Thankful Thursdays 06/27/2013 A Very Abbreviated Version...

My dear Bots, I'm so so soooo sorry I've neglected you! I wish that I could say that I'll be making it up to you this week, but sadly I will not be. Life has been a bit crazy the past couple weeks. I will give you one thankful item, though, to hopefully tide you over until next week.

1. VBS (for those of you not into church lingo that stands for Vacation Bible School). This is the cause of my busyness this week. It's a good busy, though. I get the opportunity to direct (and perform a bit part) a series of skits for the kids that attend VBS.  Besides being given the opportunity to, hopefully, speak into these kiddos lives through some silly dramas, I have the chance to work alongside with some pretty awesome adult and teen volunteers. These wonderful people are the spotlights of this post! (Side note: the age span of between these volunteers is 13-83 years old, which is pretty awesome in my opinion.) We have a lady creating adorable craft projects for the kids to put together. We have ladies making tasty snacks. We have teens performing dance moves to go along with our songs. We have men putting up/ tearing down/ monitoring kids on four huge inflatable "big toys" (see pic below for explanation). There's a real life park ranger giving a series of nature lessons to the kids (complete with real fur pelts and skulls.). We have men and women leading kids from event to event, making sure no one wanders off along the way. We have a couple of sweet ladies who's sole job it is is to work with 3 and 4 year old's the entire time. (Ladies, I did that job two years in a row so I know what it entails. Those squirt berts are so sweet and fun, but I know it takes a ton of energy and work to keep them occupied and having fun. You're amazing in my book.). We have a lady who's job it is to be a grown up cheerleader, and get the kids all pumped up for the evening's activities. (Where she gets all that energy, I don't know. I just know that I would love a tenth of it.) There was lovely lady who came in and decorated the church to look a cozy lodge.

Now, I'm sure I'm forgetting some people, but this is everyone that I could think of right now. To any volunteers I've forgotten, you're all a blessing none the less. Basically, this week has been a crazy/crazy fun, exhausting, huge blessing all wrapped up into one nutty National Park themed shell, and I've love it! A huge thank you to everyone who's given up their precious time and evenings to make this VBS work. Even if you never get a single thank you from the kids you're working with, you have my thanks and gratitude. You're all rockstars and I know that the Lord will bless you abundantly through all this. Now for some pics.

 (It's going to be a cool, cool summer...)

 My awesome actors!

THE BIG TOYS!!! 

A couple of our sweet snack ladies   

More big toys!

Thankful Thursdays 06/13/2013: Father's Day Edition

Music: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot



It's all about the Papa today, Thankful-bots! You may be saying to yourself "But Father's Day is on Sunday, this is Thursday!". To that I repeat what I said in my Mother's Day post, it's my blog. I do what I want. Anyways, as mentioned above, this post is all about my Dad, or as I like to call him, Dad, Daddy, Pops, Papa, Popsicle, The Big D, Daddio... And of course, I'll be doing this in list form. What else do you expect by now? Here we go!

1. Shadrach, Meshach, and To-Bed-We-Go! (To anyone who is scratching their heads right now, that would be everyone, but my family. This was my Dad's bedtime ritual with us three kids. He would pick us by our bed, start swinging us in his arms, and say "Shadrach, Meshach, and To-Bed-We-GO! On the word "Go" he would gently toss us into our beds. Of course, the entire time each of us were giggling and hollering up a storm!)

2. Family devotions every evening after dinner.

3. The monstrously, epic fort that you built us complete with swinging bridge, slide, rope climb, escape hatch,  movable stairs, swings, and rope ladder. It sounds awesome, and it WAS.

4. The Bestest, Most Tightest hugs.

5. You were/are still my Splinter-Getter-Outer. Somehow you could always get those buggers out without making it hurt, even when we couldn't find the tweezers and had to use your pocket knife.

6. You were the best Curl-Untangler (Mom always went too fast, and made my head smart, while you took your time and made sure you didn't hurt my head.)

7. Never being too busy to make snowmen with your kids.

8. Or have a snowball fight, or build a snow fort, or go sledding, or hooking up the garden hoses in the dead of winter to make a slolum run out of our slide.

9. Being the best example of what a Godly father and husband should look like.

10. Your famous chili recipe.

11. Putting up with me during my teenage years during which I'm sure you asked yourself many, many times "Who are you, and where did you take my daughter?".

12. Teaching me how to garden (though, I'm sure you would love it if I came over and brushed up on my weeding skills).

13. Passing on the gift of being able to make a song out of any situation.

14. When you call me "Manny". You're the only one who does, and I love it!

15. Your thirst for God's Word.

16. Always trying my cooking experiments no matter how bad they were/are.

17. Being a listening ear when I need it, but also giving me advice when I need it.

18. Always laughing at my corny stories and jokes.

19. Being Papa Nerd to your Three Nerd Kids...after all you're the one who introduced us to Stars Wars and Star Trek (also installing in us the love of a good Western...thanks, pilgrim ;D).

20. Always and forever being my hero, champion and one of my biggest fans.

Dad, I know I've said in a million Father's Day cards, but I'll say it again. I am completely and utterly blessed to call you my Dad. Especially when I know so many people that don't have the greatest relationship with their dads. I'm blessed to not only call you Dad, but I also get to call you my friend. That's pretty awesome if you ask me. I love you, Daddy, and hope this little post makes you smile.

Manny

(D'aaawwww)

Snarky, and Not Thankful At All Thursday 06/06/2013

There's an old saying (I don't know who said it first) about writing that goes "A good writer writes what they know." Today I'm re-writing that to say "Write what you feel.", and I, my Bots, am feeling rather snark-tastic. Why? Not really sure. It's been a rather strange week at work because of some...interesting... people walking through the doors. Maybe that's what's setting me off. Any who here's a list of some snarky observations. Sorry in advance for any offense I may cause...

1. One of my little guilty pleasures is looking at wedding blogs, and I've been noticing a certain trend where the bride and groom have GINORMOUS wedding parties. Why do you need 6, 8, 10, sometimes 12 bridesmaids/groomsmen on EACH side? Why? Are we so afraid of maybe, possibly offending a friend that you had in college that you haven't seen in ten years, really haven't talked to them since college, but oh man, we're friends on Facebook, and they commented on my relationship status update from "in a relationship" to "engaged". I know I really don't know anything about them anymore, but we did have some good times back in our old college days, and I don't want to hurt their feelings so I better ask them to be a bridesmaid/groomsman. What, the what?? Heck, I don't think I would even invite them to the wedding much less ask them to be in my bridal party. Plus, having that many people hovering around me on a day where I would be an emotional, nervous wreck stresses me out just thinking about it. Trying to wrangle everybody, and making sure they're all where they're supposed be gives me the phantom shivers. Personally, I think 3-4 people tops on each side is about right. You could go even less, and be even more stress free. My folks had two attendants total. One maid of honor, and one best man. That's it. Honestly, that sounds even better.

2. Tweens/teens that cannot or will not talk to adults. I deal with this fairly frequently in my workplace. A teenager walks into the office, and as they're waiting to see the doctor, I try to make them feel welcome and more comfortable by chatting with them about school, their activities, or hobbies. (I figure this is better then sitting in silence, correct me if I'm wrong.) All too often, the responses I get are one syllable, one word answers. Really? Listen up, Hoss, I'm not asking you to engage in a philosophical discussion here, but it would be greeeaatt if you could answer me with a full sentence. Thanks. Of course, all the while, the teen has their eyes surgically glued to their smart phone texting away to 50 of their friends. Eye contact during a conversation...weird. (I imagine they're texting their friends "O.M.G. the chubby, old lady at my doctor's office keeps trying to talk to me. Like I would even want to talk to an adult. She's totes annoying. When can I get out of here?! Shoot me now.") Seriously, it makes me want snatch their phones out of their hot little paws, flick them on their nose, and shout "Eyes up here, buckeroo!" Grrrr. Parents, please teach your children to be able to carry on a decent conversation with an adult. I don't think it's too crazy to expect by the age of 12 ** that a kid should be able to do this. Kids, it's really okay to talk to an adult. Just try it. You might find out that we can actually be kinda fun.

**I do realize that children with certain disabilities may not be able to do this. That being said, I've had better, funnier, more heart warming chats with kids that have severe physical/mental disabilities then I've had with some so called "functioning" teenagers.

3. Precious couples on social media. Look, I get it. You're in love. (Or if you're 15 years old what you think is love, but in all reality you're just in "like". You don't know what love is yet. Trust me. I thought I was in love at 15. Yeah, no. I really wasn't.) Your special someone gives you the butterflies, they make you feel wonderful, and you WANT TO SHOUT YOUR LOVE FROM THE HIGHEST MOUNTAIN. Good for you, but please refrain from posting every cutesy love quote, or love song lyric ("This is just so us, baby! It's like they know us!"...gross.) you find on your Facebook wall. Honestly, I don't mind a little lovey dovey-ness. It can be cute, but remember, everything in moderation. How about you try telling your special someone all this in person not via the inter-webs? Huh? What a thought?! This way you'll keep snarky, bitter old maids from going postal about you on their blog. It's a win-win for everyone.

Phew. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest, Bots. Next week I'll try to get us back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Manda

Thankful Thursdays 05/30/2013

Well, my Bots here we are facing the end of May...whaaaaaa?? Summer's shenanigans are almost upon us! Cuh-raziness! Yes, I sound like my grandparents, but time really does fly faster the older you get. (Cue the youngsters: "Not cool, I hope I don't feel that way when I get to be your age!" Cue the oldsters: "Honey, you think time flies now, just you wait until you get to be my age!") In all seriousness, I blinked, and it was January. I scratched my nose, and it was March. I made myself a sam-mich, and it was the end of May! Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold your roll, Father Time, hold your roll. Yeesh...

Okay, let's get to what you what you came here for, the tidings of Thankfulness.

1. "Through the Lord's mercies, we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness!" Lamentations 3:22-23 These two little verses are so powerful. Why? Because no matter how many times we just completely blow it, God picks us up, straightens our jackets, ties our shoes, tidies our fancy updos and gives us another chance every single time. Our loved ones here on earth all have limits to their mercy, but God's mercies are never ending. Whoa. Talk about a huuuuge something to be thankful for.

2. Miss Merla aka Mama Merla aka my second mother aka this little blog's biggest fan (right after my mom, of course). If you haven't had the honor of meeting this sweet, generous, crazy lady, I hope that you will someday. She's absolute joy to have in my life. She's an amazing prayer warrior. She's one the most resilient women I know. This lady has been through so much, and she always come out on the other side praising the Lord. She's hilarious, and she has no fear being a goofball in front of others. (She's also one of my Mom's closest friends and if you know my mother at all just imagine the shenanigans these two get into together!) She's one the most hospitable people I know. Some of the best times I've had were sitting with a small group of ladies around her dining room table, drinking coffee (duh), eating her gooey caramel corn, and laughing our heads off over some Merla story...hmmm...come to think of it, we need to have another one of those kind of evenings soon! Merla dear, I'm so thankful for you, and love you dearly!

(Prime Example of Merla/Mom shenanigans)


3. Ashley Jones (http://www.ashleyjonesy.com/) Her recaps of The Bachelor/Bachelorette are absolutely, 100%, bona fide hi-larious! I don't even watch the shows, but every Tuesday after an episode airs I virtually run over to her blog and devour the recap! Seriously, she is amazing! Go check her out!

Welp, that's all for this Thursday! As always feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Manda

Thankful Thursdays 05/23/2013

Music: Summertime - Billie Holiday

          'S Wonderful - Buddy Clark and Dinah Shore

Oh, Montana weather...you make me laugh (it's either laugh, or cry and tear my hair out over something I have zippo control over. I choose laughter.). To any SW readers not living in NW MT (that's Northwestern Montana) let me give you a little insight into why I'm giggling like a fool over the weather. See earlier this week, we had clear sunny skies and temps in the 70's then we started yesterday with a torrential downpour with the rain continuing all day and evening. Then this morning...oh this morning...we woke up to...snow. Yes, you read that right. Snow, and not just a light dusting. Oh no, we're talking 1 1/2-2 inches of the dense, heavy, maple branch breaking, lilac bush crushing, cherry blossom killing white stuff... for reals. As a native Montanan, it really doesn't surprise me. We get snow in June and thunderstorms in November. So that's why I laugh. One minute it's Arnold Palmer's on the porch, and the next it's a mug of cocoa curled up next to ol' wood stove.

1. Little big brother Shane (he's little big brother because he's taller then both his older siblings...boo.) is home for the summer!!!!! Yay!! Let the nerdy fun times begin because the Johnson kids are all in the same zip code! Allons-y Alonzo!

2. Winnie Boots. (Ha! I know I'm going to get a "Manda! You stinker!" out of this, but I totes ;) don't care.) You crazy, sassafras lady, you. You've been a joy and blessing to me since the very first moment I met you. Which, I think was when Nikki, Joe, and I were herding a bunch of youth groupers, including you, into vehicles so that we could go to that Sanctus Real concert at the Christian Center. Talk about taking it back a few years! My first impression was "This girl is crazy, and I love it!". So what makes Winnie crazy awesome? Lem'me tell you. You, my friend, have the best most infectious laugh! I can always count on a Winnie laugh during those inappropriate moments that I know I really shouldn't be laughing, am valiantly trying not to laugh, struggling to stifle my giggles when from the back of the room comes a roll of Winnie laughter, and then I'm like "Thank goodness!" so that my snorts/shrieks of laughter can finally escape. Even better than your laugh is your desire and passion for Christ. Your life goal to serve the Lord on the mission field with your nursing talents is an absolute inspiration, and fires me up to start doing short term mission trips. Your "zero tolerance" for drama is aca-mazing. I love it! I love our giggles at things that no one else finds funny... well, except for maybe Nikki and Amber (Word up ladies! Aca- rock star squatch! I got bronchitis. Ain't nobody got time for that!). I love the memes you leave on my Facebook wall, the lovely notes you leave on the counter, and your encouraging/nurturing heart. It has been the most epic blessing getting to be your roomie for the last seven-ish months, and I can't wait for the next year and half (give or take) that we get to be roomies. Love ya, Win!

(Laaaadies!!)

3. It may seem shallow, but I'm thankful for the acting talents of one David Tennant. Why? Watch him as the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who seasons 2-4, Barty Crouch, Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, his appearances on the Catherine Tate Show, just to name a few, and you'll see why. Plus those brown eyes, the wink/tongue thing he does (yes, it sounds weird, but trust me), and that epic hair are rather swoon worthy...

(See!! Gaaahhh!!)

Thankful Thursdays 05/09/2013: Mother's Day Edition

Music: Blue Skies - Bing Crosby
           Patanga - Trace Bundy



Yes, it is a few days early to be celebrating Mother's Day, but since this is my blog, well, I do what I want! As you may have noticed, I really like lists. So, I've decided to make a list of what makes my Mom so extraordinary!

1. Your amazing skin. I can only hope to have such epidermal awesomeness when I reach your age. (No. I will not be revealing her age because this post is all about being nice to my Mom.)

2. Your sewing skills. Seriously, you have talent. People, have you seen her purses?! Here, I'll model one for you:

(Pretty cute purse, huh?)

3. Putting up with all the teasing that we dish out to you. You either dish it right back or just smile and laugh.

4. Your biscuits and pie crusts. Now, I consider myself a decent cook, but I will never be able to surpass your skills with those two simple items. Must be all the loooooove you put in them.

5. All the time and energy you put into caring for your dad/ my grandpa. Mom, you have my everlasting respect for all you do for Poppie.

6. Letting me run wild in the kitchen from the age of 7.

7. All the summer library runs I begged you to take for me.

8. On that note, giving me love of reading. Some of my earliest memories are of you reading to me (or making up stories about princesses lost in the woods, but then a pack of talking critters rescue her and take her back to her mom and dad, the king and queen...).

9. Introducing me to the wonderful world of old Hollywood musicals. I remember that one rainy summer that we went through almost the whole classic musical section that the video store had to offer. Singing In the Rain, Carousel, The King and I, State Fair, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...we watched them all!

10. Disney movies, and not just the animated ones! The live action ones, too...Darby O'Gill and the Little People, The Gnome-mobile, The Shaggy Dog, The Absent Minded Professor, Pollyanna, The Apple Dumpling Gang...

11. Hugs and smooches on the cheek

12. Not murdering me during the teen years. I still don't know how you put up with me. I could hardly stand myself during those years.

13. Showing me not just through words, but also through actions what it means to be a Godly wife.

14. Dad and you giving us kids the precious gift of being raised in a Christ following house.

15. Always giving me a listening ear when I go off on one of my rants (which, unfortunately, is often)

16. Giggling like schoolgirls together.

17. An open shoulder to cry on.

18. The love of chocolate.

19. Laughing so hard that you legitimately cry.

20. Your unconditional love for your hubby, kids, and most importantly our Lord.

Happy Mother's Day, my Mama Mia!!! I love you, oh so much!!

P.S. The brothers are going to give me so much crap for this, but I don't care...

(And people wonder where I get my goofiness...)

Thankful Thursdays 05/02/13

Music: Watchout - Michael Ketterer
           Shake It Out - Florence + The Machine
           Someday - The Strokes


So sorry that I didn't get this posted yesterday, but I was in Missoula. I had the best intentions to get this posted yesterday, but the hotel's internet was acting up. Why was I in Missoula? Well, since you asked (actually you probably didn't, but I'm going to tell you anyway) I was there to attend the Montana Optometric Association's annual meeting. I learnt me some new glasses stuff, folks!  So there you go, now you know. Okay, let's get this ball rolling.

1. (This actually happened yesterday, but I'm too lazy to do a re-edit) While waiting at the crosswalk today on my walk home from work, I felt a prick and then a sting on my side. I brushed my shirt to see what it was, and A FRIGGIN' BEE fell off of me!!! What?! There is like 5 flowers blooming in the whole town, and I get stung by a BEE!! Tttthhhpppttt, and to quote the immortal Stephanie Tanner from Full House "How rude!". I walked the rest of the way home, and of course, it's the first thing I tell my roomie. Her response (ever the nurse): "ARE YOU ALLERGIC??!!" Me: "Nope, I'm not." Winnie (who is): "If that was me, I would be all 'Get it off!! Get off!!! AAIIIYYEEEE!!!!' " This was followed by some dramatic flailing. Me: "Yeah, my response was just 'What?! Ow! That's rude!" Okay, so what does this have to do with thankfulness? All this to say that my first thankful item today is just that I'm so glad that I'm not allergic to bees.

2. My sweet Grandma Elverna. This woman is absolutely amazing! She is the most humble, unpretentious person I know. Seriously, she is what the Bible calls "Not a respecter of persons" meaning she could care less who you are, who much money you make, what you drive, or what brands you wear. She treats everyone the same. If you show up at her tiny house, you'll be invited in, offered a seat, a cold soda/ water/ hot cup of coffee placed in one hand, and a plate of food in the other. She ask how you're doing/how's work/ how's your family/how's your second cousin on your Mom's side? ;) Then she'll catch you up on all the family news and history. When it comes time to go, she'll give you THE best hug, and say to you "I love you, you nice person, you! Come and see me again sometime!" She's just the sweetest. The brothers, cousins and I have the best memories of sleepovers at Grandma's house. Getting to hang out at her job, helping her clean (this was waaaayyy more fun than it sounds!), getting to sleep on reclining lawn chairs, giant pancakes in the morning topped with homemade syrup, and smooches on the cheek. Siiiggghhh, makes me wish I could be 6 years old again. My Grandma is just too awesome for words. I love her to pieces, and hope I can be just as amazing when I'm her age.

(Here she is, folks!)

3. Peanut Butter M & M's. If you've never tried these, you must. No, seriously. You must...now. Right now! Why are you still sitting there? Go. Now!