Jason and Shawnda and all of their FIVE kids are now together at home.
Look here for the pictures!
7.31.2009
7.28.2009
Overheard
7.27.2009
7.26.2009
Let's Just Say It
7.25.2009
Random
Do your children get along with each other? Mine seem to have stopped doing that. This week you could have just called us Queen Crankypants and her Evil Minions, with the possible exception of Maddie, who was Duchess Agreeable Except When She's Been in Her Highchair Too Long.
There is a BIG, HUGE announcement coming to this blog in the next week. ENORMOUS. EXCITING. Keep watching. (*tease*)
I need a blog facelift, don't you think? I am so tired of brown. That might happen in the next week also, so if my posting is sporadic you know why. I am trying to give my little internet home an update!
Summer is going well for us...lots of swimming, friends, and for Mommy, school prep. I keep trying to wear the kids out so I have some uninterrupted time to plan for the 2009-10 school year. They keep coming back for more.
We have a new roommate in our home! I will introduce her to you soon. She is working the score in my favor in both age and in gender. It's nice to have another adult female around! Plus she is a treasured friend. :-)
What have you been up to?
There is a BIG, HUGE announcement coming to this blog in the next week. ENORMOUS. EXCITING. Keep watching. (*tease*)
I need a blog facelift, don't you think? I am so tired of brown. That might happen in the next week also, so if my posting is sporadic you know why. I am trying to give my little internet home an update!
Summer is going well for us...lots of swimming, friends, and for Mommy, school prep. I keep trying to wear the kids out so I have some uninterrupted time to plan for the 2009-10 school year. They keep coming back for more.
We have a new roommate in our home! I will introduce her to you soon. She is working the score in my favor in both age and in gender. It's nice to have another adult female around! Plus she is a treasured friend. :-)
What have you been up to?
7.21.2009
Forgiveness Isn't Free
...it is only at the older brother's expense that the younger brother can be brought back in. Because, as Jesus said, the father had divided his property between them before the younger son had left. Everything had been assigned. The younger brother had gotten his one-third portion and it was completely gone. Now, when the father says to the older brother, "My son, everything I have is yours," he is telling the literal truth. Every penny that remained of the family estate belongs to the elder brother. Every robe, every ring, every fatted calf is his by right.
Over the years many readers have drawn the superficial conclusions that the restoration of the younger brother involved no atonement, no cost. They point out that the younger son wanted to make restitution but the father wouldn't let him -- his acceptance back into the family was simply free. This, they say, shows that forgiveness and love should always be free and unconditional.
That is an oversimplification.... Mercy and forgiveness must be free and unmerited to the wrongdoer. If the wrongdoer has to do something to merit it, then it isn't mercy, but forgiveness always comes at a cost to the one granting the forgiveness.
-- Tim Keller, The Prodigal God
7.20.2009
Overheard
Scene: Cameron is spotted by Daddy spinning around in the neighbors' yard.
Daddy: Cam, what're you doing?
Cameron: Just getting some vitamin D, Dad.
Scene: Family, after a long, drawn-out drama, has arrived at Sonic for a treat -- no really, you will be grateful for it -- of ice cream. Andrew and Cameron receive their ice cream sundaes and begin complaining that they didn't get milkshakes.
Mommy (annoyed): OK, next time we come to Sonic, you can sit in the van while we have ice cream sundaes.
Daddy (trying to get the point across while being nicer than Mommy): Or you can sit here at the table with us while we have ice cream sundaes and you watch.
Andrew (in an eager, helpful voice): OR we could pack our backpacks with food!
Daddy and Mommy both turn from the table immediately to avoid laughing right in his face.
Daddy: Cam, what're you doing?
Cameron: Just getting some vitamin D, Dad.
Scene: Family, after a long, drawn-out drama, has arrived at Sonic for a treat -- no really, you will be grateful for it -- of ice cream. Andrew and Cameron receive their ice cream sundaes and begin complaining that they didn't get milkshakes.
Mommy (annoyed): OK, next time we come to Sonic, you can sit in the van while we have ice cream sundaes.
Daddy (trying to get the point across while being nicer than Mommy): Or you can sit here at the table with us while we have ice cream sundaes and you watch.
Andrew (in an eager, helpful voice): OR we could pack our backpacks with food!
Daddy and Mommy both turn from the table immediately to avoid laughing right in his face.
Making Silence Together
I loved this post by Mark Dever. Silence is definitely a discipline that I have to work on; I see on a daily basis how my children and I all clamor for noise.
As a humorous side note, this morning I was enjoying the quiet in my backyard, Bible in hand and coffee beside me, when a yellow jacket started stalking me. Remembering this unfortunate incident, I quickly grabbed my coffee and jerked out of my chair.
I avoided a sting but spilled hot coffee all over my lap in the process. And thought of Erica...
As a humorous side note, this morning I was enjoying the quiet in my backyard, Bible in hand and coffee beside me, when a yellow jacket started stalking me. Remembering this unfortunate incident, I quickly grabbed my coffee and jerked out of my chair.
I avoided a sting but spilled hot coffee all over my lap in the process. And thought of Erica...
7.16.2009
7.13.2009
Ten years ago tonight -- 1999
...I was on Lansdowne St., Boston with my future husband/then fiance David. We went in to Boston to enjoy the crowds that the All-Star game brought into Fenway, and even though we didn't have tickets to the home run derby, we thought it'd be fun to try to catch a homer after it made its way over the Green Monster. We were a month off from our wedding, knee-deep in replies to the invitations, and over our heads trying to keep all parties happy. We welcomed an evening in our favorite city, hot and muggy though it was.
It was the summer of 1999, if you remember...the summer of the home run race between McGwire and Sosa was a year behind us. But there was still excitement in the air as it seemed that at any moment, a record could happen again. McGwire was knocking them from home plate over our heads and onto the Mass Pike behind us. So much of that period of baseball is now tainted with banned substances and lies to Congress, but then it was wild fun to see men outpacing their compatriots in the sport.
Yet it seems fitting that the man who won that night is one man who seems to be above the steroids suspicion: Ken Griffey, Jr. His numbers are consistent, without the spike in stats that most users had. His body didn't change shape over the years. I hope we can have one name that remains clean when all the dust has settled, and his would be a nice one to remain.
Side note: also on that muggy street that night was our friend Tom, though we didn't meet him until years later. Recently we discovered that we were in the same place at the same time. Good fun knowing that the Lord knew we'd be friends, though that night we were strangers, observing the scuffle over Sosa's home run ball from different sides of the crowd.
Enjoy All-Star week!
It was the summer of 1999, if you remember...the summer of the home run race between McGwire and Sosa was a year behind us. But there was still excitement in the air as it seemed that at any moment, a record could happen again. McGwire was knocking them from home plate over our heads and onto the Mass Pike behind us. So much of that period of baseball is now tainted with banned substances and lies to Congress, but then it was wild fun to see men outpacing their compatriots in the sport.
Yet it seems fitting that the man who won that night is one man who seems to be above the steroids suspicion: Ken Griffey, Jr. His numbers are consistent, without the spike in stats that most users had. His body didn't change shape over the years. I hope we can have one name that remains clean when all the dust has settled, and his would be a nice one to remain.
Side note: also on that muggy street that night was our friend Tom, though we didn't meet him until years later. Recently we discovered that we were in the same place at the same time. Good fun knowing that the Lord knew we'd be friends, though that night we were strangers, observing the scuffle over Sosa's home run ball from different sides of the crowd.
Enjoy All-Star week!
7.09.2009
Summer Reading: Harry Potter
The Dreamer awakes The shadow goes by
The tale I have told you,
That tale is a lie.
But listen to me,
Bright maiden, proud youth
The tale is a lie;
What it tells is the truth.
-- Tolkein on Fairy-stories
The tale I have told you,
That tale is a lie.
But listen to me,
Bright maiden, proud youth
The tale is a lie;
What it tells is the truth.
-- Tolkein on Fairy-stories
David and I began a quest earlier this year to finally blaze our way through the Harry Potter series. This fit in nicely with my usual pattern of exploring more fiction in the summertime, and just two nights ago I cracked open number six in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I must say it's been nice to delve into the series AFTER all the hoopla died down, because I know that I can be gratified with the ending relatively soon compared to all you poor suckers who waited with baited breath for the next installment. (Because I am never fanatical about things. I am measured in everything.)
Can I just ask again....what were all the ruffled feathers about in the Christian community over this series?
What a waste of time and energy over a delightful, funny series of books. The series is primarily an adventure story, with a little boy discovering his own personal history and dealing with how it affects himself and those he loves. He attends school, he excels in sports, he isn't very good in some of his classes, he has eccentric teachers, he has loyal friends. Sounds like a pretty typical adolescent fiction series to me. The "witchcraft," as some conservative Christians object to it, takes a back seat to questions of trustworthiness, nobility, bravery, loyalty, and truth triumphing over deception.
I am a big fan of Professor McGonagall -- she reminds me of my sophomore year English teacher -- and I find myself relating to Mrs. Weasley quite a bit -- any guesses as to why? All in all, it has been a fun diversion and I feel more prepared to recommend these books with a clear conscience to my children when they're a bit older.
BUT because every well-balanced review MUST have a negative paragraph, here's mine...
Maybe it's my chronological snobbery speaking, but anyone who states that this series rivals The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia in its genius should be beaten about the head with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (which measures around 870 pages). Truly, it is quite an accomplishment: entertaining, with broad horizons, clever details, and a quick wit. However, it lacks the subtle character-driven development of Tolkein's masterpiece and the Narnia stories. In comparison, the main characters in Harry Potter are a bit flat, and their development is clumsy. There is also the small matter that TOLKEIN DEVELOPED AN ENTIRE STINKING LANGUAGE AND WORLD HISTORY to go with his series.S0, there. Everyone OK? Any thoughts to share? Stones to throw?
Other thoughts on Harry:
Defending Harry Potter
Tolkein's Fairy Story Gifts: Fantasy
7.07.2009
Where Little Cable Cars Climb Halfway to the Stars
7.06.2009
Interlude, and Northern California
Well, we were sad to leave Christina and Dan's beautiful home and their four SWEET, ADORABLE daughters, but we got on the road mid-morning. After lunch in Santa Barbara, we set out on the 101 with a full tank of gas.
We also drank a lot of water in Santa Barbara, which becomes important later.
Imagine, if you will, that you are a passenger in the backseat of the blue minivan trekking north on 101. Kelly briefly mentions that she might need a bathroom soon, but there's no rush.
Rolling hillsides, farm country, an occasional glimpse of the ocean peacefully pass by. We fill the time talking about life, love, and other mysteries. Oh, look! An exit with a gas station. That'll be good.
Something weird happens where time and space momentarily stop for Erin and she is seemingly unable to maneuver the van off the highway. A fit of giggles ensues. (C'mon, you know it's happened to you.)
"But that's OK," says Kelly optimistically. "We're probably coming into an area where there are more...."
More farms. More ocean. More hills. No bathrooms.
Many, many miles later, a sign! With a gas station on it! Hooray, we're saved!
We get off and enter a town that looks like a cross between the set of "Tombstone" and "Deliverance." I don't think I saw any actual tumbleweed, but...you get the idea. The Little Western Town That Time and Progress Forgot. It would have been charming if my bladder hadn't have been so full.
Relieved and happy that at long last our miles of searching are over, we pull up to the gas station and see a sign that says...
Hmm.
There ought to be a law, that's all I'm saying.
So across the parking lot we see another establishment that looks sketchy but at this point we'll try anything. Closing our eyes to the scantily-clad women on posters in the windows, we step through the swinging screen door and are relieved to find that it's not a bar.
Well, that's not exactly true. I should say, it's not just a bar. There is, in fact, a bar to our left, with three old men sitting at it, playing cards. To our right, however, there are decrepit shelves with equally ancient groceries sitting on them. It seems to be some sort of all-purpose general store/saloon that last received a shipment of groceries approximately thirty years ago. Also, it's housed in what looks to have been a private home at one time.
"Do you have a restroom?" I ask.
No response from the card players.
"Excuse me!" Erin says louder. "Do you have a restroom?!"
The man behind the bar replies, "In the back, to the left," without looking up.
We meander our way to the back and to the left, into a hallway with a few closed doors and one that's open to reveal a scarily unclean bathroom. Again, we are not in a position to be picky.
While I was using the bathroom, I heard Erin say, "WHAT?!" loudly. Apparently a couple had wandered in behind us for the same reason, and they were given the same curt directions we were. Erin thought the men at the bar were talking to her, and responded. She then heard a mumbled comment, "that girl thinks you're talking to her, haw haw haw..."
So finally we're headed out past the boxes of Spic 'N Span and Kotex from 1972, and we politely say, "thank you," to the men at the bar. One of them replies, "NO, thank YOU." Haw haw haw.
Hit the gas and back on the highway, quick.
Here's the trip slideshow and our first day in Northern California, when we traveled across the Golden Gate Bridge and into wine country.
We also drank a lot of water in Santa Barbara, which becomes important later.
Imagine, if you will, that you are a passenger in the backseat of the blue minivan trekking north on 101. Kelly briefly mentions that she might need a bathroom soon, but there's no rush.
Rolling hillsides, farm country, an occasional glimpse of the ocean peacefully pass by. We fill the time talking about life, love, and other mysteries. Oh, look! An exit with a gas station. That'll be good.
Something weird happens where time and space momentarily stop for Erin and she is seemingly unable to maneuver the van off the highway. A fit of giggles ensues. (C'mon, you know it's happened to you.)
"But that's OK," says Kelly optimistically. "We're probably coming into an area where there are more...."
More farms. More ocean. More hills. No bathrooms.
Many, many miles later, a sign! With a gas station on it! Hooray, we're saved!
We get off and enter a town that looks like a cross between the set of "Tombstone" and "Deliverance." I don't think I saw any actual tumbleweed, but...you get the idea. The Little Western Town That Time and Progress Forgot. It would have been charming if my bladder hadn't have been so full.
Relieved and happy that at long last our miles of searching are over, we pull up to the gas station and see a sign that says...
NO PUBLIC RESTROOMS
SORRY
SORRY
Hmm.
There ought to be a law, that's all I'm saying.
So across the parking lot we see another establishment that looks sketchy but at this point we'll try anything. Closing our eyes to the scantily-clad women on posters in the windows, we step through the swinging screen door and are relieved to find that it's not a bar.
Well, that's not exactly true. I should say, it's not just a bar. There is, in fact, a bar to our left, with three old men sitting at it, playing cards. To our right, however, there are decrepit shelves with equally ancient groceries sitting on them. It seems to be some sort of all-purpose general store/saloon that last received a shipment of groceries approximately thirty years ago. Also, it's housed in what looks to have been a private home at one time.
"Do you have a restroom?" I ask.
No response from the card players.
"Excuse me!" Erin says louder. "Do you have a restroom?!"
The man behind the bar replies, "In the back, to the left," without looking up.
We meander our way to the back and to the left, into a hallway with a few closed doors and one that's open to reveal a scarily unclean bathroom. Again, we are not in a position to be picky.
While I was using the bathroom, I heard Erin say, "WHAT?!" loudly. Apparently a couple had wandered in behind us for the same reason, and they were given the same curt directions we were. Erin thought the men at the bar were talking to her, and responded. She then heard a mumbled comment, "that girl thinks you're talking to her, haw haw haw..."
So finally we're headed out past the boxes of Spic 'N Span and Kotex from 1972, and we politely say, "thank you," to the men at the bar. One of them replies, "NO, thank YOU." Haw haw haw.
Hit the gas and back on the highway, quick.
Here's the trip slideshow and our first day in Northern California, when we traveled across the Golden Gate Bridge and into wine country.
7.05.2009
Stop One: SoCal
Needless to say, there were a few travel hiccups along the way to LA, and the final ironic twist was that our late arrival guaranteed us only a MINIVAN as our rental car. I know, I know. But I was too tired to argue.
We arrived at our little vacation home around 4 AM East Coast time and fell into bed, exhausted. Saturday we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway (highway 1) through Malibu, taking pictures all the way. Unfortunately Erin has all those pictures because my batteries were dead :-(
BUT my pictures pick up when we arrive at the Farmer's Market in LA. Here is the stay in SoCal...Saturday (LA), Sunday (church and friends), Monday (more friends).
The obligatory slideshow...
I am ashamed to say that I forgot to take a picture with Christina, our wonderful hostess. I am not sure how she managed to get four children out the door for vacation AND leave the house in showroom condition, but she did...and even left some incredibly cute cookies that spelled out "WELCOME". Wow. She is a dear, dear friend and our time together (talking until 1 AM) only renewed my wishes to stay in better touch with her.
We arrived at our little vacation home around 4 AM East Coast time and fell into bed, exhausted. Saturday we drove down the Pacific Coast Highway (highway 1) through Malibu, taking pictures all the way. Unfortunately Erin has all those pictures because my batteries were dead :-(
BUT my pictures pick up when we arrive at the Farmer's Market in LA. Here is the stay in SoCal...Saturday (LA), Sunday (church and friends), Monday (more friends).
The obligatory slideshow...
I am ashamed to say that I forgot to take a picture with Christina, our wonderful hostess. I am not sure how she managed to get four children out the door for vacation AND leave the house in showroom condition, but she did...and even left some incredibly cute cookies that spelled out "WELCOME". Wow. She is a dear, dear friend and our time together (talking until 1 AM) only renewed my wishes to stay in better touch with her.
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