My 100 List

For all three people who actually read my blog, here is the much awaited 100 list. My educated guess is that this little exercise will be easy for me...based on the fact that I think a lot of myself! I'll let you know at the end of this if my hypothesis was correct.

100. Don't know why, but I wanted to start at 100 and work my way to 1. What does that tell you?

99. I am a Christian...born - again, believer, saved by His grace, washed with His blood, a member of the Body of Christ, child of God, daughter of the King, co-heirs with Christ...however you prefer it - I'm it.

98. Most of the time, I don't act like #99 or believe it.

97. Like I said before, I think a lot of myself.

96. Based on #97, I constantly have to remind myself of the verses, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4

95. I am married to Robert. This Friday (Aug. 31st) will be five years!

94. We met in Guadalajara, Mexico in the summer of 2000. He was working as a missionary. I was on a college missions trip.

93. I knew he was the one that I was going to marry.

92. I admire Robert for his loyalty, his selflessness in serving others, and his integrity...qualities that I often lack.

91. I remember saying before we married that I wanted to be a "helper" to him. After marriage, I confess that I have been irritated at the very things that I said I wanted to help him with. Imagine that.

90. We have a son, Bo, who is 15 months old. He is an awesome kid! I love to hear him say new words or imitate sounds we make. Even at times when I am getting frustrated, he makes me smile and I can feel nothing but love for him!

89. Just recently I have rethought my plan of having children close together. My original plan was to have them 2 years apart (Lord willing). But I would maybe like to do a few things before I get pregnant again, therefore putting my children farther apart in age.

88. Those things include - going on the high school beach trip this next summer and maybe even the high school missions trip.

87. Depending on the length of the high school missions trip, I think I would be pretty anxious about leaving Bo for such a long period of time.

86. I really love going on missions trips! I have been to Guadalajara and Merida, Mexico and to Ukraine.

85. I have also visited Tunisia, where my brother worked for two years; Mexico City, where Robert lived while we were "dating"; Cancun, the honeymoon; the Bahamas (see #83); and London, to tour for a day at the end of the Ukraine trip.

84. I LOVE to travel and see other countries and cultures!

83. My very first plane ride was when I was a sophomore in college. We went to the Bahamas for a basketball tournament.

82. I played basketball at Presbyterian College, a Division 2 school, for 3 years.

81. I love it that my college mascot is the Blue Hose! (if you want to know, email me.)

80. I quit playing basketball my senior year so I could lead a discipleship group.

79. I tore my ACL my freshman year of college...playing basketball.

78. Both of my grandparents on my mom's side died my freshman year of college, nine days apart. It was the second time I experienced the death of someone close to me.

77. The first was when we lost my 8-month old cousin, Michael. I believe that God is good and perfect, but I don't think I will ever understand the death of a child.

76. I became a Christian the summer after my freshman year of college. I was at Summer Beach Project, a spiritual growth opportunity led by a college ministry called Campus Outreach.

75. The Lord used a chart to change my heart. It contrasted the characteristics of a proud heart with those of a humble heart. I checked off every characteristic on the proud heart side.

74. I still struggle with my pride.

73. I think I am right the majority of the time. Most of the time, I am. haha.

72. The toilet paper should go over the roll. Not under. I change it, even in other people's houses!

71. I don't make my bed in the morning. Never have, never will. I will make my children make their beds. And maybe even mine.

70. I really do not understand why we have weather people on the news every day, especially every five minutes of the news program (except for when hurricanes are coming). I can look outside and tell you what the weather is.

69. I never wash my face before going to bed.

68. And if I'm really tired, I don't brush my teeth either.

67. I hate, I mean, HATE, going to the dentist.

66. I usually have a high tolerance for physical pain...except for mouth pain.

65. My brother and I have basically the same recurring nightmare. It involves my teeth breaking into little pieces, so much so that they are making me gag. They don't stop crumbling until I wake up, always feeling my teeth to see if they're still there because the nightmare is so real.

64. We have this dream because my mom used to tell us our teeth were going to fall out if we didn't brush them. Thanks, mom.

63. I'm not one of those girls that talk to their moms on the phone everyday. It doesn't mean I love my mom any less than girls that do.

62. I don't like to talk on the phone, unless it's accomplishing something or it's with a far away friend to catch up.

61. I admire my mom so much for going to college when I was in third grade. She still cooked, cleaned and got us where we needed to be, all while being a full-time student. I really don't know how she did it.

60. Being a mom has made me appreciate my mom so much more.

59. I LOVE being a mom! I love it that I have the opportunity to teach a child all the things I think are important. Although some days, it also scares the crap out of me.

58. I'm also scared of heights, but only when I'm supporting myself...for example, tree climbing, ropes courses. Even though I'm scared, I still do it. Well, not so much tree climbing anymore.

57. I can sleep with the lights on. But I can't sleep if I don't have something covering me, even if it's burning hot.

56. I can sleep through my husband's loud snoring, thunderstorms, even a hurricane. But I wake up if I hear my son cry.

55. I LOVE storms! The lightning and thunder and pouring rain and dark clouds. It's awesome. But I don't like driving in the rain.

54. I cracked my elbow when I was five playing duck-duck-goose. To this day, I get anxious if I have to play it.

53. I broke my right thumb twice. The first time in 7th grade, roller skating. The second time in 9th grade, playing softball.

52. I've had stitches once, but only because of major surgery -ACL. Not because of accidents.

51. When I was in 3rd grade, I was stung about 13 times by a swarm of yellow jackets. Not fun.

50. When I was two, my hands were burned really badly by hot water from a kitchen faucet. Parents - turn your hot water heaters down.

49. I'm kinda like a guy, in the fact that I like to brag about all my injuries and scars.

48. In all my years of playing sports, I have never sprained my ankles. And I'm proud of it.

47. I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy food. I don't like to sweat or have my nose running when I am eating.

46. I like to think that I am tougher - physically, mentally, emotionally - than I actually am.

45. I don't cry in movies, and I usually kinda laugh to myself at people who do. Sorry.

44. I have a good sense of direction if I'm by myself. If someone else is in the car, I usually rely on them.

43. Even though I grew up playing sports, I'm not an avid spectator or a die-hard fan of any particular team. The only thing I HAVE to watch is the NCAA tournament.

42. If I turn on a game in progress, I almost always cheer for the team that is losing. I love cheering for the underdog.

41. I don't understand die-hard fans. In fact, I think it's kinda silly.

40. I LOVE comedy. I love jokes. I love laughing. I enjoy watching NBC's "Last Comic Standing".

39. Sometimes I think I could be a comedian. I think I'm a pretty funny person.

38. I also think I could be an actress. But not in a drama. Or not in anything where I had to cuss or be naked in any way. But that doesn't leave much to choose from nowadays!

37. I was one of those students that didn't study a whole lot, but still made straight A's. I also didn't read most of the books I was supposed to for my English classes, but still managed to write decent papers on them. Sorry.

36. I once mopped the top of the freezer sections in a Food Lion near Myrtle Beach, SC during my summer employment as a stocker. It was disgusting.

35. I grew up in a really small town (pop. approx. 6,000), but I really like living in a big city. More shopping and entertainment choices.

34. I saved two kids from drowning. Once when I was just a little girl, and once when I was a lifeguard. I can still picture their faces and the fear that I saw in their eyes. Parents - teach your kids to swim.

33. I have a love/hate relationship with fashion. Mostly hate. I love it when I get a new outfit and it makes me look and feel really good. I hate it when everything I try on makes me look and feel bad. I also hate it that fashion is used to define people. I often wish that everyone wore the exact same thing, so we couldn't judge and stereotype each other by what we wear.

32. I didn't grow up with cable TV or a satellite dish or TiVo. We don't have any of those now, and we have no plans for ever getting them.

31. I like to be hugged, but I am slow to give them out.

30. I LOVE to take naps.

29. I would like to get a tattoo, but everyone who loves me won't let me.

28. I can get addicted to things pretty easily. That's why I don't gamble, drink or play lots of video games. I once lost $13 on a quarter machine at an amusement park. I was on it for most of the day, forfeiting the time that I could have been riding rides.

27. I have never been really comfortable around older/elderly people. I just don't know what to say or do. I wish I did, so I could have enjoyed my grandparents more, and learned from them.

26. I absolutely HATE superficial conversations. They exhuast me. But being in ministry has forced me to learn how to have them.

25. I hate making major decisions. I always fear choosing the wrong thing, even though I believe that the Lord is in control.

24. I grew up Baptist, and am very thankful for that. I love the fact that I know a lot of Baptist hymns, and I want to pass them on to my children.

23. I fear committing to new things, because I fear that I won't like the new thing but I'll still have to do it for a long period of time. It keeps me from doing a lot of things.

22. I really want to be good at cooking. I get really frustrated when I follow a recipe and it doesn't turn out like it's supposed to.

21. I also get really frustrated when I've taken something out to thaw for dinner, and it's not thawed when I'm ready to start cooking.

20. I was voted "Most Athletic" for my high school Senior Superlatives. I pretty much thought I deserved it.

19. I've recently recognized that instead of having an attitude of thanksgiving and service, I have an attitude of entitlement and deserving. It makes me mad at myself. I want to change, but don't know how.

18. I was voted "Miss Congeniality" in my high school pageant a record two years in a row. The first time, I was shocked. And I have never admitted that the second time, I kinda tried to win it. And yes, I was in a pageant....twice.

17. I think I want to have at least 4 kids. And sometimes I think about having a multi-racial family. But sometimes I think I only want these things because I admire the parents of these kinds of families and think that they have taken on a noble task.

16. I really want to be an outdoorsy person. Camping, rock climbing, hiking. I didn't grow up doing these things, but really want my family to do them. So right now, I'm just a wannabe outdoorsy person. I have two pair of Chacos to prove it.

15. I don't sew, knit, crochet, do needle-point, make scrapbooks, decorate, make stationary, do any kind of crafts, own my own business, grow flowers, make home-made jam or bread, etc. I am TOTALLY okay with that. Although sometimes I wish I could just hem my own pants or sew a button on.

14. I can pretty much learn how to play any musical instrument with practice. So far: piano, snare drum, french horn, trumpet, trombone, guitar, a tad bit of mandolin, and I'm sort of learning how to play the djembe (like an african drum). I didn't say I remember how to play all of these, but at some point I knew and with some refreshment, I'm pretty confident I could play them decently again.

13. M & M's are by far my favorite all time candy. So crunchy on the outside and smooth and creamy on the inside. Only recently have I started to enjoy the dark chocolate ones. And they're healthy too!! I also enjoy the peanut kind.

12. I LOVE watching movies. Mostly romantic comedies, comedy, drama, action, thriller, but definitely not horror.

11. I LOVE music. I listen to different types depending on my mood.

10. I really enjoy game shows and reality TV competitions and trivia. Anything from Jeopardy to The Amazing Race to Cash Cab.

9. I would really LOVE to be on the Amazing Race. I'm seriously trying to figure out how to get on it, but I just can't figure out how to justify leaving my child at home while I'm away.

8. I do not drink coffee. Ever.

7. I rarely drink anything but water. Except for the milk in my cereal.

6. I think people that have to have their "Coke" everyday have an addiction, because they are depending on a substance to make them feel better. I know I'm offending a ton of people right now, but remember I'm always right. : ) Feel free to leave a comment and try to defend yourself.

5. I LOVE ice cream. Something about the summer makes me eat a lot of it. I mean a lot.

4. I really do love my sisters-in-law. They are both genuine and compassionate women, who teach me a lot about being a loving and supportive wife, and a frugal and intentional mom.

3. I'm one of those people who need time to themselves.

2. I would much rather be really hot than really cold. I thank the Lord He moved us to Texas and not any state north of West Virginia!

1. I believe that even though technology has increased the ways we can "connect" with each other, we are becoming more and more disconnected as people on a personal level. Therefore, we need to be very intentional in our relationships to listen and care for one another.

My hypothesis was correct. It was pretty easy to come up with 100 things about myself. I actually could have added more! I told you I think a lot of myself. Hope you enjoyed the list! I now challenge you, Mom and Dad Smyrl, Mom and Dad Sanders, Jon and Amy, Tanner and Audrey, and all family and friends to come up with your own lists. Will you accept the challenge or are you chicken?

Trip to SC (the finale)

WARNING - There are no baby pictures in this post...it's all about me. Continue at your own risk.

Sooooo, I promised that the next post would be about the activities I did in SC not centered around Bo. Here it is.

So, first off, was my 10 year high school reunion! It's so weird to think that 10 years have already passed since I graduated. Even weirder is where I am in life after 10 years...married with a kid, living in Texas. And weird seeing everyone else grown up...or some not. To set the stage for my personal experience at the reunion, I have to say number one that I'm not one of those people that came out of high school with deep friendships - the kind that last through college and you end up being in each other's weddings. (there is one exception which I will discuss in a minute) Number two, I really hate superficial conversations. Number three, I am rarely around alcohol and dance clubs, because I live in a church bubble. So with these three things combined, my experience at the reunion had the potential of being, shall we say, AWFUL....talking about nothing with people I haven't kept in touch with who are drinking, mostly in excess, and dancing, mostly too close to one another.

BUT, it was actually fun. I did a lot of praying before I went. At one point I actually felt kind of nauseous because of not knowing what to expect. But seeing everyone from high school was actually enjoyable. Finding out what everybody is doing with their lives was quite interesting. Some highlights were: One of the guys in our prom date group is an eye doctor; I got invited by my prom date (who is married and has a kid) to come visit his family in Savannah, GA and go out on the lake in his boat!; of course, seeing cute pictures of everybody's kids; and hanging out with my old basketball teammates and our coach. So, I ended up having a good time.

Next, I was able to hang out with my childhood best friend, April, or as I have always called her, Apes. Before getting married and moving away, I missed her birthday for several years for various reasons - like being out of the country, not like I just forgot. But this year I was able to be with her on her birthday, and I was really glad. We always end up talking for a really long time and it's always good, deep conversation. I wish we could do it more often. I also got to see her family, who are like second parents to me, since me and Apes spent the night together so much growing up. They still make fun of us for playing in the dog house, making them watch our puppet shows, and acting out the lyrics to wildly unfamiliar songs such as "Buttermilk Biscuits." If anyone is familiar with this song, let me know. It would be a miracle.

I also traveled to good ol' Clinton, SC to my alma mater, Presbyterian College...home of the Blue Hose!! (if you don't know, look it up) On my way, I stopped in Chapin to visit with my college friend Zeta and her husband, and see her new house. It was a short but sweet visit. (love ya, girl!) In Clinton, I was able to meet up with my childhood friend and college roommate, Kat, who is married and about 10 days away from having her first baby! It was really fun to see her pregnant! (still praying for that little girl to arrive safe and healthy!) And fun to see the college town again. We ate lunch together and talked all about her pregnancy and being moms. Then we met up with Kelli, the girl who discipled both of us in college. It's always sweet time with her. She's in college ministry so she always asks really good questions. Thanks, KK, for taking time to hang out with us!
(Suzanne, if you read this, don't be mad. I stopped by the house, but y'all weren't home!)

I think that's about it, other than doing some shoppping (got some great deals on Bo's clothes at Kmart!), having the kids pictures taken (plug for Portrait Innovations - they rock!), and taking Mimi (my grandmother) to the eye doctor and the dollar store...and about a hundred trips to Wal-Mart.

Next blog - my 100 list.

Trip to SC (part 2)

WARNING: There are naked baby pictures in this post.

So, more on the trip to SC. We had a blast!! My sister-in-law, Audrey, and niece, Shelby, made the trek to SC from San Francisco. (Don't worry...they are normal.) Shelby is about 5 months older than Bo, so it was fun to watch them together. We played in the baby pool, blew lots of bubbles, did sidewalk chalk, played in the sprinklers, blew more bubbles, and played in the water hose. Can you tell we love water and bubbles?

Sidenote about bubbles: The non-toxic bubbles are really non-toxic. This is proven by the fact that Bo, being a little inexperienced with the actual "blowing" part, thought that he was blowing when in fact he was actually sucking in, thereby injesting a fair amount of "Magic Bubbles" liquid. He did manage to blow some rather nice bubbles from his mouth versus the bubble wand. End of sidenote.

Mom, otherwise known as G.G. to the kids, taught them how to smell and water the flowers. They LOVED playing with the water pitchers. Bo wasn't quite strong enough to actually tip the pitcher over so the water would come out. He was better at watering the flowers, without the water.

Next post will be "Trip to SC (part 3)" and will include all activities enjoyed without Bo.


Everyone enjoying being outside.


Mimi and Audrey


Shelby loved to dump a lot of water in her face.


Bo in the pool.


Bo - after dumping water in his face.


Dad/Granddaddy


Naked Shelby, Audrey and the "who would have thought this could be so much fun" waterhose.


Bo watering the watering can...go figure.


More fun with the watering cans...who knew?

Trip to SC (part 1)

For those of you who check the blog often, my apologies for not posting in a while. I do have a very valid excuse...this time! Bo and I went to South Carolina for 2 1/2 weeks!!! We stayed with my parents, whose internet has been out of service for a while thanks to a severe storm. Not checking email or being able to "surf the Web" felt rather strange, but was definitely a good thing in our technology-obsessed society (said the girl with the blog). It allowed me to do other things like read the newspaper...imagine that!

The first event we enjoyed in SC was getting to visit with Robert's parents. We invited them up to visit since it's alot easier to travel to SC from Georgia than to Houston. It would be quite a waste to be so close and not get to see them. Here are some pictures from their visit.


Granddaddy, Bo and Grammy


Grammy blowing great bubbles!


"Learn how to use that broom, grandson. You need to earn your keep around here."