Rough Revelations

Many of you know that the Cook's don't generally live a calm, slow and uneventful life. We tend to lean towards the spastic side of life. The past few weeks have been no different.

My wonderful, preacher hubby earns his money with the "after hours" that he puts in. But, I think the past week and a half he has done the work of MANY men. (But, I am partial!) Our church family has had a rough time lately. We have lost three members. It began with Ms. Opal Bradford. She was a sweet lady that has an even sweeter daughter, Winnie, that my girls absolutely LOVE. (She's another grandma to them!) Well, Ms. Opal passed away and David spent several days with the family comforting them and being a pallbearer at the funeral. It's so great to hear of all the wonderful things that were said about her. She meant so much to so many.

Three days later, we lost Carl Bonds. He was another important member to our church. A leader, once upon a time. Mr. Bonds has been ill for many years and finally went home to be with God. David once again spent several days with the family and performed the funeral. Carl will be missed by his dear wife, Elwanda.

Two days later, we had the one year anniversary to the tornado that ripped our town to shreds. Our community got together and had a special service to remember those that lost their lives and to celebrate those that came to help clean up and put us back together. It's still hard to think about the 'might have beens' with that storm. We got to praise God for sparing the lives of our dear friends the Blanton's. They were in their house when it was ripped apart. They were scattered all over their yard, amazingly there were only minor injuries and are all back to 'normal!' (As normal as a preachers family with 4 kids can be! Hi, Amy!) It was an emotional service for many.

The very next night.....complete tragedy struck our church family when a dear friend was killed in a car accident on her way home from work. Jean Henson left behind a 14 year old son, Dakota. Who I ask you to pray for. David spent 4 days with Jean's extended family helping to comfort them and make arrangements for the funeral. It was one of the most impressive funerals I have ever been to as there was standing room only and every possible seat in our church was full! The outpouring of love to Dakota was so incredible that David had a hard time getting through the eulogy without tears. (Which of course is contagious!) Jean touched the lives of so many that, I am sure, she never knew about. She was a soft spoken, but to the point woman. She loved my kids and treated them extra special. She was Eden Bible school teacher and would often tell me (sometimes terrible!!!) stories that she "told on us" in class. Many times I would be in tears from laughing at something Eden said. Jean never had lots of money, didn't wear the finest clothes or drive the fancy cars. But what she did have....genuine love for you. She never accepted a side arm hug...only two arms would do! And she made a point to tell you if she thought about you that week. She will be missed.

As you can see we have had enough sadness to last a long while around here. But it didn't come without a lesson. After being to three funerals and a service to remember those who have (or almost) lost their lives in a tornado, I have realized that I need to tell people that I love them more. I need to tell people when I pray for them...send more cards....hug more and hug longer. I am challenging you as well as myself to commit to this with me! What better time to re-commit to love one another than Valentines!!?!!!

So to all of you out there.....I love you! I appreciate you and what you have brought to my life.

I've been playing a lot of tag lately.....

I will tag anyone who wants to do it!!!! Have fun!


1.WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? No my mom made up my name...just ask her ! haha!

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Two nights ago...watching "Because I said So."

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? I worked really hard for it to look nice...I'm a lefty.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? honey ham...cold!

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Two girls

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I'd probably
think I was a snob until I got to know me...that's what usually happens. :)

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM? Nope..never...absolutly not.

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Once upon a time I would have...and almost did..but not now.
My brain grew in.

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Cinnamon Life ..Mmmmm.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? No

12.What's the first thing to pop into your head? My car needs a bath...inside and out.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Chocolate chip cookie dough

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their teeth...hate gross teeth.

15. RED OR PINK? Both..together even!

16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Temper

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? All my friends from the past that I lost touch with.

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Denim jeans and white tennis
shoes.

19. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The gas well behind the house. Too bad it's not mine.....$$$$

20. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Redish-orange...I'm sure there is a name....

21. FAVORITE SMELLS? I can't smell, so nothing! :)

22. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? David

23. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Gymnastics, Ice Skating

24. HAIR COLOR? Dark brown

25. EYE COLOR? green

26. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope

27. FAVORITE FOODS? Pizza, Orange juice, pierogi's with cheddar and potato..yummmm.

28. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? No scary for me...Happy endings every time!

29. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Because I Said So

30. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Bright yellow...thought it might help with the mood today !:) ( I was dealing with tax people!)

31. SUMMER OR WINTER? summer

32. FAVORITE DESSERT? Strawberry Cheesecake...with LOTS of strawberries.

33. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? None, but I just finished Confession of a
Shopaholic....it was alright. I hope the movie is better.

34. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? No mouse pad

35. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? The Office, Flight of the Concords, big
Love (No Superbowl graced our screen! :))

36. FAVORITE SOUND(S): laughing babies, ocean waves crashing along the side of a cruise ship, bird chirping...and a cash register! :)

37. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Blah.....

38. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Bahamas

39. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? decorating, singing & scrapping

40. WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DOING? picking Tatum up from school....gotta go!!!

Happy New Year!

It's been almost 2 months since my last post....I'm sorry. It's been a crazy two months. I will try to update as best I can. So sit back and soak in....

-Our house is getting there. We hit a lull during deer season and the holidays, but we seem to have regained our momentum. We have garage doors now, that I happen to LOVE. And we have most of our house sided. We still have to go pick out our brick for the bricked parts, but that can't get bricked up till next month anyway...so we aren't stressing about that yet. Hopefully, next week we will be able to insulate and shortly after drywall. Whew! Can't wait!

-Our kids are still getting big. We started Upward Cheerleading this week. Because of the lack of volunteers, David and I both ended up coaching. David has a boys basketball team....which I think is weird b/c we don't have ANY boys or basketballs players. And until Tuesday afternoon, I was the coach for 2 cheerleading squads....17 girls. Also funny because I was never a cheerleader. Luckily a friend felt called to take half of them off my team and form another one. YEAH ROBIN!!!! So now I am down to 9. That I can handle. I feel sorry for the poor little girls who think they are going to learn how to be a cheerleader!!! A cheerleader...I am not.

-Christmas. Our family spent another year at Camp Takodah. It was great. We stayed in The Pines for 4 days. It was such a good relaxing time. We got to hike, eat, horseback ride, eat, sleep, eat.....and the best part was eatting. Did I mention we ate? The highlight of the week was finding out my little brother, Travis, and his wife, Stephanie, are going to have a baby! So around August there will be another McMillion! It was such a great Christmas. My camera was broken so I am relying on others to send me pictures....so far I have nothing. ;)

-New Years......we didn't do anything big. We went to a friends house and played Loaded Questions for hours and hours and hours. It was fun...and we even stayed up! (That's a first for 4 years!)

-Well that's all for now! Stay tuned...when I get pictures I will post them....HINT HINT HINT...family! :)

Random Things That I Love.....

In celebration of Thanks-living Week....

1. I love fall colors. Those are the colors that I look best in. My clothes, my house, my hair even, all fall.

2. I love Sonic Strawberry Cream Slushes. I will get one anytime I have a long drive ahead of me. I will turn on my favorite music from my #2 man and sip away at the cold yumminess. It's a little piece of heaven reserved just for me...and Tim McGraw.

3. I love David's big gray sweatshirt. It is HUGE on me....perfect for snuggling in. (He likes that I wear it too! ;) )

4. I love Google. I GOOGLE everything. From some new "ailment" that I have to anyone that I have ever known....it's been Googled.

5. I love fun panties. Life is too short to wear granny panties....to clarify: just brightly colored...no "weird stuff."


6. I love Tatum's giggle. When Tatum gets tickled, she has this little baby giggle. We don't hear it very often, but when we do....it takes me back.

7. I love putting my cold feet on a warm David at night. This may sound terrible, but I think in some small way, he likes it. It's just one of those "little things'' that we just do. I hope I always have a warm David to warm my ice-feet at night.

8. I love to sing praise songs with LOTS of people. Is there anything better than worshiping our God with others...in song? My heart overflows and it comes out my eyes...every time. It makes me miss the squeak of my chapel seat.

9. I love that Eden sucks her thumb....still. Okay, I know most of you are thinking...'She will have buck teeth!!" Well, no, she doesn't. It's the weirdest thing...she doesn't actually suck her thumb. She licks it...in her mouth. I love to watch her when she sleeps. Her little chin moves just like it did when she would nurse as a baby. It brings back those bonding memories for me. I know one day she will have to quit, but for now, I think it's cute.

10. I love to talk to myself in the mirror. Okay, I am telling on myself..but I do. Everyday when I am blow drying my hair and putting on my make-up, I am thinking of possible conversations that I might have that day...and I talk. Lots of awkward situations have probably been avoided because I have "rehearsed" in the mirror. I am thankful for the trial run.

What are your random loves?

All together now......(((SIGH)))

This is my new favorite book, movie, and dream! I wonder where Edward was when I was 17?

Three years ago a friend of mine handed me the Twilight book to read. She told me that I would fall in love with the main character and that I HAD to read it. I asked her what it was about and she told me vampires. "Whatever." I thought. I am NOT reading this book. So, I did the polite thing and took it, let it ride in my car for two weeks and then tried to give it back. She asked me afew questions and realized that I didn't read it. She told me she wasn't going to take it back until I read at least a little bit of it. I agreed. I read the first two chapters and was hooked....bad.

I spent the next three years waiting for the next books to come out. Only to read them in one day. (Did I mention that they are each over 500 pages?) Then I heard that a movie was being made....holy moly.

Well the day finally arrived...opening night of Twilight. And yes, I was one of the weirdo people that stood in line for HOURS to get tickets. 6 hours to be exact. I got to the theatre at 12:30pm and at 6:15pm they finally opened the doors and announced that there were only 70 tickets left for the late show. Lindsay, my mom and I rushed the ticket counter and got 3 of the final tickets!!!! VICTORY! We had to create the "human wall" from all the smitten 13 year olds. It was fun.

The movie was 2 hours long and I promise it only felt 10 minutes. I am excited for it to be out on DVD. ( I WILL own it.) I recommend it to everyone....

Warning: It is full of vampires and geared towards adolescents....but keep an open mind..it's great! And boyfriends and husbands WILL get jealous...how can they live up to a guy who is fast, good looking, rich, strong and spending eternity trying to read your mind and give you everything you ever wanted? :)

Go see it!

What I've Been Up To!

So, Christmas time is especially busy for me. I get lots of requests for tote bags, purses and diaper bags. This year is no different. In the last 3 weeks I have made 38 bags, 4 tuffets, 9 baby blankets, 10 pillows, 3 table runners and panels of curtains for 14 rooms. I have been a very busy lady. I love to do it though, I am a crafty girl for sure and would quite possibly die if something ever happened to my hands. It's such an awesome outlet that I thank God for all the time. I am blessed to be able to make money doing what I love and still be able to be a stay at home mom! Yeah GOD! :) I'm blessed for sure!

Scratch it off the List of Places to Go Ever Again

I have debated for a week whether or not to post about an experience I had at the Hearing Center last week. It is HORRIBLY embarrassing, but I decided that it's too funny not to share.

We had been noticing for some time that Tatum was having a hard time hearing out of her right ear. So, I took her to the doctor, and he recommended that we have her hearing tested at Triplet Hearing Center in Clinton. So, I made the appointment.

About and hour before her appointment I had eaten a few donuts. (Those of you on Face Book may recall the status update regarding donuts! :)) They didn't sit will in my stomach, but nothing that I couldn't handle.

I went and picked Tatum up from school and we made our trek across town to the Hearing Center. We got there early so I could fill out all the paperwork. While I was filling it out, I got really nauseated, so I grabbed a cup of water from the water cooler. I sipped water, cup after cup after cup, hoping that I would feel better, but no luck.

When they called us back to the exam room, I felt better when stood up. I decided then, that I wasn't going to sit down. While in the exam room , I felt a little queasy so I excused myself to go to the bathroom. No excitement there so I went back to the exam room.

When I get back into the room, the doctor asks Tatum what she is supposed to put into her ear. It's a trick question, you aren't supposed to put anything in your ear. Did I know that? NO, I look stupid and say, "Only your finger!" The doctor says, "No, mom, only your elbow!" He proceeds to talk about how you can put your finger in your nose, your mouth and eyes..."You can dig in those only...not your ears!" He, without taking a breath, then looks at Tatum and asks, "What does your daddy do?"
Tatum, still on the "digging" conversation, looks puzzled and answers, "Digs in his bottom?"

I could die.

The doctor got a really big laugh at that.

When it's time to go to the hearing test room, we all trek to the back of the office. Meanwhile, my sick stomach is getting worse. We are almost done with the test, and it hits me like a load of bricks....I am going to throw up. I bolt out of the room mumbling something along the lines of..."gonna puke...." I made it about half way down the hall to the bathroom, and realize that I am NOT going to make it to the front of the building. I decide to go back to the room that we were in first because there was a trash can in there. So I dart into the exam room, only to trip over the doctors stool and land on my stomach....and roll across the room....while throwing up on EVERYTHING!!!! I tried to get to the trash can, but it had one of those pop-up lids....that wouldn't work. (Can you picture it? Are you laughing yet?) So, I manage to hit just about everything in the office. I turn to look at the door and there stands Eden.....with the most disgusted look on her face. I tell her to close the door. She takes off and I hear her tell the doctor, "My mom threw up on the WHOLE office!!!"

At this point I am frantically looking for paper towels and spray!! Luckily, I found some under the sink. I DID in fact get the exam room cleaned up. But it took awhile. I didn't want to come out, but I figured that the doctor had been babysitting my kids long enough. When I did finally come out of the exam room, the doctor and receptionist were talking about me being sick....they thought I was pregnant. I assured them it was donuts,not a child, that made me sick.

So, a review:
*Tatum tells said Doctor that David "digs in his butt" for a living.
*Bethany pukes ALL over the exam room.
*We will never again be able to go to Triplet Hearing Center.....ever.

The End