Geography 101

While putting together our plastic shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child a couple weeks ago, Bill and I were confronted with an alarming realization: Our knowledge of geography is lacking.

We don't know where this is. Do you?

It's been awhile....

Hello again.
I feel like I need to re-introduce myself, it's been so long.

I've been in a state of "mourning" for the past couple of weeks. Not due entirely to election stuff-- more so because the of the sin in the world. Some unfortunate family circumstances, along with the election, have put a great big spotlight on the sin that exists all around us.

We've been studying The Beatitudes in church for the past few weeks, and I have been particularly moved by verse 4, which says,"

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

I've always read that to mean people who are mourning the loss of a person, but our pastor said he believes it can also be extended to mean mourning the sin in the world. Kind of a "loss of innocence" as you realize how utterly corrupted all of human kind are. And when you think about it, most of the horrible things that we "mourn" in life all have to do with the fallen world we live in. Were it not for sin, there would be no wars, no famines, no diseases, no disasters ...etc. So it really all does boil down to SIN.

Anyway, all of this has been on the forefront of my mind for the past few weeks. I've been particularly stung by professing Christians who have made choices that go against God's word. The bible is not a book of "gray issues."

As for my feelings on the presidential election, my friend Veronica summed up my sentiments quite nicely here. (Thanks, Veronica for putting words to my thoughts EXACTLY!)

All is not lost, though.
Bill and I both feel as though recent developments in our world point even more urgently toward Jesus' triumphant return being near(er). And we know that regardless of what is happening in our world, however desperate times become, Jesus wins! THAT is our comfort!

Despite my mourning, life has actually been wonderful at The Hughes Zoo. God's provisions for our family have been amazing and humbling. I know we've all heard this before, but it has been particularly relevant to me recently:

"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23:1

Phrased another way, "The Lord is my caregiver, He will take care of all of my needs."
All our needs, down to the littlest details, have been more than met. We are rejoicing in His blessings.

And on a much lighter note....
We had our friend Orna (who also happens to be our dentist!!) over for dinner last night. She arrived with a yummy pumpkin pie in hand, and no one was happier than Tori.

Yes, our little scavenger pulled the entire pie off of the counter and was sitting in the corner eating it with the pie server. "Little Tori Hughes sat in the corner, eating her pumpkin pie."
Thank goodness Orna had a camera to capture the moment.

100 things

When I started blogging a little over a year ago, I wasn't sure it would really last.
Here I am, typing up my 100th post. I can hardly believe it.

I've seen this done on other blogs I read, and I thought it might be fun, so....

In honor of my 100th post, here's a list of 100 things you may or may not know about The Hughes Zoo:

100. I've had stitches two, no three, times in my life. Twice in the same spot (Thank you breech babies).

99. When I was three years old and fiercely independent, I helped myself to graham crackers in the pantry by using glass Pepsi bottles (remember those?) as my step stool.

98. The Pepsi bottles fell over, and so did I. 16 stitches on my left shin, and OH! what a scar.

97. My mom has always said, "It's not a scar, it's a conversation piece."

96. I dread the day I head to the ER for stitches for one of my own (fiercely independent) children. (I pray it never comes!)

95. Bill has had stitches 3 times, as well, he thinks.

94. He has two scars on the back of his head from life with his older brothers. Just "boys will be boys" things. And I guess it's the youngest that always winds up with stitches....

93. It's a miracle he didn't have more injuries considering the fact that he tells me things like "Once I tried to jump on the hood of the car while John was driving..."

92. My favorite brother story I've heard told about Bill's childhood was when he and his brother Rick set the backyard on fire.

91. They thought it would be fun to soak a tennis ball in kerosene, light it on fire, and then kick it around the backyard. (This should serve as a warning to those of you with boys....)

90. We have a true "You've Got Mail" love story. Kind of.

89. He lived in Texas, I in California when we were introduced via email by family/friends.

88. My favorite number is 8. Although I like 4, too. They're are both so even, so neat. Nothing like those messy ODD numbers.

87. In high school, my volleyball number was 16-- 8 x 2. My basketball jersey number was 35-- 3+5= 8. (I know, I'm nuts, but I really do think like this). Thank God I didn't have a number in track....

86. I married someone who likes numbers just as much as me. We're self-professed nerds.

85. My favorite teacher was Mr. Mansfield. He was my Algebra II/Trigonometry teacher when I was a sophomore in high school.

84. He is still at the same school, but now teaches Calculus, just like Bill.

83. He has now become a mentor, of sorts, for Bill. They meet on a regular basis and talk about how to best teach Calculus to high schoolers.

82. I love that we live in a community where I have roots.

81. Lexy is now attending preschool in the same building I took ballet lessons in 30 years ago. And I REMEMBER being in that room in my light pink leotard, tights, and ballet slippers. Mrs. Coyolli was my teacher. She had a son named Christopher that used to play with my brother, Ryan.

80. I have a RIDICULOUS memory when it comes to people, places and things. (I am a proper noun master, I guess. :) )

79. I got this gift/curse of a great memory from my mom. It runs in the family.

78. Lexy seems to have it as well. She remembers things that boggle my mind.

77. I had my first ever broken bone this year. (Details here) And it wasn't really that big of a deal, so I'm inclined to say I've never broken a bone.

76. I was born in 1976. I am a bi-centennial baby, and my birth certificate has stars and stripes all over it.

75. I like to think my year of birth was foreshadowing for my patriotism.

74. Fourth of July is my favorite holiday.

73. Bill loves the Red, White, & Blue just as much as I do. We are proud Americans.

72. Bill also likes Texas. A LOT. 'Cause, you know, Texans are pretty proud of their great state. (And their country, too.)

71. I have never seen flags as big as the ones that fly all over the state of Texas. You know what they say: Everything is bigger in Texas.

70. I like random facts. Like, Texas is the only state in the union that can fly its flag at the same height as the flag of the United States. (Because they fought for and won their independence without help from the federal government.) All other state flags are flown a little bit lower than the American flag.

69. I grew up on Jennifer Place. (no joke)

68. Our street sign was perpetually missing, due in large part, I'm sure, to the fact that there were 7 billion Jennifers in the Eighties. (I never stole one of the signs.)

67. The city rectified the situation once and for all by posting the sign about 16 feet high on a light post. It really is laughable how high it is...

66. I graduated from UCLA with a BA in Sociology and an emphasis in Business, but all I really ever wanted to do was be a mom. I like to dream big. :)

65. Bill is the "dreamer" in our relationship. I guess I'm either a kill-joy or the "grounded" one, depending on your perspective.

64. Although I don't let it happen often enough, I really enjoy the instances when I allow myself to dream along with him. He encourages me to 'live a little' sometimes. Reality, schmeality.

63. We took a 13-week course last spring called Financial Peace University.

62. Our intent was to learn about retirement savings, college savings, and other long term things.

61. It REVOLUTIONIZED the way we spend money, and I can truly say that we have Financial Peace despite the horrible economic climate around us. PRAISE GOD.

60. Before we married, when Bill was still in Texas, I used to send him letters and postcards in the mail a couple times a week. (Mail is always fun to receive.)

59. He now leaves me little love notes that I find inside the computer when I open it up in the morning. (They make my day.)

58. During one of his visits to CA when we were still dating, I distinctly remember driving down the 101 freeway in my car, listening to the local R&B/Rap station (yes, I was young and foolish once) and discussing how funny it would be to name our dog "Notorious D.O.G.", after the then recently deceased rapper Notorious B.I.G.

57. We now have a dog named Doggie, short for "Doggie Smalls", a la "Biggie Smalls", Notorious' nickname.

56. We sometimes crack ourselves up.

55. When I get laughing really hard, I nearly always start crying (or tearing up, really).

54. Lexy doesn't know what the heck is happening when Mommy is laughing and crying at the same time.

53. I think there is no sound so sweet as my daughters' laughter.

52. We don't listen to rap music anymore. (I guess that makes us older and wiser. )

51. Our radio station of choice these days is KLOVE. We listen online daily. (I'm listening right now as I type!)

50. My favorite song right now is "You Reign" by Mercy Me.

49. Bill's current favorite song is "Give Me Your Eyes" by Brandon Heath.

48. Lexy seems to be a Toby Mac fan. She's been known to sing along with "Lose My Soul" and "Burn for You". (Apparently she likes R&B just like her mommy.)

47. Tori likes anything. As long as she can dance, she's good.

46. Bananas are a big hit at our house. Tori could eat 3 a day if I'd let her.

45. Back in the day, I used to wonder who in the world bought those BAGS of bananas at the grocery store. How could they possibly finish 12 bananas before they went bad??

44. I now have my answer: US. And we finish them LONG before they're bad.

43. We also love tomatoes.

42. I was raised believing that tomatoes could be eaten like apples-- just dig right in! I didn't realize that was odd until I was older.

41. Lexy eats tomatoes like apples ALL. THE. TIME. She sometimes even takes a tomato to school in her lunch box. I can only imagine what the teacher must think.... the other 3-yr-olds are eating fruit snacks and Twinkies. Mine is sinking her teeth into a juicy tomato.

40. We pretty much love all fresh fruit and vegetables... especially the ones we've picked ourselves at Underwood Family Farms.

39. My favorite bible verse is Philippians 4:8:

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things"

38. I love that the worldly wisdom of "Think positive! Have a good attitude!" is, in fact, BIBLICAL.

37. Lexy is busy committing scripture verses to memory in AWANA Cubbies each week. So far, her favorite verse is Romans 5:8:

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

*the 3-yr-old version is the words in bold.

36. Bill's life verse is the same as Lexy's favorite. I didn't even realize that! (I always knew she was just like her dad.)

35. Tori said her second word tonight: Jesus. I kid not. (Her first word was "duck") :)

34. <--- The age Bill is right now.

33. You know I'm running out of ideas of things to write when I start using the numbers for inspiration.

32. <--- The age I'll be on Wednesday.

31. <--- The age I am right now.

30. I still don't feel like a grown-up. (I hear you never do)

29. Sometimes I can't believe I actually have kids! How in the world am I old enough to have children?!?

28. Bill's car battery died about 5 months ago. When he replaced it, the radio security code reset, and we don't know what it is.

27. He has figured out every possible 5-digit combination of the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, & 6 and is systematically trying each one. (I told you he liked numbers.)

26. No luck so far. But no matter.... He has become an AVID fan of Alistair Begg sermons on his iPod.

25. Bill is a morning person. He wakes up before the sun. (Or at least it feels that way to me)

24. I am NOT a morning person. Especially when I'm awakened at 5:something to hear him tell me "I know that you need your sleep, so..." Um, hello? Do you not see the irony here???

23. My dad likes to joke that I don't realize 5 o'clock comes around twice each day.

22. I didn't get my driver's license until I was 19 years old.

21. I didn't figure it mattered since I had no car to drive and couldn't afford to pay my own insurance even if I did have a car. (There I go being practical again...)

20. The reason I finally broke down and got my license was because my mom was leaving to go on a 3-week trip to China, and I was going to be stuck at home with no transportation.

19. Due to the fact that this was all realized rather last minute, our local Dept of Motor Vehicles didn't have any available driving test appointments to accommodate my RUSH schedule. So I went to my Grandma's house in Bakersfield to take the test.

18. I passed. (Big sigh of relief)

17. I have never had a ticket related to my driving. Only my parking. :)

16. I have been rear-ended twice.

15. Once was a hit-and-run. I was on my way to a JOB INTERVIEW when it happened. True story. I had to call and postpone my interview. Thankfully, they were gracious in rescheduling and eventually I got the job. AND... The cops found the kid that hit me and his insurance (or rather his DAD'S insurance) took care of everything.

14. I feel like I get a Jury Duty summons every 12 months (or whatever the legal window of time is).

13. I ALWAYS get picked to be one of the first 12 jurors, which means I have to answer a litany of questions about myself in front of the whole courtroom.

12. I hate public speaking.

11. In my last Jury scenario, I had the judge actually tell me that I was "un-American" before calling a recess for everyone to regroup. It was seriously the whole banging gavel, "ORDER in the court!" scene you see in the movies.

10. I told him I had preconceived notions that the defendant might be guilty given the fact that the prosecution had a list of about 50 witnesses (including multiple police officers) saying he was guilty as charged, and the defense had no witnesses to vouch for his innoncence. Not even ONE. Call me crazy.

9. I was the only one with guts enough to admit what EVERYONE in the courtroom was thinking.

8. Needless to say, I got excused. (The baliff actually met me outside the courtroom to tell me so I wouldn't have to step my "un-American" feet back inside.)

7. Come to think of it, I haven't been summoned since that happened a couple of years ago.... Maybe I've been BLACKLISTED. Hallelujah! That would be fantastic.

6. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this is the longest entry I've ever posted.

5. I can't imagine that ANYONE is still reading this unless you're related to me. (Hi Mom!) Props to you if you've lasted.

4. I really like getting comments on my blog. (hint, hint)

3. I have the "Are we there yet?" mentality right now.

2. I have enjoyed compiling this list... I'm sure it will be good for a laugh years from now.

1. I love my life in the Hughes Zoo!

Happy 100th folks!

Irresistably Raspberry= IRRESISTABLE!

I am so not a product endorser, but I just wanted to share this delicious find with you all....
I only bought it because I had a super coupon which made it practically free ....

It is DE-LISH.
A nice little treat after a long, hot day.

March Madness

VS.

I mean seriously....
64 teams in this darn tournament, and A&M and UCLA have to end up playing each other???
Really.
Our family could do without the drama, thank you very much.

Needless to say, tonight was a tense night at our house.
Thank goodness with have 2 TVs-- we realized early on we'd have to watch in separate rooms.
I think we're still friends after the outcome.

It was a GREAT game, the kind you wish neither team would have to lose.
Gig 'em Aggies!
and
GO BRUINS!

Thoughts on Blogging

My apologies to the few faithful readers who check in regularly only to find nothing new. I haven't figured out if this because my life is too busy to blog (which it is), or if it's more of an issue of my blogging philosophy...

Am I waiting for something BIG, something "blog worthy", to happen before I post again?

I've often read other blog authors talk about the "I can't wait to blog about this" thought that runs through their heads in the midst of a life moment. I can totally relate... BUT, I think that if I did blog all of those thoughts, I would spend WAY too much time on the computer. I honestly don't know how the people who have clever, witty, LONG entries EVERY DAY do it and still keep house, play with kids, make lunches/dinners, etc. They must not sleep. I like sleep too much to blog, I guess. :)

So anyway, thank you for checking in regularly. Please forgive the lack of new entries--- I'm too busy living life and sleeping to write!

Wishing you all a VERY Merry Christmas!
Hopefully the busyness of the season doesn't cause you to lose sight of the real reason we are celebrating....
As Lexy sings, "Happy Birthday to Jesus!" (over and over and over again)

(My goal is to post some Christmas videos/pictures early next week.... We'll see :) )