haphazard musings

Happy Birthday...

to me and to my mom.  The last week in October is, for our family, birthday week.  Ryan's sister, my Grandpa, my Uncle, my Mom and I all have our birthdays from the 23rd to the 28th.  One each day.  It gets a little crazy!  But usually, Mom and I get a chance to get together to celebrate.

This year we chose

 

Mom and I both love good Mexican food.  And let me tell you the burritos at this place are awesome!  Probably one of my all-time favorite things.  And the chips and salsa...well they are just icing on the cake. (This commonly used cliche was, by the way, a totally unplanned birthday reference.)

 

Yep, that is a fresh basket of chips, straight from the oven or whatever it is they use to make them fresh and crispy and warm...can you just taste them...mmmm....

Lucky for you I didn't photograph my burrito, I didn't want to make you too hungry or jealous that you weren't there with us.

But since we did do some present opening at the table, the waiter found out it was our birthday celebration and thus....

 

They sang to us and Ryan obviously was excited about clapping along. : )

And brought us the best little treat.

 

That's right a plate full of sopaipillas and honey and chocolate sauce.  If you've never had these, please go to On The Border or any Mexican restaurant near you today and have one. 

Seriously, you haven't lived yet.  I prefer honey, but my Dad likes the chocolate. 

So, its up to you.  But, I am telling you the truth - Awesome.

Or you can make your own - which I have done.  Honestly it wasn't that hard.  I think I used this recipe.

So anyway, Happy Birthday to us!  We are exactly 24 years, 364 days apart.  Yep its true.  I am 26, but I won't tell you Mom's age, you'll have to figure it out for yourself.

Like the Rising Sun

 "because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun...

 

...will come to us from Heaven...

...to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet...

...into the path of peace."

Luke 1:78-79

How great it is to know that every morning as the sun rises, the light reaches me to illuminate the path that He has laid out for me.  Each morning as the light touches the darkness everything is made new.

A little break.

Last wee, I took a little break from computer-y things.  Things like Facebook, blogging (do you double the "g" before adding -ing or not?), you know those things.  And the time that I would have spent reading about other people's lives and stuff, I spent praying instead.

We are doing Judgement House at our little church here in Newton.  Well I guess its only a little church if you are from Dallas or something.  You should check it out!  But I digress.

We as a church body were encouraged to fast this last week.  To fast from anything.  I learned a lot about fasting and it is not just about skipping meals.  It is about leaving something out of your life that is a sacrifice, then using the time instead to pray.  Fasting is not something I have thought much about in the past, but it can really open a door.

Turns out, I spend a great deal of time doing computer-y things.  So last week, I spent a great deal of time praying.  It was great.  I was really motivated (sometimes that's unusal for me).  I prayed for our church, Judgement House and everything that goes with it, and for anything else I could think of.  I praised and asked and (I think) I am waiting patiently to see the results of those prayers.

What an honor it is to join with our church and its amazing prayer warriors to make an impact on our community.  It all culminated with a JH Celebrationi on Sunday evening.  It was an awesome time of praise and worship.  The praise team was truly rocking!  We prayed individually and collectively.  Whoa.  It was wonderful.

Prayer - it works.

This is us most recently

in our polka dots.  Gotta love the classic look of polka dots.  :)

#82 Another Unique Kansas Attraction

On a Saturday morning, we took a trip.  The whole little family - Ryan, Finley, and me.  We went to Topeka to pick-up a 4-wheeler for his Dad.  He bought it on eBay and we get to play with it for a while! 

We started the day taking the scenic route up to Topeka.  It was a great drive, and it was a nice day. This is how Finley enjoyed the trip.

 

or

 

Notice the ear flapping?  Its just about his favorite thing!

   

Awesome scenery.  I love the clouds in this one.

 

I would move to Council Grove just for this staircase.

 

Gotta love the countryside.  And centuries old stone fence.

Then when we got to Topeka, we went to the Unique Kansas Attraction - BoBo Drive In.

We saw it on Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives on the Food Channel.

 

Its been there since 1948 making the same things and serving just the local crowd.  We loved it.  Its on the corner of 10th and MacVicar.  I think.

There are four locations that were on the show in Kansas.  Check out the site to see the other locations.

Since this was a busy day, next we went to my parent's house to celebrate my Dad's 64th Birthday!  So this is a little late, but Happy Birthday Dad!  Thanks for all you do for us!  I hope you had a good party.

 
Yea!  Go CUBS!

You know you've been married a while when your wife gets you for your birthday what you were going to get her.  They both wanted to get the other person a WII.  Dad was so disappointed when he opened it, and he said, "What am I going to get you now?"

 

So happy birthday Dad!

Remember there are lots of great places to visit in Kansas - you should check them out! 

Be a Big!

I have a great way to give back to your communitiy. 

Its easy (most of the time), fun (all the time), and life changing (for you).

BE A BIG.

We have a Big Brothers Big Sisters organization here in Harvey County. 

I would suggest you check it out and get a little more info here.

This is my second year being a Big Sister.  This is my Little Sister, Destiny.

 

Sorry its a little fuzzy.

She is a 3rd grader this year and we have lots of fun together.  We hang out once a week for about an hour here.

 

And I am surrounded by this...

 

We read, do math flashcards (I now know my 12's multiplication table), and sometimes just play games or chat.  We do have a good time.  And, I notice a difference in my attitude and hers after each meetings.  Within the last year, I have seen notable changes in Destiny's performance and attitude toward school in general.  It is so amazing to see that one person who cares about her day-to-day work and performance changes her attitude towards it.

Check it out.  Make a new friend.  And you can change a life.