A Good Day

Do you ever just have one of those days where things go right? They are all too rare around our house. But today was one of those days.

I went to bible study this morning and got to visit with my sweet friends there. We're doing Beth Moore's "To Live Is Christ." The video today was amazing! Very timely. It was about raising godly kids. It was very encouraging and afterwards I got to spend a few minutes sharing some frustrations with my friend Marietta and she had the most brilliant solution. I have such smart friends! Then I came home and ate lunch, watched the news a little, checked my email and took a nap. I know, it's scandalous!

The kids did their homework and took baths without being asked. Grilled chicken and fried potatoes for supper...even Caitlin didn't complain! The house is in order, the dishwasher is humming, the washer is whirring and the dryer is tumbling. And it's only 8:30 pm.

Actually, it all started last night...

I have a flock of about 6 hummingbirds that live in the tree outside my bedroom window. I have a feeder for them and they come and eat several times a day. I call them "my babies." They aren't the least bit afraid of us. Caitlin even stood right by the feeder and they buzzed around her head! Last night one of them, a little female, got trapped in our garage. She was so panicked and nearly wore herself out trying to exit through the raised garage door. I think she thought it was the sky. I was able to scoop her up into my hands and calm her. The kids and Wes got to pet her and she was so beautiful! Iridescent emerald green and almost weightless. She had the most precious tiny black eyes and skinny little beak.

It was such a rare moment and we were all amazed at the beauty of it and God's creative genius. I think the awe of the special shared family moment carried over into today. I know it won't last but it sure is nice for now.

Wow.

Just wow.

Lehman Brothers is bankrupt. This is a company whose existence predates the Civil War. It has survived the panic of 1907, the crash of 1929, the Great Depression, bond-trading scandals and hedge fund collapses. Merrill Lynch is being taken over. There are only two remaining independent firms on Wall Street. Some are calling this the most spectacular unraveling in financial history. Yikes! What's next?

On another note...I'm so sad for Caitlin. She has been so excited about running for student council this year. She got all the signatures she needed on her petition to get on the classroom ballot. Today each classroom voted for one person to run in the school-wide election. She only got one vote...her own. I wanted to cry. She handled it like a trooper but I know it hurt. Now she's planning to try out for Singing Bears which is the school choir that sings at special events. She didn't make the choir at her previous school so the odds are not in her favor. I gotta admire her willingness to put herself out there and risk getting hurt. I know that this is just part of life and learning to handle disappointment is an important life lesson but sometimes I wish that I could pull some strings and make things happen for her. She gets discouraged so easily so I'm really anxious about tryouts. We're practicing and praying.

Don't judge me!

Ok, here's the deal. I have decided to let my 12-year-old daughter read "Twilight." *gasp!* If you aren't familiar with this series, it's all the rage with teenage girls right now. It's about a girl that falls in love with a vampire. I know what you're thinking...vampire love story?! Hayley's teachers all have these books in their classrooms and all her friends have read them. I don't normally give in to peer pressure but I told Hayley that I would read it first and then make my decision. I thought that was a good compromise. I expected to read it and hate it and then tell her she couldn't read it. (Then she would probably read it at school and not tell me...I wasn't born yesterday and I used to be 12 too!) But much to my surprise, I couldn't put it down! It is very well-written and not at all scary or gory. Edward is a vampire with a conscience. He's a gentleman. It's not racy like most books geared for teens these days. Really the only problem I had with it is the obsessive nature of the relationship on the part of Bella. But I actually think it's pretty typical of teen "love" and may prove to be a good point of discussion. There are no spiritual or occult themes, no witchcraft. It's just a really nice guy that happens to be a vampire. There's not much difference between this book and any other fairy tale. It's actually less disturbing that most fairy tales. If you think about it, most fairy tales involve missing or dead parents, evil stepmothers, etc. but we don't bat an eye at reading those to our children when they are very young. I think that as Christians we really hurt our cause when we are quick to ban or boycott things. We do it so much that it loses its impact. In the end, we just look foolish and the world doesn't take us or our message seriously. The Disney ban comes to mind...and the Harry Potter hysteria. I just think we should be careful what we label 'evil.' That label should be saved for things that are really important. So, there you go. But don't take my word for it. Read it for yourself before letting your kids read it. However, I should warn you that I also liked Harry Potter. Oh, the shame!

Monday To Do List

Well, the garage sale was a pretty big success. We made about $800 between the three of us which is amazing since we really didn't have many big-ticket items. However, we have so much stuff left we are going to do it again this weekend. Here are a couple of pics of that Steph took. Look at all this stuff!!

I still have a monkey teapot that needs a good home!

I thought my friend Meredith had a good idea when she posted her to-do list on her blog. I like the accountability of that. Maybe it will motivate me...so here it is...

1. Plan meals for the week.

2. Make a Wal-Mart shopping list.

3. Go to Wal-Mart. (Ugh!)

4. Ask kids to bring dirty clothes to laundry room.

5. Ask kids again to bring dirty clothes to laundry room.

6. Tell kids they will have to wear dirty clothes to school this week if they don't bring dirty clothes to laundry room.

7. Do dishes. Yeah, that's right. I don't always do the dishes after we eat dinner. Sometimes I don't even do them the next day. These dishes have been in the sink all weekend. I'm cool like that!

8. Put brisket in crock pot. Forgot this one so I had to go with Plan B - Chicken Alfredo Penne Pasta

9. Pick Caitlin up from school at 3:00 pm.

10. Pick Hayley up from school at 4:00 pm.

11. Feed kids before taking Hayley to soccer practice at 5:30 pm.

12. Find out if Wes is coming home tonight. Yeah, that's right. He travels a lot and I don't always know when or if he's coming home. That's just the way we roll around here!

13. Pick Hayley up from soccer practice at 7:30 pm.

14. Go through Caitlin's Monday folder and sign various and sundried things. Also, make sure she does her homework. Also, find out if either one needs more lunch money.

15. Go to kids rooms and gather dirty laundry since they didn't do what I asked. Fuss while I do it and tell them next time I will let them wear dirty clothes. Do several loads of laundry.

Whew! That's it for now. I'm sure I'll think of some other things later.

Holding my breath....

I'm holding my breath today for two reasons. First, thanks to Gustav my satellite internet keeps going out. If I can get this posted it will be a miracle!

Second, I am so nervous for Sarah Palin. Her big speech is tonight and I am rootin' for her to hit it out of the park! If you know me then you know I love politics. You also know that I'm not particularly a fan of John McCain. Huck was my man! But since JMac has chosen Sarah Palin I am sooo on board!!! I think what I love about her is that she is me. That may sound strange since obviously I am not the governor of Alaska nor am I running for VP. But think about it...she's a wife, she's a hockey mom (of 5, no less!), she has a disabled child, a pregnant teenage daughter and she still manages to have a very successful career. She hunts and fishes, snowmobiles and she fired the chef at the capitol because she didn't want her kids to get used to it. (Ok, I wouldn't have fired the chef!) She is so ordinary--just like me! I can really identify with her. I've been a working mom. My job wasn't as demanding as hers but I can relate. She's become my hero of sorts and everytime someone in the media has the gall to question whether she can be VP and still be a good mother I take it personally. I too have been criticized for working while having small children. But I've also been criticized for not living up to my potential by staying at home with my kids. If Sarah succeeds, I will feel vindicated.

I didn't really think I cared if a woman was ever elected. I certainly didn't want Hillary to be elected! But I see something in Sarah that is every woman. She represents me and all the women like me who struggle to live our lives on our own terms and not the way our society says we have to. So tonight, I will cheer her on and in so doing, I'm cheering on myself and you too.

Mystery solved!

Well, I've been in my attic all afternoon. I'm getting ready for a garage sale this weekend. Fortunately my sweet hubby was willing to help out on his day off because there were some really heavy boxes! I found some neat things I'd forgotten about, some cool stuff that might be useful but mostly I found junk. It's still a mystery why I packed and moved this stuff twice. However, we did solve one long-standing mystery....The Case of Wes' Missing Coats and Jackets.

Three years ago we had our last garage sale before we sold our house and moved into an apartment while we built our current home. Whew! We had boxes and bag of stuff everywhere, some to sell, some to donate, some to trash and some to move. Well...when we finally got settled in our new house and winter came...Wes had no coats or jackets! We turned the house upside down and searched to no avail. I remembered putting all of his winter stuff in a trash bag...oops, not a good thing to pack stuff in that you plan to keep! So we assumed the worst- that ALL of his winter stuff, leather coat, leather gloves, favorite windbreaker and sweats..etc. had either been thrown away or donated to a local charity. Wes was very unhappy.

So guess what we found in a box in the attic today? Yep, ALL of his coats and jackets!!! (So much for my "memory" of packing them in a trash bag.) He is so pumped and can't wait for winter now! Now if only we can find Caitlin's Blinkie...