Hear Ye, Hear Ye

For bloggers new and bloggers old, those near and far, let us unite into a deep blogmunity circle.

I am so thankful for all of you out there who support my work in blogdom. The problem I have encountered is that many of my supporters have visited unknowingly to me. Could I make a small request? First, I know how it feels to enjoy a bloggers post and feel no need to add a comment. I also know how it feels to not have an identity. I, too, was once without an identity. But I believe that I have made it oh so easy to post a simple comment because I have willingly chosen to accept anonymous comments for just this reason. All one must do is sign your name.

Jen was here.

Do it as an appreciation for the hard work put into such an awesome and inspiring piece of art. Do it for Jesus.

I now depart with this blessing. May you feel the close presence of bloggers around the world and have a deeper understanding and appreciation for the lives that have been touched and will continue to be touched. Blog in Peace!

My Life...

What do goat skulls, prickly pears, and chiggers have in common?

They all are in Sidney,TX, my soon-to-be home. I'm moving out to the country. I understand some of you may live in the country, some may live in the bush, and some of you may live in the boonies, but I haven't yet and it's a little freaky. In my town there will be a post office, a school, the Baptist Church, and the Church of Christ. This school will be Emma's school and it consists of kindergarten through 12th grade. We call it Sidney School. We will live two houses away from the school, but, unfortunately, that is about a mile away.

So, sometimes coyotes come around and kill animals and the town folk have a poacher come out and find 'em and shoot 'em. But, then, they leave a dead carcass hangin' on the fencepost on the side of the road... It gets to smelling really nasty and you can't walk down the road without getting completely disgusted. It's awesome!

We went on a walk the other day and found a goat skull. We took it back to the house only to find a hornets nest in it. At least we pulled a tooth out of it before we threw it out!

For all of you city folk, chiggers aren't actually as freaky as one might suspect. If you think about it, it could be kinda gross because there's a bug under your skin but really it's just like a mosquito bite but it itches a little longer. The itching is easily solved with a nice coating of clear nail polish which suffocates them. Okay, it's gross but what can you do?

Finally, don't live in an ugly place. Sidney is better looking than Abilene but I really don't want to live where cactuses flourish! They're so freakin' ugly. And they're pokey!

Ten Second Rule

How many of you confess to eating things off the floor? You drop it, pick it up quickly, blow on it, pop it your mouth. Admit it. God made dirt and dirt don't hurt... Have you said it?
Now, for those of you who know my husband you may have witnessed his poor discretion in the things he's chosen to ingest. Catapillars, leaves with easy cheese, dirt itself, and many, many other non consumable products. (Please note these have not been in his recent years...) But I have just witnessed a new level. I observed my husband pick up one of my children's cracker halves, which had been laying on the floor for a few hours amidst much filth and stickiness , and thoughtfully put it on his plate, which he was done with. Yet, moments later he picked up the cracker and ate it! That was, like, ten seconds times... a lot! Isn't that like dog level? He might as well have grabbed it off the floor and popped it in his mouth!

"Hey Ben, do you want to check out that McDonalds bag? there could be something in it?" Okay, he would probably do it only if it was my McDonalds bag... I'm sure the cracker thing was just a lapse in judgement. Let's count together,"One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand..."

An any-day friend

Doesn't everybody want this kind of friend. The kind of friend that can hang out with no expectations. They can find contentment in being near each other and simply reading a good book. I know I do. Friendship that delights in the simplicity of life. I hope that I always try to be a friend with no expectations. I want to be a funny friend, a serious friend, a thoughtful friend, a quite friend, an honest friend, a genuine friend, an any-day friend. I'm thankful to have those kind of people in my life. I wouldn't be who I am without them. Chelan Metcalf is one of those. An any-day friend. I love spontaneous friends. Cheryl Klobas and Christ Vartanian are my Gresham any-day friends. I don't get to talk to them much but I still know that when one of us finally picks up the phone we can start off right where we left off. Wherever we are in life I pray that God will always send us any-day friends. Do you have one?

The First Are Generally First

I find myself caught, often times, between my first-born tendencies and the maturity and wisdom that comes with motherhood. I watch my first-born child, Emma, and I am proud and angry all in the same moment. I, too, remember having the best ideas. Why would any smart person want to do anything different? Why would someone want to lay on a bed when I have made the greatest fort/bed ever? I watch my daughter manipulate Aiden, Izzy, and any other child around and I am embarassed at the things I have not taught her, yet amazed at the insticts, or whatever you call them, that she has to coerce people to follow her. Just yesterday I overheard Aiden being sad because Emma was suppose to take Aiden's sunglasses to school with her. Now if you know my children, or perhaps other children, you might realize that this is unusual for a child to want someone else to use something belonging to them. I heard Aiden say,"Emma, I thought you were taking my glasses with you! Everyone was going to think you're a movie star and give you lots of presents!" It was funny thinking that that idea might have come from Aiden. It added a new twist realizing that Emma had convinced Aiden to let her borrow his sunglasses when he obviously would not be interested in the idea, normally. I am sorry to say I never thought of that one when I was six.