Domestic moment...

I am truly not one to love schedules or routines.

But facing a new era in life when I'm going back to work (albeit teaching just one class...still... it's been 14 years...), I'm looking to the Fly Lady to keep my house in order while I'm coming and going at a frantic pace in the coming weeks.

It's all about routines. And not putting off stuff like unloading the dishwasher and making the beds and folding the laundry. Such simple steps that had I not tried them myself, I would have never believed it. Her little morning and evening routines really do make things fall into place for the rest of the day.

If you've not met the Fly Lady yet and are struggling to keep on top of the dailymess of life... check her out!

http://www.flylady.com/

You can find the timer at Target, but her feather duster really is the best one out there. If you invest in a true Fly Lady feather duster, try the long-handled one. It gets everything!

My plan for the future...

Legos. Hot Wheels/Matchbox cars. Wooden blocks. A razor scooter. Inline skates. Playmobil people. Legos. Take-along Thomas and Friends. Lincoln logs. Plastic dinosaurs. Legos. Playdough molds. Barbie shoes. Dice. Crayons and magic markers. Cherries from Hi Ho! Cherry-O. Legos. GI Joe and Max Steel guns. Batman action figures. Costume jewelry. Polly Pocket accessories. And, uh... Legos!

I have stepped on, tripped over, or kicked everything on that list at one time or another since giving birth.

And I have decided something.

I am going to live to be 100 years old. Until I reach 51, I will declutter my house and live simply. But once I reach my 51st birthday, I'm starting a collection. I got the idea from my Grandma Bennett, who had quite a collection of her own. Pie pans and butter tubs.

I'm going to forgo the pie pans. But butter tubs and Cool Whip containers... I'm going to accumulate a mountain of them. Maybe egg cartons too. You can put a lot of good stuff into an egg carton.

And I'm going to leave a secret surprise inside each container. Maybe a Lego creation. Or a copy of an old report card. Or a few Hi Ho! cherries. Some old dress-up earrings. A Happy Meal Bionicle. Or Furby.

Certainly a little cash... $1 here, $5 there, $10 once or twice. And maybe some notes. And pictures. And of course a few balls of dried-up Playdough. And a die-cast Thomas the Tank Engine. And Pokemon cards... can't forget those.

I would hate the thought that my children could just throw out all those containers without opening each and every one and sorting through all the little treasures I've saved for them... and their children... and maybe even their grandchildren.

It's awfully tempting to go ahead and start collecting, but I'm going to show a little restraint. Just a little... for a few more years. But who's to say I can't test a few theories in the meantime.



Only eight more eggs to go, and I'll have room for the whole Speed Racer set!!! Yippee!!!

Let All of Creation Declare Your Majesty...

We are home from an amazing trip to Amelia Island, FL. What beauty we witnessed. What ... majesty!

At sunset one evening, a storm rolled in.

Clouds covered everything EXCEPT the sun.

And even though the sun was setting in the west, its glow traveled to the east, reflecting off the clouds.

I think that may just qualify as a parable!

The LORD rules as king! He is clothed with majesty.
The LORD has clothed himself; he has armed himself with power.
The world was set in place; it cannot be moved.
Your throne was set in place a long time ago.
You are eternal.
The ocean rises, O LORD.
The ocean rises with a roar.
The ocean rises with its pounding waves.
The LORD above is mighty---
mightier than the sound of raging water,
mightier than the foaming waves of the sea.
Your written testimonies are completely reliable.
O LORD, holiness is what makes your house beautiful for days without end.
Psalm 93

Annual trip...

There's truly no place like home, but sometimes it is very good to get away for a little while. We are packing up to make our third annual journey to Amelia Island, FL. Here at home we sprawl all over the place, each one heading to his/her own "space" when relating to family gets a little old or intense. But at Amelia Island, we stay in a one bedroom condo. Close. Very close. So we all have to get along.

I don't think that's a bad thing.

One of the things I noticed in my years of selling real estate was that people want space... as much space as they can possibly afford. They want closet space and bathroom space and living space and play space and entertaining space and parking space and, above all else, storage space. Space is nice. True. But space, for all its perks, has a down side too.

For starters, when we have tons of space, we tend to accumulate tons of stuff. Then all our time goes into stuff-management instead of relationship-management. Building solid family relationships gets even more difficult because we're just not in the same space much at all. So space for all it's glory has distinct drawbacks.

One of the wisest parents I've ever met is a lady named Kandy. She raised four girls largely as a single mom. I marveled at the close relationship Kandy had with her girls. She always talked to them plainly and openly and she never ever seemed embarrassed to tackled the tough topics. She was ALWAYS in the loop and not only knew what her girls were up to, but she knew what everyone else's kids were doing too. One day I asked her how she stayed so connected to her kids and she shared two secrets that we have chosen to put into practice in our own family:

1) No TVs in the kids' bedrooms. If they want to watch TV, they have to come into a common area with other family members. We've extended that to include computers.

2) No phones in the kids' bedrooms. That one's a lot easier in theory than in practice, with cordless phones and cell phones. But we have made limits on phone use in terms of time spent on the phone and where in the house they are allowed to talk on the phone.

It's a culture-battle to stay together as a family. Everything from technology to floor plans seems to pull us apart. So every summer when we head to the coast, I'm grateful for the chance to pile into one place with one TV and one phone line, sharing one bathroom (OK... maybe two of those might be nice) as we once again become one family.

Getting political again...

(OK... this is about cows and this is a picture of herd of buffalo/bison/whatever. I didn't have a cow picture on my computer. Use your imagination! BTW... my dad sent me this picture too!)

My dad sent this little analysis of American politics to me in an email. It is just too true not to share...

DEMOCRAT

You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.

You feel guilty for being successful.

You push for higher taxes so the government can provide cows for everyone.

REPUBLICAN

You have two cows.

Your neighbor has none.

So?

SOCIALIST

You have two cows.

The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.

You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

COMMUNIST

You have two cows.

The government seizes both and provides you with milk.

You wait in line for hours to get it.

It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE

You have two cows.

You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE

You have two cows.

Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.

You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one.

You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows.

You are surprised when one cow drops dead.

You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.

Your stock goes up.

My Little iPod...

OK... if you're going to hear the same thing I hear in my head (and I'm not talking about the voice that says, "It's chocolate. You must eat it."), you have to think about the song for "My Little Pony." You know, the one that's on the commercials and at the beginning of the TV show and all the movies...

My Little Pony, My Little Pony

Isn't the world a lovely place...

There... now... with that little tune fused into the recesses of your brain, instead of singing about ponies, sing about iPods...

My Little iPod, My Little iPod

Isn't the world a lovely place...

Today my iPod started working. I wish I could say that it was a birthday gift, since my birthday was just a little over a month ago, but no... I got it for Christmas. It set my personal record for technophobia. (technophobia -n: the fear of breaking a new technological gadget, keeping the owner from emloying it for use in its intended manner for an unspecified period of time).

At any rate, it took multiple Apple ID registration attempts, a new email address, and countless training sessions from Kelsey, but I have just listened to my first tunes, and I've got to say... This is going to be an excellent opportunity to totally embarrass my children.

For truly, I got the music in me...

Praises and prayers...

Charlotte came through her surgery great. What a praise!!!

But she still has a long road ahead, so we're still praying. Her name is written on a hot pink post-it, which is stuck above the computer at my desk.

That is our prayer-reminder...

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

~Luke 18:1

Baby Charlotte...

My friend, Jenn, had a baby on Monday. Charlotte Ruth. She's absolutely adorable.

Jenn's one of those women of God who fuels my faith. She has a sparkle. Sparkles mean a lot to me because they come only when you have a passion for Jesus. It's cool.

Baby Charlotte is having a pretty big operaton tomorrow morning. Her heart's plumbing doesn't work the way it should, so she's going into surgery at 7am for some work. I'm praying for Charlotte and her mom and dad and big brother.

God is big. Very, very big. God is good. Very, very good. No matter how He chooses to use Charlotte's life, I know it will be for His glory. But tonight in Bible study, I learned that Jesus taught us to pray with "chutzpa--reckless bravery, audacity." So that's how I'm going to pray.

Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give
him a snake instead? Or it he askes for an egg, will give him a scoprion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to
those who ask him! (Luke 11:11-13)

I find it interesting that Jesus summed up good gifts at the Holy Spirit. Having the Holy Spirit, we have direct access to all the resources of God, the presence of God, and the wisdom of God. The Holy Spirit is the Gift that keeps on giving. He is One through whom all that God has for His children is distributed. (Jennifer Kennedy Dean. Secrets Jesus Shared..., 155-156)

Trigger finger...

It's a bad picture to begin with, but if you look at the palm of my hand, you'll see a little dot underneath my middle finger. That's where the orthopedist injected the steriod shot.

Since this spring I've had pain at the base of my middle finger when I grip the steering wheel. And over the past couple of weeks I've been blogging, editing, writing, and surfing the net kind of a lot. Last week, it started hurting almost all the time.

To make a very long and literally painful story short, I have Trigger Finger. You can click the link and read all the lovely ins and outs if you're that enthralled by tendon nodules that click and ultimately cause the hand to freeze in a closed position.

I've had the injection. If that doesn't work, the next step is surgery. Maybe. We'll see. Typing hurts a little. Using the mouse is excruciating.

Although I'm sneaking a little time online late tonight, I'm realizing that maybe the Lord's trying to tell me something... like, "Get out of the virtual world and into the real world."

Either that or He really doesn't want me in a gun fight with Chuch Norris. :-D

And Zack...

While the big kids were at camp, Zack got a camera that takes pictures underwater. Here's one...

Kelsey's Impact...

On her way back from the swim test... guessing she swam like a duck? Impact was a highlight of the summer. She LOVES being with her friends and JD is her new favorite speaker of all time! It was awesome to hear that he spoke on things we've dealt with in our family. And he did it in a Jesus-loving way. How cool is that?

They really do love each other...

...here's photographic evidence!

Zane's hat...

Zane came home from Impact with a passion for Jesus and a new hat...

June...

June blew by in a flurry of activity. Here are a couple of highlights...

June began with much time at the pool. Zack started swimming lessons with Katie. Kelsey worked up a mondo tan. Zane started conditioning for football. It was beautiful, but shady at the pool. On June 16th, we had three trees cut down, making it gloriously sunny all over.

June 9th was my birthday. The birthday elves found me... even though we don't live in the old neighborhood anymore. I love the birthday elves. They are some of my favorite people.

June 21st rolled around and Kelsey turned 14. Her celebration was a year-late lunch with two of her best buds from the old neighborhood. There'll be a post on that one alone later. It was hilarious!


Zack got a new friend from Build-a-bear... Dino! Dino came to live with us as a result of Kelsey and Zane leaving to go to camp. See below...


Impact! Kelsey and Zane journeyed to Camp Bob Cooper with our youth group for Kelsey's third and Zane's first Impact camp. It was an amazing time for both. Neat reinforcement of lessons we've been learning at home. Jimmy & I served as Impact @ Home coordinators and sent out prayer requests to the parent prayer team and worked with in-home parent meetings while the kids were away.

We finished the month as we started it... hanging out by the pool. We're really starting to love this pool. We come together as a family and have a ton of fun everytime we're in it. What a blessing!