I think people who don’t like kids don’t understand how fun they can be.
(sure…there are some “brats” out there but that has more to do with the parents than the kids in my opinion.)

Anyway…

 Ever parent out there probably already knows …Your children WILL tell your business.

(for better or worse)

If you and your spouse fought last week, they WILL request prayer for you in kids church on your impending divorce.

If you happen to say someone is a drama queen…they WILL ask that person what a drama queen is and mention your comments.

If  their father watches next top model in “secret”…they will  tell their Sunday school class and ask their  teacher if that means their dad is  lusting in his heart.                                                                                  (one of my all time favorite moments as a Sunday School teacher… by the way)

Every parent also knows that your children are sponges that watch you and copy.

I found proof of this today that made me smile.

Monkey see, Monkey do…

and at least two years later…I catch him doing the same thing.

How did he remember that?

I almost scolded his poor table manners at first.  But then I remembered where he got the idea to try it and took a picture instead.  :)

It might just look like a spoon, but it is really a ton lot of responsibility.

The way I see it, one of the goals of parenting is to not to do anything you wouldn’t  mind your children copying in the future.

When we road trip the kids watch movies (with their headphones) and I read out loud.

It works for everyone.

Someday we may wise up to trying a book on tape but this works for now.

Depending on the book we can usually finish it in one trip.

Last year however…there was a bit of a disagreement over what book to read which caused us to resort to three-year old behavior. I wanted to read my new book…Christian Atheist and John wanted me to finish his book before I started a new one. I read my book anyway and well…

Here’s what happened.

]]> http://ohthethoughts.wordpress.com/2011/12/17/road-trip/feed/ 2 amanda http://ohthethoughts.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/its-the-good-advice-that-you-just-didnt-take/ http://ohthethoughts.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/its-the-good-advice-that-you-just-didnt-take/#comments Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:41:04 +0000 amanda http://ohthethoughts.wordpress.com/?p=1633 ]]> (sorry about the title ↑…feeling a little Atlantis this morning)

I was just thinking about some advice my aunt gave when I was graduating High School.

She said…Don’t wait till you’re 30 to go to college, it’s a mess.

Sounded like good advice, after all she was in her 30′s in college so she must have a valid reference point.

Well…

I didn’t take that advice and now I am 30 in college.

It’s not that I didn’t want to go to college out of high school, it just didn’t happen. I didn’t MAKE it happen.

First I should say, it’s a great idea that I didn’t go to the school I originally planned right out of high school. (a.k.a. the unaccredited Bible/Ministry school) I can see now that would have been a waste of time and money.

I thought I didn’t NEED college. I had a great job right out of high school as an Optometric technician that would have become a career had I not decided to get married move away. After that life happened and happened fast! There were a million reasons not to do it. I had kids, I was broke (mostly because I had kids), there wasn’t time, and  I didn’t even know where to start.

My husband went back for his bachelors degree and that broke the ice. He didn’t make it look easy at all but he did make me realize it was possible.

I’m taking online classes now. Getting my Bachelors in Communications with a focus on Technology and Web Design. Honestly, I have no earthly clue what I’ll do with my degree but I figure I have some time to figure it out.  I’ve realized if I wait until I know what I am going to do with my life I’ll spend most of my time waiting and accomplishing nothing!

My aunt was a little wrong…going back to school at 30 isn’t that bad. It isn’t convenient and life would be easier if I would have done it right out of high school but I would recommend going back to anyone.

It’s pretty worth it.

I really love this one.

If you are looking for a photographer in the Elizabethtown area I highly recommend Bella Posa. 

Many people I talk to who have lived here FOREVER have no clue that this is here.

I had heard of it,but had no clue where it was.

We decided to check it out one crisp fall afternoon. What a great place to hike! The kids loved it.

Here are a few of our pictures.

Click to view slideshow.

I can’t wait to see it in the Spring and Summer!

Here is a video about it…VERY informative. (a.k.a. long)

This is me and Mr. Oliver earlier this year.

In 2011 we celebrated our TENTH wedding anniversary.

Can’t wait for the next ten.

All of us!

Put on your Pj’s…

Crank up the Christmas tunes…

Fill your travel mug with hot chocolate  and take a drive through Freeman lake park and look at the Christmas lights.

Simple, but the kids LOVE it. (and I do too)

Happening Thanksgiving Eve though New Years…so there’s plenty of time to go more than once.

But if I did, it would go to this book…

(even though it was published in 2010…it’s still my book of 2011)

Plan B  by Pete Wilson.

 Ever have someone publish a book about Plan B’s  (What Do You Do When God Doesn’t Show Up the Way You Thought He Would?) when your  Plan A is literally crumbling before your eyes?

I did…

Our Plan A was a ministry. My husband gave up a career in a place we loved to move to a small town in Kentucky to become an associate pastor. We KNEW it was what we were suppose to do. (MUCH thought and prayer went into this decision…this was the closest to giving it all up and standing on the limb we could get.) It went well for a while. We really loved it.

Three very long years later it ended..(and by ended I mean… the whole world blew up and there were no survivors.)

We resigned our position after something we couldn’t agree with happened. (and by something… I mean the destruction of the Senior pastor at the hands of a few church members and some political maneuvering would make the House of Representatives blush)

No more home (we lived in the parsonage), no more jobs (we both worked at the church), 90% of the people we knew  in town went to that church and we had suddenly become invisible.  With no ability to leave town, we had to start over in a town we were pretty sure we hated and were hated.  That was just the start…let’s just say…when church goes bad it can be messy, scary, and can MESS you up.

 Church and community are a beautiful thing when that doesn’t happen though.  I haven’t lost my faith in the church. I probably should have, but I’m pretty stubborn and resilient. I’m a preacher’s kid…I’m convinced there aren’t any more resilient animals on the planet than the preacher’s kids.

Anyway…enough about that…

This book was literally a lifesaver. (been meaning to write Pete Wilson a thank you note.  :)

Plan B provides hope and encouragement for anyone who has faced their Plan B. (which is just about everyone I know.)

Pete uses the bible stories of David, Joseph, Mary and Martha, as well as real-life stories allowing you to find hope  in even the worst possible situations.  Pete is so open an honest that it felt more like talking to a friend than turning pages.  In may ways this book breaks the tunnel vision that seems to come when things are falling apart around you. It reminds you of the promises and love notes that God’s leaves you along the way during your journey.

I actually picked this book up in 2010 when it came out and I read it then but I’ve read it more than once. (I won’t say how many times…let’s just say it’s a good thing I didn’t borrow it because I would be buying someone a new copy. )

One of my favorite quotes from the book…

“When you respond in your current circumstances as if you were confident that God is there, you will see God in the circumstances.”

If you were wondering, things are better for us. Still working out all the details. Still don’t enjoy driving by the church we worked at.   Still trying to find the good in it all. I received a priceless education in life lessons.  Finding out Plan B’s can be ok and sometimes better than the original plan.

(Also from the book…)

“Instead of an answer, God offers us something better. He offers us a solution. He offers us the cross.”

This is us married 9 years! Yay!

We stumble on the strangest things. Like last Monday…all I wanted was some Wick Pizza. (chicken bacon ranch to be exact…) An unexplained  water main break in the city of Louisville foiled my attempts to go to the Wick location I knew. (Baxter Ave.) It had to close when their water turned brown…  Sending us on a wild pizza goose chase through the city of Louisville to try to find one of their other locations.

While mapping our next stop we did find a squirrel that has snagged a random piece of pizza and was taking it up a tree…lucky squirrel.

  I eventually did get my pizza…and puking car sick kids.

Anyway while we’re were temporarily lost near the riverfront we saw this…

There was no signage and it sat next to boat shop of all things. I was intrigued  so we had to investigate.

Turns out it was this…

The Heigold House Facade

A little glad we got lost.