Gettin' Behind

As a first-born and control freak, I am a list maker. I love lists. I love thinking of what lists I can make even if they aren't necessary. Even more than I love the lists, I love crossing completed items off the list. Why? I am a minimalist. I don't like piles and clutter. HOWEVER, as a mommy, I don't like to throw things away that will very likely be useful in the near future and will save a buck or two. It does keep my brain spinning sometimes.

But alas, as a busy wife and mother, things on my to-do list have begun to pile up. So now, I have a very handy list made called: Things I Hope to Accomplish at Some Point. It is very long.

I was telling Andy about this and how I'd love to catch up on it, but I'd need him to be 'me' for a couple of days so I could work without interruption. He agreed to do it. We have no plans to travel this weekend (gotta be at church!) and so I get Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, Andy's day off, to complete, or at least shorten, my list.

Tub...dust bunnies...refrigerator...bring it.

Six Months and Two and a Half

Lola is half of a year old. Half of a year! A half of a year has passed since the day she was born. Whoa. And she is darling. She is the happiest baby I've ever met and is willing to give anyone who looks at her a little love. She is bouncing, smacking and licking her lips, responding to her name, and even sat up alone long enough to have her picture taken. She adores her sister and smiles at her constantly and when she hears her daddy's voice she wiggles and squirms like crazy.

I started cereal with her last week and she gobbles it right up. Surprise, surprise. We're going to try some bananas tomorrow. Something tells me that she will love them, as Georgia did. That same something tells me she will be a better eater than Georgia.

She had her appointment yesterday and all is well. She is weighing in at 17 lbs and 10 oz in the 77th percentile. She measured 25 1/2 inches long, but I think that was wrong. She has always been about the 75th percentile for height, but this time dropped to the 33rd.




And not to leave out Georgie-girl. She is hilarious. Almost everyday we are cracking up at the things she says:

"Lola, stop talkin' riiiiiiiiiiiiiight now."

"What are you do-een?" When she know perfectly well what I'm doing.

"Daddy is a boy and Mommy is a girl and Lola is a girl and Jo-Ja (Georgia) is a girl."

"Mommy, it's Jesus!" about the man next to us in line at the grocery store who had shoulder length hair and a goatee and who was definitely within hearing distance.

She has also started emphasizing her exclamations with an 'h' sound: "Ye-hes!" "Wo-how!"

Whenever Andy and I kiss or hug she laughs and yells, "Yay, they're married!" Or she says, "Turn around and get married." Then we're supposed to turn to each other and hug/kiss.

And my most favorite: "I pooped! See? Look at my butt." I honestly don't know where she picked up that one.

Hotels

I love hotels. Absolutely love them. I love the clean sheets, the smell of the pool and the complimentary cookies if you're staying somewhere nice. For some reason, when I stay at a hotel, it's not difficult to get up early and get ready. I enjoy making the bed. And I make sure all the dirty towels are in a nice pile in the bathroom for the cleaning lady. I always use the coffee pot.

And you can bet I'm taking every free sample there is to be taken. I take the shampoo and conditioner, the lotion, the bar soap, the little notebook and pen by the bed, the coffee and, of course, the mints and tea bags if they have them. I'd really like to snag a pillow off the bed, but that goes against my conscience, not to mention the law.

Cable! I like to make sure I have enough time to watch a little HGTV or TLC and if I'm nice, I'll let Andy watch the Discovery Channel.

In the morning, I love, love, love the complimentary breakfast; especially if it's hot. The nice places have biscuits and gravy, oatmeal, toast, bagels, muffins and fruit. And yes, I take a banana, apple and muffin for the road, not to mention, more coffee. Um, hello, it's free.

Come on, who doesn't love a night (or two) in a hotel? There are just too many perks.

Jerusalem Marketplace

The tribe of Zebulun: (B): Peter, Lizzie
(F): Levi, Ellie, Lacey, Madison, J'Sun, Luke, Bao

The last two years we have had phenomenal VBSs. Last year was the Sea of Galilee and was the same form as this year's Jerusalem Marketplace. The kids are divided into tribes for the week. They wear tunics and get to experience all about the Jewish lifestyle as it was when Jesus walked the earth.

During tribe time they learned about family traditions such as touching the mezuzah. The mezuzah was a small parchment that contained the Shema, a Jewish prayer. When leaving and/or entering the home, members would touch the mezuzah and kiss their fingers as a way to keep the prayer at the forefront of their minds. The kids even attended synagogue and wore their own yamakas.

Each day they had an opportunity to visit the marketplace where there was a candy shop, a bakery, a basket shop, a pottery shop and more. They made tamborines and shakers at the music shop and dradles at the carpentry shop. At each shop they had to pay one gold coin for the service they received. There was even a tax collector, a beggar and a fierce Roman soldier.

Throughout the week there were dramas of the disciples and people who had heard and seen Jesus. And each day we spent time talking of Jesus and the things that He taught. It was so neat to see the body of Christ come together to serve the kids. We're really looking forward to next year.

Rabbi Scott at synagogue

synagogue

the beggar

a shop in the market place

the well

roman soldier

A surprise visit from Jesus.
"Is that really Him?" uuuuhhhhh......

Love and Thunder

All over the quiet plains, beneath the snow on the high mountains, rustling through the cattails that congregate along the water, you can feel the presence of a promise. On cold nights when you look at the sky, sometimes your breath catches in your throat at how bright the night can be. The dark spaces between the stars aren't as dark as you thought they were; not nearly as dark as the tree line on the horizon, and as you stand there shivering with your hands bunched in your pockets suddenly you remember that you're standing on a rock in the middle of space. Suddenly the notion that there's a Someone who made it all and knows us all no longer seems quite so far-fetched; indeed, it seems too good to be false.

But here we toil and we till the hard earth, where even the warm times with friend and kin are lonely because we know they won't last long enough to quiet the ache. Our sadness points to Home the way hunger points to the feast, the way the light of the cratered moon is always facing the sun, always pointing to where the dawn will come like a pillar of fire when this rock we walk on turns again to burning. All over the quiet plains and the cold stone cities full of dying and shame the promise is not drowned out by the weeping; it is declared by it.

God died as a man and rose again, and the sound of the fiery blast of Death exploding shook the firmament. Throughout the wail and shudder, over the shriek and moan of man the thunder has sounded and sung, and it is both the answer and the promise. It sings still, and you can hear what it says if you listen: Love never dies.

by Andrew Peterson; singer, songwriter and author

Solitude Cabin

Here are just a few more pictures and updates from the middle portion of our vacation. We spent four days and three nights at the Solitude Cabin at Pine Lake Christian Camp in Eldora, IA. The Solitude Cabin is intended for pastors and other people in vocational ministry to come free of charge and experience a little solitude; either by themselves or with family. There is no TV, no Internet, no radio.

Many of you who are familiar with Eldora might wonder how we stayed busy, but each minute was full! We played at the park in town and a small play area at the camp, built a fire and had Georgia's first s'mores experience, went to the book shop, the fish store, the ice cream store. There was another little shop we visited where you could buy all sorts of cool things made by people in the area. I bought a super cute apron made by a woman in town and hair clips for the girls made by someone from Dike, IA. The gal who owned the shop refurbished old furniture and had things from scarves and purses, to unique teas and wines. It was a lot of fun. My dad told me about a little outside chapel on the outskirts of town. I've been to Eldora many times and had never heard of it. But we followed his directions and low and behold, came across the Chapel on the Hill.

Here are a few snapshots:

The 4th

Thought I had better post some pictures from the Fourth of July before it's like, October or something. We spent the holiday in Williams with my family; it was the tail end of our two-week vacation (more to come in future posts).

Williams puts on quite a celebration for the Fourth, even though it's a town of less than 400. They have a huge parade and then fill the park with kiddie activities like a train ride and jump house. I remember going to it as a kid myself and it was always a lot of fun. It's funny to be on the mom-end, watching Georgia do everything while I snap pictures from the sidelines.

This was also Georgia's first year experiencing fireworks. We weren't sure how it'd go since she is afraid of loud sounds like thunder, trucks and motorcycles. We were skeptical, but as it turns out, she loved them! She loved telling us what color each one was and she would put her little hand on my arm and look at me and say, "Again?" as if I had the power to make them go. I wish I did. :)

Collecting candy from the parade with a little help from Aunt Celia

Kiddie train ride at the Williams park

Swim time at Granny's house

Daddy and Lola

Lola, Granny, Gramps, Celia, and Georgia