How do I change?
If I feel depressed I will sing.
If I feel sad I will laugh.
If I feel ill I will double my labour.
If I feel fear I will plunge ahead.
If I feel inferior I will wear new garments.
If I feel uncertain I will raise my voice.
If I feel poverty I will think of wealth to come.
If I feel incompetent I will think of past success.
If I feel insignificant I will remember my goals.
Today I will be the master of my emotions.
-Og Mandino (from "The Greatest Salesman in the World")

This guy (Og Mandino) has got some great motivational quotes...here are a few of my favorites (clicky on his name for more info):

-I will act now. I will act now. I will act now. Henceforth, I will repeat these words each hour, each day, everyday, until the words become as much a habit as my breathing, and the action which follows becomes as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to perform every action necessary for my success. I will act now. I will repeat these words again and again and again. I will walk where failures fear to walk. I will work when failures seek rest. I will act now for now is all I have. Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy. I am not lazy. Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. I am not a failure. I will act now. Success will not wait. If I delay, success will become wed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the person.

-The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to fulfilling your dreams

-Never allow anyone to rain on your parade and thus cast a pall of gloom and defeat on the entire day. Remember that no talent, no self-denial, no brains, no character, are required to set up in the fault-finding business. Nothing external can have any power over you unless you permit it. Your time is too precious to be sacrificed in wasted days combating the menial forces of hate, jealously, and envy. Guard your fragile life carefully. Only God can shape a flower, but any foolish child can pull it to pieces.

-Always render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be.

I think Derek Zoolander has some serious competition :P




























Don't ya think? =)

"Derek Zoolander's eugoogooly: Rufus, Brint, and Meekus were like brothers to me. And when I say brother, I don't mean, like, an actual brother, but I mean it like the way black people use it. Which is more meaningful I think.
If there is anything that this horrible tragedy can teach us, it's that a male model's life is a precious, precious commodity. Just because we have chiseled abs and stunning features, it doesn't mean that we too can't not die in a freak gasoline fight accident."

Yep...that means YOU! We love you all so much. Miss you even more and you're always in our hearts and prayers! --Come visit us soon =)!!




























(Cool pic taken by Jamez--more found here)

I keep changing the templates...just can't seem to settle on one =)! I get bored so easily...guess it keeps you from getting bored too, hee!

(Jesus:) My loves, you're usually much harder on yourselves than I am on you. You look at your lacks and allow condemnation and discouragement to steal away your faith. Yes, I set conditions and I tell you what you must do to inherit the promises. But in general, I really take you where you're at. If I see that you're doing your best--even if that involves making mistakes, falling short, and getting up and trying again--you can bet that I'll put all the power of Heaven to work fulfilling My end of the bargain. What really makes Me sad is when I see you sitting there like a child who wants to buy something from the store, counting your change and figuring you'll never be able to afford it, when I've already given you a blank check and asked you to come in and fill your cart!

If you make a mistake, ask My forgiveness (and the forgiveness of others, if appropriate), and then proceed in faith. Don't listen to the Devil for even a second. Of course he'll tell you that you "deserve" to suffer through a hard battle or face difficulties, and all you can do is endure them because you deserve the suffering. But he's not your friend, and he doesn't tell you the truth! Realize that I'm not keeping score or measuring your obedience against your faults with a measuring stick. I love you, and I've made so many promises to you, that if you'll only start claiming them in faith, you'll be amazed at how much better your life becomes. Stop living in poverty and start acting like the privileged son or daughter of the King that you are!

...three little words that make this Mommy thing a thousand times more doable:-)! Emilie came up to me today, wrapped her little arms around my neck, kissed me on the cheek and said, "I love you, Mommy!" Ahhhh, made me feel like a million bucks!

He says he wants to be an artist when he grows up and loves art. I think there's definite potential. He's pretty good for his age...or so I think. I'm his mommy, I can think that :-)!
Here we have hang gliders:









































This is his laundry hamper which he copied-Called "Cheeky Monster" :-)

Tisha is just fascinated with food and she'll do anything to get it, heh. The other day we went to a park and there was a little boy there that had a bag of chips. She decided she was going to flirt her way to getting some. I was pretty impressed with her sweet little way of flirting, ha! --I'm sure she gets it from Daddy:-)! She didn't end up getting any...but I'll give her credit for trying:-)! Guess she'll have to try harder or use a different technique next time, ha! (I bought her a bag later...she deserved it for trying so hard and sweetly:P)

Here's proof of the flirting...they start so young these days :-):


















Happy with her chips :-)

...and I got to see the street play her home does...very cool and powerful! Super great witness. I enjoyed it a lot!

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" --Benjamin Franklin

There's a cute pub by our place...Sam and I went to check it out. It was fun:-)

Ahhhh, Guinness. Gotta love it...and the good ol' belly in the back :-)

Sam watching the game (gotta start loving soccer, heh)

The Game :-)

Today was Sheryl's birthday. We had a fun "knights and ladies" party. It turned out pretty sweet and the kids enjoyed it a lot. Here are some pics (for cooler/better pics go here:

Sheryl--the cutie birthday girl (of James and Letizia)

The little ladies

Mommies get to have dress-up fun too :-)


The beautiful Letizia

Alex (4) reading



Or here.