Halloween 2009

 

Holes

I decided to revisit the continuing saga of the mysterious holes that seem to spontaneously appear along the bottom of my shirts.  The reason is that I have recently found several more shirts with holes in them.  Also, I think there are still some holes in the theories presented in my previous post (http://foralittlewhile.wordpress.com/2009/07/28/unsolved-mystery/) and in the ideas given in the comments.  I was beginning to buy into the most plausible answer, that my seatbelt was causing the holes, until I discovered tiny holes in a tank top that I wear UNDER a sweater and also tiny holes in a pajama shirt.  The fabric in neither of these shirts came in contact with my seatbelt, therefore I concluded that the seatbelt is not the culprit.  So, once again, I’m back to square one.  Please continue to offer me any additional ideas you may have because this is causing a huge hole in my wallet!

Swying Flu

A while back Lily told me that someone in her class had the “swying” flu.  Then she asked me what that was.  Unfortunately, now she, as well as the rest of us, all know!  All 5 of us had the H1N1 virus and it wasn’t much fun!  Although we weren’t officially diagnosed- since there are so many cases here that nobody is testing for it anymore- Luke’s doctor told me with a pretty strong degree of certaintly that swine flu is what we all had.  Thankfully, the girls are both back in school today, Doug is back to work and Luke and I are on the mend.  So much for learning lessons with hands-on experience.

My Little Artist (or Little Monster, however you choose to look at it!)

There is artwork on the table,

on the wall,

 

 

 

 

on the closet door,

 

on his face and body(he's also a tattoo artist, you see!),

…and finally, on paper!  It seems a simple task to keep him at the table, but with two big sisters, who are aspiring artists themselves and who happen to leave their crayons and markers all over the house, it becomes a much more difficult task than you would think! 

Book Club Updates

If I could recommend only one book per year, the book we recently discussed during September’s Book Club meeting would be it.  This book definately changed me- my thinking, anyway.  (Hopefully my actions will follow.)  same kind of different As me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore was my favorite read of the year and has even made my top 10 of all time.  Although not everyone at our meeting would agree with me, the discussion proved to be a great one. 

This month we are reading Quaker Summer  by Lisa Samson and having recently finished it, I found it to follow the same sorts of themes as the book mentioned above.  Because it was fiction, it didn’t have quite the same affect on me as last month’s book, but still gave me much food for thought.  I am anxious to learn the thoughts of my fellow book clubbers. 

Next month we will read Noel Piper’s biography of several women who lived for Jesus, Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God.  If anyone out there has read any of these books, I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on our first three picks of the year. 

Goodbye, Good Friends

We had to say goodbye to our good friends, Micah and Tiffany last week.  Micah has been waiting and praying for over a month as to where his job would take him and we have been praying for him, too.  So, we knew this move was coming, yet were still sad when it finally came.  It seems this life is never lacking for goodbyes.  The one great part of their long goodbye was the fact that Tiffany and I were able to use the excuse of “this may be our last time to see each other” when we would ask our husbands for a girls’ night out for a cup of coffee together! 

The girls loved playing with their friends, Andrew and Elijah and will miss them greatly, also.  Luke, too has seemed a little lost since they’ve left.  His favorite word lately is “Elijah.”  He says it very clearly, emphasizing each syllable as he walks around the house looking for his friend!  We’ll all miss them much!

Think Before You Speak

I am not by nature a very organized person.   The other day when I pulled a sheet of paper out of Lily’s backpack with spaces to place Box-Tops for school, Doug was amazed when I  went right to the drawer, pulled out an envelope full of Box-Tops that I had been saving up all summer, and quickly filled the sheet up in order to return the next day.  He, who has been reading Organization For Dummies , asked, “What was  the key for getting organized with those?”  I replied that I organize that which I like.  I actually enjoy cutting out the Box-Tops, saving them up, pasting them on the paper, and then looking at the full sheet with a sense of accomplishment. (Very weird, I know!)  

Then he asked, “So, why can’t we get organized with our mail and bills?”  I replied, very emphatically, “Because I don’t like bills, I don’t like bills at all!”

Suddenly we heard a small voice saying, “You don’t like me?!”  Next, we saw Lily run through the kitchen into the bathroom and slam the door.  Doug and I looked at each other dumbfounded until realization dawned on us both.

Since Lily was a baby we have called her “Lil-bils” and “Bils” for short.  So her ears perked up when she thought we were talking about her.  I might as well have said, “Because I don’t like Lily.  I don’t like Lily at all!”   I quickly followed her into the bathroom to do a little damage control.  Later, I even bought her a gigantic blow-pop at the store because I felt so bad.  I might do well to buy one of those for me to insert into my mouth before I speak next time!

You’re My Little Girl

Over ten years ago I heard this cool acapella group called Go Fish in concert.  They sang this song (You’re My Little Girl) and I remembered (sort of)the lyrics when my little girls were born.  Lily has especially loved it and I always sing it to her while rocking her (still at age 5, even though her legs hang off the arm of the rocking chair!).  While shopping in a Christian book store the other day, I happened across a CD by Go Fish that had this song on it.  On impulse, I bought it and surprised the girls when I picked them up from school with this song .  While driving home, I realized that it isn’t a daddy or a mommy singing to their little girl, it’s God and he’s singing to me!  I got tears in my eyes as I was reminded that God is a daddy that looks at me and loves me just because I’m His.  I thought of how much I love my little girls, so much that it hurts.  And even though they’ve been a lot of work over the last years-diapers, bottles, potty training, getting sick, crying when they didn’t want to go to school, fighting with each other, coloring all over my walls, coloring all over my couch…and so forth!   If I, a sinful human, can love my children this much, how much more God must love me, his child!  I don’t think about that side of God often enough.  He’s my Father and He loves me with a tender love that is unconditional.

You can listen to this song on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpY6L0G3JdE

Book Club is Back!

Welcome back  book club members!  Whether you are able to join us each month for the discussion time or simply read along with us, I am happy to announce that the Lagrange Baptist Women’s Book Club is back in session.  At our welcome-back meeting this week we all shared our all-time favorite book and also shared one or two books that we’ve read in the past year that have really made an impact on us.  Please feel free to do the same.  I am always looking for more good books, so please add a comment with your book picks and don’t forget to tell us why.  

One of the many books that I have been able to read this year stood out above the rest.  That is why the same kind of different as me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore will be our first read of the year.  I laughed and cried, I was encouraged and convicted.  I wanted to know God more intimately and I wanted to love people more.  It is the true story of two men who could not be more different, yet their paths crossed and each changed the other’s life in a very unexpected way.  I encourage you to join us and I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

The Birthday Month

After getting married Doug realized that I didn’t just celebrate my birthday on the day, but I celebrated the whole month long!  Seven years ago the Birthday Month shifted from me to my first-born daughter who was born 5 days after my birthday.  I haven’t minded giving the spotlight over to her, though because I really love planning fun birthdays for my kids.  Emie even asked me a couple weeks ago if my favorite part about being a mommy was that I got to plan birthday parties!  I’m not easily able to hide my enthusiasm!The celebrations began the week before her acutal birthday with a backyard water party-water balloons, slip-n-slide, running through the sprinkler.  She requested an icecream cake with oreo crust filled with hot fudge and caramel mixed together!  It was fun to make for her, but very rich to eat!

The following weekend my parents were in town, so they took us bowling at Incredible Dave’s in honor of Emie’s birthday.  She then opened her presents from us and from her other grandparents, who had left her gifts on their last visit with us.  Doug took Emie for a pancake breakfast on the morning of her actual birthday.  Finally (I hope!) this weekend, a family from church and close friends of ours took Emie out for a birthday lunch.  At this rate, we may have to turn this into the Birthday Year! (I think we also need to submit a picture of Emie to include in the Berenstein Bears’ book, Too Much Birthday.)