Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Revenge Of The Nerds

The girls enjoy dressing up for the different pep rally themes!
They had Nerd Day again this year! (Out Smart ______!)
Here is a reminder of what they looked liked last year:


Emily & Kayleigh
Nerd Day 2009



Kayleigh & Emily
Nerd Day 2010



Kayleigh & Emily
Nerd Day 2010

Teens Make A Difference

This year Kayleigh decided to get back into Girl Scouts! She is in a wonderful Troop & the girls range from 6th to 8th grade. The Troop does a lot of volunteering & community service projects!
Kayleigh was also able to earn time for the Jr. Honor Society!

The Troop participated in Teens Make A Difference! They got to go to the Wichita Theatre which we love! The Troop worked behind the scenes in the costume rooms. They had to bag & hang all the costumes and sort them into colors & themes! It was a blast to see all the assorted ball gowns & wedding dresses!

When we finished, we all got to go to Strait Street a Youth Outreach Program/Facility & have pizza!


Kayleigh hanging wedding gowns


All the Troop w/the ball gowns

Heritage Fall Carnival

My M & M Group (Moms & Munchkins)hosted a Fall Carnival. It was a lot of fun! The little girls got to play all the games & Kayleigh earned volunteer time for Jr. Honor Society by working the games. We also had some fun sncaks! Our favorite was the Caramel Apple Nachos!! Thinly slice apples covered with caramel, mini chocolate chips & crushed peanuts!! YUM YUM!!


Kayleigh working the
ring toss game



Kayleigh working the
balloon darts game



Emily & Nathalie at the carnival


Nathalie aka Kitty Witch


Emily & friend Abbie Gayle

Baby Averie Is On The Way!!

My best friend Brooke is due on December 7th. She & her husband Jody have been waiting to have a baby for 11 years!! They have adopted to beautiful girls Chloe & Maisie. They are hoping to adopt their current foster child Matthew.

I was honored to help host a shower for Brooke! I must admit that it was a lot of hard work and a huge group of ladies to work with. There were a few roadblocks along the way but in the end everything pulled together & turned out wonderful!

I know everyone is glad to get the shower behind us & now look forward to the arrival of MISS AVERIE CLAIRE!!!!

Brooke w/hostess group


Brooke & Jody
Chloe, Maisie & Matthew



Brooke showing her baby bump
aka Averie

The Yada Yada Prayer Group Series

Neta Jackson Yada Yada #2 Gets Down

A robbery, a lynching, and a mourning mother shake up the Yada Yadas.
I had never felt so violated! The Yada Yada Prayer Group was "gettin' down" with God in prayer and praise one night when a heroin-crazed woman barged into my house, demanded our valuables, and threatened us with a 10-inch knife--a knife that drew blood.
We wondered if we'd ever get back to normal after this terrifying experience. I assumed we would. After all, we'd started praying together at the Chicago Women's Conference last spring, and we'd been through a lot already as spiritual sisters. This was just one more hurdle to conquer, right?
But then a well-meaning gesture suddenly incited a backlash of anger in the group, forcing us to confront generations of racial division, pain, and distrust--and stretching our friendship to the limit. And a shocking confrontation in my third-grade classroom forced me to face my own accountability and learn what true forgiveness really is. Neta Jackson Yada Yada #2 Gets Down

Neta Jackson Yada Yada #3 Get Real

The Yada Yadas thought they had a handle on forgiveness, but it seems God has them on a crash-course to an even deeper level.
After everything the Yada Yadas had been through in the past eight months, I told God I could sure use a little "dull and boring" in the new year! But that was before Leslie "Stu" Stuart moved in upstairs. Ms. Perfect herself and me--Jodi Baxter--living in the same two-flat? A recipe for collision. Then Delores Enriquez's son Jose wanted to throw my Amanda a quinceanera--a coming-out party, Mexican style--and they're only fifteen!
At least Bandana Woman, who held up our Yada Yada Prayer Group at knifepoint last fall, was safely locked up in prison . . . or so I thought. We visited her, like the Bible says; even sent her something for Christmas. But then she ends up back in our face. I mean, how far is forgiveness supposed to go?
I guess I should have realized that with eleven Yada Yada sisters as diverse as a bag of Jelly Bellies, life would always be unpredictable. All I know is that the longer we Yada Yadas pray together, the more "real" things are getting, not only with each other but with God. Dull and boring? Not a chance.
Neta Jackson Yada Yada #3 Get Real

Neta Jackson Yada Yada #4 Get Tough

The Yada Yadas got tight in the past year, but they're about to learn the real meaning of togetherness.
We'd done it: we'd taken a mismatched, diverse group of women and cobbled together a prayer group that really worked for all of us. Now that spring was here, we were celebrating our one-year anniversary--and a wedding, an early parole, and two baptisms in the lake! Everything was feeling pretty great.
But it's when we're in our comfort zone that we're most likely to let our guard down. Without warning, lots of little things seemed to become big problems. With a white supremacy hate group targeting a local university, our very diversity almost became a liability. It took a vicious attack on Nony's husband to make us see that we had to get tough--and fight back together.
Neta Jackson Yada Yada #4 Get Tough

Neta Jackson Yada Yada #5 Get Caught

For the Yada Yadas, gettin' caught up in troubles isn't the problem; it's how to get free.
Only weeks ago, we Yadas toughened our prayer knees when one of our own was the victim of a vicious racial attack. Now it seems each household is being thrown into even bigger and badder circumstances. It especially worries me, Jodi Baxter, because I'm a fixer by nature, and the prayer list is getting out of control . . .
Ruth and Ben are caught up in an unplanned pregnancy--in their fifties! Chanda is deluded by the glitter of her lottery dream come true. Florida wants to move her family, hoping to leave trouble behind, but it looks like it may catch up to her anyway. And I'm finding that even good things like the prayer group can consume me in no time flat.
If there is an upside, it's that all this trouble is revealing the subtle lies we Yadas believe about God, ourselves, each other, and life. Maybe our best hope is to catch on to what God's doing--and catch on quick!--before the enemy can take any prisoners. That'd be a freedom worth celebrating. And celebrating is what my spiritual sisters and I do best.
Neta Jackson Yada Yada #5 Get Caught

Neta Jackson Yada Yada #6 Gets Rolling

A devastating fire wakes up the Yadas to a new reality: God is on the move. In spite of MaDear's failing health. In spite of the breakup of a teenage love. In spite of the curse of HIV. In spite of prison time hanging over the head of a beloved child. In spite of a startling wedding. Out of the ashes, God is doing a new thing. As the prayer group heads into a new year fraught with change, Jodi Baxter and her Yada sisters are realizing it is either hunker down with the safe and stagnant, or get rolling with God -- even if it means letting go of the old and embracing the new. Neta Jackson Yada Yada #6 Gets Rolling

Snuggle Up With A Good Book!!

Sink Reflections aka The Fly Lady by Marla Cilley

In her debut book, Cilley, a.k.a. "The FlyLady" to the thousands who log onto her FlyLady.net Web site, reaches into the everywoman's home to help make her housecleaning more fun and her life more organized. Beginning with "Shiny Sink 101," Cilley explains how a spotless kitchen sink can direct even the most discouraged housekeeper onto the path of well-ordered domesticity. Through several straightforward routines, including the 27 Fling Boogie (the cut-throat practice of quick junk disposal), the Five-Minute Room Rescue ("another step on the road to clutter recovery") and the Hot Spot Fire Drill (for an area that, like a forest fire, takes over your home), Cilley advises her "FlyBabies" on how to overcome clutter and CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). Filled with testimonials from online followers, the book aims to help readers establish manageable daily and weekly habits by incorporating spirituality and family into the program. Detailed and direct, this is a guidebook for the stay-at-home or working woman who wants to have it all, including her sanity. Marla Cilley

1022 Evergreen Place by:Debbie Macomber
Dear Reader,
Guess what? I'm falling in love! With Mack McAfee.
My baby daughter, Noelle, and I have been living next door to Mack since the spring. I'm still a little wary about our relationship, because I haven't always made good decisions when it comes to men. My baby's father, David Rhodes, is testament to that. I'm so worried he might sue for custody.
In the meantime, the World War II letters I found are a wonderful distraction. Both Mack and I are trying to learn what happened to the soldier who wrote them and the woman he loved.
Come by sometime for a glass of iced tea and I'll show you the letters. Plus I'll tell you the latest about Grace and Olivia, my brother Linc and his wife, Lori (who tied the knot about five minutes after they met!), and all our other mutual friends. Oh, and maybe Mack can join us….
Mary Jo Wyse
Debbie Macomber

Vanishing Acts by:Jodi Picoult
Vanishing Acts is about Delia, a woman who searches for missing people, but whose life has so far seemed idyllic. Then one day Delia has a memory that seems out of place with her life. Suddenly the missing person she is searching for is herself -- she must found out what truly happened in her past and who she is. Jodi Picoult

90 Minutes In Heaven by: Don Piper
90 Minutes in Heaven is the runaway bestseller about one man's experience with death and life. As Baptist minister Don Piper drove home from a conference, his car collided with a semi-truck that had crossed into his lane. Piper was pronounced dead at the scene. For the next 90 minutes, he experienced the glories of heaven, where he was greeted by those who had influenced him spiritually, and he experienced true peace. Back on earth, a passing minister who had also been at the conference felt led to pray for the accident victim even though he was told Piper was dead. Miraculously, Piper came back to life, and the pleasure of heaven was replaced by a long and painful recovery. For years Don Piper kept his heavenly experience to himself. Finally, friends and family convinced him to share his remarkable story. An inspiring and encouraging account, 90 Minutes in Heaven continues to touch and comfort millions of people around the world as it offers a glimpse of inexpressible heavenly bliss. Don Piper