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4.14.2009
4.13.2009
What a Day
Sometimes your day goes according to plans. And then there are days like Easter Sunday.
The plan? Get up, hang out for awhile, start prepping my part of Easter dinner. Pick up some lunch and head to mother-in-law's. Come home and finish frog eye salad, scalloped potatoes, and rolls. Pack up the food and head over to my sister's house. Have some dinner, clean up, play a game or two.
The reality? My sister calls in the morning to tell me she's fallen (yes, she could get up) and hurt her wrist (and knee) badly. It's bruised, has a bump that shouldn't be there, and she can hardly use it. They dropped my nieces off with us and headed to the ER.
In the meantime, I was working in the kitchen, turned on the dishwasher, and the drain began to back up into the sink. Rather significantly. So hubby pulled everything out from under the sink, only to discover that there was a lot of water under and the sink was no longer draining. Instead of getting to do the things he'd planned, he got to play plumber for the afternoon.
The kids wanted to play Wii, but that was off-limits for awhile. They couldn't watch tv because the satellite wasn't receiving any signal, thanks to much wet snow, and the DVD player wouldn't cooperate. They finally pulled out some board games (Sorry & Clue) and had a terrific time. It's a good thing to be unplugged.
We skipped MIL's house, but hubby called and chatted a bit with her. I spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen, juggling potato peeling, acini de pepe cooking, and picking up with making numerous grilled cheese sandwiches, all while skirting the pile of cleaning supplies in the middle of my floor. Once the plumbing was done, hubby helped out in that arena, too. For whatever reason, those kids were sure hungry. After the first batch of grilled cheese were gone, they wanted more sandwiches to eat!
We had planned to go with mostly paper/plastic for Easter dinner. Instead of the usual three of us (Mom, my sister, and me) to handle setting up dinner, cleaning up, and washing dishes, there were only one and a half available. Turns out my sister's hand wasn't broken, but very severely bruised. Bad enough that she can't even use it. Fortunately, it's her left hand; she's right-handed. My mom's still recovering from knee replacement surgery and she overdid it on Saturday. That left me. Or so I thought.
My dad and brother-in-law stepped in and were a tremendous help! Everything came together quite nicely and we had a lovely dinner. Once it was all cleaned up, we played a rousing game of six dice. It was the one game which my sister could easily play one handed. We didn't make her keep score.
Oh yeah, it snowed in the morning. Enormously large, wet flakes. Covered everything and was very wet. Which is a very good thing. It's been far too dry here.
And just for laughs, we looked over into the play area after dinner to discover this:
Some days are just like that.
The plan? Get up, hang out for awhile, start prepping my part of Easter dinner. Pick up some lunch and head to mother-in-law's. Come home and finish frog eye salad, scalloped potatoes, and rolls. Pack up the food and head over to my sister's house. Have some dinner, clean up, play a game or two.
The reality? My sister calls in the morning to tell me she's fallen (yes, she could get up) and hurt her wrist (and knee) badly. It's bruised, has a bump that shouldn't be there, and she can hardly use it. They dropped my nieces off with us and headed to the ER.
In the meantime, I was working in the kitchen, turned on the dishwasher, and the drain began to back up into the sink. Rather significantly. So hubby pulled everything out from under the sink, only to discover that there was a lot of water under and the sink was no longer draining. Instead of getting to do the things he'd planned, he got to play plumber for the afternoon.
The kids wanted to play Wii, but that was off-limits for awhile. They couldn't watch tv because the satellite wasn't receiving any signal, thanks to much wet snow, and the DVD player wouldn't cooperate. They finally pulled out some board games (Sorry & Clue) and had a terrific time. It's a good thing to be unplugged.
We skipped MIL's house, but hubby called and chatted a bit with her. I spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen, juggling potato peeling, acini de pepe cooking, and picking up with making numerous grilled cheese sandwiches, all while skirting the pile of cleaning supplies in the middle of my floor. Once the plumbing was done, hubby helped out in that arena, too. For whatever reason, those kids were sure hungry. After the first batch of grilled cheese were gone, they wanted more sandwiches to eat!
We had planned to go with mostly paper/plastic for Easter dinner. Instead of the usual three of us (Mom, my sister, and me) to handle setting up dinner, cleaning up, and washing dishes, there were only one and a half available. Turns out my sister's hand wasn't broken, but very severely bruised. Bad enough that she can't even use it. Fortunately, it's her left hand; she's right-handed. My mom's still recovering from knee replacement surgery and she overdid it on Saturday. That left me. Or so I thought.
My dad and brother-in-law stepped in and were a tremendous help! Everything came together quite nicely and we had a lovely dinner. Once it was all cleaned up, we played a rousing game of six dice. It was the one game which my sister could easily play one handed. We didn't make her keep score.
Oh yeah, it snowed in the morning. Enormously large, wet flakes. Covered everything and was very wet. Which is a very good thing. It's been far too dry here.
And just for laughs, we looked over into the play area after dinner to discover this:
Some days are just like that.
4.12.2009
4.10.2009
Living by Faith
In his book, Crazy Love, Francis Chan poses a question that he was faced with many years ago:
Merely nine words, yet they dig deep into the soul of my Christian walk. Do I live in a way that requires faith on my part? Sadly, I'd have to say, "No, not really." My life is comfortable, bordering on complacent. He mentions in this particular chapter that his life would probably look no different were he not a believer in Christ. I have to concur. If someone saw my life from afar, without actually talking to me - sort of a silent movie - I don't know that there would be anything to distinguish me from those who don't care to know Jesus.
Ouch.
This chapter spoke of our love for God being evidenced by what and how we give. Do we give the bare minimum, if anything? Or do we give wholly and completely? Of everything.
Francis' words speak volumes here. I have become so possessive and selfish with my time. As if it's mine to begin with. If I truly believe the words of Christ, and I say I am His child, how dare I claim things - time, money, possessions, talents - as MINE. I would tell you that it's all His, but I don't live that way.
What an appropriate place to be. On this day, which we call Good Friday. But it's more than just "good." It represents so much more. Today we commemorate the the greatest gift, the greatest sacrifice ever given.
Jesus Christ, God incarnate,
LET them unjustly accuse and convict Him
LET them spit upon, blindfold, and beat Him
LET them shove a crown of thick, cruel thorns into His head
LET them pierce His hands and feet with spikes as they nailed Him to the cross
LET His life be poured out in horrific pain,
KNOWING that it was God's will,
KNOWING that he would be separated from God,
KNOWING that this act would satisfy the penalty for the sins of all mankind,
KNOWING that some would still reject Him,
KNOWING that this was the only way you and I could be reconciled to a holy and just God.
In light of all that Jesus gave, how can I give so little? Do I truly love so little? Trust so little?
May this Good Friday, this Easter, this Resurrection Day be bigger and more significant. May I learn to give all out of a heart of love for my Lord and Savior.
What are you doing right now that requires faith?
Merely nine words, yet they dig deep into the soul of my Christian walk. Do I live in a way that requires faith on my part? Sadly, I'd have to say, "No, not really." My life is comfortable, bordering on complacent. He mentions in this particular chapter that his life would probably look no different were he not a believer in Christ. I have to concur. If someone saw my life from afar, without actually talking to me - sort of a silent movie - I don't know that there would be anything to distinguish me from those who don't care to know Jesus.
Ouch.
This chapter spoke of our love for God being evidenced by what and how we give. Do we give the bare minimum, if anything? Or do we give wholly and completely? Of everything.
Another important element of giving is with our time. Most of us are so busy that the thought of adding one more thing to our weekly schedule is stressful. Instead of adding in another thing to our lives, perhaps God wants us to give Him all all of our time and let Him direct it as He sees fit. One of the most memorized verses in the whole Bible says, "For God so loved the world that He gave..." (John 3:16). Right there we see the connection between loving and giving evidently established. (from Crazy Love)
Francis' words speak volumes here. I have become so possessive and selfish with my time. As if it's mine to begin with. If I truly believe the words of Christ, and I say I am His child, how dare I claim things - time, money, possessions, talents - as MINE. I would tell you that it's all His, but I don't live that way.
What an appropriate place to be. On this day, which we call Good Friday. But it's more than just "good." It represents so much more. Today we commemorate the the greatest gift, the greatest sacrifice ever given.Jesus Christ, God incarnate,
LET them unjustly accuse and convict Him
LET them spit upon, blindfold, and beat Him
LET them shove a crown of thick, cruel thorns into His head
LET them pierce His hands and feet with spikes as they nailed Him to the cross
LET His life be poured out in horrific pain,
KNOWING that it was God's will,
KNOWING that he would be separated from God,
KNOWING that this act would satisfy the penalty for the sins of all mankind,
KNOWING that some would still reject Him,
KNOWING that this was the only way you and I could be reconciled to a holy and just God.
In light of all that Jesus gave, how can I give so little? Do I truly love so little? Trust so little?
May this Good Friday, this Easter, this Resurrection Day be bigger and more significant. May I learn to give all out of a heart of love for my Lord and Savior.
4.09.2009
BORing
Isn't it funny how we can like something for a time and then suddenly are bored with it? Or maybe that's just me.
I really love my blog design - especially cause I did it almost entirely by myself. But now I want something else. Problem is that I don't even know WHAT I want. At all. Not colors, not style, not anything. Bah!
Sadly, this type of thing becomes consuming for me and I do stupid things. Like stay up until after midnightobsessing looking at blog designs, instead of getting the sleep I need. And what then? Do I look for a freebie, tweak my own (which is what I did here), or pay someone to do it for me?
Maybe I'll just change my colors. Maybe green and plum. Tidy up my sidebar. Throw in a 3rd column...or not, cause I wouldn't even know where to begin. It'll be kind of like a fresh coat of paint.
So, what do you all think about colors? I mean colors for my blog? Throw out some combinations. Include links if you have any. I'm up for something funky, fresh, and new.
The photo has nothing to do with the post. Just something I was playing with.
I really love my blog design - especially cause I did it almost entirely by myself. But now I want something else. Problem is that I don't even know WHAT I want. At all. Not colors, not style, not anything. Bah!Sadly, this type of thing becomes consuming for me and I do stupid things. Like stay up until after midnight
Maybe I'll just change my colors. Maybe green and plum. Tidy up my sidebar. Throw in a 3rd column...or not, cause I wouldn't even know where to begin. It'll be kind of like a fresh coat of paint.
So, what do you all think about colors? I mean colors for my blog? Throw out some combinations. Include links if you have any. I'm up for something funky, fresh, and new.
The photo has nothing to do with the post. Just something I was playing with.
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