For Wendy...

... But just as a word of explanation:

The CD "Perfect Change" by Dakona pretty much got me through the most cynical time of my life. Sometimes when you hurt it helps to know that someone else understands. These are the lyrics for, "In God's Name" which is posted below:

Hear the crack of a bullet down on seventh avenue tonight
Man lies bleeding on the floor
Hear the cry of the cop car as the streets are filled with blue and white
They all rush into the clinic door

And I'm never gonna know how you ever get to sleep at night
And justify the things you do
With your hand on the Bible, you say you killed a killing man
Well mister what does that make you?

And it's all in the name of God
And it's all in the name of God

See the crosses burning, lighting up the southern sky
Feel the hatred in the air
Slip into your white robe, to cover up your blackened heart
You don't become that cross you wear

And it's all in the name of God
And it's all in the name of God

Hear the newsmen talking, but they don't help me understand
No I can't claim to comprehend
See the buildings tumbling, so I drop a knee and say a prayer
For the city that'll never ever sleep again

And it's all in the name of God
And it's all in the name of God

And we all got our ways to justify the things we hate
We all got our ways of throwing the first stone
But if you wanna hate, then please leave God alone

Lisa

Oh, by the way... this is just an audio file, so when you click play there won't be any video or anything... just the still picture of the most beautiful place in the world... in case you wondered...

PS Since it took me several hours to post this, I now also have a fantastic, completely unrelated quote of the day by Phil, "I'll always remember... what's his name..."

L.

One Heck Of A Night...

You know... It took me 4 years worth of material to write a 200 page book, and I could probably match that with tonight... alone... if I got just a little bit creative...

I am really tired, and I can't go into all of it right now, but you know what...

God is real. He is working in our lives whether we want Him to or not and whether we realize it or not. I saw evidence of that in face after face after face tonight, and one of these days, some of them are really going to "get it". And when they do, this town will be a different place. And if they could just catch a glimpse of how much they're worth, this world might be too...

Pray for us. We can't do this alone...

Lisa

So Much For Frosty...

... It wasn't packing snow!

However, the kids and I did manage to roll around in the white, fluffy stuff for about 1/2 an hour this afternoon, because the temperature broke 30 degrees!

I remember really liking snow as a kid. I remember spending hours and hours just playing in it. But surely that can't be right... Didn't I get cold?

After a few snowballs in the face, everyone was ready to go inside for hot chocolate... except for Ian, but it was pretty much mandatory at that point, because he kept losing his shoes and socks... ooh... frozen little toes! Funny thing is, though, as much as I was freaking out about it, it didn't seem to bother him one bit!

Here are some pics. of our winter wonderland adventure. I think I am ready for Spring now, but you know... we always want what we don't have!

Lisa

Snow Day...

... Oh, yeah!

Although I am honestly disappointed that Grace and Caleb will not have music class today, I am also terribly happy that I now have absolutely nothing on my schedule that requires me to leave this house until Friday evening! How pathetic is that?

It's funny, because just a few months ago I was sometimes frustrated because I was "stuck" in the house all the time. I think this is a pretty normal feeling for stay at home moms from time to time. It seemed like I woke up... stayed in my PJS... and never had a conversation above 8 year old level... day after day after day!

However, we have finally fallen into some sort of routine with our comings and goings (actually establishing routines at home has a long was to go yet). I love knowing that when I wake up in the morning we have something productive to do. I love getting to know this community. I am enjoying life as a "library mom"... (the soccer mom thing didn't really work out all that well for me).

But for today I am simply going to clean my somewhat neglected house... while the kids have an abbreviated school day (puttin' us one up on the public schools... sort of... we did have that "little" vacation)... And then I am going to do my school work, because when you take classes on-line, you don't get snow days!

If it warms up enough, we might even build a snowman!

Lisa

Slip and Slides...

... Are supposed to be for Summer!

Yesterday was... well... interesting. We have had a scheduled "pitch in" dinner/meeting on the calendar for some weeks now, but to tell you truth, I kinda forgot about it until Phil said, "Hey... what are we bringing for the pitch in dinner"... as we were pulling out of the driveway for church... oops...

Now, if you read about my recent casserole experience, you probably know that pitch in dinners are not... let's say... a strength for me. It's not that I can't cook! As a matter of fact, I cook... and bake... pretty well. I like having people over for dinner. And, in fact, I can almost never think of anything they should bring when they ask. I can plan a meal... Unfortunately, I can't think of a thing when I am supposed to just "bring a dish to pass". In fact, I must admit that I have shown up for many such dinners with absolutely nothing... and not just because I forgot. I just didn't know what to bring!

Well... anyway... I decided I probably ought to offer something up yesterday, so after I finished my half of the kid's worship time, I got my coat on... took Phil's credit card... and snuck out the door to make a quick run to Kroger...

I had no idea that we were parked on a huge patch of ice, because it had been snowing, so that lovely, fluffy, white stuff was hiding the ice pretty well. In fact, it was hiding it so well that I completely lost my footing and landed with a rather remarkable sized thud, nearly sliding under the van that was parked next to us! And it hurt! Thankfully, no one was there to see this...

I brushed myself off and drove to Kroger... where I picked up some cold chicken strips and croissants, because there wasn't a real good selection to choose from... oh... and a disposable oven pan thing to throw the chicken in to warm it up...

I drove back to the church... snuck back into the kitchen (although I was seen by at least several people, so I'm not real sure you can call it sneaking)... and threw the Kroger chicken in the oven and the croissants in a bowl... mission accomplished...

I am very sore today... and grouchy... but amazingly enough I do not appear to be bruised! In fact, it is the left side of me that hurts the most, even though it was the right side of me that hit the hardest... go figure... I think I jammed my whole body! Thank goodness for Tylenol!

Lisa

The One... Two... Punch...

... Couldn't be more proud if I tried!

A little background information first...

For the last couple of years, we have wanted to get Seth and Grace involved in Bible quizzing. Unfortunately, for whatever reason (and there have been many) our wanting to get them involved just never amounted to anything. Well... this year was starting to look as if it was going to be the same old story, because the first quiz landed over our vacation, and then we just couldn't seem to get ourselves on a good schedule in which quizzing had a prominent spot in our curriculum or even our extracurricular activities. But I got to thinking... (yes, dangerous, I know)...

The January quiz was quickly approaching, and it suddenly hit me... "You know, Lisa... They don't have to go and be super star quizzers. You could just go through as much of the material as possible, and then you could take them to the quiz... and they might even... you know... make some friends and have fun!" Not everybody has to quiz for blood!"

So I told them to pull out their quiz materials... and they did... and Grace started goin' at it... and Seth didn't... and I started to wonder if maybe... just maybe... this was something Grace might like to do and Seth might not. So I planned to register Grace.

Except... If you know Seth and Grace, you know they are just about as close as twins. We have pretty much raised them that way since they are only 13 months apart, and although they have many occasions on which they "hate" each other, they also do not like to be apart... pretty much ever...

And as we got closer to the date of the quiz, who should want to participate but Seth! So I sat him down and said, "Hey... I'll register you for this quiz, but you're going to have to put a whole lot of work into this, because they are covering the first TEN lessons from the book (roughly Exodus 1-12), and you've only got a week to get it down. And... of course... he thought that was sufficient time. So after much, "Are you sure about this?" I registered Seth, too...

Well... as the story goes, we got to Thursday, and Seth decided it would probably be best if I "unregistered" him, because he really didn't want to put the work into this. And I so do not "unregister" my kids for things they beg to do, so I did what no self respecting quizzer ever does... I said, "Seth... you are out of time. Just study the questions!" (Gosh... did I just admit that? The shame...)

Seth did, indeed, study the questions. I quizzed him (and Grace) over what they had learned, and shocked as I was, the kid knew almost all of it... go figure!

So the big day finally arrived! We woke up this morning and drove to the quiz, amidst complaints that they might just get carsick if we made them study all the way! As a side note, Phil did offer to pull the van over if anybody needed to spew...

I made sure to remind the kids that this was their first quiz... and that the other kids had been doing this a lot longer... and that they would probably miss questions... and that it was OK to guess if they didn't know the answers... and that it really didn't matter how they did as long as they had fun... and made friends... and were good sports... Need I go on?

I really didn't know what to expect, because although I participated in teen Bible quizzing for four years, I had never been to a children's quiz. We walked in... I gave the people who looked like they were in charge my best "deer in the headlights, hey look I have no idea what I'm doing spiel"... and they directed me to the table where my kids were supposed to set up their quiz boxes (sigh of relief... gosh I'm glad we thought to bring these wonderful cardboard things... wow those kids with the crocheted boxes are probably pretty good... are those wood boxes... wow... we should have invested in matching T-shirts...)!

We got set up, and the people were very nice when we had to take a quick time out to instruct Seth and Grace on when... and how to hold the numbers up... and for how long... and when to put them back! I felt a little bit like those people who come to teen quizzing for the first time without line up forms!

And the 15 question round began. And the quizzer in me was very nervous. And Seth and Grace got all of the questions right! And the quizzer in me was very proud... and sort of amazed... and figuring that the people I'd just talked to as if I was an idiot probably thought I'd lied about the whole thing and that my kids had been doing this for years (That was just the irrational part of me. Actually, all of the people were very nice and likely thought no such thing...)!

Then we got a break, because the older kids were going to quiz a round...

And then the second 15 question round began. And Seth and Grace got the first 11 questions right. And the quizzer in me kind of wished there was pre-jumping in children's quizzing... kind of... but not really, because my nerves were pretty much frayed at this point.

And then question 12 was read, and for the first time all day, Seth and Grace pulled different numbers, and I knew our perfect day had just come to an end, but to be completely honest, I didn't know which one of them had errored, because I have not put as much time into the study of Exodus as I should have. I braced myself for the answer, and it was Seth who had errored... and here came the tears...

He managed to get himself together, which I was rather pleased with, because sometimes it's really hard for kids to get themselves back together when things like this happen. Both Seth and Grace answered question 13 correctly...

And then out came those stinkin' different numbers again for question 14, and it was Seth who had errored again. And this time the tears lasted a little longer, and I knew we were probably in trouble, but I hoped he'd pull it together for the last question, which he did, and again... both kids got it right.

So... when the quiz was called, I went straight to Seth and tried to talk to him, but he was upset. We had to clear the tables for the next blue round quiz, which we did, but Seth was just not very happy about his performance, and he certainly wasn't going to talk to anybody about it or accept any praise for it. Thankfully, Phil was able to pull him aside and help him calm down.

And it made me think about all of those times when I cried at quizzes. Actually... I'm not real sure I can remember a quiz at which I didn't cry! It was highly stressful! It was emotional! But I loved it!

After the last blue quiz, we gathered together for cookies and juice, and then it was award time. I had really paid little attention to how the other kids had done, so I made sure to take Seth aside again and to remind him that not everyone gets an award every time. Except, I was wrong about that, because everyone did get an award, but I didn't know that was how it was going to be!

You know... award times are always so nerve wracking! They started with number 15 (there were only 15 red quizzers total). And on and on it went... through numbers 14 through 3 with a few ties here and there. At this point, of course, I knew that Seth was actually going to be #2, which I thought was great. Still lots of tears, but he took his prize... and certificate... and a ribbon for the one perfect round...

And then they announced the first place quizzer for the day... two perfect rounds... and it never occurred to me that Grace didn't even realize she'd scored two perfect rounds and placed first until they said her name and she said, "Mommy, I didn't know I was first! I didn't even think I would be!" This, of course, cracked me up, even though I felt a little teary eyed and had that proud and nervous thing going on in the pit of my stomach...

I know it's only multiple choice... But it was their first quiz... Welcome back us... God does some amazing stuff...

Lisa

PS Here's the pics. Do you think it's genetic?

Can't Do It All...

... And that's OK!

Don't worry... this is not another rant about how busy my life is and how I'm likely to have a nervous breakdown if something doesn't give... I can't promise that another post like that will never appear again, but not today...

Here's the thing... I'm really busy right now, and I didn't even recognize it until Phil pointed it out to me the other day. I'm having the time of my life!

I think my whole worldview might be shifting... again. There was a time in which I measured my worth... or the greatness of this family... by how busy we were. It felt good to rattle off the list of things the kids were doing... and the list of things I was doing... and the list of things Phil was doing... and then to sit back and look at people as if to say, "Well, isn't that impressive?" That time was short lived, however, because it didn't take long to realize I was burnt out... and completely exhausted... and no one was happy!

So... I came to this point where I would rattle off our lists and then sit back and look at people as if to say, "Don't you feel sorry for me?" Except, that wasn't real gratifying either, because I was even more burnt out... and beyond completely exhausted... and no one was happy... and we were, in fact, very unhappy... with each other... and with life in general!

Which brings me to this point in my life in which I have finally realized that we cannot do it all! And I am very tempted... yet... to rattle off our lists to you, but I think I will refrain. However, for the sake of making a point here, let me say that we are still very involved in many activities in our community, but as we are learning what our limitations are, we are choosing the things that we enjoy most and letting the other stuff slide... And that's really OK with me, because we're having fun together for the first time in a long time!

I am sure that over the course of the next few weeks and months I will make posts about our various activities, and there will be great moments... and not so great ones... There will likely be people who frequent this blog and make comments (oh, wait... no one ever makes comments)... or think things like, "They're still doing too much!" I hope I will come to terms with this, myself, before I burn out again, if it is true.

I think what I would really like, though, is to enjoy everything we're doing. I want to look back on this era of life and remember everything. When I "miss this" ten years from now, I want the memories to be good ones. And so, we are making a real effort to get involved in the things that make us happy... or maybe better... fulfilled. And, we are also making an effort to get uninvolved in the things that just add stress. Life's too short for that...

Eight minutes to piano lessons... By the way... I love piano lessons...

Lisa

"Phenomenal"...

... I can live with this... but such a strange departure from what I'd come to expect as the norm...

Lisa

History Is Made...

I really have to begin with yesterday...

MLK Jr. Day probably doesn't mean as much as it ought to. We typically take the day off of school, but we really couldn't afford to do that this year, because we took a very nice vacation, and then we took a very nice Christmas break. So yesterday we went to school. We read a book about Martin Luther King, and I got to thinking that I'm not sure I have ever heard his famous "I Have A Dream" speech in it's entirety. I sat down with youtube and corrected that.

Figuring that it would be a bit much to ask the kids to sit through almost 18 minutes, I brought them in later on and played just the last five minutes for them. Originally, I was just going to have Seth and Grace watch this, but Caleb filed in, as well, so I didn't say anything and just decided I'd let him stick around until he was bored and then he would find his way back to his toys. Caleb jumped up on my lap and sat, riveted, during Dr. King's address. Seth and Grace payed attention... sort of... but they were pretty wiggly. As Dr. King finished with the famous, "Free at last. Free at last. Thank God almighty, we are free at last!" Grace said, "Is it time for Yogi Bear now?" And I said, "Yes," and she and Seth proceeded to run back to the living room. But Caleb turned around and looked at me and said, "Mommy, can't we watch the whole thing?" And you know... I think he actually took it all in. The child baffles me, really...

So today we went to the library and then kind of rushed home for the inauguration. We usually take our time at the library, but I think presidential inaugurations are quite educational, so I didn't want Seth and Grace (again) to miss this, and frankly, I wanted to see it myself. So... we gathered around the computer again. (For those of you who don't know, our TV doesn't get any channels... literally. We watch videos... and DVDs... and whatever we can get on blinkotv.com...) Anyway, we started watching around 11:30. By the time President Obama made his speech, Seth and Grace were all but dancing around the room, so bored they were... and Ian (who also felt the need to join in on this occasion) was playing with the mouse and pressing so many computer keys I thought I'd lose my mind... if not the broadcast! But there sat Caleb... takin' it all in again. When President Obama finished speaking, i told them they were all free to go do other school work, and Seth, Grace, and even Ian made like lightning for the rest of the house. But Caleb got mad at me, because it wasn't "over"...

Now, I've got to say, you might be thinking that all 4 year olds love TV and that it is natural for Caleb to want to stay glued to the screen at this age, but the truth is, Caleb has never really liked TV that much. I am often hard pressed to get him to sit still in front of his favorite cartoons for half an hour so that I can take a shower in peace or do the dishes. This was all rather uncharacteristic for him.

I think I underestimate Caleb sometimes. He is really going to be something... Heck, he already is...

So... change in America... I still like Barack Obama. I was pleased with the inauguration, although I thought the guy who gave the benediction was a little corny. I hope change is really on the way... the kind of change that is good... We need that. Time will tell...

Gotta go. Cookies are in the oven, friends are on the way...

Lisa

It's A Lost Cause...

... I can't catch up on blogging the past month!

A few highlights/lowlights...

Christmas was over commercialized... again... In fact, I even found myself crying out on Christmas Eve, "even Jesus has been commercialized this year!" The whole Christmas "season" was very stressful. You know you have committed to too much when you rejoice because one of your children's Christmas parties is canceled due to extreme weather... And so I find myself saying, "never again"... again...

On the other hand, Christmas day, itself, was quite nice. We spent Christmas at home, just the six of us, and stayed in our PJs and fought with toy packaging all day long! It was the relaxing kind of day we needed to recover from everything that led up to it...

And... Christmas break was great! Seth and I did, indeed, defeat Bowser, so we have moved on to the retro Super Mario Bros. 2! Caleb and I spent two days putting together an amazing Take-Along Thomas track that actually was played with for several more days before it was destroyed by the forces of older siblings. Ian and I read many, many books, and we even discovered the library where... go figure... they offer free baby and preschool story times, singing, crafts, and games. We are now library-a-holics... Grace and I did not get as much time together as we would have liked over break, but we did get to sit down and read an entire chapter book together, yesterday, and there are many more where that came from. We hope to have a mommy-daughter outing sometime in the near future. Overall, break was good!

My new school schedule is easy... enjoyable even (as Snagglepuss might say). Now, if only my last book will arrive I think I'll be alright!

My latest project is my Disney scrapbook, which is taking a lot of time, because I want it to be "just right". I think I have completed around 49 pages now. It will probably end up being 60-70 pages when it is finished. We took over 2000 pictures! I can't wait to begin work on the DVD!

If anyone is wondering... We have not yet mailed our "Christmas" letters. They will be going out at some point very soon. It's just one of those things that has been on the back burner. If you're waiting for new pics. and such, please stand by... They're coming... eventually!

And so life continues... And it's good...

Lisa

Soon...

... I will begin the process of "backblogging" again...

I look forward to writing about Christmas... and Ian's Birthday... and what 2009 has looked like from my perspective so far...

I have enjoyed my Christmas break. The kids went back to school this week. I go back to school on Monday. And then I will once again spend countless hours in front of this highly neglected computer screen...

But for now, that's it...

Lisa