Friday, February 29, 2008

Look-A-Like Meter

OK, so my friend Steph found this look-a-like meter on the web. You're supposed to put in a pic of yourself, your spouse and your child and it will tell you which parent the child looks like. So I tried it, but I must not have used very good pics because it said Morgan looks more like me and I know she is the spittin' image of Rich. It also said that Daniel looks equally like both of us and I know he looks more like me. Kathryn probably does look pretty equally like both of us. Anyway, it was kind of fun, so here they are...

MB Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Roots

KB Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celeb - Collage - Morph

DB Look-alike Meter

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Family reunion - Vintage images

CAMERAAAA!!!!!!!

I finally bought a new camera! Can you believe it? It's about time, huh? We all had to try it out today taking pics of each other, so here they are, the happy family....

Pretty scary huh? :) Anyway, hopefully now I can start posting more pics.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

What a Man! What a Man! What a Mighty Fine Man!

He did it! Rich fixed the puter that was broken! All it needed was a new power supply and he put one in! He is so handy, I think he can fix just about anything that breaks down (except my van)! :) Guess I'll have to keep him around! :p

How Many People in the US Have Your Name?

My friend, Gail, sent me an email with a link to this cool site where you can find out how many people in the US have your name. Apparently there 16,691 people in the US with the first name Roxie, but this website said that it could not find any other people with the last name of Beishline, which I know is not true. So it says there are no other Roxie Beishline's in the US, which may be true, not too common a name. Anyway, I added the link to my side bar if you'd like to try it. Kinda fun!

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

On Being A Mom

Sometimes it can be very frustrating being a mom. A friend of mine sent me the following story, author unknown, and I thought it summed up my feelings exactly so I wanted to share it with you. Enjoy.

I am invisible. It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please." I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going ... she's going .... she's gone!
One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read the inscription: "With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees." In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
* No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
* These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
* They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
* The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees." I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become." At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there." As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot see if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women. author unknown

Our responsibility is only to be obedient and to do the best job we can in raising our children, we're not perfect, but God is, so let's trust him to take our sacrifices and use them for His glory.