Another Amazing Weekend...

Saturday marked the first "seek-rets" event... The "Super Seek-ret Sleepover"...

I have been working toward this event for a long time. Really, I wanted to do something like this several years ago, but these things take time, and before I could actually get the thing off the ground, there was no ground from which to get it off... long story...

I put a lot of planning into this day. And since I have a bit of an aversion to doing anything small, the event grew to epic proportions... until it was really more like a retreat than a slumber party... but who's really keeping track, right?

I had a busy week leading up to the "Super Seek-ret Sleepover"... It included painting Grace's room (which still needs a third coat)... but I suppose I really need to tell that tale and post some pictures at another time... The point is, I was already pretty tired...

A couple of hours into the event, I actually said to myself, "Maybe I'm in the wrong line of work"... Nothing terrible had happened or anything. I was just wiped out. But, I'm not in the wrong line of work...

This ended up being one of the most amazing weekends ever... again!

We had such a great time doing facials... manicures... pedicures... hair... and make-up. This was followed by a photo shoot, which was definitely the most truly "fun" part of the day/night for me. We did crafts... shot a few guys who tried to crash the party... watched a movie... and had an impromptu talent show... and then we had a group time that was actually a bit on the shocking side for me...

I know that a lot of these girls came to have fun, and to tell you the truth, that was a huge reason I planned this! It seems that somewhere along the line, many of these girls have already gotten the idea that it is impossible to live a life that is pleasing to God and to have fun at the same time. That breaks my heart, because most of these girls were 11-14 years old! So, I really wanted them to have a lot of fun!

I had planned a short devotional time, and to say that I "planned" it is really stretching. I had a folded up piece of paper in my back pocket that had three verses on it, and I wanted to share a few stories about my life as an 8th grader... I wanted to challenge these girls to think about giving God a chance to fill their lives... I thought this might take 15-20 minutes... tops...

Well, I think it was about an hour and a half later, when we finally got up! It was just incredible. God used our time together, and He spoke to me... and to the adult leaders... and to the girls who were there. And, you know... even then... we were having a great time!

I talked with several girls later about different issues they are facing in their lives, and the more we talked, the more I started to think, "Yeah... this is why I'm here"... not just in the immediate sense, but... well... in the big picture.

Then we consumed two colossal ice cream sundaes... and I went home to print pictures and put together a quick slide show. I returned to the firehouse in time to incorrectly arm the building and crash on the sound room floor for about 2 1/2 hours, without a blanket or pillow...

I cannot wait until our next seek-rets event... details coming soon...

Lisa

PS Below is the new and improved slideshow... with lots more pics... L.

Amazing Weekend, Part 3...

On Sunday after church, we left for Chicago to celebrate the beautiful princess Abby's 4th b-day...
As always, we had a great time with Brad, Sheri, and Abby. Here is a picture of their family after I finished torturing them in my make shift "studio"... hehehe...

I had a great time taking princess and pirate pics, while my children went pillaging... and plundering... and basically enjoyed themselves at Abby's party. Memorable quotes include, "You're in the crock pot!" and, "There is no Gooser!" both stated by Grace while playing duck, duck goose... I think everyone was tired at the end of the day, but that didn't keep Abby and Grace from staying up giggling to all hours of the night... Are we ever in for it in Florida!

On Monday, we took the kids to Shedd to celebrate Caleb's b-day a little early. Originally we had planned to take him in May, but it just worked out so well that we decided to do this while we were already in Chicago. As a side note, it was cheaper for our family to become members at Shedd for a year than to visit once, so we can now go back if we find ourselves in Chicagoland again in the next 365 days...

We had a really fantastic time, and I am posting another slideshow below, because I am finding that they are less time consuming than scrapbook pages, and let's face it, I am already behind on this post (thank goodness for the ability to backdate on blogger...) The slideshow, itself, is about 4 minutes long. Please take note that I have become fascinated with sting rays but could not include all of the pictures... I forgot to include the pictures of the pregnant, male sea dragons... no kidding... I absolutely assured Caleb before our trip that there would be no monkeys at Shedd, and he was sorely disappointed... but not for long... and we found Nemo...



To close, here's a fun pic. of the kids with the Chicago skyline behind them, even though everybody was far too tired to pose at this point...

Lisa

Amazing Weekend, Part 2...

I had never participated in 30 hour famine until this year. To be honest, it kind of seemed like a programmatic form of a bad cliché…

Several of our teens really wanted to do this event, though, because they had done it in the past and really enjoyed it. So… Phil, working collaboratively with another YP, jumped right in and planned the event.

We kicked it off with the previously mentioned Caedmon's Call concert. My original plan was to go to the concert and then to return home… and I wasn't really going to do the famine thing… and I certainly was going to eat…

But, as it turned out, our amazingly faithful babysitter was able to stay the night with the kids, so I figured I'd stay the night for famine… And as long as I was going to stay the night, I figured I might as well take in the whole event… fasting and all… And thus began my first experience with 30 hour famine…

It was really… well… wow…

There were definitely some very funny moments…

The best one was probably when the teens were carrying garbage cans full of water through the streets at night and my group (which was the first group to go) was stopped by the police. This officer pulled up, stopped his car, got out, and just looked at us. I found this rather irritating, because I think that if a police officer has a problem with something you're doing, he should at least acknowledge that you are there and state his issue. At any rate, he didn't. So… I walked right up to him and said, "These teens are participating in 30 hour famine to send money to World Vision to help feed hungry kids." To which he replied, "Well, you just don't see people carrying garbage cans through the street at night all the time." And I said, "No, you sure don't". He asked if we were going to be out all night, and I told him that we weren't and that we were just headed to the firehouse (which was about 10 feet away). And then he never said I could leave or anything, but I just did… and I shouted back to him that there were a couple more groups on the way…

And you know… I never realized how outrageously funny it was until Phil started cracking up, but I never bothered to explain what walking through the streets at night with a garbage can full of water had to do with famine… or World Vision… or anything. And, the guy never asked! At any rate, I guess it was probably the seemingly drunk people in the drug store parking lot who were yelling at us that made the complaint. I wonder if the police picked them up?

There were definitely some frustrating moments…

The most obvious one was that my now infamous no show guitar and piano player continued to add to his record of… well… not showing. I could go on a tirade about this, but for the moment I'll refrain. I am left wondering, however, what direction I want to go with SWAT, because it's getting old real fast to practice our rears off for something and then end up not being able to do it due to lack of musicians. The SWAT members who were there did a fine job with the resources we had, but it wasn't fair to them… at all… that it panned out that way, and I don't intend to put anyone (including myself) in that position again. We will certainly continue to practice and work through the issues we currently have, but we will not be available for performance of any type until I know that we have enough committed people to do it right. And I mean it… I don't care how "ready" anyone else thinks we are or how much they beg. We'll be ready when I say we're ready… and more than that when I feel like God is saying we're ready… and not a moment before…

And there were definitely some amazing moments…

The thing that will probably stand out in my mind for the rest of my life is the 300 candles illustration. We started with 300 lit candles, and Phil and Aaron took turns blowing them out… one at a time… every 3 seconds, to represent the number of children who die every 15 minutes because of hunger. It was very moving, and I think I'm a little more focused now on finding ways to make a difference in the world at large. I have felt this way before, but in recent years I have become so consumed with myself that it's often easy to forget there is a picture far bigger than me…

In the end, our group raised something like $12,000.00 (in combination with matching funds, grants, etc.) to feed hungry kids. And that's going to feed a lot of kids for a long time…

My view on 30 hour famine has changed… drastically…

Lisa

PS Click play below for a short highlights slideshow… L.

Amazing Weekend, Part 1…

For the past 11+ years, I have been a fan of Caedmon's Call…

I remember when their self-titled album came out, and I heard it for the first time. I believe it was on a quiz trip of some sort, during my senior year of high school. After hearing it once, it rose to the top of my list of albums that I desperately wanted, and shortly thereafter, I purchased it. It is still the greatest album of all time…

Throughout the years, the stories told by Caedmon's have paralleled our lives in ways that are almost uncanny. Every album has hit home… and almost every album sits on my CD shelf… not just collecting dust, but being pulled out time and time again to be played… Subsequently, a time period of my life is remembered… and almost relived… every time the music comes on…

There have been less than a handful of Caedmon's songs that I haven't valued. And, eventually, even those few have grown on me. More often, the case was that I downright cherished a few from each album, as they spun the tale of life as I knew it in the moment.

When "Overdressed" came out, my initial reaction was a little different. Let me preface this by saying that the first chords of "Trouble" (the first song on the CD) were perfect. The return of Derek Webb for this project was incredible, and after hearing the beginning of the album I thought to myself, "That's how it's supposed to sound". That being said, I have still thoroughly enjoyed and connected to the Caedmon's music written in his absence. Randall Goodgame became another household name around here because of it, and that's definitely a plus…

But beyond that first song, I wasn't sure I liked the album all that much. And that came as a shock to everyone… including me… because let's face it, Caedmon's could put out trash, and I'd be the first one in line to buy it. Something wasn't right about the way I felt about this album, though, and eventually, it became apparent to me that I didn't like the album so much, because once again it paralleled my own life… and I didn't like my life that much at the moment. (I wrote about this at the time, but it was awhile ago, so this is kind of a refresher…)

I kept listening to the album anyway…

And I'm not exactly sure which order it happened in, but I gradually began to like "Overdressed"… and I gradually began to appreciate my place in life again… and then I gradually began to love "Overdressed"… and I gradually began to determine to live life to the fullest of my ability… and then beyond that to the fullest of God's ability… because what He does to bring restoration is a whole lot better (like leaps and bounds… over the moon and back…) than what I can do on my own…

At any rate… The "Overdressed" Tour was in our area on Friday, and for the first time, I had the privilege of seeing Caedmon's Call in concert. In a lot of ways, I'm glad it took this long, because the things we wait for are quite often the most worthwhile…

Caedmon's was incredible, playing music from all over their great history. It was so awesome to be able to sing along to just about everything, and there were moments when I was standing with only a few… and screaming all by myself… and it was just awesome (minus the slightly irritated vocal chords)... and emotional... yeah, I can't really even put it into words...

After the show, Phil and I went to the guild room, and let me tell ya… it was amazing to just meet these people face to face… shake their hands… introduce ourselves… and get a couple of snapshots…

There was just something unreal about being greeted by Cliff Young at the door and hanging out with Derek Webb while he ate a cookie (see photo below)…

I never cease to be impressed by Danielle Young. I had never stopped to think about it, but I'm sure she is the reason I love harmonies… and echoes… and bit parts… mixed with the occasional solo. But she's just a real person, too. She has four kids, close in age to my own, and after the show she was ready to take off "early" to check on them… Gosh, that sounds familiar…

I am tired. Already there is much more to say about this weekend, and it's only Saturday night… So this will be… again… another two… or three… or more part post. But I'll leave you with some pics. for now:

Lisa

"Calebisms", Part 2...

This is a picture of, "Mommy and Shamu"...


I don't think it's all that difficult to tell which one is which...

But why are we so close to the same size?

Lisa

"Calebisms", Part 1...

Last night I told Caleb he had to eat his apple if he wanted anything else...

He responded, "I'm half done with part of one piece of my apple!"

You might have to read it a couple of times, but that's just worth posting...

Look for a post about the picture he drew yesterday, soon. Phil took my camera again...

Lisa

Unleavened Pizza...

... Should Probably Not Be Eaten

So... I kinda pride myself on my cooking ability. I certainly make good pizza. But things have been a little... well... hectic around here, to say the least.

Yesterday, I started to make pizza dough. And for some reason... at the very same moment... Phil decided it was a good time to clean the refrigerator. Ordinarily, this might have worked out OK, but I was also doing dishes at the time, and... well... I can talk and chew gum at the same time, but I can only multi-task so well...

When I went to get the dough out of the bread machine I thought to myself, "you know, it's weird that it didn't rise more than this". By the time I actually got around to getting the dough out, it had been an exceptionally long time... But I didn't think a whole lot more about it and proceeded to fry the bacon, enhance the sauce, and wash yet another refrigerator shelf that Phil sent my way.

I made up the pizza... and some breadsticks... and kept thinking, "gosh... I thought this would have made more dough"...

I baked the pizza while mixing a batch of peanut butter cookies. The reason there wasn't as much cookie dough as there should have been is that I ate it... that was easier to figure out than the pizza.

I baked the pizza for the normal amount of time. I pulled it out and thought, "this just doesn't look quite right". I couldn't believe it, but it looked like it needed to bake longer, so I put it back in the oven.

And then I turned around and thought to myself, "you know... the dough kind of looks like my homemade communion bread..." And a couple of minutes later, the light bulb came on and I finally realized that I had forgotten the yeast! DUH...

In the end, we ate the pizza. Phil remarked that maybe I could market it as "Jewish" pizza, since the bread was unleavened. I told him that might work if it wasn't covered in bacon and pepperoni...

We got full really fast...

I still feel like there is a rock in my stomach...

I'm so glad we weren't having company...

Lisa

Photographer By Day...

... Plumber by Night...

Yeah... well... Life is always a little on the crazy side...

So, I enjoyed taking lots of pics. of the kids today. I was basically "practicing" for taking princess and pirate pics. at my niece's upcoming b-day party. I found this quite fun, although I highly doubt I am going to be able to torture other people's children for as long as I subjected my own to photo after photo, so I don't know how well the party pics. will turn out. I did, however, get quite a few that I really liked of "the gang"...

Actually, some of the pics. of Grace are from other recent days, as well, but I thought I'd just throw 'em all up here...

As a side note... I always put my pics. up on-line in low resolution. It came to my attention that people sometimes click on them to see them in a larger size, but when you do that, they will not look as good. I just didn't want anybody to think that they are terrible...

So, without further ado...

My Princess and My Pirates...

Lisa

Number of the Day, April 10

On second thought... nope... This doesn't work...

Back to the monthly updates...

Lisa

Number of the Day, April 7

176...

This is not working the way it is supposed to. I feel like I am still playing yo-yo, like last month. Weekends are hard, but come on... A birthday party, baby shower, and fast food trip shouldn't be this bad, should it...

Uh... scratch that...

Well, it's Monday...

Lisa

Number of the Day, April 6

175.5...

Lisa

Why I Still Love Teenagers...

Or Maybe I should call this post, Why Teenagers Still Drive Me Crazy...

Last night was quite a night... kind of like a roller coaster...

I think the best part was when Kaylee looked at me like I was crazy when I said I had four kids. How she missed this fact over the course of the past 6 months is beyond me, but anyhow... Apparently, she thought I was 18! What a compliment... I think. I hope I am still "cool" now that the truth is out...

Worst part of the night was definitely when I got a call on my cell and picked it up, only to find out that it was the 9-1-1 dispatcher, and that someone had called 9-1-1 from my cell earlier in the night to report a stolen bike...

After me exclamation of, "He used my cell phone to call 9-1-1?" I kind of blubbered for a few seconds and then finally regained my composure enough to explain that I did have some sort of official capacity at the firehouse and that I was, indeed, aware that a bike was stolen. Then, I apologized... profusely... for the disturbance... Thankfully, I think the dispatcher was getting a real kick out of me...

The moral of this story is that it is very important to explain the difference between filing a police report and dialing 9-1-1 before you hand your cell phone over to a kid whose bike has just been stolen, so that he can call his mom... lesson learned...

Much more to say, but not enough time to say it tonight...

Lisa

Number of the Day, April 5

173.5...

Well, at least it didn't take me three weeks to get back to this...

No exercise... it's Saturday... and I am sick... again... or still... or whatever...

The good news is, I think that maybe... just maybe... Spring has arrived...

Lisa

Totally Geeked Up...

So, yesterday I found out that there is going to be a "Guild Room" at the upcoming Caedmon's Call concert...

This is only exciting if you are a member of the Guild...

Which I am...

I have waited years... something like TWELVE years... to see/hear Caedmon's in concert. Even Phil's mom and dad have seen them, but I have not... This is just seriously wrong... But all the waiting is going to pay off when I actually get to hang out with them for 20 minutes after the show...

Phil... If you don't get a Guild membership soon, you are going to be very... very... sad. And I know you don't want me to meet "you-know-who" without you... This is your friendly reminder...

In other news...

I woke up at 5:48am. This is not perfect, but it is still better than I have been doing. The kids slept in until 8:30, which is unheard of, and I didn't wake them up, because I figured I might as well take advantage of the time I had... which I did... and it was good...

After re-reading my post from yesterday... and after talking to my brother-in-law, Brad, today... I just want to assure everyone that I'm not having a breakdown or anything. I am tired... and I am overwhelmed at times... and being sick for something like 6 out of the last 8 weeks isn't helping... But I'm alright... or at least I will be... eventually...

Life's going to get real busy in about 2 1/2 hours, so I'd better go do the dishes...

Lisa

Number of the Day, April 4

175...

WRONG DIRECTION... Ugh... again...

So, I guess this is what I get for eating spaghetti and cheese toast for dinner...

Too many carbs...

I know better than that...

This morning: 60 minutes, 10.85 miles, something like 1300 calories burned (my legs are too sore to go back upstairs for the exact number)... This is good...

Lisa

How Did It Come To This?

So... this morning I woke up at 5:15. This is a great accomplishment for me. Although I want it to happen again, tomorrow, it probably won't. That's because I am inconsistent...

I spent quiet time with God... inconsistent...

Exercised like I need to... inconsistent...

Took time to wash my face, soak my feet, smother lotion on my belly and hands... inconsistent...

Did my hair... inconsistent

Didn't take a shower, but that wasn't really my fault... We have a water back-up issue goin' on...

Applied oils... and deodorant... to make up for missing the shower... inconsistent... OK, so most days I don't miss the deodorant...

Around 7:15 (yeah, the kids slept in), I stopped for a minute and thought, "I really do not take care of myself!" This has become a problem. So much so, that I found myself whining, a couple of days ago, about how I never do anything for myself! Now, as you probably know, this is an exaggeration. I do plenty of things for myself every single day. I just don't do the right things...

As a wife and mommy of four, it is true that I don't have a whole lot of quiet time for just me. Let's face it, I can't even go to the bathroom without someone knocking on the door, and I have been known to utter things like, "Everybody sit down and try not to gouge each other's eyes out so Mommy can go upstairs and brush her teeth today!" Life is... expectantly... hectic.

There have been many occasions on which I have felt guilty for wanting to do something for myself, so I just didn't. Unfortunately, I think that brought me to a point at which I have been a bit... well... resentful of my family... or at the very least, my role in my family... and that just sucks!

So... now I'm looking at that last paragraph and wondering why I'm sharing this on the World Wide Web, but I tend to pride myself on transparency, so there it is... guess I won't erase it...

I think I have a point in all of this... just hang on a minute...

I need to take care of myself. I don't really have the time to do it, but I don't really have the time not to do it, either...

I think I need about 4 hours a day for this... And I know I don't have 4 hours a day... But if I could just wake up around, say, 5:00... consistently... I think that would be a good start...

Lisa

Number of the Day, April 3

173.5...

I'll take that... for today...

60 minutes on the elliptical, 10 1/2 miles, 1281 calories burned...

I'll take that any day...

Lisa

Number of the Day, April 2

174.5...

Movin' in the right direction...

No exercise for today. I am still sick (does it never end). I don't want to hurt myself...

I need to grocery shop...

Think fruits and veggies... fruits and veggies... fruits and veggies...

Lisa

Weigh In, April 2008

Arghhhhh...

In March I kinda felt like the human yo-yo...

Bottom line...

3 lbs. That's what I lost. And it's NOT enough...

So, it occurred to me that even though I hate being fat, I obviously don't hate it that much, because I'm not actually willing to do anything about it on a consistent basis...

In April I am going to do something rather gutsy... at least I think it is...

I am going to post my weight here every day.

So, here goes...

176.5

Yuck... Lisa proceeds to throw up... Oh, wait... I am not going on the bulimic diet plan this month... Lisa proceeds to hit her head on the computer monitor... over... and over... and over again...

And, yes, my exercise has been sporadic, too. Perhaps I need to log this, daily, as well...

OK... so, today...

0 minutes, 0 miles, 0 calories burned...

Somehow, that didn't make me feel any better...

My goals for this month:

15 lbs, 45-60 minutes a day, lots of fruits and veggies

Lisa