4 Random Things

1. We bought this at the school book fair:

(If I knew how to do a link you could click on the picture and it would take you straight to Amazon so you could purchase this book. However - that obviously way too fancy for this blog! If you know how or if there is a Blogging for Idiots book available just leave me a comment.)

My kids love Skippyjon Jones books. He is a Siamese Cat who imagines himself to be a chihuahua, El Skippito, the great sword fighter. In the first book he saves his doggie friends (the Los Chimichangos) from Alfredo Bumblebeeto, a giant bumblebee who is stealing all their beans - even their coffee beans and that my friends is a travesty!

In this new book, "In the Dog House", El Skippito is called upon to extricate the Bobble-ito from la casa perrito. (A bobbleheaded cat in the attic of the dog house.) The most fun is had by the reader, who gets to switch back and forth between English and Spanish and say things like "Let's get down to serious beez-ness", "Stop eet! You are keel-ing me dudes", and "Muchos poochos, licky-sticky mango." I read to my kids nearly every night and have to say, of all the bazillions of books, Skippyjon Jones, is our all time favorite!

2. And, while we are speaking of dogs... Miss Grace and I had pedicures today. She is going to Mexico next week and I'm not. She'll have pretty sandaled feet on the beach and I'll have two pairs of socks on and snowboots. But I'm not bitter cuz I love her so. The nail polish she chose had the most hilarious name: "My Chihuahua Bites!" Wouldn't you like to have job naming nail polish colors? Obviously anything goes!

3. Blue-Eyed Girl bought this book at the book fair:

It is a book of questions you can ask to get to know your friends better. Questions like: Coke or Pepsi? Coffee or Tea? Do you believe in Big Foot? Who is your oldest friend? (Once again no picture link but there is a website http://www.coke-or-pepsi.com/)

We have had the most fun with this book. It is a great conversation starter at the dinner table and would be lots of fun at a sleepover or to use as an icebreaker in a group setting.

One question was: Neat Freak or Slob? I said, "Min and I are neat freaks - Buford and Blue-Eyed Girl are slobs." There was a short pause and then Min piped up, "No, mama, I'm with them!" Alas, my heart was broken.

4. And finally, I figured out tonight that I can watch all the Wednesday's with Beth episodes from the James and Betty Robison show online. Just go to http://www.wednesdayswithbeth.com/. Sweet!

Minimuth ith Mith-thing Thumthing

Min pulled out both of his front teeth last night!
Double whammy for the Tooth Fairy!

Let Us Eat Cake...or Not

Yesterday, Buford and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary.

Wait, let me rephrase...

Yesterday, was the 11th Anniversary of our wedding. There was no celebrating to be found - not a kiss, not a card...just my sweet mom calling early to wish us a happy one.

No, we are not fighting - we are sick and vomiting.

Wait, let me rephrase...

Buford has a horrible head cold and caught the kid's stomach flu. He was physically sick and vomiting. He was one miserable dude yesterday. (My tendency, when caring for the sick, is to hover around, wait on them hand and foot, and ask them every 5 minutes, "Are you okay?" Buford's preference is to be left alone - way alone. So I did.)

I was emotionally sick because of a recent turn of events and emotionally vomiting (see previous post) because things are changing and I don't like change. Don't like roller coasters, don't like to not be in control - hate, hate, hate, double hate, LOATHE ENTIRELY!

Thus, neither one of us was in any shape to do any celebrating. Maybe next week when Buford's tummy and my craziness have had a chance to calm down.

In the meantime, I am cheering us up with this thought: As long as I keep posting old photos, our interweb friends and those old friends who haven't seen us in awhile will think that I'm still skinny and that Buford still has brown hair...ha, ha, ha!

Out of the Comfort Zone and Into the Fire

I sing it:

"I'll praise you in this storm,
And I will lift my hands..."

"You give and take away, You give and take away,
My heart will choose to say: Lord, Blessed be Your Name."

I quote it:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

I blog it:

Lord, I confess that I don't want to lose a leg or all my teeth, heck I don't even want to have a hair out of place. But I do want what he has: joy; peace; boldness; and blessedness...so whatever it takes Lord, whatever it takes.

So I guess I don't really have any new resolutions this year. Just to keep cooperating with the Master Weaver and allow myself to become the tapestry He desires to create.

Talkin' the talk while I'm cruising along down an easy road. Minor bumps in the pavement, nothing major. Wind at my back, sun on my face, ipod playing a worshipful tune. Life is good, I've got a few plans, some minor goals, good friends, good Bible Study, sweet family. Talkin' the talk - ministering to others who've got it worse. Praying for friends through crisis - thinking "Yes, I've been there Lord. Praise You that I'm not there now..."

Suddenly the road I'm on takes a sharp left turn. Nothing looks familar - like being in a white-out blizzard, I can no longer see 3 feet in front of me. Am I even on the road?

"Lord, are You there because I can no longer see where I'm going? I thought we were going down that other road over there...you know the safe road, the familar road, the comfortable, sunshiny road, the road where I could SEE WHERE I WAS GOING!"

He says, "Trust Me."

I say, "Yes, I trust You Lord but, um, I can't see the road."

He says, "Hold my hand."

I say, "I'll grip it tightly but, um, I can't see where You are leading me."

He says, "Do you believe all that stuff you've been singing, quoting, and blogging about?"

"Yes, Lord, but it's much more comfortable to have it in my head to share with others when they are hurting than to have to put it into practice for myself."

He says, "In order to go where I am taking you, you have to put it into practice. You have to trust Me, believe Me, and cling to My Word when you can't see the road ahead."

"This is scary, Lord, but I see how You've led me through uncharted territory before. I'm ashamed at how freaked out I was most of the time. I'll try to handle this like a big girl."

He asks, "What's that song you've been singing lately?"

"How Firm a Foundation."

"Am I your foundation?"

"Yes, Lord, you are."

"Sing it..."

"Okay...

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake."

(John Keith, 1787; Public Domain)

Another One (or Two) Bite the Dust...

My poor fam is in the midst of disease central. Min has mostly recovered from his stomach flu trauma but he wasn't quite up to going to school today. Not sure how bad his tummy really hurt or if the thought of drinking Sprite on crushed ice and watching cartoons all day just sounded better than school.

Blue-Eyed Girl began the flu-fest this morning and she is not slowing down. I'm hoping she will be able to sleep through the night but the nausea has been getting the best of her. I alternated between sewing and emptying the barf-bucket all day. (I know that just gets to some of you but it doesn't really bother me if it's my own kid. Someone else's kid - now that's another story!)

Poor Buford came home from work tonight sneezing and sniffing and snorting and dripping. Yikes! He may be kept home tomorrow too.

Me, I have doubled up on vitamins, added some immune boosters, drank lots of water, took a short nap and am hoping like heck to dodge this viral bullet. I am praying for a day with temps above the 30's so I can open all the windows and air out this petri dish that we call home!

(On a happy note: Max won the calf-roping at his rodeo on Sunday! His BB team won their game Friday night and he loves his Spanish class this semester. Muy Bueno, Maximo!)

Darn Bugs

I just carried my poor little Minimus from the bathroom floor to the couch. He is "sicker'n a dawg!" We've known that he was fighting something off for the last few days. He's just been tired and pale - not his usual self. I figured something was up when halfway through his Aunt Jo's BB game last night he said he wanted to go home and watch a movie. What? She is tearing up the floor and we are winning!! Are ya crazy?

So we knew there was some evil bug waging war in little Min, we just weren't sure what it was until about 5:00 this morning when he started throwing up. Nothing is staying down and his color is somewhere in the range of Casper (the friendly ghost).

As a Mom, you think about stuff like: what was the last thing your child ate before they got sick? Well, Mother of the Year Award folks, listen up. Last evening Min had a small amount of chicken penne pasta (emphasis on the small), a large chocolate brownie (on the way to the BB game), a bag of Sour Skittles (at the BB game), a hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate chip pancakes at Village Inn (post BB game celebratory breakfast). Sugar and Basketball they do seem to go together!

I figure there are two possibilities here: 1. Germs really like sugar and were fruitful and multiplied to the point of winning the war, or 2. They really hate sugar and are getting out of Dodge, ASAP.

Either way, I doubt that it was as sweet coming back up as it was going down. :-(

I Kid You Not...Here's Your Sign

The other evening we were discussing history while eating dinner. Now this was a rare occasion (lest you think we are stellar parents who discuss lofty and educational subjects during our nightly family meal) because most dinner conversation has to do with flatulence, burping, and other bodily functions or some veterinary or surgical procedure that is equally gross.

Anyhow, our history conversation led to discussing communication and technology during the civil war. Telegraph machines and morse code were mentioned and Blue-eyed Girl asked Buford if he knew morse code. He said he only knew SOS. Then he explained how SOS was the universal code for distress, kind of like Mayday.

Then he said, "I had to call Mayday once."

Blue-Eyed Girl said, "Really?"

I said, "Yes, when he had to land his airplane in a bean field. Isn't that appropriate?!"

Buford explained how he had to make a forced landing in his Cessna when the engine quit over a soybean field.

Blue-Eyed Girl was in awe...and I kid you not...she looked at him and said, "Did you live??"

We just cracked up and then I added, in true Bill Engvall style,
"Nope, he's been dead all these years, couldn't you smell him? Here's your sign!"

Bloggy Name Remorse

BLUE-EYED GIRL

I heard a radio blurb the other day about "baby name remorse". This happens when parents name their baby and then later decide they should have picked a different name. I think it could be just another sign that our society is never satisfied with anything...but that's another soapbox entirely.

I am writing this post because I have "bloggy name remorse" over my precious middle child, Med.

Max and Min's bloggy names are well-suited since one is 3 foot something and the other 6 foot something. Their fake names are also easy to pronounce. But Med?? Yes, it indicates that she is in the middle and she is the medium to their large and small. But how do you say it? Med like "red" or Med like "mead" (chunky beer?). Just too confusing.

Another thing is that, I actually call Max, "Max", outside of this blog. Our phone calls sound like this: "Max!" "Madre!" "How ju do-ink, Max?" "Muy Bien, Madre!"(We are not ethnic but we like to talk to each other in funny accents. That's just how we roll.)

And Min - I usually call him "Minimus" or "Mouse" indicating his babyhood and position as the small one in the family.

Although she has a thousand silly nicknames, I never call my girl child "Med". It just doesn't fit. So we listed out all her nicknames and decided that henceforth she shall no longer be known as "Med" on this blog but as "Blue-eyed Girl". Which is short for "Blue-eyed, Blonde-haired girl who plays with cats and thinks that Kansas is not in the United States..."

She Has Made Me Blonde!

My dear, sweet Grace decided to conquer her roots yesterday. She is fully licensed and qualified to do so, but, as all of us gals know, there are just some places on your own head that are nearly impossible to reach...let alone weave and foil. So she called upon me for help. I put down my pattern and scissors, donned latex gloves and her cute little beauty shop apron, and set to work. I've watched her foil my hair a zillion times so I kind of, sort of, knew what to do.
I told Grace that just yesterday on Beth Moore's blog she had given her gray-haired friends permission to "color those stankin' thangs!"

As I was trying to weave, Grace asked me if I'd played golf or ridden a horse before. What?
"Yes," I replied.
She said, "You kind of have to be loose and go with the flow..."
In other words, "Stop pulling my hair so dang tight, you are going to make me bald!"

So I tried to loosen up by breaking into song, it sounded something like this:
"She has made me blonde,
She has made me blonde,
I will rejoice for she has made me blon-on-onde!"

Then Grace told me not to worry about making a mistake because she could just put some toner on to correct it.
That made me sing:
"There's Toner in the Blood - wonder working toner in the blood!"

Yes, we are absolutely CRAZY but we love Jesus and isn't it the truth that His wonder working power covers over all our mistakes just like the toner! When the roots of our flesh nature begin showing, we need to make an appointment with Jesus. He can bleach those "stankin' thangs" as white as snow.

Held (updated 1-14-08)

I was going to blog tonight about my trying to foil (ie: highlight) Grace's hair today but my mom called with a desperate prayer request so I will postpone the hair story til tomorrow.

A family, who lives near my parents in rural Colorado, has a baby boy, Jesse, who underwent open heart surgery yesterday. Things seemed to be fine following the surgery but then something went terribly wrong and now the baby is on complete life support. I'm not sure he will make it without a huge intervention from our miracle working God. This same family lost another child in an accident a few years ago. It makes all of us stop and ask, "God, how could this happen to them again?" Simply unfathomable.

If you read this and are a believer, please pray for this family and baby Jesse. It is hard to find the right words. I am just asking the Lord to pour out bucketfuls of grace and mercy upon them. And I offer this song as a dedication to them tonight...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOufqWodFNo

Update 1-14-08: God has answered the prayers of many and baby Jesse was weaned off life support yesterday. He is doing much better but still has a way to go. You can read more about it here:
http://ourblessingnamedjesse.blogspot.com/

Resolutions?

New Year's Resolutions...I used to make them and break them before month's end! Follow the Zone diet, do my pilates, pray more diligently, have a more consistent quiet time. This year, I'm no longer seeing these things as "wants" but as "needs". If I am to function at all, these disciplines are musts - habits that I have to weave into the very fabric of my daily living.

I have to remember that weaving is a gradual process. One thread is added at a time - in and out - the weft becomes entwined with the warp. Each day - day in and day out- that I practice the disciplines I know the Lord has for me, I become more entwined with Him. He, the lengthwise fibers that give the fabric strength. Me, the crosswise ones that add the color and texture...the uniqueness. In most projects involving fibers, there are times when you have to rip it all out and start over. Remove the flaw and try again. Just like in our Christian walk, our repentance and Christ's forgiveness remove the mess ups and give us glorious do-overs. Thank you Father that you are Jehovah Raphah: He who mends by stitching!

So I guess I don't really have any new resolutions this year. Just to keep cooperating with the Master Weaver and allow myself to become the tapestry He desires to create.

Happy Birthday Buford!

I Love Ya!

Holiday Recap 2007

Today is officially the last day of winter break. Tomorrow the kids will be heading back to school and Buford back to work. The holidays are a strange mix of busy insanity and vegetative hang-out time for us. Because I had some big sewing projects to finish in the weeks leading up to Christmas, I chose to not completely stress myself out by writing, printing, addressing, stamping and mailing the annual excessive-repulsive Christmas letter. Instead, I hope to direct the loved ones who usually receive said letter to this blog where they can keep up with us on a year round basis.

Here are some photographic highlights of the season:

Med and Min with Santa. The local fire department accompanies Santa as he walks through the neighborhoods with all manner of firetrucks, rescue equipment, flashing lights, and sirens.

Med, how many times did you have to put ornaments back on the tree because your stinky cat, Elvis, knocked them off?

The Saturday Before Christmas Baking Extravaganza!

We had great fun and, along with not sending Christmas cards, I also used ready made sugar cookie dough...I know, Martha is hanging her head in shame.

This one I like to call, "The Cats are Meowing, The Poor Baby Wakes."

While in the midst of the baking extravaganza, our cat, Angie, decided we needed some supervision. She took her place on top of the fridge next to a little nativity set that I had put in a wire basket. Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, an angel, and a giant cat. Every family needs a creche scene like this one!

And now for all the loot...

This one is just Max being Max. He got a new guitar...thus the "Pick Jesus" shirt.

When all is said and done, everybody's just plumb tuckered out. Jingles (calico) and Sleepy (orange & white) snuggle in with Min for a long winter's nap.