Simply the Best--Day 31

Well, I made it! Thirty-one posts in thirty-one days. The topic sounded easy at first, but proved to be more difficult than I expected. Some days I had to rack my brain to come up with something. The only other time I've taken on the NaBloPoMo challenge was back in November of 2008. Then, the topic was "Thankfulness". It was relatively easy to think of something for which I was thankful each day. But BEST. BEST means not just good or even great, but the BEST. That's a pretty strong descriptive when you think about it. Its also a relative term. I guess that turned out to be a good thing, because I was able to award the title based on my own opinion. This reminds me of the scene from Elf when Buddy sees the sign in the diner window that says, "New York's Best Cup of Coffee". He runs in and shouts "Congratulations! You did it!"; but then when he actually takes a sip, its not at all what he expected. Obviously, BEST is subjective at best.

So what exactly have I gained from this exercise? (Besides the cool NaBloPoMo badge over to the side there and the satisfaction of knowing that I proved troybradfordphotos wrong since he didn't think I would make it to the end.) Well, basically I confirmed what I already knew~I have absolutely the BEST life. I have the BEST friends, the BEST family, the BEST kids and the BEST adventures. In all these "BESTS" I am exceedingly, abundantly BLESSED.

Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,unto Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

Simply the Best--Day 30

I tease BigJoel about a lot of things~like when he does "math" inside his head, or watches all 30 hours of the Barrett-Jackson car auction on TV, or that he's such a softy when it comes to our girls. But in reality, he is the BEST husband, the BEST father, and my BEST friend. I was reminded of that again tonight, for reasons I'd rather not share (except to say that I'm an idiot~just because you can put on your wedding rings that you haven't worn in two years due to "retaining water", doesn't mean that you can get them off again). The man's a saint, I tell you.

Simply the Best--Day 29

Our church is reading through the Bible in chronological order this year. The BEST tool I've discovered online is YouVersion.com. It is a resource offered by lifechurch.tv. It shows me just what to read each day and tracks my progress. The thing I like the BEST is the parallel option. I can pull up the readings in two versions at the same time side-by-side. I personally enjoy the ESV (or Educated Standard Version as Joel calls it) and The Message. I read the assignments in both versions each day. I'm trying to decide if I can claim that I'm reading the Bible through twice this year.

Simply the Best--Day 28

The BEST thing today? I got new tires on my Jeep. Seriously. The tread on my tires had worn so thin, that the last time we had the oil changed, the dealership wouldn't renew our roadside assistance plan until we got new ones. It didn't seem like the tires I had were all that old, but they were out of alignment/balance so badly that it took both hands just to keep the car going straight down the road and not shimmy off into the ditch. Evidently, this is a problem and diminishes the life of the tire. A lot.

So we took the Jeep in yesterday and had new tires put on and a front-end alignment done. I cannot tell you what a difference it makes! No more shimmy. No more shake. Just smooth sailing down the open road. Even at high rates of speed (of course, no higher than the law allows).

I had no idea I would be this excited about new tires. This might mean I'm old and boring; but then again, maybe I'm just appreciative that I have a husband who cares enough for us to sell his motorcycle in order to buy new tires and keep us safe on the road. That's a pretty good deal~he traded in two old tires and got four brand new ones! He's the BEST. I just love that guy!

Simply the Best--Day 27

Happy Birthday to the BEST 10 year old ever!

We love you Hallie Beth!

Simply the Best--Day 26

I've mentioned before that we don't have a lot of traditions that stick in our family. I'm just not creative enough or disciplined enough to really establish any long lasting rituals. However, this year we've revived one of our BEST traditions.

After Christmas, we save all of the cards we received from family and friends in a basket by the kitchen table. Each night when we sit down as a family to eat, someone picks a card from the basket and we pray for that family. Now, I can't take credit for the idea. We adopted it from a former pastor. I must admit we're not always faithful to choose a card at every meal, but I love the idea of praying for our friends throughout the year. So to all my friends out there, please don't take offense that you did not receive a Christmas card from us (because I just cannot, for the life of me, get my act together to send them out). But know that one night, at some point during the next year, you will be thought of and prayed for by our family. I think that might just be the next BEST thing.

Simply the Best--Day 25

Our little friend Emma has become quite the showgirl. She's the BEST entertainment and really keeps us laughing. As Hallie would say, "She's better than cable TV". Unfortunately, I'm not the BEST videographer.

Simply the Best--Day 24

About four years ago, maybe more, Elizabeth came up with the BEST idea to start a book club. (She's always full of good ideas, that one.) My memory is fuzzy, but I believe our first official book might have been Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller. The club consisted of Elizabeth, myself, and Nancy our wise, cultured friend. We've read some of the BEST books. Books of all different kinds~fiction, non-fiction, deep theological works, and light fluffy fluff. I have to say, I'm the weakest link. I'm often the slacker and two of my reading selections were so ambitious that we had to wave the white flag of surrender: The Source by James Michener and Heaven by Randy Alcorn. (For the record, I think Nancy finished both of those books but just got tired of waiting for me to catch up.) Somewhere along the way, we dubbed ourselves "The Finer Things Book Club" (fans of The Office will get the reference).

However, the time has come to expand the scope of our club. We've added new members and gone international. Elizabeth has created a private blog for discussing the selections and we are about to begin our first assignment with the "Texas y Peru Club de Libros." We'll be reading A Sweet and Bitter Providence by John Piper. I can't wait.

Simply the Best--Day 23

I mentioned that one of the BEST things about BigJoel's job is when I get to travel with him. I've gotten to go California, New York, Pennsylvania, Maine, Chicago, Boston, Washington, Washington D.C., the Bahamas and many other places. I've enjoyed them all and I'm so grateful for the opportunities. But by far, the BEST place we've gone is Hawaii. Of course its beautiful, but there's more to it than that. We've gone twice in the past 6 years. I've noticed the same thing both times: I feel so good while I'm there. Seriously. No headaches, no fatigue, no aches or pains, no stress. I just feel good...and that's the BEST!

Simply the Best--Day 22

Some of the BEST memories I have growing up are the slumber parties I'd have each year for my birthday. My dad always said they should be called "slumber-less parties" because there wasn't a lot of sleep going on. Tonight, Hallie has four of her BEST little buddies over to celebrate her 10th birthday. We've eaten pizza, opened presents, had cake, done two art projects, painted nails and sang karaoke. And its only 10:30. I'm about done. Now they are going to make their beds in tents upstairs and turn on a movie. Hopefully, this means they are about done, too. I doubt it, but they are just 10. I think we have another year or two before we have to start worrying about bras in the freezer or toothpaste on the face of the first one asleep.

On second thought, I better go hide my bras.

Simply the Best--Day 21

Over a year ago, Elizabeth came up with the BEST idea--Monday Night Supper Club. Last week, we had a MNSC send-off for our founder who has now moved to Peru. We'll try to continue the tradition, but it just won't be the same for a while. *sigh*

Simply the Best--Day 20

There are some drawbacks to BigJoel's job--such as being gone for days, even weeks at a time. But there are advantages as well--such as being home for days, even weeks at a time. However, the BEST perk is when I get to go with him. Like in a few weeks when we'll board this:

And go here:

It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it...

Simply the Best--Day 19

The BEST reality TV show:

I have to be honest and say that I'm looking forward to this season without Paula. I may regret that statement in a few weeks, but right now I think Ellen's quick-witted humor will be a huge improvement over Ms. Abdul's dim-witted antics.

Simply the Best--Day 18

Back in November, we went to a surprise birthday costume party. The theme was "Famous Couples". Here is our interpretation of one of the BEST love/hate relationships of all time: Charlie Brown and Lucy. And the funny thing is...we had to stop at Wal-Mart on the way to the party. We walked in, dressed as Charlie Brown and Lucy, two days after Halloween, and no one even batted an eye. The only thing anyone even said to us was, "Hi! Welcome to Wal-Mart!" Good grief.

Simply the Best--Day 17

Man! This is getting tough! Let me think...how about the BEST thing about today? I love Sundays, especially Sundays when BigJoel is home. Its the BEST feeling when we get to ride to church together, in one car.

And the second BEST thing about Sunday...a nap, of course!

Simply the Best--Day 16

Today I discovered the wonder that is Skype. I realize I'm probably a bit slow jumping on the bandwagon, but until now I really hadn't had much use for it...or so I thought. Since the time had come for Elizabeth's departure, I finally downloaded the application this week. It was worth it (even though its free) when I got to talk to Elizabeth this morning all the way from Trujillo, Peru. It sounded like she was in the same room with me! I didn't enable to the video feature this morning because I was still in my flamingo pjs with wicked morning hair. Not a pretty sight.

But later today, Joel, HannahKate and I took some time to goof around, experiment and figure out all the various features. We "messaged" each other, tried out the video and learned how to do conference calls. Its amazing, I tell you. HanK was upstairs, Joel in the living room and me in the bedroom~yet it was as if we were all in the same room together.

So across the world or across the house, Mr. Skype, you bring folks together. You're the BEST!

Simply the Best--Day 15

Home pants, movies on the new TV and time with BigJoel~the BEST way to spend a Friday evening.

Simply the Best--Day 14

Today's BEST reaches back to one of those days that I had every intention of blogging about when it first happened, but time got away from me and I never got around to it.

In September, Mrs. Cheryl, Elizabeth and I packed up and headed to Colorado to meet up with Paige and celebrate Elizabeth's big birthday. Big as in, the BIG 30. On our first day of travel, we drove to Amarillo. The highlight of the day was dinner at The Big Texan. I love that place!

The next morning, we woke up and started off on what has to be one of the BEST adventures I've ever had. First we drove out to Palo Duro Canyon, one of the most beautiful places on earth~in a rustic sort of way. Every time I see it, I stand in awe of our Creator.
Next we set out to find "The Huge Pair of Legs". We had some sketchy directions, but we figured, "How hard can it be to find a pair of huge legs in the middle of the West Texas plains?" However, the legs turned out to be more elusive than we anticipated. At one point we found ourselves in the middle of a small neighborhood where we pulled over to ask a road crew for directions. (Now she'll tell this next part differently, but its my blog so its my story.) Elizabeth rolled down the driver's window, looked at the road workers, and in her very sweetest southern drawl said, "Excuse me! We're looking for a huge pair of legs. Can you help us?" I just wish I'd had my camera ready to capture the look on those men's faces. They weren't sure if we were asking for directions or making a "proposition". Once we clarified, they pointed us in the right direction. And sure enough at the corner of I27 and Sundown Lane, there were the huge pair of legs, right in the middle of a cow pasture. In order to get a closer picture, it required hopping the fence~trespassing~but you only turn 30 once, so we figured we might as well live a little. Besides, the cows didn't seem to mind. I think they were used to intruders.
From The Huge Pair of Legs, we headed on to Amarillo's other, more well-known roadside monument~The Cadillac Ranch. There, Elizabeth found a can of spray paint and immortalized the occasion by graffiti-ing a huge "30" on one of the submerged cars. Now we've added vandalism to our growing criminal history.
We were having so much fun that we almost forgot our real destination~Colorado. So finally, about 2:00 p.m., we headed north. When we left Amarillo, it was 78 degrees. By the time we reached Clayton, New Mexico the temperature had dropped to 35 degrees and snow began to fall. Seriously. Snow. In September.
I kept saying, "Oh, it won't stick because it was so warm this morning." Boy, was I wrong! This was the scene by the time we reached Raton.
We finally made it through the inclement weather and rolled into Denver late that night. Elizabeth had booked us into The Curtis~ a super-cute boutique hotel where each floor has a different theme. So after our long, adventurous day of hitting on road crews, trespassing, vandalizing public property, and braving a snowstorm, we stepped off the elevator to be greeted by this~

"Heeeere's Johnny!"

I cannot remember a day in my life where I laughed so much, so hard and so often. That's why it qualifies as one of the BEST days on record.

Simply the Best--Day 13

The BEST meal that I had this past year~outside the U.S.~was Avocado stuffed with Chicken Salad at Oviedo's in Trujillo. Its amazing how big avocados grow in Peru!

Simply the Best--Day 12

The BEST concert I went to last year was, of course, U2. The production was amazing. And the band was pretty awesome, too.