Golden Compass

Perhaps you've already heard a bit about the movie The Golden Compass due out in December. It stars Nicole Kidman, and is being billed as a children's fantasy film. It's based on the first book of a series written by Philip Pullman, an outspoken atheist who wrote the books as an alternative to The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. While much of the anti-religion sentiment has been removed from the film, many have expressed concern that fans will read the books and be influenced by its dark messages. Read more for yourself here and here.

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Vacation?!

So my hubby had today off of work. We had originally planned to have a little family excursion somewhere. But it was not to be. A couple weeks ago he announced that the clutch in his car was in baaaad shape. We got the parts, but he was unable to find a block of time in which to actually install it. The latest plan was to do it this past Saturday - but it was pouring rain. Not a good time to lay under a car. So it was pushed back to today. The bad thing about that is that the only help he had was ME. As he's trying to maneuver the transmision back into position, the only advice I could offer (while peering down into the void next to the engine) was that "the flared part is getting hung up on that bracket that's sticking out." Not exactly helpful instructions when he's trying to finagle 120+ pounds back into place. But he managed to get it done in spite of me... Hooray for handy husbands! Anyway, thought I'd share our latest "vacation" photo :)

In other news, we had our big MOPS fundraiser over the weekend, too: Antiquities. We had nearly 140 sittings, so hopefully our group is now set for the next two years. Whooopeee!

And finally, a bonus funny for today. Our son has been exceptionally tired the past couple weeks, so has had a few night-time accidents. Well, I was stripping all the beds today, and decided it was time to wash our mattress pad, too. As I was bringing it all downstairs, he was sitting on the floor playing cars and noticed what I was doing. His question to me: "Who had the accident - you or Daddy?"

Friday Funny

Sometimes you've just got to ask for help!

Catching Up

So what have we been up to this past few days? Well, there was our church's Fall Fest, complete with over 200 pounds of pork roasted on an open fire, crying children (let's just say our daredevil son went down a rather large hill. backwards. on a big wheel), kids' activities and a bonfire. There were also family pictures (always a joy when there are young children involved). And yesterday was just too nice to spend indoors, so we went off to the beach (the first time on a "sandy" beach for my folks). Oh, and one last story with Grandma, too.

Friday Funny

Today's humor is courtesy of the pianist from our church worship team. This is the actual email (names removed) that he sent out last week announcing that their new baby had arrived:

Hey Everyone! Well, she decided not to wait til the 22nd. She walked the halls of the hospital, doing little bobs and bounces and bearing the pain to get the baby to come out. After about 9 hours of extreme heavenly bliss....at least I THOUGHT it was heavenly. She seemed like she was praying...or yelling, not sure. I WAS going to say things like,"Oh suck it up...it's not that bad!" Or "hey...I'm ready to have another...how bout you?" oh and the best comment..."Just do your deep breathing exercises and it will go away." Also, she did the entire thing totally drug free. It just happened that way. My personal policy is: The wife may or may not be given drugs--depends on the mother. The father, however, can have anything he wants. I asked for vicodin...they said no. I just didn't say a thing! Baby came at 4:12 AM and...oh yes...4:12 AM for those who were all snuggly wuggly in their beds!

What's up?

I know I haven't been posting quite as frequently as usual these past couple weeks. I've already mentioned that we're pretty busy. My parents arrived last week; they've been staying with my brother the past few days, and will be "moving in" here later this afternoon. I still need to get some more cleaning taken care of before then. The kids are really excited to spend more time with Grandpa and Grandma.

We had our second MOPS meeting yesterday, and our pastor spoke on loving our husbands. Well, actually he spoke on how our husbands need our respect. Always a good reminder! Another very good meeting, and thankfully our childcare situation was much better, too. Thank you, Lord!

I finished up my first round of samples for the stamping design team I'm on and got those mailed off on Monday, and now I just have to decide which sets I want to work with for the next quarter.

We're pulling things together for our church's Fall Fest this Saturday. I'll be dragging my Mom out tomorrow for a shopping trip. And I have nearly 200 pounds of meat to pick up on Friday! We're expecting a good turnout, as this is the first time in "OUR" building, so we've invited neighbors, families from the day care programs and MOPS, and pretty much anyone else from the community that happened to make eye contact :) Seriously, though, we're very excited about this. The temps are feeling more fall-like, but it's still a bit warmer than average - perfect for an evening out with the family. Crafts and games for the kids, songs around the fire, yummy food and fellowship.

Oh, and did you notice the new profile pic? Yes, not only have I cut my hair but I've colored it as well. Problem is that the color didn't take evenly (I think my hair is just too coarse for "natural" products. Bring on the ammonia, baby!) Need to find time to take care of that as I'm planning to have my Dad snap some family pictures for us. Here's hoping that our kids can make it through the next few days free from major facial abrasions!!

Friday Bonus Humor

These kids continue to crack me up! Our son had a "bleed" under his nose (mild allergies lead to lots of nose wiping!) and he decided he needed a bandage. While I was distracted (changing sister's diaper), he climbed up into the cabinet and got one for himself. Yes, I was ticked off, but I had a very hard time containing the snorts of laughter that were welling up when I saw the results of his doctoring.

Of course now he doesn't want to take it off - and I really need to run out for some groceries. But there's no way I'm taking him out with this ludicrous strip plastered across his face and his sister's smattering of purple blotches (which thankfully are healing pretty quickly).

Friday Funny

I dedicate this post to anyone who spends a lot of time staring at their computer screen. Click on the button!

Bruised Girl

Tired, cranky boy throws toy at sister.


His explanation?


"She was boddering me."


Sigh.

Catching Up

So what are we up to lately? Well, first off I'm ready for some FALL weather! I broke down and turned on my A/C today. It was 90 yesterday, and today seems to be headed the same direction (although the weather forecast last night promised that a cold front would be moving in this afternoon). It's actually been hotter here than in AZ! I was talking to my parents this past weekend. I was wearing shorts, and quite sweaty from carrying groceries into the house; meanwhile, they were watching snowflakes fall in MT. Man, I am ready for fuzzy sweaters, jeans, and hot chocolate! (Doncha just love that pic? I snagged it from Kitschy Stitches - a thoroughly entertaining site that is guaranteed to suck you in for hours!)

In other happenings, I'm still plugging away at getting the house somewhat "together." I've been throwing out a lot of junk (I currently have two FULL trash cans awaiting pick-up tomorrow), which feels good but there's still a lot more I need to get through. The progress on my craft space has sort of stalled as I concentrate on other things, but I'm hoping to get back to it on Friday. The kiddos are definitely picking up on my mood, too, as they're being whinier than normal.

Sunday evening was the third installment of the Essentials of Discipline class at our church, and the subject was "Anger and Discipline." I'll take an extra order of conviction to go along with that, please! :) I'm feeling pulled in so many different directions, and I know that my fuse has been shorter than usual lately, so this whole series is really helping me to regain some perspective; we're only 1/4 of the way into it, but I would definitely recommend it - godly advice presented in an entertaining fashion that encourages you to do better (not belittling you for your shortcomings). Anyway, I wanted to share one comment: "Removing anger from the discipline process gives you the freedom to discipline out of love." Isn't that what all parents want? I know my kids need discipline, but I certainly don't enjoy administering it. It's best to handle situations before I turn into the "The Incredibly Angry Mommy" (visualize a hulk-like transformation!). And if it has already progressed to that point, then I need to take a parental time-out before handing down consequences. This will not only make the process less painful (at least in the long-run emotionally), but also more effective. I was also reminded of how important it is to follow through on instructions. When I tell my kids to pick up, I need to mean it - not "I'm telling you to pick up now, but you and I both know that nothing will happen for at least ten minutes, and then I'll start yelling because you haven't moved." Now thankfully I can say that scenario is not the norm at our house, but I have found myself letting things slide sometimes, which leads to yelling mommy syndrome.

Whew! So that pretty much sums up the past few days. Things may be kinda quiet for a week or two, but I promise to drop in occasionally!!

Those Crazy Kids

I was just cleaning off the camera's memory card, and came across this shot that I meant to share.

Last week, I had gone out in the evening to get groceries. When I came home, my hubby told me that I needed to check the kids - and take the camera along. Now the last time he said something like this, they had emptied their dressers AND toy box into one enormous heap in the center of our room. I was NOT amused. Anyway, I guess my hubby could tell from my sigh of resignation that I was not looking forward to trudging up the steps, so he assured me that this time it was something cute.

So this is what I found. They had been playing, and evidently just got tired and D decided he wanted to stay with his sister. Awwwww... These two kids continually crack me up - having serious arguments over a toy one minute, but then happily playing the next. And they really do love one another. Here's hoping that they can continue to get over disagreements so quickly for a looooooong time!!

Friday Funny

I know this video has been making the rounds, and odds are you've already seen it, but I have to share it anyway. It really is hysterical (and if you click through to YouTube, the lyrics are posted, too)



I'm the Mom!!

My week thus far...

It's been a whirlwind, I tell ya!! We officially kicked off our third year of MOPS on Tuesday. I must say that I'm particularly excited to see what's in store now, as it was a rather horrible morning. So why does that excite me? Each and every steering team member had a lousy morning, and the meeting itself ended up being a bit chaotic - which means that Satan is throwing up some serious opposition because God is moving! I'll spare you the bad sitcom-like details, but suffice to say we were all just thankful to have made it through. I don't know the exact numbers, but we had over 25 women, and somewhere around 40 kiddos. And I'm thrilled to say a number of the ladies are not from our church. Now I know that MOPS groups are run differently everywhere, but we definitely see ours as a ministry, not just mommy activity time. I'm so excited to see that we're reaching our community!! Please pray that we can continue to minister to these women, and specifically pray for more (and dependable) child care workers.

Other activities over the past few days include meal delivery for a family with a new baby, haircuts (not just mine, but I finally got my two guys trimmed up last night, too!), and just general household maintenance. Both kids have dental check-ups this afternoon, and I have a huge list of errands to take care of tomorrow. My folks arrive in a week and our guest room is still piled up with my craft stuff. I really need to kick it into high gear for these next few days. To top things off, our son is going through a bit of a rough patch - he's being super whiny and not listening well at all - which of course irritates me and makes it even more difficult to respond in a Godly fashion.

Our pastor has just started preaching on I Corinthians, and two weeks ago talked about our status as saints. The phrase that is constantly playing in the back of my mind: "It is one thing to be made a saint, it is another thing to act like one." When we come to Christ, we are redeemed. Sanctified, and set apart for His service. But I fall short daily, and I'm feeling particularly convicted of that on the home front. I want to be a Godly woman - not just a mask I slip on when I'm around "church friends," but modeling the fruits of the spirit to those who see me the most: my husband and children. And honestly they see my impatient, lazy, snarly side far too often. But that's me. And I need to be more about HIM. I need to lean on my Savior each and every moment, not relying on myself. Because when I do it on my own strength, I get overwhelmed and blow up at those I love the most. We have a lot going on this month, and it's only going to get worse if I try to make it on my own steam.

He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful. I Corinthians 1:8-9

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

I finally did it - I took time to get my hair cut! I'm pretty happy with it, but can't get a decent picture (it would probably be quite helpful to have someone else hold the camera!) Yes, I'm totally goofing off in this shot - and the colors are bizarro (I had fun editing it), but you get some idea. I left a whole HEAP o' hair behind - mostly because the back and sides are so heavily layered now. Gotta play around with it and actually get into the groove of styling it, but here's a peek!

Baking Bliss

We know that God supplies all our needs, right? (Phil 4:19 and MANY others!) But I am continually amazed when God supplies silly wants, too. We've now lived in this house for ten years, and I am truly thankful for it. We've done a lot of work throughout the house, but have only replaced one appliance: the dishwasher (when the original one died). Well, as of Saturday, we now have a new-to-us stove. Some friends of ours just upgraded, and we were the glad recipients of their "old" one. Know why I'm so giddy over this? I now can see into my oven! I know it's a silly thing, but I can't tell you how happy it makes me. Not only can I smell our dinner (chicken and squash) cooking - I can glance over and check the progress. Whoopee! Plus we are slated to receive a refrigerator - with ice and water on the door - later this year from another friend. Yep, I'm a happy woman!