Wednesday, September 30, 2009

More Than You Wanted To Know

I have this problem. It's a very serious problem and I've had it for as long as I can remember. I tell things that I shouldn't. Not about other people. I'm really good at keeping those kinds of things to myself. No, I tell things about myself that I shouldn't. A good example would be when I was complimented on a new dress at work several years ago I said, "Thanks! I got it for $5.00 at the Goodwill!" Those of you who have been reading my blog for the last three years or so are probably thinking about the posts I wrote about my breast reconstruction and nipple tattoos. That may have been TMI as well, but I don't know how to stop and this post is just going to be more of the same.

This morning as I was fixing my coif I thought to myself, "Self, you really need to call Darlene about those roots." Or if I was His Girl I would say that I'm in desperate need of some hairapy. Before I left for work I told Todd I was going to spend some time grooming tonight. You know: plucking the eye brows; waxing the lip; maybe masking to get rid of the zit that popped up last night. That sort of thing.

As for my wardrobe, well, I just wore one of my usual comfy v-neck tees, jeans and my Crocs because they're about the only shoes that don't bother my blisters (another post for another day).

So I get to work and the Children's Ministry team is having their weekly meeting and they're all looking sharp. Of course, they're all young and pretty and always look good even when they're wearing something like, oh, I don't know. A t-shirt, jeans and Crocs. But today it was nice make up, great hair, cute outfits. Sharp. Then I remember they're shooting The Feed, a video announcement for Sunday mornings.

I'm standing at the copier making -- can you guess? -- copies, while the girls are talking to Dave, the videographer, about the video details. Then I hear my name and see all these slightly sinister smiles directed toward me. Turns out there were seven announcements and only six ministry leaders.

I tried to ignore them and kept copying, hoping and praying they would forget about me and go about their business. But no such luck. Now I'm going to have to witness all my flaws on the big screen Sunday morning. *cough* I feel a cold coming on. I'm afraid of hearing something like, "Man, that chick needs a shave," or some such.

And the worst part? I've just given a ton of people something to look for on Sunday morning. Why? Because I can't keep my yapper shut! Or my fingers still.

Oh well. I much prefer to be behind the scenes, writing a script or something like that. But it's all good. I'm just working for Jesus, keeping it real. Know what I mean?

Labels: church, job

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Friday, July 03, 2009

WHASSUP????

How is everybody? It seems like it's been forever since I chatted with any of you. Apparently I can't be a wife, mom, friend, employee and blogger all at the same time. Something's gonna hafta give.

I vote it's the mom part. My sole intention of having kids was so that they could keep my house clean and do my bidding and they're not doing a very good job of that. Although they did go to the store last night for Double Stuffed Oreos. There is that. But is that really enough??? I dunno.

My whole family has been through some head cold thing in the last couple of weeks. Taylor started us off a week before he and Katie were going to Michigan for Christ in Youth. By the time they left he was feeling much better, but Todd was sick. Then Monday morning I get a call from Katie in Michigan and SHE was sick. (Don't tell anyone because I don't want to mess up my reputation as a soulless mom, but it made me so sad that my baby was so far away, all alone in a dorm room and sick! I wanted to drive right over there and get her!) She's a toughie, though, and ended up having a great time there. I thought I had escaped...

...until Sunday night. My throat hurt, my ears were plugged, I was snotty. Shoot!! Monday and Tuesday were miserable with a low grade fever and sheer exhaustion. All I could think of was how did Katie ever manage. By Wednesday I was back to work and felt pretty good, but the fatigue from this fairly mild cold is insane! I've been trying to weed today and I don't get very far before I'm so tired I'm shaking. Or maybe it's just my aversion to weeding. Maybe a combination... Whatever.

In a little less than two weeks our church will be putting on Kids' Camp Galaxy - a free community event and we're expecting over 1,000 kids. Talk about a lot of work! I'm fairly heavily involved because of my position as the administrative assistant to Valley Kids, the children's ministry department. But folks, let me tell you something. I am in awe of these people who put this on every year. The creativity, the organization, the drama, the games, the lessons - these people put their everything into making this an outstanding event every.single.summer. And what's even more incredible to me is that they do it because of how much they care about children. I mean seriously care and want to make a difference in their lives! (I know what you're thinking. Why the heck do these people let Jen work with them?? Some mysteries will never be solved.) All kidding aside, it's very exciting to watch all this come together from the inside.

Well friends. I really have to go to the grocery store. Can I just take this opportunity to tell you how much I despise grocery shopping? I remember when the kids were young and the first time in what seemed like an eternity I got to go to the store by myself it was the coolest thing ever! Now I practically beg them to come with me so they can take half the list, but they always have plans. How convenient for them. I think their plans should include cleaning up the kitchen!!

So after all this griping about weeds and kids is it wrong of me to shamelessly plug the next post on Trippin' Through The Bible?? Whether it is or not, I'm going to anyway.

Labels: church, kids, TTTB

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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

How Do I Love Thee, Church? Let Me Count The Ways...

Now that school is out we're gearing up for Kids' Camp and Stretch at CCV. Kids' Camp is for kids 4-years-old through 6th grade and Stretch is for 6th through 8th graders.

There's a lot I could say about these events; how much fun the kids have, what great lessons they learn, all the work that goes on behind the scenes to make them excellent, the awesome volunteers, the incredible creativity -- but instead I'll just show you. These are videos from last summer's Kids' Camp and Stretch. Enjoy!

Labels: church, fun, kids

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Saturday, April 04, 2009

Hello, My Friends...

I have been very absent lately. For you, my fan, I am very sorry. Life just keeps getting in the way. But I'm here for a minute or two to give you a quick update of the last week or so.


About this whole depression thing - I have been on a very mild antidepressant for a little over a week now. I don't know if it's a placebo effect or if it started working quickly, but I can definitely tell a difference. Thank you again for your kind words and prayers. I don't think I can ever express to you just how much they all have meant to me.


Last Sunday we celebrated a whole year with Sookie. Can you believe it's been that long?? I can't. Do you remember how cute and fluffy she was? If not, just check out THIS post. What a little cutie!! She's not quite so little or fluffy anymore, but we still think she's pretty cute.




Todd's parents came in from SoCal Wednesday night to hang out with us for a couple of weeks. The kids are out of school part of next week and the day after Easter and now that the grandparents are here we have some good excuses to do fun, touristy things we maybe wouldn't do otherwise.


Katie was in the Spring play last night. It was set in the 50's and the kids looked so cute in their poodle skirts and such. I threw a pink felt poodle skirt sans the poodle together Sunday night. It took me about 10 minutes. And while I could have done much better if I'd taken the time, it still looked pretty cute. I mean, nobody could see that it didn't have a waistband and was held up by safety pins.

At the end of the play some of the kids came out and did the cutest dance. Katie's partner was a little - and I mean "little" - 7th grade boy and at the very end he jumped up and she held him. She's not so big herself, but she was definitely the heftier of the two.

Afterwards we went to a diner with THE most fabulous desserts with our friends whose daughter was also in the play. It was a fun Friday night and sure beat sitting at home watching nothing on the TV!


Today was Easter Eggstravaganza 2009 at the church. Oh.My.Gosh. At this writing I have no idea how many kids were there, but I do know they had to park people on the street. The wind was gusting and it was cold, but it didn't seem to keep anyone away.

The theme was Candy Land and all the classrooms were decorated as such. There were crafts and games in the different lands and really, it was phenomenal. We had a petting zoo outside and three different fields for egg hunts according to the kids' ages. From what I understand, we used all of the 30,000 filled eggs in the hunts. We also had food vendors and cotton candy and popcorn -- it was extraordinary. Oh! And guess what my job was. Coffee. Doesn't that seem appropriate?

We have outgrown the building we're currently in and it was originally built to eventually be the Valley Kids (our children's ministry) building. So we are in the process - and oh, so close to finishing - our new building which is much larger and will eventually be the student building when our campus is completed in however many years. All that is to say it would have been awesome if we could have used the new building today - our food vendors were outside and the wind caused a few problems. But still, I was amazed at how smoothly everything ran today and how many people showed up. Awesome stuff, that.


I guess that's about it for right now. My Mother-In-Law is cooking dinner tonight and I smell something really yummy downstairs. I think I must go investigate!!

Labels: church, depression, family, kids, random

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Sunday, November 09, 2008

The Week in Review

It doesn't seem like much has been going on and yet I have lots to share. And I know how much you all are dying to know the happenings of my life. *snort*

UPDATE ON TODD

Hearken back to Monday's post where I mentioned Todd's virtual forehead tattoo which says If It Can Go Wrong It Will. And as I said in Tuesday's post, the surgery may not have gone the best way, but it still went very well. Now let me fill you in on the rest of the week.

On Wednesday the oral surgeon called just to check on Todd and said he was probably at the peak of swelling so most likely it was pretty painful but he should have considerable relief by the next day. Not so. We went back in to the office on Thursday because the pain actually seemed to be getting worse. Or if not worse, at least different and as intense. Turns out he has a hematoma which is painful enough in itself. But it's also pressing on the nerve that runs in the jaw, causing excruciating pain and strange numbness. So they upped his pain medication and told him to come back on Friday. There was no change on Friday so they also prescribed Naprosin to help with the swelling and Valium to help with the muscle spasms caused by the nerve disturbance.

Did I not tell you If It Can Happen It Will? This is really par for the course for poor Todd. And sadly for him I am way low on the compassion scale. I'm the one that tells the kid with the gaping wound, "It's just a scratch! Rub some dirt in it, you pansy!" Not really. I've never said that or even thought it. But still, I was probably off chatting with someone and didn't hear my name called when God was passing out the gift of compassion.

Thankfully he's starting to get a little relief. It's still pretty painful, but nothing like it was. And Katie has stopped calling him John McCain because the swelling has gone down so there is that. We go back to the surgeon for his regular follow up tomorrow and hopefully things will be as they should be.

CHURCH

Apparently there weren't enough people who came to the new 8:00 service to make it worth it so they've gone back to only three services. Today I went to the 11:30 service like I used to and it was awesome! It's the service that most of the youth goes to so there's a ton of energy. Of course, it helps that I'm actually awake and have been sufficiently caffeinated. We also sang You Lifted Me Out by Chris Tomlin. Awesome, awesome song!

CHANGE IN STATUS

I've been thinking about going back to work after more than 13 years of being at home. This is an entire post in itself so I won't go into detail here, but I am starting to explore some job possibilities. I'm thankful I have the luxury to be a little picky and I know I won't work full time. Tomorrow I'll be chatting with someone about a potential position and we'll see. She may decide I'm not the right person or I might decide it's not the right job. I just pray I follow God's will in this and not my own.

REVOLVE 2008

This weekend was the Philadelphia Revolve Tour and our girls attended for the third year in a row. It was the first year, however, that I did not go. I was a little sad because it's such an incredible experience - not just for the teen girls, but for the women that take them as well. However, as I lay on the couch half asleep Friday night I decided it was a good thing I didn't go.

When I picked up Katie yesterday evening I felt loved by several of the girls who had hugs for me and told me they missed me. Whether or not they meant it or were just being nice, I don't care. It was very sweet.

If you have a preteen or teenage girl I highly recommend Revolve. It's an experience they're not likely to forget for a long time.

Taylor went with me to pick up Katie because he desired a little one on one with me on the way to the church and he missed his little sister tremendously. Oh, and because he would get to see Kristen for a couple of minutes. That may have had something to do with it. On our way home Katie was talking a mile a minute and finally Taylor said, "If talking was an Olympic sport you would bring home the gold in every.single.category! You can sprint and run the distance, all at the same time!" Truer words were never said.

She was sound asleep on the couch by 8:00.

Labels: church, job, medical, Revolve, worship

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Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Speaking of Writing...

I have my first post as a guest author up at CLEAR - The Blog.

Labels: breast cancer, church, CLEAR, writing

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Sunday, September 28, 2008

A Good Day??

I think today was a pretty good day despite the fact we decided to attend the new 8:00 service this morning. We've been going to the 11:30 service from the beginning, but now that we've outgrown our parking lot and building and need to spread out the attendance, the church has added a fourth service - 8:00. A couple weeks ago they asked for volunteers and Todd made me write on the attendance card that we would go to the 8:00 service until the new building is finished in April. APRIL! 8:00! A!M!

In case you're new to the party, I do not do mornings very well. So I consider this a sacrifice for Jesus because that's how I roll.

A nice little surprise was seeing my friend, Beans, at the same service. She came and sat with us so that was good.

Today's message was the first in a series called Everything I Learned About Life I Learned From The Beatles. That went a long way in assuaging my gripey, too-early, caffeine-deprived self because I love me some Beatles. Today's song was Help!, one of my favorites. Brian Jones, the pastor, transitioned nicely from the rock song to Psalm 121.

Another score! This is one of my favorite passages of scripture. I was challenged to memorize it several years ago in a women's bible study, only to cling to it and make it my anthem, if you will, when I was diagnosed. Funny thing is I just commented this very thing on our women's blog about prayers and such yesterday.

One more bonus about going to the 8:00 service is that we were home about the time we usually start getting ready for church. Sunday mornings have been slow and lazy, but I actually like having a longer day. Especially when it's rainy like today. Even if it does mean I have to get up earlier than I think is appropriate on God's day of rest.

I've also had some moments today I don't necessarily enjoy. I'm working on two separate writing projects, both dealing with cancer, and it makes me go places I'd rather forget about. But I know I have to - not just for the writing, but because ignoring the still raw spots don't make them go away. And I keep thinking I'm past the hurt, but obviously I'm not. Oh, it's very true that time heals old wounds, but the scars never completely fade.

But this stirring of emotions wasn't enough to ruin my day. Strangely, I think it added to the goodness. Because even though these memories remind me of sad and sometimes terrible things, they also remind me that my help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. The whole time I was in the bad and scary place he watched over me, never sleeping even a second. And it just doesn't get any gooder than that.

Labels: Bible, blessings, breast cancer, church, God, nostalgia, prayer, worship

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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Blah, Blah, Blah...

I feel like I've got nothing to say. "When have you ever let that stop you before?", you might be asking. And you're right! I've never let the absence of something to say stop me. So welcome to today's installment of Mundane Musings.

Remember a few weeks ago I was all pumped about starting Weight Watchers and I was going to take it one day at a time and yadda, yadda, blase' skippy? I did great for two weeks. Really awesome. Then there was a dinner and then a birthday and then another dinner and then a barbecue and then a movie AND a dinner and then, well, you get the idea. I've totally dropped the ball. Add to that trying to cut costs where we can and you have no more Weight Watchers' membership.

Like my sister said, why pay someone to tell her what she already knows. I still like the accountability and the tools Weight Watchers offers, but my actions are not making the money worth it. So I'm going to try this on my own and see what happens. I walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes this morning and hope to do another 30 minutes later today. I figure if I'm halfway careful about what I eat and do something for an hour a day then maybe, just maybe I'll be able to lose some of this.

This whole weight thing can make me very maudlin. (Maybe I should call today's installment Maudlin and Mundane Musings.) Again, it's all a matter of focus. When I focus on the fact my Fall weather clothes are tight and the image in the mirror and the discomfort while trying to tie the shoes, etc., I slip into that familiar funk. BUT when I focus on what really matters - my relationship with Christ - then it's not so bad. I'm sad to say my focus has been a little off. AGAIN. Thank God for my Home Team! They're like spiritual crack to the junky I am.

Which brings me to another musing. I've been busy going about God's business - working on the women's website for church. I LOVE it. I have so much to learn, but I'm having a blast. The challenge is exciting and watching this idea take shape is awesome.

That said, it's so easy for me to think I'm nurturing my spiritual life when I'm doing something like this - some type of service - or listening to Christian music or having deep discussions with friends or whatever. Those things are great in and of themselves, but you (read "I") can do these things and totally ignore God, fooling myself into thinking I'm doing what I need to.

Okay. So I guess that's a little confession for you I wasn't actually planning on making. Onto safer topics and more mundane...

Our weather is gorgeous. I love Fall. Seriously love it. Admire, adore, cherish, embrace, enamor, fancy, idolize, like and delight in autumn. I think we may be done with the 80's altogether. We may even be done with the upper 70's. Oh please, from my fingers to God's ears.

October is shaping up to be a busy but incredibly fun month. Something awesome in every single weekend. November will hopefully be a month of rest. Except my folks are coming to visit and we have a few fun things planned then, too.

Let's see. What else can I bore you with blog about? OH! Those of you who have been around a while may remember the mysterious skin issues I had the first half of 2007. I saw a couple different doctors and no biopsy, no test, no body could figure out what was wrong with me. Then the problem just kind of went away. Well, it's back. Thankfully not anything like it was last year, but I do get these terribly itchy welts in the same area for no apparent reason. They they just disappear. It's the craziest thing.

Alright. I think that's enough of nothing for now. But I leave you with pictures of Sookie and her BFF Brady. Brady comes over nearly every morning around 9:00 and they play for 30 minutes to an hour. Then they go home and take really good naps! Just like kids.

Labels: church, exercise, God, Health, homies, medical, photography, random, Sookie, weather, weight management

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Saturday, September 13, 2008

The Good, The Bad, and the Just Plain Wrong



This morning was the women's brunch at church. It was, as usual, awesome. I always come away feeling so... so... oh, I don't know. Pumped. Stoked. Charged. Psyched. Wanting more. (Beans - I'm so sad you weren't there! I missed you!!) Thankfully, there is plenty more to come. And plenty more for me to share as we go. In fact, I will probably do a more thorough post on today's brunch at a later date, but I've got other stuff to share today. Just know this morning's event was The Good. Or maybe I should say The Really Good.




My sleep quality hasn't been the greatest lately. It seems like the only time I get a good night's sleep is when I take Advil PM. But then I have a hard time getting up in the morning so I have to make sure I have about nine hours before I have to be awake. Which means I very rarely take the medicine and last night was no exception.

The alarm was set for 6:10 (because 6:10 sounds so much better than 6:00 on a Saturday) and I went to bed a little after ten. I slept great! I vaguely remember lightly surfacing from a deep sleep and feeling overjoyed at the wonderful night of sleep I was having.

I slept so deeply that I never heard the back window of Todd's truck break when the fist-sized rock was hurled through it. Nor did I hear the vandals nearly rip the dashboard off as they attempted to get to the stereo. I didn't even hear the doorbell when the policeman rang it somewhere between 4:00 and 4:30 this morning and I didn't notice that Todd had gotten up, mumbled something about the door and padded downstairs to see what was going on.

Very shortly after that, however, I did wake up and I watched the policeman and Todd look through his truck. I saw the policeman get in the squad car and drive off while Todd came up the walkway and into the house. Apparently some thugs came through our safe, quiet neighborhood, smashing car windows and performing mayhem upon vehicles parked on the street. As far as anyone could tell, however, nothing was taken.






We decided to stay here instead of going to New Jersey, hoping our insurance guy would get in touch with us today. Todd doubtfully called the concert venue to see if we could get a refund or a credit for our tickets and had to leave a message. Surprisingly, a woman from the box office called and while she wasn't able to give us a refund, we will get to choose a future event so we weren't out the money for the tickets.

I suppose I maybe got a little cocky in my last post, talking about how you shouldn't be jealous of me and all that. I've learned my lesson.




One of Katie's good friends from church lives next door to her grandparents. They also attend our church and are loved by everyone who knows them. Her grandfather is going through chemotherapy for brain cancer. As if that's not enough stress, the township they live in is wanting their land for another park, even though there are parks aplenty already. And the township isn't wanting to pay anywhere near fair market value. This is the first time I've ever known someone who may lose their home because of eminent domain.

I know most of you who read this blog don't live near here, but this can happen anywhere. You can read more about the atrocious situation at this website which has been set up for the purpose of disseminating information. There is also an on-line petition you can sign if you'd like to. But even if you don't want to read the website or sign the petition, please pray for these families.

Labels: blessings, church, injustice, worship, wrong

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Monday, September 01, 2008

WOW

Last night was a family affair at our church's youth group. My son played electric bass in the worship band, my husband worked the tech booth, I registered the students and my daughter? My daughter blew me away.

We have a large number of kids who come on Sunday nights so the youth is divided into two groups. At 6:00 the junior high kids (6th through 8th) have a worship service and the senior high kids just hang out. At 7:00 they switch. We are in between youth ministers right now and we have these incredible college students who are filling in while we're looking for the perfect fit. Last night was April's turn to speak and her topic was worrying.

She had called Katie earlier in the week to ask her if she would be willing to come up on stage and talk about her worries from a few years ago. Katie agreed so last night I stepped in to hear what she had to say. I hate to be redundant, but she blew me away.

Katie will be 14 in less than two months. She has a beautiful singing voice and I'm always amazed when she gets up and sings in front of a bunch of people. But I'd never heard her speak in front of a crowd before. My baby girl was replaced by an eloquent and poised young lady. She said she was a little nervous speaking to the high school kids because they're older, but you sure couldn't tell. She seemed so calm and confident and I was one very proud mama.

She told the audiences when she was ten her dad got a job in Pennsylvania so he quit his job in Little Rock. She said how she worried about moving so far away and not knowing anybody. She talked about how her mom got breast cancer before her dad had even started his new job and how she was worried her mother wasn't going to be around. She said her father came home every other weekend and how afraid she was her relationship with "Daddy" was going to change and not be close anymore. *sigh* So much for a ten-year-old to worry about. But she also talked about how her mom is okay now, how she has great friends and likes it up here, how she hasn't lost touch with her friends from Arkansas, and how she and her dad are as close as ever.

Apparently nobody told Dad what she was going to be talking about so it caught him totally unawares. Poor guy. I was standing on the opposite side of the tech booth and could hear him sniffing while one of the teenage boys who work in there with him was patting him on the back. Thankfully I was prepared, though it still choked me up. I'm not sure if it was because of what she said or because of the overwhelming pride I felt. Probably a bit of both.

Or maybe it was simply the fact that she's okay. All the trauma this family has been through and she's okay. She didn't come away scarred. She's a little less naive and a little more aware. But she's okay. And isn't that what every mother wants for her child?

Crossposted at Mothers with Cancer

Labels: breast cancer, church, family, Health, joy, kids, Mothers With Cancer, moving

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Monday, June 30, 2008

'LIL K ROCKS THE HOUSE

Katie was awesome last night. Some day maybe I won't be quite so shocked when I see her singing on a stage. But until the novelty wears off I'll enjoy the, "I can't believe that's my baby" and "Where did she get that incredible voice?"

Let me back up just a little bit here. You all probably think I believe my kids to be perfect. Every time I write about them it's pretty much something positive, never anything negative. I'm not trying to show them in a false light, I just figure the negative is their story to tell and it's not my place. I may be upset with them, but I don't want to humiliate them in such a public venue.

That said, Katie is grounded. Her grounding started Saturday afternoon. Her "infraction" was telling Todd and me a falsehood last week. When the lie was revealed I had two thoughts: 1) Disappointment because, well, she lied to us; and 2) Honey, if you're going to lie make it a good one. She would have been in some trouble and probably would have received a really good scolding if she'd told the truth. But instead she lied about it and ended up grounded for a week.

I had told her she couldn't go to Youth Group on Sunday night and she was not pleased, though she is accepting everything without pouting and flouncing so she gets kudos for that. This decision didn't sit well with me because I don't think it's right to use church as a form of punishment. But she just has so much fun there and she's not supposed to have any fun right now, dangit!!

One of the Youth Interns, Adam, came up to me at church yesterday morning and said, "Hey. I know Katie is grounded and you told her she can't come tonight, but can she at least come for the message? You know, you can bring her when the service starts and take her home as soon as it's over." This made great sense to me so I agreed. "But no hanging out with your friends afterwards," I told her. She was pretty happy with this small victory.

After church the kids and I were eating lunch at the table while Todd was doing some running around and I was telling Katie she needed to unload the dishwasher and pick up her mess in the basement before she could go to Impact (the Junior High portion of Youth Group). It was nearly 2:00 and the phone rang. It was Alex calling to see if Katie could sing. Talk about a HUGE surprise!!

She was incredibly animated - face-splitting grin, large eyes, barely keeping her feet on the floor - and she said, "I'm grounded right now so I'll have to ask my mom." Grounded or not, how could I say no? Especially when the very wise Taylor, better known as Smarty McSmart Pants, said, "You're not going to keep her from working for Jesus are you??" Yeah. That's what I live with.

So at 2:00 she and Taylor went down to the basement and they worked on the songs until nearly 3:00 when I drove them to the church so Katie would have a few hours to practice.

I like the format we use on Sunday evenings. Impact - 6th through 8th grade - has a worship service from 6:00 to 7:00. At 7:00 they get to hang out with their friends until 8:00 or so. Riot - 9th through 12th grade - gets to hang out from 6:00 to 7:00, at which time they go in for their service. They come out at 8:00 and hang out until about 9:00. This is a great way to do things because sometimes the message for the older kids is a bit more intense. This means, however, that the band plays twice.

When I got to the church a little before 6:00 with my friend, Kris, and her daughter, Shelby, in tow, I asked Katie if she was nervous. She said not for Impact (she is at the top as an 8th grader, after all), but she was a little freaked out about singing for the high school group.

She sang "We Won't Be Quiet" by the David Crowder Band and "Indescribable" by Chris Tomlin. And she was backed up by another new singer - a 9th grader. She has a few things to work on but some of those will be non-issues when she gets more than a few hours of warning. And as Frank Chiapperino (the current Big Kahuna of Youth Group while we're looking for a new Youth Minister) said, she has 5 years to hone her skill with the Youth Band.

One of the techies taped her performance and will be emailing it to either Todd or me. She was a little disappointed in her performance - even though EVERYONE told her she was amazing - so I don't know if she'll let me post it or not. The fact that this was the first time she's ever sang with a live band and had no time to prepare didn't seem to mean much to her. During Impact she started "Indescribable" out of key because she couldn't hear herself over the band. But she got it pretty quickly and by the time she sang for Riot she was pitch perfect. And she mixed up some of the words in "We Won't Be Quiet". Hello. First time ever. Last minute thing. Not much practice. HELLO!

Unfortunately for her, it all had to end. She's back to being grounded.

Labels: church, kids, music, worship

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Sunday, June 29, 2008

AVMDIJ & "More"



Stop the presses!! Have I got a news breaking headline!! And this isn't even part of today's post!!

A few weeks ago I told you Katie had tried out for the Youth Band at church and had made it. She wasn't supposed to start singing for another month or so, but she just got a call from the Student Worship Leader, Alex, who asked if she could sing tonight. TONIGHT PEOPLE!! She hasn't practiced - heck, we just went online to see what songs they're singing tonight - but she's up for the challenge. Taylor is practicing with her in the basement while this goes to press.

So guess what I'm doing tonight? Instead of just hanging out with Todd while the kids are at Youth Group, I'm video taping her debut. If I get her permission and I figure out what I'm doing (I'll be checking with Sing 4 Joy) I'll put it on YouTube or GodTube and post it later in the week. I know she's more than capable, but since this is her first time and it was a last minute thing it may not be up to her standards. I'll let her make the call.










Today the worship team sang this song during communion. This song holds such a special place in my heart because when Katie was about 9 or 10 we were chatting in the car and I told her I loved her. Instead of the usual, "I love you, too", or even more common, "I know," she started singing the chorus of More by Matthew West to me.



I love you more than the sun and the stars that I taught how to shine, you are mine, and you shine for me, too.
I love you yesterday and today and tomorrow. I'll say it again and again. I love you more.

Can a mother's heart get any fuller without completely exploding? Comparing a mother's love for her child to God's love for us is a common theme among parents. But what about a child's love for a parent? I remember thinking I loved my mom and dad more than they loved me when I was young. It's as deep and intense as it gets when you're a kid.

So if my child loves me that much (we always have these arguments over who loves the other more) how much more does God love me? I don't believe we have an adequate scale to comprehend it. I just know it's MORE.

Labels: church, God, kids, love, nostalgia, Verse of the Day

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Saturday, May 10, 2008

My Week in Arkansas, Part 3

**My ears are all plugged up and I've got that nasty, post nasal drip thing going on. Tomorrow is the Philadelphia Race for the Cure and my first time to walk since both my mom and myself were diagnosed with breast cancer. Which means it's my first time to do the Survivor Parade down the Rocky Steps (the Philadelphia Art Museum). I'm telling you right now, if I end up missing it AGAIN because I'm sick I will cry. Not just a little boo-hoo, but body wracking sobs. The kind that makes your eyes-a-ruddin' and gives you the hooty puckers. But I don't think it will come to that. Well, actually it may come to that just from the sheer emotion of it all. But not 'cause I missed it. I'll keep you posted.**

And now for the exciting conclusion to My Week In Arkansas. No doubt you've lost sleep from the anticipation.

Will our heroine finish the dining area? Will the living room be completed on time? Will the beautiful and sweet youngest sister fall prey to the scheming manipulations of her mean and jealous sisters? And if so, will anybody save her?

Not to worry, gentle readers. Today's installment will answer all your questions.

Sunday, April 27:

We all went to church with the folks. The last time we were all in the same church at the same time was five years ago so it was nice to worship together. Katie's second grade teacher goes to that church so I got to visit with her for a little bit. She finds it hard to believe Katie is in 7th grade and isn't always sweet.

*You know how when your kids' teachers tell you how sweet and well behaved they are and what a pleasure they are, yadda, yadda, yadda. Do you enjoy hearing it, but in the back of your head you're thinking they're only telling you that because they know you want to hear it and in reality your kid is a brat? No? It's just me??*

After church we went for lunch at The Cracker Barrel. When I lived in Arkansas I used to regularly meet a good friend of mine there for breakfast. Most of those breakfasts with Wilma turned into lunches. She and her husband, Ray, are very special to our family and I think of her as my spiritual mentor. They're about the same age as my folks and they all enjoy each others company so when I half-jokingly said the night before that I didn't feel right about going to Cracker Barrel without Wilma Mom said to invite her and Ray. So they met us there and we had a great visit and the food wasn't bad, either.

Finally it was time to get back to the house and pick up where we'd left off. We got about four hours or so of work done Sunday. And we had, of course, ice cream for dessert.

Note to Terri - Yes, we did comment on the lack of paint fumes, but that's the way they work. They mess with your brain so you can't smell them. Really.

Monday, April 28:

We pretty much jumped right into work on Monday. It was our last day to get everything finished so we didn't waste any time. The dining area, the hall and the entryway were completely done which left the living room. Shelli and I worked in there while Terri did all the running around, straightening, hanging up stuff and those little things you don't think about but take up a lot of time.

The painting finally got done, curtains were hanged, switch plates replaced, furniture moved back... And this is what we have to show for it:

The dining room:




The living room:



And Terri's handiwork over the kitchen cabinets:



All our work paid off and everything looked fresher, cleaner and quite nice, if I do say so myself. Which I do. And my mom wanted me to say that she's very glad we didn't keep the wallpaper. She was pretty worried for a day or two when she saw what a mess I'd made of the walls, but it all turned out okay in the end.

After days of hard labor we decided to celebrate. So we had ice cream.

Tuesday, April 29:

I'm pretty sure Terri and Michele felt the same way I did Tuesday morning. Excited to be getting home and sad at having to leave. We had flights out of the Little Rock airport close to the same time so Mom and Dad dropped us off together. After we made it through security we went to Starbuck's for breakfast while we waited for our planes. That was nice, too. Again, the last time it had just been the three of us together (except for when we drove to Baskin Robbins) was when I was having those scans almost three years earlier.

Neither Terri nor Michele abused me much, if at all. Or else I'm so used to it I didn't notice. I think, however, it's because there is power in the written word and they knew I'd tell on them for all the world to see. Or the five people who read this blog.

All joking aside, I was so happy we managed to coordinate our schedules and do this for Mom and Dad. Not even the painting so much, but just all of us being together. That doesn't happen very often anymore because for one thing we're fairly spread out. But more than that, Terri and Michele have grown children - also spread out and some with families of their own. So it's a bit of a balancing act on their part - who are we going to go see this time. Even if we spent most of the week painting it was just great to be together.

Labels: church, family, home improvement, joy, Race for the Cure

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Sunday, April 20, 2008

They're Coming To Take Me Away...

Katie and I were eating ice cream cones the other day while discussing good nutrition. She said she was going to work the ice cream off in gym the next day. I said I was going to work it off in bed that night MEANING IN MY DREAMS. The kids started laughing and Todd snapped his head up and said, You mean it's that time of year already? Yeah. Funny guy.

***

That same afternoon was Taylor's first day at his new job. The grocery store didn't pan out, but he did get a job with a lawn care service. Four of the six yards they worked that evening were in our neighborhood, one of them right next door. So while he was using the trimmer I snuck out behind our shed, humming the Mission Impossible theme, and took a picture of him. I don't think I got a picture of him on his first day of school, but by golly I got a picture of him on his first day of work.

I was soaking in the tub when he got home and didn't actually see him until the next morning. But he told Todd one of the guys asked him if that lady taking a picture of him from behind the shed was his mom.

Friday night we went to dinner with our friends Dave and Barb. We were talking about my exceptional stealthiness and decided it would have been hysterical if I'd gone across the lawn and said something like, "Does my big boy need some water?"

***

Yesterday was the Women's quarterly brunch at church and it was, as usual, exceptional. Now I can hardly wait until June! I have to find new friends to sit with, though. Some of the ladies at my table were rather boisterous and we got in trouble. When you're quiet and subdued like me those wild women can be a bit overwhelming.

Labels: church, family, humor, job, kids

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Monday, March 17, 2008

A Monday I Like

First of all -

I hope you're all wearing green. Otherwise you might get pinched. Unless you're into that kind of thing...

Second of all -

It's the first official day of Spring Break!! I didn't have to get up early! Poor Todd, though. He still has to go to work. I did wake up long enough to tell him goodbye.

Third of all -

Katie was up before the rest of us and made both plain and chocolate chip pancakes. She's an awesome pancake maker, a skill she must have gotten from my mom because she sure didn't get it from me.

***

Because I'm still fighting this crud I didn't go to church yesterday morning. So I had church with Beth Moore. It was great.




Katie ditched youth group last night to stay home with me and we watched North and South. *sigh* Her squeal of delight when they both finally came to their senses was worth it.

Labels: church, family, food, holidays, movies

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Sunday, February 17, 2008

What's Been Going On

Wednesday night Todd and I went with Ben and his fiance, Katie (not to be confused with our Katie) to a Shane and Shane concert. For those of you who aren't familiar with contemporary Christian bands you probably have no idea who they are. They're a pretty awesome accoustic (mostly) band and a lot of fun to see. David Nasser was there as well. This guy is a great speaker and what a story he has to tell! He was born in Iran, saw his father dragged from his house and had a gun held to his own head when he was 9. Somehow his family managed to escape to America after that. He went to church with a high school buddy when this friend told him the five hottest girls at school went to the same church. He eventually became a Christian and is a very funny, gifted speaker with quite a powerful message. There's a ton more I could say about him, but I won't. Just suffice it to say that our "Valentine's date" was great!

Friday night we watched the fourth disk of season one of the Gilmore Girls. I had to keep asking myself, "Gilmore Girls or Prison Break"? You know, my two favorite television shows are LOST and Desparate Housewives. Those are the two shows I don't like to miss. Every other show on TV I can do without. I'm pretty sure I could draw comparisons there, too, and maybe narrow down my favorites to just one night a week. Nah...

Saturday morning was the quarterly ladies' brunch at church. What a bunch of fun that is! I'm a little sad I have to wait three more months for the next one. After that Todd and I went walking at the park. I thoroughly enjoyed it except for the fact it was around 30 degrees and a bit windy. It was my first taste of being ready for Spring.

Everybody is off tomorrow and I have no idea what we're going to do. All the stuff I'd like to do is outdoor stuff and it's too cold for that. Movies are expensive and the Camden Aquarium (like I'd been thinking about) is going to be mega-crowded. The kids are harder to please now that they're getting older. Gone are the days of driving to the really cool looking gas station with the Espresso Bar inside and giving them a thrill. Heck, it's even lost some of its appeal to me.

OH! Katie and I bought about 50 pounds of candy on Friday for our DVDathon and I found a green bag of nothing but green M&Ms. If you don't know the significance of green M&Ms - and it's not because St. Patrick's Day is around the corner - you can read about it here. There's a hoochie-mama green M&M on the front and it says, "The New Color of Love". But that's not the funniest part. In smaller letters under said hoochie-mama it says, "Sweetie... it's all true."

When we got home I told Todd I had a surprise for him. After pulling the Milk Duds and Twizzlers and Sour Gummy Lifesavers and Goobers out of the bag (and I can't figure out why I'm not losing weight) I pulled out the M&Ms and threw him the bag. His first words were, "I don't need these!" Silly boy. I bought them for me.

Labels: church, friends, fun, God, holidays, love, movies, random, TV, weather

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Okay, I'll Spill

FRIDAY

I really wanted to crawl back in my bed after the kids left for school. It was cold and the funk was still upon me. But I couldn't give in to it because it was my turn to host Home Team. God is so smart that way. If it had been at someone else's house I'm pretty sure I would have succumbed to the warmth of my comforter. As it was I had to "attend" and I knew it was exactly what I needed. My "homies" (as one of the ladies calls us) were the perfect prescription for what was ailing me. By the time they left my soul felt as light as a feather. I love my homies.

After all they did for me I was rude and kicked them out so I could make it to the preschool Christmas lunch. It's the only place I can think of where ladies will sit around a table laden with delicious holiday food and laugh about snot.

That evening was our neighborhood ladies' ornament exchange and I had planned on going, but by Friday afternoon I was in a lot of discomfort from the procedure so I stayed home. Todd's Christmas present came early - a 46" Sharp Aquas - so we watched one of the best movies EVER - Live Free or Die Hard. Except I fell asleep on the love seat.

SATURDAY

I removed the last of the dressings Saturday morning. There was no whiskey involved because: a) we don't have any in the house; and b) I was going to a brunch at church and I didn't think smelling of liquid courage at 9:00 in the morning would endear me to anyone. Neither did I bite on any leather as I didn't want to leave teeth marks in one of Todd's belts. So I did the next best thing. I sang while I pulled the tape off. And not well, either.

No balloons or streamers were necessary. It was a non-event. Like taking a band aid off a paper cut. No biggy.

As I said, there was a ladies' brunch at church that morning and once again God knew exactly what I needed. I thoroughly enjoyed everything about it - scrumptuals, coffee, gabbing with friends, making new friends, an Anita Renfroe clip, a devotional and a bible study. It was another soul-lifting experience.

SUNDAY

I'm afraid I may have mislead you all into thinking I did something really embarrassing at church, but it wasn't SO bad. Seven short clips from Christmas movies were shown and we each wrote down what we thought they were. After the last clip our Director of Adult Ministries had us call out the titles. The first six were easy --

Home Alone
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Fred Clause
Christmas Vacation
The Santa Clause 3
It's a Wonderful Life

Most of the congregation knew the movies so I just sat quietly and let everyone else yell their answers. The last clip, however, stumped the crowd. Someone yelled out Miracle on 34th Street, but that wasn't right. When it became obvious no one else was going to confess to knowing what the last movie was I blurted out Bad Santa.

Both the kids were working in the children's classes and Todd was home sick with an upper respiratory infection, leaving me sitting by myself. All of a sudden there were somewhere around 300 pairs of eyes on me while I was trying to convince them it was an educated guess. Which it was. But I don't think anyone believed me.

Anyway, I won the annual fruit cake for my mad Christmas movie skillz. And here's the funny thing. The reason I thought of Bad Santa was because it looked like Sarah Silverman in the scene. My thought process went something like this:

It's Sarah Silverman

I don't like Sarah Silverman

Sarah Silverman is bad

Bad Santa is bad

Must be Bad Santa

Turns out it wasn't even Sarah Silverman. By using my stellar powers of deductive reasoning I have come to the conclusion that Jesus wanted me to have the fruit cake.

FOLLOW UP

Remember the drawing by one of the preschoolers I told you about? I took a picture of it with my phone this morning. How funny is this??

Labels: church, food, friends, fun, God, joy, movies, random

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Saturday, November 03, 2007

Revolve Tour 2007



Katie and I just returned home from an all nighter with the teen girls from church. Here's a quick synopsis 'cause it's all I've got the energy for:

38 girls from 6th to 12th grade
5 adult women
1 school bus full of females into Philadelphia
30 to 40-something steps up to our seats
1 stadium full of screaming girls
2 rooms at the church for sleeping - one quiet/one not so much

And that was just Friday night. Today was more of the same. I had a broken seat, my knees hurt, the noise was deafening - IT WAS AWESOME!!

*whew* I'll post more when I'm not quite so mind-numbingly exhausted!

Labels: church, friends, fun, God, joy, kids

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Monday, October 29, 2007

Weekend Update

KATIE

I'm very pleased to report Katie is doing well. No adverse effects from whatever she ate Saturday night. I don't believe she ate a whole peanut because I think the reaction would have been much more severe. What's likely is she ate a little bit of a peanut. Still more than is safe for her, but we thank God she's okay.

Is it wrong to coddle a 13-year-old? Because I can safely say she was sufficiently coddled yesterday. She stayed in her jammies all day and we watched The Bridge to Terabithia (we both cried) and Jane Ayre. It was a lovely afternoon/evening.

TODD

Yesterday he was stiff and sore and had a headache. He stayed home from church with Katie and then went to Youth Group last night while I stayed home with her. Sleep was minimal last night and he complained about feeling sick. A trip to the doctor this morning confirmed what we suspected. A mild to moderate concussion.

Me: What did the doctor say?

Him: He said I'm concussed.

Me: He called you a cuss??

Him: No. He said I'm concussed.

That conversation never took place anywhere but in my head. Thought I'd share it anyway.

PIG TONGUE

Last night's theme for the youth group message was taming the tongue. Thus, the pig tongue gross out. Matt decided just to put the tongues in a plastic tub of water and the kids who were brave enough "bobbed for tongue". Sounds a bit like a make out game, doesn't it?

Labels: church, family, sick

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Friday, October 26, 2007

Pig Got Your Tongue??

This morning as I was playing on the computer washing dishes I received a phone call from my friend Barbara. Matt Silver - our Youth Minister - had asked her earlier if she could drive up to Souderton and pick up something for Sunday night's youth group. She had prior commitments and was calling to see if I would be able to make the 30 minute jaunt.

Not a problem since all I was doing was playing on the computer dusting and vacuuming so I said sure.

This is what I picked up:



Do you know what this is? No? Let me show you a closer shot:




Yes, folks. I drove to a meat packer and picked up ten pounds of pork tongues. Here's the conversation I had with Matt after I spoke with Barb:

Me: Am I going to gag when I see them?

Matt: Naw. They'll be in a bucket with a lid so you won't even see them.

Me: Phew!

Matt: Can you boil them for me?

Me: Laughing. Um, yeah. I guess. (It did sort of occur to me that I would have to see them, but I tried not to think about that.)

Matt: Great!

Me: What exactly are you going to do with them? (I was afraid of the answer.)

Matt: I'm thinking of something like bobbing for apples. Maybe I'll put them in a big bowl of spaghetti.

Me: *gasp* *giggle* You are seriously demented.

Matt: Yeaya.

So then my sister, Terri, calls and I tell her where I'm headed and that I'm going to boil them when I get home.

Terri: Oooo! It's going to make your house smell!

Me: Yeah. I was thinking about that.

Terri: You need to open all the windows and doors and buy a ton of Fabreeze and scented candles.

Me: Good idea.

Terri: Then you'll stink up the entire neighborhood and all the neighbors will talk about those crazy Arkansans.

Me: *snicker*

Terri: You know, "they go to the sex church and their Southern cooking makes the whole place reek".

Me: Thanks.

The drive to Souderton was beautiful, but wet. I found the place, went in the office, paid for the tongues, asked how long to boil them for, never got an answer because no one seemed to know, and was told to go back the way I'd come, past the stairs and to "customer pickup".

So I went back the way I'd come, past the stairs and started looking for "customer pickup". All I found were metal doors with ominous looking "Danger" signs. And the farther I explored the smellier it became. I finally went back to the office to ask for directions again. This time she told me to drive around, past the tractor-trailer rigs and the door with the stairs and ramp was customer pick up.

The person in the white lab coat, surgical cap and industrial eye and ear protectors
threw me. I was only there for tongues. What kind of experiments do they perform in there? Whatever. By that time I just wanted to get my bucket and go because I was afraid the stench was going to stick to my clothes and my nose hairs.

I drove back to town and called Todd as I pulled into the high school parking lot to pick up Taylor and Kristen.

Me: Guess what I have in the back of the car.

Todd: I have no idea.

Me: Pig tongues.

Todd: What?!?!

Me: Pig tongues. Ten pounds of them.

Todd: Why??

Me: Matt needs them for Sunday night and Barb was busy so I told her I'd go get them.

Todd: That's disgusting.

Me: It gets worse.

Todd: How?

Me: I have to boil them.

Todd: WHAT?!?! That will stink up the house for days!

Me: Yeah. I thought of that. And Terri mentioned the same thing.

Todd: Yeah.

As much as the thought of smelling boiled pig tongue for a week concerned me, what I was really afraid of was seeing them. All those tongues floating around in whatever liquid they're packed in. And then taking them out and putting them in my stock pot. Just the thought makes my tummy feel all squicky.

So after some thought I called Matt and told him I had the tongues, but I couldn't boil them here because: a) I didn't want to smell up everything; and b) I was afraid it would make me puke. I called Todd afterwards about something else and found out he had called Matt, too.

Poor Matt. He's coming by tomorrow to pick up the bucket and taking them home to boil. Sure hope they don't smell up his house!

Labels: church, gross

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