Daniels that is.
We are headed to Kentucky. Leaving dark and early, around 3am. Hope to be in Louisville by 10am eastern time, to hit the Louisville Slugger Factory and Museum. Then it is on to Lexington, to a gathering of family we haven't seen in much too long.
Good times are sure to be had by all. Looking forward to sharing my "roots" with my children.
Pictures soon....
As I was vacuuming out my car this morning, I was thinking about some blogs I read. That lead me to start thinking about what I would say to my kids, if I knew I wasn't going to be around anymore.
Morbid, I know, but stay with me here.
I get so tired of people saying things like, "That doesn't sound like you."
What SHOULD it mean to be you? To act like yourself?
Here's what I think:
Acting with conviction for that, and for whom, in which you believe.
I wasted too many years believing things like, Christians couldn't be environmentalists, and could only vote republican. I made the choice to let others define who I was. And what's worse, believing something else entirely.
Years wasted, afraid of hurting feelings, and stepping on toes.
Being "you" means embracing what and whom you believe in, and acting on it.
Who I am today, who "you" are, may not be who we are tomorrow, but I am convinced that it does indeed sound just like me.
How could you not smile looking at this little tree frog?
Without flash...
I was sitting on the couch, looking out the window, the second one in the picture, when I saw something. My first thought was, "Is that a baby turtle?" I know it makes absolutely no sense that a baby turtle would be on the deck rail, but clearly I have had lots of experiences with baby turtles recently.
Me: Brody, where are your crackers?
Brody: I disappeared them.
Me: Where?
Brody: I DISAPPEARED THEM!!!
Me: Where did they disappear to, Brody?
Brody: Under your bed.
"How this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears."
-Michelle Obama (at the Democratic National Convention)
The wife of our pastor in Washington had this on her blog the other day, and I had to post it here, if for no other reason then to be reminded myself.
Warning : CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC ABOUT TO BE DISCUSSED
Traditionally, the term "pro-life" indicates one's strong stance against abortion. It draws a deep line in the sand and proclaims that one is an advocate for the unborn. It announces that one stands in direct opposition to the liberal, "pro-choice" camp. For evangelical Christians, abortion is often a bottom line issue. Meaning, traditional pro-lifers vote based on which candidate opposes abortion. Other issues take a back seat.
I am a Christian. I love Jesus and try to follow hard after him. I am a leader in my church and am married to a pastor. And, I believe we need to re-draw some lines in the sand.
I contend that being "pro-life" means more than advocating for making abortion illegal. Being pro-life means supporting health care for children across America. It means objecting to loss of innocent life (whether American or not) in war, believing in second chances for those condemned to death row (there is a dramatic increase in death sentences for the poor) , and being committed to education so we can reduce the numbers of abortions that occur every year in the United States. Jesus cared about the marginalized, the oppressed. He campaigned against injustice. So should we. I wonder if it has become easier to oppose ideologies than to actually love people.
We have had a "pro-life" president for the past 8 years. The abortion rate in the United States has not decreased. Perhaps the key to reducing abortions lies in Jesus' own commandment, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Interesting that Jesus' greatest commandment did not involve the wielding of power through politics. It instead encouraged his followers to care for people, to put forth kindness above all else, to make a difference through personal relationship. I wonder if it has become easier to oppose political ideologies than to actually love people, to actually get our hands dirty. What if Christians agreed to adopt the millions of kids whose lives end through abortion?
What would happen if Christians really got serious about caring for the marginalized, the oppressed, the sick, the orphans? What would happen if we moved out of the suburbs and into the city?
What would happen if we cared more about injustice than our 401K?
Jodie Howerton
Being a responsible parent.
My kids bring home papers from school, and I roll my eyes.
The other day Emily brought home a paper from one of her teachers. This particular paper deserved more than an eye roll. It was one of those papers in which the teacher is making some sort of false effort to get to know your child.
Seriously.
Spend ten minutes with her, and you will know more about her than anything I am going to write on this silly paper.
But, of course, I fulfilled my duty, and answered the questions, which were:
What are your child's strengths, and how do they view school?
So, I answered.
"She is a truth seeker, who views school as a necessary evil in which she is forced to only learn inside the box."
Emily happily took her paper to school.
And clearly I won't receive the Mom Of The Year award.
The official start to football season took place today!
The boys were all so excited, and a bit nervous too.
A while back my kids broke my bedroom door.
And by broke it, I mean that if you were inside, and the door shut, you were locked in.
This has happened numerous times, because Brody loves to slam doors. It has never really been too much of an issue, because when any one would get locked in, they would just push the intercom button on the phone, and some one would come let you out.
Today, while I was on the phone with a friend, Brody followed me into my room, and proceeded to slam the door.
No big deal...
Only no one else is here.
I rummaged around the room and found an old pocket knife. It took me thirty minutes to get the door handle off.
But I am free.
And Brody is busted.
we made it through the first day of school. steve is out of town, so i was solo.
there was one casualty though.
one of our phones.
i left in on the back bumper of the burb, and forgot about it when i left to pick up isaiah from football practice.
i can deal with that.
it wasn't a kid.
so if any of you see a black cordless phone somewhere between my house, and the high school, it's probably ours.
Emily.
She's my girl.
She asked me to sew an Africa on her bag for school.
Only, I forgot.
She reminded me before she went to bed tonight, the night before school starts, that I hadn't done it yet.
So, off to Wal-Mart for some thread, and rummaging through my fabric for the right fit. Time spent searching the web for a perfectly sized picture of Africa, since my printer is broken, traced it right from my screen.
All that to say, it is now 1:00am and I was supposed to go to bed early.
But if there was ever a time I was happy to stay up late, this was it.
Africa.
And my girl.
"Mom, if you go up to heaven before me, I will hold on very tight to you and yell, 'Don't look down!'"
i had to ask permission from emily before posting this picture. it seems it is not cool to have your mom put pictures of you all over her blog.
if you leave the ceiling fans on all the time, you don't notice the dust on them as much.
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our own presence automatically liberates others.
Nelson Mandela 1994 Inaugural Speech (Quoting Marianne Williamson)
Well the henna went smoothly. Got done seven minutes before we had to leave for the dentist. TONS of time!
Let's see...
Dishes done.
Vacuuming done.
Kids fed.
Now, I have neighbor girls coming over to get Henna tattoos in honor of Middle School starting.
3:30 dentist.
4:30 football.
4:30 middle school orientation.
5:30 soccer.
5:50 kindergarten orientation.
6:30 football done.
7:00 soccer done.
Dinner?
Doubt it.
Brody finally got up enough courage to ride the Ferris wheel...
HNI had their annual summer picnic and carnival for all their employees and their families. The kids look forward to this all year. I have to say that perfect weather, and great kids, made this one the best yet.
Emily's riding instructor is about to have a baby, so she will be taking some time off from lessons. I brought the camera along for the first time in quite a while, and got some great shots.
Isaiah spotted this beauty (we think it is a Luna moth) on the underside of the front steps. Our best guess is that Silas (the cat) got a hold of him.
Steve and Isaiah are in Chicago, at a White Sox game. The baseball team rented a bus, and left around 2pm.
So what is for dinner?
Bananna Splits, in honor of the Olympics, of course.
We came, we watched, we ate.
All is well.
Micah: Mom, in your dreams, is anything possible?
Me: Yep, why, what would you do?
Micah: I would make a thousand little me's.
Micah's kindergarten teacher came to the house for a visit today.
He was in heaven.
that's how i feel.
oh, i have pictures in my mind, just not taking any.
it will be a busy day.
a busy week.
a busy life.
praying i don't let that be what it's about.
busy.
but doing nothing.
Today was the Taco John's Junior Golf Tournament. This was the end of the golf season for the boys...
Isaiah's first year playing golf, and he likes it pretty well.
You drive 8 miles to a park, that you are not quite sure where it is, with 13 kids, just so you can have some time with other adults.
Isaiah had a friend over today, and of course we had to take him to the pond!
This is the first turtle they caught.
Our wonderful, thoughtful neigbor brought ALL of our kids gifts from his vacation. The legos were a huge hit.
Amy G.
Congratulations Amy! This was a ton of fun, and I am sure I will be doing more of these in the future!
So, I am a cow.
I have known this for quite some time, but seriously, it bugs me.
I don't want to be fat.
I don't eat. And I know that is my problem, but I still don't take the time to do it. I do exercise. But still, no difference.
But the bottom line for me, I have found, is that I, in my mind, always think people think I am more like a man than a woman.
Seriously.
When I was a young girl, people on more than one occasion, referred to me, as a he. And in my head, it stuck.
It is funny how that can stay with a person.
So, if any of you have any ideas on getting my metabolism back on track, that won't take too much time, let me know.
Well we had another swim night for the kids at church tonight.
You remember the first one, it was freezing.
Not tonight.
Today the heat index reached 120 degrees.
My dear friend Janece has inspired me!
I am giving away a painting.
Took the family to the city tonight to listen to some friend's play.
It was a great evening... and everyone had a fabulous time.
He found these this afternoon, and begged to go to the pool.
Got everybody registered for school today, hard to believe they start in less than three weeks.
Lots to do before now and then. Like buy jeans. Apparently Emily and Isaiah only have one pair each. It is a good thing it will be hot for a few more weeks.
Brody doesn't start preschool until after Labor Day. Poor little guy won't know what to do with himself with out his side kick around.
