Friday Funny

I posted this last week on FB, but can't help but sharing it here, too. Yes, I am a big ol' Muppets nerd!

"If we make it to Thanksgiving, you're on your own!"

Spirit/Red Ribbon Week

The schools down here don't celebrate Halloween per se, but oddly enough "spirit week" always seems to fall right around October 31 so the kids have some excuses to act goofy.

We had fun with funky hair day. And for the record, D was pretending to be Wolverine in the first pic, so no, he isn't angry at the world.

The "afters" were just for fun, after we brushed out gunk and took out ponytails. A had tapped into her 80s side with the amazing volume in her bangs ;)

Drawing lines?

I've had some interesting discussions lately and I really am struggling with the division of religion and culture. Day of the dead is a very big deal in this area, and we currently have a display of altars/shrines at the local museum where I volunteer. I don't understand why honoring someone's memory seems to involve glittery skulls... or bottles of booze and packs of cigs for that matter (and no, that isn't a random comment - we actually have 1 that includes a Jim Beam bottle & a box of Kools) Additionally, I have had 3 different conversations about ghosts. Each of those people were convinced there were spirits wandering the museum grounds (the home of the city's founder, the city's first hospital and a stagecoach inn have all been moved to our site). There is so much superstition twisted with Catholicism in the Mexican culture, and I find myself a bit stunned and at a loss for words at times (shocking, I know!) but then even after pondering it for awhile, I don't know how to respond. I know that God has placed our entire family here, and me in particular in a place promoting "arts & heritage." and we are to shine His light of truth. I was recently reading in Ephesians, and this verse really jumped out at me:

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel." Ephesians 6:19

Yep, there's my answer - it's not about me, it's about HIM. And keep praying.

Edited to add: Just received an email from another museum that we belong (a Smithsonian affiliate, no less) and their big Dia de los Muertes exhibit opens Sunday afternoon: Come see shrines to pivotal Mexican artists and decorate sugar skulls! Sigh.

Blatherings.

Ministry is tiring. And hard. My humanity keeps getting in the way - the judgmental attitude, frustration, weariness, whatever. I must continually remind myself that it's not about me, and that I need to rest in my Savior. Such an easy concept, such a difficult thing to DO. "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30, The Message)

As part of my Bible study this week, I read the parable of the unfruitful tree in Luke 13 (verses 6-8). I am the tree, and Jesus is the gardener. He is doing whatever He can to make me grow, including providing fertilizer. I think we're all familiar with natural fertilizer... am I accepting that as a growth aid when I feel like I'm knee deep in it or whining and trying to get the whole mess off of me?!

So many dear friends are going through tough times right now - deaths in the family, difficult diagnoses, job issues, and so much more. I know part of this is just the season of life we are in (because, well, we're gettin' older!!) but this doesn't make anything simple. I still struggle with finding encouraging words and wanting to do something to somehow make it "better."

We've lived down here for about 27 months now, and I think I'm starting to get used to things. For instance, I no longer freak out when I see a roach crawling across my floor. I can't believe I'm even admitting that, but seriously, it's just a fact of life here. We have regular exterminator service and I do not have a filthy house, but with 5 exerior doors plus the garage access, the sneaky li'l guys find their way in all too frequently. Ewwwwww. BTW, our guest room is still open for anyone who wants to visit! ;) One thing that DOES still drive me crazy about the valley is the utter disregard for time and general lack of organization. School runs on a schedule and generally medical appointments are timely (just like anywhere else) but when it comes to social events no one shows up on time. I was excited to discover that one of the local farms is now offering a CSA program, and they were even having an "open farm" day this past weekend, with tours scheduled at 1:30 and 2:30. We arrived about 2:20, as I figured we could take a quick look around and then join the tour. Yeah, right! First off, parking was a mess as there were no clearly designated areas, and when I nosed our car in, I was already wondering how we were going to get out. We then headed toward the main house where there were a number of people standing around talking, but no information to be found anywhere. No info sheets about the farm, the owners were not designated in any way (seriously, how about a name tag or a hat?!), no.thing. I finally figured out one of the owners just from watching the conversation flow, but when I finally got to her we simply exchanged a few sentence fragments as she was continually interrupted. She handed me a list of crops they have planted along with approximate harvest times, but nothing about share sizes, prices, or anything! She did vaguely mention that they were going to do a little walk around the fields, but we left at 3:00, frustrated. The only good thing to come out of the afternoon is my hubby's newly-found passion for habanero honey (samples provided by a neighboring farm - and they had little handouts. What a novel idea!)

On a lighter note, the kids were having a lovely little conversation before school one day last week. Reminiscing about vomit. Yep, you read that correctly. A full conversation about colors and other details that I was quite content to banish from my memory bank. Is this one of those little gems of motherhood that I was promised? ;)

I really hate TV programming in October, particularly in regard to my kids. Why does every bloomin' show have a "Halloween special" that invariably includes ghosts, spooky sounds, and witches. Grrrrrr.

And lastly, I'm excited to announce that I purchased a giant book today - Vogue's Guide to etiquette - and it will become my Halloween costume. Yes, I do promise to post pictures!

Friday Funny

Yes, someone seriously thought that was a good idea. Click the link for all the other interesting designs...

The Baby Cage, Curved Gun & Other Dumb Inventions

October in South TX

Down here, autumn is marked more by flu shot booths and an influx of northern license plates than falling leaves. I'm doing what I can to get into the spirit of the season, though - I made this leaf garland from some patterned paper (while watching last week's Eagles game... let's just say I was happier with the results of my crafting time than the game itself), have been drinking my morning coffee with new creamer, light up this candle every night, and have placed fall-themed tchotchkes throughout the house. Now if I could just turn the A/C off I'd be a happy camper!

Picture Day Practice

Today was picture day. This meant that we spent approximately 14 hours last night discussing what clothes would be good for a photo - btw, this translates to 13 hours and 56 minutes for our daughter, and 4 minutes for our son. Anyhoo, we were able to pick outfits that were agreeable to everyone, and in an effort to avoid another situation such as this, I decided to do a "test run" this morning.

Thankfully down here they send proofs home and THEN we can decide whether to purchase photos - it will be interesting to see what emerges... D is still a bit peeved that I wouldn't let him take his glasses with him. Yeah, I'm mean that way. (And a disclaimer - he'd just gotten out of the shower, so his hair is wet, not slimy)