What a beautiful morning in Houston! Curt’s parents arrived from Missouri last night and they’re on a walk with our very happy dog and very happy child. The house is nice and quiet, giving me the perfect chance to check in to Siestaville.

A few days ago I read a comment from one of our siestas asking for some advice. I thought it was too good a topic to get buried in the comments, so I saved it for a post. Check out this question from Kathy Pink Bicycle Arkansas:

Can I ask a favor/help of all my siesta’s? I teach 5th grade Sunday school and for the first time I am having a very difficult time with them learning their verse and bringing their Bibles. I’ve tried bribery, candy, small prizes…..any suggestions? What works for you? Please help. Thanks!

I am just starting to work on a couple of (very simple) verses with Jackson. My friend and co-worker, Jen, started out doing Scripture memory with her son during bathtime. I’ve found that to be a great time too because my little monkey is contained! So I’m also very interested to hear your tips. If you have advice for Scripture memory with big kids or small kids, we’d love to hear it!

Hi siestas! My mom is getting ready for Bible study tonight, so I have the honor of announcing the winner of our Pop Quiz. I used an online random integer generator to pick the winner. I’d have a picture of the number on my computer screen for you like I’ve seen BooMama do, but my camera battery died! Oh well. Get to the point, right?

The winner of the ESV Study Bible is Lauri Wasmuth!

*Applause and cheers for Lauri*

Bethie was so proud of all your comments that she wanted to give out five more prizes. The winners will receive the devotional book John: 90 Days With the Beloved Disciple.

Our next five winners are:
1) Christine at “Christine’s Corner”
2) Trish Wagner
3) Sue in Las Vegas
4) Gene54
5) Twinkle

*Applause and cheers for these five siestas*

Thanks for playing ladies! Have a wonderful Tuesday!

Y’all are not going to believe the dumb thing I did yesterday. Curtis had the privilege of getting to preach the Sunday services at a local church that is currently in an interim period. (Hello, friends at Humble Area FBC!) Of course, we arrived early to get Curtis settled. While he did his thing, I took Jackson to the kids area (which was amazing) and let him play on their indoor playground until his class was ready to start. After I dropped him off in the “Happy Hippos” room (I kept saying “Hungry Hippos”) I made my way to the sanctuary to find my husband. He was doing something in the sound booth, so I walked to the front and looked to see if his stuff was sitting on a chair.

Indeed, I saw Curt’s blue Bible and his car keys sitting on a chair in the front row. There was no one else seated on the row at that time. So I sat down next to his stuff. Then I thought I would be a good wife and put his keys in my purse so he wouldn’t have to think about them. A couple minutes later a man came over and sat on the other side of Curt’s stuff. He looked at me curiously and then started messing with Curt’s stuff. So I said, “Oh, that’s my husband’s stuff.” Then he kindly told me that, no, that was his stuff! I was so horrified! Then I had to confess to him that I had even put his car keys in my purse! Oh, y’all, I was so embarrassed! He was super nice and laughed with me about it. (Hi, Mitch!) It’s just so nice to make a good first impression, isn’t it? Ha ha!

We loved getting to meet everyone at HAFBC. What a sweet congregation. I cannot say enough about how wonderful their kidzone is! Wow! We met some really neat people and Curt and I discussed on the way home that the number one benefit of being in ministry is simply getting to know people. Despite Jackson’s usual post-church restlessness, we enjoyed getting to have lunch with the Whitakers and hear about their family’s journey with the Lord. You just never know what God has done in another person’s life. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are such treasures and if we slow down long enough to hear one another’s stories, we will be so blessed and want to praise God for His works!

Well, it’s been a while since I updated you on Baby Girl. I am 22 weeks along now, which is just over half way there. Yesterday marked four months until my due date (Feb. 12). I am in that grace period between the first and third trimesters when I feel great and actually look pregnant, but not too pregnant. I’ve been seeing babies everywhere and I’m getting so excited to have this little one join us! She does have a name but (please don’t hate us) we are going to wait until she’s born to announce it. Or at least try. I just know I’m going to slip up!

Happy Columbus Day to all of you and, if you have the day off, I hope it’s a really good one! Blessings!
Love,
Amanda

Last night Curt and I went to pick up Jackson from the babysitter’s house. That would be my mom’s house. We had our dinner 8 group for Sunday school and Bibby was so generous to take Jackson for us. They even went to Chucky Cheese (Chunky Cheese, as we say in our family)! Jackson is so lucky! When we got to her house we were both feeling kind of crummy from a cold. I could see the gears turning in my mother’s mind. She was deciding whether to reveal a secret about herself that could either shock and horrify us or help relieve our stuffy noses. Her mothering instincts overrode her self-protection instincts and she darted into her bathroom and emerged with this thing that looked like a small watering can-slash-tea pot. She said some of the girls at work had started using these things – neti pots they’re called – and she had finally taken the plunge. (You can watch an instructional video here if you dare.) It worked wonders, she said. She may have even used the words “life changing.” Now all of the LPM crew, minus one, are regular users.

We were somewhat amazed as she explained it. Curtis, who is one day more advanced into his cold than I am, not to mention more adventurous, was intrigued. So on the way home we picked one up at Walgreen’s. Once Jackson was in bed, Curtis proceeded to irrigate his sinuses over my kitchen sink. Awesome. He also lost concentration during the process and didn’t control his breathing correctly, which resulted in him losing his dinner in my kitchen sink. Super awesome. Personally, I’ve had enough of losing my breakfasts, lunches, and dinners in the last few months and I would rather not try this neti pot phenomenon. Curtis was sniffling again within 15 minutes. Totally not worth it to me, y’all. I declined using the neti pot. Well this morning when I woke up my head felt like it weighed 40 pounds. I started coughing and wouldn’t you know that my body went into morning sickness mode. Fun times. So Curtis and I can bond over our stuffy noses and weak stomachs. We are a pitiful pair.

(I know, this is the worst post of all time. I was really hurting for something to say.)

So are you a natural remedy kind of person (not that there’s anything natural about pouring water into your nose through a tea pot) or do you reach for the medicine cabinet when you get sick? If you’re a natural remedy kind of person, what is the one thing you’re always trying to get your friends to try?

I would normally sustain myself on DayQuil and NyQuil, but since I’m with child I’m just trying to make it on as little Tylenol as possible, chicken soup, and decaf hot tea. Okay, y’all are not going to believe this, but Curtis just walked in the door unexpectedly. He’s home on his lunch break to use his neti pot again! He is so brave and wild at heart! As for me, I’m going to heat up some soup.