Test of true friendship

During a recent visit with a dear friend we talked a little about all that she has experienced in the days prior to and since the loss of someone very important in her life. We visited about the different ways that people grieve, and the different levels of privacy each family holds in regards to similar experiences. Not everyone shares their hurts and grief with others as much as some are able. Some people willingly ask for help and prayer, while others turn only to immediate family for strength. Obviously, we concluded that each unique way of grieving is just that...unique. Not right or wrong. But unique.

My friend did point out though, that through this tragedy in her life, she has really seen the quality of friendship from some. I think her words were, "It's true, you really do find out who your real friends are when you go through something like this."

I heard those words at the time, but I pondered them for hours after. Is that a fair statement, I wondered? I mean, maybe some people WANT to reach out, but just do not know what to say or do... maybe they WISH they had the courage to call or visit, but just do not know if they would be welcomed. Maybe they just are not comfortable, I reasoned.

But then, just as much as I wondered...I knew. The answer is simple. That is the greatest expression and the greatest opportunity to show true love, friendship, and loyalty. In our lack of comfort we experience just slightly the extreme discomfort that they are feeling. In that moment of a friends greatest DISCOMFORT, we make the leap into our own fears and push beyond our own level of comfortablity, just to carry a miniscule portion of what our friend is carrying.

It made me think. To whom have I failed to show true friendship? By reasoning that if they needed me, they would let me know? By reasoning that they really just want to be alone in their grief? By reasoning that I have nothing to offer that could possibly bring them peace or hope?

It is my greatest desire, to be uncomfortable with my friends. To step out of my comfort zone and into theirs. To call even when I have nothing to say that will change their circumstances. To listen even if I do not know how it feels to be them. To sit with them even if the silence feels awkward.

Friday Foto Frenzy

What did I miss?

I assume that in the way of world events and pop culture, I missed quite a bit while not viewing television these past 40 days. And because I refuse to scour the Internet for anything other than sales or weather conditions, I did not stay abreast to the developments during our hiatus from the boob tube.

So I have a few questions for those of you who have not had your heads buried in the sand for the last month plus.

-Who are the Hollywood elites backing these days: Barack or Hillary?

-Which rock-solid-lasted-more-than-six-months-Hollywood-marriage has come to an untimely end?

-How many more children have Brangelina adopted?

-Is McCain still old?

-Has anyone replaced Drew or Whoppi yet?

-Which Senator, Congressional Member, and/or Mayor has held the most headlines due to their less than stellar moral conduct these days?

-Are Stacy and Clinton still telling people "What Not To Wear"?

-Which actor over-dosed, or was picked up for drunk driving?

-How much skinnier is Kelly Ripa?

-How many times was Britney in and out of rehab?

-Are we still in Iraq?

-How many more superstars did the Twins give away?

Ya know what? Never mind. There is really only one thing I need to know....

THEY DO STILL AIR SEINFELD RERUNS...RIGHT?

Not so Wordy Wednesday

I kind of like the look of this.

Easter 2008

So, did you have a good Easter? We sure did, even if we did put on the miles and fill the itinerary a bit too full. Sometimes in the whirlwind of going hither and yon it is difficult to stop. Stop and just look around at the blessings surrounding us, but this past weekend, I did just that.

I almost felt, at certain moments, to be above the fray, in my own slow motion bubble, watching the game of Uno over here, hearing the laughter of a family joke over there, and smelling the sweet aromas of dinner in the oven. Not to mention the jubilee I felt in looking around at all of the familiar faces beside and behind me at church, joining in joyous song, praising our risen Saviour. Very good stuff.


Besides those brief moments of clarity and focus I also had many moments of frustration, panic and exhaustion. Moments that sometimes took the focus off of the enormous blessings before me. But in the end, falling into bed three nights later, I felt nothing short of profound happiness.

Thank you, family. I know that gathering does not always happen without much sacrifice and inconvenience. One driving through blizzard like conditions, two sharing their time between multiple family gatherings, host and hostesses giving up the quietness of their homes for the chaos called family. It is not always an easy feat to pull off a gathering such as this. But it is necessary. I can not express the love that is shared, even in the moments of chaos. Especially in the moments of chaos.

Part of our very HOPPY Easter!

HAPPY EASTER!

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS TRULY RISEN HE IS TRULY RISEN HE IS TRULY RISEN

JESUSJESUSJESUSJESUSJESUSJESUSJESUS

HE IS TRULY RISEN HE IS TRULY RISEN HE IS TRULY RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN

Mary Teach Me

At Christmas time we hear the song sung "Mary Did You Know?" Thinking about the days ahead, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and then Easter morning, I wonder not if Mary knew, but what heartache she endured.

She did know. Simeon told her that her heart would be pierced. She knew that her Son would not be her own, that He belonged to something, was part of Someone much greater than herself or any of the people that He would encounter in His life.

I want to know if she ever cried into her pillow at night because of the sorrow that already consumed her heart? Did she ever shake her fist at the heavens and question God's plan for her Son? Were the moments of Jesus' childhood clouded with ominous feelings and questions of "WHEN?" Did she ever plead with St. Joseph to take them away, far away from their native lands in hopes of avoiding the future that awaited her Son? Did she ever regret saying, "Be it done unto me according to your will?"

As she watched Him walk that path to Golgotha, weak from the beatings His holy body had endured, carrying a cross that rubbed raw the wounds already on His shoulders, what hand held her back from running to Him? Did that same hand hold her in the moments that she wept at the foot of the cross?

That is what I want to know?

But more than answers, I want to succumb just as she did with that same surrender, that same obedience, that same trust. In her moments of greatest sorrow and doubt came her greatest moments of trust, obedience and surrender. In the hours most difficult, most heartbreaking, and most tragic she obeyed, trusted, and surrendered. There is no greater example of true discipleship.

You asked for it!

In over my head

I am pretty sure that I have mentioned before my severe lack of discipline when it comes to reading books. I have a tendency to slip into a literary coma and not return to a fully conscious state until I have read the last word. It does not necessarily pose a problem for me, but for those who seem to rely on me for nourishment, clean underwear, and taxi servicing, it tends to become a bit problematic.

Well that start-to-finish-in-three-hours-flat-devour-not-digest reading style must only apply to the works of novelists such as Karen Kingsbury, or Jan Karon. At least for me.

Along with part of our no television viewing sacrifice for Lent, came the opportunity to pick up some reading material and expand my mind. Of course, I went safely for the easy reads of the above two authors. And finished three books in a day and a half. Well, Lent is FORTY days...not two.

So I decided to expand my literary safety zone to include a piece that has been collecting dust on my bookshelf ever since I picked it up at a book rummage. That would be the book, right down there.




You might recognize that the author is none other than the great C.S. Lewis. I really wanted to read his, "Mere Christianity", which I know that I have, but could not find.

With reviews on the inside cover like, "Facinating.", "One of a kind.", "Masterpiece.", one would think that great things lie ahead in the pages that follow. And most certainly they do. But I am certain that the one word, or one phrase reviews, only serve to prove that the reviewers were as baffled as myself.

Let's just say that with passages, or more accurately sentences, such as this:

"Its visitations were rather the moments of clearest consciousness we had, when we became aware of our fragmentary and phantasmal nature and ached for the impossible reunion which would annihilate us or that self-contradictory waking which would reveal, not that we had had, but that we were, a dream."

I am so stinkin' glad that Lent is FORTY days. And that sentence was written completely in English. More than I can say for a good number of the sentences from this book.

I guess I may have to leave my search for greatness in writing to his more juvenile stories. Like the Narnia series. I am pretty sure that I have a handle on the inferences and symbolism happening there. And when in doubt, I can always ask my seven year old.

SHADE SHIPPING UPDATE

For any of you who took my advice and ordered from Shade recently and are still waiting for your purchases to arrive, I apologize on behalf of them because this is EXTREMELY uncharacteristic. Apparently we over-whelmed them! Which is a good thing, I hope. But it is not the first impression they wish to leave with you first time buyers.

The product and customer service in the past has been top notch and I do not want you to let a bad first impression of shipping delays deter you from further purchases. So, I contacted their customer service to let them know of my disappointment and they responded by refunding my shipping costs because they were unable to uphold their usual shipping policies. I was encouraged to let any of you that have not yet received your items to contact them as well, if you have been waiting longer than expected. That would be any that ordered when I posted about it.

Here is the email address and the customer service representative is Shannon Shields.
sshields@shadeclothing.com

Human Slot-Machine

Phone call from school:


"Mrs. Comes? This is Mrs. S from school. Today is the last day of our "Penny Wars for Christ" activity, and Olivia swallowed a dime."

"Um okay. Thank God it wasn't a quarter! Is she alright?"

"Yes, she seemed a bit startled, but she's fine."

"Okay, thank you. Let me know if anything changes (*wink wink) Good-bye."




I really thought that the days of this kind of thing were behind me when they turn SIX! Well we can hope that it returns with interest.

Oh well, this to shall pass. That is the hope anyway.

Ta-Da! A video of my boy!

So I FINALLY (let me tell you, I have been very impatiently waiting!) have my new camera. I had one ordered, cancelled it, changed my mind, did more Internet research, changed it again, re-ordered, and then waited.

And finally decided that I was getting a new camera simply because of an 'issue' with the warranty on my last one, not because it had failed me in some way. I really had no complaints other than the no movie mode, with my former camera. So the one I currently have is an exact replica basically...just newer, more mega pixels, better zoom, and of course...VIDEO. (An Olympus, for those of you dying to know.)

So Andrew was the first guinea pig. And gosh dang it he is a cute guinea. Please ignore the whiny voice questioning him, I know it is annoying! Try to focus on that adorable kid:0)

Love is in the Air

...or maybe it is just teen hormones. Either way it is here. Can you feel it? PROM TIME!

I am going to do something that I rarely do. I am just going to be blunt. No beating around the bush. No carefully stating my opinion with the full understanding that I could be wrong. Oh wait, I never do that.

I hated prom. I hated the class arguments about which colors to use. I hated the class arguments about which song to choose. I hated the class arguments about who was bossing whom around (usually me). I hated the way girls turned on each other because of who asked whom. I hated the way it isolated the serious daters from the not-so-serious daters. I hated the way the guys could sit back with smirks on their faces and watch girls in desperation come crawling calling for prom dates.

For the real world, prom season starts mid-March ending sometime in April. But not for the teenage girls of the world. No, prom started when they were freshmen unable to attend, but capable of a dream. Already they were formulating their plans. Securing as many options and Plan B's as possible.

Using rationale like, "My first choice is definitely going to be Ryan. But if Ryan is still dating that trampy Jennifer then I could ask Tyler, because he is pretty cute. But if Tyler goes with Kristi then I could ask Matt...because Matt and I are totally cool with each other, he's like so funny. I know that Eric will ask me, but he is totally gross and I would rather go with my dad than Eric!"

Then as the actual prom approaches three years later, Eric becomes more and more attractive as February rolls around and the girl finds herself still without a prom date.

Yes, I am a bit cynical of prom. And I am fully aware that had I been in a quasi-serious relationship at the time, it would indeed hold different memories and feelings for me. As I am sure that it does for some of you.

Obviously looking back at prom pictures with my kids would be an entirely different experience. Instead of explaining who the tall guy next to their mother is that looks nothing like daddy, (and no mom was not getting married to that guy, yes i still am married to dad, no i did not love him more than your daddy), I could reminisce about the young love I felt for their dad even back then. And maybe if I had gone to prom with my husband, he might actually still have some remaining pictures of his prom, as when his serious relationship ended, many photos were mysteriously destroyed.


Sure there is fun to be found in the trying on of dresses, getting dolled up for 2 hours of dancing. Which, let's be honest...is it really dancing? And in the laughter shared with girlfriends about who's dress looks the scankiest. Yeah it sounds like the kind of stuff from which dreams are made.

In all seriousness, it really was not as bad as I remember, I am sure. Ask my mom...I tend to remember traumatic experiences with some amount of exaggeration. Please comment on your best/worst prom memories. And feel free, as you usually always do, to completely disagree with me. I can take it.

And no, I do not have a scanner...so there will be no pictures of me from proms gone by. But by all means, feel free to post your own!

Another side of Motherhood

Cleaned puke and poop off of the carpet already this week.

And it is ONLY Wednesday.

YEE-HAW!

Anybody want to come and visit?

Looks like my,

"Up! Up! It only goes up from here,"

post was a bit premature.

To the new Mother

What would I tell a new young mother who for the first time held her heart in her hands?

What could I say that would accurately sum up her emotions?

What rationale could I give for the extreme highs and extreme lows that will be felt in the days that follow birth?

What name could I give the joy that is bubbling within her weary body?

What encouragement could I offer that would promise more joy than sorrow, even when the beginning is so exhausting?

What can I say to one who will never know life as it was, but will never long for it any other way?

~You will experience with every birth the amazing miracle of feeling your own heart beating within your hands as you hold what can be called no less than a miracle.

~Your emotions can be understood by no one accurately, yet have been shared by millions of moms from every race, culture and niche in time.

~Some will call the the feelings of highs & lows mere after-effects of delivery as your hormones fight to regulate themselves. Get used to it...because most of us moms have yet to shake the after-effects.

~The only name for this bubbling joy in the pit of your stomach is motherhood. No other role in life provides the same feeling. Many search a whole life-time to find it, but it is reserved only for those who have been blessed enough to be called "mom".

~Your days may be clouded with weariness and fatigue and questions and concerns from now until you rest in Christ, but the coo's, quiet moments of holding your baby at your breast, hearing a giggle, and the many joys that follow will always provide the strength needed to continue.

~Your life will never be what it was. The memories of being worried only with your own needs, your own desires, and your own future will cease to exist. You will no longer remember the you that was before. But you will not miss her. You will look back and wonder what you were without this.

Welcome to the band of mothers.

Congratulations Friends!

INTRODUCING:

Damian Jose
Parents: Jose and Beth
Grandparents: David and Tammy:0)

Birthdate: 03/06/2008
Time of Birth: 4:20 PM

Weight: 5 lbs 14 oz
Length: 18 1/2 inches

What are you waiting for?

Just in case you still have not tried out Shade Clothing, now is your chance.

I do not need any more tops, but I clicked over to www.shadeclothing.com just to see what was new and saw the little icon saying $6 Clearance Sale (at the bottom of the page)! Are.you.kidding.me? SIX DOLLARS? Their stuff is relatively inexpensive for the quality as it is...but $6? No way!

So of course I made another purchase, when I just received a shipment from them a few weeks ago.

What is Shade clothing you ask? It is a company that focuses on modest clothing options for women and girls to wear as layers. If you like to layer, this is the shop for you! If you have ever thought of layering...this is the place to start. Trust me. Or if you just like simple constructed basic tops, they've got 'em. Everything is a 'fitted' style, simply so that you can wear it under other tops you may already have.

I honestly wear little else other than my Shade shirts. And if I do wear another brand, I usually have a Shade top underneath.

Quit reading this and click over there before all the sizes and colors are too picked over. And no, I do not get a kick-back. I just love sharing what I have tried and love! Especially when it is CLEARANCED! And while you are there, you can check out the ADORABLE Spring/Summer items. Too cute.

Anyone else having this kind of week?

Just another breakfast conversation

Nicholas to dad- "Dad, how many kids did you dream of having?"

Dad- "Dream of? Oh about five."

Nicholas- "Mom dreamed of six. You guys need to get those other babies here soon."

Mom- (to herself) "I dreamed of six before I had four."

According to studies....

Have you ever attempted to research and review a product on-line? You know, in the attempt to be a well-rounded, knowledgeable consumer? Thinking that with a few clicks of the mouse and a half an hour of critic reviews all mystery will be dispelled and this great almighty unknown will no longer exist?

Yeah, good luck with that.

I am looking for a camera. I did not want to be looking for a camera. It was never on my to-do list to look for a camera. I had done no mental preparation to undertake the enormous stress of looking for a new camera. I did not plan on purchasing another camera for at least two or more years. So, the reason I am looking for a camera when I just purchased one a year ago? Believe me, it is a blog post. But I have had neither the time nor the energy to write it. What with all the 'research' I think I am doing, and all, I only have so many hours in a day to waste on the computer!

So, in order to be somewhat knowledgeable in the area of technology, I decided to Google. That is what every pretend genius does, right?

I am not looking for a camera of the professional standards of say these two photogs. No. A simple, shoots-when-I-push-the-button-produces-photos-without-fuzz (which I learned while researching is not FUZZ--but NOISE)-fits-into-my-purse-and-costs-me-no-more-than-$200, are pretty much the extent of my expectations. Oh yeah, one with video/sound features might be a cool bonus...for you all:0)

I visited site after site of digital camera retailers, reviewers, and critics. After what felt like hours and hours, although I really have no idea how much of my life has really been wasted in this endeavour, I came to only ONE over-whelming conclusion.

For every single product made, manufactured and sold, there will be at least one person who could not live without it and at least one person who would not buy it for their worst enemy.

That is what my research has concluded. Period.

ATTENTION!

NOBODY MOVE.

STAND PERFECTLY STILL.

DO NOT DO ANYTHING CUTE, NAUGHTY OR MODERATELY ENTERTAINING.

I DO NOT HAVE A CAMERA.

YOU MAY RESUME NORMAL ACTIVITY ONCE THE UPS TRUCK HAS DEPARTED FROM THE PREMISES.

THANK YOU.