Spring Break '08 - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The "Good" was helping Papa celebrate his 65th birthday!

The "Bad" was 2 of Min's teeth needing a root canal and caps:

The "Ugly" was Blue-Eyed's toe after ingrown toenail surgery:

The fun - it never ends around here!

Humoristico

Jo - this made me think of you!
Grace - you need to show this one to Dust:

This is only a test

Guess what I just found! Dummies Guide to Blogging! And I finally found instructions for how to do links.

Let's try one for a test:

Click on Beth to go to the Living Proof Website.

Eureka! Sweet Niblets it works! You can teach a 40+ year old dog new tricks!

Well, Hello...

There are a few blogs out in the great "blog-o-sphere" that I read everyday. Nobody that I know personally, just some fellow moms who do a brilliant job of writing about their daily lives. They are witty and practical and sometimes downright hilarious. (If I knew what I was doing, I would put some links to their blogs right _______ here...but I haven't found that "Blogging for Idiots" book yet.) Anyway, I check in on these bloggy folks daily, and if they haven't posted anything new, then I am disappointed. You know, it's just really important to find out what your "fake" friends have been up to! So I imagine that all 3 of you who read this blog have been somewhat disappointed about my lack of posting as of late.

Well, I have a couple of excuses. They are called "Life" and "Spring Break".

"Life" is me trying to get readjusted to working back at home without staying in my pajamas and eating M&M's all day. Let's just say the "depression monster" has wanted to rear its ugly head. While being at home has its advantages (I can listen to Beth Moore all day as I work and get laundry done at the same time), I miss my room at the Pear and I miss seeing my best buddy everyday. (It also seems like more of an infringement when I clean up the house in anticipation of a client coming and then they are a no show. At the Pear, I didn't have to lint roller couches and clean doggie nose prints off the windows!) So when I feel like eating M&M's in my pajamas all day, I don't really want to blog about it because it might scare all my 3 readers away! Oh, that's the blog of gloom and doom...run away!

"Spring Break" for Blue and Min was last week and they got new Webkinz on Monday. Webkinz are stuffed animals that have a virtual world on the internet. The kids create homes, feed, and play games with these critters. They can even invite their friends with Webkinz to visit them in their virtual Webkinz world. Yea, it's weird. But not evil weird - just "techie" weird. What we used to do with dolls they are now doing on the computer. So every extra minute (when we weren't getting root canals and ingrown toenail surgery) was spent in their respective Webkinz Worlds. Surprisingly, they didn't fight over the computer but little time was left for Mom to blog.

So those are my excuses. I've missed everyone...leave me a comment to let me know you are still here. I'll eat some M&M's while I wait!

*update* I figured out how to do links!!!

Here are some of my favorite blogs...click on any of these to meet my "fake" friends:

Confessions of a Pioneer Woman

BooMama

BigMama

The LPM Blog

Pear Season

Fresh out of cosmetology school, Grace brushed the walls of a little cottage with bright green paint, filled it with an eclectic blend of shabby chic furnishings, brought in shampoo bowls and blow dryers, and began the process of making women beautiful one at a time. God nodded in approval as Grace's creation took shape - a hair salon called the Green Pear - named after a fruit she had never tasted.

A myriad of ladies sat in Grace's chair. They shared laughter, family stories, beauty tips, and jokes. At times Grace needed to set them straight - give them a "word" and speak some truth into their lives. At other times she cried and prayed with them or just listened as they told their troubles. It was about so much more than haircuts and colors...it was a place to find friendship, a place to get prayer, a place to escape worldly cares (at least for as long as it took highlights to process).

Yesterday Grace worked her magic for the last time at the Pear. As the shampoo bubbles rinsed away and a spritz of hairspray gave finality, Grace moved closer to a new season that the Lord has planned for her in Arizona. For everything there is a season and, for us, Pear season is over. The sweetness will linger for a long time only yielding to the occasional saltiness of tears. The end of a season is never easy even when you trust in the Lord's plans for good.

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3

Whiter than Snow...

Happy Resurrection Day!

View of our backyard this morning. No, this is not the same photo from St. Patrick's Day nor is it the same snow. This fell fresh last night. I was disappointed at first because we bought these cute little Easter shoes for Blue-Eyed Girl yesterday:

But as I looked at the sparkling, pure white snow I remembered:

Psalm 51:7
Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

Isaiah 1:18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

Matthew 28:1-7
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.

It is so appropriate that the Lord chose to blanket us in the pure, white snow this morning! Do you feel clean this morning? Purified and made white by the blood He poured out? If not, take a minute to accept it - accept it for you, believe that He did it for you, ask Him to forgive you and cleanse you again. Spend this Resurrection Day clothed in righteousness and washed whiter than snow by the blood of the Lamb!

A Passion for Three

I was scrolling through my ipod today and noticed that I had three different versions of the worship song "In Christ Alone". I think three is an appropriate quantity for a powerful song like this since three is a significant number to God - a Trinity of three (Father, Son & Spirit), three days in the tomb. As I listened to the triple play, I couldn't help but always lift my hands during the final verse:

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

As Holy Week comes to a dramatic close I'd like to share the song with you...beautifully arranged with video clips from "The Passion".