living life Vertically Challenged

The Stalker Song

2010-01-14T06:52:00.001-08:00

I was reading a list of 'One Hit Wonders' for the decade and saw one of my favorites on there - You're Beautiful by James Blunt. When I first heard this song on the radio I thought, how sweet to write a song about your girlfriend telling her how beautiful you think she is. Then after I heard it a few times I realized he wrote it about a woman he passed in the subway who was "with another man" but just seeing this beautiful woman changed his life, blah, blah, blah. Okay so I felt a little disallusioned with this song. Then I saw the video that goes along with it. That was just downright distrubing! In the video while he is singing the song he is sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean. He proceeds to take most of his clothes off and in the end he jumps off the cliff. Soooo....because you realized you would never be able to have a relationship with this stranger you saw once in the subway, you are going to kill yourself? I think she dodged a bullet! So although I still like the song - I always feel a little disturbed as I am listening to it.

Then there's Hey There Delilah by the Plain White Ts - which I affectionately call 'The Stalker Song'. Again, I heard this song and thought what a sweet song to write to your girlfriend who you clearly adore. Then I read an article about how the guy wrote the song to this young woman he liked. They had met at a party or even gone on a date but she let him know that she was not interested. Now she has this song written about her that is all over the airwaves that makes it sound like they are clearly a couple. (Note to Delilah...run away...run far, far away!) So now when I hear the song I try to imagine it is really written about two people who are actually very much in love. But it still feels kind of creepy and I'll always think of it as 'The Stalker Song'.

family photos

2010-01-14T06:43:00.000-08:00

We took some photos for our Christmas card this year at the Christmas tree farm. They turned out pretty good - here are a few. Oh yea - and we had a great time cutting down our tree as well!

Christmas Traditions

2009-12-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

One of our traditions is cutting down our Christmas tree. The boys love doing this. Why? Because it is our family tradition and an adventure that we all do together. And putting up the Christmas tree has a 'magical' feel that we love at Christmas time. After we pick out our tree and cut it and haul it back to the barn to be shaken, we all sit around a picnic table drinking hot chocolate. We live in Michigan and some years it is unseasonably warm (50 degrees) and some years it is snowy and cold. But it doesn't matter because what matters to us is that we are doing this together - going on an adventure.

It was a tradition my mother started after the divorce when I was a kid. We lived in Cincinnati and to cut down your own tree you had to drive about an hour north. My mom packed up my brothers, the dog and me and we headed north. When we got there it really felt like an adventure for us - especially doing it without a 'man' to help. To me it felt like the four of us could accomplish anything as long as we were working together. After we got the tree secured to the roof of our car, we would begin our drive home. The first year, we stopped at a McDonald's for lunch and every year after that my brothers and I insisted we stop at the same McDonalds...."because it's tradition" we would inform my mom.

My husband, boys and I have other traditions we do together as a family during this Christmas season - some more meaningful to the season than this. But somehow this is always the most memorable tradition to me.

What's your favorite tradition?

the sacrificial mom strikes again

2009-12-01T11:45:00.000-08:00

It's a little embarrassing but for my 9 y/o son, i am learning the 'Thriller' dance with him. Now that is sacrifice. Look for us on youtube (if we ever learn it all!).

the sacrificial mom

2009-10-15T18:02:00.001-07:00

I 'got' to see the re-release of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in a 3-D double feature this week....twice. It was only going to be in theaters for two weeks. I promised the boys we would go. But on Sunday, our planned day to see this big ticket movie, one of my boys was sick - with mono. So I only took the two older boys promising the sickie that I would take him one day during the week while he was home from school anyway. So on Tuesday, I picked him up from school early (mono isn't as debilitating in a 9 y/o) and went and sat thru three hours of two movies-I-have-probably-seen-at-least-a-dozen-times-each.....again! I'm telling you, that is sacrificial love for you. The kind of sacrifice only a mother's love is willing to give.

I was looking forward to seeing the movies....once. They are definitely in my top favorite kid's movies - Pixar does it right! But twice in one week is just a little much. Although I did enjoy hearing each boy laugh during the movie - that makes it all worth it!

What's with the squirrels?

2009-10-05T08:25:00.000-07:00

I have had so many squirrels run out in front of my car lately. Is it because its fall and they are all in "gathering" mode right now? I don't know but I think the squirrel population is going to go down soon since they keep running out in front of traffic.

I am always thinking, "Do I swerve to avoid it or hope it gets out of the way?" I don't want to hit the thing but its not worth causing an accident either. Jay has noticed them too and he would be traumatized if I hit one! (I'm not kidding.) So for now I guess I will do my best to avoid them.

And I thought we had dodged a bullet....er a button.

2009-08-11T11:44:00.001-07:00

With boys ages 14, 12 and 9 I really thought I had avoided having a child get a small object stuck in his nose or ear. But today my 12 y/o let me check that off my parenting list. I was about to eat my lunch when I hear his panicked voice from downstairs saying, "Mom, I got a button stuck in my ear!" Then he says, "Am I going to die?"

I assured Jay that as far as I know, no one has died from getting a button stuck in his/her ear. At the same time I am wondering if my afternoon is going to be spent at the dr's office or urgent care to get it out. But fortunately it wasn't lodge too far in and Dr. Mom was able to extract it with a pair of tweezers.

Jay promised to never stick a button in his ear again. Glad to hear it!

Another note to self....

2009-08-11T11:40:00.000-07:00

I'm not a big fan of Nicholas Sparks novels. I just listened to one while I was making a road trip. I chose it because nothing looked better at the Cracker Barrel but now I wish I had chosen the Bourne novel they had. Anything has to be better and more exciting that listening to the thoughts of the same man, who falls in love with the same woman who ends up tragically dying that are in every novel he writes!

Note to self....

2009-08-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

Stephen King is not my cup of tea! I know you're wondering why I even have to make a mental note of this. If you know me, then you know I am not into horror movies, like Cujo, Carrie, The Shinning. But did you know that Stephen King wrote the Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile and Stand By Me. Those are the kinds of Stephen King movies I may want to avoid. I really like the Shawshank Redemption but seeing The Green Mile was quite disturbing for me.

A couple of weeks ago James rented Stand By Me for us to watch. I wasn't really in the Stand By Me mood but I sat with my hubby and watched with him. He kept saying things like, "I don't remember this part." I would say, "You don't remember the leeches!?!" and "You don't remember the pie eating contest!?!" It is not a calm, happy-ending movie and I didn't remember that there were serveral emotionally wrenching scenes. I think each boy was weeping/wailing at some point in the movie. Although Vern's face when he was running on the train bridge was quite amusing!

My sweet boy

2009-06-19T11:27:00.000-07:00

Jay has this crush on a girl who was in his class. He was talking about her last night so I asked him what it is about her that he likes. He said, "Her pretty face, the way she helps me in school, her curly hair.....oh but sometimes her pretty face makes me nervous."

He is just the sweetest boy I know!

Have some McCrack

2009-06-19T11:07:00.001-07:00

So I go into McDonald's with my kids after their last day of school for the year to 'celebrate'. Now, McDonald's is not my favorite place to go for lunch and I often refuse, especially since seeing the documentary Super Size Me. (If you haven't seen it and like McD's, don't see it or you will never want to consume fast food again.) So the boys realized it was a treat. We walk in and the place is packed and there is someone walking around giving away small iced mochas - their new 'McCafe' drink for the summer.

I am not much of a coffee drinker but I did try one of their hot lattes once when I needed a little pick-me-up. My bff, Rhonda, raves about them. This experience was very funny and I won't go into it now but....I threw the thing out after only a few sips because it tasted something like gasoline and according to my kids who were in the car, it smelled much worse.

So as this employee (another rant I could go on but that would make this post super long) offers me a free iced mocha (or 'Frappe' as McD's is calling them), I am thinking I should say no because I don't like McD's coffee drinks but for some reason I say - "Okay, sure, I'll give it a try." I blame it on the whipped cream loaded on top. I'm a sucker for whipped cream.

I think they put some kind of addictive substance in these drinks because it is all I can think about the past couple of weeks. I found some coupons for free ones in the paper and I felt like I struck gold and have used them all up. I heard an ad for these iced coffees on the radio and there was a little disclaimer at the end that said something about not all restaurants are participating and this is for a limited time only. What do you mean a limited time only!!! You cannot take my McCrack away from me! They are like drug dealers who offer you some free stuff to try, knowing that once you try it you'll be hooked. And it worked! I'm hooked! Don't you dare discontinue to offer my "legal, addictive stimulant"* without consulting me first McDude!

My husband is a little worried about me and this whole McCrack....um, I mean McCafe thing. I don't think he has anything to worry about. I could stop at any time I want to. I just don't want to.

*from You've Got Mail

recent pics of the fam

2009-05-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

Here are my boys. They just keep growing. Sam is taller than me now. (that's not saying much!)
James took Jay to see the Lion King again. Jay loves/hates the hyenas. Jay loves to get dressed up in his suit! Don't they look handsome?

Luke is losing his teeth. I can't believe my baby is growing up so fast!

Jay has his first baseball game of the season tonight. He is psyched!

Maybe you notice there are no pics of me. That's because I am the designated family photographer. No one else thinks to pick up the camera and take a picture of me. I'll work on that. Actually I have a lot of pictures of Jay and Luke but few of James and Sam. At 14, Sam is not all that keen on having his picture taken.

I used to scrapbook. Its not that I've made a conscious decision not to anymore - I just haven't put any photos in a scrapbook in about 3-4 years now. I also switched to digital this past year and I don't print them either. This is a project I want to work on this summer. I may not take the time to scrapbook but I do want to have the photos printed and in a book for us to enjoy.

I hope you enjoy these!

Could you vote for Susan?

2009-04-17T10:29:00.000-07:00

BELIEVE IN THE RUN

Sponsored by Visit NIKE USA

Could you take a minute to vote for Susan? If she gets the most votes she gets a free trip to Hawaii.
Thanks!
Laura

Future writers?

2009-04-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

Family Pride - by Luke
There’s my aunt a uncle who teach me spanish.
My omie and opie who teach me to be polite.
My grandparent’s who like golf.
My grammy and pop pop teach me about nature.

Mama Cat - by Sam
I’ve had a lot of experiences with animals, but there is one I’ll never forget. It began in March of 2004. My brothers and I were in our backyard playing tag or something when I came across a small cat, almost tripping over it. The cat was mostly a dull, darkish gray. Its stomach was snowy white, and it had bits of black here and there. It was a tabby, so it had stripes. It was a thin cat, so it looked a little smaller than most cats. My brothers and I stopped whatever we were doing and went over to pet the cat, but the cat hurried away as though I had pulled its tail. However, for the next couple months, I would notice the cat hanging around our house. On one particular day, while I was eating lunch on our back porch with my mother and brothers, the cat leaped up onto the porch and started to nibble on our food. My mother shooed it away.

Two months later, the cat gave birth to only one kitten. I came home from school and found the kitten in a little box in our garage. The kitten was about the size of a mouse (I wasn’t surprised that my mother thought it was a mouse when she first saw it). Its fur was a grayish color, like its mother. Its eyes were barely open, and it continually made these squeaking sounds. I could hold it in one hand and felt its razor-sharp claws digging into the palm of my hand. My father was gone on business at the time, and when he found out about the kitten, he said both the cat and the kitten had better be gone by the time he got home, which was two weeks away.

We started out feeding the cat tuna, but its stomach hated that the way people hate Jerry Springer, so we switched to buying cat food at Meijer. Meanwhile, the kitten could open its eyes complete-ly, and could take millimeter-length steps on my hand. Two weeks passed and we still hadn’t found a home for the cat. The day my father returned was a stormy one. Rain was coming down sideways, thunder was so loud our house shook, and some kind of storm watch or warning was issued every two minutes. And it the midst of all the lousy weather, and the fact that my father’s flight would probably be delayed, we gave the cat away to an old friend. It was so hard to give up the cat and kitten, but we knew they were in good hands.

And for my birthday....

2009-02-26T12:11:00.000-08:00

...my wonderful husband got me an amazing surprise. While we were out to dinner for my birthday, our friend/neighbor came over and hung portraits of the boys that James had taken, unbeknownst to me. They are absolutely beautiful. And I was totally surprised. And the boys were totally excited to be in on the surprise.

I don't have the photos on my computer yet but you can go to www.brettmaxwellphoto.com to see them. Scroll down about halfway to "birthday portraits" and you will see my three handsome men.

Thank you James, Sam, Jay and Luke!

Happy Birthday with Ruff Ruffman!

2009-02-26T11:42:00.000-08:00

For Jay's birthday he wanted a "Fetch" party. "Fetch with Ruff Ruffman" is a show on PBS that Jay LOVES! Jay dressed as "Ruff" and we had a few activities that a contestant might participate in on the show.
Like a scavenger hunt....

a science experiment (blowing up a balloon without using your own breath)...

and creating the image of Ruff out of duck tape.

And here are a few of the creations.

The part that touched me the most were the gifts his friends gave him. A few of the kids got him some sensory toys because they know he uses things like that in school. They all know Jay has a kind of autism and really love him and accept him exactly as he is - which is really not hard to do because the boy is so fun! All in all it was a great party - very creative and everyone had a good time - including the birthday boy!

Another One Bites the Dust

2009-02-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday our sweet boy Jay came down with something. He spent all day in bed. And for those of you who don't know Jay - this is highly unusual. Jay is always moving and imagining and enthusiastic. But yesterday, and today, he just layed still and quiet all day with glassy eyes and flushed cheeks. I hope he starts to perk up tomorrow.

I usually kind of like it when one of the kids (or James) is home sick. I can just clear my schedule and take time to care for them, read to them, make them chicken soup and jello and usually catch up on laundry. That's how it was today. But I didn't like seeing my boy all wiped out on the couch.

Sadly, for Jay, today is his 12th birthday. He got quite a few calls from family wishing him a Happy Birthday. He took each call and mumbled a few answers to their questions and then said he thought he'd better go. He was all bummed out that he didn't get to bring treats to school 'on' his birthday. But I promised him the first day back he will. Thankfully he's having a party with friends for his birthday next weekend. Something for him to look forward to.

Happy Birthday Jaybird! We love you!

Quote of the Day

2009-01-31T08:03:00.000-08:00

James: "So you're having Fruit Loops for breakfast today..."

Jay: "Well, my toast fell on the ground and I tried to wash it off but then in got soggy. So I decided to have Fruit Loops."

James: "Gotcha!"

the fears of motherhood

2009-01-31T07:31:00.000-08:00

*WARNING*

*The following is not to be read by the squeamish*

So one my biggest motherhood fears came true last night.........Luke vomited in the middle of the night. (I warned you!) I think this is what all parents dread. Dealing with puke.

Luke comes into our room around 1:45am and says, "Mom, I just threw up in my room." I think I wasn't fully awake and my husband repeated it to me. At which point it sunk it and I jumped out of bed and began pushing Luke toward our bathroom. He threw up again on the floor in our bathroom....and then again in the toilet.

But what gets me is what plays in my mind as this occurs and I am cleaning up. First I thought of my mother and I soooo appreciate her! I really can't remember specific instances where she had to deal with this but I do remember her holding back my hair while I was leaning over the toilet. She was a saint!

Then I thought "How am I going to clean this up off the carpet?" That thought dominated my foggy mind for a while. I began thinking of custodians at schools who get called in on a regular basis to clean up puke - of other people's kids! I figure they have a plan for how to clean this up. I wish I knew their secrets.

Then as I am in awe of all the places this stuff has splattered, I begin wondering: When one of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's kids throw up in the middle of the night, who cleans it up? Do they take care of the task themselves or do they have live-in help who they wake up in the middle of the night to care for it?

So this morning Luke climbs into bed with us. He begins saying how glad he was that he didn't "barf" at school - that would be embarrassing. (although his father and I were thinking that puking at school didn't sound like such a bad idea to us!) So then he proceeds to tell us about the kids who have barfed at school - because this kind of thing is etched in the minds of all elementary school kids. He tells of of one kids who wasn't looking too good - "all sweaty and red like someone had just punched him in the stomach." He can also tell us exactly where it happened in each instance - like on the carpet in the music room or on the floor by the blackboard. He had us in stitches laughing and was so confused as to why we were finding this so funny.

But if we didn't laugh about it, we'd cry!

the challenges of motherhood

2009-01-29T06:27:00.000-08:00

Well, for some time now I have been telling myself that I would post more regularly and let my reader (I think there's only one person who reads my blog now - thanks mom!) see more deeply into my heart and life. The area I have been putting off writing about is my boys. My husband and I have three boys ages 14, 11 (12 on 2/2) and 8. They are the joy of our lives. And they have stretched and challenged us more than we ever imagined they could.

First off, let me tell you that I LOVE being a mom. Before I had children I was not all that enthused about being a mom but once I had our oldest my heart was totally taken. I love the challenge of raising children to be responsible, caring adults and I love the privilege of watching them grow and develop and mature. My boys are so precious to me. I am honored to have the role of mother in their lives.

The most challenging part of being a mother for me (other than potty-training - those experiences still give me nightmares!) is the fact that my two oldest boys have a form of autism called Asperger's Syndrome. Oh, I have learned so much by the experience of raising children with special needs. And my heart goes out to all parents out there who are. This experience has really opened my eyes to so many things. First, that there is a grief process that parents go through as they are raising children with special needs. When we are expecting our children we have hopes and dreams that we aren't even aware of and when we discover that our children have disabilites, we have to let go of some or many of these hopes and dreams. And of course there is often a feeling of guilt that we are grieving over our children - but I've learned to just accept the grief and allow it to work through me so I can get to the other side - acceptance and hope and cherishing the life God has given us.

There is so much more I have learned but I think I'll save it for other posts. I am hoping to write a little about each of my boys in the next week - maybe even have them write about themselves as well. They have blessed my life so richly and I hope they will bless yours as well.

Can you say "BRRRRRRRRRR!"?

2009-01-15T17:28:00.000-08:00

... WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 PM EST FRIDAY...
WIND CHILLS OF 15 TO 20 BELOW WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT AND INTO FRIDAY MORNING.
A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT VERY COLD AIR TEMPERATURES... OR A COMBINATION OF COLD AIR TEMPERATURES AND WIND... WILL LEAD TO FROSTBITE OR HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN. IF YOU MUST VENTURE OUTDOORS... MAKE SURE YOU WEAR A HAT AND GLOVES.

so many books, so little time!

2009-01-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

Here's a meme of books you may have read from Ben's blog. Thought I'd kick off the New Year with it. If anyone chooses to do this on your blog, please let me know. I am always looking for good recommendations.

1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Mark in a different color the books you LOVE
4) Reprint this list in your blog.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - twice
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien 1 1/2 of the 3
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - in highschool
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell - in highschool I think
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens - hs (in highschool)
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott - 2 or 3 times now
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare - a few in hs
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger - hs
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald - hs
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky - I've read about 1/3
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis - I've read 3 of them
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell - hs
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown - a few chapters
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery - the entire series
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen - currently reading
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck - hs
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas - I can't remember for sure - maybe in college
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett - teacher read to class in elementary school
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White - mom read it to me as a child and I read it to my boys
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad - I think in hs
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery - I think I read it in French in hs
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

books

2008-11-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

In the past couple of weeks I've read two books. The first came highly recommended to me - Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I think when a book or movie comes highly recommended I build it up a little too much in my head and by the time I read/see it I feel disappointed. This was definitely a good book but not my favorite. It is about an old man remembering back on his days with the circus during the great depression. I wish I had a book group to discuss it with. In an interview with the author at the end of the book she mentions how she parallels this story to the story of Jacob in Genesis and frankly I'm just not seeing it.

This past week I read this. Through the Shadowlands contains a brief biograpy of C.S. Lewis and of his wife Joy Davidman. It tells us how they met and how their relationship developed. It was very interesting and inspiring. I happened upon this book in the Bargain Bookstore and thought I would enjoy it - and I did. I often build up a great theologian, writer, artist in my head to be about perfect. Its usually encouraging to get to know these famous folks and find out what weaknesses and imperfections made them just as human as the rest of us. And at the same time it is inspiring because they did live their lives exceptionally as well.

Here's my hang-up as a reader. I like to read. I like to read different genre's but I tend to stay with Christian literature mostly. Which sometimes is flat or just gets boring. So I branch out and read some of the bestsellers - which are usually full of complex characters and amazing details. But then sometimes I feel dragged down by the depravity that is depicted. My heart says "I don't want to know that people are capable of doing such things. I like my sheltered little world. I've dealt with enough of my own pain and depravity in my life."

Then I think, how am I going to relate to this world I live in if I shelter myself. Not that I need to go down every depraved path possible but should I really stick strictly to Christian authors? I think the answer is no, of course. So I guess I'll just keep doing what I am doing which is mixing it up and staying away from those books that when I read the backs seem like they will be too disturbing or upseting to me. Sometimes I think I'm just a big wimp!

the Scratch Test

2008-10-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

Today, I took my middle son, Jay, to the allergist for a scratch test. This is where they give him about 40ish "pokes" in his back with little plastic "pokey-things" (the technical term, I believe). Each poke is a different possible allergen. The reason for this testing is because Jay is just miserable in the spring time with allergy symptoms. It makes it difficult for him to get much accomplished in school at the end of the year. And I am hoping for something to control it better than the over-the-counter remedies we've been using.

I wish I could post a photo of his back after the "pokes". The side where they were testing tree and grass pollens and weeds looked like he had been bitten by a couple dozen mosquitoes. I was very impressed with him because he was so anxious about getting poked but he held it together and never let out a full scream (which the entire office would have heard). He also laid still on his stomach another 15 minutes without touching his back even though he complained that it itched.

Turns out that he has some severe allergies to the tree and grass pollens that are in our area April-June. So now we are discussing whether we want to put him through routine allergy shots - anywhere from once a week to once every 8-12 weeks throughout the year - or just try to use a few prescription meds in the spring to control it. I can already hear the screams that will come when the give him the shots. Will he get used to them or will it be more trouble than its worth? I hate making these decisions.

Face your Manga

2008-10-08T10:48:00.000-07:00

Yeah - I don't know. Does it look like me at all?

You know you're a child of the 70's if...

2008-09-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

First off I want to apologize to my devoted readers (I am talking to all 8 of you) for not updating my blog in almost 2 months. I plead busyness - school began, fall activities began and its a busy time with the special needs ministry....and worst of all I now have a facebook page which is just one more time sucker in my life! But I'm back.

This will not be a post where I list all the ways you know you were a child of the 70's. Instead I will just tell you of the two moments that this was made clear to me yesterday by my children.

First, my 13 y/o son was trying to call a family friend, who is an older lady who does not have call waiting or voicemail (or a cell phone - eek!). So Sam dials and listens and he is making a funny face, says he doesn't know what this is and hands me the phone. "It's a busy signal", I say. He still has the same confused, blank expression. This is when I realize that not only does he not recognize the annoying intermittent tone but he has never even heard the term "busy signal". I wasn't sure if I wanted to laugh or cry.

Then, as I was driving with my 8 y/o he began talking to me about seeing men on TV who were twirling and throwing sticks with the ends lit on fire. He asks me if I've ever seen this and I say yes I have on TV. (of course I am thinking about luau at the end of the Brady Bunch episode when they are in Hawaii) Then on the ride home he is talking about this man who was talking to a statue and when he watched the fire show he said, "I wish Oliver could see this". At this point, sadly, a light bulb goes on in my head and I ask Luke if he watched the Brady Bunch at his friends house that afternoon. I actually remember that the "bad guy" would talk to this idol he named Oliver!!! What does that say about my upbringing? It says I watched A LOT of Brady Bunch reruns after school each day.

So there is my trip down memory lane yesterday. What do you remember about the days gone by when you were a child?

Happy 8th Birthday Jedi Luke

2008-08-15T15:59:00.000-07:00

And may the Force be with you.

Procrastination is my middle name

2008-08-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

I remember the first time I heard the word 'procrastination'. I was about 10-11 years old and my mother used it to describe me as I was putting off some task I had to do. I stopped and asked her to say the word again and tell me what it meant. I repeated it. I just loved the sound of it - the way it rolled off the tongue. Of course what I didn't realize was that somehow my soul innately felt drawn to this word.

And here I am on this August afternoon avoiding (or should I say procrastinating) folding the rest of the clean laundry. Folding laundry isn't so bad but for some reason today I have found several other things to do rather than fold (like post a new blog entry). It sits there as I clean out my closet and finish unpacking from our trip (yep - I got home on Monday from that and I'm just getting around to putting the rest of the odds and ends away on Friday). I worked out, made breakfast and lunch (oh wait, I bought lunch on my way home) for my boys. I needed to water the plants outside (its been dry lately) and then a few friends dropped by to say hello or drop something off. And now I need to go bake those cupcakes for Luke's bday celebration tomorrow. The laundry can wait.

The thing about us procrastinators is we have a love/hate relationship with deadlines. We, of course, hate them because it is this looming time-bomb just waiting to go off. "What if we don't have *it* finished by then? What if *it*s not just right by then?" But then there's the appreciation of knowing that it gives us a boundary to work in - us procrastinators really need boundaries.

So my self-proclaimed deadline is tonight by the time my husband arrives home from his trip. That will probably be around midnight so I still have a few hours to go. I know that when I am getting ready for bed tonight, I am going to be kicking myself for not folding this laundry earlier in the day when I wasn't feeling like I could fall asleep standing up. Maybe I'll just spend this next 5-10 minutes folding it and then it will be off my shoulders.....or maybe I should get those cupcakes started.

Riding the Rapids!

2008-08-14T13:57:00.000-07:00

Last week we had an incredible time at Young Life's family camp (Trail West) in Colorado! It was truly a week of adventure for our (adventure-challenged) family. We rode horses, hiked up to the continental divide, (some of us - not me) conquered our fear of heights by completing a high ropes course, and we went white water rafting on the Arkansas River. Here is a great photo of our family riding the rapids (that's Murphy, our guide in the middle - and his first name is Murphy, not his last - and he told us he was in fact named after the family dog - ha!). We had a blast - until we were drenched in a 33 degree rain shower, which made the melted-mountain-snow river seem much warmer! It was definitely an adventure we are all proud to say we experienced together.

I will post more photos later. And pray that I can figure out how to post a video. We were so proud of Jay going thru the ropes course despite his extreme fear of heights and I'd like to get it on my blog here.

Customer Service

2008-07-28T11:11:00.000-07:00

Today I tried to refill some prescriptions from our mail-order pharmacy. As I am about to do this on-line, I realize my son has only 11 pills left and we are leaving on vacation on Saturday for a week. So I call the customer service phone number to ask if it is possible to have them shipped to our house by Friday. As I begin to explain the situation to Helen she interrupts me to say, "On the bottle it says you can order as early as June 26 so you don't run into this kind of situation."

I don't remember exactly what I said in response to this...something like "Thanks" or "I see"...but I know my voice was dripping with sarcasm. What I was thinking was...Do you think I am an idiot. I obviously see that I missed the boat here and I don't really need you to reprimand me for it. What I am looking for here is some help!

The answer is no, Helen cannot help me. I need to call our doctor and have him send in a 30-day script to the local pharmacy that I can get this week.

You gotta love "customer service"! *written in my most sarcastic tone*

The definition of insanity

2008-07-22T13:26:00.000-07:00

So after much searching and praying and worrying and beating myself up, I found my wedding band. And I found it as I thought I would. I was just going about my business when it showed up. I was stripping Luke's bed and the ring fell out of his blanket onto the floor by my feet. I was so relieved and grateful.

In the process I found that Albert Einstein's definition of insanity is very true! Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. I looked in the same four places at least 3 times each this week. I was getting so frustrated and feeling hopeless. I'm not sure why I never thought to look on Luke's bed - he suggested it the night it went missing but for some reason I didn't think it could possibly be there. Boy was I wrong!

Thanks God for bringing it back to me. I know several of my friends were praying for it to be found. Thank you dear friends.

Laura's Rules for Running

2008-07-17T06:12:00.000-07:00

1. Stretch before running.
2. Be sure to use the bathroom right before running.
3. Run on the shady side of the road even if this means zig-zagging a bit.
4. Don't just run the 1/2 mile loop around the neighborhood over and over since its too tempting to quit early in front of the house when tired.
5. Enjoy the wildlife, ie: flowers, rabbits, birds. (Watching a muskrat run away is very comical with it's little tail sticking up as it's back end bounces up and down.)
6. Skip songs that may be demotivating, like "Its the End of the World as We Know It" or "Another One Bites the Dust". Stick with motivating songs such as, "All Things are Possible".
7. When finished with the run take the shortest route home, even if this means cutting through your neighbors' backyards.
8. Stretch and drink plenty of water when finished running.

I've lost it

2008-07-15T21:42:00.000-07:00

I've lost my wedding band. It gnawing at me. I think its somewhere in my house but have yet to find it. About a month ago I looked down at my engagement ring to see that the diamond was missing. It was missing for about 1 1/2 hours and then, thanks to God, I found it on the living room carpet. My wedding band has been missing for 24 hours now.

I've been searching around the house for it all day. At one point I thought I found it inside our sofa. I called my husband to rejoice with me. Then I cut open the bottom of the sofa. It turns out it was a Mexican coin - 5 pesos. (don't ask where it came from or how it got there because I have no idea) I was bitterly disappointed.

I find when things like this happen that I am superstitious. Maybe that's not the right word, but I wonder if God is trying to tell me something. Like maybe I am being careless with my marriage and taking it for granted. I don't know. I'm probably reading too much into it. But I am praying that God will bring my wedding band back to me.

looking for some running partners

2008-07-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

So I have officially signed myself up to run in a 5k at the end of July. Its not the first 5k I've ever run in but I am trying really hard to stick with a 'training schedule' this time so I feel ready to run it. (although the adrenaline rush when I finish a race is just as good even if I'm not totally prepared ahead of time!)

I have only run in two other 5k races ever (and these were in the past year). One I trained somewhat for and one I intended to walk but decided to try a slow jog with a friend at the last minute and amazed myself that I ran almost the entire race. I actually am not very athletically inclined at all but the old body is beginning to decline and I want to be healthy and strong as I age.

So I am asking a few of my friends to be my running 'partners' as I train. To be a running partner you do not have to run with me while I am training or run in this 5k race or even run at all. If you could just cheer me on and ask me how I am doing with my training that would be excellent! (although I LOVE that Lauren is willing to run with me at my slow, short-legged pace once a week!) Another option as 'running partners' is to sponser me $10 - I need to raise at least $100 to enter for Young Life. (I'm close and would love to raise over $100.)

So for those of you who are on board here's my schedule this week. On Tuesday I am to run for 8 minutes, walk 2 minutes and repeat 4 times for a total of 40 minutes. (I did this Saturday and that last 8 minutes just about killed me!) Thursday and Saturday I am going to attempt to run 10 minutes, walk 2 minutes and repeat 4 times for a total of 48 minutes. It will be a minor miracle if I actually complete these 48 minute runs. Thankfully, I should be able to run the 5k in under 40 minutes, I'm aiming for about 35.

Thanks for all your encouragement and support my friends!

Digital vs film

2008-07-02T11:53:00.001-07:00

I don't like digital cameras. I prefer using my 35mm. The photos come out so much better, clearer, crisper. And I can't stand that the digital cameral doesn't actually 'take' the picture until about 2 seconds after I push the button. When I am trying to capture a moment with a young boy, this just doesn't work well. Or when I was trying to get a photo of a dolphin as it briefly came to the surface of the ocean, this definitely didn't work. We called these photos 'where wildlife was'.

I just got some film developed that has been sitting in my camera for almost a year. I was using the digital more because I can see them instantaneously and upload them onto my computer and all those other features that are supposed to make digital cameras state of the art. But now that I've seen these photos, I am thinking that I will go back to my 35mm. I like the quality so much better. And I like holding the photos in my hand better than looking at them on a computer screen. (I know - I could print the digital photos, but who keeps up with that?) And when I get my film developed, I also have the photos put on a cd so I can have them on my computer too! I'm just afraid that pretty soon there won't be any place to buy or develop film anymore!

These are from our vacation on Saranac Lake last summer. I love how the sunlight falls in each photo. BTW, it was an amazing vacation for our family!

Sam chillin' on the hammock.

Jay down by the dock.

James and Luke fishing.

Seriously, we're they just dumb or what?

2008-06-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

So I am reading about Samson and Delilah this week (Judges 16). As I read it I just can't keep from thinking, how stupid were these two? Delilah agrees to try to get Samson's secret of his strength out of him to tell the Philistines for money. So she asks him and he lies to her and tells her if anyone ties him with seven fresh thongs (not sure what these are) he will become as weak as any other man. So when he falls asleep she ties him with 7 fresh thongs and then has men hiding in the room. Delilah wakes Samson saying, "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!". He snaps the thongs like threads and the men scurry away.

So I'm thinking, Samson has to be on to her little scheme right? She tries this two more times and two more times he lies to her. He's toying with her. She wakes him up tied with new ropes and with his hair woven into fabric on a loom yelling "Samson, the Philistines are upon you!" two more times. He breaks free easily two more times. So Samson, why didn't you just drop this chick at this point? I mean she is trying to learn the secret of your strength and betray you and have you captured by your enemies. Is this really the woman you want to hang with? Is she really that beautiful? Is the sex really that good? Are you really that dumb and shallow?

And Delilah - you didn't have a better plan for seeking out this secret other than asking Samson outright. Weren't you concerned that he was on to you since each time he told you, you tied him up in his sleep and woke him to a gang of thugs ready to take him down? And when he wouldn't give you a truthful answer you turned to begging and whining and nagging? Let's just say if I were head of the CIA, I would not hire you as one of our operatives.

And then this is where I am just flabberghasted. Samson tells her his secret! Why, you ask? Because "with such nagging she prodded him day after day until he was tired to death." Seriously, Dude, what were you thinking!?! Maybe he was thinking that God really wasn't the source of his strength like he had been taught from birth. Maybe he thought he was really just that strong and powerful and all that on his own. Maybe he was trying to go to sleep and just wanted her to leave him alone. (Why wasn't kicking her out of your bed an option Sammy?) Or maybe he was drunk. Really the best option I can come up with is that he was just that stupid.

So she shaves his hair that has never been cut since birth and wakes him up to a room of Philistines who subdue him, gouge out his eyes, bind him with bronze shackles and throw him in prison. I don't feel badly for Samson because he brought this on himself. But he does get his revenge when the Philistines parade him out in their temple and he pushes down the support pillars to bring down the temple on himself and all the rulers and several thousand Philistines who were in it. "Thus he killed many more when he died than while he lived." (Judges 16:30)

And God fulfilled the prophecy from when Samson was born: "...he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines." So I guess the moral of the story is that God will fulfill his plan no matter how dumb the people he chooses to employ are.

Restlessness

2008-06-23T18:30:00.001-07:00

The past few days I've felt a restlessness in my heart. When I was doing some kind of chore or work it was not as strong, yet I was still longing to be doing something else. What I thought I was longing for was time to take a break, relax, watch a movie, read a book or do a puzzle. But when I got the chance to do these things, I still felt very restless and bored and unfulfilled and dissatisfied.

It reminded me of Ecclesiastes - that everything is meaningless. Then this morning I sat down with my Bible and journal to spend some time with God. I looked back at my last journal entry about week ago. I was meditating on Psalm 42. "As the deer pants for streams of water so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go meet with God?"

When I am struggling I tend to turn to other people for help or try to escape thru books and movies. So I asked God to cause my heart to long for him - not these idols and distractions in my life.

As I sat with God I felt foolish. It didn't occur to me that my heart was longing for him, even though that was exactly what I had asked him for. Well okay it had crossed my mind a couple of times that maybe I could use my time to sit with God, but I quickly dismissed it for something I thought would be more 'entertaining'.

I wonder what God thought as he was watching me last week. Was he trying to get my attention? Was he angry with me or disappointed? One thing that struck me as I was sitting with God this morning. He was gentle and patient with me. He answered my prayer - and quickly too. He cares enough to show me where I am blind, foolish and full of sin.

"Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore, stand in awe of God." (Ecc 5:7)

And now the moment you've all been waiting for....

2008-06-23T17:41:00.001-07:00

We have moths! Oh happy day! Well - Luke was excited. He would run upstairs everytime he noticed a new one yelling, "There's another one! You've got to come see!" I would go see. It is definitely a little exciting to watch these creatures transform themselves. But mostly when I looked at them I thought - wow those are ugly!

Sadly, the one you see in the picture died. After it died Luke let the other one's go. We think it was Fuzzy Gold who died. Goodbye Fuzzy - we'll miss you - we'll miss the way you crawled around on Luke's fingers and ate leaves and left your little black pellets all over the place. Sorry you didn't get a chance to soar with the eagles. Maybe you'll come back in another life as an eagle!

Vacation

2008-06-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

We spent last week on Hilton Head Island, SC. The weather was perfect! We spent several afternoons at the beach and in the waves - the boys loved it! My dad and stepmom live there and my brother and his now fiance were visiting while we were there too. My brother asked his girlfriend to marry him the first night they were there. I'm excited to have a sister-in-law and hopefully to be an aunty soon! (no pressure Dave and Mer!)

For those of you who don't know, my husband is the tall one. Meredith and Dave are in the back on the left, then me, my oldest son, Sam, and James. The four of us are leaning forward in this picture but even standing up, James is way taller than the rest of my family.

raising cocoons

2008-06-18T12:43:00.000-07:00

We now have cocoons. These, I am told by my 7 y/o, are cocoons, not chrysalises, because they are moths not butterflys. Luke told me today that he likes raising caterpillars better because he can pick them up. I prefer the cocoons because we don't have to make sure they have fresh leaves to eat and they don't leave little black pellets all over the place.

And now to wait for the transformation to complete and we will have....moths. Its still a let down for me.

raising caterpillars

2008-05-28T18:35:00.001-07:00

We're raising caterpillars here in the Granger household these days. Luke brought one in about a week ago and asked to keep it. So I punched a few holes in the top of a plastic container and we put it in with some leaves. I am amazed that it is still alive. Luke named it Fuzzy Gold. (it has fuzzy golden fur)

A couple of days ago we took the plunge and bought a little bug habitat. The little plastic tree and fake paper leaves look so real, I think we have Fuzzy fooled into thinking it is living in its natural environment - especially with the photo of a serene lake and trees attached to the back!

Today Jay found another one. We've haven't named it yet.

Here are some things I have learned about caterpillars.

1)They shed/molt. After a couple of days Luke told me there was another caterpillar in the container. We looked closer and realized it was its skin (interesting but a little icky)
2)They poop...a lot. Little black caterpillar pellets are all over. (not so interesting and much more icky)
3)We were watching it eat a leaf last night and it has these little pincer things that it eats with. It went up and down the leaf very systematically. It reminded me of watching some people eating corn-on-the-cob.

Just now I went looking on-line for what kind of caterpillar it is. For as pretty as it is I thought it would become some kind of beautiful butterfly. I was disappointed to learn that it is probably an Eastern Tent Caterpillar. One of the pesky ones that makes the "tents" on our trees and eventually becomes a brown moth. Kind of takes the excitement out of it for me.

Muphy's Law of blogging

2008-05-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

Before I had my own blog I often thought of little antecdotes and thoughts I would blog about if I had a blog. For instance, when my oldest son shaved for the first time* a few monhts ago I began composing a blog about it. I would write about how different my family and I are now that I am 40 versus when I was 30 and how much easier it was to teach him to shave (which my husband did)than potty training him 10 years earlier.

Now that I have a blog my life is again mundane and my mind has gone blank. Must be Murphy's Law.

*For those of you who know and see Sam - PLEASE don't mention this to him or he will want to disown me!

Grief

2008-05-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

On Saturday evening at Riverview Church I was told that a member of our body of believers had died suddenly Friday morning. Her name was Susan and she was probably in her early 30s. She and her husband had a 2y/o son. My heart was numb. How could this happen, Lord? Why, Lord? She was young and now her husband and son have to go thru life without her. Oh, Lord please comfort all those who are grieving.

I did not know Susan. But I knew who she was. Whenever I saw her I was impressed with the grace and peace that shone on her face. She gave her testimony before our church this past winter. She was a lesbian who began a relationship with Christ and then asked God to help her sort out her feelings. God gave her amazing victory in her heart and she wanted to tell others about it and help others who might be in the same place. I was so impressed with this woman's courage and grace.

Here is a link to one of our pastor's blog where he has a video clip of her testimony. (I'm crossing my fingers that this works since I am computer inept.)

http://www.noelheikkinen.com/2008/05/24/the-morning-fog/

I was talking with a friend of mine at church yesterday about our shock and grief. She expressed similar fears that I have in my heart. Lord, if You would take Susan so suddenly, then my family isn't safe from this grief either. Of course I know this but I just don't dwell on it untill something like this happens. And then my friend talked about how Susan felt compelled to share her testimony at church even when the pastor was hesitant. And my friend and I laughed about how we will try not to do the things we feel God compelling us to do, so He won't be able to take us Home untill we decide we're ready - which will be sometime after the age of 85 I think. We laugh because we both know in our hearts that God is God and He is in control and has our lives in the palm of His gentle hand. Even though our finite human hearts and minds can't comprehend what His plan is, we do know that He is Sovereign and He is Good and we can Trust Him.

Take me out to the ballgame...

2008-05-21T07:30:00.000-07:00

This is my 11 y/o son Jay. Jay loves baseball. Because Jay has some mild disabilities, we've not signed him up to play baseball the past few years. This year Jay is on a team with a few of his classmates. This is a dream come true for him! Jay loves playing on this team, even if they do look like "The Bad News Bears" out on the field. Jay has played second base the last two games. As second baseman, he makes a point of giving a high five to each player from the opposing team who makes it to second base. The coach tells him he is showing good sportsmanship.

So last night was a very exciting game. The first two innings (which I think took about and hour to play) weren't looking good for our team. I think the other team was up 5-0 at one point and one inning the 10 y/o pitcher (who is ready to sign on with a farm league any day now!) struck out three batters in a row. My two friends who came to watch with me and I were making jokes about how many batters would be walked, how the other team seemed to have so many players on the field (that's because we only had eight players total) and at what point will the "mercy" rule be invoked. Well our team began to play better the last two innings. Maybe that's because they had their semi-professional 10 y/o pitcher sitting on the bench. So in the bottom of the last inning Jay was up and got a double - because of a fielding error, but we'll take it. He tried to high five the other team's second baseman, but he looked confused. Then the next batter hit a fly ball into the outfield (that in and of itself is amazing for our team!). Jay ran to third where the third base coach was waving him home. Only Jay wasn't paying attention so he slid into third. Then got up and ran home (sliding there as well - sliding is very important in baseball!)!!! We were all cheering and high fiving Jay - this was a dream come true for our little guy! The game ended, because it was getting late, when the inning was over and we discovered, to our amazment, that the score was 5-5 and Jay brought in the tying run!

Go Jay!!! You're in the big leagues now!!!

Quote of the Day

2008-05-10T08:08:00.000-07:00

"you are Pretty Even When your 40"

My fortune, from an imaginary fortune cookie, written out by Jay, my 10 year old son.

the Sounds of Summer

2008-05-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Hearing the birds chirping in late February or early March is my cue that spring is coming. So you'd think that the sound of crickets or peep-toads would be my cue that summer is almost here. But no, for me the sound that lets me know that summer is on its way is the sound of the cars racing around the "short track" just a couple of miles from my home. In all seriousness, somehow that sound has become soothing to me - I hear it through my open windows and I know its summer (or almost). I have never attended an event at Spartan Speedway nor do I have much interest in auto racing - but I celebrate the long lazy days of summer when I hear that sound on a warm Friday evening.

living life vertically challenged

2008-05-08T12:21:00.000-07:00

so i've been reading others blogs more and more these days and really enjoy many of them. these other bloggers often get me thinking about things i haven't thought about or seeing issues from another perspective and sometimes just giving me a good laugh. i hestitate to have my own blog for a number of reasons. but here i go jumping into the pond.

i chose to name my blog living life vertically challenged because that is what God seems to be trying to teach me recently. i view my life and the world horizontally - just looking around at the circumstances and this earthly world. but God is nudging me to live life looking at Him, heavenward, with eternity in mind. and i often find myself not able to fully get my arms around this idea. for example - having a good marriage relationship isn't for the comfort of myself and my spouse but so we ourselves and others in this world can see a clear picture of what the relationship between Christ, the bridegroom, and the Church, the bride looks like. and i have to confess that my earthly heart is mostly concerned with my own comfort and not with what God's plans are.

coincidentally - i am physically, in fact, vertically challenged (read: short)! i am just barely 5 feet tall (60 inches, 152.4 centimeters). and this fact is, sadly, another issue i struggle with - wishing i were just a few inches taller! but alas, God has made me as He has for a purpose and there is nothing i can do to change this (except to wear heels)!

oh yes and i am really quite computer inept - so be patient as i try to figure out how to post photos and update my profile, etc...