Holiday Blizzard 06

Got snow? We sure do. 18 inches and counting!

The news media is calling this the Holiday Blizzard 06 and let me tell you it is a MESS! Here's a sampling of what's going on "in our neck of the woods". The wind has been howling since just after midnight Tuesday. Sustained wind speeds of 25-30 mph (gusts up to 65mph) have been blowing snow creating blizzard conditions for over 30 hours. We've got 4-5 foot drifts in our yard. I'm sitting at John's computer downstairs in the basement and our window wells (at least 4ft deep) are completely filled with snow. They haven't plowed our streets (wind would just re-cover the cleared area in minutes) and snow is up to the bumpers of cars outside (most of which are stuck in the street).

In Colorado Springs, malls are closed, banks are closed, and the Post Office and UPS called their delivery trucks in yesterday just after noon. Denver airport shut down, the interstate was closed from Denver to the Kansas border AND from Denver south to the New Mexico border.

John made it to work yesterday morning, but they sent him home at 10am. His return trip wasn't pretty. When the wind is blowing that hard, it creates white-out conditions where you literally can't see anything in front of you. He told me he had to stick his head out of the window (into blowing snow) to TRY to see if he was even on the road. His windshield wipers were freezing up, the defroster couldn't keep the windshield clear, and so he had to keep clearing the window everytime he stopped. Talk about a scary commute! He arrived safely two hours later, but had to walk the last block home when his car got stuck in deep snow at the end of our street. It's still there as are dozens of other cars, which is going to make plowing an interesting job--more likely a major headache for the plow drivers.

One of our good friends has been in South Africa since Thanksgiving on a sabbatical trip. His return flight was supposed to arrive in Denver last night around 6pm. Cancelled. Because of the heavy holiday traveling, he wasn't able to re-schedule his flight home until 10pm Friday night...and if he didn't take that one, his other choice was to arrive on Christmas day. What a NIGHTMARE! He's just one of THOUSANDS of passengers trying to get somewhere.

And think about retail. They've officially been closed for 1.5 days now (most have said they'll open at noon today). We're at the height of the holiday shopping season. When John worked at REI, it wasn't uncommon this time of year for daily sales to be in the $85,000-100,000 range. Think about what closing down does for them...yuck. And think about what malls and Walmart are gonna look like around here on Friday/Saturday/Sunday. I'm already cringing b/c I have some shopping to finish up myself.

I think that UPS and the USPS are feeling some stress right now. I just read on the newschannel's website that we won't be getting mail service again today. Their trucks can't get to our neighborhoods. Someone's gonna be busy on Christmas Eve, huh?

I'm am thrilled though that the kids didn't have school yesterday or today. I was whining about today being their last day, but things definitely worked out much more to my liking. We got started on some of our Christmas baking yesterday, and just enjoyed having the day "off" from errands and from holiday stress!

Holiday Blizzard 06! Fun, fun, fun! We're under a blizzard warning until noon today and hopefully the storm will move on out and things can begin to clear up around here. We're definitely going to have a white Christmas because this much snow isn't going anywhere!!!

Got It

We got that snow day I was hoping for. Started snowing last night and is quickly piling up out there. 8-16 inches predicted...whoo hoo!...and should continue through tomorrow afternoon. Snow is in the forecast for the weekend and again on Christmas Day! I LOVE it!!!

Surprise!

Today can best be summed up as a day of surprises--some good and some not so good.

John usually leaves about 7ish in the mornings, but this morning he had some things to do in Monument and left a little closer to 8am. He stopped at home right before I was leaving to take kids to school and offered to start my van...only it wouldn't start. Surprise (and not a good one!). John took everyone to school, took the morning off, and eventually we got Minnie-the-van going again ($2xx later--ugh!).

The kids and I got home this afternoon and found two packages on our front porch (surprise!). I wasn't expecting anything so that was extra nice, as were the 12 Christmas cards we got in the mail. I love going to the mailbox this time of year.

And tonight we had a babysitter come so we could attend a surprise 50th birthday party for one of our favorite friends. Her husband rented out a jazz club and it was a cool party. She was semi-surpised by it all...it's hard to pull off a surprise that big, but she loved it and we felt privileged to be a part of her special night. And while we were there, we got to visit with a couple from our church that we sorta/kinda know. They invited us to grab some coffee after the party and we were again surprised by the easy conversation and the common ground we shared! Cool new friends! Surprise!

We had some other not so good surprises along the way today...it felt more like opposition. A lot of stuff today felt really, really HARD! But...God also showed up and surprised us in some very personal and life-giving ways...and I'm thankful for the eyes to see His hand in it all.

I'm heading to bed in a few minutes...hoping to wake up to another surprise. Snow is in our forecast and I'd love to wake up to a snow day! That would be a very welcome gift! I'll keep you posted!

One week until Christmas...man, oh man. My mantra these days is "It will all get done, it will all get done, it WILL all get done". John and I started our shopping last Friday night--online. We don't usually wait this long to begin shopping but between his new job (and finishing up the work he was previously contracted for) and my volunteer project, we were both swamped and unable to find time to shop. Thank goodness for the internet. I didn't even mind paying the steep shipping costs to insure on-time delivery. Anything that saves me a trip to the mall is a very good thing. I did have to get out and do some other shopping yesterday and again this afternoon, and I'll probably take Abbey tomorrow afternoon and finish up. They're forecasting a pretty big storm this week, so my hope is to get things wrapped up tomorrow.

My kids are in school until Thursday (Wednesday for Abbey)! Thursday! That seems so late to me...especially since most districts in and around Colorado Springs dismissed last Friday. I'm a little bummed that only gives us 2 days before Christmas Eve, but after further consideration, I realized it gave me a few extra days to get some things done before I have everyone at home. I'll take it!

We were excited last week to visit with some of our best friends from Arkansas. They spent several days skiing at Copper and then came and spent Thursday night and most of Friday with us. They brought their little guy with them and we enjoyed hanging out them so much!

When John began his new job a month or so ago, a fellow employee from the art department approached him and asked if he'd be willing to be Jesus in an upcoming photo shoot. If you've seen John lately, you'd know why they asked him. His hair is long and he's got a full beard, and people jokingly refer to him as Jesus quite often. In fact, one lady at church told me recently that her little boy asked her when "the guy who looks like Jesus" was going to preach again. Funny. Well, today was the photo shoot and John came home with a lot of make-up on his face and a check for $25 in his pocket. I'll let you know what they use his photo for--some upcoming publication of some sort. He's becoming quite the model, huh? If you'll remember back to January, John and Will had their photo taken for an article in Pray! magazine. This time though, they actually took a photo of his face!

The North Pole!

Today a friend and I took our kids to the North Pole, a family theme park just outside of Colorado Springs. It was so FUN! I let them have the day off from school and that proved to be a very good thing. There were no crowds and therefore, no lines! We didn't have to wait for anything...not even our visit/photo with Santa. It was GREAT. We rode lots of rides, and because it wasn't crowded, the operators let the kids ride for as long as they wanted. I got to ride most of the rides too because Abbey needed an adult to go with her, and I realized that I'm not the biggest fan of roller coasters (even the kiddie coasters) and those pendulum-type rides that swing back and forth. Ughhh. Abbey was so fun to ride with though. She squealed with glee and her delight was contagious. It was a good day to be a kid! It even snowed on us...which just made it feel all the more like the NORTH POLE! I think we've discovered a new December tradition!

Today in Colorado Springs there was a memorial service for a police officer who was shot and killed during a traffic stop last week. So very sad. As we were driving back from the North Pole, we got to see the police motorcade. Cars were stopped all along the interstate (a 10-mile stretch of interstate was closed for the procession) and people were standing out in the cold saluting the officers as they drove past. It was very moving. Amond those standing outside were firefighters, highway department workers, truckers, and families. I've never seen anything like it, nor have I ever seen that many police cars. There were hundreds and they were from all over Colorado and many other states as well!!! They were all driving with their flashing lights on and you could see them coming for miles. I don't even have words to describe how moving it all was. It was a good opportunity to talk to the kids about sacrifice and honor...and it was a rather serious moment until Sarah cracked a joke and things went south from there. Check out photos from the procession at www.newsblab.com (click on blog and scroll down)

I'm hoping to get our Christmas cards mailed this week. It's a big job, but I've been chipping away at it...and John just finished our letter tonight. Yea. Almost finished. If you haven't gotten our letter in the past, send me your address and I'll add you to our list. You can reply to this post or click my profile and there's an email link! Merry Christmas!!!

What a Week!

To say that last week was busy for me would be a major understatement. It was insanely busy. I have a whole lot of stuff going on. All of it is good, but it's a lot to add to an already busy time of year. So this weekend was restful for me. And now I'm ready for another busy week (I hope!).

So in the midst of this busyness, I had a really, really cool gift delivered to my door last Wednesday afternoon. The gift was dinner! One of our friends in Chicago overnighted 2 world-famous deep dish Chicago pizzas to us. I just had to thaw and bake, and it was Y-U-M! It was THE best pizza I've ever put in my mouth...and there are some terrific pizza places in Colorado. Thanks RM (aka St. Nick!)! You rock!

Last week I got together with a friend and spent the morning baking. We made lots of cookies and some fudge and ran out of time to make some of our other Christmas favorites. I finished some of that up this weekend with the kids (relaxing for me!). While we were baking last week, we hatched a plan to take our kids to see Santa at the North Pole. Seriously. The North Pole is a mini-amusement park outside of Colorado Springs. They have rides, Christmas shops, elves, and of course Santa is there. The only problem was finding a time during all this craziness to actually GO. We decided it would be fun to let the kids miss school and go, so that's our plan for tomorrow. I didn't tell them until this afternoon, but they're pretty pumped! I'm just thankful that it won't be as crowded...unless there are other moms out there who are thinking what we're thinking. We'll see. It's supposed to be pretty cold tomorrow (fitting for the North Pole!) so we're taking hats, mittens, and plenty of hot cocoa!

Woo Hoo--It's a SNOW DAY!

When it started snowing last night, our kids started praying for a snow day. Will even did a little snow dance--quite hilarious I must say. John woke me up about 6am to tell me our district had a two hour delay, but at 7am when I turned on the tv, they had upgraded the delay to a CLOSURE! Woo Hoo. We're all excited about having a day at home! The only bummer in it all is that John had to go to work. We all prayed for him to arrive safely (he did) and prayed for us to enjoy our day without him--the kids were really sad to say goodbye this morning. Me too. I like it best when we're all home together. We're all still adjusting to this full-time thing.

It's VERY cold outside so I don't think we'll be venturing out. Our temp right now is 16degrees...and it will continue to drop throughout the day. We only have about 3-4 inches of snow, but we're supposed to get 3-6 more inches today. The kids want to bake cookies and just veg. Sounds great to me. We stopped by the library yesterday afternoon after running a few errands and the kids have new books to read and a couple of dvds to watch. They're upstairs reading right now...and I'm not far behind them.
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UPDATE: We've had a restful, relaxing day. Baked cookies the easy way--from the dough we got from our dairy delivery service! Read some books, did some laundry, and right now the kids are upstairs watching The Electric Company. Now THAT'S a blast from the past, huh? I found a dvd yesterday at the library and my kids are glued to it. It's hilarious. HEY YOU GUUYYYSS! Remember that? I'm reliving my childhood while my kids are mesmerized. But hey, it's educational! So I'll let them watch a while longer!

Yesterday morning, I woke up and got my Sunday paper and sat down at the kitchen table with my tea to read and enjoy a slow Sunday morning. It's my favorite part of Sunday. Will stumbled into the kitchen just a few minutes after I did and asked for part of the paper. When I was his age, I did the same thing. And you know what part of the paper I wanted? The comics, of course. But not my X.5 year old. He specifically retrieves the Best Buy and Circuit City flyers EVERY week and proceeds to pore over them. Weird, huh? My kids are only in elementary school, but they have a Technology class. They're learning keyboarding, power point, and from time to time get to surf the net. When I was in high school I typed all my papers on a typewriter...using CORRECTION tape. They know nothing more than the delete key. I feel ancient when I think about that...but grateful for the role technology plays in each of our lives. Technology allows me to communicate with all of you via this blog. Cool, cool, cool!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our friends. It was so relaxing and FUN. We rode horses (just the kids) and four-wheelers and the weather was perfect. It was a perfect holiday really! The ranch they live on is beautiful and I think we explored every part of it. We saw deer and coyote and beautiful scenery everywhere we looked. We're going to go back this weekend and take our family Christmas picture!

Oh...I have a great movie recommendation for you. Last week we watched Akeelah and the Bee. It was terrific. It's about a young girl from the ghettos who shines at spelling...especially spelling bees. It was a beautiful story and the little girl will win your heart! We loved it.

Abbey and I went to Walmart this afternoon. Have I mentioned how much I dislike Walmart? I watched a documentary about the discount giant this summer and swore I'd never shop there again. One should really never say things like that unless you have an iron resolve. Walmart just opened in our town 2 months ago, and I've already been there 2-3 times. I think today was visit #4. They really are the cheapest place to shop--you know--Always Low Prices. My motto though is Always Bad Mood. Every time I leave that place I'm in a foul mood. I don't know why, but I am...just ask John. Anyway, we got what we needed and left. One thing on my list was a snow shovel. We're expecting another winter storm this week and our pitiful shovel broke during the blizzard last month. Now we're prepared!

Have you ever heard of Nooma? While at our friends last week, we watched 3 Noomas. They're short films about everyday stuff that convey a spiritual truth. I think the films are intended to be a springboard into discussion. And by the way, they are EXCELLENT. I'm hoping our small group will decide to use this format for our next semester. Really, really cool! The guy behind the idea is a Michigan pastor named Rob Bell. He also wrote a book titled "Velvet Elvis" which I'm reading right now and it is fantastic. Check it out at www.Nooma.com

I forgot to mention...

I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that we STILL have snow on the ground from our blizzard last month. On Thursday, October 26, we got over 2 feet of snow in about 12 hours. It was CRAZY. At some points throughout the day, we were getting 3-5 inches PER HOUR!!! Colorado Springs was deserted...schools were closed, offices were closed, malls were closed, even the interstate was closed. We were scheduled to fly to Arkansas the next day. We were able to make it to Denver the next morning, but it took us 20 minutes just to get out of our DRIVEWAY! It was a mess! Despite our nice temps this week 50s/60s, there is still quite a bit of snow on the ground all over town, our backyard included. Not really enough to play in, but enough to remind us to be thankful for the beautiful week we're having!!!! Hope yours is nice too!

Thanksgiving!

I didn't realize it had been so long since I've posted. I've been meaning to, really I have, but time just seems to escape me these days. I've LOVED today because we've stayed home ALL day. That has got to be one of my most favorite things...I'm definitely a home-body. The kids have the week off from school. That's a first since we've lived in Colorado, and it's unfortunate that we're not traveling this year. Those two extra days would have been very nice!

Our original plans were to join my family for Thanksgiving at my sister's house, but that all changed two weeks ago. John was offered a job at Cook Communications Ministries, a Christian publishing company in Colorado Springs, and he took it! Last Monday was his first day. His official title is Developmental/Acquisitions Editor (fancy-schmancy, huh?) and he'll be part of a team working to build the book division at Cook. It's definitely a change for our family, but he's excited about it and feels like it was time for this next step. I'm happy and a little sad too. I've loved having him work from home for the last two years, and not just because he has helped me so much...I just enjoy being around him. We'd eat lunch upstairs every day, run errands on his slow days, go for Starbucks dates when the kids were in school, and prepare dinner together each night. That all came to an abrupt end last week, and I'm grieving the loss. BUT, having a consistent paycheck will be so nice. It is a blessing for us.

So instead of traveling this week, we're taking it easy at home. Some very good friends of ours are caretakers on a ranch just west of Denver and they invited us to come spend some time this week with them. We're super excited about it. They're like grandparents to our kids who ADORE them. And Kathy called this morning with a great surprise: they got two horses over the weekend--Doc and Pale. I don't know who's more excited about that...them or our kids. They're already trying to figure out who's riding which horse first and which adult they want to go with them. So, it should be fun. We're heading there after we have our traditional Blase family Thanksgiving breakfast at IHOP (in our pajamas!). The kids think it's great because they don't have to wait on everyone to get dressed to go out to breakfast! We do get some strange looks, but it's FUN, and I guarantee you my kids will remember that for their lifetime!

Are you keeping up with the Razorbacks this season? They are ROCKIN'!!! I am pumped they're on television Friday (national television!) and will be glued to the tube. At Will's class Halloween party a few weeks ago, I was talking to another mom who is new to our school this year and she mentioned they were from Missouri. When I told her I was from Arkansas, she got so excited because she and her husband are UofA alums. Sarah and I had just been to the Razorback game in Little Rock that weekend and she was in disbelief. It's been fun to have a new friend who is as crazy about them as I am...AND who lives in Colorado! I've seen her at school the last few Mondays and we always talk Razorback football! I'm thinking I could get her to go with me to a game next year! Go HOGS Go! Beat LSU!!!

so lovely

I took the kids to a birthday party on Saturday. It was a party for our next door neighbor who was four. His party was at this place in Colorado Springs called Pump It Up! It's a warehouse type building filled with giant inflatable slides, bounce houses, obstacle courses and more. You have so sign a waiver for your kids to play and it's really a lot of fun. I raced with Sarah and Will on the the obstacle course and lost every time. Abbey didn't like the obstacle course though and begged me to slide down the giant slide with her...so being the fun mom I am, said "Sure, c'mon sweetie!". Well...at the end of the slide, we had a slight collision. Basically the back of her very hard head hit the bridge of my nose and POP! I heard it and thought it was broken. It started bleeding and swelling immediately and I had to lie down. I called John to come meet me and we got the kids situated and went to the ER for x-rays. It wasn't broken (thank God!) but very badly bruised. It's looking nice and lovely today and my eyes are both black. I'm a sight to behold. Wish I could hide out at home this week, but there is way too much going on! Moral of the story: Be very afraid of places that make you sign a waiver to play...the nurses at the ER told us they see sooooo many Pump It Up incidents. NOW you tell me!

Last week we had our first big snow. 8 inches. Wow! The kids had a delayed start at school and they were so excited about playing in it. I forgot how much I dread all the gear (and subsequent laundry) we have to have just to enjoy the snow! Then the weatherman reminded us that we have about 7 more months of snow...seriously!

The kids got their report cards yesterday (we're on trimester system) and they did so great. Very proud of them. We have conferences with their teachers tomorrow and they're out of school on Thursday and Friday. We're also gearing up for Halloween. I've got to get their costumes figured out. More on that later.

Last week we went to a fun party at some friends' house. They had wild game night. We didn't play TWISTER or PICTIONARY, but instead ate wild game--dove, pheasant, duck, quail, and venison. It was Yummy!!! Our hosts are friends of ours from church, but they have a couple of social circles they run in. They invited friends from each of their circles to get to gether and meet each other. I loved that idea. We have so much overlap in our own lives...it was nice to put faces with names and make new friends! Fun.

Gotta run...my nose story was too funny NOT to blog about. And for those of you who know me really well...you'll remember this is not the first time this has happened to me. About 12 years ago, I was at a Valentines Party and thinking I was running back inside to grab my purse, ran smack into a sliding glass door. Same thing--not broken, badly bruised, and two black eyes. Good grief!

Wooooooooo Pig Sooooie!

It is a happy happy day for me when Arkansas Razorback games are televised nationally!! Such was the case today. I had forgotten until my sister called to remind me. So I parked my rear in front of the television and enjoyed three hours of fall football bliss. As usual, it was a nail-biting, breath-holding, fight-to-the-double-overtime-finish, but the Hogs won and I was happy! Razorback games are one thing that make me homesick. Sarah and I are hoping to make it to a game in October. It probably won't have the same drama as today's game, but we're both getting excited about it! Fun, fun, fun!

Well...it has officially arrived. Snow. It's been snowing off and on all day today. Mostly it's been mixed with rain and it hasn't been sticking, but it's definitely snow. More chances of it tomorrow too. And it looks like winter in the mountains west of here...icy roads, blowing snow advisories, FEET of snow, etc. Crazy stuff, huh? We went to some friends house today (kids were out today for a teacher work-day) and they came running upstairs when they spotted the first flakes. They were hoping Monday would be a snow day and were already planning how they'd spend it. I hate to disappoint them, but those days will arrive soon enough! I believe this is the earliest we've seen snow since we've lived here. Yesterday was the official end of summer (today the beginning of fall) and it's felt more like winter around here with highs in the 40s. I'm off to find my fleece pjs and curl up by the fireplace with a cup of chai and another LOST dvd. See ya!

A Thankful Heart

Hi all. I don't think I'm back "full-time" on this blog, but I'm feeling very thankful this morning and this is a good place to share what I'm thankful for...

...for snow on Pikes Peak
...for my children's teachers this year. God answered prayer! They're all great!
...for all of you who've been praying for me
...for the work God is doing in my heart/life (vague, I know, but stay tuned...)
...for glorious temperatures in Colorado (60s/70s day, 30s/40s night!)
...for Abbey's improved health (we were in the hospital last week b/c of another vomiting episode!)
...for God's hand in my business...it's going really, really well these days
...for John, and his commitment to me and our children
...for a new day, with new mercies
...for my friends, Angela, Jan, and Char who have greatly blessed my heart this week
...for health and LIFE...there are so many we know who are suffering right now
...for Jesus
...amen.

In just a little while John's parents will be arriving for a visit. I've been working like mad trying to get things in order around here and have finally found a few minutes to rest before they arrive. We're looking forward to their visit. Our kids have a long list of things they want to do with their Mimi and Papa. John and I have a list too. We're hoping to get away for an overnight trip while they're here. We haven't done that in such a long time. And we need it.

Last week we took a little road trip to Santa Fe. John was planning to go alone and meet up with a dear friend. He spent a week in Santa Fe last year at a retreat. This year, time and finances didn't allow him to go for the entire time, but he took a couple of days and we tagged along with him. He and his friend were gracious to allow the kids and I to share their time. Anyway, it was beautiful there. The architecture was fascinating, and so was all the art. I read on the internet that Santa Fe is the 3rd largest art market in the US behind New York and Los Angeles. Pretty impressive. Our time was too short to fully explore all that Santa Fe had to offer, though we did get a taste. We hope to go back...alone...sometime. The kids were thrilled though that the hotel had a pool. I'm pretty sure that if you asked them they'd tell you that getting to swim made their entire summer.

We took the long way home from Santa Fe...up through Taos and the Sangre de Cristo mountains. It was the best part of the entire trip for me. It was breathtakingly beautiful. La Veta Pass in southern Colorado is stunning. I think I would move in a heartbeat. We saw grove after grove of aspen and even a herd of elk grazing at dusk. So beautiful. My heart was so sick that I forgot my camera on this trip. Can you believe it? I always have my camera with me...but not this time. Thankfully John's friend took some for me! I was so grateful.

We stopped and ate dinner in Taos and while there this car flagged us down in a parking lot. The folks were from Arkansas and noticed my Arkansas Razorback license plate frame. Turns out they were from Hot Springs...about 20 miles from where we moved here from. We talked for a few minutes and they asked us if we'd heard any Arkansas news that week. We had indeed heard the day we left that Paul Eells, a beloved sportscaster had died in a tragic car accident. I was so sad when John's mom passed that news onto us that morning. I'm a huge Hogs fan and if the Hogs were playing on television, I'd always mute the tv to hear Paul Eells' broadcast. He was such a great guy and his death is a huge, huge loss to the entire state of Arkansas. That same sadness will be felt this fall when the Hogs play and I can't stream the audio from the games. It struck me as odd that we found ourselves in Taos, NM grieving together with fellow Arkansasans over his death. Small world, huh?

Friday afternoon John found a snake in our garage. YIKES! It was pretty small but any size snake is scary to me. He killed it and disposed of it and we still don't know what kind it was. Hopefully non-poisonous. It freaked me out a little that the kids and I had been outside about 30 minutes before he saw it...barefoot of course.

This morning at church we sang on of my new favorite worship songs. It's called AMAZING GOD and it is beautiful. Here are a couple of lines from it: Indescribable, Uncontainable, You placed the stars in the sky and You know them by name, You are Amazing God...and another line...You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same...you are Amazing God. So that particular line about God seeing the depths of my heart really struck me. Right now there is a lot being stirred in the depths of my heart...and truthfully, it is hard for me. God is asking me to journey through some of that stuff right now and I've tip-toed into it. I know He's asking me to go a little deeper and I'm doing that...just very slowly. All that to say that I'm going to take a little break from blogging. I don't know how long a break it will be. I do know that I need to take care of myself right now. My temptation is great on the days that I blog to paint the happy picture of our lives. Truth be told, our lives are happy, very happy. But along with the happy is also some hard stuff. And I need to look at that honestly and wholeheartedly. So...stay tuned. I'll be back and I'm sure I'll have plenty to report. And if you would pray for me while I look at some of this stuff that runs deep...I'd be grateful.

Eight-Year-Old Fashion Diva

We've got a little fashion queen living in our home. Sarah has a real sense of what's fashionable and what's not, what she wants to wear and what she doesn't want to wear. Yesterday the kids and I met some friends in Castle Rock for a movie. After the movie, we made a quick stop at the GAP outlet, because it's a shame to be that close and not venture in. I have great luck there finding stuff for the kids and their prices are great! I was looking at the boys stuff, then the toddler girls stuff while Sarah spent about 10 minutes perusing the little girls section. She then came and found me and showed me the outfit she had picked out. It's quite fashionable...black gauchos and a hip, green tee. Being the "yes" mom that I am these days, I let her buy it. She did a little fashion show for her dad when we got home and he gave the thumbs up. She looks adorable in it. I've learned the hard way that Sarah has her own fashion sense...and it's quite different from mine. Sometimes I rebel against her style and just buy the clothes I think she should wear. I usually regret it because they hang in her closet looking new at the end of the season, leading to some serious school morning battles. (Abbey has a great many outfits waiting for her to grow into!) I'm slowly realizing that she just needs the space to forge her own way here. Being allowed to choose her clothes that match her style is a good thing, and I see how it makes her little heart come alive. She loves it. She even loves picking out my clothes. John and I got a sitter and went on a date last Saturday night and she came in my room before I started getting ready and rummaged through my closet for the perfect outfit for me. She chose one, took the things off of the hangers, then laid it out on the bed for me...complete with jewelry and shoes. She told me what I needed to wear to the movies yesterday, and she gets Abbey dressed for me most mornings. I think she'd even pick out her daddy's clothes if he'd let her! I'm kinda slow sometimes to get things, but I think I'm finally, ever so slowly, tuning in to the heart of this creative child of mine. And lengthening my motherly tether just a bit. Just a bit.

And then there is her big brother. So much like me. I told John the other night that I think I need to call both of my parents and apologize for being such a pest at age 9. You know how your parents tell you they hope you have a child just like yourself? Well...I got one. John just looks from me to Will and back to me and laughs out loud sometimes. Slightly irritating. But Will is so much like me. He's constantly asking things like...are you sure you know how to get there, are we going to be on time, did we bring enough money? And he has ears that don't miss ANYTHING. John and I used to talk in code around him but he's even deciphered most of that by now. So now we just whisper...and even that is often overheard. "Mom, did you say we were going to Target? Really? Don't they have toys there? Can I get a toy? I have $8 but the one I want costs $15, so can I still get it? Are we still going to Target? When are we going to Target? Have you decided if I can get the toy I want?" Get the picture? I know I was the same way. So left-brained...and so not like John and Sarah.

The jury's still out on Abbey but we're starting to see some of that birth order stuff emerge. She is very funny...and she knows it. Usually the youngest tends to be the clown and it seems that's the path she's taking. John told me the other morning she woke up early, shortly after he did, and she asked him to cut up a banana for her. Maybe ten seconds later she walked in the kitchen and asked him, "Dad, how are you coming along with that banana?" She makes us all laugh around here. And her own laughter is contagious.

Well my intent wasn't to turn this into a post all about our kids but I've strayed far from that intent. It's okay though. They're the central focus of our lives right now and they're each a beautiful gift. So unique and so very loved. Fiercely loved.

Bummer!

John's sermon from a few weeks ago is available for download from our church's website (see link on the sidebar at right)...the bummer is that only the first 7 minutes got recorded. That is definitely too bad because it was one of his best sermons yet. Our loss for sure.

I'm a newsy girl. I read the Denver Post faithfully every morning while drinking my tea, and I try to catch the news every evening. We have a particular news station that we like here. The news team is kinda goofy, but we like the main weather guy a lot. Tonight I turned on the news while getting dinner together, and instead of the usual weather guy appearing, the station manager came on and reported that Mr. Weatherman was "suspended without pay" until further notice. Apparently, last night the weatherman cut into local programming with a storm alert, and when they went back to regular programming, his mic wasn't turned off and he let a couple of "f" bombs slip. Yikes. He apologized on air last night (the one night I didn't watch the 10 o'clock news!) but his future is yet to be determined. I feel sorry for him. We all make mistakes and I really hope this one doesn't cost him his job. Seems like a well known guy made a similar mistake recently and the public was pretty willing to overlook it and forgive him.

It's been a busy week. Only three more until school starts! Bummer indeed. The time is already filling up and that only makes it seem shorter. So as much as I can, I'm trying to rest and have days of doing nothing. As much as I can.

The Wiping Decade

In January '04 I attended a Captivating conference in Buena Vista, CO. Captivating is the sister book to Wild at Heart by John Eldredge and he co-wrote Captivating with his wife, Stasi. Anyway, Stasi was describing the current season of life I find myself in as the wiping decade...ten years of wiping noses, bottoms, tears, spills, etc. When I heard that term, Abbey wasn't yet two and it really resonated with me. But I've realized this summer that my decade of wiping is drawing to a close. Not too long ago I took the kids to their favorite park (Colorado Springs has GREAT parks) and I took along a book and a lawn chair. I spent most of the time reading uninterrupted. Two years ago that seemed like a far-away dream. One afternoon this week I spent about 2 hours scrapbooking in my room, while the kids played in theirs. Unbelievable. Even last summer that was impossible unless they were all tucked in for the night. So I'm thrilled that the labor-intensive part of parenting is coming to a close, but wondering what the next decade of parenting will hold for us.

Okay...I need to do a little nutritional ranting. Unless you've been on Jupiter for the last year or two, you've heard and know how bad trans fat is for you and your arteries. There's been a major campaign to get trans fat out of foods...like chips, baked goods, things with a shelf life, etc. I'm usually very careful about reading labels but was surprised recently to find that I brought home two items with trans fat in them. One was Bisquik (for Sarah's saugage balls) and the other was Nutri-grain waffles. The Bisquik I can understand, and probably should have read more carefully, but the Nutrigrain waffles really threw me for a loop. I'm constantly looking for ways to incorporate more whole grains into the kids' diet and I thought the waffles would be a hit. They were--just not for me. Even Chik-Fil-A boasts a trans-fat-free menu. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that, and that's what makes me so surprised to learn that trans fat is still lurking out there on the grocery aisles. So heads up...read things carefully! I know I will be more careful from now on.

Friends in the south...take heart. Our high temperature yesterday was 77. If the usual west-to-east pattern persists, cooler weather might just be headed your way. And some rain too. It was nice here yesterday and today is a repeat of it. Here's to hoping you can catch a break out east! Or maybe you should consider a plane ticket to naturally air-conditioned Colorado. We LOVE company!

ho hum

It is so HOT here! I know I probably shouln't complain...we're hovering around 90 while our families are enduring sweltering temps in the 100s. John talked to his parents last night and they said they were at 105. And that was the actual temperature. Factor in the humidity and the heat index only raises that temp. Ugh.

Will got his tooth pulled yesterday afternoon. He did great. He even got $5 from the tooth fairy. Lucky kid. He's been to the dentist 4 times in the last week, and John has taken him 3 out of those 4 times. So yesterday, the dental assistant asked John (with great sympathy) if he was a single-dad. I got a kick out of that. I had been there the day before with Will getting his teeth cleaned, but I guess she wasn't paying attention...or maybe she was. Who knows??

So far our week has been filled with appointments--haircuts, dentist, and the pediatrician. Today Abbey had her 4-year check-up. I'm a little behind on that huh? She turned 4 in March! Our doctor recently sold her practice, so this was our first visit with our new doctor and Abbey loved her. Although I wasn't expecting it, Abbey ended up getting 3 immunizations today. The doctor said we could do it today, or come back in the spring because she'll need them to start kindergarten next year. I gave Abbey the choice, and she bravely chose today. She was brave indeed...didn't even cry!

Thanks for praying for our friends I mentioned in my last post. Things seemed to have settled down a bit for both families. Our neighbor won't know conclusively about diabetes for about 3-4 weeks. But it looks like he won't be insulin-dependent at this point. They're going to have to manage his blood sugar with diet right now. That is very good news. Again, thanks for your prayers.

You know...there really never is a dull moment around here. I don't think I'd know what to do if we had one either!