Perfect Is As Perfect Does

I love when a painter goes on and on about how "it's so hard to find guys to work for me, because I'm all about paying attention to details; I'm a perfectionist about my work, and nobody else is these days....", and then does work like this.

I Don't Want To Fraternize With Humans

Now my dream of being a Faun can come true.

Walk Through The Bible (FOUR THOUSAND YEARS!)

When I was a young teen, my Dad took me to a Walk Thru The Bible seminar. I'm sure for most teenage girls, that experience would have been a horrible eye-rolling memory, but I was not your average teenage girl. My Dad could have taken me to a Dog Turd Carving Slash Flagellation Seminar, and I would have been chomping at the bit to go.

But as it turned out, this seminar was an INTJ's dream. An entire day of memorizing a long series of hand motions to help you remember every main event in the Bible, are you kidding me??? Sign me up every day of the week!! I believe we did the Old Testament seminar, because I remember the "Creation, Fall, Flood" portion really well. I'd go again now as an adult and take my kids. They'd get a huge kick out of it.

Here's a clip of some kids doing it:

Help Victoria Build Toilets!

So, my ultra compassionate niece Victoria has decided to show us all up and go build toilets in the Dom Rep. Hey, you're not better than me. I saved a stray dog once. And then found out it belonged to people who lived 1/8th of a mile down the road. So I guess in reality I stole the dog. But it's the thought, right?? Anyway, please take the time to read her letter and give some thought to supporting her in this endeavor!


Dear Family & Friends (that's you guys, so pay attention!),

Recently I made a decision to go on a short-term mission’s trip with Goshen Baptist Church from July 16-24. I am so excited about this opportunity that God is giving me to share His love in the Dominican Republic! Goshen Baptist Church has partnered with Food for the Hungry (www.fh.org) and has been going to a town called Sabana Cruz for 5 years, and this year I am so grateful to be joining a team of 22 people to continue the work that has already been started. As shown below we will be landing in Santa Domingo, and traveling to a town called Sabana Cruz which is on the border of Haiti. (We will actually be bathing in the river that separates Sabana Cruz from Haiti) Relationships with the local people in Sabana Cruz have already been established and are continuing to grow year by year. While in Sabana Cruz our team will be building severely needed latrines (these bring the childhood death way down), pouring cement floors in place of mud floors in homes, deliver much needed supplies (aspirin, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, washcloths, etc…), and most importantly, tell of Christ’s love and our love for them. Circled below is where we will be serving, along with children in a local home of Sabana Cruz.

We will also be going on home visits, and will be able to be involved with the local community through various sporting events including soccer and the infamous end of week baseball game. We will be having a vacation bible school throughout the week and we will all have the opportunity to create even more long lasting relationships with the amazing people of Sabana Cruz! Many adults there can not read or write, and most live on much less than $1000 a year. Here’s where I need your help….

My team and I will need lots of prayer for this trip! God has incredible plans for Sabana Cruz, and all we need to do is rely on Him. We will need prayer every step of the way. In addition, I will need financial support. This trip will cost approximately $1800 per person, which covers all construction supplies for the latrines and cement floors, transportation, living arrangements, and food. Right now I am trusting that God will provide all that we need to make this trip possible. Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and learning about Sabana Cruz. If you would like to learn more about the Sabana Cruz or the trip itself don’t hesitate to call or email me: 484-947-8435 or vrupple@gmail.com. If you would like to prayerfully or financially support me, please fill out the bottom slip and either:
Return to me personally
Mail to Goshen Baptist Church

1451 West Chester Pike
West Chester PA 19380

Joshua 1:9
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified: do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

In Christ,
Victoria Rupple

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please make check payable to: Victoria Rupple
Goshen Baptist Church and 1134 Laurel Drive
West Chester PA, 19380

On memo line write DR 2011

From: __________________

Please include this section with any correspondence:

____ I will pray for Tori and the Goshen team heading to Sabana Cruz
____ I would like to donate $____________ towards the Dominican Republic trip

I Don't Wanna Be It!

Lewis babies all growed up....but while the rest of you see 6 drop dead gorgeous young adults with tons of amazing hair, jawbones to knock you dead, boobs enough to feed all the starving children in Africa, skin to put airbrushed pageant babies to shame, I see 6 chubby kids with cute dirty faces waiting to play Kick The Can with me and Melissa.

Make It Work

Quintessential Amy. My daughter Ava had a birthday party in November. When she came home from the party and unwrapped her gifts, I saw this card on the table. I knew in one second who it was from, and not because I recognized the handwriting (which of course I did, my sister has very distinct handwriting).



Tim Gunn may have originated the phrase "Make it work!", but the concept was born and perfected in Amy Lewis.

Most people go into a card shop with an occasion in mind, and head towards that section. Birthday, anniversary, baby shower, get well...Amy goes into a card shop and goes straight to the clearance rack. She grabs the cheapest card (and wrapping accouterments) and is on her way. Never you mind what's written on the card, that's of no consequence. Amy can make anything work, as shown here.

Ok, so this is a thank you card. We'll just add "for being the birthday girl!", and there you go. A card perfect for the occasion. Valentine's Day wrapping paper? Hey, they're pink hearts, perfect for an 8 year old girl's birthday party!

My favorite thing to do is come up with other Amy cards. Here's what the cards would say, and what Amy would add to make them birthday appropriate (leave your own Amy card idea in the comments, it's fun to do!):

Get Well Soon...."after eating so much birthday cake on your special day!!"

Our condolences....."on turning another year older today!"

I'm sorry for your loss...."of another year, you old coot!"

Merry Christmas....."which comes 3 months after today, your birthday!!!"

Congratulations...."on making it another year!"

Happy Anniversary...."of the day you were born!"

I miss you...."as a baby, I can't believe you're 8 today!"

And really, who cares about the wrapping or the card. They're just for show. Amy's not about show. Amy's a meat and potatoes kind of girl. Carrots carved into roses and parsley sprigs mean nothing to her. Let's all save money and bypass the pomp and circumstance.

Wrap It All

The perfect wrapping paper for my sister. Why? I'll tell you tomorrow.

Who Wants To Marry A Polygamist?

I reaaaaaally want a television producer to come up with a Bachelor/Sister Wives mashup. Instead of giving out "the final rose", the Bachelor would give out "the final roses". The bachelorettes would compete to see which ones could get along with each other the best. They'd have hair braiding challenges. Contests to see who could dress most modestly.

Then at the end, when the Bachelor chose all of his sister wives, they'd all be sealed on television.

I would watch that show all day long.

Stories With Pop

Stories from Pop have always been a favorite around here...

Monday Mornings With Zachary

Zachary tells about the big shakedown at the roller rink on Friday night.

Mona Pepsi

Eric drew this portrait of me the other night at dinner. The only thing that looks realistic is the Diet Pepsi with a glass of ice to the top, but the effort was very sweet...

There's A Squid In My Bed

Typical conversation in the Mosley house:

Eric: Did you buy grape jelly?

Me: No, we already have a brand new one.

Eric: Where???

Me: Uh, in the pantry...big shock.

Eric: But I looked there and couldn't see it!

Me: Well, that's because...

Eric: *interrupting*...I know, I know, because I (said in his best Suzanne voice) "never move things around when I look for something."

Me: Exactly. You only ever look with your eyes, never with your hands.

Eric: Not true at all. I look at you with just my hands and not my eyes.

True dat, Mr. Octopus.

Suzanne Shamalayan

(For Melissa, who had nightmares for weeks after seeing the "Tree Man" on television.



Hopefully this will provide her with fresh nightmare fodder.)

Her nicknames may include 'wolf girl' and 'monkey face'.But 11-year-old Thai girl Supatra Sasuphan today insisted that she was after being officially recognised as the world's hairiest girl. Although the schoolgirl from Bangkok has faced merciless teasing at school, Supatra says being given a Guinness World Record for her hair has helped her become extremely popular.

Read more

Donate To Lego League!

Upper Perk Robotics, Colson's Lego League, is now accepting donations to prepare for the fall competition season, in anticipation of adding more students. This is Colson's form fund raising letter to all of you!

Colson joined the recently formed Upper Perk Robotics program (a local non profit) this past fall, and has had a blast while learning a lot about science, technology, robotics, teamwork, and communication. Their team efforts were even featured in the local Town & Country Newspaper recently. With a vision toward exciting K-12 youth in the Upper Perkiomen, PA Valley about the wonders of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, we partner with area schools and community groups to enhance student participation in challenging age-appropriate STEM and robotics competitive programs as a means to fueling a desire for education while exposing students to 21st Century technologies and processes that can lead to dynamic and rewarding futures.

We're currently on a fund raising campaign to purchase additional robotics equipment to help our organization grow so more students can participate. We're still about $2,200 short of our goal. The organization is accepting donations of all sizes and you can even donate online via paypal or by standard US Mail.

Mr Cool

Monday Mornings With Zachary

Zachary explains the difference between statements and questions. Neither of which he understands. I spent an hour on Friday trying to explain both to him. He never got it. He could figure out how to change a sentence from one to the other, but couldn't tell you what the original sentence was. And it makes sense. Every sentence that Zachary speaks is a statement wrapped in a question tied up in an innuendo shrouded in sarcasm. Nothing is that black and white for him.

Ava's Fashions

Little cotton summer dresses with matching diaper covers just ruin me.

Before There Were 5

Nazis Get It Done

In case anyone cares, being a Nazi pays off. I'm down 3 pounds. Achtung!

(EMo beat me, he lost 6, but whatever........he's a giant man, of course he's going to beat me.)

How To Really Define A Culture

Zachary is learning about cultures in his Social Studies course. Yesterday I was reading him a paragraph under a picture. In the picture was a group of children; an Asian child, an African-American, a white child, a Hispanic child. While I read the paragraph, Zachary was studying the picture. I read:

"A culture is a way of life shared by a group. The languages people speak, the clothes they wear, and the things they celebrate are all part of culture."

After which Zachary immediately said with complete confidence, as if the author of this paragraph had obviously forgotten to include this fact, "Well, and their hair...."

Ain't it the truth.

Gee, I Hope I Get It...I Hope I Get It!

One of Colson's audition scenes from the other night, when he auditioned to be in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz at the Dutch Country Players theater in Telford, PA. It's a great little local theater that does a really great job of making children feel comfortable about auditioning. Colson and Ava love it there, and get so excited about auditioning. Each time they audition, they get better. Ava wouldn't even go up the first time, and the second time she went up but then got scared and sat back down. This time she got right up and read her part...quietly, but she was up there! It won't be long before she's belting out her lines like a diva.



There's only 6 parts for children in this particular play, so the chances that either of them get a part are slim. But the auditioning process is such a great learning experience for them, and they know the odds going into it.

Funny note; everyone gets to read different parts each time. They make sure everyone gets to read for at least 2 parts at the auditions. Then they do a third round for whoever wants to read again. Apparently Colson was DYING to play the Wizard, but didn't get a chance to. Of course. The Great And Powerful Oz. He knows which role was made for him.........

Only One First Time

I've been agonizing trying to figure out who I wanted to take to see In The Heights with me on Saturday night in Hershey, my Christmas/birthday gift from my sweet husband. Then, as I read the reviews of the show online, I realized the perfect person to take was right under my nose....

It's time for Colson's first Broadway show!!!!!