Just a quick post to point out that I've added a few new, fun links on my sidebar: Bring the Rain, Blissfully Sleeping, and My Charming Kids. The first and last are established blogs that tell the deeply personal stories of Christian families. Both of the women in these blogs are wonderful writers and women of God. The middle blog, Blissfully Sleeping, is a newer blog and a bit more light-hearted. It covers life - from recipes to faith to politics - and everything in between. Enjoy the new reading!
...I had to walk through miles of snow to get to school. Or, in Alan's case, he has to walk through about half a mile of snow, in his suit, to get to work. At least he'll have this story to share with Cailyn when she is older.
But seriously, a tribute to my sweet husband, who sloshes to work each morning at 6:15 AM, so Cailyn and I can have the car during the day. When its a below zero wind chill, the sidewalks aren't plowed, and cars are whizzing by, its a wonder he makes it to work in one piece.
At least I'm not thinking about spiders anymore. I actually almost walked into a spider that was dropping from my ceiling. How I wish for those days again!
So the other day I walked into the garage, getting things ready to take Cailyn to the store. When I turned back around to go back into the house (we have an attached garage), I saw him. A small, grey mouse. EW! I didn't know what to do - I had never seen a mouse in a house before! He wasn't on his side; he was just crouched down, like he could crawl away. Was he dead? Alive? I had no idea. I jumped, screamed, and promptly hopped over him back into the house.
Safely back inside, I wondered what I should do next. I couldn't just leave him there because then he'd just be wandering around, and I wouldn't want him to pop out and surprise me later. And I wasn't going to kill him. Quick thinker that I am (ha!), I grabbed a bowl that I was never to use again, and covered the mouse with it. I also stacked a bunch of heavy tools on top of the bowl, so he couldn't escape. Better safe than sorry!
The next day, the mouse man came and set bait all around the house. He showed me potential holes that the mice could be using to get into the house. Fortunately, he said there weren't many, and the ones he did find, we plugged with steel wool. UNfortunately, while he was here, he found another dead mouse in the garage. Recently dead.
Now with cold weather about to arrive again, I'm not worried about spiders anymore, but I am obsessed with mice . All I can think about is when I will see the next one. I keep reading all these stories online about how people have found mice under the fridge, in the bathtub, in the trash, under the bed, in the closet, etc. etc. I need to hear more stories about how people have seen one mouse, and never another one. Anyone, anyone?!
So I can remember - (I'm not trying to start a debate here; I really do just want to remember!)
It's Thursday today and this past Tuesday evening, Barack Obama became our President-Elect. He didn't get my vote and, while I wish him success, I am very nervous. Anyways, I have to wish him success - what other choice do I have?
Outside of the fact that I do not agree with many of his ideas, I do also recognize that Obama's election is a significant moment, and I'm happy for him. I'm happy for his supporters. And I think its a great testament to America that we have elected our first African-American President. We should be proud.
But not SO proud that we forget the issues. We should not let race or the rhetoric of hope and change blind us to what is truly happening around us. Our economy is failing, life is being exchanged for choice, and we're losing marriage. Not to mention national security. Hey, I'm all for trying to be more diplomatic, but let's remember who we're dealing with and what the stakes are - peace, joy, and life for fear, terror, and death. We don't have time to mess around. We don't have time to be wrong.
I voted for McCain, but Obama has the presidency. I hope he does well. I hope that Republicans are proven wrong. If he leads this country to better times then I am more than happy to admit that maybe liberal idealogy isn't totally off the mark. I ask that if this country goes further down the tubes, then the Democrats return the favor.
One more thought about the recent election, but not about the presidency: Prop 8. a California State ballot proposition that would amend the State Constitution to limit marriage to unions between a man and a woman, passed. So our values haven't totally shifted yet. Is it bad that I am breathing a sigh of relief? Why must I have to be the one to say that gay marriage is a fundamental right? Why can't the people who practice that lifestyle be the ones to say - "Hey, yeah - marriage is for a man and a woman. That's not me, so I'll just do something else."
If you have a gay partner, fine. I've seen the Ellen and Portia wedding video. It was a beautiful ceremony and those two women really love each other. Yes, they should have hospital visitation rights. Yes, they should have insurance. They should be treated with dignity and respect. Absolutely. But marriage is an old, old, old, old ideal. Its a God-given commitment between a man and a woman. Don't change the definition. Just make a new word. Seriously. I'm not saying you're not equal. I'm not saying you weren't born that way (I'm not saying you were either...). I'm just saying you're not a MAN and a WOMAN.
Final word (I feel like I'm channeling Bill O'Reilly here): Obama's the president and we're in for some real change. I hope for all our sakes that its good.
My understanding is that when you attend a wedding, you give a gift that is at least the value of the meal they are providing you with at the reception. So imagine our surprise when we received a plastic dust pan as one of our wedding gifts. Value - less than $10.00. Value of our reception dinner - way more.
We make jokes about this gift but actually, as the title would indicate, its turned out to be one handy tool. I use it all the time. Especially now - in our new (old!) house - there's dust everywhere and when I need to quickly clean, its the perfect solution. Contrast this with the china that we had on our registry (the year we got married was pretty much the last year people actually registered for china...it was right before Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel, and Target took over as prime registry shops). We have NEVER used our china set. In fact, it wasn't until this year that we had the china in our home! We never had a place for it.
So, this is my small tribute to the dustpan. While the person who gave us this gift clearly did not understand wedding gift etiquette, it has still turned out to be one of our most prized possessions.
But incidentally, the china looks fabulous in our dining room. :)
Really?!?!
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Fuel prices have grounded an unexpected frequent-flyer: Diddy.
Sean "Diddy" Combs complained about the "... too high" price of gas and pleaded for free oil from his "Saudi Arabia brothers and sisters" in a YouTube video posted Wednesday.
The hip-hop mogul said he is now flying on commercial airlines instead of in private jets, which Combs said had previously cost him $200,000 and up for a roundtrip between New York and Los Angeles.
"I'm actually flying commercial," Diddy said before walking onto an airplane, sitting in a first-class seat and flashing his boarding pass to the camera. "That's how high gas prices are. I'm at the gate right now. This is really happening, proof gas prices are too high. Tell whoever the next president is we need to bring gas prices down."I'm sure that since Diddy has personally reached out to the "Saudi brothers and sisters", that our gas prices will come tumbling down.
Surprisingly, this is not an entry about our sweet daughter, Cailyn - although we have plenty of tender moments with her. :) No, this time I wanted to share a wonderful video that tells the story of Christian the Lion.
I love digging through old recordings. From MD to iTunes to Vox. Enjoy!
Yesterday, I was nursing Cailyn. My little niece, Alicia, was sweetly sitting on the couch next to me when she asked, "Ummm...why is she eating you?"
Jacob woke up from a nap a while back, and I noticed right away that his room smelled kind of funky. I put him on the bathroom counter and found a huge poo diaper. I started cleaning him up, but the poo kept on coming. Every time I had his bottom clean and was about to put on a fresh diaper, more poo oozed out. As I was thinking that my son grosses me out, I happened to take a quick glance in the mirror. Something was on my face. What was it you ask? POO! I don't know how it got there, but there it was. A smudge of poo the size of a mole.
