Thursday, September 28, 2006

Child therapy anyone?


So, what do you do with a child who is a total attention seeking, distraction to everyone around him kinda kid?  Here's the issue.  Jacob used to live down the street from us and now lives down the street from my church.  Jacob comes from a broken home (is it still considered broken if it was never put together correctly to begin with?) with his parents never marrying, though they have two children.  Jacob's dad is an alcoholic and possibly abuses drugs (I only know the alcohol issues to be 100% true) but Jacob's mom keeps taking him back, despite the fact that he lands in her in the emergency room occasionally.  So, you can imagine the home life for this child.  To the best of my knowledge, Jacob's dad is back in jail again for something.

With Jacob now living near the church, we get him for VBS and for Kid's Club, which started back up tonight.  When he lived near us, I feel like we had a better chance of making an impact on his life.  This is the child who used to knock on our door and say, "My parents are fighting.  Can I stay here for awhile?"  We worked with him then, and he was a relatively well behaved kid when at our house.  He had great manners, and the prayer skills he had picked up at Kid's Club were incredible when he would pray with us before meals.

Right before Jacob moved to the other side of town, he seemed to suddenly get worse.  He was suspended for school twice for violent acts, such as having an outburst where he would knock over desks etc.  Once he moved and we only saw him at the church, everytime we see him now, he is way out of control.  He says inappropriate things, and is constantly striving to be the center of attention.  We have tried ignoring him when he acts out, but the more we do that, the worse his behavior becomes until it gets to the point where we can't ignore him as it is impacting the other children.

He drives us all insane, but I feel like God has placed it on my heart to include him in the church, so we keep sending him the invitation letters for Kid's Club and VBS...and he always comes...and he always drives us nuts.  There is a song or a poem or something that says "We may be the only Jesus some people see" or something like that and this is how I feel about Jacob.  But there must be a way to reach this kid; to get him to behave.  To make him feel like he doesn't need to act out negatively to get attention.  It's like someone needs to throw a life preserver to this child and he needs to grab hold!  This kid is going to be in so much trouble as he gets older (He's either 9 or 10 now) unless something reaches him soon.  But what can we do in an hour and a half twice a month that will help him in the long run?



Monday, September 25, 2006

Just another manic Monday


That title is so much the truth today!  The morning started out rough.  JJ did not want to get out of bed and that never starts the morning out right.  I start out waking him up nicely, then I get silly with him, then we move to stern-mode but ten minutes later, it is finally the threats that propell him to his feet.  Can someone explain this to me?  Wouldn't it be a far more pleasant Monday experiece to get out of bed while mom is being good natured?  Why does it take "If you aren't up by the time I count to five you are not going outside to play after school."?  Those words not only get him up, but he gets up with this expression on his face that clearly reads "Woman, what is your problem?  I'm up already!"

After the waking up battle, we have the getting dressed battle, which always ensues anytime the waking up problem occurs.  Then he enlightens me with poison ivy.  Poison could find this child from twenty miles away!  He has it on his neck, his leg, his foot and of all places, his butt.  So I called the doctor and threw my Curves workout away to take him the doctor's this afternoon.  Before leaving for work, I threw all our bedding in the wash, got to work and Mondays in a church office are hectic.  Dealt with all that, left work, came home, put bedding in dryer, cleaned our bedroom, including the hardwood floors.  I am in the process of taking sorta dry bedding upstairs to redress the bed when Aaron gets home.

He informs me he has homework but he left it at school in his locker.  This is annoying especially as we are working on responsibility with him.  So, I call the Brit at work, who offers to take Aaron while I take JJ to the doctor.  So, Aaron and I head back to his school to retrieve the homework, so we have enough time for me to get him to the Brit's place of business and still be at JJ's school to pick him up.  Aaron runs in school and returns with missing homework.  Halfway to the Brit's job, Aaron informs me that he ran into his Social Studies teacher in the hallway, who asked him what he was doing back at school.  He explained he had left the SS homework in his locker.  The SS teacher then informed him the homework wasn't due until Friday....

SO!  I drop him off with the Brit and then get into the three ring circus that is the elementary school at 3:30 (which is why JJ always rides the bus, but with doc appt there just wasn't enough time).  Finally pick up child and we speed off to the doctor where we wait forever to be seen.  We manage to work on some of his homework while I knitted and eventually, prescription in hand for a steriod, we are leaving the doctor.   We drop off the prescription at the CVS nearest our home and then get home.  JJ immediately goes out to play and I immediately go upstairs to dress the bed.  Then it is try to invent something fast for dinner, which goes fairly well.  Aaron and the Brit arrive home, and dinner happens.  After dishes, it is off to the library (The Brit needed books and I offered to go) mainly because CVS called to say they are all out of the steriod until tomorrow but the CVS on the other side of town has it.  Once they agree to fax over the prescription, I agree to go out there to pick up the meds.  So, a stop at the library, then to CVS for the meds, then home again. 

The Brit has taken the kids to the park to fly the newly purchased Air Hog, so I collapse on the couch and manage to watch Dr. Phil (which I had recorded).  Brit and kids arrive home and directions are given for trash, litter, and baths.  After JJ's bath, there is medicine to deal with, ointment to deal with and reading to deal with.  Once children are in bed, there are lunches to pack and that brings me to right here, right now, in front of the computer, reliving this day.

Anyway, I'm cutting my hair tomorrow...it may be drastic.



Friday, September 22, 2006

The Green Eyed Monster


Why is it that as human beings we have a tendency to become jealous of things that we cannot control?  I guess I've always been a little possessive of people.  Once you are my friend, I want you to always be my friend and when I feel a relationship slipping away that I desperately want to hold onto because of how much I love/like/admire/enjoy that person, I feel helpless.  Then when it goes a step further and I feel as if I've been "replaced" it is really painful.  I hate it, but I'm trying to deal with it.

You have probably seen that email that floats around in cyberspace and lands in your inbox from time to time.  The one about friends being for a "reason, season or a lifetime."  In some cases, reason and season seem to go hand in hand.  A person is in your life for a season but also for a reason and in this case, I very much know what the reason was as far as how it corrospondes to my life.  The reason was a good one and I would do nothing to change it.  I would not want to rewind the clock to never allow this relationship to have never happened in order to avoid the hurt.  The reason was far too important and I would not be standing on the precipice of something important had this relationship never occured. 

Still it hurts.  But I think it may be time to move on where this aspect of my life is concerned.  I wish this person every happiness in the world and will continue to include this person in my prayers every night.  I want nothing but good things for her.  I owe her a thank you for the influence she's had in my life.  My door is still open, but the time for my feeling needy will now end.  Maybe there will still be a friendship going forward; only time will tell.  God gave me a gift in her, even if it was only for a season.



Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Anyone else find this disturbing?


I was reading this article today on MSNBC.com.  The basics are that a drunken man jumped into the panda pen, waking and and scaring the panda, which bit in him the leg.  The man then KICKED AND BIT THE PANDA BACK before he was rescued or got out of the pen or whatever.   But the last sentence of this article reads:

 “We’re not considering punishing him now,” Ye said in a telephone interview. “He’s suffered quite a bit of shock.”


And they are talking about the PANDA!  Would there really even be a considerion of punishing the panda now or EVER because a drunk scared the crap out of him and the animal reacted??  HELLO??  Why is it that when a wild animal has the audacity to *gasp* act like a wild animal that we, as humans, feel the need to retaliate and often the punishment is to kill them?  We are ones trying to make them fit into our little box!  Animals in the circus, in the zoo, whatever and if something "goes wrong" and a person gets killed, the animal is then destroyed. 

Okay, I'm off to find try to find an email address for this zoo.  I hope someone in Bejing can read English so they can translate to Ye just how ticked off I am.


Saturday, September 16, 2006

1-800-FEARBOX


I need a place to deposit fear, because it is really starting to hinder me.  I really don't want to have this fear, but I simply am not sure of what else to do with it.  I'd like to have a little box where I could put anything I'm afraid of,  place it on a shelf someplace and then just forget about it.  Fear just doesn't really serve us in any way, though I think sometimes people confuse fear with respect.  What I mean is that, to give an example, I don't fear the ocean, but I do have a healthy respect for it.  But that paralyzing kind of fear...it's just useless.

One great thing about Christian Fiction authors is that they are fairly accessible.  I have emailed and have gotten responses from Karen Kingbury and Dee Henderson in the past, who are two of my favorite CC authors.  Well, due to Women of Faith, I located this blog which is written by four CC writers.  I enjoyed the blog so much that I spent a few days reading it in my spare time.

Yesterday, I came home with an overwhelming urge to write...not just to write, but to work on my original story.  It was like an itch that consumed me...I was ready and I was willing.  I brought up Word and then I froze.  I sat there, staring at a blank canvas and chickened out completely.  Was I really not a writer at all?  Was I afraid of committment?  Failure?  The task itself?  Tricking my own mind doesn't work as I tried it.  I attempted to tell myself that this story was just another one for my own pleasure.  No pressure.  Not gonna attempt publication.  Yeah, right.  Like THAT is going to work.

Feeling frustrated, I went to the Girls Write Out blog and clicked on Colleen's website, where I found a link to her email.  There, I asked the question:  The "is fear of starting normal" question.  I had a reply from her in ten minutes, assuring me what I was normal and giving me a link to American Christian Fiction Writers and highly recommending it for budding authors.  I had looked at this site before, but now, I plunged ahead and paid the $40 membership fee for the first year.  This site is a wealth of information. 

I started reading it today, going over various things until again, I became overwhelmed and had to step back for a bit.  There is so much there!  So many resources!  I need to digest it slowly and find my way around.

I need to start this book.



Thursday, September 14, 2006

Random Thursday


Have y'all noticed that even my random day is random?  I think it's kinda edgy.

Anyway, nothing major to report, but I haven't updated since my cranky day and I felt guilty.  Actually though, the week has been kind of dull and boring, which can, at times, be a blessing.  Nothing major happening at the church this week other than the preparation for the healing service on Sunday, which I think I'm ready for.   Here at home, things have been pretty quiet.

I may be trying the patience on a Brit with my knitting buddies escapades, but so far he is being good natured.  Next Saturday, I am finally going to get to go to the Yarn Basket!  I have a cat pattern that is my intention to knit for Paula for Christmas, but I need the yarn it calls for and this shop, (per their website anyway) has it!  So next Saturday morning there will be a small road trip to Chambersburg with Lisa and Sheri. 

Then the first Friday in November is Stitches East in Baltimore.  Well, it is that whole weekend actually, but we (as again in myself, Lisa and Sheri) are going to the market on Friday.  I love knitting shopping!  Just so much fun to walk around and see what folks are selling and making and if it was anything like the Sheep and Wool Festival, there could be some great bargains!  No, I honestly don't NEED yarn, but there is something so addictive about it!  You just see a color you have to have, or the yarn has a feel you simply have to partake of long term...it's way easy for me to get my crazy on! 

So, I did mention some knitting over the weekend and this time I did take some pictures! 



This is Sheri (on the left) and Deanna knitting away.  Deanna joined us from New Jersey this time as she was spending a weekend with Lisa:



Who is shown here as Annie makes her rounds for some lovin'.


For some reason, Micki loves to sit in a shadow.  The other picture I have of her is so dark as well!  Micki is an amazing knitter and I found out last Saturday that she is in the process of writing a book!  Something to do with where to yarn shop in New England.  Very cool and I will be one of the first to buy it.



I'm not sure of who Liz came with but she was new to our group and very cute!  She had apparently not knitted for quite some time and was very quiet while she concentrated, but insisted she enjoyed our chatter! 

Shell and Kelly were also there but their photo came out darker than Micki's.  Sorry, Shell, no formal blog mention for you tonight! 

And this I just took because it was raining so I drove JJ up to the bus stop.  I thought he looked exceptionally cute!



Despite the fact that he is challenged when it comes to making a normal face for a picture.  Little goober.



Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Maybe it's hormones


I always try to play nice.  Maybe too nice.  I was popping around ebay over the weekend and found some bamboo circular needles I wanted.  There was one other bidder, so I placed a bid and almost immediately the other bidder came in with a higher bid.  So, I looked around at the circs and found several other sets from the same seller.  My thoughts were "Well, this chick was here first and there are plenty of others to bid on."  So, I let the other person win and placed a bid on another set, which I won.  As that same seller still had several other auctions, I placed a bid on another set of a different length.  A day later, another buyer came in and bid, beating me, so I raised my bid.  Again, she outbid me...despite the fact that there were several other auctions of the EXACT SAME SET OF NEEDLES.  So, she won that auction while I moved onto another set.  Here she comes again.  Beat my bid once more, so I waited.  I waited until there was one minute and thirty seconds left in the auction and then I placed my highest bid.  She beat me as she had set her limit higher and I was unwilling to go any higher.  She's getting on my last nerve.  (Oh, and in case she's reading this...HI!  Nice to meet'cha!  Stop urinating in my cheerios, please!)

Then today, the kids were off school.  It is way too soon after having them at work with me all summer to have them at work with me again, on a day when I have two meetings scheduled.  Then it is off to "The Walmart" for groceries, where they proceeded to pluck from me the few nerves that greedy bidder lady left behind.  THEN, I watch Dr. Phil and find myself wondering if I have a hormonal imbalance or something. 

I can be the happiest girl in the world some days and then other days, like today, are just horrible.  My fuse is short, and though my kids are just acting like kids (at least I think that is the case) I am convinced that they know mom is just a few fries short of a Happy Meal today and they are using it to their advantage.  They have bickered with each other, argued with me, lied to me, manipulated each other and basically have done as little as possible today to make my life any easier.  I have spent the day reacting like a troll and knowing that I am reacting badly. 

When I find myself getting into these kinds of funks, I start to try to analyze it.  Am I maybe not happy with myself right now and that is what is giving me permission (in my own mind) to act like the dragon lady?  I am trying to get happier with myself.  I've gone back to Curves three times a week and am getting my food intake back under control after the insanity of summer.  Maybe once I progress down this road a bit further, the funkiness in my life with deteriorate. 

I also often think I am affected by weather and seasons.  It has been rainy and ugly out for the last two days.  The days are getting shorter and I know that winter (need I remind y'all that I hate winter?) is right around the corner.  My alone time has also been drastically shortened with Aaron starting middle school.  I leave work at 12:30 to head to Curves for my workout and then get home shortly after 1:00.  Aaron is home by 2:30.  Upon my getting home at 1:00, there are chores to be done; vacuuming, dusting, picking up after men, doing dishes (is there a law that says that the male sex cannot wash a cup or a cereal bowl?) etc.  By the time all of this is accomplished, child number one is home.  Then after the normal "How was your day?" pleasantries, comes the barrage of questions that don't really need to be asked as there is a routine that has been followed for three years now.  The routine is basically: come into house, talk to mom, have snack, do homework.  Easy, right?  But instead what I get is:  Mom, I'm hungry.  Mom, can I have a snack?  Mom, what can I have?  Mom, can I have this?  I don't think any of this would bother me so much if the word "Mom" did not precede every sentence....every single time.  AND even worse than that...after the "mom" that precedes every sentence, there is a beat of silence as the child will not continue his thought until I say "What?" or "Yes, Aaron?"   What is that all about??  Do they outgrow this?  We're the only two people in the house, so it isn't like I don't know who he is talking to! 

So, by the time the homework is finished is Aaron has found himself something else to do, in comes child number two.  Child number two is always full of little tales and tidbits of information about school.  Not a problem.  But once all that is finished, he then proceeds to never have another silent thought.  He voices everything and if he runs out of things to say, he sings.  Loudly.  By the time this child is on his merry way out to play, it is time to start dinner.  Then time to eat.  Then time to do the dishes.  Enough said.

I'm just cranky today.



Monday, September 11, 2006

Remember Me



Met in the Stairwell

You say you will never forget where you were when you heard the news, Sept. 11, 2001. Neither will I.

I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room with a man who called his wife to say "Good-bye." I held his fingers steady as he dialed. I gave him the peace to say, "Honey, I am not going to make it, but it is OK...I am ready to go."

I was with his wife when he called as she fed breakfast to their children. I held her up as she tried to understand his words and as she realized he wasn't coming home that night.

I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a woman cried out to me for help. "I have been knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!" I said. "Of course I will show you the way home -- only believe on Me now."
I was at the base of the building with the Priest ministering to the injured and devastated souls. I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He heard my voice and answered.

I was on all four of those planes, in every seat, with every prayer. I was with the crew as they were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the believers there. Comforting and assuring them that their Faith has saved them.

I was in Texas, Kansas, London. I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news. Did you sense Me? I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew every name-though they did NOT all know Me. Some met me for the first time on the 100th floor. Some sought me out in their last breath. Some couldn't hear me calling to them throughout the smoke and flames, "Come to Me...this way...take my hand." Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me. But, I was there.

I did not place you in the Tower that day--you may not know why, But I DO. However, if you were there in that explosive moment in time, would you have reached for Me? September 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey for you. But someday your journey will end. And I will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are "ready to go." I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.

God

Copyright©2002 Stacey Randall




If you haven't already read it, you can go here to read my true story that happened the Saturday following September 11, 2001. 
My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who lost a loved one that day, and with our world as we plunge ahead in uncertain times.



Saturday, September 9, 2006

Just had to share this...


Okay, so today after getting home from the knitting group, I was sitting down to finish the book I am currently reading.  I have been  absorbed in the Yada Yada series by Neta Jackson.  These stories are excellent and not only Christian fiction, but they also deal with diversity in cultures and race in a very real way. 



Anyway, in conjunction with my post last night about the healing service, as well as in regards to Irish Church Lady's comment, I was coming up on the end of the book and though the topic of conversation didn't really cause me to go "Hmmm" at first, these sentences did.  All credit, of course, goes to Neta Jackson!



"Girl, it's just like Avis said a couple of weeks ago.  If Hoshi didn't forgive Becky Wallace, she be lettin' that woman hurt her all over again every time she thinks 'bout what happened.  But you watch.  A little forgiveness goes a long way.  Gonna take the sting out."



Then it goes a little further, as the main character contemplates those words:



"Maybe Florida was right, though; maybe God wanted us to forgive people for our own good too.  Even people who didn't say 'sorry'."



Some of you may find my getting to that part of the book today after writing what I wrote last night, coincidence, but I must beg to differ.  After all, coincidence is when God choses to remain anonymous.



Have a great weekend!




Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt


PSHunt




Okay, so I came up with two pics from our knitting group today for the Food theme:

 
This is Annie, the dog belonging to the Episcopal Sisters, which is where we knit once a month.  She's jonesing for a bit of Kelly's sub.



And this is too adorable!  I little knitted cupcake from Deanna!



Friday, September 8, 2006

To Heal or Not to Heal


Let me say first off that as far as tomorrow's Photo Hunt....I got nuttin'.  The theme is food and I have wracked my brain all week to think of something interesting to photograph that falls under that blanket and I have come up empty.  So, unless something interesting and edible is presented at tomorrow's monthly meeting of Fiber Fanatics, I am out of the game this week. 



I try not to talk too terribly much about Christianity in my blog because I know I have readers who are not Christian.  However, with that being said, my faith walk is a huge part of who I am, so I can't always avoid it nor do I want to. 



I was going to write and rehash this whole exodus thing, but in sitting here, I've decided against it. Now, the reason this has come up is that our wonderful interim pastor has decided that next Sunday, we will have a healing service.   A service of healing of all that transpired at my church last year and in the two years before that when people for whatever reason became unsettled.  On a larger spectrum, I think a healing service is a great idea; very cleansing.  But on a personal level, I'm not sure I'm ready to heal.



I'm still so hurt by the whole thing and at times, I still get really angry.  From my point of view, there was just so much hypocrisy that transpired.  A Unity Service the night before the vote.  At the time it seemed like a good idea (though I did not attend) until in retrospect, you realize that the unity was only for "those of us" who didn't share the same views as those that left.  Fact is, those who wanted to leave the ELCA were certain that they were going to win the vote and they wanted "us" as a congregation to stand with them when "we" lost the vote.  When we didn't lose the vote, all promises of unity were off.  That was hurtful.  We were expected to "suck it up and deal" if we lost.  What was apparently really the case was "you are expected to be united providing things go our way."  The whole unity service now feels like nothing more than some self created drama, intended to make those of us against leaving the ELCA feel guilty.  It feels like my church of 25 years was used for someone's personal agenda.  It was never about true unity.  If it had been about that, our church would still be whole and half the congregation would not have left to form their own church when they lost.  They expected us to unify, but once the tables were reversed...well, that was a different story obviously.



See, the thing is that I had made the decision to unify.  Actually, God made that decision for me.  The night before the vote, I was attempting to sleep in the living room (as my upper arm was broken and bed sleeping was just not an option).  I wrestled myself all night about what to do.  I was certain "they'd" win.  Sure of it.  So what my mind was mulling over was "What am I going to do when the vote goes through?"  Do I stay?  Do I leave?  Do I stay for awhile and see how things go?  I pined over this all night long, only dozing intermittently. 



Then as the sun rose in the sky, I did what I should have done hours before.  I prayed and asked God what I should do.  The answer in my heart was almost immediate. 



"This is my church, my child.  I'm going to protect my church.  So no matter what happens today, it will be my will.  If it is my will, why should you leave this church?"



It all made sense.  Christ loved the church.  He was not going to allow harm to come to it.  Yes, it was a building, but it was the people who would continue to worship in that building who would make up the church and it didn't matter if there were 300 of us or 100.  God would provide for us.



Against what I consider to be incredible odds, the vote to leave the ELCA did not go through. There had to be a 2/3rds majority and it didn't happen.  I knew in my heart that God's will had been done and though the other group said prior to the vote that whatever happened would be God's will and we would all move forward together, again that didn't happen.  Instead, they left.  They said slanderous things about those of us remaining.  They've told others that my church was getting ready to shut down.  I'm not talking "them" as a whole, but certain individuals.



I know I am supposed to forgive and with most things, I don't have a real big problem with forgiveness.  But when the hurt takes place within the body of Christ, the wound is just much more painful, and every new hurt that is brought to light or repeated causes it to bleed once more.  Maybe it isn't really a case of not wanting to heal, but more of wondering if healing is possible. 



The other piece of this that troubles me is that for so many years, I have tried to live my life by the words "judge not, lest you be judged."  I don't want to be judging those that left because they left.  I want to be able, with a clear heart, to wish them all the best and every blessing in their new church.  I truly want that, but I'm not there yet.  I'm closer than I was six months ago, but still struggling...and I wasn't even in the heat of the battle.  I was an outsider to both "sides", observing, and listening.



So, pray for me.  I'd like to be able to walk into that healing service with a heart ready and able to heal and right now, that feels a long way off.




Wednesday, September 6, 2006

Reoccuring Weirdness


So, I keep having this dream from time to time.  There are elements of the dream that are always the same and some bits are always different.  The constant in this dream is the whales.  I may or may not have mentioned in the past that I adore marine life and if I had to pick a favorite, it would be the orca (or killer whale for those of you who know them by that name).  I'm always at some kind of marine park where there is this attraction where you can ride this insane kind of water slide thingythat pretty much allows you to view the orcas in their natural habitat at close range.  In the dreams, I am aware that I have ridden this attraction before and my goal is always to ride it again, but things get in the way, which is how the dream changes.  The odd part is that no part of my day yesterday had anything to do with marine life but I'm also thinking that this dream has some deeper, more hidden meaning.  Generally, I don't lose any sleep (snicker) over dreams, but this is the only one I have had more than once.  So, any takers?

I haven't updated since the weekend (and thanks to all of you for your comments on the Photo Scavenger Hunt!) so I trust y'all had a nice long holiday weekend!  We enjoyed it, but by Monday, I was ready for the kids to get back in school.  You know that saying where the parent gets up and walks to another room and the kid says, "Where you going?" and the parent says, "Crazy, wanna come?"?  Well, here is how that one goes down in my house. 

Monday, JJ is yapping at me and yapping at me and yapping at me, so finally, unable to take it anymore, I get up to go walk into the kitchen to scrounge up some lunch.  Then the question, "Mommy, where you going?"  To which I replied, "Crazy-." I was then cut off by his little voice saying, "Can I come?"

So, I have actually knit up two baby hats to give to the sisters on Saturday at our knitting group!  (Reminder to Brit...knitting on Saturday).  It's nice to know I can finish something.



Friday, September 1, 2006

Saturday Morning Photo Scavenger Hunt!


                                          PSHunt


                           

                          Today's theme is "On the Road" so here we have Jarrit's first driving lesson

(Just to set everyone's mind at ease...the Brit was inside the eye doctor, the car was parked and the ignition was off!)

Post Script:  Everyone is asking how I "thought of" this.  Well, I didn't!  Last Saturday when I posted the hunt photo, I looked to see what next weeks was.  Then the family went out to run errands.  I always carry my digital camera with me for blogging purposes, and when we were stopped for the hubby to run into the eye doctor, JJ climbed into the driver's seat and pretended to drive.  As soon as he did it, I knew I had my picture for next week!



Our finest


Remember awhile back I was telling y'all about Mailcall?  Well, this week, Hagerstown's finest have been perfecting that mountain out of mole hill skill they are already quite proficient with.  Some poor girl apparently called in and blew off a little steam, probably after a tiff with her mother-in-law.  Now c'mon...if you have a mother-in-law, you can understand this.  I love my MIL, but there are times that we clash a little, if for no other reason, than because we are both woman, and we know how we get!  So anyway, this poor girl called in and stated this:

"I'm looking to replace a mother-in-law. Can somebody out there suggest a good mother-in-law? Thanks."


Now, we've all felt this way at one time or another, and I thought her comment was innocent enough.  But then, two days later, she was being blasted....




"I'm calling about the person that had the nerve to write in to Mail Call on Monday, Aug. 28, saying 'I'm looking to replace a mother-in-law.' My mother-in-law is gone, and I wish very much that she was here, so just be thankful your mother-in-law is here. I know they're not always great, but they're good to have around."


"I'm reading Mail Call on Monday, Aug. 28, about someone looking to replace a mother-in-law. Sure, I can suggest a real good one, but the problem is, you can't have her because she's mine."

"I'm calling about the person in Mail Call that's looking to replace their mother-in-law. I'd love to help you replace your mother-in-law, but I think I have the best mother-in-law in the world."

"Hey, I'm looking to replace a son-in-law. Could someone suggest a good son-in-law, maybe like Brad Pitt, or somebody like that?"


Of course, with not being a Brad Pitt fan, I think that last one is very misguided.

So, good news!  The prayer group is already six warriors strong!  I'm excited about it!  It's embarking out into the great unknown for me, having never done anything like this before.  I have confidence that God will bring together the group of women he wants together in this group and yes, I have a feeling there are more members coming!  Again, if you are interested in joining us, please go here and join!  We'd love to have you!

I went back to Curves and dieting this week and it went pretty well until tonight.  That TOM hit today and the need of chocolate was overpowering, so I caved a bit tonight.  I plan on getting right back up into the saddle tomorrow however!

Okay, I'm off to get the Photo Hunt picture ready to post!  Have a great weekend everyone!