March 7 - Collecting

People gather the oddest things over time. Stickers, stamps, pencils, pine cones. In an attempt to at least weed out the junkiest clutter, I tackled the kids room last weekend. (Dried peanut butter in the laundry basket?! Are you kidding me?!) Two trash bags later, I can almost see the floor. Aside from the general messiness of weeks without a proper clean-up, I found some interesting stuff.

Apparently, Seth collects frogs & gum wrappers (why? why?) & Pokemon cards. The obvious implication would be that frogs are his favorite animal and he's alway's liked small things. Plus Pokeman cards are still popular with the pre-teens.

Skyler collects, um, everything. However, rocks & sharp objects rank high on the list. I dug all these table knives, and my Swiss Army knife which had been hidden, out of his backpack. Perhaps he's honing his survival skills?

Naomi collects shiny stuff and likes to arrange "set ups". Girly organization and domestic arrangements make me smile, even when the jewels get stuck to my feet.

What do you like to gather together? What does it say about you?

Book Review - Chasing Harry Winston

Yawn. Neurotic characters unsatisfied with pretty good lives because they're so self-centered. A book club selection that felt like a waste of energy to finish (so I didn't). Don't bother.

February 26 - Water Park!

Seth's 10th Birthday is tomorrow, so last weekend we had a party with lots of friends, food & fun. The whole pretending to be a happy family thing aside, the kids had a great time! They're so cool!

Happy Birthday Seth! LOVE YOU!

February 25 - Heart Break

Naomi: "I'm so sad... why can't I have a family with a mom and a dad?"
"Everything's broken!"


Me: Yeah, I'm sad too. (Broken families suck.)

February 19 - Transitioning

I'm sure I've written something about this before, but today was particularly awful and I need to process this somewhere. Somehow, a couple days before Scott swoops back into town to take the kids for a fun weekend, all hell breaks loose. The children's attention span is minimal, their frustration tolerance is zero, and all responsible behavior is out the window. They suddenly thrive on irritating the snot out of each other. Homework gets put off or hidden, chores are abandoned, and the kids alternate between sobbing, laughing hysterically or spine-tingling shrieking. What is up with that?!

Is it something they pick up on in my behavior? Am I just less tolerant? Maybe the feeling of dividing my precious family makes me treat them different? I do alternately want to snuggle them close and scream at them. It's really hard.


The pursuit of raising smart, kind, independent, moral-centered young people is challenging! Good thing I'm going to see the counselor this weekend because I need help.

February 16 - I Heart Helping

For Valentine's Day I wanted to be really non-traditional and thumb my nose at all the candy-buying, fancy-dinner pink mush the Hallmark holiday inspires.

So I dressed the kids up in black, and we spent the morning packing boxes of personal care stuff at Feed the Children. They worked really hard counting out bottles of bug spray and foot lotion for 2 hours, preparing a box of stuff to brighten someone else's day. I am so proud!

Then we had lunch at Taco Bell, which is quite empty on VDay, and headed home to play. What a great day!

February 9 - Spiritual Gifts

Today I learned about another broken relationship in my community, and it makes me very sad. I ache deeply for the couple trying to figure out their next best steps through the pain. I desperately want to figure out a way to support them and soothe the hurt. I considered that I feel this so acutely because of my own experiences in the past year, but the more I think about it, the more I realize I would have felt this way before.

I think I might have the gift of Empathy, if this is even a true spiritual gift. If the Holy Spirit displays God's power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church (1 Cor. 12:7), I could see where empathy could help communicate God's love and truth to people who are hurting, both in an evangelistic sense and within the church membership.

In me, I'm pretty sure it's God-given because otherwise I'd be one cold fish! This understanding helps me value others for what their unique experiences are and to identify with where people are coming from. It's not especially convenient however. It means I cry whenever I see someone else hurting, and most of the time I feel like I don't have the right words to fix it.

Today I am especially challenged to figure out how best to use this "gift" and make a difference for my friends. What are your spiritual gifts? How have you used them recently? I'd love some feedback!

February 8 - Tweet Week

Since I can't figure out the application that automatically links Twitter to this blog, I thought it might be interesting to put the week's updates all in one spot:

Life in 140 Characters or Less:

Sunday

7am: "lasting happiness can't be built on someone else's unhappiness."

10am: stuck at home with a feverish little boy; will probably have to wear my whistle & referee jersey for kid management today.

1pm: not a fan of entropy.

9pm coaching Dad on Gmail & Facebook use. He's having "old dog, new tricks" issues.

Monday

8am: big plans today: on fever watch (102*) at home with Skyler.

10am: trying to take comfort in routines of domesticity instead of being annoyed that housework is one of those tasks that just doesn't STAY DONE!

4pm: water heaters out; nothing like a cold shower for water conservation & a mid-afternoon wake-up shock.

Tuesday

8am: I make great pineapple-upsidedown cake & don't have any problem eating it 4 breakfast.

12pm: learning to cook jellyfish.

2pm: I value critical thinking skills & am glad to work with professionals who have them.

4pm: please pray for my dad - just found out he lost his job effective today.

Wednesday

7am: letting the kids sleep till they're done this morning, trying to fight off the sickie germs (I'm fine though).

11am: what you FEEL only matters to you; it's what you DO that makes a difference for those who matter to you. - The Last Kiss

3pm: meeting lawyers.

5pm: half task list completed despite being home w/2 sick kids. It's a miracle!

Thursday

8am: praying for Dad, who's interviewing in San Diego today.

5pm: 3 out of 4 in this household with fevers and headaches. Boo! So frustrating!

8pm: Dad just called and he got the job! Wahoo! Starts home P.T. in San Diego county on Monday. Thx for the prayers!

Friday

6am: WHY do kids get up at 5AM, rambunctiously jolly, when I could sleep in till 7?

9am: lost my temper in front of the kids this morning - so much for setting a good example. sigh...

12pm: wanting a vacation, a vacation from my problems. (What About Bob reference)

6pm: my heart hurts. Wonder if it was the 30* bike ride or something else...

Saturday

9am: warm (47*) and sunny is great, but the blustery wind just blew my ancient chihuahua off the porch. Poor thing! (She's ok)

12pm: intending to get my money's worth from Netflix this month. Jan=2, Feb=5 so far

2pm: giggling constantly with my good friend Natalie. 5 glasses of iced tea may be too much :-D

February 5 - Inside Stories

A few interesting revelations from today:

Seth: I like to sing to pop music. No one knows.

Naomi: My two brothers are my favorite boys in the world.

Me: It's been over 9 months, and I still feel a little naked without my wedding ring.

Skyler was feverish and slept through dinner tonight, so he didn't get to participate in the discussion.

Who needs research to realize the value of talking about life with people you "do life" with?!

February 2 - Winter Thoughts

It's officially that time of year when "snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes" are no longer romantic, just annoying. While I still hope to get one major sledding or tubing day in before the spring meltdown, my family is basically tired of winter.

However, we still have fond memories, and I like to enjoy each season. Last week Seth brought home a school project in which he wrote about the first snowfall experience back in November. I liked it so much I'm reproducing it here to share:

I opened the door to see glass-like snow layering the ground. Quickly I got my boots on and went outside. Crunch crunch went the snow under my feet. The texture of the snow was like hard packed sand. The taste was watery. The sound was a whooshing sound. After I looked around, I went to go get the sled. After I got it I went over to the hill next to the house. I got in the sled and the next thing I knew I was going down the hill 25 miles an hour! It was awsome (sic)! Then I went a few more times and went inside for hot chocolate.

DVD Review - The Band's Visit

A unique cross-cultural story about what happens when an Egyptian police brass band travels to Israel to play at the opening of an Arab arts center, but wind up abandoned and lost in a remote desert town. The hidden gold in the tale appears as the locals begin to look after the band members for the night, exposing the beauty and pain of a shared human existence.

I watched this with Seth (9) and Skyler (6), who were surprisingly engaged considering it's all about quiet interaction between people in a sleepy little town. And half the movie is subtitled. Apparently it doesn't even take great maturity to value humanity. This film got 2 1/2 thumbs up! (Skyler is conservative with his endorsements, especially if there's no violence involved.)