The Push (Season 1) Hope College

Foo Fighters

Let's just say there was a lot of ROCK going on...and some moshing and crowd surfing, and I'm pretty sure I saw some undergarments being thrown on the stage.

Introducing...

The Businessbib! The worlds first video conferencing visual fake-out attire for business men According to the website:

Nothing speaks to freedom louder than a halfsuit

The Businessbib allows you to look perfectly put-together in a fraction of the time it takes to boot your computer. You can work from home in your underwear while presenting a polished appearance to the people that matter most.

I heart my brother.

Good News! Aaron made it home from Malawi! Thanks for praying for him and his team for the last couple of weeks!

pain at the pump

I got gas today...and it caused me great pain. Not only the price ($4.16 a gallon), but the fact that the little handle pusher downer thingy was broken, so I had to stand there squeezing with all my might the whole time I was filling up.

The pictured "man hand" is not mine...in case you thought I took this picture of myself. :o)

On blogging...

Today a great friend of mine told me she thought I died.
For one reason or another Google Reader stopped updating my feed back on June 16th, so apparently, it looks like I haven't updated my blog for awhile. This also means (since I use Google Reader) I may think many of you have also died if I am not getting your updates.

Needless to say, I am alive which means many of you must also be alive. For all of out out there in the blogosphere who read this through a reader, I have no idea what to tell you or how to fix this problem. If you figure it out leave me a comment.

The good news is you can type in www.ambercox.blogspot.com or www.amberWIRE.com and everything is just as it should be.

Which leads me to another point.
I often read blogs where people write mostly about how they feel bad that they haven't posted in so long.

Here's my advice...
"Blog when you want to, don't when you don't."

Your blog should be whatever you want it to be. Post when you're inspired, when you're happy, when you have something funny or heartfelt to share. Don't stress yourself out worrying about how long it's been since your last post. Don't just post to post.

Amen.

Shenanigans

In honor of the 4th day of the week (Thursday) I thought I'd share with you four special things about our life lately. Yes. I would consider the following four things "shenanigans"

• First of all, most of the light bulbs in our house are burned out. Its kinda funny. The kitchen and bathroom still have some working ceiling lights, but that's about it. We use this one lamp in our living room and one in our bedroom - or we just walk around in the dark. I know I know - the simple solution would be to go buy some light bulbs...we just haven't done it. Last weekend when we lost power for 36 hours it wasn't really a big deal at all since we never use our light switches anyway.
  
• A couple of nights ago I was laying in bed and I heard this little "bleep" every 30 minutes or so. Ryan got home yesterday afternoon from being on call and tried to go to sleep, but he heard it too. Last night we walked around with our ears sticking out trying to locate where it was coming from. We didn't find it yet. We know it's not coming from the attic. It's still "bleep"ing as I type this.
  
• Our bathroom sink has been draining a tad slowly, so I took off the stopper this week and looked in with a flashlight. It was pretty gross in there. I decided to use the longest thing I could find to try to scoop out some of the gook - my fingernail file. I didn't really help much, so I went for the Liquid Drano...which didn't help much either. Looks like I'm going to have to call some professionals about this one.
  
• I took my car in for a routine oil change one week ago today. Since then, the oil light has been on, the engine light came on and there is this crazy revving/rattling noise. So, of course, my car is back in the shop.

So there you go. Shenanigans.

Family Weekend at the Lake

We had such a great weekend with Ryan's family. The weather was awesome, we spent tons of time on the boat in the sun and in the water. Ryan;s mom and dad are awesome and Ry loves his brothers. We got to see Chris and it was great to see Kyle and his wife Sarah (and their little pup Riley) too!

Grandma and Grandpa Fisher came up for one day. They are wonderful. Grandpa Fisher has an awesome mustache.

Chris is heading off to Hope College in a few weeks. Ryan is looking forward to showing up at his dorm unexpectedly and having Chris's friends ask "who's that old guy?"

Wake Skating before the storm

We got a wake skate...which is kinda like a wake board but you don't strap your feet in. You just wear your shoes in the water and go. It was pretty hilarious watching the guys (all of them got up on their first try!) and the weather created quite an incredible backdrop.

Biking Brothers

Chris, Ryan and Kyle did a lot of biking and jogging. I think the sweatband Chris was rockin' really helped him go faster.

Pontooning

Kids Rock - Coldplay, Pearl Jam, Metallica and Nickleback singing your favorite kid songs

4 years ago today....

I married this guy.How did I get so lucky? Not only is Ryan the most dedicated, hard-working, brilliant man that I know, he's also really hilarious. Life is such an adventure with him. I don't think it's possible to love him any more than I do...but I look forward to trying!

Aaron in Malawi

My little brother Aaron leaves early tomorrow morning for a 10-day mission trip in Malawi, Africa. He and a team of people from Summit Church will be working with on organization called "Children of the Nations" that helps children orphaned by AIDS.

• Pray for the more than 25 million infected with AIDS in Africa and the 12 million children who have been orphaned by AIDS.


• Pray for churches in Africa. God is working through his people in Africa and in many ways the world is looking to see what the church will do. Pray that God will continue to strengthen his people.


• Pray for Aaron's team and for the people they will meet in Africa while we are there. Pray that God will begin to work in their circumstances and relationships to prepare them for what He will do in their lives.

Click HERE to read a story from the Orlando Sentinel from a girl who just got back from Malawi on a trip doing similar things that Aaron will be doing.

Aaron! I am so proud of you! Shine brightly for Jesus and lead your team well. I know you'll do awesome helping people know that they matter to Jesus! I can't wait to see your pictures and hear your stories!