Tragedy

Some things seem so important, until a tragedy occurs in a friend's life. Then suddenly the things that are complained about seem trivial when compared to the trial they face. Complaints ranging from headaches to lonliness because of the hours my husband has had to work pale in comparison to the death of a child. Tragedy forces us to refocus on what is truly important. It pushes us to examine our deepest beliefs about God and life. It confronts us with raw emotion, questions, a mental and emotional wrestling match in which we search for some truth or hope to cling to. The sad fact is that this world is full of tragedy. We may avoid it for a while, focusing on the trivial instead, but eventually it slams into us like a sledgehammer. It can knock us away from God or pound us deeper into him...but there are no easy answers.

The Office

I love The Office on NBC. There's a new episode tonight at 8:30 central if you want to check it out. The best thing about this show is the web page on NBC.com. The fictional company from the show Dunder-Mifflin has a fake web site there with some really funny stuff on it, including a blog by one of the employees Dwight Shrute. There is also a real blog written by the actress that plays Pam on the show. Her weekly entry tells some behind the scenes info and interesting tidbits about each week's show. This is one of the best shows on tv right now, although I guess I can't really say that since it's the only show I watch. But I have a strong feeling it's one of the best, even if I have nothing to compare it with.

Too clean?

The maid service came today and boy was it wonderful! The house is super clean...perhaps too clean. I don't know if they waxed our wood floors or if it's just the strange absence of gooey grey masses of food spills- but I've slipped at least three times today. I almost fell once. The floor is slick!
Which reminds me of a very strange fear of mine. Not falling...though falling could cause it. I have a fear of becomming incapacitated in some way during the day while home alone with the kids. I can't imagine what they would think or what they would do until someone finally came home and found them. I know that is extrememly unlikely...but hasn't any other mother ever had this thought?

First time in years

As I pull out my summery clothes this year, something great is happening that hasn't happened in years. They are fitting loose! Some so loose that I may not even be able to wear them. This is a new feeling. For the past several summers, my clothes have been too tight- or unwearable. Last summer I had a 5 month old and was not even close to losing all that pregnancy weight I had put on. The summer before that, I was pregnant! The summer before that I had a 4 month old, and again lots of extra pregnany pounds. And the summer before that? Pregnant with Ava. So, finally my body is mine again after 4 years. I had bought some larger sizes for the summers when I was still trying to loose pregnancy weight...those are very loose now. The things I wore before my first pregnany are just about right. Now THAT is a good feeling.

How did it begin?

I was watching the Maverick's first play off game last night when I started wondering about the origin of the athletic "butt pat." It had to begin somewhere, and I can't imagine who thought it would be a good idea to pat a team member on the rear instead of just saying "good job." I would think that the intention of the pat might have been misunderstood as well, those first few times it was used. But now it is commonplace. Although,I doubt I could do it without feeling slightly self-conscious. It must become easier with time...to pat everyone on the rear. When one is paying attention to the patting (instead of letting it just be part of the background bustle as usual) it's amazing how constant it is. The same thing happens when the ear becomes focused on the squeak of the players shoes on the floor. Sometimes I become highly conscious of the sound of shoes when watching a basketball game on tv. Suddenly all I can hear is constant squeaking until I finally convince my ear to let it fade into the background noise again.

Morning Like This mp3

Click on the music notes in the "sticakam" box below to hear the song Was it a Morning Like This. Imagine hearing these words on an Easter morning:

Was it a morning like this?
When the sun still hid from Jerusalem,
and Mary rose from her bed
to tend the Lord she thought was dead.

Was it a morning like this?
When Mary walked down from Jerusalem
and two angels stood at the tomb-
bearers of news she would hear soon.

Did the grass sing?
Did the earth rejoice to feel you again?
Over and over like a trupmet underground
the earth seemed to pound "He is risen"
Over and over in a never-ending round
He is risen, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!

Was it a morning like this
when Peter and John went from Jerusalem
and as they raced to the tomb
beneath their feet was there a tune?

Did the grass sing?
Did the earth rejoice to feel you again?
Over and over like a trupmet underground
the earth seemed to pound "He is risen"
Over and over in a never-ending round
He is risen, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!

Was it a morning like this
when my Lord looked out on Jerusalem?

He is risen, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
He is risen!
He is risen!
Hallelujah!

Get Stickam for Free.

Ahhhh, Maid Service

I finally did it. I've thought about doing it off and on for a few years now. I couldn't quite bring myself to do it though, because I thought I should be able to handle it all by myself. The truth is, I CAN handle it by myself, but it isn't really up to the standard that I want and I'd rather spend my time a different way. So, I called in the professionals and will get bi-weekly house cleaning. It is really pretty exciting. This way, at least twice a month my house will really get a deep cleaning and I can maintain it decently the rest of the time. This happens to be an especially busy time in our life when Cody is working like crazy and I am trying to hold up the house and children end of things without as much help as he would like to offer (and I would like to receive)...so this is a good time I think to try out a maid service. Besides, I could always cancel it down the road when things calm down a little. Although, I am thinking I will probably become quite attached to this.

The rest of the story...

HPIM4749
Originally uploaded by beckison76.

This Easter photo has a story behind it. I wanted a picture of me with the kids, but Nate was crying and straining to get away from me. You might notice the blue plastic egg behind us to the right of Ava...well, Cody (the photographer) decided to throw it toward Nate to hopefully get his attention and cause him to be still and stop crying for an instant. Cody threw the egg and it hit Nate smack dab in the head before bouncing back behind us. What is really amazing is that it worked! I thought Nate would cry worse, but I think it stunned him so he froze and stopped crying and we got this picture.

Morning Like This

In college, I sang with the chorus for four years which was required of me as a vocal music education major. During that four years I learned and performed lots of music, but one piece stands out in my mind. In fact, I think about this song every Easter since then. We often performed at a local church on Easter morning, and one song we sang at least two different years was "Was It a Morning Like This?" That is a Sandi Patti song, and even though I have never heard her version of it, I can tell you right now it doesn't hold a candle to the way it sounded with our 100 voice accapella choir.
The lyrics are good, but the best part is hearing such a mass of people singing "He is risen, Hallelulah!" over and over. The entire song builds from a quiet simple beginning into a jubilant powerful exciting ending...focusing on the words "He is risen." It always gave me chills, and I loved singing it.
So today, after all these years, I went to the Harding bookstore web site and bought a CD that has that song on it. In fact, I am thinking that it might be the CD that my particular chorus recorded while I was at Harding. I never did buy a copy of it...until now, and that would be really cool if my voice is one of the many I will hear singing this favorite song of mine.
I'll turn the song into an mp3 and post it to my blog when I get the CD because it's a song that needs to be shared.

Easter

What a great celebration Easter was this year. There are several things that I really love about Easter, besides the fact that it marks the most significant event in history- Jesus' resurrection.
I love walking into church and seeing all the pretty pastels and flowing dresses, coming home after church and sitting down to a meal with extended family, and taking tons of photos of my kids as they play and enjoy life. I missed the sermon today but I got to experience something that probably drew me even closer to God than a sermon could. I got to watch my son's peaceful face as he dozed in a swing for almost an hour. He and I were the only ones in the room and there was nothing else to do but gaze at him, not that I wanted to do anything else.
My children remind me every day of God's love, and the perfect beauty we will enjoy in Heaven one day.

Mango

It's mango season again! Shout it from the rooftops! The best fruit in the world is going to be cheap and plentiful. I lived most of my life not even knowing what a mango is. Once I found them, I couldn't believe what I had missed out on for so long. Just in case you don't already know how to cut up a mango, here's a link complete with photos: cutting a mango

Kicking Myself

I hesitate to write about this because it makes me look bad. Yesterday at Ava's school Easter party, we all went outside to the playground to hunt eggs. Nate was squirming in my arms so I put him down and began taking pictures of Ava grabbing eggs. For a full 5 minutes I was watching Ava and the egg hunting activities. Then, I saw her teacher carrying a crying Nate toward me from the opposite side of the playground. In that moment I was shocked and horrified to realize that I had completely forgotten about Nate. It was as if I didn't even think he was there with us he was so far removed from my mind. I had never experienced that before and I hope to never experience it again. How could a mother forget that her child is with her and forget to watch after him? My friend Amberly thinks that I felt subconsciously safe to let him wander because we were in a gated play area with lots of friendly adults around, so I knew he was safe. But there was play equipment he could have hurt himself on, so I should have been paying attention to him. I got caught up in what Ava was doing and just forgot. It's embarrassing. It's a warning to focus. So there- I made a mistake and have shared something I am ashamed to admit.

The author I love

If I could spend a few hours talking with any dead author of my choice, it would be C.S. Lewis. I am amazed by his writing and deep understanding of the spiritual realm. He not only understands the deepest truths of Christianity but has a way of portraying them with the written word that makes them come alive in ways I have never experienced before. I am beginning to fall in love with the idea of Heaven for the first time in my life on account of his work. That may sound strange- who wouldn't love the idea of Heaven? I never had felt the longing for Heaven that I knew I should because of some misconceptions about what it is like and what I will be doing there. Admit it, we've probably all thought at one time or another that it might be boring sitting there singing for an infinity of years. We sometimes get wrong ideas about Heaven in our minds that can be hard to shake. But the book Beyond the Shadowlands, which is actually written by Wayne Martindale but is all about Lewis' writings, has opened up ideas of Heaven that are finally starting to make my mouth water. These are scriptural ideas, but things I have missed understanding in their proper way. When Lewis talks of them I think "Ah-ha! Why didn't I think of that before?" I highly recommend this book as an eye opening and stimulating read about Heaven (and Hell by the way, both are addressed.)

Couldn't do it again...

Last night, Cody was throwing the football straight up high in the air and catching it, as guys sometimes do. Suddenly, the ball got caught in a "v" where two large branches connect in our huge red oak tree. It was amazing that it balanced right there- totally stuck about 30 feet up. So then, Cody starts throwing one of his shoes trying to knock it down, and can you believe his shoe also got stuck in the same "v" with the football? I am hoping a squirrel will toss them down because I don't like it at all when Cody climbs into that tree and shimmies out on the branch so far above the ground. He did it a couple of times before to hook up the kids' swing. It makes me so nervous. I don't see how he managed to get both items stuck and I bet he could never do it again if he tried.

Got to see this....

My aunt and uncle go to the church that is selling these potatoes on ebay...it really must be seen. Love Potatoes

No Room for Hate

I just read a short article at usatoday.com about a scientist that has tried to account for a miracle of Jesus through natural occurances. His discovery is that instead of walking on water, as it appeared, there was actually a small patch of ice formed by "a rare combination of water and atmospheric conditions in the Sea of Galilee 2000 years ago." Now, I absolutely disagree. I don't think there needs to be any natural explanation for a miracle of Jesus. But, that isn't really what interested me most about this article. Listen to this line spoken by the scientist: "I get hate e-mail on the average every three minutes," Nof said. One e-mail called him "the most stupid person on the planet" and closed by wishing that he "go to hell where you belong." Hmmm. This is really sad. But, isn't it typical? When "Christians" get threatened or challenged so often they resort to hatred and attack. The very ones that should be immersed in and overflowing with Jesus' love, grace, mercy...are embittered with hate. Christians lashing out in the name of God isn't Godly at all.

Zoo

The kids and I went to the zoo yesterday. I know everyone has had this thought before- animals are so funny-looking. The images stand out in my head...the brown furry camel with two humps, the giraffe's long neck, the rhino's strange face-horns, the kangaroo's outrageously oversized back legs, etc. I find it impossible to believe that all of these different animals (and us) came from the same single cell ameoba. Even if it took zillions of years, I still can't see how that would ever happen. I do believe in evolution. It's evident that aimals do evolve within their species. But, I don't believe that evolution is the answer for how all these different animals came about.

Fantasy Over

My first season of fantasy basketball has officially come to an end. I was defeated in the first round of the play-offs. I had led earlier in the week, but the other team came from behind. I knew I was toast when the other team's star- Lebron James- scored 87 fantasy points in ONE game. Part of that was the result of a triple double. Ouch.
It was a fun year though, and I am ready to try it again next year. Cody and I were wondering what it would be like if the NBA players did fantasy basketball. It's probably not allowed. We wondered if some of them would draft themselves, or if that would be too egotistical. It would be funny if you personally knew most the people on your fantasy team and could call them up to check on injuries or scold them for turning the ball over too much.

Most Annoying...EVER

There is some annoying company out there bothering me with recorded message calls. I got two calls Thursday afternoon, and one Friday afternoon. I find it so annoying to answer the phone only to hear a recorded message. This one goes something like, "Hi! This is Nina with ___ Resort Services calling to tell you that you have been selected to receive a 4 night carribean cruise valued at 6,000 dollars for only $399! Press zero now to be connected with an operator." The first time they called, I hung up. The second time they called (remember it was the same afternoon) I pressed zero so I could get my number removed. You will not believe this, but I held for 30 minutes and finally hung up. Now, I did not just sit there holding, I rigged the phone to where I could hear the loud horrible tacky elevator music while I did other things such as clean, play with Ava, etc. Then when they called me AGAIN Friday, I pressed zero again and this time, I held 40 minutes! And after 40 minutes, it disconnected on its own. I have yet to talk to a real live person. I already have it all planned out, if I do get to talk to "an operator" one day. I'll act so excited to be getting this dream vacation at such a steal! I'll get the person's name and phone number, just in case we get disconnected (or in case they hang up in my face when I start to tell them how much I hate the calls I've been getting). I'll find out all about what company this deal is from, so I can contact them as well if need be, and then I will lay into them for disturbing my afternoons with their stupid calls. But part of me wonders if this really is a sales call. Maybe it's come strange psychological experiment where they call random people and see how long they are willing to hold...never intending to have anyone answer. I'm probably the record holder by now.