Wii Fit

So many of you have asked me did you find a Wii Fit for my husband's birthday. YES! I did! It is a long story but I actually ended up with two. So I am selling one- I think I have someone who is going to purchase it but if not I will let you know in case you are interested. We have only set it up. Boy, am I glad you can LOCK your information. Otherwise everyone could see my weight, BMI, etc. I mean I know you can look at me and pretty much figure out I NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT.............. but you know the actual numbers I am glad you can hide. Don't laugh- I think most of women no matter the size want to hide those numbers. I have laughed at someone who said they were fat and told them okay let me come stand beside you and you can rethink that statement (they were not fat at all). Tee Hee!



We have not done many things on the Wii Fit since hubby just got it. What is really funny though is the above game under the Aerobics heading. I mean how funny is it for a person to be making all these funny moves with their hips / body - I mean think about it - if you can't see the screen and don't realize you are keeping your virtual or on screen hoola hoop from falling it could look strange. Okay it looks strange anyway. But man is it fun. Okay I thought I would pass out after doing the running one.

I will also make a confession. Hubby and I could not figure out why we could not do the balance stuff correctly- I mean we were leaning like the picture said but we just knew something wasn't right OR we were a lot worse off than we ever thought. Well................. we realized we had the board backwards. Too bad our little four year old neighbor wasn't around to "teach" us how to use this like he did the Wii.

Oh funny stuff.

Nativity Sets

This is a cute Nativity Set for children to play with.................
Veggie Tale Nativity Precious Moments Nativity

I am sitting here trying to count how many Nativity Sets I have and I can't. I have a LOT. I love collecting these and have a variety of kinds. I have several from different places and many hold special meaning to my husband and I. The one I have pictured above is a Precious Moments Nativity that was given to me several years ago by my parents. I believe they purchased it through AVON.

I encourage everyone who has children in their sphere of influence (I think that just about covers EVERYONE!) to have at least one Nativity that is child friendly. I love to watch children play with the Nativity. If you are careful you can even see them "tell" the story of Jesus birth. If you have an infant- don't worry they can hold it, put it in their mouth (well the bigger pieces), etc.

I have a new one this year called, "What God Wants For Christmas" , it is a book and nativity. It is from Family Life. I will post more on this later- I read this at our Children's Christmas Party this year. My family also read it on Christmas morning before we opened presents. It is REALLY neat - I will tell you more when I post on the Christmas Party.

Here is one I am adding to a little at a time- Fisher Price's Little People Nativity

Now is a good time to check Christian Bookstores and websites to purchase these at discounted rates- keep checking Fisher Price's website too. A friend told me a toy store had these a LOT cheaper than the website but I can't remember where it is- if you are reading this K.T. please let us know..............or if you know of somewhere you can purchase this one .......... leave us a comment!

So disappointed

I am so sorry if you listened to me about sending Christmas Cards to Recovering Soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington D.C. I sent two boxes and they were ALL sent back as not able to deliver. No real reason was given- I will have to try and find out. Sorry if you did waste postage on this- it was a nice thought anyway.

Anyone know why they would not accept these?

I Confess Another Addiction

I must confess. I have an addictive personality! :0 I am addicted to movies. Don't believe me? Here are the movies I received for Christmas! Horton Hears A Who! is a movie I saw in the theater (which is unusual for me- I normally wait and just buy it and see it then). However, since I have a book addiction too- I had read this book and wanted to see the movie. Someone knew I loved it and now I have it forever. By the way my collection of movies absolutely drives my mother crazy. I am not really sure why, I need to ask her.

I love these movies too but didn't have them- THANKS Heather!

Another thing no one really knows about me is I LOVE Reba. I am not much of a sitcom watcher but I began watching reruns of this. It is so funny. Not to mention I love to hear REBA sing. So my secret is out. Thanks to Santa's Helper (Heather) I was given the first four seasons for Christmas! I was so excited since there are only 5 seasons (and the 5th season is not even out on DVD). I only wish it was still running............. wonder why it was ever canceled?

As if my DVD addiction only pertained to DVDs I owned, we might be okay. However, two weeks ago I decided I had read enough about Redbox and I should try it myself. I will admit I had been really leery of it up until then. I wasn't exactly sold on it when I tried but thought hey I have a free code that one of the "elevenmoms" from Wal-mart posted- I will try it. On my fourth night of renting them, hubby looks at me and says, "you are addicted." I smiled and said yes but they have ALL been FREE! I did however pick some real losers in my opinion but hey it did not cost me a dime. I have only paid for one so far and have rented quite a few. Try it- if you are little skeptical as I was- use one of these two codes ....... you can only use it the first time you rent- REDBOX or try DVDONME. You have to put your credit card / bank card in the machine so they can know who to charge if you skip town with their DVD. If you have been renting these and didn't know you can get free codes- just google redbox codes and you will find several sites listing these and can even put in your cell phone number so you can get a code every Monday for free. A code that is working right now is BREAKROOM . Try it- I mean who can't afford a FREE movie.

So there you have it- a movie addict............. Are you a movie addict? Don't be afraid to confess here in my comment box- the more of us there are we will not feel alone! Okay, Okay I am teasing but you can let me know what your favorite movie of all time is................ Mine is "The Sound of Music"!

For those of you wondering what is a REDBOX.............. here it is. You have most likely seen them at a Walgreen's or Wal-mart. Here in Cleveland you can find them at the 25th Street Walgreens, Wal-mart on Keith Street, Wal-mart on Treasury Drive and the Walgreens near the Wal-mart on Treasury Drive. In some places McDonald's are starting to get them. I wish the Walgreen's across from the Wal-mart on Keith Street would get one..... Anyone out there listening? Who do we tell we want a REDBOX at that Walgreens?

I'm Addicted

Well, it is official. I am addicted to GAMES- I have pictured a dart board because this is the game I have played the most on my hubby's new Wii. I got him a Wii for Christmas because we have talked about getting it for a while now. We had said we were going to wait until we got our taxes back but I wanted to surprise him. He is hard to surprise AND there are very few things in life he ever says he "wants" so................ YEAH for me! I surprised him. We have had so much fun playing!

For my birthday this summer I got a Nintendo DS. I love to play games. Matter of fact I drive everyone a little crazy wanting to play. The Nintendo DS helped me survive my 9 weeks in bed after surgery (my surgery was 2 days after my birthday)! This is a fun game - hubby knows I love penguins and sea turtles so he got this game. Speaking of sea turtles if you are ever in or around Ponce Inlet, Florida (right beside Daytona Beach) you should go see the sea turtles at the little hospital and rescue center there.

This is another game I received for Christmas- wonder if hubby was trying to tell me something? :)

This is the game my sister got for Christmas and I have played it a WHOLE lot. Matter of fact I got stumped on it and my 15 year old cousin had to help me out, tee hee! Thanks Garrett!

This little system is amazing! We have had so much fun. My little four year old neighbor taught my hubby and I how to play on Christmas night. I was amazed at how well he did in ALL the games (and how poorly we did)! He was very patient in teaching us how to use the Wii. We had a Wii party the night after Christmas and my family came to play. Last night my aunt, uncle and cousins stopped by and we all played. It was absolutely hysterical. I haven't mentioned that after playing Christmas night my husband and I both could not believe how sore we were- don't laugh- have you tried it?

I am now looking for Wii Fit for my husband's birthday Monday but can't find it. I knew I should have listened to my friend Michelle and bought it when I bought the Wii. Anyway, speaking of being sore- I hear that is quite a work out (and that is why we want it).

My hubby fussed for me spending so much money on him for Christmas - since we don't normally spend that much- but hey I knew we would BOTH really use this present! The other reason is we had also talked about getting it when we adopted the girls. It has been a sad time for us since that adoption feel through and I wanted him to have it anyway!

Anyone know where I can get a Wii Fit in the Cleveland or Chattanooga, Tennessee area? I have called ALL stores and can't find one. HELP!

OCC - One more thing!

Here I am with shoe boxes as we go into a Training Room. I am already overwhelmed and emotional in just walking in the warehouse. I can't wait to share with my boys and girls at church my pictures and for them to know what happens to their shoe box once it leaves the church. The one thing I forgot to tell you about the box is we are to do two very important things as we inspect each box. One is we are to pray for the child that receives this box and secondly we are to make sure it will be a "WOW" for them when they open their box.

About 95% of my pallet, was all the same in each box. Some church, group, school or possibly even an individual did LOTS of boxes. If it was a girl they got a teddy bear as their big thing- if it was a boy it was a basketball or soccer ball. Most of my boxes were for girls. I started putting the recorder on top of the bear like it was playing it. I tried to imagine each child as they opened their box and saw this Teddy bear. It reminded me of my first trip overseas eight years ago. The first little girl I met from Nicaragua was a little girl who couldn't go to school because she was responsible for her family's cow. She followed that cow everywhere. It grazed beside where I was working. She asked me if I had an "American Teddy Bear" she could have. I had a beanie baby teddy bear and I gave it to her. She was so happy. I believe each child will be thrilled. I stand in awe at the number of boxes done by this group. Many of those who worked on our line all had the same boxes like mine- meaning there were pallets full. It made me realize I need to encourage those in my sphere of influence to an even greater capacity. Each child that receives a shoebox also receives a story about the greatest gift ever given- Jesus- in their language. I was encouraged by those who put a note in it with an address. I wished everyone did this so the child can communicate with you if they so choose.

Do you love shoe boxes? If so leave me a comment!

Operation Christmas Child Distribution Center

I had the opportunity on Thursday to travel to Atlanta with my church to the Warehouse where the Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes are sent. This warehouse is one of their six distribution sites. This site will send out approximately 500,000 boxes this year. The boxes are headed to India, Ghana and Benin. We were trained for 30 minutes and worked for 3 1/2 hours. We worked with several people who came as individuals to volunteer and a group from the Chick Fil A corporate offices. There were many other churches there working other "lines". There was even a youth group working. It was an incredible experience. I recommend anyone who has ever packed a shoebox to do this at least once. It helps you understand that your little box is definitely part of something HUGE. This is our one of our Co-Pastors (Bro. Jim) working to collect the boxes once they are sorted by gender. We were working the line for 10 - 14 year old children. When he received the box they were ready to put into a container / box. The goal is to get 14 shoe boxes in a box.

If you had a box that was broken, you were to give it to a red or blue shirted person (they represent the staff). It would then be taken to the Shoe Box Hospital where the ladies there would repair them or find them a new box.

There were pallets and pallets of shoe boxes. It was so AMAZING! I was so overwhelmed.

I worked as an Inspector of the boxes (the step before inspection is pre-sort, where the donation of $7 is taken out and placed in a trunk). My job was to go through the box and make sure all of the items deemed "inappropriate" were taken out. Items that were inappropriate included (but not limited to- not sure I remember everything, glad there was a chart).

liquid items -you do not want the box content to be ruined if it busts in shipping

breakable items or razors -they do not want a child to reach into their box and possibly get cut

camouflage items -unless they are the girl colors

war related items -guns, planes with army on it

real money -children could be hurt by someone trying to steal their money

play money -they might think it is real since they do not know what our money looks like

Pokemon or Harry Potter - the Nationals in many countries have asked this not be included

snakes - they are looked at differently in other countries (if in pack, it was opened & removed)

food- attracts bugs while in shipping

chocolate - melts (tootsie rolls included - however, colored tootsie rolls okay)

Vitamins or medicine - because it has an expiration date

aerosols - because of it's potential to explode in shipment or when they open it

As you can see this person had a great idea in helping ALL their items fit into the box- they included what to do with this teddy bear!

I was very impressed with the "integrity of the box" talk. We were reminded several times that other than the items deemed not appropriate, all items were to be put back in the box. It was our job to get it all back in and then tape the box up. They mentioned numerous times the integrity of each box was important because the person who packed the box expected that child to get ALL the things in the box. We were not to make judgement calls if we thought they had to much or if the item was appropriate for that age. They indicated they believe God take care of all that on the other end. For example they shared the following- In a box for a 10 -14 year old girl there was a dress for a one year old little girl. However, when this girl received her box they discovered ALL she asked for or wanted for Christmas was a dress for her one year old sister. Isn't God good?

Friends from church working on the boxes. For those wondering, if we had to take things out of a box there were fillers - school supplies, flip flops, candy, etc.

It was all so organized- the boxes behind us, space to walk, containers for our rubber bands we take off, containers in the floor for the things deemed "inappropriate" (meaning items removed from boxes), garbage bags attached to our work stations, tape dispensers with extra rolls of tape, the little roller thing we put our finished boxes on and the filler items. We worked 3 to a table, and their were numerous tables on our line as well as people across from us. If you are wondering where all the inappropriate things go - to children in need in Atlanta. Most of the items I saw go into these buckets as inappropriate were liquids and tootsie rolls. Lots of lotions, shampoos, conditioners, lip gloss and deodorants. Toothpaste on the other hand is okay.

They provided a breakroom where you could get water and juice free. There were vending machines and an area selling Chick Fil A. They also provided microwaves and many workers and volunteers had brought their lunch. We met one of the workers at lunch. He began working there through a temp agency in Atlanta. He had spent the last year in Iraq as a contractor. He had never heard of Operation Christmas Child before coming to work there. He thought it was a really neat ministry to help others. It was then I realized that another part of Samaritan's Purse was to those who came to work for them.

One neat aspect of this day for me was the two times they asked everyone in the warehouse to stop working! The Christmas music stopped. They ask you to tell your neighbors "I love Shoe boxes!" They ask you to pick up the box you are working on or are getting ready to work on. They ask you to get to know it- boy, girl and age of the child to receive it. They then ask you to put in both your hands, bring it to your chest and hug it. They ask you to pray for this child and for the shoebox to impact the child's life. Then there is someone who led in a corporate prayer. It was a very emotional but worshipful time for me.

I came home so excited that my husband, father, mother and two sisters have all agreed to take off work next year and go down and work a day. I believe they begin scheduling people to work on August 1st each year. Anyone 13 and older can volunteer. It was a neat experience. They were so nice and gave each person working a t-shirt and an ornament that will help you spread the excitement of shoe boxes!

The one last thing I would like to share with you is a new way to give to Operation Christmas Child. This is where you give online through EZ give. You are able to make your donation online at www.samaritanspurse.org and print out an EZ give receipt. You attach it to your box top and are able to follow your box. You know when it was packed at the warehouse and when it was received by a child - as well as where it went. I thought that was SO cool. I didn't realize this was an option but will definitely choose this option next year!

If you didn't pack a shoebox this year - would you please consider it next year?

Everyone needs to remember that Christmas is more about giving than getting! Are you reaching out to those around you this season?

Merry Christmas!