Two Victories

I wouldn't call them large victories, at least in the cosmic sense, but they were a big deal to me. So here I share:

Those of you who know me, or have read some previous posts, may know that I get lost easily. Very, very, very easily. I am the reason Garmins and Magellans were invented. I don't have a GPS system, so hand written directions are my only navigational guides. I still get lost alot even with those. Even with places I've been alot.

BUT, yesterday I went to two new places and once old place a new way, and I didn't get lost twice. Whoo-hoo. Yes. I don't know if I was really lost getting to my first new place, but I sure didn't know where I was. Turns out the exit is named Monroe, but if you turn right, the street name changes to Winkler. Whatever. As soon as I figured out that I was on the right street, and all I had to do was turn around, I stopped hyperventilating. I'll definitely call that a win!

And, for the first time in more than a decade, I have a sunburn. I know this seems strange to be a victory, but I have had a skin condition for more than 10 years that prevents me from spending more than a few minutes in the sun before I start getting hives. Over the previous month, I could tell that, for whatever reason, my condition was going away. So I have done trials in the sun, and have had success. So yesterday, I took the plunge. I sat in a hot tub with a friend, and got crispy. NO HIVES!! I know I should still be using my big floppy hats and my shirts with SPF 75 in them, etc. But I have spent 10 years trying (and failing) to convince myself that I liked being whiter than snow (my skin, not my soul!). I think I will smile as I go slather aloe on my crispy skin now. It feels good to have a little color on me.

Just a preview: we are taking a television fast this week. So far, it's been a success, and we have enjoyed it alot. But you're only getting one point of view - the one who wanted to do it. We'll see how it goes this weekend with no television. And in case you think we're going too far, realize that all our shows are being Tivo'd, so we can catch them next week. HA!

Why I'm Glad to be a Texan

Fields of Bluebonnets









Dublin Dr. Pepper






Blue Bell Ice Cream - Yummy!





Governor Rick Perry

I Have Never Done This Before,

but there's a first for everything, right?

I protested today.

When you watch(ed) the news tonight, you might see TEA parties there. There were some already being covered at lunch today. I was at a TEA party - Taxed Enough Already. We were protesting excessive taxes with excessive spending by our federal government. We were protesting federal government programs designed to take the autonomy away from individuals. We were protesting federal government infringement on states rights.

I was woefully unprepared in my first ever protest, except for my camera. No home made sign, no American flag, no bull horn, no American Revolution-era costume. Just my body, giving silent support for those who did come prepared.



We were set up right across from the post office in a little community not far from where I live. There were approximately 70 people in the parking lot when we got there, which was late. Very late.

We saw upside down American flags, being waved and wielded by young children.

*side note: Upside down flags mean distress. Whether on a ship, in a state, or waved by a child, it means distress.*

We saw multiple home made signs, decrying one or another government program meant to make us safer, healthier, happier, but that will ultimately be burdensome to the American people, and infringing on our personal rights.

We saw people with newspaper cameras there, but no news crews.

We saw many, many people drive by and yell words of encouragement or support. The community was obviously in favor of this particular protest.

And what protest would be complete without John Phillips Sousa playing in the background? I can't make this up.

Apparently those of us who protested in any state, in any way, were classified as right wing extremist radicals, according to a report out today from Homeland Security. I am now a terrorist, I guess. Middle class, tax paying, law abiding terrorist. It's a label I've not had before. I'm not sure I believe it, but it was on the radio. It's got to be true.

My friend (who went with me) called her husband to let him know we were protesting. He gave us 3 rules: 1. No violence. 2. No cursing (that's so like us) 3. No breaking the law. (I added 4 and 5, No calling him from jail, and No television cameras, respectively.)

My friend's husband also gave us our sound bites: We're interested in protecting the city and state government from infringement by the federal government. We're here to draw attention to the message that the American government cannot just print more money to fund its projects. There must be accountability and transparency.

So that was part of my afternoon today. You can go here to see what another local community did yesterday as a part of their TEA party, organized much differently than ours was. You can also go here to see where ongoing protests near you are taking place.

I never saw myself as a political activist. But there's never been something that's been so big to me. Please keep our government covered in prayer. That's being an activist, too. And God can affect change in sweeping ways we cannot even imagine.

The weather man said there might be some storms

April 11 we had some doozies sweep through here. Apparently these weren't on anyone's radar, they just popped up. We knew slight chance of rain, but we didn't know how much. Here's the damage...

This was about 20 minutes after the rain started. We had three cars in the driveway because we had Bart's there, too. Hmmm. We had to do something...

See the truck down the street? And in the next one, too.

See the fire hydrant?

This photo has my neighbor's SUV in it at the back of their driveway.

The moat behind our house...

J has been telling me for 5.5 years that there is no way to get a car in our garage. But let me tell you that when threatened (by nature's storms and his wife) there is a way!

See AB in the photo? (She's the tiny head). She wanted to go to the beach. We obliged. What gracious hosts we are.

The water in my back yard was half way up Bart's calf.

We had neighbor kids swimming in the street. I guess it was safe, at least from cars. But, ewww.

We did have some roof/ceiling damage from this. Same place as the hurricane, if that tells you what the wind was doing. Regular rain doesn't make it inside my house, but driven rain does. We had more flooding with this storm than we did with Hurricane Ike. Puts it in perspective.

AB came to visit!!!

We finally talked AB into coming!! We've been badgering her for months to come, and finally wore her down! Yay!

She loved it here. She really wanted to go to the beach, but she wasn't able to, because of the weather. So we brought the beach to her. Photographs of that amazing sight later.

Hannah helped her eat. Both of them were pleased with the results. We forgot to keep an eye on the dog while we were feeding the baby. Ha!

AB started crawling 4 days after she visited. Stinker. She's mobile now, and that means mom and dad are on their toes alot more these days!!

Sunday...

The life saver swing... Our dear friends J&K S let us borrow a baby swing and a pack and play for AB while she was here. Let's just say her pampered tush didn't touch the pack and play. She's a swinging kind of girl... We did really get alot of use out of the swing. She even slept in it!

Laugh with me: J told AB's mom and dad, we'll take the baby for the night and come get you if we can't console her. Ya'll sleep. Seems sweet... Somehow the baby ended up on my side of the bed in the swing. Hmmm. Then, when she got up in the middle of the night who did not stir one eyelash? My sweet husband, who volunteered for this mess. Ha! He says he stirred, but saw that I was up with her, so he just stayed asleep. No sense in both of us being up with her...

Sunday, we were watching AB while her mom and dad napped. She was a little tired and cranky, so I put her to sleep. J coughed riiiight when AB was juuust asleep - at that golden moment when anything can wake them. And it did. Grrr. Fuzzball just ran away. I was stuck putting the baby to sleep again. Which didn't happen, despite my best tricks.

Our next door neighbor came out to see what that awful racket was (we were outside to give my bro a break with the noise). Literally, as soon as S got AB, AB stopped crying. As soon as S gave AB back to me, AB was crying. It was so TV show, it was funny. So S and her two daughters came and had a picnic on the front lawn with me and AB. We hung out together for about 2 hours, which was the first time that's happened in a long time.

We love grass!!

We loved having her come visit. I hope to get a photo of me holding AB, but the only one J took I was in my jammies and not looking too hot. So, I'll post one later.

AB, we can't wait to see you again!

Bible Bowl

There's not alot to say about Bible Bowl this year.

We took a great group of kids to Abilene for ACU's final Bible Bowl. I've been going since I was 12 or so, taking a few years off for my college education. Now, I'm taking kids.

It was a good year for us. Our group was really cohesive, and got along well. We did have fun.

We stopped at BlueBell Creameries on the way up to Abilene. Yummy! We got to tour the plant, and got a sample of their ice cream at the end.

After the test, I give whoever beats my score $5 cash. I try to make a big production out of it, and the kids seem to like it, especially since I'm a little competitive and it means they beat me. One girl beat me this year; she was the one who tied last year and she was a little upset that tying didn't rate the $5. This year she beat me (by two points) and earned her $5. Her sister tied me this year. I think I may be out $10 next year...

We let the kids stay up as late as they want on Saturday for two reasons: 1. so we can give them a bedtime on Friday night before the test, and 2. it makes it so they sleep all the way home on Sunday. Devious, I know. Here we are playing a game I don't remember into the wee hours of the morning. We didn't even get half way. 14 people is alot for this particular game.



We had church in the hotel conference room with some other Houston churches. It's wonderful to worship with new friends, knowing Christ binds you all together.



Big thanks to the V family for making our rockin' Bible Bowl shirts. We all look great!

Since ACU has shuttered its doors to Bible Bowl after years and years, the Houston churches have gotten together and are trying to start up a Bible Bowl of our own. We're looking for churches who have been participating in Bible Bowl for years, as well as churches who would like to start a program that encourages Bible study. If you know of any that would be interested in starting this program, with plenty of help from us, of course, please let me know!!

We wanted to thank the elders for allowing this trip, and for supporting us through this ministry. They've been great! We pray it will continue into the future as a ministry that encourages memorization of the scriptures.

Bible Quiz

This link was e-mailed to me by my great aunt and uncle. It's pretty interesting. Every time you take the quiz, the questions change. Try it. See if it challenges you!

http://teachingtruth.org/quiz.php

Thoughts over the last month

I will do an updated blog with photos, I promise. I don't have my camera at work, today, so all there is to post about is my random thoughts over the month. There's nothing deep, I promise.

1. No matter how much (or little) you are carrying around, a bra is *not* an appropriate place for a cell phone.

2. At the Rocket's game this weekend, I saw alot of girls in really tight jeans. Hmmm. I'm working on getting my jeans to NOT fit like that. I'm just sayin'. Maybe I CAN eat the ice cream after dinner, after all. It seems to be the style...

3. I learned something about a dear friend of mine at the Rockets game this weekend. She is such an encourager. At the point in the game when the Rockets were up more than 30 points, she started cheering for the LA Clippers. She is not a Clippers fan, she just wanted them to not feel so discouraged. I'm not sure anyone heard on the court her, because we were wwwaaaayyyy in the nosebleed seats, but it was cute to hear her cheer anyway.

4. At the Rockets game (seems like I learned alot from them), when the announcer called the baskets by the Clippers, he sounded like Eeyore. It was a hoot, and I laughed through the entire two hours whenever the Clippers scored (It was not very often, unfortunately.)

5. If you ask a parking attendant where to eat, you will get pointed to three bars. No restaurants, just bars.

An update: my employers wife has been officially diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, with distant metastases. She will start in a chemotherapy trial as soon as her radiation is over. Please keep her in your prayers.

We leave for Abilene in the morning. Please keep this little group in your prayers. The kids have studied hard and are very excited.