, sustained weight loss—sounds good but takes too much willpower for most of us.

The myth that most diets fail has it exactly backward: Instead, most people fail diets. Just about any sensible diet will help a person lose weight. Blaming the diet because the dieter quit is like blaming the unused treadmill for not doing its job. The real solution isn't in fad diets or workout DVDs; the solution is in the mirror.


AMEN, Brother. You are right on!