Thankful post-turkey

I am choosing peace over anxiousness today, so I'm going to do something I intended to do last week but never got around to. This is going to be my top 20 thankfuls for this morning. They are not in order from least to greatest, I'm just thinking about all of them instead of thinking about the things that could be causing me fear, pain, guilt or stress (no there's nothing major going on, I'm just a female and I fret).

20. Thankful for God's forgiveness and grace. I don't understand it, I just need it.

19. Thankful for each of my kids. I could make a whole list of thankfuls just about them, but I'm going to condense that for today.

18. Thankful for peppermint cocoa mix that made it possible for me to have yummy peppermint lattes at home everyday for the price of one at the Starbuck.

17. Thankful for my home. You can't understand the gravity and emotion in that statement unless you have gone with out one... trust me.

16. Thankful for my Christmas decorations. It's a silly thing, but it just makes my little house seem so warm and happy. It's a girl think I guess.

15. Thankful for a husband who enjoys studying the bible with me.

14. Thankful for my husband's job. So proud of him and how far we've come. And so blessed that he enjoys what he does.

13. Thankful for my kid who learns differently. I see lots of beauty in what the world views as damaged, Jesus is teaching me that. There are days I'm angry and frustrated and wishing for a "cure". But really when I think about it, I don't feel like I fit in here on earth any better than he does.

12. Thankful for Bryan's G.I. bill that is going to make it possible for me to go back to school and fulfill some of my goals.

11.Thankful for God's sense of humor.

10. Thankful for music.

9. Thankful for hot showers.

8. Thankful for our new/old table that is only days aways from finally being finished.

7. Thankful for kids that USUALLY sleep well at night.

6. Thankful for The Office. So funny. But mostly because it is a bonding opportunity for Bryan and I every Thursday night. Laughing together is the priceless.

5. Thankful I was born in America even though we don't know how blessed we are. We don't really know poverty or war.

4. Thankful for books. Escape.

3. Thankful for science and all it can teach us about God and how he works. Amazing.

2. Thankful for my sense of smell and taste. I went almost 2 weeks without either when I had flu/sinus infection. Terrible! Cupcakes are disgusting when you can't taste them.

1. Thankful for peace and quiet.


Here are a couple verses I have been pondering this week, sit and try to picture this

Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Exodus 20:21 The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

Have a happy, Thankful week. Happy Monday and goodbye November.

Why ask why

So here I am on this lovely fall morning, trying to figure out why God allowed both my phone and my coffee maker to go to the grave today. The answer I have come up with has something to do with "thou shalt not be productive", but I don't know if that's a real bible verse or not. So, instead I'm going to go with the better alternative and new agey meaning of "I'm gonna get a blackberry and a new coffee maker today, woo-hoo."
See, God turns our losses into something beautiful. The turn-around isn't usually this fast, but none the less, a brilliant lesson to be had.
Now for something completely different:
Aiden had a major reaction to wheat/glutein yesterday. Benadryl and all. I had suspected he had some kind of intolorence for a while but I've never seen anything so concrete about it. Hives, itching, upset, intesinal issues. Woa. So for real, wheat free here again. The biggest chanllange is going to be getting the DR to write me a note for the school. Forward, ever forward. And he recognized that it was making him sick which is also a good sign that he is going to come out of this fog he's been in for several weeks. Pray for my guy. He's so sweet, bit so young to have to deal with so many health issues and social challanges. He's a trooper.
Ya know what would make me feel better right now...?

Note: the look on Todd Packer's face

Christmas gifty sneak-peak

I decided that this year I'm actually going to try my hand at gift making. Now, we all know that I am not the "craftiest" girl out there. So I tried to find things that would play up my strong suits (ie. no sewing, glass chiseling, etc) The reason I'm so excited about doing all my gift giving this way this year is because a)it's cost effective b)it's earth friendly, but it's also personal (so don't make fun of my creations!)
I wanted to share a list of what I'm planning to make, as well as post pictures of things as they are finished along the way. Today was a list making and planning day. I got myself a binder to keep my plans in, and a tote to put things in to keep the kids away from everything during the day.
Now here's the dilema: if I tell you all the details you may find out about what I'm planning on making you for Christmas. So, enter at your own risk.
None of my crafts were really very creative ideas, but I have come up with ways to incorporate lots of "Mandisms" that should keep it all very interresting.

-Home-made recipe books with pictures and lots of practical information. I don't want to give away too much, but they will be titled "The Fastest Way to Your Man's Heart". So you will get some of my favorite recipes along with plenty of my creative writing. Most of the recipes are my own, and a few are family recipes. This is going to be my main gift to give to family and friends and will probably be the most time consuming, so I'm donna have to get plenty of printer ink ;)

-"I'm Sew Glad We're Friends" gifty-baskets. This is what I'm probably going to be giving to my mops moms and a few others. A few of the things included are: some cute fabric to play with, fun scissors, unique buttons, and lots more (depending what I can get a good deal on) all in some really cute little baskets

(OK, so I have to stop here to mention that all the rest of the things on my list have a secret "theme". It's going to rock your socks, but I can't reveal it yet. So many of these things sound typical right now, but trust me, this is going to be fun)

-Drink Marker Rings (for stemware, and mugs and cups with handles)

-Specialty Ornaments

-Bottle Brush Trees (that you won't want to put away when Christmas is over)

Okay, so aside from all the gifties I am going to do the 'ol candy and cookies gifties too. However, I did find an really cool cookie recipe for "animal pull toy" cookies for kiddies.
Next weekend will be my main shopping weekend for supplies, and after that I will post pictures of some items as they are completed.
6 weeks 6 days until Christmas. Pray for me.

Mandi's Flying Circus

I know, you've all had to wait a very long time for this, and here it is. A blog, by me. After months of being on medication to treat my post partum depression I am now well and rejuvinated, and best of all I have me wit back. Look out. So as a special treat, but don't expect this stuff everyday, I am going to share some silly ramblings from my life and my mind. With out further ado...


This is my brother, Wes. Some of you may remember him as a semi normal little boy who enjoyed soccer and power rangers. Now he has this mustache.(oh, and that is his normal girlfriend)



This is a tree that recently ALMOST fell on my parents house.



This year I volunteered to do some work at home to help out Aiden's teacher. What you see in this picture is an example of what she has been sending home to me. HUNDREDS of triangles to cut out. I have decided there are only 3 possible conclusions that can be drawn from this. 1)I am being punished for giving birth to an exrta-terrestrial brain leech 2)This is some kind of test. I'm very concerned about what will happen if I don't make the shapes "exact" as she requested in the intructions she sent home. 3) The third possibility had something to do with laziness, but upon further consideration I have ruled this one out because of the fact that she spends 7 hours a day with first graders.


This is a picture from the openning Sounders game I went to several months ago. I just wanted to post it.

Other than that I really don't have anything to add. I should probably go to bed, I have been suffering from what we have been calling "the illness that shall not be named", and I don't tell people what it is that I probably really do have, because I would no longer be accepted in public settings without having to wear a giant pig patch on the my clothing at all times.

It's good to be back. And I leave you with one more cheery little thing: