We've been working for a while now with Sarah on learning to ride her bike...without training wheels. For whatever reason, she hasn't been too interested in learning until a few weeks ago, and even then was really tentative and cautious. When she didn't "get it" right away and had a bad fall, she lost interest....until Wednesday when our five-year-old neighbor across the street learned how to ride hers. Our neighbor (she's cute as a bug) was riding up and down the street in front of our house, saying "Hi Sarah" each time she rode past. So Thursday morning, we were outside playing, and I was talking to our neighbor, and Sarah asked me to get her bike. She got on and started pedaling while I was holding onto her seat. And away she pedaled...again and again and again! Yesterday she mastered starting on her own and turning corners well. So today we all went to REI and bought her a new bike and helmet. An early birthday present. They had to build the bike, so it's not quite ready, but she and her daddy are going to pick it up this afternoon. We're thrilled that she's riding on her own now, and she is pretty darn proud of herself as well. Way to go Sarah!

We're all pretty proud of John too. He had a meeting on Thursday with some folks at a publishing company. They asked him to submit a proposal for a women's devotional bible. They asked for something different than what is already out there...something really "out of the box". So, he presented his proposal on Thursday (while Sarah was learning to ride!) and they loved his ideas. He got some good affirmation, and possibly some more work! It was really great for me to see him "in his element" as far as the creative process goes, and equally great for them to recognize his creative capacity. He doesn't know what will come of the meeting, but it seemed promising, and he was grateful to be asked for his ideas.

I posted a few days ago about how God seems to be blessing my little home business. In the last two days, I've gotten even more unsolicited orders for over $300 of product. I'm thinking that maybe I should really start working this a little more. If that's what keeps happening without effort on my part, think what I might could do if I really started to get serious about it. I'm actually pretty motivated right now, but still praying about how to proceed.

No signs of our little mouse today. John didn't see it yesterday either, but said that he was trying to climb out of the window well on Thursday. There's not much for him to "grip" onto though, so he'd get about half-way up and fall back to the ground. Poor thing. Maybe his determination won out and he's found his way to freedom! We'll keep watching for him, but I'd be fine to never see him or his kind ever again!

I was deleting old messages from our answering machine a few days ago, and made an interesting observation...our kids get more messages than their parents do! I deleted about 6-7 messages, and 4 of them were for our nine-year-old. He has a couple of neighborhood friends who call all the time for him (and let me stress all the time!) . Seriously, my phone might ring 10x a day, and I bet 5-6 of those calls are for Will. Sarah gets calls too, but not the volume that Will does. Is this a sign of times to come??? Yikes.

Today I got a real treat. A pedicure. My neighbor gave me a gift certificate for one last summer...and I just now got around to using it. It was luxurious, and I'm so thankful for her gift. John was gracious to watch the kids for me. He is insanely busy these days, so the luxury of time was as much a gift as the pedicure.

God is really blessing my Creative Memories business. In the last two days, I've gotten phone calls from friends wanting to order over $150 of product. I've really put very little effort into this business, but things keep happening. It's exciting to watch and wonder where God is taking this. I met another consultant a couple of months ago and am really praying about how she and I might work together. She's been doing this for a long time, but just recently moved to Colorado. Again, I don't know where God is taking this, but I'm enjoying the ride. We'll see what happens!

Oh yeah...about that mouse in the window well downstairs. I've yet to see it, but apparently that little mouse likes to watch John while he's working. This afternoon, John rummaged around in the garage until he found his air rifle, then he went around to the window well to put an end to the little guy. He's a sneaky little critter and kept burrowing underground, so John wasn't even able to find him much less shoot him. So the saga continues. I hope he'll try again tomorrow. I'll keep you posted!

Well, we finally broke down and turned the air conditioner on today. We're actually the envy of our neighborhood because we actually have a/c. It was complete shock to us when we were house-hunting to realize that most homes in Colorado don't. Friends without it usually tell us that it's only miserable for a week or so in July, but we've had some warm temps this week. I'm just thankful it's running and that our house is nice and cool!

I'm downstairs typing on John's computer right now. His desk sits underneath a window with not much of a view. Because his "office" is in the basement, and most of the basement is underground, the view from his window is the inside of our window well. I came down here earlier to tell him something and he told me to listen very carefully and not react to what he needed to tell me. Seems he had been watching a mouse all morning...apparently one trapped in the window well. It was all I could do not to scream. Tiny creatures I know, but they freak me out!!! I haven't seen the mouse this afternoon, but really don't want to either, so this will be a short post. I'm not too worried about it migrating indoors. I think it just must have fallen down into the well, and there's really no way it can climb back out without assistance. So hopefully, John will be removing a dead mouse really soon. I think he's burrowed down into the cool ground right now...just hope he can't burrow through our concrete basement wall. YUCK!

Ah...Sunday afternoons. My favorite time of the week. I like Friday nights too, but Sundays usually have a lazy, restful pace that I really love.

On the way to church this morning, I noticed that Pikes Peak only has a few spotty patches of snow left on her! Not really surprising considering that our temps in June have been in the 80s! Quite a change from those nice 60s we were enjoying earlier in the week. At least it's beginning to feel like summer around here.

Daily chores are a part of our summer routine. Each of my kids has a "chore-chart" on the fridge, and they check their completed chores off of their chart each day. Believe it or not, it's something they really look forward every morning. Sarah and I were up early yesterday morning and she had all her boxes "checked" before 7am. She and Will are so darn competitive with each other that it's a race to finish first...every single day. Today, he was up before her racing to finish his chores before she awoke. They even help Abbey get her chores checked off, hoping that I'll give them a bonus check for assisting her. And heaven forbid one of them get more check marks. They're both reading right now, each afraid that the other will log more hours on their summer reading plan. Hmmm...I wonder where that competitive gene came from? If you're thinking it came from their mother, guess again. John and I are equally stubborn and competitive. At least I've motivated our kids to help me out around here. And let me tell you, my house is dust-free and my kitchen appliances are sparkling. Nice!

Last week John got a really cool invitation. Most of his writing/editing involves The Message translation of the Bible. The guy who translated the Message is Eugene Peterson. Mr. Peterson is very particular about Message-related products and has very specific ideas of what those products should and shouldn't look like. Anyway, John has wanted for a while now to talk to the man himself, and last week got an inviation to do just that. Mr. Peterson is going to be at NavPress in July. John was invited to attend a large assemby, then have lunch and be a part of smaller, Message-related team meeting with him. I'm excited for him! I wish I could tag along!

I'm heading outside in a few minutes. It's too nice a day to spend inside on the computer. We have some lilac bushes in our front yard that bloomed this week and they smell so amazing. We also have columbine (Colorado state flower) and iris blooming too. I think the lady we bought this house from must have liked purple because all of the blooms are lavendar! I love the kind of flowers and plants that come back every year without me having to do anything. I'm not a yard person...at all! Sadly, John isn't either.

Dreary Wednesday

It is a really dreary day. We don't get too many days like these. When we moved here our realtor told us that this city has about 320 days of sunshine a year...and it's true. It's also wonderful! I love the sun.

I can't really complain about it not being sunny today though because we haven't yet reached 60 degrees today. It's downright chilly. The kids were outside playing in the backyard earlier this morning and came inside to put their fleece on. How's that make you guys in Arkansas feel right now???

Anyway, I had planned to take the kids to the park to watch the *free* air show from the Air Force graduation today. But it's not really fun to play at the park when it's cold outside. And it's been raining off and on all morning, so I didn't want to sit in the rain either. We made a good choice and stayed home and saw a little of the Thunderbirds, but viewing is difficult in our neighborhood because of all the rooftops.

Earlier in May, I took Will to get his hair buzzed for summer. It's already grown so much and has been looking really shaggy. My neighbor let me borrow her clippers this morning and I buzzed his head myself a little while ago. I never knew it was that easy. Will was a little skeptical and protested loudly about me doing it. He said he was afraid I'd mess up. I told him if I messed up, I'd pay him $5...an offer he didn't hesitate to refuse. He was pleased with the results and said I could just pay him $1 instead...the $1 I took away from him yesterday for continually picking on Sarah. Money is a powerful motivator for him!

So after John finishes up for the day, he promised to take them all to our local toy store to spend some money they got from grandparents. They begged to stop at every Walmart in Oklahoma and Kansas to spend it, but we made them wait! They're not very patient when they have money in their pockets!

Good to be Home

Our family is back home after a whirlwind trip to Arkansas. John's grandfather passed away last Tuesday, and we left Wednesday for his funeral. It is a grueling trip, but we were very thankful to be able to be there to honor him.

We had really hoped to fly instead of drive, but the cheapest plane tickets John found were $700 apiece...and there are five of us. We knew we could drive for way less than that...but it meant driving 18 hours. It's never pleasant, but it's always worth it. Especially when we get to see our kids enjoying their cousins. Their only cousins are on John's side of the family, and they LOVE them so much.

We have tentatively been planning to make a two-week trip to Arkansas sometime later this summer. I'm not even willing to discuss it at this point (give me a few weeks). I tell people that drive is so much like labor...I need to forget how bad it is before I'm ready to do it again. Note that I stopped after having three children! smile! I will say that it has gotten much easier to travel that distance as our children have gotten bigger. Abbey being potty-trained makes a really big difference. Apparently, she's overcome her fear of public restrooms being that we had to stop once an hour for her yesterday morning. And we've also discovered books on cd. We listened to Frindle, Anastasia Krupnik, Amber Brown is NOT a Crayon, and Henry and Ribsy during our drive. Enlightening stuff! The dvd player is nice too, but I make them alternate between movies and books...mainly because I can't stand the dvd player noise in my ear (it hooks onto the back of my seat).

Since we got home yesterday afternoon, I guess that makes today the kid's first official day of summer vacation. I was thinking we might head to the library. They signed up last week for the summer reading program, and they've been asking if I'd let them count all the books we listened to as hours read. Hmmmm...because each book is roughly three recorded hours, they'd be finished with the entire game card TODAY...so no way! They're bummed, and I'm the mean mom. Whatever.

A few minutes ago, I heard and recognized one of my favorite sounds. It was the sound of the Air Force Thunderbirds flying overhead. We live about 5 miles north of the Air Force Academy and every year at the AF graduation, the Thunderbirds perform. The perk for us is that they practice flying overhead for a few days. They practice their stunts and their formation flying and it's just super cool. So, in a little while, we're heading out back to take in some amazing sights. Awesome! Just another one of the many reasons we love living here.

Another reason would have to be the cool mountain air. We were greeted by it yesterday afternoon, and with temps in the low 60s, it was a welcome change from the mid 90s we experienced in Arkansas. 90+ temps with 90% humidity is really HOT. I don't miss that or those pesky mosquitoes one bit!

Winding Down

The school year is winding down. Only two more days. I don't know who's happier...me or the kids! Only 2 more days of making lunches and rushing out the door in the mornings. I LOVE summer!

This afternoon a tornado touched down just east of here. Tornados aren't too common in Colorado and I'm thankful for that. Tornados terrify me!

Back in March when John's parents were here, we visited Focus on the Family. In the kid's mini-theater, they were playing a Veggie Tales Video that had Will quite intrigued. Our kids were huge Veggie Tale fans when they were smaller, but have been "so done" with that for a long time now...until Will saw a little bit of the "Lord of the Beans" video. He was begging me to buy it for him, but I was skeptical because I didn't want to add another Veggie Tales video to my yard sale bin. So, we put a hold on it at our local library, and we just got the video yesterday. It is HILARIOUS! It's based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. John and I are big Tolkein fans, but this video takes the cake. It's Toto, instead of Frodo...EarofCorn rather than Aragorn...flobbits instead of hobbits...and the list of humorous similarities goes on and on and on. If you're familiar with the LOTR trilogy, you'll get a good chuckle from Lord of the Beans. I'm thinking it's one I really would like to add to our collection!

Yesterday, we worshipped at a Seventh Day Adventist Church. Now...hear me out while you pick your jaw up off the floor. The Anglican church we attend meets at a chapel on a college campus. Twice a year, our church gets the "boot" because of campus events. Yesterday was one of those occasions...the baccalaureate service was going on in the chapel, so we had to find an alternative meeting spot. Last year, we met at a park (which was so great!) but this year, they decided to keep us inside and so we borrowed the Seventh Day Adventists' sanctuary. I don't really know what Seventh Day Adventists are all about, but they had a beautiful building. You know John is going to be writing a book on denominations this summer; I hope he can fill me in on those 7th day guys.

V.B.S.

Okay, gotta tell you that VBS (Vacation Bible School) in Colorado is WAY different than what we're used to. In the past two weeks, I've seen ads in the paper for three different bible schools...and the cost to attend each of those is $15, $35, or $45 PER CHILD! What in the world? Have you ever heard of such a thing or am I just really, really out of it???

I've been a part of different VBS programs for most of my life and I've never heard of a child having to pay to go! At each church John pastored, VBS was a huge part of our church budget every year. It was just something you planned for and the church paid for. I guess it's just not the same here in the west.

Any thoughts on this??? Anyone else think this is crazy?

I have found a few programs that don't charge for their VBS. They have an enrollment list though and once it's full you're put on a waiting list. I'm not really a cheap person, but I'm thinking I could have VBS in my own backyard this summer and funnel the money I would have spent into our vacation fund!

The Blues

I've got the blues. Blue legs that is. I got a new pair of denim capris on Mother's Day, and I love them. But every time I take them off, my legs have a bluish tint. Really weird. When I first noticed it, I thought maybe I was having circulation problems. I showed John and he thought I had bruises all over. Today I wore them again and not only were my legs blue, but my hands were too (from having them in my pockets). I guess I need to wash them and see if that takes care of it. They're a really dark wash, but I've NEVER seen anything like this. My blue legs make me look like a Smurf!

I just got back from having dinner with my friend who is moving to Fort Collins. We ate at Pei Wei. It's an Asian diner and it's really yummy. It's right around the corner from REI and every time I drive by that shopping strip it makes me laugh that the letters P-E-I, W-E-I, and R-E-I are in such close proximity to each other. I think they should name it EI square or something. I know...I'm weird. I really do notice letters and words and such. Sometimes I even see words in my head when I'm talking. John thinks it's strange...and I think that it's strange that he doesn't see words in his head--he being the writer and all.

Abbey and I ran to the grocery store this afternoon and picked up some stuff for dinner. John had dinner duty since I was meeting my friend, and he said he wanted to make hamburgers. John's great at cooking burgers on the G. Foreman grill. Anyway, I bought 2.5lbs of meat thinking he'd cook it all and we'd have some leftovers for lunch tomorrow. He just informed me that the four of them ate ALL of the burgers. Two and a half pounds of ground chuck between the four of them! Unbelievable. Actually, the amount of food our kids consume really is unbelievable. The other day they had a snack--cheese and crackers--and in 15 minutes they had eaten a half-pound of cheese! What's that about? We get our milk and bread from a dairy service that delivers to our door. I filled my order out this morning and upped my bread to three loaves. I usually order two a week, but always have to make a run for another loaf or two. Some of our friends have five kids (I shudder to think what their food bill looks like) and she bakes her own bread. Maybe I'll get her to teach me how to do that this summer! Or maybe not.

Tomorrow is another CRAZY day around here. I think I have somewhere to be every hour from 8AM to 4PM. I'm LIVING for Friday when I have absolutely nowhere I have to be!

Swinging

This afternoon John went with me to pick the kids up from school. Their school has a great playground--with two zip-lines, three or four slides, monkey bars and of course, the swings. My kids all love to swing and eventually we all found ourselves at the swingset. Abbey has recently learned to pump her legs to keep herself moving (great news for mom and dad!) and she is so proud of her accomplishment. I decided to hop on the swing next to Will, and being the competitors that we are, it quickly turned into a contest to see who could propel themselves the highest. My son won even though he told me that my weight was to my advantage. Just what a mom wants to hear! The kids and I were all swinging side by side while John patiently gave everyone a push every so often. There's something about swinging that is so relaxing. My kids could swing for hours on end (and often do) and I think I could join them. It was the best part of my day!

Still Here

It's been awhile since I've blogged...life has been busy! Some weeks are slow and some are busy. This one is just crazy!

Will had his last track meet tonight. It was sprint night. He did so great! We're really proud of him! Also today I went on a field trip with Sarah's class to a bug museum. It was cool. This local guy collected thousands of species of insects and butterflies from all over the world and has them on display. It was amazing! Then we went to the park and ate lunch. I think that was the kid's favorite part.

Yesterday I had a perfect Mother's Day. The kids brought me breakfast in bed. They also brought me the Sunday paper and let me read it in bed after I ate breakfast. That's high on my list of favorite things to do, and one I don't get to do often! We went to church, then out for lunch (Carrabbas--my most favorite place!). We stopped by Home Depot on the way home and bought a storm door for the front and then John watched the kids while I went to Eddie Bauer (my favorite store) and got to buy a few things for spring! Yea...we ended the day the way we end every Sunday...watching Funniest Home Videos and laughing our heads off! Thanks guys for a fantastic day!

Yesterday morning we woke up to snow. I did a double take when I looked outside. I don't always catch the weather forecast, but this was a big surprise. The ground was completely covered, but it melted pretty quickly once the sun came up.

Speaking of snow, Pikes Peak is still snow-capped. It's usually all melted by June but I don't know if it will be gone as quickly this year. We'll see. It's always a sad thing to me when the snow-cap melts. It's still pretty majestic looking, but the snow really accentuates its beauty.

How are gas prices where you live? Sunday afternoon, we put $40 worth of gas in Minnie-the-van. I had about a quarter of a tank when we filled up, and $40 didn't even bring her all the way to full. Very depressing. It was $2.79/gallon Sunday. Yuck.

I'm downstairs and I keep hearing thuds from the kids rooms so I'm off to see what chaos I need to manage. Ta ta for now!

Disaster

In the almost 16 years that John and I have been married, I can't ever recall burning a meal...until tonight. I put some veggies on to steam in my new steamer basket. The steamer basket sits inside a saucepan with water in the bottom. When the water boils, the lid goes on the saucepan and the steam cooks the veggies. And they're usually quite tasty that way. Well, I put water in the pan, but not enough and by the time I realized the little water I did add had evaporated, I had a big mess on my hands. I tried to salvage dinner, but it had a distinct burnt taste...and was actually really gross. And I still can't get the black stuff off of my saucepan or steamer basket. Yuck. John was sweet to eat it anyway (and even said he liked it), but the kids wouldn't touch it. Usually I make them eat what I prepare, but tonight they were glad I had a box of mac and cheese on hand.

About a week ago, John and I got our first ATM/debit cards in 11 years. ELEVEN YEARS! When we moved from Irving, TX to Stephens, AR in 1995, our local bank didn't offer an ATM card, so we did without. We got so used to living without it that we didn't choose one when we later moved to Arkadelphia and then to Colorado. It wasn't really too hard to do without one, but did require planning ahead for weekends and making sure we had cash before the bank closed on Friday/Saturday/holidays. A few weeks ago we ran into a situation (track registration) where we really didn't want to use our credit card, but they were going to charge us $10 more to write a check (arghhhh). A debit card would have been the solution, but we didn't have one. So we decided to apply for one and like I said we got them about a week ago. Actually, they sat on the counter for 4-5 days before we even remembered to use it. Let me say...OH MY GOSH!! How much easier this has made my life!!! I really didn't know what I was missing when my kids were smaller and I was at the checkout line putting the groceries on the belt while trying to juggle a kid on my hip, keep the others from climbing out of the cart, give the cashier my coupons AND write a check while my baby was trying to grab my pen and put it in her mouth. How much easier it would have been to swipe my debit card and be done with it! NOW you tell me...

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...or maybe NOT!

Colorado Springs has a minor league baseball team called the Sky Sox. Today, Will's class took a field trip to a Sky Sox game. I don't remember going on field trips like that, do you? Anyway, I had volunteered to go, but his teacher had enough parents and didn't need my help. At first I was bummed, but this morning I was thankful. It was FREEZING! Seriously! The temps started out in the 40s, dropped to the 30s, and the wind chill was in the 20s. It was foggy/rainy/drizzling/snowing. Definitely not baseball weather. They ended up cutting the field trip short as the game was delayed due to fog. Will was pretty disappointed, but I was glad they didn't have to sit out in that weather longer than they did. I told him we'd take him some warm summer evening! Sounds like a much better plan to me.

My Random Post for the Week

Whew! Today was our busy day. I'm glad it's over. Very glad.

The countdown has begun! The kids have three more weeks of school left. Actually only 14 days because they have a four-day week next week. I am so tired of making lunches and having to remember all the things they each have to take each day. I can't wait!!! I guess other parents and students are ready too. Sarah has been invited to THREE end-of-the-school-year parties. Her social calendar is very full these days.

Oh yeah, did I mention I was tired of homework? Really tired of it. Last night John and I got together with some friends from church and we had a babysitter for the kids. While I went to get our sitter, John helped Will finish up his homework. They didn't quite finish because they got stumped on one of the questions. Will is doing fractions right now, and this particular problem was pretty tough--even for my brilliant husband. Before we left, I overheard John tell our babysitter that he'd pay her extra if she'd help Will figure that problem out. She's very smart and of course it was finished when we got home...and yes, we gave her a couple extra dollars!

I took Will to get his summer haircut this afternoon--a buzz. It looks great and we both love how easy it is. He thinks it's so cool that he doesn't have to brush his hair for awhile. Me too.

Today one of Sarah's classmates had a celebration at school. She was celebrating the completion of her chemotherapy. She was diagnosed with leukemia in kindergarten, but she's doing great now. I can't think of a better thing to celebrate, can you? One of Will's classmates had hip surgery today. He has some rare degenerative disease that has affected his hip. He's been in a wheelchair for a couple of months now and probably will be for at least a year longer. So sad. Those two situations made me so grateful for healthy, happy children. It's not to be taken for granted that our kids are as healthy as they are...and we say Thanks, Lord.

John talked to one of his editors today about writing more Living the Questions Bible studies. The four that he wrote (that have been published) were on the four gospels, but now they want some based on Paul's letters. Exciting stuff. This series was actually "his baby". The idea was his own and they gave him a lot of creative space. That's always a nice thing.

I met a lady a couple of weeks ago who had just moved here from Texas. We started talking and realized that we had lots and lots of things in common. I invited her to get some coffee/tea with me this moring and we had the best time. I love adding new friends to my circle! And it's always fun when they're from the South...it give us lots of things to laugh and talk about.

Hide it in Your Heart

I've mentioned before that Sarah goes to AWANA at one of the churches here in town. We're really, really proud of her. She has memorized massive amounts of scripture, all the books of the Bible, and most recently, the 23rd Psalm. She's great at memorizing, but what I've been so impressed with is her ability to really learn and remember it.

Last Saturday, Will found a gum dispenser that he got for his birthday. At one time it was filled with gum. Lots and lots of gum. Seems Abbey found it and has been gradually consuming the gum (and hiding the dispenser in her secret hiding place under the back of our recliner!) Will was pretty disappointed when he discovered that his little sister had chewed all of it. I had a little talk with Abbey and explained to her that is eating Will's gum was "stealing"--taking something that didn't belong to her. Sarah was observing all of this and started spouting scripture..."Let him who has been stealing, steal no more..." And she was very serious in her tone towards Abbey. Last week, I was joking around with Sarah about something silly, and she looked at me and said, "Mom, you deceive yourself and the truth is not in you..." It was all I could do not to laugh at her. But what she was saying was actually quite true in that moment! Hiding God's word in your heart...that's what Sarah's been doing. It's neat to see her pull those verses out and quote them...in the context of the situation. She was also pleasantly surprised that she could repeat another verse along with our pastor on Sunday. Way to go, Sarah!

It's the dreaded Monday morning...ugh. The kids only have 3.5 more weeks of school though, so I guess I only have 3 more Mondays to really dread. After that, we'll have a LOT of togetherness. My most favorite thing.

John had this past weekend off. He works a lot of Saturdays, so when he has an entire weekend off, it's a great thing. This weekend, however, he was fighting a really bad cold. How un-fun to be sick on your time off. Thankfully he's feeling better this morning, but Will woke up coughing and complaining of a sore throat. He conned me into letting him stay home from school this morning (I think because it's Monday!). I'm taking him a little later though because he has his first track meet tonight...and if he doesn't go to school, he doesn't go to the meet. And he really wants to run tonight. He's up for the 800 meter (1/2 mile).

Can you believe it's already May? Where do the months go???

It's been snowing since we woke up this morning. Still hard for me to believe that May is just a few days away and we have snow, but we need the moisture and this is the form it takes for us, so I'm not complaining. It's very cold outside though--the weather icon on my screen reads 30 degrees with a wind chill of 22. Fun spring weather, huh?

Twenty-six weeks ago today, I had my last Diet Coke! That's half a year without one! I'm pretty proud of that. I was on the 2, 3, sometimes 4 a day plan, so this was a pretty drastic step for me. A good step though. I feel much better, and I've actually lost about 5 pounds. I'm convinced it's from not drinking soda because I haven't drastically changed my diet.

Last night I gathered with some ladies from my church to pray/listen for the needs of the women in our body. I seem to be the "young mom" representative. When asked about what I was sensing, I just couldn't keep my honest tears from falling as I confessed that I was tired. Really tired. Physically, yes, but also emotionally and spiritually. If you're a mom, you know what I'm talking about. Meeting the many, many needs of my family is exhausting. Yesterday was a hard day to begin with, but that question just opened up a range of emotion I was keeping at arms length. Initially, I was a little embarrassed by my raw display of emotion, but the ladies surrounding me seemed to be grateful for it. It confirmed for them what they were sensing too...that most of the young moms in our body feel the same way. One dear lady thanked me for my tears (wow) that she felt represented the tears of a lot of moms. And I really think she's right. We spend so much time trying to hold it all together and make things look "good" and perfect on the outside when we're just dying on the inside. And it's so tiresome. It's hard to confess your fears and struggles and indadequacies to fellow mom if they seem all too perfect and never appear to struggle with their kids, their husband, their finances, their faith, and on and on and on. I've been on both sides of this, and I am sorry for the times I tried so hard to appear together and perfect! The reality is I'm not. I'm a mess most of the time. A ragamuffin as Brendan Manning would say. And I'm so okay with that. I know who I am, but more importantly I know whose I am and I know how He sees me. So, my tears last night were in some sense healing for me. The most basic reason I went last night was to escape by myself for a few hours. However, God had more in mind for me, and I came home with a deep sense of peace, a new friend, and a lot of affirmation that we're in exactly the place (church-wise and in life) that we're supposed to be right now.

Below is a piece that John wrote this week. He said I could share it here...

Well, I saw it. I waited until it came out on DVD and watched it in the safety and comfort of my own home – Brokeback Mountain. I really wanted to see how the movie dealt with male friendships. I had heard and read all the hoopla about it being the gay cowboy movie, but I also knew, from the storyline, that it began as a friendship between men. And that is what I was curious to see unfold; however, the story didn’t so much unfold as it unraveled, for somethin’ got broke, long before that mountain, and everything else ended up broke as well.
As the final credits rolled across my screen, the overriding emotion I felt was sadness. I told my wife the next morning, Boy that was sad. The two main characters, Jake and Ennis, sit at a bar early in the film recounting a little of their past. Jake talks about how he could never please his father and so he eventually just stopped trying. Ennis lost both parents at a young age and ended up being raised by a brother and sister. Can anybody say father wound? And their lives, from those points on, were painful attempts to assuage those original wounds. They both married women and had kids and tried to present (for 1963) a normal face to the world. But both men ended up passing their pain onto their wives and children. As Richard Rohr says: If you don’t transform your pain, you’ll transfer it, certainly to those closest to you. You see, once the heart is broke, all the denim, boots, pickups, and longnecks can’t put it back together again.
I read one pastor’s blog where he declared that Brokeback was a movie all Christians must see. He felt it boldly exposed the prejudices we all carry. Sorry to burst his bloggle, but I didn’t feel that at all. Now I know that may indicate just how prejudiced I am, and I’m willing to look at that, but that’s just not the truth I believe the movie holds. I feel it boldly exposes the wounds we all carry and how we try to heal them. And how so many of them can be traced back to our fathers.
After the movie, I watched a special feature on director Ang Lee. He kept describing Brokeback as a classic American love story. I don’t know much about the American love part; there are some aspects of America these days that I just don’t have a context for. But I do know that it a classic story, because it tells the story of the heart’s longing for the father and how it gets broken along the way. And whether the names are Adam and Eve or Jack and Ennis, sadly, we go lookin’ for love in all the wrong places. And even though a mountain named Brokeback might look to be the key to unlock the door, even the psalmist knew that when he lifted up his eyes unto the hills or mountains, that wasn’t where his help cometh from. His help came from the LORD. And so does ours, whether cowboys or doctors and lawyers and such.

Not so fond of Mondays

I just really don't care for Mondays. Before John and I had kids, I always dreaded Monday mornings. We'd spend the whole weekend together, then have to enter our separate worlds of work and school during the week. I hated the feeling of separateness (is that even a word?). After our children started arriving, I dreaded Mondays even more, probably because I lost my helper! I love it when all of us are together, and Monday mornings just seem to pull us all apart. Now Abbey and I dread Mondays together. John usually goes to REI, and Sarah and Will go off to school. She usually spends the first hour after they all leave whining and crying. And many times I want to do the same. It just feels right when we're all together at home! Another reason I'm ready for summer.

Speaking of summer...we're not experiencing much of that today. We spent a good part of the weekend outside in the beautiful springtime weather. Yesterday, we didn't go outside without wearing shorts, sunglasses, and sunscreen. Today, the kids left for school wearing coats, hats, and gloves. That's because it was snowing. Yep, you heard me correctly. Snow. It's still snowing right now. Not a lot, but those are definitely snowflakes. Weird, huh? I think I mentioned before that April is our snowiest month. Not true this year though. We are WAY behind on snowfall and things here are so dry. That means we have higher risk of forest fires. Colorado has already seen more fires than last year, and we're barely into the fire season. Scary! So today's snow is very welcome.

Yesterday Abbey found a darkling beetle outside and she put it in a container because she wanted it to be her "pet". She screams and comes running inside if she sees an ant within 6 feet of her, but she's taken a liking to beetles. Go figure. Will and Sarah informed her that hers is a darkling beetle, and Will told her that it is harmless, so she walks around telling me that it's only a harmless beetle. Kinda funny. Well, she's been keeping the container in her room and she goes to check on it about every 10 minutes. Last night before bed, the beetle escaped. I think it was because she tried to transfer it to a plastic easter egg. She cried and cried because we made her go to bed without finding it. By the way, this beetle is about 2cm long. I kinda figured we'd come across a dead beetle sometime this week, but when I was making up her bed this morning, guess what I found on her pillowcase? The harmless beetle. It kinda grossed me out--but she was elated that we found it, and has been playing with it all morning. I'm actually surprised it has survived as long as it has the way she's been handling it.

Church Skippers

Today our family skipped church. We don't do it very often (I can probably count on one hand the times we've intentionally missed) but I gotta tell you it was really nice. John has been working quite a bit lately. Even when he's home, he's working. So, it really was a no-brainer to stay home today. We needed the family time and we needed the rest. Restful it was. We all slept in, made a big breakfast, read the newspaper--on Sunday morning rather than late Sunday night!, played outside in the beautiful weather, made a cake, exercised, played Connect Four and cards, made dinner, and watched Funniest Videos together--complete with popcorn. It was the best day we've had in the longest time. The pace was leisurely and restful. A true Sabbath.

Well, for all you folks suffering in the south in the 90+ degree April temps, just know that we didn't make it out of the 40s yesterday (in the 50s today). Last night at 9:30, it was 27 degrees outside. How's that for April weather? Anyone wanna move to Colorado? Or come for a visit?

We got our taxes finished up late Sunday night and mailed on Monday. What a relief that was. We got a small refund on our federal return, but we owed the state of Colorado. Our federal refund was enough to cover what we owed and still come out $50 ahead. We were thrilled!

Just when we begin to think that all the freelance work has dried up, God seems to show up for us in big ways. Like yesterday. John got a call from an editor wanting him to write a book on Christian denominations. Back in December, he wrote on one worldviews (he actually did a re-write) and this is to be a book in the same line. I think he's going to give it a shot. Exciting, huh? We're grateful for any and all work that comes his way.

Don't you like it when John posts on here? I love it, but can't seem to get him interested in doing it too often. I was laughing out loud as he was typing the post about Sarah's easter vomiting episode. I'm going to stay on him (nag, nag, nag) to share on this blog more often!

I'm posting here (John) while my dial-up service is downloading some tax documents. Yeah, ssllooww!

I left yesterday for work about 10:00. By that time, our kids had been eating jelly beans for about three hours. Mer had given them the "today, I don't care" green light to eat their Easter candy with abandon. I later learned that for lunch, and we'll focus in on Sarah here, she ate 10 chicken nuggets from Chik-Fil-A and french fries. You totaling all this up? After lunch, the kids dyed eggs. Meredith boiled 24 eggs and by the time I got home, there were three left on the counter. When I inquired about this, she said, "Well, Sarah ate 7 boiled eggs this afternoon. And then she blew." Yes, death and resurrection in the old Blase household on bad Saturday. I tried to step back into the flow of the house, but realized there was no flow to step into, but there was something else to step into; and there was more to come. One more upchuckin' two-step occurred about an hour after I got home. There was this cry, like a stuck Easter bunny, from the hall: "Bring the bowl." But Sarah managed to strategically hit the floor between the bowl and the toilet bowl. Bullseye! There ain't much on a Easter-eve evening, when you're trying to prepare yourself for the holy hallelujahs of Sunday morning, than to have to clean up the remains of the day. But that's life - cleaning out the muck of the stalls, literally and figuratively. Sarah finally fell asleep from a post-jelly-bean-chicken-nugget-boiled-egg intestinal roller coaster ride in the middle of Saturday Night Live. She was o.k. this morning and when asked in Sunday school if she wanted any jelly beans, she resolutely answered, "No thanks." You go to sleep some nights wondering just what in the world keeps your kids alive. Same stuff that always has - God's hands.

John

Good Friday

Today is April 14th, and we have not yet finished our taxes. Last weekend we bought TurboTax, and Wednesday we opened it and made quite a bit of headway. Seems we'll likely owe a little but we're okay with that...it's a manageable amount! We've never used TurboTax before. Probably because John was a pastor and our taxes were so complicated. Last year we got a CPA to do our taxes and get us set up with John's self-employment stuff. We felt brave enough to do it on our own this year and I gotta tell you that TurboTax is awesome. So simple to use and we saved about $200 by doing them ourselves. Since we owe, we're going to mail our stuff on Monday!

For the last 8 years, the Easter bunny has visited our house on the evening of Good Friday. That's tonight! It's a little different, but it allows our kids to play with their stuff and stuff their faces all day Saturday, and on Sunday we can keep the focus on Jesus. So, the Easter bunny gave me his list and recruited me to help him gather some stuff for the kids this morning. I think they'll have a few surprises in the morning.

I was listening to the radio this morning. We have a Christian station that I really like (and, no, it's not K-LOVE) and they were talking about Good Friday. I've always felt it was a sort of somber day...and in some sense it is. I know that Easter Sunday is the pinnacle day of this week, but I really think that today is also celebratory. Jesus' death is what gives us life. And He rose from the grave to give us hope. So tonight at dinner we're going to celebrate life and what Jesus did on the cross to ensure that for us.

I hope and pray that you have a blessed Easter weekend. We tell our kids all the time that Jesus loves them the most and He loves them the best. I hope you get a glimpse of His extravagant love for you today.

Our community is really growing. It seems we can't go far in any direction without seeing new constuction. Currently, we're watching a Walmart being built. A popular chain restaurant is due to open any day now, and there are houses going up like crazy. We've also gotten a new Mexican and Chinese restaurant, and a new strip mall in the last couple of months. Yesterday, John went with me to deliver something to a friend and was commenting on all the new development. He told me he was ready to start looking for a cabin in the mountains...far, far away from all this stuff! I think I'm with him.

It has been beautiful here for the last several days! And, we've spent much of the last two days outside. This morning Abbey and I ran lots of errands, and I stopped by McDonalds to get her a Happy Meal for lunch. I thought she might want to take it to the park (her FAVORITE place) and have a little picnic with me since the weather was so nice. Nope, she wanted to go inside and eat it in the play area. Probably because I always say no to that. Today, though, I said yes, and we had a fun time together and then played outside when we got home.

Will just started running track. He and Sarah both ran last fall (cross-country) but only Will wanted to run this spring. Last fall, they both had to run a mile at their meets. During one of Sarah's races, she got pretty tired towards the end, and with her typical dramatic flair, Sarah flung her arms back and LAID DOWN on the track for a little rest. Yep, that's our Sarah. She got back up after a couple of minutes and finished strong. She is quite the little actress and keeps us laughing. She came home last week with the proofs from her school pictures. She told me that even though I forgot it was school picture day, she still looked fabulous because she wore her poncho. She's definitely not lacking in self-esteem, huh? We're really proud of her--dramatics and all.

April snow

Well, I'm sorry to report that we didn't get the day off from school due to snow. It is snowing here though and coming down fast. Late last night they downgraded the blizzard watch to a blowing snow advisory. Until I moved here, I always assumed that a blizzard was a HUGE snowstorm, with snow accumulations measured in feet. That is usually a consequence of a blizzard, but the defining criteria is the wind/windspeed. Strong wind and snow constitute a blizzard. White out occurs when the wind is blowing the snow so hard you can't see very far in front of you. We had a blizzard last April and for most of the day, we couldn't see the swing-set in our back yard or the houses across the street. The snow was deep, but the drifts were up to my waist! Today we're only expecting 1-3 inches of snow, but the wind is blowing very hard. But not hard enough to be declared a blizzard! So, there's your meterology lesson for the day.

Will was thankful to have school. His class is going on a field trip and he's already missed one this year because he was sick. Sarah was glad to go to school today too. She knew she was having a substitute and she loves this particular sub. I guess I was the only one who was bummed they had to go. I still hope to get one more snow day before the end of the year!

Last night, John and I watched Memoirs of a Geisha. I actually read the book a few weeks ago and loved it. The richness and beauty of the Japanese culture really drew me into the book, and the film was even more spectacular. I was disappointed that the movie wasn't completely true to the book (is it ever?) but they did manage to keep the important storyline elements intact. John liked it too. We're movie lovers...can you tell? We don't have cable, so we tend to watch movies instead. There are lots of nuggets of spiritual truth in Memoirs of a Geisha though. That's one of the reasons we enjoyed it so much!

Random News and Notes

A couple of weeks ago I posted about a popular phrase we have around here, "Springtime in the Rockies". Well, we've had some very spring-like days lately with highs in the 70s. And today we have a Blizzard/Winter Storm Watch in effect until noon tomorrow. Weird, huh? I'll keep you posted...especially if we get a snow day tomorrow. I'm not planning on it, but it would make me happy if it happened to work out that way!

Remember back in January when my friend photographed John and Will for Pray! magazine? Well, I got some copies from her last week and their picture turned out great. If you can find a copy of the March/April issue, see if you can spot them! I don't know if you can buy it from Christian Booksellers/Retailers. It's a publication of NavPress and is a sister magazine to Discipleship Journal. I guess you could always try to find it online. Sorry I don't have a link.

John's sermon from last week won't be available online after all. A new girl was manning the sound booth and it didn't get recorded on Sunday. Sorry you can't hear it. It was a good one.

Here's a funny story I wanted to share. I was working in the library at the kids' school a few weeks ago helping the kindergarteners check out books. The kindies are only allowed to check out one book per visit, and they have to return their book in order to check out a new one. One little girl I was helping had forgotten her book and was so disappointed that she had to leave without a new one. I reminded her the name of the book she had out and she couldn't remember where it was. I asked her to get her mom to help her look for it. She told me she didn't have it any longer and when I asked her where she thought it was, her eyes got REALLY big and she told me she put it under her pillow and the tooth fairy took it. It was ALL I could do not to laugh. Too funny! I think she really believed the tooth fairy took it because she kept telling me she didn't have that book at home.

Last week I decided after a lot of though and a lot of prayer to sign up as a Creative Memories consultant. Creative Memories is a photo-preservation/scrapbook supply company. I've loved and used their product for nine years, and preserving my family's memories/stories is really my passion. So, it wasn't a big stretch to decide to do this. In fact, I've had people trying to convince me to do this for years. This time, though, the time felt right and I'm pretty excited about it. Yesterday I got my consultant kit and I was like a kid in a candy store. It was three boxes worth of stuff I get to play with! Poor John, he got a box from UPS too that had some copies of his Mark/Luke LTQ Bible studies but it got opened last. His books look GREAT by the way! I'm so proud of him. Last week when his parents were here we visited Focus on the Family (Abbey refers to it as Family Pocus) and they had copies of his studies in their bookstore. That was really great to see and we were all so proud of him!

We've had a busy week and are looking forward to having NOTHING to do tonight.

Monday morning

I wish I knew who came up with the idea of spring break so I could thank them! What a wonderful break it was last week. I woke up later than I wanted to this morning...and feel like I've been ten steps behind since my feet hit the floor. I'm really ready for summer to arrive because I'm ready to chunk my calendar and schedule! All five of us hit the ground running this morning. Like I said yesterday, I have a lot of sloth in me. I think it would have helped to ease into this week but no such luck.

Abbey and I have been to the kid's school twice this morning. We went the second time to take a class picture for Sarah's teacher, then we went to "AFEWAY" to have some prints made. One night last fall, we were driving past SAFEWAY and the light behind the "S" was burned out, so it read, "AFEWAY". Sarah and Abbey thought that was hilarious. As we were leaving school this morning, I told Abbey we were headed to Safeway. She quickly corrected me and said we were headed to afeway. They ALWAYS correct me because I ALWAYS seem to say it wrong. It makes me laugh every time!

A Long Time...

Wow...I just logged on to check my email and to post here. I didn't realize my last post was a week ago! Time certainly flies when you're having fun...and it certainly seems to fly on the day after we've set our clocks forward an hour! I can't believe it's already 3pm!

We had a really fun time with John's parent's last week. They enjoyed being with the kids, and the kids loved having them here. (We did too!) Abbey was funny yesterday morning when I was admiring the toenail polish that Mimi put on for her. She told me that she didn't like to look at her toes because it made her think of Mimi and that made her too sad. Cute, huh? Mimi and Papa kept us on the go the entire time! I guess we were so busy trying to make the most of every minute they were here. John and I decided after they left that we have a lot of "sloth" in us. We like to take it easy and we always manage to find time in our day to rest. One of our neighbors is a busy guy. He always has some project going. One day last summer, I was commenting to John about his latest undertaking and John asked if I wished he was more like our neighbor. I replied, "Absolutely not. If you were that busy all the time, I'd feel too guilty for wanting to sit around. I like that you want to sit with me!" Yeah, we both have a lot of sloth in us. And we're not ready to give that up.

John preached at our church this morning. He did a great job. I think I said this after he preached a couple of months ago, but it just makes me realize that preaching/teaching isn't completely written out of our future. We don't have any idea what this might look like, but we both sense that it's a part of our future. If you care to listen to his message, visit our church's website (on the right sidebar of this page--International Anglican Church) and click on sermons. You can download and listen. It may take a few days for his sermon to be available though, so if it's not there, check back in a day or so.

One afternoon while John's parents were here, they let us go out for a date. It's been a very long time since we've done that. We went to downtown Colorado Springs and walked around all the cool shops. We ate some amazing Mexican food, and then we saw a movie called the Three Burials of Melchiades Estrada (or something very similar to that!). It was a really good movie. It's an independent film so it's not on at every major theater, but if it is on close to you, I'd recommend it. It was a really neat story of redemption. Tommy Lee Jones directed and stars in it. We like him a lot and thought he did an excellent job with this film.

Okay...off to enjoy the rest of this day and get ready for things to start-up again tomorrow. I will say that I haven't missed packing lunches or spelling homework or the rushing out the door this week. But...all good things must come to an end. And we only have 7.5 more weeks of that before summer vacation! Can't wait.

This morning as we were driving to church, we counted a dozen or more prairie dogs. There is an open field by close by and it is a big prairie dog community. It was warm and sunny this morning and we kept seeing them out scampering or standing up sunning themselves. They're so darn cute! We counted a dozen more on the way home from church too. I think that we must be getting closer to spring...they were out in full force today!

The field they live in is also home to the preble mouse. It's got some official species classification name, but most folks around here call it the !*&^#? preble mouse. That's because it's on the endangered species list and a lot of the undeveloped land around here is preble mouse habitat...and therefore is restricted from being developed. Just recently, the mouse was taken off the endangered list, but not before making a lot of developers unhappy. There is one interstate exit rampthat takes you on a half-mile loop south and then back north to the overpass....just because of the preble mouse habitat that couldn't be interfered with when the ramp was constructed. Very interesting and very talked about in this community. So there's a little bit of preble mouse fun for you today. I know you're just so glad you know that!

It's Back

Lately, John and I have been organizing the "junk" we have stored in our basement. We had Goodwill come by and pick up some items last week, and we threw a lot of things away as well. The last thing we needed to do something with is our NordicTrac exercise machine. A friend gave it to us a few years ago and it has been taking up a corner in the basement for WAY too long. It's GREAT exercise, but you have to be pretty coordinated to get the exercise benefit. And neither of us fits that bill. We bought a treadmill last year which we use frequently (well, John uses it frequently!) so the NordicTrac needed to go. Yesterday, I hauled it upstairs and out to the curb and taped a FREE sign to it. It was gone in less than an hour and I was soooo happy and quite proud that my little plan worked! John was happy too. This morning when I went to get the newspaper, guess what was back on our curb? You guessed it...that stupid NordicTrac. I guess whoever took it decided they weren't coordinated enough or didn't have a free corner in their basement. That was about 7:30 this morning. It's 3:30 now and it's still sitting there.......arghhh. We can't even GIVE the thing away. So I guess we'll be hauling it to Goodwill next week or returning it to that corner again. Anybody interested in taking it off our hands?

On another note, we're having a beautiful day here. Abbey rode her new scooter for awhile and she's great at it...she goes really fast too. Fun!

Happy Birthday...

...to John and Abbey. Abbey is four years old today, and John is thirty-nine! We began the day opening gifts, then Abbey had her choice of breakfast--cinnamon rolls. We didn't have a big party for either of them, just a simple family celebration, complete with a Belle cake. (Belle is the princess in Beauty and the Beast.) John was a great sport to share the Belle cake with Abbey. Abbey got a princess scooter but because we still have snow outside, she had to ride it in the house. Times like these are when an unfinished basement is a good thing. She had a fun day! John had a busy day, but we're going to watch a movie together in a little bit, and hopefully we can have a date night next week when we have a free babysitter. His parents are arriving Monday and will spend the week with us. It's Spring Break and the kids will be out of school, so it's a great time for them to come and we're getting really excited!

Springtime in the Rockies!

Well, I finally got that snow day I've been wanting for a while. We have about 6 inches on the ground and it's still snowing. Our school district, and every district in our county is closed today. Yeah!

Interestingly, today is the first day of spring. The weather forecasters around here are quite fond of the phrase "springtime in the Rockies". It's used to describe the widely varied weather conditions we experience this time of year. And varied is an appropriate word. Yesterday, we heard thunder, saw lightning, had fog, sunshine, rain, snow, and sleet, all in the space of a few hours. Definitely varied.

So we're going to take advantage of this day at home and catch up on some rest. Last week I got the Little House on the Prairie dvds from Blockbuster.com (by the way, I LOVE Blockbuster.com) and the kids thought watching Laura and Ma and Pa and Mary was just the greatest thing ever. We're going to watch a couple episodes today and later head over to Toboggan Hill for some serious sledding. Should be fun!

Leprechauns

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Abbey's preschool class celebrated St. Patrick's day yesterday and she was so excited when I picked her up. Apparently a leprechaun visited her classroom and left them tiny shamrock sequins (she saved them for my "crapbook"...translated scrapbook) and gold candy coins. They didn't see the leprechaun though...he must have come while they were gone to chapel. Her teacher told them to be on the lookout for the leprechaun. He might even visit them at home. She took those words to heart and had her eye out for that leprechaun for the remainder of yesterday. She even set a trap for him in our den floor. The trap involved pulling out every single dvd we own and arranging them in a grid-like pattern on the floor. So funny. She found one of those shamrock sequins this morning and her eyes got so big when she told me that he WAS HERE!!! I think she was upset that I made her pick up the "trap" she set. Oh to be a kid again!!!

St. Patrick's Day isn't one of those holidays that we go all out for. I have some friends who think it's fun to make a green meal for their family--green mashed potatoes, green meatloaf, etc. Last year we ate a traditional Irish dinner of corned beef and cabbage with some friends...along with green jello and green beans and green rice krispie treats for dessert. I think John was disappointed that's not on the menu for tonight...our kids, however, are pretty okay to stick with pizza. I just hope you enjoy the day regardless of how you celebrate.

Random News

The wind started blowing this morning about 4am...and when I say blowing, I mean BLOWING. I am a very sound sleeper, but the rattling shutters and screens woke me up. It even blew our gas grill over. I'd say that is some strong wind.

Next week my baby will be FOUR years old. Her daddy will be 39. Most of you know that those two share a birthday. Isn't that neat? Abbey is counting down the days...eight more, which we mark on our caledar every day. I asked her yesterday after preschool what mommy was going to do when she turned four. She told me I would cry. She's probably right. She tells everyone that she wants princess stuff and real make-up. She wanted real make-up for Christmas and didn't get it, so I'm guessing she'll keep asking until she does. We'll see.

Last night John and I watched the movie Seabiscuit. It's one of those movies, like Cinderella Man, that we've rented countless times from Blockbuster and borrowed from the library at least 5 times and always returned unwatched. So we finally watched it. And it was beautiful. I don't think that if I had watched it any of the previous times I've had it that it would have spoken to me the way it did last night. If you haven't seen it, you simply must! It's great.

Spring?

The calendar tells me it should be spring, the sunshine tells me it should be spring, and retailer's advertisements tell me it should be spring...BUT nothing around here looks much like spring. We have snow on the ground (it snowed all day yesterday) and icy roads, and the bank sign said 24 degrees when I took the kids to school this morning. It still feels and looks like winter around here!!! And though I love it here in Colorado, spring is one of the things I miss. We do have a spring, but usually in late May. The first year that we lived here, I found myself planting petunias and other annuals in JULY. One July, (in Arkansas) I tried to get some bedding plants to spruce up my yard. There were none to be found. So, all of you in the South, enjoy your daffodils. Enjoy your azaleas and tulips and butterflies. Enjoy your green lawns and the pear trees that will soon blossom. Enjoy the warm temps and eating dinner on your patio/deck. Enjoy SPRING!

Funny stuff

My kids say some really funny things. I try to remember them all but of course that's impossible. However, I have a couple of recent things to pass on...

Will: "Dad, don't ever leave the "er" off of butter." (That's a word he's not allowed to say!)

Sarah: We were leaving some friend's house the other night and Sarah told us that their daughter said the "d" word and the "s" word. Upon further inquiry, we learned that Gracie said D-A-N-G and S-T-U-P-I-D...again, words we don't say at our house, but much better than what I was expecting to hear!

Abbey: I was sitting in my bedroom floor this afternoon and trying to get Abbey to come sit in my lap and look at something with me. She obviously didn't want to and her excuse was that if she stayed in my bedroom, she'd want to look at my bed, and that would make her want to jump on it (which isn't allowed) so she just needed to "get outta here". Funny.

Switching subjects, let me tell you that John has gotten a lot of affirmation lately about his writing. It has been a big boost for him. I try to encourage him often, but it means something different when he hears it from other sources. We're grateful for the encouragement that has come his way this week.

Today is a beautiful Colorado day. Lots of sunshine and temps in the upper 50s. A drastic change from yesterday--it snowed all day long and was very cold. Most of that snow is melted now, but the roads were a little icy this morning. I was hoping for a delayed start, but no such luck. April is actually our snowiest month, so I'm guessing we have a few more snow-days or delayed-start mornings to come.

Today was my morning to work in the library at the kids school. I'd been re-shelving books for a while and looked up to see my sweet husband standing there with a steaming cup of Starbucks chai latte in his hand. Just for me! My favorite. Wasn't that sweet? It was a nice surprise...and so nice of him to bring it to school for me!

A funny thing...last night the kids were brushing their teeth before bed and John asked me if I knew where the crust was?!??? What??? He was mimicking Abbey. She like to brush her teeth with the "crust toothpaste". Apparently she's not fond of Crest...unless you pronounce it crust. Smile!

It's Definitely a Monday!

What is it with Mondays? Do you ever have one of those days where everything you do seems hard??? That would describe my day perfectly. John's too. We're both just kinda scratching our heads and wondering where some of this stuff is coming from? And praying. And pushing through it.

Abbey woke up with a fever this morning and was complaining about her ear. I took her to the doctor and she has an infection in both of her ears. She hasn't had an ear infection in three years...and today she has two. Getting to the doctor this morning was interesting. I had plenty of time to make our 10AM appointment, but so many things kept delaying us and we arrived by the skin of our teeth at 9:59:59!! The pharmacy was a fun adventure too. They didn't have the medicine prescribed for her. I didn't have my cell phone with me (the one time I really needed it) to call the doctor and see if they'd prescribe a different medicine, and of course, the pharmacist wouldn't call them for me. Here is the good part of my day...I ran into a friend at the pharmacy counter who let me borrow her cell to make the call to our doctor, saving me two trips across town. That in itself was a small miracle because it's a well-known fact that you can't get a phone signal inside that store. I'll spare you the rest of the details of our day. Things can only get better from this point on!

Maybe things seem so hard when you're coming off of a good weekend. Ours was nice and relaxing. One of those that you hate to see come to an end.

On Saturday, John was digging around in his drawers (his dresser drawers) and he came across the resignation letter he read the day he resigned as pastor of Second BC in Arkadelphia. He read it, then gave it to me to read. It was interesting to say the least. Interesting because it was somewhat prophetic. A couple examples. He wrote that moving to Colorado was something that he felt he MUST do. He acknowledged that it felt risky and he didn't know what the future held, but that he felt compelled to go. Defintely interesting. Definitely true. And maybe very good that we didn't know what the road ahead would look like. Another thing he said was that we weren't running from anything, but rather towards Someone. The path we've been on since moving here has pushed us closer to Jesus than I could ever have imagined. And though it's been hard at times, it's all been for good. At one point in his letter, he was mentions heaven and he said something about how Gary Turner referred to it as the land of "no mores". I could't keep the tears from falling as I read that and was thinking that Gary Turner (a pastor friend from Arkadelphia) is indeed in that place of no more cancer, no more pain, no more suffering, and no more tears. He's home.

Company's Coming!

We're having company for dinner tonight. We invited a friend from church to join us. She is actually our new Children's Pastor so the kids are excited about that (because they really like her!) but they're more excited that they get to have dessert. We rarely have dessert at our house. I'm known as the Sugar Sheriff around here. I'll spare you my nutritional rant for now. Just know that sugar is terrible for our bodies, and that's why it's seriously limited around here. But...my kids know that when we have friends over, there is usually some type of treat for after dinner...and that treat is usually sweet! They're counting down the minutes.

Only in Colorado

Yesterday we had record-breaking temps in the mid 70s and this afternoon the snow clouds have blown in as predicted. We're only supposed to have light flurries tonight, but it is so weird because yesterday the kids playing outside in shorts! Only in Colorado can you have sunshine one minute and snow the next.

I'm reading a book right now called "Scraping Heaven" by Cindy Ross. The author and her husband were both avid long-distance hikers before they had children. Becoming parents didn't dampen their enthusiasm for hiking. This book tells the story of their family hiking the Continental Divide Trail, from the Canadian to Mexican border over 5 summers. The first section they hiked (about 600 miles) found them hiking with two toddlers (one in diapers at the time--and not the disposable variety either!) They used 3-6 llamas to carry their stuff and would schedule stops to replenish their supplies along the way. After hiking the Colorado Trail the first summer, they decided to hike the remaining sections (north and south) over the next several summers. It's a fascinating book, but I don't think I'll be hiking with kids and llamas anytime soon. Their kids were troopers, but she writes pretty honestly about the parenting challenges they faced on the trail. Not for me! My friend recommened this book to me last summer and now I'll recommend it to you all. It's a good read.

Grace...

Last week I had a meeting I needed to go to at our church. My pastor's wife asked me a month or so ago to be a part of a group of women that would meet together to pray, listen, and discern the direction God wanted to take women's ministry at our church. I agreed, and she set up a time for all of us to get together. Well, I was feeling terrible that night and my kids weren't well either. I knew that to go to the meeting would require me to engage and all I really wanted to do was sleep. Know that feeling? It's not laziness, it's just your body crying out for REST. So, I called her and asked to be released from my commitment for that night. Her response? "Absolutely, stay home and rest. I'm not into guilt." WOW! Now maybe that seems insignificant to you, but it's been a long it's been since I've gotten that gracious of a response. It was almost beyond belief for me.

I can't tell you the number of times the response has been different. In my recent past, I've asked to be released from certain obligations or even said "No" on the front end of being asked, and that hasn't been so well received. Here is a sampling of those responses (and they're ALL true): Well, I certainly expected more from the "pastor's wife"--you're supposed to be the example! If you don't do this (job at church) people are going to talk bad about you. (hmmm--now there's a reason to do something?!)) But, Meredith, you've already said you would. You made a commitment. Or the worst one of all--nothing. Just absolute silence into which I've always read incredible disappointment. YUCK!

A lot of these responses have come from those in ministry positions in the church (though not all) and so maybe this gives you some understanding of why I don't really miss John being in a pastoral role at this time in our lives, and why this particular response was so unexpected. Am I hurt and wounded? Yes, absolutely. I know that and I am working through a lot of that hurt right now. Letting God meet me in my brokenness. But there was something amazing about Sallie's response last week. There wasn't any guilt, condemnation, shame, disappointment or control attached to it. There was a lot of GRACE, and truthfully, it felt wonderful!

I've thought about her gracious response a lot over the last week or so. John and I were even talking about it over breakfast this morning. He (John) challenged me to let that be my response to those around me. There are a few situations in my life right now where I don't really feel like extending grace. For whatever reason, I don't really feel that some folks deserve it. And you know what? None of us do. But God gives it freely to all and it is wonderful to receive. Can I let people off my "hook" and quit trying to be their "conscience"? I'm going to give it a shot. Maybe, just maybe, I can bless someone with a response like I got last week.

Whoa!

I usually try to catch some evening news a couple of nights each week, but lately, I've found myself watching NBC Nightly News almost daily. That's because it follows the NBC afternoon Olympic coverage. I've noticed that Will has been watching it pretty closely...almost too closely. Several days ago, they ran a story about flesh eating bacteria. I got interrupted during the story and missed most of it, but Will caught every detail! This week he got a small cut on his finger, and his remark to me was, "Oh no...I hope I don't catch that flesh eating bacteria!" It's hard not to laugh at that, but it makes me realize I've gotta be pretty careful about what he's taking in!! Yikes!! He has my tendency to worry and fret about things. And worrying about flesh eating bacteria is just too much for a kid his age!

A Reason to Rejoice!

We have turned the corner! Everyone is much, much better around here!! Actually I think they all started feeling better yesterday after lunch. I knew that we'd turned the corner because all of the sudden, they were ravenous! They haven't eaten well all week, and yesterday afternoon, I couldn't keep them full. They also were picking at each other and just doing that usual yah-yah stuff that siblings do. I gotta tell you it was nice to see that return. It was a sign of life! John could tell the difference when he got home yesterday afternoon and we're both rejoicing!

They were feeling so well yesterday afternoon that they started getting a little hyper. I really wanted them to rest some more, so I made them watch The Sound of Music with me. They were pretty tentative at first. When Maria began singing "The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Music" during the first scene, they rolled their eyes and looked at me like "you've gotta be kidding". I got them to stick with it a little longer and they were sold. We took a break mid-way through the movie. I popped some popcorn for them, then snuck downstairs to check my email. They came and found me and begged me to come back and start it again. I even overheard Will singing Doe-a-deer while I was getting dinner ready last night. I'm so glad they liked it. It is one of my all-time favorites!!!

Update 2/25 - Sarah knew that Julie Andrews looked familiar and was pleasantly surprised to learn that she also acts in two of her other favorite movies--The Princess Diaries 1 and 2. And, driving home last night, the kids were in the back singing "How do you Solve a Problem Like Maria?" until their dad chimed in with his own version--how do you solve the problem of diarrhea? Now, that's all I hear! That, and lots of giggling.

Oh No! and Ohno

Okay...I'm really getting tired of my kids not feeling well. I thought on Monday that things were great and that everyone would be heading back to school Tuesday. Didn't happen. I kept the girls home Tuesday because they were still coughing. Yesterday, two of the three woke up with fever. I immediately called the doctor and made an appointment for all of them. Diagnosis?? Respiratory virus. Hence...no antibiotic, just rest and fluids. No wonder the antibiotic Abbey had last week didn't seem to work! So, we're all at home again today following the doctors orders. Thankfully, the doctor did give us some prescription cough syrup, so at least we're all sleeping well at night! If they're not better by Friday, I'm supposed to take them back in. I'm praying we're better. This is just dragging on too long!

Here's some perspective though... A while back I asked for you to pray for Ira Hays, a little guy (10 months old) in a New York City hospital. Ira is the son of friends of a friend, and has been in the hospital since Christmas Eve. That's about 2 months if you're counting. For two months he's been hooked up to tubes of all kinds and his parents haven't been able to hold or comfort him. His progress has been up and down, up and down. He's scheduled for surgery today...a tracheostomy. Pray for Ira. Pray for his parents, Joe and Laura...they've got to be exhausted physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Hmmm...and I think my life is hard sometimes...

On a lighter note, we're cheering for Apolo Anton Ohno, the US short track speed skater. He's a local "hero" because he trains at the US Olympic Training Center here in Colorado Springs, and qualified last night for the medals skate this weekend. I like him for a lot of reasons, but mainly because he's got some poise and maturity...unlike some of the other US speed skaters we've been watching. I am so put out with the two US guys Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis. I know the media has been playing up their "feud", but I sure wish they wouldn't add fuel to the fire. I liked Chad Hedrick after I first watched him skate and talk to reporters. But now I just wish he'd show some sportsmanship. Wow...does anyone else watch those two and feel like they're back in junior high?? Thanks, but no thanks, guys!

Finally...

Well, we've finally climbed above the freezing mark...
we're finally feeling better (at least most of us are)...
I finally finished the yearbook...
we're finally getting together with some friends from church after trying for 6 weeks...
and John finally got his paycheck (for work done before Christmas!).

Even though February is a short month, it's felt really long to us. One more week and we can welcome March!

Eight Below

It is unbelievably cold here today. Last night we watched the 6 o'clock news and the temp in our fair town was -8. Not windchill, but the actual temp. Brrrrrrr. It's sunny outside right now, but that is so deceiving. Our high temp today is supposed to climb to a whopping 10 degrees. If we climb above freezing this week, we'll probably be ready to crank up the grill and have a bar-b-que!

Will kept hearing them report eight below as our temperature last night and just started laughing. Eight Below is the name of a movie that opened yesterday. It's the movie he's taking some friends to see tomorrow afternoon to celebrate his birthday. The title is certainly appropriate for this arctic weekend we're experiencing!

We definitely got caught up on some much needed rest yesterday and are hoping for more of the same today. It's just too cold to even think about venturing out! I love weekends like this!

Stay warm!

Sick Ward

As my friend Joan would say, I'm running the sick ward today. Abbey's been on an antibiotic since Monday, but yesterday afternoon started running fever. Go figure. Sarah woke up in the night with a rumbly tummy (no vomiting-thank goodness!) and this morning, she was running fever too. I just decided to keep Will home with the girls and let them all rest. We have snow and a two-hour delayed start, so they'd have a short school day anyway. We'll just take it easy at home and hopefully be rested and better by the time next week rolls around. Please pray for us to kick this stuff once and for all. It seems like we've been battling one thing or another for WAY too long.

We have a little bit of snow outside...like maybe two or three inches. The temps however are another story. Our evening lows dipped below zero here and we'll be lucky if our high temp today reaches 16 degrees. It's very cold. Very, very cold. It's all relative though. A guy John does freelance work for emailed him from Montana this morning and their temp was -30. Just typing that out makes me shiver. So...I guess this is all headed east and you guys in the South will be cold this weekend too. Maybe you'll even get some snow!

Anyone catch the Olympic debut of snowboard cross last night? It's where 4 snowboarders race down the mountain at the same time, all jockeying for the lead. It was cool. Will and I loved it. I didn't let him stay up long enough to see the US guy (Seth Wescott) win the gold, but he watched the highlights this morning. He loves the Olympics. He races through his homework and shower every night so he can catch some of the coverage before bedtime. Fun!

An Olympic Moment

by John Blase

I love the Olympics. I especially look forward to the opening ceremonies when the different countries start filing in the stadium one at a time. The flag bearers, the regalia of the athletes, and the excitement on their faces always move me to tears. As I watched the other night, I had this kind of simultaneous broadcast/vision thing going on in my head. Hold on.

Imagine THE DAY - the people of God filing in the before the presence of the God of the Angel Armies. Due to their alphabetical status, the Anglicans are to be first, but they are distracted when an Assembly of God asks, Is the Lord here? The Anglicans all stop and say, He is! And as they’re waiting for the next liturgical response, the Assemblies yell, Gotcha’, and rush past. After a moment of contemplation, the Anglicans bust out laughing and say, Good one. Next in line are the Baptists, decked in blue-blazers and button-downs. They march in like good little Vacation Bible School kids, each holding the Word in front of them in case a bible drill is suddenly called. These groups begin to mingle (remember, this is heaven) and pass the peace and greet one another with holy cheek kisses, when who to their wondering eyes should appear, but the Catholics. And there is a hush in heaven as several A’s and B’s prepare to ask the C’s how in the heaven they got in. But then Johnny and June Cash start humming Amazing Grace and the A’s and B’s say, We’re so glad you’re here. We always hoped it would be this way, but in our narrowness, we doubted your love of Christ. Dear God, forgive us. And the C’s say, You think you’re surprised? We had no idea. But oh, how beautiful this is. Some of those candles we lit were prayers that it would be this way. And then they all begin snapping pictures with their camera phones as the pigs fly overhead.

The Episcopalians are next in line, surprised at their numbers. Garrison Keillor leads the Lutherans who all seem above average. A merry band of Methodists make a b-line for the Baptists as they recognize kinfolk. The Pentecostals come in having sufficiently warmed-up, with the Presbyterians and the Quakers chanting something about the last being first. A youth minister suddenly grabs a guitar and starts to lead everyone in something safe for the whole family when Gabriel cautions, All things are possible, but not all things are beneficial. And at that very moment an angelic orchestra begins playing Handel’s Hallelujah chorus. As the former things begin passing away, one of the first results is that everyone now loves classical music. All attention is then focused on the torchbearer to come through the gates. There is speculation as to who it will be, but no one knows for certain. And then we see him, the first Adam, running with the gait of redemption, as if he could run forever. He runs about a third of the way into the stadium and then stops for the handoff. But then a strange thing happens; he drops to his knees. On that cue, the mighty throng drops to their knees like sports fans doing the wave, for there in the middle of it all is the second Adam, Jesus the Christ. With burning hearts, we suddenly realize that He had been walking among us all along, just like He promised. Adam’s torch then goes out and we’re momentarily afraid it will grow dark, but then we remember that this is heaven; there is no need for light, for He is here. Jesus looks over the crowd of the redeemed like a mother hen admiring her chicks, then runs to the right hand of the Father and says, They’re all here. The Father then embraces the Son who winks at the Spirit who bear-hugs them both; then the Father declares, Let the days begin, of which there will be no end! And the people of God shout, Yes!

Lines

One afternoon last week, Abbey and I were resting on her bed and talking. Actually, I was resting and Abbey was talking. She's very good at talking and we have some hilarious conversations these days. Anyway, she asked why I had lines all over my face. I realized a few minutes later that she was asking why I had wrinkles. Wrinkles! Horror! Yes, I do have 'em, and sadly, I have quite a few. Shouldn't I be too young for this???

more really random stuff

Well, I finally took Abbey to the doctor yesterday because she couldn't seem to kick the cough and cold she's had since last week. She got an antibiotic and is doing much better now. We're all thankful! She slept all night last night without a coughing episode and that means we all got a good nights sleep. Yea! Maybe I should have seen the doctor too because I can't seem to kick my cold from last week. Ugggh!

I just returned from the kids' school and their Valentine's Day parties. Will's class party was calm and orderly. Sarah's class party was chaos. I always leave the latter one with my blood pressure elevated! It's so funny how different the two classrooms are! Nevertheless, the parties were fun, everyone is on a sugar high, and the kids are enjoying re-reading all their valentines. I loved that as a kid too. Abbey didn't get to go to her party this morning, but her friend's mom dropped all her cards/goodies off for her this afternoon, and she had just as much fun opening them at home with me.

Anyone besides us enjoying the Olympics? I feel like such a sloth when I sit down at night to tune in and find myself sitting there for like 3-4 hours at a time. How lazy is that?? Because the Olympic Training Center is in Colorado Springs, and because a lot of the athletes at these Olympic games train in our great state, they get LOTS of local media attention and you kinda feel like they're "hometown" kids. It's fun to feel that connection and cheer them on.

I've been working on the yearbook for the kids' elementary school lately. Our deadline is tomorrow and I think we're in good shape. We're in good shape because several of us have put in some LONG hours of work these last two weeks. I'll be glad when it's over, but I've really enjoyed doing it. I'm even considering assuming the role of editor for next year. I was on yearbook staff in high school, and it's amazing how much I remember from those days of old. Words like bleed, ladder, gutter have resurfaced in my vocabulary as of late.

I'm pretty jealous of my friend in Connecticut. They got 20+ inches of snow last weekend in the blizzard that hit the east coast. I'm ready for a blizzard here. I love it that it just brings everything to a complete stop! We are supposed to get some snow later this week, but I don't think it's anywhere close to 20 inches. Oh well. Our friends moved to Connecticut from Arkansas last fall, so how fun for their kids to get to enjoy SNOW, SNOW, and more SNOW!!!

Like the title of the post says, this is random stuff...really random. And that is exactly how my life feels these days.

Blessings,
Meredith

9th Birthday!

Today is Will's 9th birthday! Wow! Nine years old. It seems unreal.

He woke up earlier than usual this morning and discovered that it snowed last night! We got about 4-5 inches, and it has continued to snow all day long. A snow day would have been great but the roads were drivable, so school was open. Bummer! We let him open gifts this morning, and then he enjoyed his choice of birthday breakfast--toaster strudel (truly a treat at our house because I'm known as the "sugar sheriff"!) Right now he's playing the new game he got for his Game Cube--Narnia, and in a little while we're going to order pizza. We couldn't squeeze a birthday party into the weekend, but have something planned for next weekend with about 3-4 of his friends. You know we like to stretch these birthday celebrations out as long as we possibly can. All in all he's had a GREAT day.

Maybe...just maybe...I'll post a picture of the birthday boy later.

Cough and sniffles--yuck!

For the last two weeks, our family has been passing around some sort of virus. Will had it first and quickly passed it to Sarah. Sarah seemed to get over it quickly, only to have it resurge last week. Now it seems Abbey and I have it. We've both got a runny nose (constant sniffling) and a croupy cough. I kept her home from preschool today because she sounds terrible when she coughs and she's also got a slight temperature. Please pray that we feel better soon!

International Anglican Church

For the last 16 months, our family has been attending International Anglican Church in Colorado Springs. We happened upon this particular church in an unusual way. One afternoon in October 2004, we picked up a new book by an author we like, who also happens to be a Christian counselor in the Springs. On the acknowledgements page of the book, she thanks the "thirsty hearts at International Anglican Church". My writer husband is the only person I know who actually reads the acknowledgements page of a book, but read it he did, and then proceeded to look it up on the web. He told me he thought we should check it out, which we did the following weekend. Our first visit was extraordinary, and we both knew that our hearts had found a resting place. We haven't yet officially linked ourselves to this church, but it has been a "home" to us in many ways these last sixteen months.

International Anglican Church is affiliated with the Anglican Mission in America. The Episcopal Church falls under the Anglican umbrella (though Episcopal is a term unique to the United States; everywhere else in the world, they're known as Anglicans). The Anglican church is governed by bishops who each oversee a geographical province. Episcopal bishops here in the US have the same responsibilities. If you keep up with current events, you know that the Episcopal church has taken an extreme liberally stance on many issues in recent years, some of which were in direct violation of scripture. Again, this liberal stance is unique to the Anglican church in the United States (the Episcopals) and is not characterstic of the larger Anglican community. So, back in 2000, a group of conservative Episcopals broke away from the Episcopal church and sought to establish a more conservative congregation under the authority of an Anglican bishop from Rwanda. Hence, the formation of the Anglican Mission in America. Interestingly, the first AMiA church in the United States was formed in Little Rock, AR. What developed was a network of churches committed to the supremacy of scripture, to the person of Jesus, and to salvation through faith in Christ. Our church in the Springs was formed just 3 years ago.

Ours is also a liturgical church. The word liturgy means "the work of the people" and our service is very interactive, so yes, we WORK! We're not up and down and kneeling as much as I remember from my Catholic upbringing, but we do participate very much in the service. We sing, we have responsive readings, we pray out loud during certain times, we stand when God's word is read, and we go forward for Communion each week (see, kinda similar to our Baptist roots). We follow a liturgical calendar which breaks the calendar year into seasons like Advent and Lent. I read somewhere that AMiA churches borrow from from three different movements to form an evangelical, liturgical, and charismatic body. PLEASE don't let the charismatic element freak you out. We're not exorcising demons or anything like that. It simply means that the Holy Spirit has an active (as opposed to passive) role in our worship and teaching. Our worship is very contemporary and very similar to what we've been used to. Yes, people in our church raise their hands and move about, but we love that they have the freedom to do that! When that expressiveness stems from a pure heart, it is a beautiful thing!

Hopefully that is enough to give you a feel of what we're a part of at this time. Allow me another paragraph or two to tell you a few things I love about it. First of all, I love going to Communion EVERY week. Yes, it takes more time and makes for a longer service but it is SO worth it. There is something really special about rising to your feet, walking up an aisle, moving TOWARDS Jesus (while reflecting on His sacrifice), and receiving the bread and wine (gasp...yes, REAL wine!) This just feels like the "real deal", folks. Not some measly, stale cracker and a swig of grape juice, but a hunk of bread and a sip of wine. I can't explain it fully, but the first time I received communion at this church, it felt like I had received it for the first time. Like I was getting something "meaty" and not just crumbs.

I also really like the Lenten season. During the 6 weeks or so before Easter, we refrain from using the word, "Alleluia" in our services. This is a somber season, and "Alleluia" is a celebratory word. It is normally used a handful of times during the service but not during Lent. Last year, on Easter Sunday, we all brought bells (all types--cowbells, even) and rang them madly each time we said "Alleluia". Even thinking about it now brings tears of joy to my eyes...what a CELEBRATION!!! Two years ago, while at our church in Palmer Lake, we made palm leaves out of construction paper for the children to wave as they sang a song during the worship service on Palm Sunday. Well...last year on Palm Sunday, we all congregated outside our church, and were given real palm branches (I mean the REAL thing) and we all walked into the church waving them and singing HOSANNA!! Everytime we said "Hosanna" during the service, we waved our branches in the air. It was amazing to see everyone's branches filling the church, and it was a far cry from the construction paper ones I watched the children wave the previous year.

Everything about this church just seems REAL, and I like it that I feel like I have a part to play and I'm not just a spectator here. I like it for many more reasons, but I'm afraid I've already written too much. Hopefully, this answers some questions/concerns you have. I have a link to our church's website (right side of this page) which explains far better than I ever could about the actual theology and traditions. If you're interested in learning more, check it out.

One friend in Arkansas was befuddled about our choice when we mentioned it last year in our Christmas letter. As I tried to explain to her that we were in a GOOD place, she asked her bottom line question...are we going to end up in the same place when we die? The answer is YES, YES, YES!!!

**Thanks J and C for pointing out my typos! Yes, even I mess up on occasion! (smile!)

A Day of Rest

Sundays are meant to be a day of rest. They weren't very restful for much of my adult life, but when we moved to Colorado, Sundays changed dramatically for us. Our church here didn't have Sunday evening services so our Sunday afternoons became slow and restful....and wonderful! The last three days have literally been non-stop for me, and I've been looking forward to this afternoon ALL WEEK! I didn't manage a nap, but I did get to read the Sunday edition of the Denver Post (one of my favorite things!) and we've been watching the Super Bowl too. I snuck downstairs after half-time to post this quick note here!

Yesterday I went to a Discovery Class at our church. It was an all day event that explained much of the Anglican history and theology because most of the folks that worship with us don't have an Anglican background. It was actually very interesting, and I'm glad I got to be a part of it yesterday. I hope one day this week to post more about yesterday, and about our church and why we love it. I know that a lot of our friends in the South think we've joined a cult or something because Anglican isn't a word you hear very often. Rest assured we haven't...and I'll give you the scoop when I have more time and get my thoughts together! Honestly though, I want to get back upstairs and watch the Super Bowl. I'm cheering for the Steelers. We know several folks here who are from Pittsburgh, and even though they beat the Broncos, we'd love to see them win...so GO STEELERS!!!

Really really random stuff...

I'm finding it is so boring to post stuff on here without adding pictures. I know that some of you don't mind and that you still enjoy keeping up with us this way, but my kids are such a big part of my life that leaving out pictures just isn't as much fun for me. Maybe soon I'll sneak one or two in!

Today is unofficially hump day--the middle of the week! It's been another busy one and we're looking forward to the weekend--even though it's shaping up to be busy too!

We got some good news yesterday. John was offered a year-long writing contract from the guy he met with last week. He is guaranteed a certain number of hours each month, and more importantly is guaranteed a monthly paycheck. We're both grateful for that. Until the contract is signed, sealed, and delivered, I'm not at liberty to divulge more, but it exciting news! We're STILL waiting for his big paycheck for work done in December. We're hoping this week. However, God continues to show up in big ways for us in regard to financial matters, and we're beyond grateful!

Our oldest child is celebrating a birthday next week. He will be NINE years old. It still seems unbelievable to me that he is that old. Time really does pass quickly, so quickly.

I'm still on track with my read-thru-the Bible plan. Actually, I'm two chapters behind on Job, but that's not a bad way to start February. I hope to catch up on those two chapters this week. I mention this only because some of you have asked. Thanks for keeping me on task!

We watched Cinderella Man last weekend and really loved it. It was such a beautiful picture of HOPE! I needed that little boost of encouragement. I found it funny that I've rented that movie THREE times and returned it unwatched twice before finally watching it last Saturday. I don't want to read too much into that, but I got a beautiful picture of hope at just the time I needed it. Coincidence or a God-thing? Hmmm.

And finally, while we're on the subject of movies, I just got email notification that Blockbuster.com shipped "Auntie Mame". I know it's kinda lame, but it is one of our favorite movies. It's sentimental to us, and good for more than a few laughs. Now...we just have to find some free time to watch it!