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I was sitting here tonight, staring at the blank screen. I wasn't sure what to write. Unbelievably, I felt like I didn't have anything to say. (Bound to happen sometime, I guess!!) Then, Luke came and climbed into my lap and said: "Mom, let me do that for you."
So....greeting to you from Luke. He passes on his love to all.
**************************************************************
Glory be! Tim just left with the boys to go give blood. Daria isn't yet home from hanging at her friend's house. I actually have a few minutes to myself....in a freshly cleaned house. Can't get much better than that. The only thing that would make it better is if I had dinner prepared for myself. Close enough.
Happy Friday!!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Thankful Thursday.
Sometimes I get bored with the title of Thankful Thursday. Last week was a fun title with "Counting my Sprinkles." Maybe I should have a contest every once in a while for a funky new title. Or maybe I will continue to call it Counting My Sprinkles day. I am usually a creature of habit. But, it is fun to mess with things every once in a while. I would hate to become too predictable!!
- Today I am thankful for Luke's Fabulous Four stage that he is in right now. (I am also very relieved that we are in this Fabulous Four stage!!) Right now, I feel like we have a fun relationship. We love to tease each other. I love to kiss him....he likes to tell me that he hates that. I love to tickle his buns.....he tells me that I don't need to because he already knows that I love those buns. I love to be nose to nose, forehead to forehead, gritting our teeth, and growl at each other. He's so stinkin' cute. It's fun. I hope that we can always keep a measure of this fun.
- I am thankful for a good homework session with Caden last night. We came up with a fun little technique that turned a normally dreadful experience into one that was actually kind of fun.
- I am thankful for other Moms who pray with me weekly. They stand and pray with me about all those little things that Moms worry about. They really do encourage me a whole lot. I am also thankful for how God is using our MIT group. We had a mom and daughter surprise us during our prayer time. They are having some issues. They knew we were praying somewhere....and they found us. We had a good time of prayer with them. I find that amazing.
- I am thankful for Daria's ability to fight with me and then come apologize for her part in it. That is a hard thing to do, and I am thankful that she is learning that skill now. Boy, I sure hate the fighting part, though. :-)
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
First Mate Reporting In
"If God is your co-pilot, then you're sitting in the wrong seat."
Alert! Alert! Storm Averted! All Systems operating normally. Repeat: Storm Averted!!
Praising the Lord tonight. I will attest that prayer works. Its not that I didn't know that....but sometimes I get things mixed up and start thinking that I am captain of this ship. When I put God back in the captain's chair, things go much better.
So, I am giving God the glory tonight. The storm that I thought for sure was going to sink us got averted and we had smooth sailing.
Hallelujah!!!
Hoping I can remember the lesson!
Incoming Storm on the Horizon
I see a set of circumstances developing in my evening that could be a potentially major storm brewing. I am really filled with dread right now. At least I am seeing the signs and am starting to pray about it. I guess that is an improvement. Honestly, though, all I want to do is sit here and cry about it.
Instead of crying, I am going to don my all-weather gear, batten down the hatches, and dive in full speed ahead. Praying that I am a better Captain tonight than I have been in the past.
Hold on tight. We're in for quite a ride.
Instead of crying, I am going to don my all-weather gear, batten down the hatches, and dive in full speed ahead. Praying that I am a better Captain tonight than I have been in the past.
Hold on tight. We're in for quite a ride.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
False Advertisement
I've had a cold the last couple of days. I am not sure there is anything that makes me feel more miserable than not have the full breathing ability of my nose. Yikes. It makes me feel kind of trapped. Must be some psychological thing. But then again, I don't understand how Caden can sleep with his head completely covered by blankets. That makes me feel trapped, too. Something about breathing used air.
I usually don't give the advertisements on TV much notice. In fact, usually I am up and doing something during them....either that or I read during the commercials. Lately, I haven't had a book to read, so I have been flipping the channels. Tim has crowned me the Queen of Flipping because of that. I just point the remote at him and....FLIP! Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work on him like it does the TV.
I have noticed the last couple of days, as my mind seems totally focused on my stuffy nose and my desire to breath a full breath, that my attention is drawn to all the ads about cold medicines. I've decided that I hate them. They are terribly misleading to us, the sick ones. I saw one yesterday that shows the lady coming back into her full self, ready to take on the world. I mentally sat up a little bit straighter.
Then, I noticed it was the very product that I had in my cupboard. So, I dash over to the cupboard and promptly pop one of those magic little pills into my mouth. Even after giving it a decent amount of time in which to work its magic....I still had a stuffy nose and only felt marginally better. I didn't feel "clear" like they suggest......I just noticed that instead of having some movement of gunk in my nose....now there is no movement at all. I have yet to decide which is worse.....a constant drippy nose....or a nose stopped up with rubber cement.
Shame on those marketers, though. They prey on the weak of body and mind in order to make a profit. They really ought to be ashamed. I will admit that I felt a little better after taking the medicine....but not like I was back to my rip-roaring self. They should never promote it as such. We get back into life not because we feel better, but because our duties beckon us to do so.
That is the other bad thing about colds. For the most part, colds don't seem to knock me down as much as the flu. For the most part, I am still able to function as normal. I may feel trashy, but I can still function. Now when I last had that flu buggy thing, I could not function further than a few feet from the bathroom. But, with a cold, I can just carry my tissues with me and away we go. Even though, the only thing I really want to do is escape to my bed, turn up the electric blanket, and read a good book.
I have learned, or maybe I should say that I am learning, that as a mom, I have to give myself permission to take it easy. Even today, as I told myself to take it easy, I still did a couple of loads of laundry, picked up the kitchen, and baked a batch of cookies. I will still make dinner, make 4 lunches, clean up the kitchen again, lay out 3 sets of clothes, and help with piano practice and homework. Somebody's got to do it....if I don't, Nobody will....and that is never a good thing.
Oh well.
On top of that, the weather has been a perfect example of false advertisement, too. The sunshine has been absolutely stunning. It makes me day dream of blooming daffodils, tulips, and wearing capris. Then I open the door. Whoa! Blow me down and make me take a step back.
Heading back in to curl up in my fleecies!!
Stay warm and healthy!
I usually don't give the advertisements on TV much notice. In fact, usually I am up and doing something during them....either that or I read during the commercials. Lately, I haven't had a book to read, so I have been flipping the channels. Tim has crowned me the Queen of Flipping because of that. I just point the remote at him and....FLIP! Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to work on him like it does the TV.
I have noticed the last couple of days, as my mind seems totally focused on my stuffy nose and my desire to breath a full breath, that my attention is drawn to all the ads about cold medicines. I've decided that I hate them. They are terribly misleading to us, the sick ones. I saw one yesterday that shows the lady coming back into her full self, ready to take on the world. I mentally sat up a little bit straighter.
Then, I noticed it was the very product that I had in my cupboard. So, I dash over to the cupboard and promptly pop one of those magic little pills into my mouth. Even after giving it a decent amount of time in which to work its magic....I still had a stuffy nose and only felt marginally better. I didn't feel "clear" like they suggest......I just noticed that instead of having some movement of gunk in my nose....now there is no movement at all. I have yet to decide which is worse.....a constant drippy nose....or a nose stopped up with rubber cement.
Shame on those marketers, though. They prey on the weak of body and mind in order to make a profit. They really ought to be ashamed. I will admit that I felt a little better after taking the medicine....but not like I was back to my rip-roaring self. They should never promote it as such. We get back into life not because we feel better, but because our duties beckon us to do so.
That is the other bad thing about colds. For the most part, colds don't seem to knock me down as much as the flu. For the most part, I am still able to function as normal. I may feel trashy, but I can still function. Now when I last had that flu buggy thing, I could not function further than a few feet from the bathroom. But, with a cold, I can just carry my tissues with me and away we go. Even though, the only thing I really want to do is escape to my bed, turn up the electric blanket, and read a good book.
I have learned, or maybe I should say that I am learning, that as a mom, I have to give myself permission to take it easy. Even today, as I told myself to take it easy, I still did a couple of loads of laundry, picked up the kitchen, and baked a batch of cookies. I will still make dinner, make 4 lunches, clean up the kitchen again, lay out 3 sets of clothes, and help with piano practice and homework. Somebody's got to do it....if I don't, Nobody will....and that is never a good thing.
Oh well.
On top of that, the weather has been a perfect example of false advertisement, too. The sunshine has been absolutely stunning. It makes me day dream of blooming daffodils, tulips, and wearing capris. Then I open the door. Whoa! Blow me down and make me take a step back.
Heading back in to curl up in my fleecies!!
Stay warm and healthy!
Monday, January 21, 2008
Balancing Faith and Reality
I wouldn't normally call myself an eavesdropper. I don't make it a common practice to listen into other people's conversation....sometimes it just happens upon you. I was standing in the foyer of our church yesterday, waiting for my family to get ready to go, and I happened to hear the tail end of a discussion between a couple of people. There was one comment made by a young gentleman that has really stuck with me throughout today. I believe that they were discussing something that the church would like to accomplish, but at this time, the cold, hard, financial facts seem to say otherwise. He said something along these lines: "I understand what you're saying, but, I'm young, and I want it now."
Tim and I are very practical people. So practical sometimes that it just about kills me. Every step that we have ever deliberately made in life has been very calculated. I remember Tim's deliberation of a back pack. Yes, you read that right....a back pack. I don't remember the value of that back pack....but come on....it for sure wasn't a staggering amount. He had researched that back pack to pieces. The pros. The cons. The pockets. The zippers The company. And so on. Even then, after we got to the store, I can't even begin to tell you how long he stood in the back pack aisle contemplating that purchase. I would wander the store looking at anything and everything...come back...and there he'd be...still contemplating. I guess that contemplating was a good thing....he still uses that back pack today. (That could also be a product of his frugality too. If it ain't busted, it doesn't need replaced.)
Then I think about the purchase of our home. The manufactured home that we had been living in and were trying to sell, had been on the market for 2 agonizing years. I wanted to get into a real house desperately. I ranted and cried about that house more times than I am sure the Lord wanted to count. (Thankfully I have learned that God keeps a short list.) Tim had always said that we would not look at houses until we had an offer on that manufactured home. I began to pray...."Lord...you need to either move this house, or move my husband." I thought for sure He would move the house....because moving my husband is nigh on to impossible. Yet, God moved the impossible. Through a serious of event, my husband allowed us to take a leap of faith and buy our current home without a buyer for our manufactured home. Within a month's time, we had sold the manufactured home.
What caused our home to sell when it did? Was God waiting for us to step out of our predicted steps and act in faith before He would allow the house to sell? The Israelites had to step into the Jordan and get their feet wet before God stopped the water from flowing so that the nation could pass through on dry land. Let me tell you, it was a very difficult thing for my husband to take that step of faith. On paper...and past history of the attempts at selling our old house....everything said NO WAY. I must say, that I prayed about things a lot. I even had times of worry and doubt. Yet, there were so many blessings that came out of that leap of faith....in my opinion anyway. Did we have to step into the watter and get our feet wet first before God acted?
That is such a hard line to judge. For me, it is so easy to talk faith. Faith, defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing; belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence." Talk is an easy thing. It is the action that is so stinking difficult. It makes me think of the contenders on American Gladiator. (never realized they would be such good illustrations in life!!) They puff themselves up and talk all kinds of trash....on how they are going to beat the Gladiators and conquer those tasks. Their words sound great and we have these great hopes that they will do great. Yet, when they get into the action, they find things are a whole lot harder than they thought!!! See....it is the action that is so difficult.
So how do we balance faith and reality? Sometimes, on paper, things don't look feasible. Our finite little minds look at something and see NO WAY can something happen. Yet, God is the God of the Impossible. God does not always work within the logic of man. (Thank Goodness!!) He often uses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. In the instance of the conversation yesterday, I'm not sure there is an obvious path to take. Personally, I wish that our church would take that leap of faith and see what God will do. My old and practical side, says that logically we should wait.
My parting thought on this, as things are getting more tangled than I wished, in what decision would God be able to display His awesomeness more?
Tim and I are very practical people. So practical sometimes that it just about kills me. Every step that we have ever deliberately made in life has been very calculated. I remember Tim's deliberation of a back pack. Yes, you read that right....a back pack. I don't remember the value of that back pack....but come on....it for sure wasn't a staggering amount. He had researched that back pack to pieces. The pros. The cons. The pockets. The zippers The company. And so on. Even then, after we got to the store, I can't even begin to tell you how long he stood in the back pack aisle contemplating that purchase. I would wander the store looking at anything and everything...come back...and there he'd be...still contemplating. I guess that contemplating was a good thing....he still uses that back pack today. (That could also be a product of his frugality too. If it ain't busted, it doesn't need replaced.)
Then I think about the purchase of our home. The manufactured home that we had been living in and were trying to sell, had been on the market for 2 agonizing years. I wanted to get into a real house desperately. I ranted and cried about that house more times than I am sure the Lord wanted to count. (Thankfully I have learned that God keeps a short list.) Tim had always said that we would not look at houses until we had an offer on that manufactured home. I began to pray...."Lord...you need to either move this house, or move my husband." I thought for sure He would move the house....because moving my husband is nigh on to impossible. Yet, God moved the impossible. Through a serious of event, my husband allowed us to take a leap of faith and buy our current home without a buyer for our manufactured home. Within a month's time, we had sold the manufactured home.
What caused our home to sell when it did? Was God waiting for us to step out of our predicted steps and act in faith before He would allow the house to sell? The Israelites had to step into the Jordan and get their feet wet before God stopped the water from flowing so that the nation could pass through on dry land. Let me tell you, it was a very difficult thing for my husband to take that step of faith. On paper...and past history of the attempts at selling our old house....everything said NO WAY. I must say, that I prayed about things a lot. I even had times of worry and doubt. Yet, there were so many blessings that came out of that leap of faith....in my opinion anyway. Did we have to step into the watter and get our feet wet first before God acted?
That is such a hard line to judge. For me, it is so easy to talk faith. Faith, defined by the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing; belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence." Talk is an easy thing. It is the action that is so stinking difficult. It makes me think of the contenders on American Gladiator. (never realized they would be such good illustrations in life!!) They puff themselves up and talk all kinds of trash....on how they are going to beat the Gladiators and conquer those tasks. Their words sound great and we have these great hopes that they will do great. Yet, when they get into the action, they find things are a whole lot harder than they thought!!! See....it is the action that is so difficult.
So how do we balance faith and reality? Sometimes, on paper, things don't look feasible. Our finite little minds look at something and see NO WAY can something happen. Yet, God is the God of the Impossible. God does not always work within the logic of man. (Thank Goodness!!) He often uses the foolish things of this world to shame the wise. In the instance of the conversation yesterday, I'm not sure there is an obvious path to take. Personally, I wish that our church would take that leap of faith and see what God will do. My old and practical side, says that logically we should wait.
My parting thought on this, as things are getting more tangled than I wished, in what decision would God be able to display His awesomeness more?
Friday, January 18, 2008
More Moves Than a Bowl of Jell-o
My kids have contracted American Gladiator fever. This ultra-hyped, ego-filled, grunt-like-Tim-Allen show is really quite amusing to watch. My kids have literally been glued to the computer watching past episodes on-line. They love it! They typically pick a color and root and cheer for them. I had to laugh at the boys today as they were literally standing up on their chairs yelling: "Go, Blue Team, you can do it. Come on. You can do it! Yeah! Good job!" They were just as bad as the crowd screaming and cheering on the contenders. If you haven't checked it out, you really should take a look.
One of the new hosts for American Gladiator is Hulk Hogan. He is one of those American icons that we know all too well. Talk about ego. He defines ego. I have often wondered how he talks in real life. On TV, he sounds like he is over-dosed on testosterone. As the kids were watching the show today, I got a huge laugh out of this one line that came out of Hulk's mouth. He said: "Dude, you had more moves up there than a bowl of jell-o." Are you serious???? Did you make that up yourself, or are your writers playing you for a fool? Of course, I wonder how many people could pick that line up as he says it in his best "Ego" voice surrounded by screaming, cheering fans. And who would call him out on a cheesy line like that? (I guess, Me. But only in the private world of my little blog!!)
I think the only reason that I remember that precious little verbal gem is because it perfectly fit my son today. Caden and Daria had a field trip to the Sherwood Ice Arena today. Caden had been fretting over this field trip for days. He was almost in tears the other day when I picked him up from school because he didn't know how to skate. Every day we would have a discussion similar to this:
Caden: "Mom, I don't know how to skate."
Mom: "It's okay, Caden, just do your best."
Caden: "But, Mom, I don't know how to skate."
Mom: "It's okay, Caden, they'll teach you."
Caden: "But, Mom, I don't know how to skate."
Mom: "It's okay, Caden, just stick to your parent helper."
Caden: "But, Mom, I don't know how to skate."
Mom: "CADEN. IT'S. OKAY. JUST DO YOUR BEST."
And around we would go. So, I was really curious how today was going to go. Caden really wanted me to be there to watch, but I had a meeting with a teacher about the school garden for this year. He didn't say a word as I introduced him to his parent helper. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to watch his first few steps on the ice.
Anyway, after the meeting, I was able to go to the ice rink to watch the last hour or so of their field trip. I thought for sure that I would see Caden either huddled on the benches or desperately clinging to a parent. Who did I see huddled miserably on the benches? Daria. After a few moments of drama, making sure that Mom fully realized how miserable she was, she decided that she needed to get back on the ice and do some showing off for Mom. Yeah, yeah. I already knew that she knew how to skate. Once on the ice again, she clearly looked like she was having a grand time.
So, I had to go on a mission to find Caden. Where did I find him? On the ice. On his own. Doing pretty good as a matter of fact. It was fun to watch him before he saw that I was there. He was doing pretty good scooting around on the ice. Every once in a while, he would shimmy in a little circle and then start scooting some more. Then, he saw I was there. He could hardly keep himself upright because he had to keep checking to see if I was watching. On his way over to the wall, he must have shimmied his little circle a dozen times. Of course, I did see him fall on his bum a couple of times, too. His damp looking pants showed evidence of a few trips to the ice as well. Even so, I could clearly see that he was having a wonderful time.
For a boy who has been labeled shy more times than I care to know, that boy talked non stop for the next 10 minutes or so as I helped him take off his skates and put on his shoes. Mom...did you see me? Did you see my circles? Mom, can we come do this again? Did you see my circles? When can we do this again? Did you see my circles?
Yes, Son, I saw your circles.
You had more moves out there than a bowl of jell-o.
One of the new hosts for American Gladiator is Hulk Hogan. He is one of those American icons that we know all too well. Talk about ego. He defines ego. I have often wondered how he talks in real life. On TV, he sounds like he is over-dosed on testosterone. As the kids were watching the show today, I got a huge laugh out of this one line that came out of Hulk's mouth. He said: "Dude, you had more moves up there than a bowl of jell-o." Are you serious???? Did you make that up yourself, or are your writers playing you for a fool? Of course, I wonder how many people could pick that line up as he says it in his best "Ego" voice surrounded by screaming, cheering fans. And who would call him out on a cheesy line like that? (I guess, Me. But only in the private world of my little blog!!)
I think the only reason that I remember that precious little verbal gem is because it perfectly fit my son today. Caden and Daria had a field trip to the Sherwood Ice Arena today. Caden had been fretting over this field trip for days. He was almost in tears the other day when I picked him up from school because he didn't know how to skate. Every day we would have a discussion similar to this:
Caden: "Mom, I don't know how to skate."
Mom: "It's okay, Caden, just do your best."
Caden: "But, Mom, I don't know how to skate."
Mom: "It's okay, Caden, they'll teach you."
Caden: "But, Mom, I don't know how to skate."
Mom: "It's okay, Caden, just stick to your parent helper."
Caden: "But, Mom, I don't know how to skate."
Mom: "CADEN. IT'S. OKAY. JUST DO YOUR BEST."
And around we would go. So, I was really curious how today was going to go. Caden really wanted me to be there to watch, but I had a meeting with a teacher about the school garden for this year. He didn't say a word as I introduced him to his parent helper. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to watch his first few steps on the ice.
Anyway, after the meeting, I was able to go to the ice rink to watch the last hour or so of their field trip. I thought for sure that I would see Caden either huddled on the benches or desperately clinging to a parent. Who did I see huddled miserably on the benches? Daria. After a few moments of drama, making sure that Mom fully realized how miserable she was, she decided that she needed to get back on the ice and do some showing off for Mom. Yeah, yeah. I already knew that she knew how to skate. Once on the ice again, she clearly looked like she was having a grand time.
So, I had to go on a mission to find Caden. Where did I find him? On the ice. On his own. Doing pretty good as a matter of fact. It was fun to watch him before he saw that I was there. He was doing pretty good scooting around on the ice. Every once in a while, he would shimmy in a little circle and then start scooting some more. Then, he saw I was there. He could hardly keep himself upright because he had to keep checking to see if I was watching. On his way over to the wall, he must have shimmied his little circle a dozen times. Of course, I did see him fall on his bum a couple of times, too. His damp looking pants showed evidence of a few trips to the ice as well. Even so, I could clearly see that he was having a wonderful time.
For a boy who has been labeled shy more times than I care to know, that boy talked non stop for the next 10 minutes or so as I helped him take off his skates and put on his shoes. Mom...did you see me? Did you see my circles? Mom, can we come do this again? Did you see my circles? When can we do this again? Did you see my circles?
Yes, Son, I saw your circles.
You had more moves out there than a bowl of jell-o.
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