February 1st is National Wear Red Day

Go Red for Women is a national organization focused on raising the awareness on a woman's risk for cardiovascular disease. Most people don't realize that heart disease is the number one killer of women in America. Use this "Go Red for Women Day" to improve your heart health and live stronger, healthier lives.

Just call when you need a friend....

I can't believe I came across this last night. I have had a shorter version of the list below for years. I often flip open my Bible and dig it out when I need a little pick me up. The best part of my find tonight? This list is twice is long! I can always use a little direction and it helps it I know exactly where to go!



WHERE DO I GO WHEN I AM FEELING…

ANGRY – Ephesians 4:26,27,31,32; Colossians 3:7-8;12-17; Matthew 7:1-5; Psalm 37:8
BACKSLIDDEN – Psalm 51; 1 John 1:4-9; Revelation 2:4-5; Revelation 3:15-20; Psalm 80:1-19; Deuteronomy 4:9; Isaiah 29:24
BITTER – 1 Corinthians 13, Hebrews 12:14-15; Ephesians 4:31-32; Psalm 34:1
BORED – 1 Thess. 5:16-18; Philippians 4:8; Ephesians 5:15-16; Psalm 34:1
COMPROMISING – John 12:43; Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 15:33
CONCEITED – Luke 18:09-14; Proverbs 16:15; Proverbs 27:2; 1 Corinthians 5:2,6; Galatians 5:22-26; Romans 12:15-17
CRITICAL – Matthew 7:1-5; Romans 1:32; Romans 2:1; James 4:11-12
DEFEATED – Romans 8:31-39; Philippians 4:13; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 5:7
DEPRESSED – Psalm 34; Psalm 37; 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, 16-18; Matthew 11:28
DISAPPOINTED – Psalm 16:11; Jeremiah 29:11-13; Philippians 4:19; John 14:1
DISCOURAGED – Psalm 23; Psalm 42:6-11; Psalm 55:22; Matthew 5:11,12
DISHONEST – Proverbs 12:22; Jeremiah 7:8-10; 1 Thess. 4:6; John 8:32; Job 27:6; Leviticus 6:2-7
DOUBT – Numbers 23:19; Matthew 10:28; 2 Timothy 1:7; Hebrews 13:5-6
EMBARRASSED – Psalm 27:1-3; Psalm 34; Psalm 35; Colossians 3:1-2; Psalm 23
FEARFUL – Psalm 34:4; Matthew 10:28; 2 Timothy 1:7; Hebrews 13:5,6; Proverbs 28:1
FOUL-MOUTHED – Ephesians 4:29; Ephesians 5:3-4; Colossians 3:8,17; 1 John 3:18
GOSSIP – Psalm 15:1-3; Proverbs 26:20-22; Titus 3:2; Matthew 7:1-5
GUILTY – 1 John 1:9; Psalm 51; Psalm 103; Hebrews 10:17; Romans 8:1
HATRED – Proverbs 10:12; 1 John 2:9-11; 1 John 3:10-15; 1 John 4:20; Leviticus 19:17
HYPOCRITICAL – Luke 6:46; Titus 1:16; 1 Peter 2:1; Ephesians 4:1; James 1:26
IMMORAL – 1 Peter 2:11; Galatians 5:16; 2 Timothy 2:22; Psalm 51
IMPATIENT – Psalm 25:5; Psalm 27:14; Habakkuk 2:3; Psalm 37:7,34; Psalm 46:10
IMPURE THOUGHTS – Philippians 4;8; Romans 8:5-8; Romans 12:2; James 1:12-15
INGRATITUDE – Psalm 69:30; Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thess. 5:18; 1 Timothy 2:1; 1 Timothy 1:12; Psalm 106:1
JEALOUS – Proverbs 6:34; Proverbs 27:4; Ecclesiastes 4:4; Song of Solomon 8:6
LONELY – Psalm 23; Psalm 188; Hebrews 13:5-6; Jeremiah 23:23; Matthew 28:20
LAZY – Romans 12:11; Ephesians 5:15-16; Hebrews 6:12; Proverbs 6:6-11
MIXED UP – Psalm 23:2-3; Isaiah 42:16; 1 Corinthians 14:33; Proverbs 3:5-6: Psalm 46:10
NO DIRECTION – Psalm 32; Psalm 73:24; James 1:5-8; Psalm 119:105
OVERWHELMED – Psalm 46:1, 10; Psalm 50:15; Proverbs 11:8; James 1:2-3; Psalm 4:8
PERSECUTED – 2 Timothy 3:12; John 15:20; Acts 14:22; Hebrews 12:3; Philippians 1:12-14
PRESSURED – Isaiah 26:3; 2 Chronicles 16:9; Philippians 4:13; 2 Timothy 1:7; Psalm 46:10
PRIDE – Proverbs 16:18; 1 Corinthians 10:12; Philippians 2:3; James 4:6; Psalm 37:11; Psalm 149:4
REVENGEFUL – Proverbs 17:13; Romans 12:16-19; 1 Peter 2:23; Leviticus 19:18
RESENT AUTHORITY – Ephesians 6:1-3; Romans 13:1-2; Colossians 3:23-25
SLANDERED – Psalm 15:1-3; Matthew 5:11-12; Matthew 12:36; 1 Corinthians 4:13; 1 Peter 3:15-16
SORROWFUL – Isaiah 14:3; Romans 8:28; Revelation 21:4; Isaiah 35:10
UNBELIEVING – Mark 9:24; 2 Timothy 2:13; Hebrews 11:6; John 14:1
UNLOVED – Jeremiah 31:3; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:8-19; Lamentations 3:22-23
WEAK – Isaiah 40:29-31; 2 Corinthians 12:9; 2 Timothy 1:7; Philippians 4:13
WORLDLY – James 4:4; Titus 3:2; Colossians 3:2; 1 John 2:15-17
WORRY – Matthew 6:19-34; Luke 12:25-26; Philippians 4:6-7; Psalm 23; Psalm 46:10
WORTHLESS – 1 Samuel 16:7; Psalm 139:13-15; John 10:3; Jeremiah 31:3

Snow, baby, snow!

This just in....a winter storm watch beginning tomorrow evening and lasting until Friday morning - YAY! In case you didn't know I love snow! In fact, I'm probably one of only a few in this town that relishes the white fluffy stuff. The more, the better, in my opinion. Growing up in northern Illinois, we spent most of our winters waiting for the next big snow. I can remember as a child playing in snow drifts in the backyard that were taller than swing set. Of course, there are a lot more hills in Morrison than Champaign, so we did our fair share of sledding to. Then there's always snowmobiling. I love it too. Besides, how else are we going to get from the bottom of the hill to the top so we can sled down again? I think maybe the only thing I don't like about snow (besides it melting) is shoveling it. So until the it starts snowing tomorrow afternoon, I'll be patiently waiting for the 8-10 inches of snow I've been promised.

Wordless Wednesday

One more thanks.......

I also wanted to give a shout out of thanks to Jen......for introducing me to Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. You'll notice that it is now in the list of my favorite blogs. What a great web site -- cooking, photography, and overall great writing. But I have to say, more importantly, a woman after my own heart. Life on a cattle ranch, raising a family, and doing all the things you love to do. Don't get me wrong, I like my job, my coworkers, and living in the Champaign area. But I LOVE farming and of course, cattle. If ever given the opportunity, Ron often can not wait to tell people that I used to be a beef queen. That in itself is not what drives my love of the country life (that's another post). My days of showing cattle are some of my fondest memories. I can not wait to have my children experience farm life, maybe raise some animals, and learn the value of hard work. Someday...........

A Day of Thanks....

No, its not Thanksgiving, but I'm just feeling a little thankful today. While we've had a very busy past couple of days, there's been a lot of good things going around. Let's start off by thanking my parents, who drove down to Champaign to see us. And not only that, they brought us food! Well, I'm thankful for having such wonderful parents, but for those of you that haven't had the opportunity to have my mom's cooking......you're missing out. We're talking about some GOOD food. We have in our refrigerator: ham, mashed potatoes, chicken casserole, cheesy hashbrown potatoes, and chili. Oh yeah, don't forget the peach pie on our counter. It's been awfully nice coming home from the hospital and not having to cook or stop by McDonalds. What else are we thankful for? Well, Barb is doing much better and will soon get released from the hospital. A slow recovery process, but one that is making leaps and bounds every day. The cards, thoughts, prayers, and visitors have made such a difference in keeping all of our spirits up. There's just so many other things, but I'm going to have to cut this short for now. The dryer just dinged at me and I need to get some more laundry done before we head back to the hospital.

Self Portrait Saturday

Ron and I heading off to Tennessee last December --Yay!

Just for Stacy

My sister didn't like the latest edition of "Self Portrait Saturday." I thought I might appease her by putting up this photo of the cutest little girl we know!

One day at a time

Not much new since the last post. Ron's mom continues to make strides after her surgery. I thought it might be easier to take a post from Barb's CaringBridge site that Ron keeps up.

Hello all-

My apologies for not updating for the past couple of days, we have had a few ups and downs. On Monday we met with Mom’s oncologist and found out that the cancer was in a larger area than they originally thought, so it is very likely that she will have radiation and chemo again. We are all trying to stay positive and as I have said before, we are just taking it one day at a time. Right now we are just focusing on her getting her chest tubes out and getting stronger so we can move on from there.

The good news today is that Mom finally got moved into a regular room! They took her off the medicine that was keeping her blood pressure up and she did fine on her own. If you would like to stop by or if you would just like to give her a call, she is now in room 8868. I will update again when there is more news.

Ron

Self Portrait Saturday

Kelly, Melissa, and Stacy-Christmas 2007

Ahhh.......Friday

What a long week it's been at our house (or should I say not at our house). We've spent the majority of the week at the hospital. Ron's mom, Barb, had surgery on Wednesday. This surgery was for a lobectomy of the upper lobe of her right lung. The surgery went okay, and Barb is continuing to improve each day, although very slowly. We are still awaiting pathology reports to learn more about the tumor that was removed, but are focusing on recovering from surgery first and foremost. Our new "motto" is to take it one day at a time. Ron keeps a website updated for family and friends to keep in touch with Barb and also to keep up on her condition. We encourage people to visit her Caring Bridge Site.

I learned how to make a slide show!

Wacky Weekend

Well, another weekend gone and once again, filled with activities. Friday night we met some friends at Papa Del's in Champaign for some pizza and catching up. It was great to meet up with David & Jamie, Rob & Mary, and Dawn & Doug. We all had been busy in December with lots of travels between us. The food was great, but the conversations was even better.

Saturday started with a haircut for me. After more than a year of letting my hair grow out for the wedding, it was more than past time for a change. I love a good haircut. We also managed to drop some clothes off at goodwill (finally got the closets cleaned out - yay!) and picked up a new mattress at slumberland.

We topped our day off with a trip to the new Jupiter's with Doug, Angie, and Noah. A little tip for those of you thinking about heading out there on Saturday afternoons. Its swarming with kids. Noah had to wait in line forever to play games (and so did we). After a few rounds of air hockey, skee-ball, basketball, and other games, we sat down for some pizza. The game area had thinned out a little after dinner, so Noah was able to get in some Big Buck Hunter and we spent the rest of the tokens. The five of us topped the night off with a trip to Dick's Sporting Goods.

After spending the majority of the weekend running around, we followed Sunday morning church with a Sunday afternoon nap. It was great!

Self Portrait Saturday

The art of the self portrait is one that really takes time to perfect. Sometimes you're going for the really goofy effect of taking a photo of yourself and sometimes, there is really just no one else around to help you out. Whatever the reason, these photos should be shared, so in honor of the self portrait let's make Self Portait Saturday a weekly occurrence. Besides, now I can share some of those random photos in my album and it saves me having to write something up!
Nothing says love like packing your sisters and and friends in a SUV and going wine tasting! A fine start to a great evening! Why wouldn't you want a picture of that?

Sneak Peak

A little preview of the wedding photos......

Spring Cleaning in January

The warm temperature earlier this week (65 degrees in Champaign on Monday) inspired some early spring cleaning at our house. Okay, it wasn't so much the temperature inspiring me as the fact that our house is a complete wreck. We've been on the move since the wedding and haven't been home long enough to even dig out any of the wedding gifts. Stack on some Christmas gifts and add a pile of shower gifts, and the guest bedroom is in shambles (We won't discuss how messy and disorganized the rest of the house is). I'm just hoping to get it livable by the weekend.

Today marked the beginning of the Crop Protection Technology Conference, so Ron will be busy the next 2 days. Its not quite the same as the Custom Spray Operator's School of the past, but a good opportunity to get some current information and meet with the industry reps he works with. I'll be heading to Springfield on Friday to speak at the Specialty Crops Conference. That's a first for me; I'm used to the corn and soybean folks at the Crop Protection Technology Conference.

We weren't the only ones enjoying the warm weather at our house. With all the rain we got on Tuesday, Abbey decided to do a little digging around in the backyard. At least she didn't roll around in the mud, but I think she's trying to nose out an escape route under the fence.

Dirty Dog !

Happy Birthday Stephanie and Mike!

Sending out birthday wishes to Mike (my sister Stacy's boyfriend) and one of my best friends, Stephanie Porter today. Wishing you guys nothing but the best this year!

Stacy and Mike at our wedding

Stephanie, Sondra, and Kelly at David's Birthday Party

Ringing in 2008

Happy New Year to ALL!

Ringing in the new year was pretty tame at the Estes house. I spent the day and most of the evening on the couch sick. It's now Thursday and I've moved from the couch to the recliner. Although I can now breath easier, I have a cough that is getting worse. Let's hope that the newly prescribed meds will do the trick and I'll be on the mend by the weekend. With me on the DL, Ron's been trying to stay germ-free and taking care of the house---well, cooking and some cleaning anyway.

We hope everyone has a great 2008 and may this year be better than 2007!