He downloaded an album by Katie Herzig and I’ve been listening to it non-stop this weekend. She’s got one of those cool widgets on her MySpace page, so you can hear Hologram, Wish you Well and Songbird, too. Great stuff to have stuck in your head. YUM!

But really, all this does is make me want my little green [dream] Nano now. How long until Christmas? ::pout:: There was a good reason I was avoiding this site! Ha!

So, anyone want to be my NoiseTrade friend? Just let me know!

The reality is that we are both body and spirit, material and immaterial, incredibly complex meshes of chemicals and yet something that can’t be reduced to mere chemicals. We don’t have to give up our spirituality to acknowledge the reality that medical science has something to offer hurting souls, and we don’t have to give up our medical science to acknowledge that our hurting souls need more than the latest drug.

Read more.

Our first stop was the “petting” zoo (more zoo then a place to pet, but I guess that’s due to the fact that so many little ones come through there all day long). One place where you could really get to touch the animals was here with the sweet little baby chicks:

We killed some time at the petting zoo and some of the fun play spots around the farm, then got in line for the corn maze. We heard one group tell the guide that the last time they had been through the maze, it took them THREE hours to get out. We were a little nervous about spending so much time walking around with three kids and one pregnant mommy. Eek! But it wasn’t bad at all! Here are my boys, holding the flag in the corn:

And here we are, buying our way out of the maze:

Too funny! They had this vending machine where you could buy pieces of the map for a quarter. Can you tell we were having fun? Lots of laughing! The girls were chilling out in the wagon here:

I’m so thankful that our friends shared their wagon with my five year old princess (who apparently thinks she’s still a baby and can’t walk herself…).

So, we found our way out… and it only took us about 45-50 minutes! Yay, team! Corn mazes are fun, but not when you feel lost and trapped and hot and tired and sick of wandering around in the corn. So this was the perfect maze length for me—just long enough to have a great time!

After lunch we were sucked into some strange “puppet show” (which I knew would probably be an ad for their kid’s “Make-a-Friend” and “Build-a-Barn” workshop). But what I didn’t expect was that it would be half video, half puppets and that it would be a “Hey, kids! Let’s learn some trite facts about how the Amish are just like us, but different!” show. Very weird. Very glad when it was over and we could go to the other side of the train tracks and play around at some of the other attractions they had at the farm.

Kara’s hubby, Corey and Travis went down this humongous slide that went down the side of a hill. They were really funny—kind of like 10 year old boys:

Then we went over to this really fun giant air pillow thing:

Joshua wasn’t so sure about it at first because of all the different kids bouncing at different times, throwing him off balance. But he got the hang of it and had a good time with his sister. Even little Liana was brave enough to climb up there and play:

The Strasburg Railroad cuts through the middle of the farm. It was cool to watch the train go by a few times…

All in all, a very awesome day!

Then on Sunday, we drove into Lancaster and visited a new little church plant in the city called Inner Metro Green. It was very cool. We enjoyed it! And we’re looking forward to getting together with some of the great people we met there this Sunday.

Well, yesterday we were bored and we went off to putz around Wal-mart a bit. We’d been talking about me and my pink hair obsession all day. And I think my sister-in-law Naomi was itching to dye anyone’s hair, even her own. Well, she led us into the hair coloring section, what did we find but a box of bright fuchsia hair dye! We grabbed it and ran home.

Here we are getting ready. Can you tell I’m excited?!

Naomi kept looking at me as she stirred up the bright concoction and lifting her eyebrows as if to say “Are you really, really sure about this?” Look at my smile–did I look worried?! “Full of Glee” is more like it.

Here’s how it turned out:

I love it! In fact, I wish it was a little more intense! But it’s kinda cool because the color didn’t soak into the places where I had previously dyed my hair black, so I have this “black cherry” fade from bright pink to pink on black. It’s bright and fun… and still kinda like a Mommy, too. Which is good, because we don’t need to be scaring the children. Joshua’s opinion is “Cool Mommy Pink Hair.” Katie says “It’s BEAUTIFUL, Mama!” But for about an hour at Grandmom’s house she was completely oblivious to what we were doing. She never asked about the fuchsia colored box we were all looking at. She never came around the corner to see why everyone was in the kitchen looking nervously at Mommy. And even when she did come in later her only comment was “OH! Aunt Naomi! Your hands are MESSY!” It wasn’t until I got out of the shower and dried my hair that I got her attention. Sheesh! You’d think she doesn’t know I’m around! Ha!

I think Travis likes it… but he was being a bit of a doof when I tried to take some pictures of us together last night:

And I love it. For me, this felt like a safe test run. I actually am looking forward to going to a salon in about a month and seeing what else can be done to make this do even more fantastic and fun. I feel so much more “me” and “Martie” now (if any of you girlfriends from seven years ago are out there and reading this, you know just what I mean). What a fabulous feeling! Woo-hoo!!!

I miss the hospitality of the South. Around here, I feel like people look at me like an illegal immigrant for not being born in Lancaster County. I’m ready to move—anytime, Lord! Put me somewhere I can grow roots, where the people are kind and the housing is affordable!

I love this layout about going to the cute little playground that’s right up the street from us:

But a few weeks ago I discovered that this playground has a “No Trespassing” sign posted in it. If you don’t live in one of the new homes that literally surround our neighborhood, they don’t want you there. Gee, thanks neighbors! I’m sure it’s just one of those “legal” things, covering their behinds and all. But now it bugs me and I won’t take the kids there anymore.

Then last week we were outside, getting ready to have a good time…

…when someone from the office came over to tell us that they don’t allow kiddie pools here. Sigh.

One day! One day I hope to have a little nest of my own… where I can grow my own vegetables in my huge garden, have a kiddie pool and let the children run wild in the grass all summer long.

I’ve got the Summertime Blues…

Because, my friends… she had pink hair. Ooo! Love it! So, she chuckled at me and pulled out a business card from her purse. She said that she gets asked about her hair so often, she carries her stylist’s card with her.

One. Step. Closer. Now I know where to go!

Squee!

So, since January, I’ve been trying to watch what I eat. I’ve lost 13 pounds this way–a very good start! But I’ve definitely plateaued over the last two months. I’ve been stuck where I’m at.

I’m a South Beach Diet lover (helps me cook more and adds a lot more veggies to my diet, which are just delicious at this time of year) and when I saw the latest SB book at the library I nabbed it for a quick read. I discovered what I needed now–exercise. Bleh. The dreaded word.

So, after reading that, I went on two or three nice walks with my neighbor. That’s how long that lasted… two or three walks. We kinda gave up. And then my sweet neighbor moved about an hour away (but I’m in denial and I’m not talking about that… LOL!).

So, I got to thinking about this again today after listening to a program on the radio. I was thinking about that old truth–that God made our bodies so that when we exercise we actually have more energy. Isn’t that so amazing? And boy do I need more energy!

Well, I took the plunge and went shopping for some new running duds this afternoon. We stopped by Target and I found a sports bra and pair of shorts on clearance (w00t!) and a nice thin and cool shirt that’s just perfect for running. Then when we got home I couldn’t wait! I went running… for the first time in at least three if not four years. MAN! That felt good. And the whole time I was outside I was thinking “Ooo! I’m going to lose these 30 pounds! Ooo! I’m going to look like I used to and not feel so embarrassed! Ooo!!!” And I also came home like I was Super Woman and loaded the dishwasher, started a load of laundry, gave Katie a bath and tidied up my nails! I’m even thinking now about running again in the morning… Ooo!

Here’s to new beginnings!

Here’s a layout I made using Amy Sumrall’s Hoo’s Funky mini kit:

(click for credits)

I love this look on Katie’s face. She’s normally so silly and goofy, bouncing around from spot to spot, but here she was so serious as she was getting ready for her next shot at putt-putt. Not that she played seriously. She was quite comical as she whacked at and pushed the ball around with her club. We just let her have fun. She’s five, right? Putt-putt should be 100% fun.

This is a two year old boy’s take on putt putt:

Joshua just liked the ball. Ha!

Well, we all had a good time–especially me! Because now I am a grown up and I can say, “No, thanks! I don’t want to play. I’d rather just take pictures.” (never have been a fan of putt putt.) It’s so cool to be a grown up some days…

When I saw this sweet little doodlie title in the pack, I knew I had to scrap a picture of me and Travis together. While I love being with my kids, there’s no one else in the world that I’d rather be with than my sweet, sweet hubby-bear. It’s so wonderfully amazing to discover that after six years (and a ton of crazy stuff that we’ve lived through together) that I still feel giddy about him, just like when we first met. What a blessing!

Well, my busy week full of deadlines is winding down starting today. Whew! A lot less rush and more time for the little things. Yay! Note to self: today’s a good day to snap some photos of your garden…

I did discover a new love, however: Twitter. Now, that I can do!

If you’re on Twitter, feel free to add me!

TWEET!