The Dark Knight

Last night Donnie and I went to see The Dark Knight (the newest Batman movie for those of you who live in a cave). What is up with all the comic book movies that are coming out? Wow! I have to see all of them because I married a comic book geek, otherwise I probably wouldn't have seen any of them.
The Dark Knight is a good movie. However, I liked Iron Man better. Batman movies are always really dark. This was one of the darkest, I think.
Heath Ledger was amazing as the Joker. Wow! He gave sick and twisted new meaning. I predict he will win a ton of awards, even though he is now dead. He would have won them even if he lived, I don't think it will just be because people feel the need to honor his death.
The guy who played Batman wasn't great, though. I guess he played the part well, but he wasn't fantastic or anything.
It was violent, but I can't remember any swearing.
Do I sound like I am excited about it? No? Well, I'm not, but it really is a good movie. Great story line, great length, great acting in the Joker, and some fun twists.

Game Stop

GameStop is one of our boys' favorite places to shop. All three of our teen boys and their daddy. OK, so I love it, too! But I love it because I am a tightwad and will take a price break anywhere I can get it! I think we've been shopping there for about 10 years or so, before it was even renamed GameStop.

GameStop is the place to go to get some money out of your used games that you no longer play and to get discounts on used games that you want to buy. It is a really easy place to sell your used games and equipment. GameStop offers a trade-in program that lets you bring in the old games and get credit towards new titles or systems. You can also buy new games and systems and attachments for them.

With the heat of summer upon us playing outside gets difficult and finding something entertaining for the kids to do indoors is a challenge. They get bored of the same game after a few weeks, so trading is a great idea for those summer time dollar stretchers.

Cody is our game freak. He'd rather play computer and video games than just about anything, sports, friends, dinner. He doesn't get to play as much as that, but he does play a lot! So for Cody's birthday and even Christmas, much of our family gives him GameStop gift cards. Those are his favorite presents!

Our local GameStop has several game systems set up for customers to try things out. I appreciated trying out the Wii, which so far I am not very good at playing. So I am not sure I want one now. We were able to try out the newest Guitar Hero, too, and that is one of our favorite family games. I think it is because it is one I can play and beat my husband at, and that never happens! But I can't beat the kids. Except at I Love Rock and Roll. They hate that song. I love that song.

I have a gift card coming in the mail for GameStop, it hasn't arrived and we are all bummed. But I'm keeping my eye open for it because a $30 gc is enough to get Cody to rub my feet with lotion for an hour a day for at least a week, hehe. Oh, yeah, I am not above that.

Love As A Way Of Life~ A book review

Love As A Way of Life by Gary Chapman is a wonderful book. I have thoroughly enjoyed the Love Languages books, but it is hard to implement those love languages when loving is not the way you live your life.

That isn't saying that I don't love, it just isn't the way I do everything. Such as going to the store, I don't think about how I can show love to other patrons or the clerks. Yes, being polite, but loving them? Something as simple as someone saying something nice to me has made a huge impact in my day, so shouldn't I be going for that with everyone I meet? Making eye contact with people and smiling? Saying hello and wishing people a good day? Thanking the clerk for ringing up my order?

I think one of the main things that impacted me in this book was a part about helping others. Sometimes it is hard to accept help from someone else. It puts you in a position of humility. (not to be confused with humiliation) Chapman says "Accepting the help of others is one of the best and most difficult ways of fostering loving relationships." And I completely agree! It brought back a memory of a friend from long ago who explained to me that denying someone the gift of helping me was denying them a blessing from God. It feels good to help someone, and it feels bad to be turned down when you offer to help someone. God blesses people when they serve others, sometimes with good feelings, sometimes with more then feelings. Would I want to deny someone the gift of God to save face? To look like I have no failures or have no needs? Sometimes you genuinely don't need the help, but accepting it when you do need it, or it would really help, will bless you and them. I once accepted the help of someone I didn't know well to clean my house when I was in horrid morning sickness. We are still as close as sisters 12 years later! What a blessing that act was for both of us.

Summary: For decades Dr. Gary Chapman’s best-selling books have shown readers how to speak the “love language” of those they care about. Now he digs even deeper to uncover the foundations of what it means to cultivate a lifestyle of love and how doing so leads to satisfaction and success in every area of life.
Drawing fresh insights from timeless biblical principles, Chapman presents poignant stories of real people who have discovered the joys of living out the seven characteristics of authentic love: kindness, patience, forgiveness, humility, courtesy, generosity, and honesty. Enhanced with eye-opening self tests, practical ideas for building daily habits of love, and inspiring examples of love’s power to change lives, this book guides readers in putting love to work in all of their interpersonal relationships.
Convinced that in a world of constant conflict people desperately need authentic love, Chapman paints a compelling vision of how life can be richer and relationships more satisfying for anyone who practices Love As a Way of Life.

You can purchase a copy on Amazon here.

Or, you can enter to win a copy by leaving a comment on when you have been blessed through help from someone or by helping someone else.
Leave a way to contact you if I can't find you through your profile. I will announce the winner through Prizey Fetch.
Giveaway ends July 31.
You can also triple your chances to win by entering to win a copy at DaisyCrazy and Sassyfrazz.

Aloha Friday #2

She says: "In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that we take it easy and look forward to the weekend. So I thought that on Fridays I would take it easy on posting, too. Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer. Nothing that requires a lengthy response."

Honestly I am having a hard time coming up with an easy question, lol. I have some controversial topics in my head that I need to get out someday, but not for today.

Personally, we don't space our kids, we let God decide, but I do have a favorite spacing. What is your favorite spacing between children, and why?

My favorite is 20 months because my body has a whole 12 months to recuperate, and yet they are still close enough to be great friends.

Half-way a reunion

Donnie's mom has 3 siblings, 3 live in Minnesota and one lives in VA/DC area. Lois, the one in VA, came to MN this last week so they had a little get together yesterday. One sister didn't come. I'm not sure if they even invited her, lol, but she is my favorite.
This pic is Roy, Lois and Joyce, plus Donnie over there on the right. He's sick in that picture. I made him show up.





This is a picture of Donnie's nephew, Austin, and Samuel. Sam is just 6 weeks older. I think they are going to enjoy having a cousin their age as they grow up.
This pic would be the happy faces before Austin started biting and hitting Sam. Sam wasn't too impressed with the aggressive behavior. I'm hoping he learned that biting hurts other people and that he will stop doing it. But instead he bit me last night.






This is Donnie's sister Daphne and her little Alexis. She is such a little chunk baby and I wanted to squish her and snuggle her and love on her! But I didn't dare after all the sickies in my house.
I'll get her next time!
But she sure was smiley!

I got a bloggable story, too, but I can't remember it!!!!!!

Trinity is doing great today!

Her fever broke during the night! So far Sam is not sick. Donnie feels pretty under the weather, though.
We had an impromptu family reunion for Donnie's mom's siblings that we had to show our faces for, and that was fun. We only brought Sam and Cody, and not at the same time, lol. (we only live 3 blocks from where we met.)
I'll have to post pictures later.

Things I never thought I'd hear at our house

Today Trinity is sick, being babied up, all tucked in on the couch with her soda and puke bucket.

A little while ago I hear her little voice pipe up "Mom, Sam's drinking my pUUuuke."

Not a pleasant thing to hear. Never, ever did I think I would hear that.

Wordless Wednesday #50-something

WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I was going about my business this morning, making my morning cup of coffee, I opened the cupboard door to get the coffee when a rolling pin dropped onto my foot.

No, I don't keep my rolling pin in a cupboard.

And I do NOT keep it in a cupboard standing upright.

I keep it in a drawer.

A drawer that is amazingly full with my mom's stuff added to it.

So someone decided to put it in the cupboard.

Standing upright.

No need for coffee now.

I'm awake.

Kitties are so cute!

We have 5 kittens! We swear we can feel another inside of the mama, but it's been 24 hours since we found the kittens and nothing more is going on. And she feels great, so we much be wrong. I'm not sure how she could have large bones in her belly that move from one side to the other and sometimes feel like a foot and sometimes like a spine, but I guess so.

We are enjoying the kittens. It is nice that they are in the drawer to keep the little two out of them when we are not around. Since my drawer is very, very hard to open the kittens are safe from little fingers. This is actually our second cat to have kittens in one of our waterbed drawers.

Midnight doesn't mind at all when we come and ohh and ahh over her babies. Sometimes she even takes advantage of it to go eat and do her business while we deal with the whiny babes. It is actually quite fun! But she is a good mom, too.

The darkest black kitten is a bully. It wants whatever nipple someone else is on, and it wants it NOW. So it will lay on its side and swat both paws at the sibling super fast, like a girly slapping fight, rowling at the other cat. Some of them give it up, but one fights back, holding tight to it's prize, it swats quickly with one paw. And one time it even used it's back paws to push the other one off!

Sam LOVES the kittens! We brought him in to see them and he looked in the drawer and giggled and said "That keey!" He has never said kitty before! The last two days he has been increasing his vocabulary big time. Hope-Anne asked him if he wanted to watch something on TV and he said "Ya! I so cited!" (excited) For the very first time he started making animal sounds when we asked him to. He does quack, meow, woof, and moo! He also learned GO. He always wants to go outside. He won't say out, but he now says go. It works. Now, if he would start saying his siblings names we'd love it.

I found my camera! Devon had somehow taken it after the grad party and had it all week. yesterday Donnie and I had to drive an hour each way to pick it up from the paintball place that he left it at on Saturday. The battery was dead, so he left it on the table........... Nice. Oh, well, Donnie and I got a couple hours alone in the car, lol. That was nice. Talking and catching up.

Then came the fight.

The remote control for our bedroom TV quit controlling the Dish receiver and is stuck on one channel. We fought over getting it working. We tried everything. We got nowhere. The remote still doesn't control the receiver, just the TV. So, I have to call Dish today.

Am I rambling? Sorry. TV is important, people!

But the kitties are cute!

Guess what I found in my pajama drawer

We knew it had happened, but we didn't know where.