My Cup Runneth Over!

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Psalms 23:5

Wow! I am suddenly overtaken by tears of joy.

How? How has God been so good to me?

I have been immensely blessed in life despite plenty of mistakes.

You know the old adage, "You can't take it with you" - referring to the fact that when we die, we don't take our houses, our Suburbans, our cell phones, our email accounts . . . or even our Wii's.

But you know what we CAN take with us??? People! Or at least their souls. All of these precious little (and big) children that fill my life with so much joy will all be with me for all eternity, praising God. My awesome hubby? He'll be there too.

I lay in bed last last night with my tears runnething over with pure joy and happiness. I have had a rough 2007 and I was ready to put the lid on that year and open a new year. But despite illness and the loss of a dear family member, I go into 2008 with so much love for so many people in my life that it overwhelms me. I woke up this morning with the same thought. I was ready to blog about it . . . though the blog I composed in my head did more easily flow from my brain. Now it sounds kind of . . . well, silly.

But the fact that I have one AMAZING husband and six AMAZING children to share a home with staggers me. Add on top of that . . . a super-great mom who I love so much. My parents were divorced when I was 21 and it rocked me to the core. But now I have two new people in my life. She remarried "Grampa James" in 1999 and he is wonderful too!

I had anger and issues with my father after the divorce but have reconciled that relationship. Praise God!! I'm so grateful for having him more in my life after years of hurt. His wife, Jean, is a doll and loves all of us dearly.

My brother is the coolest bestest brother ever!! He's an awesome auctioneer. He has a cool boat, a cool pool, and a cool wife! I love them both so much! I love their four super-cool kids too and I'm so glad that my six kids and their four kids all have similar ages and it's a big party and celebration every time we are together! Check out this pic of my mom, Grandpa James, my six kids, and my brother's four kids:

Is that one happy-looking crew, or what?

Then add my husband's family! We married so young, so long ago, that I feel that I have known and loved them forever. His parents are both so good to me and their love for me is genuine. He has two brothers that I love, with great personalities and great hugs! Matt's sister is several years younger than we are, but since she has married and had a baby in the past year and a half, we have grown MUCH closer! She will be having another baby in April and I am so excited that she will have two baby girls to play with my two baby girls!!

OK . . . so that's just pretty much the immediate family - without going into cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, etc. . . . !

That does not count all the dear friends that I have. Several of you out there have been there for me time and time again. You are so supportive of me and help me out with whatever I need. I have old friends and roommates from college, newer friends from optometry school and living in Killeen, and many many new friends and loved ones that we have grown close to since moving to College Station. When I got sick I was absolutely blown away by all of the unsolicited support, phone calls, emails, meals, etc.

So, here comes a Mindi that is a little bit different from the one before. I keep thinking I'm learning my lessons and finally "get it" about life . . . but God always has more to teach me.

I don't know what I am suddenly overcome with love and appreciation with everyone in my life - but I'm so thankful that it's full of such wonderful people.

Thank you God, and please don't let me forget the importance of PEOPLE. And I pray that I will get to WORSHIP You, God, with ALL of these people in heaven some day.

Wii Wii Wii All The Way Home

Soooo . . . some of you may be thinking that I'm not cut out to be a blogger. Time will tell I suppose but I have just been so busy. My family came for Christmas and just left yesterday. Matt's family is arriving from Michigan today (his mom, dad, sister, brother in law, and sister's baby). So I'm sure that you will understand that I have been vacuuming, mopping, shopping, cooking, planning for their visit . . .

. . . NOT!!!

OK, I've been doing some of those things.

But we have another, more permanent guest in our home.

He lives in Marshall's room, though he spends some late nights in the living room.

His name is Wii.

Who else has this crazy amazing addicting friend in their home!! It is soooo cool!

And such a workout! I was up until l:30 a.m. last night honing my home run hitting skills. I am so sore this morning. And how 'bout that tennis???

I am embarrassed of my "fitness age" but I know you will all want to know. It is dreadful but I have improved. I started at 71. Improved a little to 67. And last night jumped to 52!!

It was then that I decided that I needed to start the training session. I am really good at the bowling but my tennis was mediocre and my home runs were few and far between (I had only hit one after three days).

Tonight my fitness score will be off the charts. After severall sessions with the trainer I can hit 4 home runs out of 10 pitches. I had just been holding the controller wrong . . . and had a little problem with my timing. I also practiced my tennis and got a little more consistent. Maybe tonight I will only be in my forties.

Wii owners of the world . . . you need to go rent SSX Blur. It's a snowboarding game. We had the SSX Tricky version for PS2 and loved it, but this game takes SSX tricky to a whole new level. We rented it from Blockbuster but now I think I need to pressure Marshall to spend his Christmas money on purchasing it. JK!

Wii non-owners of the world . . . come on over and play! We don't watch TV anymore. Heck, we barely eat supper.

Wii love playing with the Wii!

Who else is waking up with sore arms and shoulders from all that Wii-ing?

The Amazing Dryer Balls

Has anyone out there tried these?

My mom was buying herself some and kindly thought of her daughter, the Laundry Queen. So I was the proud owner of the Amazing Dryer Balls.

The packaging states that these little blue rubbery nubby balls have the following features:

• Naturally soften fabrics without the use of harmful and irritating chemicals
• Made of PVC plastic to withstand high heat
• Cuts drying time by up to 25%
• Reduces lint and ironing
• Safe for ALL fabrics - jeans, towels, even your delicates

So I declared Thursday to be the Offical Greene Family Dryer Ball Testing Day(known in some circles as the OGFDBTD) with my laundry room serving as the Official Facility.

What do I think? Well, I think they work okay. I'll examine the above features:

1. "Naturally soften fabrics without the use of harmful and irritating chemicals." Well, they did seem to somewhat soften the fabrics. Everything seemed, well, kind of fluffy, and definitely less wrinkly. There is a picture on the packaging of a stack of towels dried with and without the fabric balls. I did two or three loads of the towels and they didn't triple in size like in the picture but they seemed a little fluffier and kind of soft.

2. "Made of PVC Plastic to Withstand High Heat." I didn't test what they were made of. They did seem to withstand the high heat just fine!

3. "Cuts Drying Time By 25%." This one was hard to test. My dryer just tells me when my clothes are dry, and if I happen to look at the time right when I start the dryer and right when it's done, I know how long it took. But since some loads take longer than other loads (towels and jeans take longer, large loads take longer, and cold wash loads take longer), it was hard to assess how much it cut the drying time. That said, I got about 2 more loads done total than I can usually do in a school day (I think I did 7-8 loads, when usually I do 5-6). So I'm pretty sure it was faster.

4. "Reduces Lint and Ironing." This, too, is hard to quantitatively assess (the lint anyway). I didn't really notice my lint screen looking particularly empty. As for the ironing, everything seemed much less wrinkly. I don't actually EVER iron ANYTHING . . . but that's another subject and I don't want to digress that far.

5. "Safe for All Fabrics: Jeans, Towels and even your Delicates." I didn't have that many delicates but I did use the balls in all the loads (and in all the loads I have done since then) and nothing was destroyed.

Other points:

• The dryer balls seem kind of loud at first, like you are drying tennis shoes, but the rubber softens as they heat up and then you can't hear them.
• Some online users complain that the balls got stuck in pants legs and sleeves, and even in large hems, stretching them into a round ball shape. I didn't have to search for the balls at all so this wasn't a problem for me.
• Use both balls at once. I saw the package and thought, "cool, I love 2-packs" and ran the first load with only one ball. Then I figured out that they are supposed to be used together. Darn.
• Since the point of the balls is to soften your clothes without using the chemical-laden dryer sheets, some people are comparing how your laundry comes out compared to the dryer sheets. Obviously the balls aren't going to make your clothes smell like Spring Blossoms or Mountain Springs since they are just plain rubber. So you might miss the fresh smell of dryer sheets. However, as a parent of Children With Eczema, I never use dryer sheets anyway.

I think that these balls work pretty well and would be a good buy. Using them would save money in several ways: (1) the cost of the dryer sheets and fabric softeners, if you use them (2) decreases your drying time, therefore reducing your utility costs. They are ecologically friendly and of course will not irritate my babies' or other childrens' skin.

I give this product a thumbs-up. I think they cost about $10 at drugstores.

Anyone else have any thoughts or experience with these Amazing Dryer Balls?

Grandmommy

Well, if there is anyone left checking this blog, it's a MIRACLE!! I know I have been gone for a long time and haven't posted in TEN days!

My last post was Monday, December 3rd. On Tuesday, the 4th, I lost my grandmother. I will miss her so much. She was battling a number of conditions, but none (we thought) immediately life-threatening. Diabetes, thyroid, Grave's disease, some short-term memory loss and a nearly-healed broken ankle.

Grandmommy (as we grandkids called her) was such a special lady and the one who spoiled me the most as a child. When I wanted to run away, I imagined running to her. When the world seemed to be turning on me, I knew she loved me with a love that was fierce and strong and proud and unconditional.

It's hard to lose someone who loves you that much.

Though she had lived in Midland since I was born, just recently she moved to a nursing home in Conroe to be closer to my aunt. I vowed that since I had missed visiting with her enough due to the many miles between us, that I would go once a week and visit her. After a few trips (1 hr 15 minutes each way) that I took on my days off work, I was thinking selfishly, "wow, that's kind of a big commitment, I sure am driving a lot, etc.). I had no idea that my visits were very numbered.

My last visit with her was Saturday, three days before she died. Though previous visits had been difficult (sometimes she knew me and the kids well, sometimes she did not), that visit was the best I had seen her since she had moved to Conroe. She was a die-hard Aggie football fan, and I asked her, "Grandmommy, wasn't it exciting? Those Aggies beat those Longhorns!!" She said, "I know, and they are getting a new coach! Where is he from again?" Just like the Grandmommy that I had always known and loved!

I think God gave us that last good visit. It was a wonderful gift and a memory that I will hold dear forever.

Goodbye, Grandmommy. We sure will miss you but I know we will meet again.

Blog-watching friends out there, thanks for listening. I couldn't just go on with my blog like it hadn't happened. Lighter fare is coming.

Tomorrow's post topic: The Amazing Dryer Balls!

Another Kind of Christmas List

Well, on Friday evening (right after my last post with the List of Things I Love), I realized I had forgotten that I LOVE . . . . CHRISTMAS!!!!

And there are SO many things I love about the Christmas season that I feel it warrants its own list!

1. Decorating the tree(s) with my kids (I especially love the wonder and joy of pulling the ornaments out one by one)

2. Living Hope's Christmas play!!!

3. Going to Santa's Wonderland and Tombstone Texas (should we organize a LH night or hayride through the lights?)

4. Taking pictures for making our Christmas cards.

5. Putting the cards together assembly-line style: I sign the card, a kid puts the picture in, another kid puts the letter in, another kid licks the envelope, another puts the address labels and stamps on.

6. Christmas eve candlelight services

7. The "sibling exchange" (I take all the kids to the dollar store and give them five dollars each to buy a $1 gift for each of their five siblings. Then we go home and each child has to wrap them themselves. Then one evening shortly before Christmas we make a big occasion out of opening the Sibling Gifts. It's hilarious what they pick to give each other. Last year Marshall gave Monica a hot glue gun, which she though was crazy-funny!)

8. The amazing Christmas specials on TV.

9. Listening to Christmas music non-stop both in the car and in the house.

10. Making what we call "holiday popcorn." (recipe below)

11. Reading the REAL "Christmas story" aloud out of the book of Luke, and listening to the kids read it aloud.

I'm sure I'll think of many more things that I love about the season!

Oh, and here's how you make that Holiday popcorn:

1. Pop two bags of microwave popcorn. Pour them into a giant bowl and make sure to weed out the unpopped kernels.

2. Melt one package of white almond bark (available near the chocolate chips at the grocery store) in the microwave. It melts pretty fast - cook about 30 seconds at a time and stir in between.

3. While the almond bark is melting, add two-three cups of "filler" to the popcorn. I like to use pretzels and rice krispies. Peanuts and almonds are good in there too.

4. Pour the melted almond bark over the popcorn and other ingredients. Red and Green mini M&Ms are good, or mini chocolate chips but you have to stir that in after the almond bark cools a little. You can also stir peanut butter into the almond bark before pouring it over.

5. Spread the holiday popcorn in a single layer over wax paper. You have to wax paper a pretty large area to get it spread out. I like to sprinkle red and green sugar crystals or other christmassy sprinkles at this point.

6. Let the popcorn cool completely and then break it up into a large bowl. YUMMY!!

This makes a great inexpensive gift for teachers, neighbors, classmates, etc. I put about a cup of the mix into those clear Christmas goodie bags and tie with curly ribbon.

Enjoy!

Now it's your turn to share. What's your favorite holiday tradition? Or recipe?

Mindi