Duct Cleaning Gold Mine!

(*** Hi Thursday morning ladies! If you're visiting for the first time and looking for some spiritual exhortation, skip this post and watch the video on the next one. :) I'm not always very spiritual on my blog. Sometimes I just get down to the nitty-gritty. Thanks for the advertising, Mom.)

Yesterday I had the lovely task of trying to clean out our air ducts. I made a couple of calls in the morning and realized that it would cost quite a bit of money to have it done professionally, so I decided to tackle the job myself. (We have lived in this house for a little over 4 years and I have only attempted this job one other time.) I usually just remove the vent covers and reach as far as I can with my regular vacuum attachments. Cobwebs, dust and other small particles are about the only things I find within one arm's reach. But not so yesterday. Oh no! We have one vent near our back sliding glass door that is covered with a wooden grate. I must have skipped it last time, but yesterday I pried it up with an old fork. Here was my first view:

(EW! So gross that I had to run and get the camera so that Marc would believe me.)

I kid you not, here is what I found inside the vent after sucking out the cobwebs:

*5 quarters

* 5 dimes

* 3 nickels

*14 (fourteen!!!) pennies

(Grand Total:$2.04)

* several plastic play money coins in various colors and denominations

*2 wallet size family photos (not our family!)

*one hair band

* one dry pinto bean

* one Mr. Incredible sticker

* several paper hole-punch circles

* one nail file

* one Big Bird trading card

* one math flash-card (#5 to be exact)

* one paper clip

* two rubber bands

* one blue bead necklace

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry! So....I'm asking you: Have you ever paid to have your air ducts cleaned professionally? Was it worth the money? Do you recommend any particular company? HELP!!!

Living Eternally - Francis Chan

I may be the only Christian on the planet who hasn't read "Crazy Love," and I really don't know much about Francis Chan, but I ran across this short clip on a friend's blog this afternoon and it made me think: Am I one of the "stupid ones"?

Fast Forward

Marc and I found these little dollies on clearance a couple of days before Valentine's Day and knew that the girls would fall in love with them. They did! The dolls are about 5 inches tall and their real names are Ashley, Briana and Paige. Each girl came with an itty-bitty hair brush and a pet. I only wish that the real girls that they represent always got along as well as the dolls seem to. It is so much fun to listen to the conversations that these cheap pieces of plastic have with one another. A glimpse of things to come?!

Does God make mistakes?

Today at lunch...

Sierra: "Mom, I know that I shouldn't say this, but I don't like so-and-so's face."

Me: "Oh, Sierra. God made that person's face and He doesn't make mistakes, does He?"

Sierra: (dejected) "No."

Me: "Do you like my face?"

Sierra: "Yes."

Me: "Even though I'm a little chubby?"

Sierra: "Yes. I think you're pretty anyway."

Me: "Well God made me even though I'm chubby."

Sierra: "Yeah, but God didn't make you chubby. He made you just like me AND THEN YOU ATE TOO MUCH CANDY."

Nice.

Beater-lickin' Good!

Valerie + Pudding = True Love

5 Reasons Why I Like "Night Church"

1. Going to the evening service requires me to set apart a Lord's DAY rather than just a morning. I know myself. If there were no commitment to going back to church in the evening, my day would not be the same. As it is, I love having lunch out, settling everyone down for much needed afternoon naps, and then eating popcorn and playing games when the kids wake up.

2. The evening sermon is never watered down. I love getting the extra dose of teaching, encouragement and spiritual challenge. It's a good way to head into Monday morning.

3. Miss Julie provides a wonderful class for my kids in the evening. They love going...and I love that they love it. She has some very creative projects to send home at the end of her teaching units (even when the unit is about the judges of Israel!).

4. I love the family atmosphere at "night church." The crowd is smaller, the worship time is a little different and there is lots of time to talk afterwards since no one is scrambling to get to Sunday school.

5. There are lots of "EXTRAS" at night: special missionary reports, Dad's fire-side chats, communion, testimonies, cookie fellowship time, etc.

So - here I go. It's 5:20 on Sunday afternoon. Time for me to re-do the girls tangled hair and get back in the car. Sundays are good days!

Life with Little Girls

Yes, the Squinkie craze hit our house this Christmas. Surprisingly, though, these itty-bitty toys haven't been all that popular with the older girls. Valerie, on the other hand, thinks that they make great chew toys. I was tickled PINK to find that in the one package that we bought there were three little characters who very much resemble some little girls whom I happen to love very, very much.

I don't, however, love this face. And I'm seeing it more and more these days. Ahhh! The terrible-two's are almost upon us.


As far as our regular days go, we've been ...

...having lots of manicures.

...taking lots of bubble baths.

... trying some Green Eggs and Ham!

...and playing plenty of girly make-believe.

And then there was the day when I heard Val-Val fussing in the living room and came in to find this scene:

She desperately wanted to ride in Polly Pocket's little blue beach cruiser. Try as she might, she couldn't even manage to push one foot into that danged car! She seriously tried to get herself in there for at least 5 minutes. After I grabbed the camera and took these pictures, I was able to convince her to be content sitting on Barbie's jeep and scooting her buns around the living room. We're gonna have some issues with this girl, folks!