Monday, Monday!

Well our hopes of summer being a productive time with regard to deputation preparation have been dashed by the many other things that present themselves to this family of seven. Things like baseball games, broken tires, thunderstorms, camping, unexpected road trips, family movie nights, and -oh yeah- work! We seem to be a people that do exceptionally well under pressure, and self imposed pressure has a way of feeling... well, less than pressuring!

But we have had a great summer! And there has been some progress in that area-although not tangible. This Thursday we will get together with a few missionary families, veteran as well as less-than-novice like ourselves. I pray it will be a good time of fellowship, encouragement, and also a little fire-lighting of the kindling that sits beneath us!

We had an A-HAH moment last week. In counting out the weeks, it was discovered if Dan does one thesis topic per week it will be completed the first week in MAY!!! That is the month he is hoping to graduate! Needless to say that was a little bit of mental pressure! We are into week two (of 36) and so far he is on track! PRAY!

And last but not least, I finally had "the talk" with Olivia. I was dreading the day my little girl was big enough! It seems like time has gone so quickly- I am hardly prepared to deal with this part of her growing up! Many would think it is premature, others might think I have waited too long, but for us the time was just right. Through laughs, a few "almost" shed tears (on my part!), and alot of courage to broach the subject altogether, we have really bonded over this and will always remember it as a great mother-daughter time.

As a result of the talk... it is decided. On July 3, 2009, on the eve of her 18th birthday, we will have her graduation party here at our house!

What were you thinking I was talking about?!?

:)

I do NOT like birds!

So very much UNlike the post by blogger friend M. this one is all about bashing birds. Literally and verbally. Any way I can to get them to SHUT UP before 6:00 am anywhere near my home!

I have no idea what kind of birds they are.

One of them makes this annoying high pitched "beep". Very Loudly, and only one at a time- with just enough time in between to almost fall back to sleep in between. Almost.

Another one starts with a chirp that goes down in pitch and is then followed by several up pitched chirps in succession. Some times it does 7. Or 8. Sometimes it will do 12. It is never consistent. Well it is consistently annoying, but the number if chirps is in no decipherable pattern.

Then there is the species that I do know- the ever so melodic crow. They have been on my list of things I love to hate for quite some time now. They are the birds that prompted me to say yes to my sons when they asked for b.b. guns. "Really boys, I will pitch in the extra $30.00 so you can get the higher powered one. Really, it is my pleasure!" They looked at me with a puzzled and quizzical look when I said I wanted to keep it in my bedroom... for safe keeping, of course!

Now I know that one of my besetting sins is sleeping in. If I could only look at these creatures as gifts from Heaven sent from the Lord himself to help me wake up earlier. Oh the extra time I could spend in devotions! Not to mention the jump start on the day for laundry and school for the kids! Think of all that could be done before the bright and early hour of 8:00 am that I usually resurrect!

(Vickie... I should have married a farmer that needs to be out before sun up!!)

But almost every morning all I manage to do is get out of bed , shut the windows in our room as well as the door, turn on the fan for white noise... and then try to go back to sleep. The other morning while trying to pull the covers over my ears to assist in the noise cancellation my thumb nail gouged my chin! Now I have a scab to annoy remind me of my failure to be an early riser.

My idea of being up early is to never go to bed. The night owl that I am would actually succeed with this technique for a while. But alas, I would end up taking naps, and that would-I am quite sure- become another post entirely!

In Memory of a Great Man

Frank Anthony Jalowiec

January 22, 1926 - July 25, 2008

So what is silent mode, really?

I am not easily distracted as a rule. I have a houseful of over active children and can tune in to my favorite blog or show with relative ease, or tune out alot of random ticking-talking-tapping as the need arises. But sometimes, there are some things that are just so annoying that they cannot be ignored.

Am I the only one who can hear a vibrating phone?

Like in church, when the owner so carefully made sure it was in "silent" mode (thank you!), but has it in a belt holster towards the back of their waist and it ever so regularly goes off and the little shivers travel the entire length of the row of chairs. I am not so sure if I can hear it or feel it, so that is my wonder if I may be the only one bothered. I know others must be aware of it, but perhaps they are able to tune it out and my ability to avert distraction does not cross over into this realm of annoyances. I know it doesn't bother me any where else. Only in church. Perhaps it is a device of the wicked one. I don't know.

I do know that I will be driven mad by the sound of a rattling tie down strap on the car. The outside of the car, that is. This is especially fun because it is not noticed until the car reaches max speed, which is usually on the highway. Not always the easiest-not to mention safest- place for me to insist that my hubby stop the car and FIND.IT.NOW and take care of it. I usually manage to guise my need in the cloak of "I think that strap end has a metal tab on it and it really should be secured down because it might whack incessantly in a really bad spot which might do quite a number on the paint job", which is true, but absolutely not my motive. That falls under the category of recognizing the differences in myself and my husband. While we both want the same thing done, it is usually prompted and driven from very different things.

By the way we are going camping next week, so I am sure the previous paragraph was a result of some inner knowledge that this will likely happen very soon!

And I am safe to say that I should not post late in the night. These ramblings are best for my own little mind! Perhaps you would like to add my hubby to your prayer list?!

Get the "L" out...

I am a Rochestarian, and as all people born and bred here with a penchant for all the nonsensical jingles we so love, I wanted to write the lyrics to one...

"No L,
No L,

No L. P. G. A. ! "

It is corny and meant to get people motivated for some ladies golf thing... you can so tell I am not a golfer!

But it makes me think about another L. The L that makes WORD into WORLD. Because if we could get it out, and make there be "No L", and we would be so much better to just have The Word!

So what are some L's we need out?

How about Lies... like the ones we believe from the wicked one.

How about Laziness... enough said.

How about Lust? or Lasciviousness? or Larceny?

Yeah, we would all do well to get out some L's and just have the Word.

Random thoughts... I know.

And They're Off!

Josiah and Levi are off to camp for the week and I am so curious as to what my home will be like for the next six days! I am sure I will be very ready for them to come home by Saturday, but I think they will wish they could stay there for another couple of weeks!

Mt. Lou San is a Christ centered, God preaching, fun-time-having camp in PA. I cannot think of, in my memories, any place the Lord got a hold of my heart at a young age more than at camp. So many things bombard kids. And especially in the early teen years (my boys are 13 and 14) it seems that is when they will make decisions for Christ or for the world. While at NYC (... I know... I will post on NY! I am still recovering from it all and need to have a clear head for it...! ) I met a young man who was 22 and his testimony was... at 14... he was exposed to drugs and the partying lifestyle and it looked so much better than his current goody-two-shoes, hypocritical family. Now I am not saying that describes our family, but kids see things the way they want to, and our family may not stack up favorably in their eyes compared to whatever the lure of the world! The wicked one has one goal... to destroy my children! We pray and do whatever we can to prevent that.

This is possibly the last summer we will spend in our quiet Suburban setting and that thought has rattled in my head more than once these past few weeks! Though Deputation is at least 12 months away, we are living in preparation all the time. In our heads we think of all the things we should be and slowly are doing, and in our prayers we ask God to be ever leading in our actions and also prepare the trail for us! We also think of how it will physically flesh out. Will we travel North first? Or maybe go south in the fall and then head back here? Where will the Lord have us to go? So many questions! And...the fact that I am a little glad to have the house quieter for the week goes in direct conflict with my previous comments on how I will be so happy to have the whole family spending time... a lot of it .... together on Deputation.

I would like to say I am obeying the verse in whatsoever state I am in and being content...!

This cracked me up!!

First let me tell the bad news.

I rented a DVD at RedBox, and in my unhurried and ever-in-the-present fashion... left it in the cart, in the parking lot, at Wegmans, Latta rd.

If you are reading this and happened to be the one person in the hundreds of possibilities that found it... please watch it... enjoy it a few times... and then return it ! PLEASE!

Can I also ask that you don't don't preach and say this is God's way of punishing sinners who watch movies?

Back to my story... leaving/losing/forgetting it caused me to have a Google moment and check out redbox.com to learn their policies. You have to know that even though I checked the little "I agree" circle, I really never read a single word of what I was agreeing to and had absolutely NO IDEA of what kind of punishment and/or penalties I was facing for having been so careless and losing the afore mentioned DVD.

Now the "good" news...

I've got to tell you, it was all almost worth the the trauma- if not the $25.00 I will have to pay- just to read their comically and yet still professionally written FAQ and other policies.

Go ahead! Click here and here and read a little for yourself! I think they do this intentionally to lighten the burden of their patrons, myself included, because amids my tears of sorrow over parting with my money, I really have a good feeling through it all.

Well, almost good.

Certainly not terrible!