Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!
It has been a regular old uneventful Saturday here, but I thought I should at least write a special blog post for the occasion. And not only did I think it, but I remembered to do it!

I must say, I haven't had much cause to wish for a valentine of my own this February.

I shall tell you why.

These 8 oh-so-deceptively cute boys all brought me chocolate.
YAY!
And I was practically killed with hugs and kisses out on the playground Thursday.
It had been a tough morning. I needed it.
I've been recovering by eating fudge ever since.

And that is why Miss Caitlin wasn't in Dreadful Need of a boyfriend for Valentine's Day.

All this is not to say that I don't need any guys in my life.
The little ones are great, but I'm awfully thankful for the bigger ones, too.
Firstly, I'm thankful to my Daddy for providing for me, and bringing me up "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." And to my brothers for... helping me practice being patient and kind over and over. ... I'm still working on that one. **scowl at self** But really, Nicholas and Joey and Ben do surprise me with their thoughtfulness sometimes.

And now, if you don't mind, I shall list some of the other guys to which I am grateful.
Some of you guys I don't actually talk to (ha!), and some of you I haven't known long, but I'm still thankful for you, and you shall see why:

Stu - Thanks for the ice cream. And the other fun random times.
Danny - Thanks for listening to my frustrated rants and offering help and pizza stories.
Keith -Thanks for the many emails. I never know quite what to expect from you.
Paul -Thanks for the peppermints and yahoo emoticon wars from ages ago.
John - Thanks for the Zac Efron stories and being so fun to hang out with.
Joe -Thanks for the gum-wrapper flowers and the deadly sarcasm.
Grayson - Thanks for deciding what I should eat at Taco Bell. And for being a great guy.
Matt - Thanks for the many rides, and the breakfast on Sundays that nobody eats.
Janson - Thanks for doing Youth Choir and for being encouraging.
Jeremy - Thanks for the many times you've offered to pray for us. I appreciate that.
Ryan - Thanks for being you? Some people are just fun to be around.
Zack - Thanks for the stimulating conversations.
Isaac - Thanks for the jokes about calico hair, and whatever else we talked of back then.
Daniel - Thanks for the random humor. You're kind of a celebrity around here.

And there you have it folks!
Wasn't that nice...

I watched Fireproof again last night. It reminded me that lessons about love aren't just for married people. God loved us sacrificially, and we are supposed to show His love to everyone. Even when they don't deserve it. Even when they don't notice.
And it's hard.

"I will love you like God because of God, mighted by the power of God. I will stop expecting your love, demanding your love, trading for your love, gaming for your love. I will simply love. I am giving myself to you, and tomorrow I will do it again. I suppose the clock itself will wear thin its time before I am ended at this altar of dying and dying again.

God risked Himself on me. I will risk myself on you. And together, we will learn to love, and perhaps then, and only then, understand this gravity that drew Him unto us."

-Donald Miller (Blue Like Jazz)

What a beautiful picture of learning to love.

Speaking of Fireproof, I should like to bring your attention to a super-awesome song
from that movie. While I'm Waiting - John Waller.
For the sake of the length of this post, I'm not going to post the lyrics here. The link above has the video from the movie, plus lyrics. Click the link! It's worth it.

I purchased that song on iTunes today.
It's sort of what the theme of my life is and has been for the past two years or so.
Waiting on the Lord, and trying to live for Him as I wait.
Wait for problems to be worked out.
Wait for plans to be revealed.
Wait for people to change. (myself included)
Wait for Prince Chaaaarmiiiing....
(hey, it's Valentine's Day. Cut me some slack)
Waiting eagerly but not impatiently.

So, there's my little compilation of thoughts for the day! It was longer than I thought it would be.
Hey! I realized I still haven't listened to this week's episode of the Boundless Show! And it's bound to be great since it's about the Valentine's Day.
I think I shall leave you now.
I hope you have some chocolate to bring you solace in my absense.
lol
Love y'all!!

Caitlin

Highlights

Speaking of highlights, my hair has lightened up rather a lot since I dyed it. Which sort of disappoints me, but oh well.

But that was just an aside thought. I'm actually here to
tell you about the highlights of the past few days.

Let's see. Well. Today Laura and I went to Publix. On our way, we were talking about how we forgot to tip the pizza guy Saturday night. He was a nice pizza guy, and he had way awesome dreads, and he deserved his tip. But I called in the payment on the phone, and completely forgot to tip him. Which made me feel absolutely dreadful. The pizza place is next to Publix, so we were saying wouldn't it be nice of us to go in and leave him a couple dollars. But I decided I didn't feel bad enough about it to just walk into a store and say, "here's some tip money for the guy with the dreadlocks... I forgot to tip him the other day... so, could you give it to him?" (What were the chances of him actually being there, right?)

So, we went to Publix, remembered everything on the list but the cream of chicken soup we needed for dinner, and headed home. I drove around the back of the store to leave. It's faster that way. Some guy putting boxes in a dumpster looked at me like I was crazy. And as we passed the back of the pizza place, lo and behold! "Hey, stop!" Laura and I said simultaneously. "It's the pizza guy!" "Quick, do you have money?" I stopped the car, and Laura frantically dug out some money. I snatched it from her, saying "quick, I think he's leaving!" and hopped out of the car. "Hey, wait!" I yelled to the startled pizza guy, who was getting is his car. He turned around. "Hi. You delivered our pizza the other night, and I forgot to tip you. So, here you go." He grinned and said thanks, and we left.

And I really don't care if you think it's silly - I believe God put that pizza guy in the right place at the right time so that we could give him his tip. I felt bad about forgetting it, and so God helped me out. Hopefully it brightened that guy's day. And I sure wish I knew his name just so I wouldn't've had to write "pizza guy" so many times.

I know pretty well how to make a short story long, don't I?

Saturday morning we all went to the park. Uncle Guy pushed Alli in the stroller, the girls had their roller blades, and Laura, Aunt Cindy, and I just walked. It was a nice, enjoyable walk. We got to the mile marker, and knew it was time to turn around. The girls were getting tired, and a storm was rolling in. After unsuccessful attempts at placing a bet on who could get to the car first, Uncle Guy declared that whoever ran the mile back fastest would win 50 dollars. Laura dropped out quickly, because she'd already been running. So it was just me and Aunt Cindy. And it didn't take long for my legs to start burning. We jogged, by the way. There's no way we could have full out run the mile.

We got close to the end, and the finish was in sigh. I seriously thought my legs were just going to stop. Aunt Cindy's a good coach, though. Very encouraging. We weren't too far from the water station that marked the end of the mile when she yelled "Now I'm gonna beat your booty! woo hoo!" and went into high gear. And then I realized, there's no way I was going to put my poor dear legs and lungs through that torture and not win. So I ran ahead and won. Yay me! Now I have 50 dollars. And I know that I'm capable of jogging a mile without stopping. That's something I haven't done before...

It was pretty neat though, because I honestly didn't think I *could* run anymore. And somehow I did. Hooray!

See? Another really short story dragged out into 3 paragraphs.

What else? ... We went swimming in a big fancy shcmancy, really nice hotel pool Sunday. That was cool.

...Um... Laura and I made sure to be online for Daniel Gardner's live broadcast today. Funny stuff there. If you're not familiar with Daniel Gardner, check out some of his videos on youtube or the website : www.thinkgardner.com. You don't have to like them, but I rather enjoy his random sense of humor.

In other news... I'm suffering from perpetual hunger. I think I'm going to have to get a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oats before I go to sleep or something. I always have weird dreams, so it doesn't matter if I eat before bed or not.

I registered for the Prayer Advance this week. That's happy. Except for having to pay the late registration fee. :)

I thought I would share with my dear sisters these wise tips from my uncle.

"When you have a husband, your main purpose in life is to NOT move his stuff. And don't try to change him."
"Once you get married, don't try to kill your husband."

*nods head sagely*

And so, I leave you now.
Have a good week.

From babysitting the Buckley boys

"When I grow up, I'm goin to six flags the day after we're married. We're going to ride that big roller coaster that goes really fast, and up and down, the ones that little kids fall out of when they go on it. I haven't got to ride that one before." -Bradley

That sounds like a fun honeymoon. I totally wasn't expecting the "day after we're married" part.

Bradley: "I love pepperonis. You know why I love them? They're so good for you."
Me: "Really?"
Bradley: "Yeah! full of all the right vitamins you need! that's why I love them."

I make THE BEST corn dogs and pancakes. You should know that. Bradley says so.

My favorite recurring conversation of the week:

Bennett: Caaaaaitlin!
Me (uninterested): Yeah?
Bennett: I looooooove you!

Go, Speed Racer, go Speed Racer, go Speed Racer, gooo!

"Laura, what's your name?" -Benny

Brayden could walk around smiling "hey!" to you all day.
Laura taught him to say "so looong! farewell!"

More Randomness, Anyone?

I was going to do a couple pictures this time, but the camera cord seems to have disappeared again. We can't find it. So... that's out.

I just got back from taking Vincent for a drive. We took Laura to be picked up for a babysitting job. Vincent loves riding. :-D He freaked out when we left without Laura. It was funny. We share taste in music, Vincent and I. How many girls do you know who ride down the highway, windows rolled down, rocking out to some bluegrass, and pausing to ask a little green bird how he likes it? Right. ;-)

quotes from the week:

"Miss Caitlin, I fell down. **makes sad face and sticks booty out** please kiss it. Kiss my butt." I nearly died. "no, Harley! You'll be fine. I'm not kissing it. Go play!" Harley is 2. She didn't realize there was anything odd about her asking, but she thought my reaction was hilarious. I made her laugh. :-P

"Miss Caitlin! I need a kleenex." ... "Miss Caitlin, I need a kleenex!" ... "It's okay, Miss Caitlin, I don't need a kleenex anymore. I just wiped it on my hand." -3 year old Carly

"Why are you wearing a necklace on your teeth?" -3 year old Christian

"Popsicle sticks! -no talking- Let's roll!" -Me ... I find myself saying some weird stuff sometimes.
Be a Popsicle stick means stand straight, and keep your hands by your side, but it struck me funny when I said that, leading my line down the hallway.

"I like your sweater, Miss Caitlin." ... "Why aren't you wearing a necklace today?" - 3 year old Jackson. Take a lesson, guys. lol

To follow up on the last post, my father has, indeed, succumbed to the illness. My mother is recovering, and we're all going to be coughing for a looong time. And I smell chocolate chip cookies in the oven.

And a totally uninteresting and pointless statement: I like everything in my closet, but I find myself looking matronly more often than not. I think I need a new wardrobe. I also need to ditch my glasses. It's a problem that I have short, curly hair, wear glasses, and love sweaters. I end up looking like a librarian or school marm. :-| Yesterday, I wore this shirt over a collared, button up black shirt (which happens to have stripes the same colors as the letters on the shirt), and it looked very cool. Every time I looked in the mirror, I was like "hey! I don't look like an old person! I kinda look young and cool" You know there's something wrong. I shouldn't look young and cool only occasionally. **grumpy face**

Anyways. So, maybe this post was exceptionally girly. Oh well. ^.^
Have a happy day!
Me