this little piggy....

went to the market, the next stayed home, the third ate roast beef, the fourth had none, but my last little piggy decided to wander off course, blaze his own trail, follow his heart, and ram smack into the edge of Christian's bed and break a bone! Owwwwwwwww! So I spent the better part of yesterday in an urgent care clinic, reading a waterskiing magazine. After three
hours, an x-ray showed the break and the doctor said.....wear shoes. What a bright idea!

It's funny, all the mundane chores I used to silently complain about now sound like a priviledge with 10 working toes. I have taken that little right piggy for granted my entire life! Really I take so much for granted. Where do I begin. Thank you God, for my health, my husband, my children, my parents and extended family, my awesome church family, my sweet friends, I know I am just scraping the surface, but thank you God. May you receive glory in all that I say, in all that I do. From the hairs on my head, to, you guessed it, my last little toe.

What are you thankful for today?

cold stoned

We took Elliot out for ice cream at Cold Stone last night-an attempt at bribing him to get into the pool for the swimming lessons we are throwing money out the window for. It worked! But that's not the point. Can someone please tell me what is up with the new "flavors of the month" campaign at Cold Stone. I would love to meet their test subjects. Why on earth would someone visit an ice cream shop in hopes of finding flavors such as "fruity cereal, black licorice, and wasabi ginger"? I sampled the neon blue fruity cereal flavor-cause hey, I enjoy an occasional bowl of Trix as much as the next stay at home mom. Of course it was as disgusting as it appeared at first sight. The best part was even my 3 year old, who could live on a diet of french fries and fruit snacks, snubbed his nose at it. Has anyone tried the other weird flavors? What's your favorite marble slab concoction?

summer vacation '05

Not so cool of me to begin my blog and then skip town for 2 weeks. Sorry all of my faithful readers! What a trip, leaving 82 degree Escondido for 101 degree Texas/Oklahoma.....that's a "vacation"? It was. Being with my brother and his quickly growing family, enjoying time with my folks away from the mundane, seeing college roomates, a family reunion and 3 days with the Williamsons, dearest friends from a decade ago. It was a great vacation. Usually I think of vacation in the sense of relaxing, room service, and pristine weather. This little trip had none of those highlights. It was more like 10 days in a 30' RV with 4 kids under 8. Wowzers! But it was restorative. I feel enriched by the hours we spent and the money we spent getting to fellowship with the amazing people God has placed in our lives. Too often we take for granted the souls we are privileged to know. I hope our family blessed all of you as much as you have blessed us.

Vacation highlights...
Day 1 Not losing anyone in an airport! Rooftop swimming pool at hotel.
Day 2 Pick up RV, Brown Family Reunion in Gainesville, TX
Day 3 Church w/Byron leading worship and iced tea at McAllister's, Byron's 30th birthday party at the lake park.
Day 4 Kenny's 6am skiing, local Temple waterpark, scrapbook party, dinner at Smetana's-Peyton gets 63 mosquito bites.
Day 5 On the lake-everybody ski's, hot dogs in the RV, late night dinner at Fuddruckers (messed up Blake's bedtime routine!)
Day 6 Anna gets first shots, Elliot swallows a penny. More skiing, so Christian can show off. Barbecue & Blue bell with Lee Bracken in Salado. Peyton gets bubblegum in his eyelashes and is drugged with benedryl.
Day 7 Travel to Fort Worth/Dallas. Lunch with Jerry Barker & family. Dinner with Ron Green, parking a 30' RV in downtown Dallas, light the menu on fire.
Day 8 Oklahoma thunderstorm-wow! Trip to Oklahoma City memorial with Williamsons. Evening at the local waterpark, grilled hamburgers and ate outdoors in the california-like weather!
Day 9 Kenny's famous waffles for breakfast, Fun & games at Incredible Pizza and attempt at taking pictures together.
Day 10 Church at Memorial Road, seeing Rebekah's family, swimming at Sydney's, Marble Slab creamery for ice cream-oops, their air conditioning went out, so it was more like milkshake in a cone, a sweet sticky mess.
Day 11 Bigger Oklahoma thunderstorm and return the RV, fly home to California, just in time for fireworks at the Chruch.

What a great time......praise God for our safety.

who am I, really?

In college I got a degree in Mass Communication, a lovely piece of paper I put to use everyday as I "manage" a "mass" of 4 little boys, my sons 8, 6, 3, and 5 months. In my last semesters at ACU I took some Marketing courses as electives, mainly because Kenny was in the business building, so where else would I want to be?? I fell in love with marketing, the idea of consumer behavior and Dr. Lytle was the best. If I had to do college all over again, no doubt the study of marketing would be my passion. A phrase Lytle often said when promoting his classes was, "Marketing Rules The World!" We would laugh at his boasting, but on a non-spiritual level I still agree with Lytle's stance on the subject.

This is what troubles me about setting up a blog. In marketing you identify your audience, your target market and present your product or service in a way that will most connect with and convince whoever you are speaking to. There is incredible power in the way something is presented.

In a way I have always "marketed" Donielle. I naturally think about where someone else is coming from, their age, their intrests, their sense of humor, their maturity, their liberal or conservative viewpoints, etc. I do this before I jump out and "be me". Does this make me a hypocrite? I am not sure, but I admit the color of my personality is a different shade when I am with my brother than it is with my mother-in-law.

In blog-world, there is no way to "market" oneself, is there.....I guess all three of you will now see Donielle, the un-edited, straight from the heart version. I can't guess at who my audience might be, I can't word thing one way for some and another for others. It's kinda scary and liberating all in one. Winter Time may turn out to be more enlightening for me than those of you who take the time for Winter Time.

God Bless

blogging day 1

I'm a blogger now, never dreamed I could be, never thought I would be. But Byron has done such a nice job with his and being the kind brother he is, helped me create one of my own, so here it goes.

I am not sure why I am doing this. Is it for me? Is it for you? Maybe it's for my kids? Or just for those moments when life is rushing by and something happens, good or bad; and you know you'll never forget that moment....and then time passes and you do. Months or years later something random may happen and it triggers a forgotten moment. I think to myself, that moment was almost lost forever, and I wonder how many other little memories of mine have wandered away.

If my blog makes you smile or cry or laugh or think let me know, would you?

May God bless the world of blogging, the prayers that are shared, the encouragement given, the advice asked for and the tears that flow in this little amazing computer driven window of life we now share.