Reflections...

After hearing a wonderfully encouraging message from our pastor this morning, I realized once again that the pain of death is diminished by knowing that loved ones and friends who know Christ personally are in the presence of God. The evil in this world has absolutely no power over them...and they are in perfect peace, taken by God, their Father and Creator.

Wow!

What an awesome God!

Psalm 90 (New Living Translation)

A prayer of Moses, the man of God.

1 Lord, through all the generations

you have been our home!

2 Before the mountains were born,

before you gave birth to the earth and the world,

from beginning to end, you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust, saying,

“Return to dust, you mortals!”

4 For you, a thousand years are as a passing day,

as brief as a few night hours.

5 You sweep people away like dreams that disappear.

They are like grass that springs up in the morning.

6 In the morning it blooms and flourishes,

but by evening it is dry and withered.

7 We wither beneath your anger;

we are overwhelmed by your fury.

8 You spread out our sins before you—

our secret sins—and you see them all.

9 We live our lives beneath your wrath,

ending our years with a groan.
10 Seventy years are given to us!

Some even live to eighty.

But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;

soon they disappear, and we fly away.

11 Who can comprehend the power of your anger?

Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.

12 Teach us to realize the brevity of life,

so that we may grow in wisdom.
13 O Lord, come back to us!

How long will you delay?

Take pity on your servants!

14 Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,

so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.

15 Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!

Replace the evil years with good.

16 Let us, your servants, see you work again;

let our children see your glory.

17 And may the Lord our God show us his approval

and make our efforts successful.

Yes, make our efforts successful!

Frid-ache...

Forgive me for veering away from Friday Funnies today, but my heart is very heavy this week.

We just got a prayer request from our church, asking us to pray for a mother whose 22/23-year-old daughter just passed away yesterday. I don't know the specifics of the situation, but I did know this girl. She was married only two years ago this December. I wonder if her 23-year-old husband knew "until death do we part" would come so soon?

That came after a request from a dear friend asking us to pray for her family who'd just suffered the loss of her oldest sister -- only in her late 50s. Their father just suffered a stroke as well.

That came after hearing about a mother of six boys -- ages 7 to 14 -- in our cyber school, who died of a heart attack after suffering an asthma attack.

That came after praying for another dear friend whose aunt was found brutally murdered in her car.

Wow.

All in the same two-week period.

My head is spinning and my heart is reeling.

And while I didn't know all of these people, somehow I still feel the sadness of their deaths. Somehow their deaths bring our own mortality to the front of our minds.

And the brevity of life.

But God is sovereign.

He uses these moments...to remind me to tell my loved ones how much He and I love them...all the time.

* * *

Please keep these families in your prayers. Their aches won't diminish for a long time.

You Know You're...

You know you're...stupid when you go to see a particular horror movie -- your least favorite type of movie -- knowing that you wouldn't have even known about it if your favorite actor wasn't starring in it.

You know you're...manic when you go to see this movie three weeks before you're due to give birth to your third child.

You know you're...crazy when you go to see it a second time, especially when you aren't a fan of any kind for this particular film genre.

You know you're...silly when said-movie -- in which you should know all the surprising moments, having already previewed them once -- still makes you jump high enough to throw your popcorn.

You now you're...nuts when you come home afterwards and look into all the mirrors just to prove that you aren't afraid of them.

You know you're...even crazier when you buy the soundtrack to said-movie, so that you can "relive" all those terrorizing moments through music.

You know you're...loved when your hubby and one of your dearest friends go to see this movie with you, even though neither one is a fan of this particular film genre either.

Thanks, Stuart and Angel!!!

Wordless (mostly) Wednesday

Because he couldn't eat this "cute li'l froggie cupcake" without taking a photo first.
Thank God for cellphone cameras!

Unpacking a Year

So I spent last Tuesday evening unpacking our school boxes so that I could be sure we have all of our supplies for our new school year. And I have to admit it was very fun.

All sorts of fun literature books and science supplies -- including a microscope -- and new workbooks and music/story CDs and art supplies and blow-up globes and maps came out of the boxes. It's always interesting to see what new things they'll learn for the year.

Both kids were dying to help out, but I wanted it to be a surprise for them...to keep their excitement for starting school. I did forget and blurt out in amazement that part of Emily's science kit included actual bacteria. And, of course, that fact spread like wildfire from Edward, who'd overheard me, to Emily who came running down to "see" it. Hmm... I'm not sure what she thought she'd see.

But you gotta be excited when your kids are so excited about school.

Sure, the "honeymoon" will wear off after awhile, but until then, I'll treasure their enthusiasm.

New School Monday Musings

The new 2nd- and 6th-graders, respectively
What do you get when you have fresh notebooks and pencils, shaped pancakes, a trip 'round the block in the "schoolbus" (a. k. a. family car), and photos on the front porch?

The FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

At our house the first day of school is special because we don't actually go anywhere.

How's that make it special?

Because we make it special.

Learning at home is fun for the kids. They could do their lessons in their pajamas -- or even their underwear -- and no one would mind. But it does lose some of that "first-day-of-school" excitement that you get by riding a schoolbus in new school clothes with a new backpack and lunchbox and pencilbox filled with new crayons, pencils, pens, and scissors.

So that's where we step in. If we can bring some kind of specialness to the whole process then it makes it just as fun as going to a traditional "brick-and-mortar" school.

Hence, the pancake breakfast, special notebooks, trip around the block, and school photos.



And it's fun for us, too.

Anyways...

Happy Monday to you, too! The final Monday in August.

Time is speeding by, huh?

We had a jam-packed weekend, as you may have read yesterday. And, phew! I think we might recover by next Thursday. *grin*

The kids enjoyed our family time, and we made lots of family memories together...and that's what it's all about: making memories together.

The "Leechie Countdown" continues. Only 18 days to go. Wow! Wow! Wow!!!! Of course, as Stuart pointed out to the kids yesterday, we're kind of in the "any day zone" now. [Insert scream and scary music here.]

The painters have been working on our house.

[Silence.]

I guess I should be grateful because the painters have been working on our house, but we're paying them to work on our house. And I think Stuart and I learned not to go with the cheapest estimate next time...though financially we didn't really have a choice. They're not professional at all. Hopefully when they finally finish (!!) we can fix some of the paint splodges and clean up all the paint chips that they scraped off and left behind. Several boxes in our attic have even been christened with the "cafe-au-lait" paint of the trim, too.

Hmm...

Guess I should get busy with my "chores" for the day...got lots to do, including school lessons now, and I'm already tired. A mother's job is never finished, right? *wink*

And the fun has only just begun... *grin*

End-of-Summer-Vacation Weekend Bash

Wow! I cannot believe school begins tomorrow.

Our summer vacation zipped by so quickly. We had all sorts of goals and plans and ideas of what we wanted to do in the beginning...and I guess we managed to do some of them. But, as always, our plans/ideas exceeded our number of vacation days. *grin*

Still, looking back on this summer, we realized it was a bit difficult to do anything really special with higher gas and food prices and less time due to the impending arrival of Leechie. Our family times seemed to come in snippets, which was fun, but not as lasting as our usual weeklong holiday at the beach.

So Stuart took the day off on Friday, and we kicked off our "End-of-Summer-Vacation Weekend Bash" which concluded this afternoon with a trip to Barnes & Noble for the presentation of Summer Bridge completion awards and a $5 giftcard.

The kids had no idea of what we had planned though...

Day 1: a whole day of "camp."

CAMP WOOHOOHAHA

Since neither of our munchkins has ever been to a real camp -- and it's not even a feasible option at the moment money-wise -- we decided to create our own little camp here at home.

"Happy Campers"

We started after breakfast by donning our camp t-shirts and doing a craft. Whilst Counselor Mommy-pop helped the kids through a somewhat frustrating pom-pom animal craft (Whoever got the idea to glue them together? It never works very well...), Counselor Dadster set up an obstacle course.

Once they got as much done on the craft as they could, we headed out to the front porch for directions on how to do the course. It was hilarious to watch them go through the regimen and then finish by kicking a goal. Emily's ball ended up down the street, so Stuart got some exercise, too.

That finished, we came back inside for another craft -- a paint-by-number packet each with dried-up paints. Ugh. (That'll teach me not to save crafts for over a year.) We got out the markers, and they colored the pictures beautifully.

Balsa-wood airplanes followed with a competition to see whose would go the furthest...the winner of which would get to choose first in the morning snack of freeze pops.

Then it was time for a nature walk. Counselor Dadster took them in the "camp-mobile" down to the museum to walk the grounds and look for stuff to put into a nature book. They came back an hour later with two bags full and a big appetite for some lunch.

Nature Walkers

We watched half of Bambi during lunch -- the first half before Bambi's mom dies. It seemed to go along with the nature theme and didn't put a downer on our day. *grin*

Afterwards, we did two science experiments about air pressure from their Summer Bridge books. Very easy and very cool! (E-mail me if you want the ideas -- they each use 2 to 3 things with spectacular results.)

The "crazy bee" sprinkler came next, giving the kids a chance to run off some more energy and get wet. Counselor Dadster enjoyed turning the water on and off and surprising them.

Then they spent a bit of time gluing together their nature books, writing letters "home," and reading/resting, giving Counselor Dadster time to put together a treasure hunt.

All around the yard and house went the kids...solving clues to find their treasures: a Beanie Baby each.

We finished the afternoon activities by painting wooden bugs. The kids love to paint and did a fantastic job.

Stuart lit the charcoal grill so the kids could roast their own hotdogs, and we sat on the frontporch enjoying hotdogs, zucchinis and tomatoes, and potato chips. Afterwards we toasted marshmallows and s'mores. (What is it about marshmallows with crispy exteriors?? They're just so good!)

One more round through the obstacle course before cleaning it up and heading to the backyard for some songs/stories. Too bad we couldn't have an actual campfire, too.

Finally, the day ended with Counselor Dadster making Jiffy Pop on the stove and a few more funny "scary" stories with the flashlight-under-the-chin effect...and finally baths all around.

I think the kids would have stayed at Camp Woohoohaha for days if they could have. But given their activity level...I'm not sure Counselor Dadster and Counselor Mommy-pop could have kept up, though I'm sure we'll "return" to the camp again one day.

Day 2 -- a day at the "beach" and a picnic in the park

BLUE MARSH LAKE

We live near a beautiful man-made lake/park called Blue Marsh. It boasts of nature trails and playgrounds and picnic areas...and even has a little beach area for swimming.

The best part? It's about 20 minutes away and costs $3 a car for the day.

We headed there after breakfast on Saturday so that Stuart and the kids could go swimming. Next time we'll remember to bring some buckets and spades, too. I watched from further up since I wasn't sure swimming in a lake was a good idea for me this late in my pregnancy.

Emily described the experience as "swimming in a lake of Mountain Dew."

Hmm...

Still, they had fun...and a bath when we got home.

Later in the afternoon, we headed to our own nearby playground/park, "Happy Hollow," for our church's picnic. There were games for the kids and games for the adults and lots and lots of food. We even got to bring home some of the extra barbecued chicken. Mmmmm!

After church and lunch today, we took the kids to Barnes & Noble to finish out our weekend celebration. It was fun and tiring, but I think the kids are excited to start their new classes tomorrow.

We have a few new school surprises in store for them, of course...but all that to come tomorrow...

A Day at "Camp" and Lake Fun

Wordless Wednesday

Half-a-B'day, Half-a-B'day, Half-a-B'day Onward

August 14th brought a lot of activity to our household -- including enjoying afternoon tea with my sister and nephew and taking a trip to the local petstore for a one-hour wait with a whining, barking dog to get his annual shots.

But the most important event that day was Edward's "Half Birthday."

We started this tradition when Emily reached her 6-month milestone. We thought it might give her some exposure to the birthday song thing, as well as treat her to a day of her "own." (For those new to my blog, Emily arrived on my 27th birthday, making us "birthday buddies.")

Thus, the "Half-B'day" tradition continues.

It's nothing big or fancy. Just a fun dinner, some small, silly presents, and cupcakes times the age number and a half.

The kids get a kick out of it and look forward to this halfway point in their year with almost the same excitement as their actual birthdays.

It really is a milestone of sorts for them, too. They're a whole half-a-year older. Somehow it makes them feel very important to say their age-plus-half.

And why not?

Time ticks by so slowly in a child's life anyway... This gives them something to look forward to and only 6 months more to wait until their real birthday!

Mirrored Monday Musings

Happy Monday to you! Only one more Monday in August. Wow!!

School begins next Monday...already. We're starting a week earlier than usual so as to get a jump on our lessons...that way, Leechie's arrival won't interrupt our studies too much. *grin* That's the theory anyway.

Speaking of Leechie's arrival... Only 25 days to go. Well, 25 until the due date. That's not necessarily Leechie's day of arrival. I'm just about in the the "any day" range now. But I think we're ready-ish. I found most of the infant gowns/sleepers that I used with my first two. I've washed them and found that some survived 7 years of storage and other didn't. (Click here to go to a site with some very good video suggestions for stain removal.) Oh, well. The baby will have plenty to wear -- thanks to some very dear people in our lives!! And it's usually warm in September... It's been very strange to fold such tiny clothing again. I feel like I'm folding Emily's doll's clothes.

Stuart and I got to see Mirrors (locally -- hooray!!) this past Friday, and I surprised myself by actually enjoying it. This does not in any way make me a horror movie fan. I'm sure I wouldn't have even been interested in this film had Kiefer Sutherland not been starring in it. But I'm glad I saw it since it had a great storyline and a very interesting twist at the end...plus, it was very well done.

Stuart finished painting the side of our "shed" that needed to be done to bring our house "back into code." We just signed a contract with a professional painter to get the eaves/gutters done some time in the next week. The church group decided it was just too high to risk helping us...and we agreed. (It had worried us.) It'll mean tightening our financial belts yet again, but we know that God will provide. And it will be exciting to see the house looking really nice again. We just wish the timing could have been a bit different... *wink*

Emily had her 4-H Rabbit/Cavy Club picnic this past Saturday. We enjoyed it despite the fact that not many members came this year. The weather was perfect, and there was plenty to eat and a pool to swim in. Plus, the hostess took the kids for a carriage ride. That's always a treat!

Speaking of weather... We've been enjoying some unseasonably cooler summer days, allowing us to turn off the A/C and open the windows. Yippee!! Never a bad thing to save a few dollars on electricity, right? Especially after reading the sensationalized headline about electricity rates skyrocketing to the moon in yesterday's newspaper. Ugh. Plus, opening the windows allows the house (and us) to get some fresh air.

We've also been battling some fleas. I think we're beginning to get ahead of these [insert mild naughty word here] bugs, but it does cause us to feel a bit paranoid every time we get a little itch somewhere on our bodies. As much as we're the "big people" of the house -- you know, the ones who aren't supposed to be afraid of anything -- neither Stuart nor I likes bugs. I think we could easily become like the two men in the movie Mousehunt...check out the trailer to refresh your memory.



With my impending delivery of Leechie, the kids have been pretending to be a married couple having a baby. I overheard Edward announcing to Emily this morning that her baby is a boy. She squealed with delight, and they both laughed happily. Hmm... My memories of childbirth -- while somewhat distant -- are coming back very vividly (funny how that happens in the last month, huh?)...and I can't remember many moments where I "squealed with delight" or "laughed happily"...though I recall being very, very pleased/relieved at the end to finally meet the little person who'd been "hitching a ride with free drive-thru" for the previous 9 months.

Perspective is a funny thing, huh?

Sweet Sunday

We sang the first hymn of this medley -- "We Are God's People" -- in church today. And I always love the majesty of the music, picturing the angels in Heaven singing along. The words are excellent, too.

(Don't forget to pause the sidebar music player.)

Friday Funnies

Stuart sent me this funny article he found on Yahoo News yesterday. I thought it befitting for a Friday Funny. Enjoy! (You'd think the city officials would know what their own city looks like, huh? *wink*)

British recycling leaflets show wrong Birmingham
by David Stringer, AP writer

LONDON - Britain's second-largest city, Birmingham, has a new skyline — only it belongs to its Alabama namesake. Birmingham City Council distributed 720,000 leaflets that praised residents for exceeding recycling targets, carrying a message that read: "Thank You Birmingham." The message appeared stamped across a photograph of the city's skyline. But the photo was not of Birmingham, England, but of Birmingham, Alabama.

It's the second time British officials have mistakenly used images of Birmingham, Alabama. Three lawmakers who represent Birmingham at the European Parliament accidentally used a picture of the U.S. city on their Internet site in January.

"I would have thought the council would take more care," said Birmingham resident Jon Cooper. "I can't believe no one at the town hall noticed."

Britain's Birmingham is famed for its modernist Bullring shopping mall, with its distinctive metallic curved exterior and an extensive network of canals, churches and historical buildings.
The Alabama city's skyline includes the Wachovia Tower, University of Alabama buildings and skyscrapers.

Officials said the wrong image was selected from an Internet photo archive.

"It's human error," said Birmingham City Council spokesman Kris Kowalewski. "We accept that the wrong photo was used, but the text and detail contained in the leaflet is wholly correct."

While the cities have wildly different skylines, there are many similarities between the two — not least a proud industrial heritage.

Birmingham, Alabama — known as the Magic City because of its rapid 20th century growth — was founded on its steel industry. It took its name from the British manufacturing city known for making Jaguar cars and Cadburys chocolate. Both now have growing financial services sectors.

Both cities also share a history of racial tension. In Alabama, Birmingham was a center of 1960s civil rights protests by black Americans.

In Britain, Birmingham has struggled with divisions between black and South Asian communities, which led to violent riots in the 1980s and in 2005.

The British city — whose sister city is Chicago — has a population of 1 million. The Alabama city's population is roughly 230,000.

In Alabama, the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce didn't immediately respond to calls for comment Thursday.

Refreshing Reflection

Thanks to BennyBlog for the Mirrors photo

It's no secret that I'm a huge Kiefer Sutherland fan. I've enjoyed following his career in recent years, after rediscovering my former interest in him.

So it's been interesting to watch the "finale" of his DUI/jailtime unfold and hear his reflection on it all.

A little background for those who don't know/follow Kiefer: Last September, the 24 star was arrested for DUI, following being stopped for an illegal U-turn. He was subsequently sentenced to 48 days in jail which had to be completed by March 2008 -- with no chance of early release. He chose to serve his time in December and January -- presumably during the show's Christmas break -- so as not to disturb production on the show. Before that could happen though, the Hollywood writers' strike began and the importance of that was voided. Still, to jail he went in early December, serving his time during his birthday, Christmas, and New Year's. He left the prison, which was a 24/7 indoor county facility, a thinner, paler version of himself. It was actually sad to watch.

But he did it...as he should have.

Unlike many of his Hollywood contemporaries/cohorts, though, he didn't complain or blame society for what happened. He didn't negotiate for less time or use his status as a top-grossing movie star to get special treatment. He said from the start that he made bad choices and had to pay the consequences.

It was an interesting time in our household since it provided us as parents with (sadly) a good example of what happens when we make bad choices. My kids know how much I admire this actor so their eyes and ears were wide open to see how he chose to handle it.

So getting back to the story.

Kiefer seemed to stay out of the limelight for the last 7 months, opting to keep away from the talkshows and interviewers. We still got photos of him and little snippets of news stating what he was doing career-wise...but nothing really more personal than that.

But he is human after all. He needed time to heal and reflect, I'm sure.

Fast forward to now. With the upcoming opening of his newest movie Mirrors (which isn't being shown locally to me!!!! Grrrrr!! UPDATE: Yes, it is!! Whoo-Hoo!!), he finally made some appearances, chatting quite openly and frankly about his time in jail with David Letterman and admitting to several of the others that he made some bad choices and had to deal with that. He reflected on the fact that if you don't learn and grow from bad experiences/choices then you have a serious problem and the experience was for nothing.

I find it all very interesting.

While he's not perfect and still lives with the morals of the world, he provides a different reflection to the Hollywood image. Despite being in a constant limelight, he still shows us his human side and his respect for his fan base in general. He's humble enough to admit when he's done something very wrong and even humbler to accept without reservation the consequences that follow.

And that's a definitely refreshing change.

How many of us would do that in our little sphere of the world?

Wordless Wednesday

The Nursery - Phase One

As I mentioned yesterday, we semi-finished "Phase One" of the nursery.

There's still some work to do on it so I'll post more pics one it's completely finished. But, for now, I present the "Leechie Domain:"

I kept the colorful paper handprints we made for the schoolroom several years ago.


The closet. I'm going to use curtains instead of the door.


The window with the glider in front of it. The changing table is there on the right, under some school stuff that still needs to find a new home.


The crib filled with birthing supplies.


The library. Rather than relocating the gadzillions of books we seem to have, I decided to combine it with the room. I'm sure Leechie won't mind. *wink*

Flash! Boom! Monday Musings

Wow! What a way to start the week -- with a string of severe thunderstorms, complete with hail, thunder, and lightning. The skies have finally finished grumbling, I think.

Happy Monday to you!

It's hard to believe we're heading towards the middle of August already. Ugh! and Hooray! at the same time. Edward has his "half-birthday" on Thursday, and Mirrors opens at the end of the week. But we're rushing headlong towards school and all the activities starting again...as well as "labor day." (Only 32 days to go!!) I cannot believe how quickly it's all coming.

The weekend was spent on the house...again. Oh, well. All a part of owning an old house, right? Stuart got the side of our "shed" scraped and painted. He wants to give it one more coat and then start on the window. It looks much, much better and should make the codes officer very happy. The kids each weeded a large patch of our flowerbeds. We were so pleased to have their help. And I worked inside on reorganizing the nursery and attic. By the end of the day, we were all very pooped.

My parents came over for dinner yesterday. Stuart and I have wanted to grill something for them to thank them for watching our poochie when we went to Long Island. We also realized we hadn't had them over for a meal since Boxing Day...ironic, given the fact that we live about 10 miles from each other. We'd hoped to sit outside and enjoy the cooler weather we've been having, but the heavens decided to open and dump rain on everything. Poor Stuart had to grill our steaks and potatoes in the rain.

We mostly finished the nursery yesterday, too, and we're very pleased with the results. (I'll post some photos of it some time in the next few days.) There are still a few spots that need to be sorted, but overall it's bright and cheery and organized. And for fun, we're going to use one of our old windows to make a photo collage for above the crib.

Now to find all the neutral baby clothes in the attic...and sort the basement. [Insert grimace here.]

This is the first time we've actually put together a real nursery of sorts in our own house. We had a small nursery for Emily in our first one-bedroom apartment, but it was really an outer porch-type room off the kitchen. She slept in a cradle in our bedroom. When we moved to the next apartment (which was a two-bedroom), we set up a nursery of sorts again. And when Edward was born, we had to combine the nursery with Emily's big-girl bedroom. He didn't get his own room until we moved to this house.

But somehow it feels different now. I don't know if this time is unique because it's been so long for us? (All the baby stuff had been eradicated and sent to the attic many years ago.) Or because we're not "new" parents? Or merely "just because." *grin*

The kids made their own radio show last week. They spent nearly the whole day, taping themselves, giggling with silliness and arguing over who would say what. But overall they just enjoyed themselves. After dinner, we sat around the little tape player and laughed at all the crazy things they taped. The biggest laughter came when Emily began reading the weather from the back page of the newspaper. She explained that a whole band of "tropical storms" was making its way across the Midwest and Plains areas. Biting back the urge to giggle, Stuart and I were a bit confused since those weren't the usual areas for tropical storms. Then Edward continued with the local weather, talking about the possibility of "T-storms"...explaining that those are "Tropical storms, dudes." Our resolve to stay serious in the midst of this "serious radio show" dissolved, and we laughed and laughed, telling the kids that "T-storms" are actually thunderstorms.

Part of the show included a "song request" time. Edward pretended to call in and make requests, and Emily -- the radio host -- picked out the songs. And her choices were interesting. For the "man" who called to request a song for his grandfather, she played "Butterfly Kisses," laughing and realizing too late that such a request was silly for a grandfather. So when that finished she played "The Grandfather Clock," realizing, with more giggles, that the grandfather actually dies in that song. That song abruptly ended in the middle.

Hmm... I don't see a career in DJing for either of them anytime soon. *wink*

We're hoping to see the movie Mirrors this Friday. So far, none of our local theatres are listing it. I'm not sure how much I'll actually see...but the storyline looks good. Kiefer talked about it on several talkshows last week. He explained how he's not keen on viewing horror movies, but he did enjoy the idea of scaring moviegoers. Part of the "joy" of his art, right? That's something I've always enjoyed about writing: having the power to affect readers.

On that note, I'll bid you adieu and continue with the laundry, etc. Lots to do...and only 32 days (or more or less...) to do it all!!

Friday Funnies

Three funnies from "Baby Blues." Been there, said that? *wink* Enjoy, and have a very fun Friday!

(Click on the comics to enlarge them if necessary.)

Point to Ponder

"I don't go along with all this talk of a generation gap. We're all contemporaries. There is only a difference in memories, that's all."

~W. H. Auden

Wordless Wednesday

Busy Hands

I first saw this painting down in Manteo, N.C., a little town outside of Nags Head. My mom spotted it on the wall of a gallery we always visited on our vacations down there.

She spotted it because it looked exactly like my two little sweethearts -- minus the curls on the blonde little boy, of course -- enjoying a day at the beach. (See the photo on yesterday's musings.)

It's called "Busy Hands," and I thought it was a fantastic painting. The artist, Laurie Snow Hein, did a wonderful job of capturing a moment with these two little people. It's almost like you can walk up to them and join in their fun.

You can hear the soft pounding of the surf behind them...and feel the warmth of the sun on their backs and faces...and taste the saltiness of the ocean air.

I love paintings that allow you to join them, to go into the scene and feel what the subjects are feeling...if only for a moment.

A brief but happy moment of escape...

Musing Along on a Monday in August

Happy Monday to you! The first Monday in...August. *gulp*

(Is it me? Or is this year really flying by?)

"Leechie" is shifting about in my belly, reminding me that "D-Day" isn't too far off. We finished buying all the supplies we need for our home birth...and the cradle is set up...and the blankets are washed. So we're at least ready for the debut. The baby's room is coming along a bit slower than that. But it's progressing, nonetheless.

On the home front... The Lord is exceedingly good to us. We have a team of guys at our church who have volunteered to help get our house's eaves and gutters painted to satisfy the borough. It may mean asking the borough for any extension but I think that will work. Most people were incredulous at the "heavy-handedness" of the officials, warning of a fine and possible jail time if the work isn't completed. I've gone beyond that feeling to one of complete mirth, imagining Stuart in jail, explaining to the other inmates that he was in for "peeling paint." It isn't funny really...but it seems a bit ridiculous in the long run.

Only a little less than 2 weeks until the debut of Mirrors. I don't know whether to be excited or petrified. *wink* Our new IMAX theater opens up in R-City this week. We're not sure if they'll show Mirrors on their screens, but you never know? Then again, any movie theater will do. And I saw another trailer for the 24 - Exile telemovie -- a. k. a. the Season 7 prequel -- and it looks...well, let's just say my pulse races every time I see it. It looks AWESOME!! I think the studio made good use of the "down time" from the writer's strike and all this may work in their favor.

We headed down to Conshohocken this weekend to get some things fixed on our new car. Afterwards, we hit the IKEA across the road -- which was fun since we didn't get to do that the last time we were down there due to the fact that I had a "Leechie" appointment to rush back to. You have to love IKEA. We went to get a snack and ended up with a full breakfast for $1.99 each. Eggs, bacon, frenchtoast sticks, and hashbrowns. How could we resist? And it was still morning. We wandered about, looking at everything. We were most interested in the mattresses since Emily's loftbed is from IKEA, and she'll need a replacement at some point in the future.

Speaking of the kids, school starts in a few weeks. Well, it might. We have the option of starting August 18th or September 2nd. Being that we have another little family member coming at the beginning of our school year, we decided it might be best to get a jumpstart on our lessons this year. But August 18th? Sheesh. I haven't decided yet. I have to get all the school stuff unpacked and set up before we do anything.

Ah, well. It'll all get done in due time, right?

Sigh.

* * *

5 THINGS TO BE HAPPY ABOUT
• speaking kindly
• shortbread cookies and Earl Grey
• weathered gray houses
• playing games instead of watching TV
• corn on the cob

* * *

One of the joys of going to Nags Head, N.C., in the Outer Banks every year, is seeing all the weathered gray beach houses.

Of course, there are plenty of more colorful houses, too, since that seems to be the popular trend at the moment: to paint the houses all sorts of wild colors.

Still, the older, more-weathered houses continue to prevail in certain sections, or peek out from between the freshly painted purple or aqua abodes and businesses, reminding us of other beach vacations gone by.

My mother has always described the older beach houses as the stoic, old matrons of the sea. The ones who have watched over the coastline for decades, weathering the storms and seasons, absorbing the salt air and marking time.

After fleeing several hurricanes while we were down there, I'm amazed that some of them are still standing. The fury of the storms and the shrinking sand dunes make me think that these houses should be long gone. But somehow they stand on, firm despite the shifting sands and storms of life and constantly changing weather conditions.

An example to us all.

Sweet Sunday

Here are the lyrics to a wonderful old hymn we sang in church this morning. The words are a great reminder for us to keep our eyes focused on Jesus -- even when the "going gets tough." Click here for the tune.

Jesus, I am resting, resting,

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,

And Thy beauty fills my soul,

For by Thy transforming power,

Thou hast made me whole.

Refrain:
Jesus, I am resting, resting,

In the joy of what Thou art;

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart.

O, how great Thy loving kindness,

Vaster, broader than the sea!

O, how marvelous Thy goodness,

Lavished all on me!

Yes, I rest in Thee, Belovèd,

Know what wealth of grace is Thine,

Know Thy certainty of promise,

And have made it mine.

Refrain

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,

I behold Thee as Thou art,

And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,

Satisfies my heart;

Satisfies its deepest longings,

Meets, supplies its every need,

Compasseth me round with blessings:

Thine is love indeed!

Refrain

Ever lift Thy face upon me

As I work and wait for Thee;

Resting ’neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,

Earth’s dark shadows flee.

Brightness of my Father’s glory,

Sunshine of my Father’s face,

Keep me ever trusting, resting,

Fill me with Thy grace.

Refrain

Words by Jean S. Pig­ott, 1876.
Music: "Tran­quil­i­ty," by James Mount­ain, 1876.

Friday Funnies

Another funny LEGO Star Wars video -- a bit grainy -- but well-worth the viewing.

Enjoy, and have a fun Friday!