Columbus Was Onto Something...

I can easily see how Columbus thought the earth was square. There are just sometimes when it is absolutely way too easy to simply "fall off the face of the earth," the past few days being case in point.

We are doing really well, just trying to keep our heads above water as L crams in the last month of studies for his first round of grad school classes, we get decorated for Christmas, prepared for birthdays, holidays and other celebrations galore that occur every December.

I will have pics and backdated posts up soon (our tree went up tonight, and I got a sweet shot of E hanging her first ornament ever on the tree!!)...as soon as I can catch my breath, that is. As for tonight, I have about 40 paper cuts in my tongue and a cramp in my right hand from working on Christmas cards, so I am going to call it and get some shut-eye.

Ugh. Technology.

I'm going to take a minute to rant about something totally insignificant from a kingdom perspective, but that totally pervades the temporary: my cell phone.

I'm a "Blackberry" girl - granted, only until iPhone goes to Verizon. Got one a year ago when I started a new job, and haven't looked back. It's annoyingly convenient to be able to take your digital "life" with you wherever you go.

Yesterday, though, my phone's keypad totally went out - in the middle of the day, with no warning. Mind you - this phone has been dropped, kicked, chewed on, tossed, dropped, squeezed, dropped, rained on, dropped...and did I mention, dropped? It's a phone. I have a two-year-old. Case closed.

But despite all of the trauma it's faced, it has continued to work faithfully. Until yesterday, at which point it had apparently gathered the support of my entire keypad, and everybody went on strike.

This would have been incredibly frustrating on a normal day. When your husband is in Egypt, you're planning to go out of town in the morning, your child will be with your mom, your dog with a friend, and a dinner date with some friends who don't know your phone isn't working...frustrating doesn't even come close. Adding insult to injury, I had to go by the Verizon store. Even worse was when the "customer service" lady on the opposite side of the counter, after commenting on how tired my child must be (because she's cried since we walked in the door), announces that in fact she cannot help me because I have obviously caused extensive damage to the phone and must therefore file an insurance claim instead. I cried with my tired child as we left the store empty-handed.

Thankfully, insurance was happy to help after I paid a $50 deductible (which to me is like paying a $4000 deductible on a car damage claim...totally ridiculous) and $20 to ship next-day so that MAYBE it would be delivered before I left to go out of town.

I'm so glad there won't be cell phones in heaven.

Refrigerator Art

I received today from my daughter the very first of what I am sure will be many years of refrigerator art. I am actually most impressed by the fact that she chose to color more than two seconds on the same piece of paper. Typically when I color with her, she considers a page to be "finished" after a couple of scribbles.

I used to think my mom was crazy for stockpiling years and years of "junk" from my childhood days forward. But now I'm starting to feel a little sentimental myself...

My Camera Came Home!

I dropped my camera about a month ago. :(

Shortly after that, I realized that I did actually do some damage to the lens, and it required servicing. So, I sent my camera off to be fixed, and have really really really missed it!! (By the way, a little "shout out" to my dad for being the hero of the day and speeding up the process)

Today it came home via UPS. Picture updates coming soon!

In the Kitchen

I'm not an especially good cook. My husband is actually the more adventurous cook between the two of us. I usually stick to the "tried and true, easy to do" stuff, well, for the obvious reasons.

I got a recipe from a friend of mine, M, a few weeks ago, and our little family has enjoyed it immensely. It's so simple, so delicious, and has now been approved by three separate generations - E eats almost as big of a helping as I do.

So enjoy! Thanks M - this is really one of my favorite recipes ever!!!


*Crock-Pot Chicken Nachos*

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can black beans
1 can corn
3 cans Rotel (drain 2 of the cans)
1 pkg cream cheese
Tortilla chips
Lettuce
Salsa
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
Guacamole

Put the first four ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 8-10 hours. 30 minutes before eating, chop up cream cheese over the top. When ready to serve, break apart chicken and mix everything together with forks. Serve on top of chips with toppings as desired. Serves 6-8. (We like to use leftovers to make quesadillas!)

Twenty Four Important Words

I was wrong.
You were right.
I'm sorry.

I won't do that again.
Please forgive me.
(I forgive you)
I love you.
Thank you.

Source: Nathan & Jane Phillips

Battlefield Ministries, Inc.

Sin is sin is sin is sin...

If you are anything like me, this is how the Celebrity/Media world has played out for you the past few days:

-I didn't watch the Music Awards the other night. I don't have cable. I don't know that I would've watched it if I did.

-Heard about the whole Kanye West thing through Facebook, my "reliable" source of media nowadays. Read everybody's comments about what a jerk he was. Thought, "That's probably true."

-Heard about it a little more on the radio. Decided I was glad I don't watch TV, and even more glad that I'm not the type of person to get caught up in caring enough about those kinds of things to write about it on my Facebook page.

-Read this. Embarrassingly convicted of my crazy, self-worshipping pride.

-Posted on my blog about Kanye West...which is infinitely worse than posting it on my Facebook page.

Blogger World

I'm enjoying this new blogging phase of life. It's given me accountability to do something I've always wanted to do but never made time for, which is documenting the really great stuff in life.

It all started with my friend G recommending that if I only read one blog ever, I needed to read this one. So one morning, I made a cup of coffee, got E's video started, opened up my laptop to do a bit of Facebook browsing, and decided to check out what "JMom" had written for the day.........and two videos, three cups of coffee, a box of Kleenex, and an hour later, E peeled me away from the computer screen, back into our world and to the life that was happening right before my eyes.

It took me about eight months to gather up the nerve to venture out onto my own blog. I'm a perfectionist, Type A personality to the core, so I stood frozen on the cliff for a long time, trying to think about the perfect way to jump. It's a little nerve-racking knowing that somebody else is going to be reading your mind, literally. Especially when I'm quite comfortable with the fact that, up to this point, I've been described as someone who's pretty hard to read, even by my husband at times. It's a sobering place to be, for sure.

For all of you out there who are getting to know me and our little family by way of the world wide web, welcome. My theology may be a little "off" at times, but only because I have the handicap of peering at a great, big, infinite God through a teeny, tiny, finite pair of human eyes - not because I am intending to fit him inside my own little box. I hope you enjoy the glimpses into our lives, but even more, I hope you are encouraged to get to know this God that offers us the joy and the hope that gives our lives meaning.

Fall 2003

In early September of 2003, my dad and I filled my little Nissan Altima to the breaking point, climbed in, and tag-teamed the drive all the way to Colorado Springs, CO (with a little pit stop on the way to visit my grandparents who were motorhoming across the country). We got there, moved my stuff into the 2BR apartment that I would be living in with three strangers for the next 4 months, and I drove him to the airport to catch a plane back home.

I had been accepted to attend a one-semester academic journey into the how's and why's of the Christian life. It absolutely revolutionized the way I view the world, which impacted every sphere of life from family to politics to science to psychology. I was challenged to give an answer for what I believed, why I believed it to be true, and what believing those things meant in day-to-day life.

I never could have possibly imagined the importance of the foundation those few months laid in my life, or the impact that the Institute would have on the way I parent, the movie choices that I make, and the friendships that I have.

If you are/are going to someday be 20-26 years old, if you know someone who is 20-26 years old, if you have a child that will be 20-26 years old at some point (I'm thinking this should cover everybody), you really should check out the Focus Leadership Institute. It's one of those moments in life in which I would have pressed the "pause" button indefinitely just to never stop experiencing the richness and depth of education, community and truth that is totally inescapable at that place.

Biographies

Sometimes when I sift through biographies at a book store, I get a little jealous, wondering what it is that made that person's life so special that someone else would write a whole book about them, then go to the trouble of getting it all published and printed...apparently thinking that many others would also enjoy a glimpse into that person's life for years to come.

I also wonder what motivated the famed characters to lead the kind of life that is "writeable." For some, it's very clear what most ardently inspired them; for others, it almost seems like sheer happenstance that their lives become noteworthy. They weren't intending for fortune or fame, but they were met with it nonetheless.

It's these last characters that most often draw my attention. The unexpected heroes in time. The ones whose lives didn't seem to make much sense when looked at piece by piece, but when woven together through the lens of another, became beautiful, vibrant, awe-inspiring.

Just because we can't always see the purpose in our momentary appearance here on this earth doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Because God is the architect, it is impossible to see this purpose without looking at our lives through His lens, which is impossible to do without knowing Him fully. The closer we draw into His side, the more we seek to know Him, the more He will reveal to us about His purpose and plans for our lives.

For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome. ~Jeremiah 29:11 (Amplified Bible)

Moose Tracks

I was making a dessert today which involved Mayfield Moose Tracks ice cream, and had a momentary flashback to a time in my life where things weren't quite so "illuminated" in regards to my future. My then-boyfriend (now-husband) and I were in the aftermath of a really tough break-up, and I was having a tough time getting a handle on what exactly God was doing in my life.

It was late at night, and I was sleepless and in a somber mood, thinking about all that had transpired in the relationship and wondering what in the world was going to happen between us. I went hunting in the dorm for something sweet and stumbled upon a carton of Mayfield Moose Tracks ice cream in the kitchen.

It wasn't mine, but it was perfect. I took it back to the Commons area, sat in the middle of the couch, turned on a really sappy movie, ate all the peanut butter cups out of the ice cream and cried until I had no more tears left. Then I put the leftover ice cream (with no peanut butter cups left) back into the freezer. It was a totally heathen thing to do, and I never confessed to the true owner of the ice cream. In fact, it's been my secret until now...

I look back on it and wonder just exactly how amused God was at my ridiculously young and immature self. I hope he was laughing at me, sitting in my puddle of tears stuffing my face with Moose Tracks peanut butter cups, wondering if "life would ever be okay again." It's amazing how quickly we humans lose sight of the bigger picture, forgetting that every single piece of broken glass fits into the huge stained-glass window that he is making from our shattered hopes and dreams.

To this day, a carton of Moose Tracks makes me laugh, and reminds me how incredibly BIG our God is. To my friend to once owned a carton of Moose Tracks ice cream with no peanut butter cups...I am truly sorry!!

Happy Days

Last night, I took a MAJOR leap out of my comfort zone, put on a 50's dress, and sang my heart out like the fun-lovin', extroverted June Carter look-alike that I became. Luckily, there were no video cameras, and not many in the crowd that knew me for who I really am, which eased the pressure a teeny tiny bit. My little duet with Johnny Cash kicked off a fun-filled night of 50's karaoke, diner milkshakes, fries, onion rings and Orange Crush (in the bottle!) - it was a blast!

We did manage to get a picture, if only for the sake of remembering the good ol' days!!

"Jessie & the Lawbreaker"
(our official band name)

Top Ten Places to Take a Toddler

1. The Pet Store. Yes, the stinky, dirty one that has real dog bones in a crate on the floor at the front of the store. We went by today to get some dog food for Indiana, and completely lost track of time. She went around the store, peering through the glass windows, naming hamsters "rabbits," and lizards "frogs," and trying to tweet like a bird.

2. The Book Store. Free reading material! Plus display toys and train sets - we get hours of entertainment out of this one.

3. The Bakery. Thanks to this one, our downtown street is now affectionately named, "Cookie Street" by E.

4. The Library. Another great place for a free outing, especially on a rainy day. You can even rent movies from the library...who knew?!?

5. A Great Babysitter. We absolutely adore Mrs. T, our 3-days-a-week sitter. She is totally irreplaceable in our hearts, and every morning when we get in the car, E says, "T?" as if to say, "Are we going to Mrs. T's house today?" It's a wonderful feeling to know your child is going to have just as much fun, if not more, at the sitter's house than she would at home with you. I love the confidence that it's built in her to be away from mommy and daddy for periods of time as well.

6. Kindermusik. We're in our third week and LOVING it. E gets the funniest little looks on her face when I sing, as if she's never heard me make those sounds before. Plus it gives me great ideas and props for playing with her during the other days of the week.

7. Walking. Something about the rhythm of walking chills both of us out. She's still and quiet and taking in all of the beauty of God's nature, which gives me a moment without having to meet any demands or come up with anything fun to do besides watch TV. On some days, it's the one moment of quality "me" time that I can manage to get in the midst of a lot of crazy busyness.

8. Inflatables Place. DON'T FORGET YOUR SOCKS!

9. Out to Eat. This one is fun for us, simply because we don't go out all that often. When we do go out to eat, I leave all baby props at home - child-sized utensils, sippy cups, etc. I figure this is a chance to test our family survivor skills.

10. The Park. We're still working on the swing with E - it's strangely terrifying for her at this age. Be prepared to get your own exercise in as well!

These are some of our favorite places to go! What's yours?