Summer is almost over

But we have crammed all kinds of excitement in to it! The kids spent 3 weeks with my parents, 2 weeks with Craig's parents, are water-logged from all the swimming we've done, and have driven 4 different cars over the past month.

Rental #1- the night before we left for NE Craig was side-swiped in the Stratus. Not wanting to risk taking an injured car over 2000 miles the mext morning, we rented a Jetta. It was nice. Had some great acceleration.
Rental #2- on our way home from NE, the kids and I were caught in a storm on the highway. Traffic was at a standstill as the wind blew and hail fell. And then the trailer next to us was blown over and landed on us. Thank God we were all okay. So the next day we got in to a new rental, a Kia Rondo. This one has lots of room, is almost a crossover, but has horrible acceleration and I will be glad when the Stratus is out of the shop.
Rental #3- we decided to take advantage of the cash for clunkers deal and traded in the 1994 Honda Passport for a Nissan Altima. Soooo pretty! And the A/C works!!!! Happy day! But the day we signed all the paper work the car wasn't ready, so we took another Nissan Altima home. It was wonderful, but nerve wracking. Not our car! And two kids...
New car #1- we picked up our new Altima yesterday. It's so purty! And did I mention the A/C?

We will break in said car this weekend as we head to San Antonio to my cousin's birthday party. My parents will meet us there. My cousin Shauna will be in town from San Fransico, so that will be neat!

And even after school starts on the 24th, we have travel plans. My brother's 40th birthday party is the 29th and Craig is going back to NE for his 20th high school reunion. Whew!

Funnies from my kids

The kids are spending 20 days with my parents this summer. They left on Father's Day and will be back on 7/10. It's been a surreal time away from them. Craig and I have both gotten a lot done in their absence, but goodness we miss them.
My mom had a funny story to tell on the kids the other day. My parents live by a body of water and the kids have spent countless hours swimming, jumping, diving, etc. in that water. Needless to say, they have turned very brown, and very blond. Well, my mom is not a fan of white pasty skin, and told me should couldn't handle Carleigh's white tummy and back anymore. You see, we've only let Carleigh wear one piece bathing suits. I personally am scared to death of the signalization of girls at younger and younger ages, and I plan to do what little bit I can while I can to guard Carleigh from this. So- bikinis are not an option. My mom would argue that I have never been comfortable in a bikini so I've projected this on to my daughter, which may hold a small grain of truth, but it doesn't matter. I want my little girl to be a little girl for a lot longer, and I don't think bikinis contribute to that.
Apparently, my mother and I had never had this conversation, because she took Carleigh to the store to buy her a new bikini. At first, Carleigh scanned the choices and was deep in thought. She commented on how pretty some of them were, but then she stopped. She told Pepe, "I can't get one of these. I don't have boobs yet."
Let me tell you that I have NO idea where Carleigh got this idea. But it's funny anyway!
Then Jonas sees Pepe is going to check out and buy the bikini they have picked. He immediately asks, "Pepe, did you call my daddy and ask him if that is okay? He doesn't want Carleigh to have one of those."
I can tell you that we have NEVER had the "no bikini" conversation with Jonas. Why would we? But apparently he is more observant than we give him credit for, because he made the connection. And he stood up for what he believed to be right. I am so proud of him for trying to protect his little sister, and for speaking up.
Can't wait to get them back next week. I miss the little punks.

Michael Jackson

I am not good at this, am I? It's been a while since I posted. I need to get back on track.
The longer posts will start again soon, but right now I wanted to make an observation on this Michael Jackson mania. At first glance, I shake my head in disgust at the fuss so many people are making over the loss of MJ.
But then it dawned on me.
The day Huey Lewis dies, I may very well hole up in my room, take out every scrapbook I've ever made for him (yes- that's plural), and play only Huey Lewis' music for the next month. With that in mind, I am sad for Michael Jackson fans. I hope they find comfort in his music.

Authority of the Bible

This is tough for me. Not that I don't believe in the authority of the Bible, but can someone help me understand a few things?

This book was written over thousands of years, by different men, in different languages, and from different cultures. Awesome, right? Definitely God-breathed. And I understand that the birth and death of Christ resolved the need for the law in the Old Testament.

But what about some of those things stated in the New Testament? 1 Timothy talks about leaders in the church being men only. So what about the fatherless homes, fatherless neighborhoods? If the church is any group of believers, there will be instances when men are not around. These women can't teach their sons? Is that why there is so much dysfunction in the fatherless societies? It is contrary to the plan God has.

Next issue- 1 Cor 11:2-16 . I haven't worn a hat in church since I was a child. Am I sinning? I'm not trying to be legalistic here, but this issue makes me say hmmmm. If I say the Bible has the authority to determine my actions and thoughts, I should wear a hat in church. But church is a body of believers! So I should always wear a hat or other head covering? Am I being insincere because I disregard this verse? Cause I just said "I believe the Bible - the whole Bible- has the authority to determine my actions and thoughts". Note: After I wrote this, I researched a bit and found this article on Bible.org. I need to read it again, but I really got a lot out of it!

These are NOT deal breakers, by any stretch of the imagination. But I wanted to flesh them out.

Personal God

Personal God- "I lift my eyes unto the hills. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth." Psalms 121:1-2

When we moved to Arlington, we were attending church at Irving Bible Church. I knew without any hesitation we needed to find another place of worship. Not because of anything IBC lacked, but because I wanted to LIVE in Arlington, not just sleep there. We wanted to be involved in our community and knew that if we continued to commute to church every week, and Home Group once a week, on top of commuting to work 5 days a week, we would never have a chance to become a part of Arlington. So we began church hunting.


We ended up at Pantego Bible Church reluctantly, because it was 18 miles from our new house, but we something told us to try it anyway. I was heavily pregnant with Jonas that first Sunday we walked through the doors. Within 10 minutes, we knew we were someplace special. We were greeted warmly (maybe because it looked like I would bust open any minute!) and I remember the official greeter asking us "Where do you live?". We explained that we had been in South Arlington for a little less than a year, and he immediately picked up a piece of paper and showed us where other South Arlington residents met each Sunday morning. We didn't go to that class that morning, but we were struck with how they were organized by geography- not that we were young marrieds, or new parents, or that sort of thing. The only thing that defined a class was where we lived! After a fantastic service, we headed to a small room where a church elder explained the basics of PBC in greater detail and asked if we had any questions. We were hooked! This church had it right! They wanted everyone to know Christ first, and their neighbor second- and they meant it! Members were encouraged to come to the building only once a week, for corporate worship. Bible studies, small groups, even organized kid activities took place in neighborhoods and homes. It was exactly what we were looking for!

This is just one example of how God is personal to me. He heard Craig and my prayers and answered them to a T. I have so many other examples, but you aren't hear to read a novel. (That is available in an earlier post, if you are so inclined) My God is alive and well, and active in my life. He hears my prayers, knows my heart, and loves me passionately. The same God who made the earth, and the stars, and the sun, made me, and knows me! And LOVES me.

Too much time has passed~

I can't remember everything that has happened since I last posted! But I will try~
Back a few weeks ago, Craig, the kids, and I all had the week of Spring Break off. We had a good camping excursion, and it was perfect weather. Nice and warm during the day, and cool enough to need a blanket at night. From the minute we got there, we saw new and exciting things. A woodpecker perched on a tree about 15 feet from us as we set up our tent. He proceeded to exemplify his name, and pecked at the wood. It was a pine tree, and he expertly chipped off some of the bark and seemed to find the snack for which he searched. He hopped around the tree a few inches and repeated the process. Silly, I guess, but I thought it was neat!
Throughout the trip we saw armadillos, bees (of course), an amazing moth (it was pastel green, pink, about 4 inches wide, and had these curly frilly antennae), an alligator, bamboo (or boobam, as Carleigh called it!), several cranes, and a duck that decided to adopt us for the afternoon. We hiked for hours and hours, canoed, and all managed mild sunburns. It was really perfect.

We also went to the Houston Rodeo for the first time, saw Clint Black in concert, spent a fun day with our friends the Sanders, and discovered Discovery Green in downtown Houston. I needed that down time.
The rest of April is packed with fun things, too. April 17th, Craig and I are going to see a band in which a grade shcool friend of mine is the drummer. The next weekend, Craig is going to Phoenix for work, and the kids and I are going to my hometown to celebrate the 80th anniversary of my childhood church. Of course, Palm Sunday and Easter are in there.
And on a side note- tonight is the Final FINAL ER. I've loved that show. Should be a tear jerker!

A note about Jonas

My son has a personality unlike any I have ever seen. He is hard-headed, but he comes by that naturally (he had no possibility of escaping that, with German blood on both sides). He is so detail orientated it makes me crazy, but again, not that unique.
The one thing that has set him apart lately is his empathy and compassion. Granted, I have never been around another 7 year old boy as much as I have been around Jonas, but I think this is unique. He has a very tender heart for people who are hurting, lonely, sad, hungry, poor, etc. He even cried at a recent SPCA commercial, cuz he loves animals, too. He wants to set up a booth at the end of our street to collect money and food for homeless people. He always includes the down trodden (not those words) of our community, of our world, in his prayers. He gets choked up at the thought of someone not having a place to sleep or food to eat.
Once on a car ride, he asked me why people have to pay for medical treatment. "If they are hurt, why don't doctors just treat them to make them better? Why do they have to make money?"
Lord, I pray this part of Jonas only grows stronger as he gets older and more capable of helping those he longs to help. Help me lead by example, and do what I can to fill the gap until he is older. I pray he isn't jaded by this world we live in, and he continues to love the lost and the broken like You do, God.
So far, I think this is my favorite part of my son.

A theatrical year

I haven't posted since my half marathon, and that isn't the only thing I haven't done. I haven't run a YARD since that day either! I have been to the gym, but haven't touched the treadmill. I went on a quick walk one day, but didn't even consider picking up the pace. Eh. Blah.
But I have had a very busy two weeks! My front door might as well have been revolving, as I had guests non-stop. I love that, so please excuse me if you read that as anything other than excitement.
Speaking of excitement, I sit here about to go to my son's theatrical debut. He is playing the groundhog in the first grade production of "The Groundhog Who Stole Valentines Day". He has the title role! I'm very proud of him, I must say.
And it wasn't more than 3 months ago that I announced my daughter was playing Mary in the Christmas pageant at her pre-school. Wow! Maybe, just maybe, my kids have inherited my dramatic streak?
And when I think back, this year has been chock full of drama opportunities for my little family. Our church had it's first drama production during service one morning in the fall, and Craig was in that. And just last weekend, Craig and I donned our acting hats once more as we went to a Murder Mystery birthday party. We had assigned roles, and played them to the tee! The theme was an 80's 20 year High School Reunion, and I played the class flirt. Fun!!! I probably had on more makeup than I have the past 6 months combined (love blue eye shadow) and simply had a blast. Craig was the school reporter turned Wall Street Journal Editor. He was great too. Sure wish I had pictures of that to post here of that night, but there are plenty out on Facebook.
I will definitely get pictures of Jonas tonight. Be sure to check back tomorrow for proof of the future Oscar winner's performance!

I can scratch something off my 40 by 40 list!

I finished a half marathon today. Did you read that? Wanna read it again? Good, cuz I want to say it again.

I finished a half marathon today!!!

Here's some proof.

And those two people with me are my best friend since third grade, Jodi, and her husband, Jason. I love these guys. Aren't they cute?

It was fun, hard, long, foggy to start, nice in the middle, wind picked up at the 9 mile mark, and then it sprinkled as I finished. 2 minutes after I walked in to the finish tent, it started pouring rain. Whew! There weren't a lot of spectators (probably because of the weather) but the few that were there were encouraging and fun. My only regret is that Craig wasn't there. The amazing man I call a husband stayed at home with the 5 kids while Jodi, Jason, and I went to the race. HE deserves a medal!

I will definitely do another one. Maybe someday even work up to a full marathon. But now- on to the next item on my list of 40 things to do before I turn 40. I want to read the Bible from cover to cover.

My baby is 5 today!

My darling baby girl, Carleigh Jean, turns 5 today.

I don't remember life without her, but can't believe she has already been here 5 years! She has me wrapped around her little finger, I admit. Those blue eyes, that smile, her bubbly personality. She has a dimple underneath her bottom lip that I noticed the day she was born, and I find myself looking for it in our quiet moments today. It's something no one else may ever notice, but I love it. I expected a mini-me the day she was born, and was handed another mini-Craig. I was sad about her blonde hair for a while (I wanted a brunette, blue eyed doll- it's the ego in me), but absolutely love it now. She loves to sing, and read books, and help me cook. She can whine with the best of them (ugh) and she's an excellent liar. So, NO, she is not perfect. But I wouldn't trade her for anything!

Fireproof

Have you seen this movie? Fireproof is a movie that stars Kirk Cameron and was made by the same church that made Facing the Giants. The acting is sub-par, but then again, 95% if the acting is volunteer! There are some hokey jokes, and some funny times, but it was wonderful. Craig and I both cried at different parts, and at some of the same parts. We laughed out loud, and rolled our eyes. But when it was all over, we were holding each other tightly and more in love than ever.
If you are married, single, dating, divorced, whatever your status, I encourage you to see this.

This busy week

A lot going on this week-
Carleigh turns 5 on Thursday!
Valentine's Day party at Carleigh's school.
Birthday party of Chuck E Cheese Thursday night.
Jonas' class Valentine's Day party on Friday.
Jodi, Jason and their family get here on Friday.
Packet pick up Friday night at Surfside.
Surfside half marathon Saturday morning!
We don't have any plans Saturday afternoon/evening as we don't know how much we will be able to move. At the very least we will grill something on the porch and drink a few beers.
Worship with The Springs Sunday morning.
Say goodbye to the Segels.
Mom gets here Sunday afternoon.
Allen, Lisa, and Brooks will be here on Monday.
Drive Allen and Lisa to their cruise ship in Galveston on Monday.
Find a way to stow aboard said cruise ship....
Mom takes Brooks back to her house Monday afternoon.
Back to "normal" on Tuesday.

A confession and a fear

When I was in grade school, maybe 4th or 5th grade, I was invited to a party. One of my classmates gave me a peice of notebook paper with the information on it. Nothing fancy, definitely nothing official looking. Then again, we were 9. Not sure why I would expect Crane stationery, and Print Shop wasn't quite a household item yet. The party was to be held at the home of a fellow classmate. But not just any classmate. By my standards, this was THE most popular girl in school. She had the most friends, was the most athletic (she was always one of the people picking for teams at recess or in gym), and all that other necessary stuff to be a pre-teen A lister.
My reaction was this- I crumpled up the paper and threw it away as soon as I got home. Why on earth would I do that?, you ask. Because I was convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that it was a fake party and this was all a set up. Just to make me look stupid. I could just picture all the cool kids waiting at someone's house, down the street from this girl's house, watching from bushes and around corners, as I stood alone on her doorstep and continued to press the doorbell. This scene would give them laughing foder for days to come. And I would never live it down.
I rationalized- why else would the most popular girl in school invite me to her party? I didn't even let the idea that this was a real party enter my head. I didn't even tell my mother about the ruse, as I didn't want her to know how I was the butt of the cool kids' joke.
The Monday after the prank would have taken place (had I fallen for the trick), I heard two girls talking before class started. They were talking about the party they had gone to Saturday night, and how much fun it had been. Clever, I thought. They even had a contention plan if I didn't show up. They'd stage people to talk about "the party" so I'd think I missed something great, and be inclined to show up the next time they planned to prank me.
That night during dinner, the phone rang and my mother answered. She spoke briefly with the other party and returned to the table. She asked me why I hadn't told her there had been a party that weekend. I started to get teary eyed. How cruel! To even extend the prank so far as to involve my mother! Seeing my tears, my mother explained that the phone call had been from the mother of the most popular girl in school, and she was worried about me as I had been the only kid invited who hadn't shown up to the REAL LIVE PIZZA party they had on Saturday.
I don't remember if I explained the real reason to my mom or if I just shrugged it off.
But a few months later, this girl had another party, and the invitation came straight from her mom to my mom. So I went. And honestly, as I walked to the door, a part of me was still scared that no one would answer and that this really was an elaborate prank. A long con, you might say. And when the door opened and I saw all the other kids already there, I was genuinely surprised!
So my confession is this- I was THAT self involved and self conscious that I believed a group of fellow 4th graders would spend that much time and energy to hurt ME. What a fool I was.
And this is my fear- that my kids may some day think the world revolves around them to the point that they will be convinced a simple hand written note is equal to certain public humiliation.
How do I prevent this? I don't see anything like that in them at this point. But if I ever do, how do I nip it quickly? I think I have wasted YEARS of my life being worried about what other people think about ME! I would hate for my kids to experience that for even a minute.

Unconventional friend

Guess what? In 21 days I am participating in a half marathon. OMG! My best est friend Jodi is joining me (her husband too) and I am super excited. Especially after reading the latest entry by Liz Jordan, who just ran her first full marathon. She's quite the inspiration. I feel so blessed to have moved to Houston and find Liz on the afternoon show of KSBJ. She's funny, and honest, and cute, and loves life and God and her boyfriend and her family. And she loves Houston- which is big for me because I wasn't this town's biggest fan when we moved here 2 years ago. I'm finding myself intrigued by her stories about the different parts of town and wanting to go find out for myself.
Little things like this blow my mind when I let myself dwell on them. God is so gracious. This is such a comfort to me, and not expected at all. I spend so much time by myself, since I work from home, and I have found a friend on the radio. Silly, I guess, because there are probably millions of us who feel similarly about Liz. But I still feel blessed and happy to "know" her. Maybe one day we'll meet in person. What a concept!
If you happen to be in the listening range for KSBJ, check them out. I can never go back to "traditional" radio, and maybe you'll enjoy it too. Oh- and if you aren't in range, you can listen to them anywhere with an Internet connection. So cool.

A day in history- like all the others, but oh so different

I'm watching the inauguration, like so many people around the world are doing. Rick Warren is praying right now, and I am crying- a little bit. Things may change, oh they WILL change, but I am grateful to live in a country that still prays to the One True God as we swear in our president. (OOOOh- look at that bow on Aretha Franklin's hat...he he he! )
I am happy to say I am alive and an American today. For so many reasons, but this one stands out- today we are swearing in the 44th president peacefully elected to that post. Our country has messed lots of stuff up, but we have gotten that right. (Ok- sorry- if you are in the 3rd row of the presidential inauguration, don't chew gum...dude, you are on camera. smack smack smack)
I admire how on schedule this thing is- it is exactly 11:57 EST, and Biden is raising his hand.
I digress. But this real time blogging is neat!
In my 70 something years on this earth (God willing) there may never be another day like this one. The first African American president- pretty cool. I didn't vote for Obama, but I am praying for him and his cabinet. I will support him and my vow is to never speak poorly of him while he holds the office of president. I believe God is in control, completely, and with that I have nothing to fear.
One last live moment observation- a Jew, Korean, African American, and a woman are playing the prettiest musical quartet right now...this pushes the ceremony over the time frame (it's 12:02) but man- it's beautiful. Did I ever tell you I want to learn how to play the cello? Oh yeah- there is no sound quite like it. Thank you God for giving us music, and those people the talent to play it like they do.
God Bless America!!!

What I love

I love Carleigh's new haircut- she can really pull off short hair.
I love how her hand fits in my hand when we walk down the street.
I love that she likes to dress herself and doesn't care if someone doesn't like it.
I love Healthy Choice Chicken Noodle Soup.
I love how I can tell Jonas doesn't feel good just by looking at him.
I love how he calls me Mamma.
I love my best friend, Jodi, and how hard she is fighting for what is right.
I love my husband more every day!!!
I love my sleek black cat Speedy.
I love KSBJ so much more than that radio station I thought I loved in Dallas.
I love my family- both sides of it, and all parts of it!

Just a sampling. I love tons of other things, but wanted to list these right now.