On Eagle's Wings

I wish I had a picture to share with you, but we'll just have to settle for the story because I didn't have my camera with me. The other day Wynne and I were driving home from grocery shopping and noticed a very large bird standing by the opposite side of the road. As I drove past, I realized it was a bald eagle! He was as tall as the mailbox he was standing next to, and I couldn't believe how he was just standing by the highway. There were crows and other large birds around (perhaps a female eagle and some hawks), but no one compared to this bird. He was right off of the Presidential seal or something--a bright white head, white tail feathers, and dark brown/black body. I slowed and pulled to the shoulder, waited for the traffic to pass, and slowly backed up to be parallel to the bird.
It was an awesome sight. I didn't get Wynne out of her car seat because the eagle flew up into a nearby oak tree. We still had a pretty good view of him, though. Wow, you should have seen the wing span on him! Cars drove by and drivers gave me strange looks, but there I was with my window rolled down in freezing weather, staring at one of the most awesome creatures I've ever seen. This isn't the first time I'd seen a bald eagle, but it was the closest I've ever been to one, and he was by far the largest one I'd ever seen. He looked back at me for a long time, and Wynne said "Bye eagle!" as we pulled away about 5 minutes later.
Time stood still in those 5 minutes. The worries of the world seemed to fade away as I watched the eagle. I felt a strong sense of God's power and majesty that afternoon, and my devotion the next day really drove it home.

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
--Isaiah 40:31

Christmas Fall-out, a Month Later

Welcome to the first edition of "What was Santa THINKING??"

1. PIXOS
Okay in theory, these are pretty neat. You put these little colored plastic balls inside a pen that dispenses them onto a grid where you make shapes. Then you spray water on the shapes, wait 10 minutes, and wa-la! Moons and Celtic Crosses.

But after a few of those shapes break apart and you find 650 little Pixo balls all over the carpet & in other toys, you get a little annoyed.

(At least they make a wonderful, colorful fake tea!)

2. PLAY-DOH MAGIC SWIRL ICE CREAM SHOPPE
Even through my Slacker Mom gritted teeth, I must admit that I like Play-doh. Who can resist squeezing that wonderfully-smelly dough through your fingers, making all kinds of shapes and imprints? I mean, just look at this wonderland of ice cream possibilities!

Let's be realistic--you KNOW that kids didn't create those neat little ice cream & cake decorations. Give me a break. (I can just picture the Play-doh ad execs churning out perfect chocolate swirl cones and flowered frosting.)
THIS is what it looks like when REAL PEOPLE (including target audience A.K.A. KIDS) play with it:

And don't get me started on clean-up. After 50-some years of being in the business, couldn't they come up with a way to CLEAN UP this stuff??

Look at this "Sprinkle maker". You crank play-doh through it and out comes these little squares of color. (Something that could be accomplished a whole lot easier by just tearing apart little pieces with your bare hands, but hey-that's just me.) There is no way all of that play-doh is coming out of there. Not until it dries up and the entire "shoppe" is beaten against a wall or the floor to release the remnants.

And yes, I did have the children help me clean up. In their own special way of "helping"! You think Santa's elves would have learned by now...this stuff is a bugger!

(To give Santa credit, remember my post last week about the Glow Board. Santa's not all bad.)

And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. --Genesis 1:31

Rime Time

I think this is rime (Doc Phillips from Weather & Climate class, help me!). I just had to take the camera out to do chores this morning because it is so darn beautiful.





Who can doubt the existence of a Grand Designer?

When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
the son of man that you care for him? Psalm 8: 3-4

SIEGERT'S CINEMA

We watch a lot of movies at our house. Thank the Lord for public libraries and Netflix.

During the 2-consecutive-snow-day-4-consecutive-bonechilling-day-stretch that we had last week, the kids set up a movie theatre in the basement. Ally spearheaded the project and became the manager of Siegert's Cinema.

I know what you're thinking -- who cares? How un-original is that? But look at what they did here. They turned the kitchen into a movie theatre lobby with labeled soda pop glasses & different-seasoned popcorn...

They even donned "uniforms" of white shirts & black pants. Cy added a vest and was ambitious enough to put it on after his nighttime shower (the girls gave up after wearing their uniforms all day and put on warm PJ's).

And check out the entryway to the theatre. I know it's hard to tell, but there are glowsticks on both sides of the "aisle" all the way down the stairs...

Did you see the Crayola Glow Board in the upper right-hand corner? It is awesome. They had 2 images on it, blinking back & forth the words "Now Playing" and "Drumline" (the movie title) along with some drawings of popcorn etc. It was very cool. (Thanks for that one, Santa!)
Even the "Usherettes" had glowstick bracelets as they showed you to your seat!

I don't know - maybe I'm biased, but I thought they did a great job. Mark was pretty impressed when he came downstairs in the neon-lit darkness, too. (Incidentally, the movie was not appropriate for children--bad Santa pick there--but the drumlines/marching band stuff was cool for them to see. We didn't finish the movie, but that's okay. It was all about the atmosphere, anyway.


May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands. --Psalm 90:17

Conference Champs Re-cap (testing)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Snow Days Are So "Yesterday"

When I was a kid, snow days (school cancellations) were few and far between. There was the Ice Storm of '76 when we had to milk cows by hand (well, by "we" I mean my Dad and older brothers--I was still a little kid so I just had to sit in the house and blow the ice off of the window to watch)...and the big snowy blast of 1989, I think it was. College classes were actually cancelled because it was so darn cold, snowy, icy, and awful. (Can you tell I am not a snow bunny? The only thing I like about winter--besides Christmas--is a cup of hot chocolate.) I mean, come ON people--we've had 2 and a half days of school cancelled this week!! What is a stay-at-home Slacker Mom to do???!! Heck, I didn't even have time to take any pictures since Sunday's Gingerbread Disaster.
My son tried to venture out yesterday and play in the snow a little bit. When his face froze into prickles of pain after about 2 minutes, he was back in. Told ya so, buddy. (For those of you not in the Midwest, the temperature the past few days has averaged around 25 below, NOT INCLUDING the windchill. A bit brisk.)
Oh well - at least I can look forward to a few weeks in June to get ready for summer vacation!
I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.--Psalm 77:11

Slacker Mom Confession #3,462

So Daddy was gone all weekend (home only to sleep) and Mommy figures, "Hey, let's have a family fun project on Friday night!" What better way to celebrate than with a 25-cent Gingerbread House Kit from Walgreens? (Gotta love their Christmas Clearance!!)

The kids were so happy, so engaged, so organized with their separate bowls for separate candies. Mom scored extra points for buying an extra tub of frosting (just in case the icing provided with the kit ran out--and you KNOW it always does!!). The children were working diligently on the house, Mom took lots of pictures, and all was right with the world.

Until Sunday morning when said Mom turns on the oven to preheat for cinnamon rolls, takes a shower, and returns to a warm gingerbread-slash-plastic smell in the kitchen.

Guess who forgot that we were hiding the Gingerbread Palace in the oven so that we could make a big presentation to Dad upon his return Sunday night??


Oh well; it still tasted good. (the parts far enough away from carcinogenic plastic)
And besides, Daddy didn't get home till late after bedtime, anyway.

Back to the Clearance Section!!

"The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry."--Robert Burns, To a Mouse

Hold Your Mouth Right!

I just have to comment on the 3rd and 4th pictures in my last post. See the little tongues sticking out, as the children concentrate so hard on building the perfect gingerbread house?

My Dad used to say (and still does, on occasion), "Hold your mouth right" to that. I have been known to hold my tongue between my teeth when I am lost in concentration on a task.

Guess I've passed on the trait to my kids!

Our House Is a Very, Very, Very Fine House

Can't you just hear Crosby, Stills & Nash singing softly in the background?

Our house is a very,

very,

very fine house...

with 2 gingerboys in the yard

Life used to be so hard

Now everything is easy 'cause of you...


Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for men.--Colossians 3:23

My New Business

I feel kind of funny posting about this since it's not really "new"...I mean, it's been 4 years since I officially launched myself into the family story preservation business with Heritage Makers. However, now I am trying to scratch items off my list of New Year's Resolutions...so here it is...

Ladies and gentlemen, I am proud to introduce my new audio-photo memory book business:

SAY IT AGAIN Books.


After a few years of wrestling with the mission, the logistics, and the actual product, I think it's time to just jump in and get my feet wet(ter). I've been interviewing people about their personal histories and local history since I was in junior high, and I just love it. The thing that has kept me from really launching this before is that I felt like "People can do this for themselves." And that, to a certain extent, is quite true. People CAN write their own histories, scan their own photos/drawings/mementos, and make their own books. But how many people will take the time to do it? AND I'm thinking I have a fairly original twist on the memory book with my audio component. After months of "techie" research, I'm now able to produce a pretty neat audio CD of the author's voice telling the story, set to music. There's nothing like hearing someone's voice that really takes you back, adding that personal touch to it. The results are emotional and special.

So without further adieu, as we end the first full week of the first month of the year....I present to you my business website:
http://sayitagain.weebly.com

I can't wait to help more people bring their stories to life (in print and in voice). It would be nice to make a little money while I'm at it (because it takes a LOOOOOONG time to produce such a keepsake), but that is not the main reason behind Say It Again Books. My business mission is to help people realize that everybody has a story to tell, and those stories (the good, the bad, the mundane) are all an important part of who we are. Our stories need to be recorded before they are lost. No matter if it's someone's Top 10 lists, a line of jokes, a few anecdotes, or a full-blown autobiography...this is the essence of an individual. Yet through our individual stories, there is something universal that we all share. God made each one of us different, yet inter-connected. I look forward to discovering those differences and similarities!

"See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland."--Isaiah 43:19

Cute Things They Say, Continued

Okay it took me almost a year to update - and this is a pretty measly update at that--but I thought I better get these down before I forget!

Overheard the past few weeks at our house:

-"Des" (yes) ...Wynne age 2, 2 1/2
-"You like it?" You lub (love) it??" ...Wynne age 2.5
-"grils" (girls)...Paige & Shae, age 4-present
-"Mom, you are thin as a whistle!" ...Paige, age 5 (I love this comment on so many different levels.)
and my personal favorite of the week:
-"Did Wynnie puke?" ...Paige, age 5, asking if our youngest was sick on her bedsheets because she saw me taking them out of the washer. (which proves how infrequently I wash bedding around here...BUSTED!!)

Family Video Christmas 2008

Family Video December 2008

New Year, Same God

Happy New Year!

Can you tell that the kids and hubby are still home on Christmas vacation?? Sorry I haven't had much chance to get on the computer and write, let alone think. Just 24-7 hotel service going on right now. (or so it seems!)
Anyway, I just wanted to share that even though times may seem scary (financially, culturally, etc.) right now, especially if you are a Christian, God has, is, and will continue to be in control. The financial stuff doesn't get to me as much as it does others because I stay home with the kids and don't earn a wage...so I'm not into money or stuff anyway. But I do worry some about the rising food prices, rising energy costs, and especially about how hard it is to proclaim my faith in this politically correct world. At times like this, it is very comforting for me to dive into God's Word and into the music and literature written by other Christians. One song that is powerfully reassuring to me right now is "God is God" by Steven Curtis Chapman (I bet he sings that to himself sometimes as he reflects back on his little girl's tragic death last May).
"God is God and I am not
I can only see a part of the picture He’s painting
God is God and I am man
So I’ll never understand it all
For only God is God."

No matter what happens, God is God! I can't understand it all, but I do know that He has a plan for me and for everyone, just as he planned Jesus' coming way back in Isaiah 9:6: For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

T.D. Jakes writes in his book Follow the Star that he thinks of Jesus as a 5-point star (based on Isaiah 9:6). Jesus is

1. WONDERFUL -- I wonder why Jesus loves me so much that He died for me? I wonder how He can keep loving me, even when I stumble and forget about Him? He is too Wonderful for me to comprehend!
2. COUNSELOR -- God is there for me, through good times and bad. I can always turn to Him and His Word for the best guidance possible. I can confide in Him always. He knows me, he knows my thoughts, and he wants to hear from me on a day-to-day, minute-to-minute basis!
3. MIGHTY GOD -- When you stop to consider all that God has made, what He has done (i.e. Creation, the flood, the resurrection, the Pentecost, etc. etc. etc.) and what He continues to do in our lives (the people He puts in our path to help us or for us to help, the ways He saves us every single day, etc. etc. etc.)
4. EVERLASTING FATHER -- We have had 2 men die in our community over the past week. I hope and pray that their children (one of whom is on my husband's football team, so young!) turn to God as their Everlasting Father, for comfort, for wisdom, for love and strength as they miss their earthly dads. He is the only one who truly knows our sorrow, as He sacrificed His Only Son for us on the cross.
5. PRINCE OF PEACE -- When I start worrying and or feeling anxious, I just need to stop that thinking and focus on WHOSE I am and my purpose here. Then everything gets put back in perspective and a peace comes over me. You can't buy that kind of peace. You'll only find it with Christ.


I like that 5-point star reminder. Here's my New Year's Resolution: to focus on teose 5 points every day!