Thankful Tuesday May 31, 2011

I've lost count of my Thankful Tuesdays, so I'll just go with the date.

Today I am thankful for:
1.  Pool parties -- the mess stays outside.  We served kids ice cream on Saturday with the option of jumping in the pool to get off the sticky afterward.

2.  Claire Bear-- She's five now!  She's a big help around here and a good example for her little brother Paul.

3.  Kaa and Big Paul -- Adam's godparents are here visiting.  They bring their own RV, lots of food and wine, and they clean our house!  They are amazing and I am grateful.  Yesterday Paul spent hours scrubbing my stove.  The only time I've seen it that clean was the last time he did it.

4.  Grocery stores-- Yesterday I ran some errands with Kaa and we ended up stopping at two different grocery stores, both within four miles of my house.  I kept whining that I didn't know where anything is in those stores and they didn't have my brand of wine, blah blah blah.  I prefer to go to a different store, whine, whine, whine.  But really, we are quite blessed to have so many grocery stores that we can actually be picky about it!  There are people all over the world, even some in our area, who would love to be picky about grocery stores and have both the money and the opportunity to do so!

5.  Inside jokes -- Yesterday my friend Stacy's stepmom asked me if Claire would eat a "nanner."  She knew the silly joke Stacy and I have shared since high school.  I love cheesy humor that just won't die.

6.  Books -- Our entire family is blessed with a plethora of books overflowing every bookshelf we own.  Any time Paul wants to learn about Tamarins or Claire wants to know about moos Mr. Brown can do, they can just grab a book off their shelf.  Adam has books on history, evolution, and religious debates, so he can always educate himself.  I have a mixture of everything, so whatever my mood is, I have a book to accomodate.  Literature is important over here.

7.  Personalized prayers -- A month ago, we started veering away from the "God is Great" rote prayers and started letting the kids come up with their own.  It is so sweet to hear Claire thanking God for the beautiful flowers, her food, and the wonderful world.  I love to hear Paul say, "Dear God, I love you so much!"  I love that neither Adam nor I have ever given direction on what to say during blessings, but they come up with their own appropriate messages.

8.  Spinach -- Everyone around here loves it, including the kids!  If I ever overhear someone telling the kids that most people don't care for spinach, that person better brace themself for a whooping.

9.  Wildlife out our window -- We live in the city, but our backyard is still teeming with wildlife.  I love to watch the courtship rituals of squirrels and blue jays.

10.  My brain -- To me, being smart is more important than being beautiful.  I am so glad that I am blessed with intelligence and a love of learning.  Without that, I just wouldn't be me.

Happy Birthday Claire!

Happy birthday Claire!

Saturday was Claire's birthday, and we had parties all day. In the morning, we had all her kid friends over, and family came over with tons of food in the afternoon. We have countless pictures of family eating.
Claire is now five years old. With her birthday and the Mavs going to the playoffs, Adam and I have been reminiscing about the last time the Mavs were in the playoffs and I was birthing our first baby.
We are so proud of how smart and generous Claire is.
Two weeks ago, we were leaving a funeral and about to head out of town. We were on our way to Chick-fil-A for lunch when Claire spotted a homeless man with a sign on the side of the road. She asked what it said and I explained that the man was asking for food.
Claire: "I wish we had some food to give him."
Me: "I do, too, but we just cleaned all the snacks and toys out of the car."
Claire: "Well, why don't we buy him some food at Chick-fil-A?"
So we did. We drove back to give it to him. Claire rolled down her window and gave him the food and drink himself. As we made a u-turn and headed home, we spotted him under the bridge chowing down and drinking his lemonade as fast as he possibly could. Claire said it made her happy to see that. Me, too.
In the last two weeks, she's really started reading as well. We bought some Bob early readers from Half Price Books and she's been hard at work reading them. She'll be in kindergarten in just a couple of months, and she's ready.

Happy birthday to my favorite five year old!

Gardening

Several of my friends have traditional gardens in their backyard, but I've always struggled with that.  We don't really have a place for a garden, with the pool, the playset, the deck, and the trampoline.  I also don't have a rototiller to dig up the dirt to get it ready.  Although I've wanted to garden for a long time, these details have impeded me.
This year I decided to poo-poo traditional.  I'm successfully gardening in every terra-cotta pot I own.  We've got lavendar, tomatoes, cilantro, okra, squash, and bell pepper.  None of it has been ready to harvest yet, but I think we'll be able to eat a tomato by this weekend.
What I love about gardening, is that it is a lot like my church--full of love.  When I look outside, I see the aloe vera that my late grandmother started in pots and that I have continuously repotted and shared with others.  I see the Rose of Sharon bush that grew from a seed from my great uncle.  We've got a beautiful hot pink oleander bush that was a housewarming gift from my grandparents.  There's mint, marigolds, and lamb's ear from our friend Ann-Marie.  And I've got my daisies which I planted from seeds five or six years ago.  Those make me happy every time I see them.
So like the church, I am filled with love every time I interact with my potted garden.  When the plant grows out of a pot, I share it with others.  If I fail to water and pay attention to the plants, they die just like a relationship that's not cultivated.
Excuse me while I go water my church.

Paul's Basketball Team

Yesterday Paul had his first basketball practice.  The YMCA has basketball for 3-4 year olds, and while he's not quite three, he'll get there during the season, so they let us slide.  It exciting to see him play with the other children and make some baskets.  We were quite impressed.  The above picture is him stretching with the team and coach.

 Here he is practicing passing with another dad.  I told you it was darn cute!

Here's a picture that will be worth something one day.  Paul William Boyette's first basket.  I can't wait for his first game to see him in a jersey running up and down the court!

Thankful Tuesday Number Five, I Think

Hello!  I've been out of the blogosphere for a few days because we took an anniversary trip to Fredericksburg.  Lots of shopping and wine and fun.
That leads me to my Tuesday thanks list.

1.  Dog-sitters and Babysitters
This week I am thankful for my friends the Carlton family, who watched Wesley Eugene over the weekend.  I'm also grateful for Adam's sisters for both watching and thoroughly entertaining the kids all weekend.  The list of what the kids did is long...horse-riding, tea party, trampoline ring-around-the-rosy, and on and on.  Thanks to all of you!

2.  Stacy and Matt
I would like to also extend thanks to Stacy and Matt, who went with us to Fredericksburg.  We had a lot of fun, and they even bought dinner one night.  Love, love, love them.

3.  Adventurous eaters
According to Adam's mother, he was raised on PB&J, Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese, and pepperoni pizza.  I am proud of everyone in my house, all with expanding taste-buds.  Last night we ate spinach salad and Greek goulash with gnocchi noodles.  It was healthy and everyone ate it.  I won't say it was a make-again recipe, but I am proud of my adventurous eaters.  Claire and Paul even had seconds on salad!

4.  The garage
Yesterday we had hail and my car stayed dry and damage-free in the garage.  I was also able to load the kids up during a rainstorm without getting wet.  We are blessed.

5.  Growing things
We are successfully growing lavendar, cilantro, tomatoes, squash, okra, bell peppers, and daisies.  This is my most successful gardening year ever!

6.  Ann-Marie
Preschool is out, and I didn't have anywhere to take the kids so I could work.  Luckily, our friend Ann-Marie was actually thinking about watching kids over the summer so she could pull out all her old teaching supplies.  Every Tuesday the kids will now go to Ann-Marie's preschool....for free.  We are all ecstatic.

7.  Pandora
Last week I was trying to explain Vanilla Ice to the kids.  Unfortunately I don't have him on my Ipod.  Fortunately, there is Pandora Internet Radio, where I typed in a search for the classy rapper and instantly produced both that song and many more classic 90s dance hits.  I was dancing all day.

8.  The Blue Chair
When Adam and I were newlyweds, we splurged and bought him a recliner.  It still sits in our living room and was the perfect chair for nursing babies, and is still pefect for rocking kids and reading, and doing my devotional each morning.  It's so big and comfy, I can sit anyway I want to in it.  I love that chair.

9.  No flooding.
When we first moved into our home, the kitchen would flood during heavy rainstorms.  We bought a little gadget for the door that basically looks like an absorbent snake.  We have rarely had to mop up rain since then.

10.  Ministers and new perspectives
Sunday was our senior pastor's last day at church.  We love Dr. Rev. Jerry Chism, and will surely miss him.  He's become family.  Today, though, I get to meet our new senior minister, and I can't wait to see all the new perspectives and excitement she will bring.

Feliz Anniversario!

Above you see some beautiful orchids, sent to me for my ten year anniversary with my hot husband.

Ten years ago today, I wore a white dress in a Baptist church and married my best friend Adam.  We've changed a lot in the last ten years, but we've done it together.
Every major and most minor decisions in our marriage have been a collaborative effort.  From changes between contacts and eyeglasses to car purchases, we talk about everything.  We don't always agree, and in fact, are probably about 50/50 on agreeing on the little things, but we always see eye to eye on the big stuff.  We also can have complete conversations across the room just by looking at each other and changing facial expressions.
This weekend we had the privilege of attending my cousin Lindsay's wedding.  Of course weddings always make me sentimental and this one was so awesome it made me want to get married again.  It was in the midst of all my family, everyone laughing and dancing together, that I really got a lump in my throat.  Adam's such a good dad and husband.  I can escape and just shout, "You're on kids!" and know that he'll handle it.  He's unafraid and unashamed to do white-boy dancing with our daughter, Claire.  It was his brilliant idea to let Paul wear his Spiderman costume to the reception.
We're pretty old fashioned.  I cook all our meals and send him to work with coffee and a muffin, but that's how we function.  I take care of all the food and kiss all the owies and he balances the checkbooks and fixes whatever I break.  It works out well.
So today I celebrate and thank God for my husband.  He makes me laugh, he makes me happy.

Gnomebody Knows

We got home from preschool/church yesterday to find a present on the porch.  It's a pair of gnomes.  I have no clue where they came from, but they're pretty cute as far as gnomes go.
I have a sneaking suspicion my friend Ardis is to blame, but who knows.  What I do know, is that I keep "knowing" who it is that left them and finding out that I don't know.  The appearance of two gnome kids has spurred me to call several people I haven't called in a while and catch up.  I still don't know who did it, but I do know what's going on in others' lives.

Thankful Tuesday Number Four

Aloha!  From my desk in the beautiful Texas weather, I am celebrating Thanksgiving and Tuesday again today.

This week, this is what I am thankful for:

1.  A handyman husband
Not only is Adam extremely smart, he's also extremely talented at saving us thousands of dollars on fixing items around the house.  I can't tell you how many times we've been in a bind and he's fixed the pool pump, or the toilet, sink, sprinkler system, electrical problems, etc., etc.  Yesterday he did it again.

On the advice of his godparents, once a month, I have been draining the bottom gallon of the hot-water heater.  Supposedly this removes sediments built up on the bottom and extends the life of the hot water heater.  The problem is, we've lived here about seven years and only knew about this for one year.  Apparently beginning maintenance on an already old appliance isn't such a smart idea.

Yesterday I did the draining thing but when Adam got home, it was dripping.  He was tightening the knob I had loosened and it broke.  Long story short, it took a few hours and lots of wasted buckets of clean water to get it fixed.  Luckily it is fixed now and we don't have to replace it.

2.  Kleenex.

When I was a child, I had terrible allergies.  I took every medicine on the market and shots and still went through boxes and boxes of Kleenex.  I remember my mom getting upset that I was using too many Kleenex because they weren't cheap back then.  I am pleased to say that times have changed and Kleenex are cheap now.  Also, the generic brands are much softer than they used to be.  Hooray for cheap facial tissue!

3.  My husband, again.

This week we will celebrate 10 years of marriage.  Not only do I love how funny Adam is and that we can share an inside joke with just a glance across the room, I love that he gets me.  It's wonderful being married to someone who is your opposite and strong in every way that you are weak.  Since we've been married, I have written countless checks, but not had to balance the checkbook once.  He is both empathetic when I am upset and holds me accountable when I'm wrong.  Insert mushy gushy love stuff here.

4.  God-incidents

Last week was full of them.  From the reparation of a friendship to getting lost and ending up in front of the hospital to visit a dying friend, there were about 80 incidents last week that I thank God for.

5.  My NookColor

For Christmas, Adam got me a NookColor.  I love, love, love that I can think of a book title I want, look it up and download the book any time, day or night.  It's like having a giant library branch at your house.

6.  A Perfect Wedding

My cousin Lindsay got married this weekend.  Claire was one of the flower girls.  Both the ceremony and the reception were at the Botanic Gardens and everything was absolutely perfect.  It was so much fun and so perfect that it made Adam and I want to go back in time and redo our wedding.

7.  Clean Water

As I was dumping out the buckets of water pouring out of our hot water heater last night, I thought about all the people in the world who don't have access to clean water.  All we have to do is touch a button and not only do we get clean water, we get to pick the temperature of it.  We are blessed.

8.  Free Babysitters

This weekend Adam and I will be taking a roadtrip to Fredericksburg for the weekend with our friends Stacy and Matt.  I am so grateful that Adam's sisters are willing and able to watch the kids all weekend for the price of a souvenir.

9.  Backyard Parties

Every year we don't have to debate what we will do for the kids' birthdays.  We just open the back door and we automatically have a party.  A pool, playset, and a trampoline makes for an excellent and affordable party.

10.   Coupons

I probably saved $10 or more yesterday with my coupons.  My grandmother taught me how to be an excellent coupon cutter, and I don't go to the store without them.  It's pretty amazing that you can hand a cashier a piece of paper and all of the sudden you don't have to hand her as much money.

Life Truths

In Gretchen Rubin's Book The Happiness Project, she lists "Splendid Truths."  These are proverbs about life.  You don't have to read her book to learn about them; I linked it up above.  I've been trying to think about what my own life truths are, and I've come up with three.

1.  Efficiency does not always equal productivity.  I blogged about this one a few days ago.

2.  Don't volunteer unless you really want to. 
In the various groups I'm a part of, there is constantly requests for volunteers for any number of activities.  A Life Truth I have learned, though, is that I shouldn't volunteer unless I want to do the action.  If I volunteer unwillingly, or agree to do something I don't want to do because I was asked, I resent doing the action and don't do it well.  If I say no, somehow, someone else always comes up and does it, usually with joy.
One example of this is at church in the Children's Sunday School area.  I used to volunteer to be a substitute teacher for the kids' classes.  When I did it though, it was work and I didn't really enjoy it.  I missed the interaction in my adult Sunday school class.  One day I was asked to do it and had double-booked myself, so I had to get Adam to teach for me.  He loved it.  He does a good job and enjoys it so much that he substitutes regularly now.  So once I got my grumpy self out of the way, it allowed Adam to do it with joy.  I love how that works out.

3.  What you get upset about is in proportion to how big your world is.

When I was in high school, I actually got upset about who was chosen to pray at our bacclaureate program.  I am ashamed to say, but I had a petition floating around, getting friends to sign a paper saying that the selected person wasn't "Christian" enough and that I would be a better choice.  Nowadays that's laughable to me.  There are a  number of actions that I did in that situation that were not "Christian" enough.  But the point is that my world was high school and church and so small details of life meant a lot to me.  I cared passionately about the littlest things, like if my necklace clasp had sunk to the bottom of my pendant and who was praying for the class.  My world was very small and I couldn't see out of it to a bigger picture.

When I was in college, I had a larger worldview and got upset about bigger issues like whether or not the president of the university was trying to suppress the freedom of the university press and whether or not I should get my belly pierced and was it okay to smoke a cigarette even if I didn't know how?  Although my world had grown, it was still pretty small and centered on the most important person in the world; me.

After college, I got upset about items at the workplace.  At my bookstore job, if someone put books in random places on the shelf, I was enraged.  At school, we fought over how much copy paper each teacher had, and was someone pilfering it for personal use?  The important things in life again weren't a part of the big picture.  I giggle now thinking back...Had I been on my deathbed during that period, would I have confessed to taking some paper from the office?

Now, after having children, I have gained a little more perspective.  If I lose friends because my hair is crazy or because my toenails were painted by a four year old, then those are friends that I don't want around anyway.  Fashion, schmashion.  If it's clean, I'll wear it.

My world has definitely grown.  Part the growth is realizing how small my world is.  I have concerns for people I can see and I can't identify yet with those from faraway places like Pakistan or Japan.  I worry about the homeless man that gives me a bookmark each time I see him and making sure my friend from church has life essentials.  I try to make sure my children are generous and caring and empathetic to those who are different from them.  I am concious of sharing love with the Wal-Mart cashier or a frenzied friend.

So one thing I've learned about myself is that my concern for the little details in life fall away as I focus on the big details.

Efficiency and Productivity

I am very efficient in just about every part of  my life.  From loading the dishwasher while waiting for coffee to brew, to abbreviating my sentences to not take up too much time talking, there is little in my life that is not accomplished through multi-tasking.  I've been this way as long as I remember, and I've gotten better at it, or worse, depending on your perspective.
The reason I multi-task is so I can get said item done so I can relax and focus on the next thing.  The problem is, even in relaxing, I'm multi-tasking.
Two nights ago, I had to get up at 2 a.m. to let Wesley Eugene, our dog, outside.  While he was outside taking his sweet time, I was inside thinking of what short project I could accomplish while he was going potty and I was half-asleep.  Then the thought occured to me, "Why can't you just sit down?" I started folding laundry standing up while I was mulling that one over.  Then another thought occured to me, "Efficiency doesn't always lead to productivity."  Obviously I'm blasphemous when I'm half- asleep.  Everyone knows that the more efficient you are, the more productive you are.
But maybe that's not true.
I'm constantly on my feet cleaning house and getting stuff done, but if you came over right now, you wouldn't know that.  What you would notice, though, is that I can't sit down and listen to you.  I'm listening, but simultaneously I'm making my grocery list and folding laundry.  I'll ask you to come talk to me in the kitchen while I wash dishes.  I don't ever stop what I'm doing just to listen.
I believe this might be a problem.  Over the last 48 hours, I have been paying attention to my multi-tasking and realized that I don't think I get more done by multi-tasking.  In fact, I think actually that multi-tasking has lead me to a million unfinished projects rather than one done.
Yesterday there was a mother standing outside of Target asking for food and money for her children who were also next to her begging.  I looked in my wallet and realized that it was a red-letter day and I had some cash I could give her.  I evaluated the situation with my multi-tasking brain.  Here's my inner dialogue.
"There's a woman over there that needs money.  How can I take the least amount of steps to give her money, get my basket, and get to the bridal registry?  I wish she was begging at this door so I could just give it to her here since I have to be on this end of the store anyway.  Oh, and darn it, I do need coffee, which is on the other side of the store.  I wish things were closer together.  I wonder if that lady left.  I'm sure it's against Target's policy to beg in front of their door.  Maybe I shouldn't encourage it by giving her money.  But she's a mother!  How can I walk by with cash in my wallet and not give her money or food?"
So I parked on the far side of the store, where the bridal registry was, and walked all the way over to the beggar lady.  Since I had already "wasted" time walking to the other end to give this lady money, I just handed it to her and walked off.  She was grateful and tried to engage me in conversation.  But no, I had already wasted "conversation time" by walking to the other side of the parking lot.  I kept walking.
And then it hit me.  Maybe she didn't just need money.  Maybe she needed someone to see her and not ignore her and actually listen to her gratitude.
Unfortunately when this thought occured to me, I was already mapping my route through the store and I couldn't turn back.
So today I'm going to try to be less efficient and more in the moment.

God-incidents

Sometimes everything falls into place so perfectly you know God had a hand in it.

Yesterday after Adam left for the airport, the kids slept in. This meant we didn't have time to walk to the library. We were sitting down eating chocolate chip pancakes when the doorbell rang.

A friend of mine, I'll call her "Betsy," was at the door. (I decided to give her a code name here not because she needs one, but because I've always wanted to give someone a code name.)

Betsy and I had been estranged, and although I wasn't mad at her, it appeared we wouldn't be able to be friends. The details don't matter.

What does matter is that Betsy was on my side of town to visit a different friend that lives in my neighborhood. She got lost and ended up on my street. She saw my house and took it as a sign from God she should come talk to me.

We mended our friendship and everything is fantastic. I am so proud of her, though, because that takes courage to ring the doorbell at a house of a "former" friend.

Talking with Betsy made us late to the library, which in turn, lead me to having a conversation with one of our librarians about umbrellas. Claire and Paul have super cute character umbrellas from Wal-Mart and we were talking about them when he mentioned he had forgotten that he needed to buy one. He told me that recently when feeding the homeless, a lady asked him if she could have his umbrella and he gave it to her. That left him umbrella-less in the rain.

After the library, we immediately went and bought Mr. Michael a new umbrella.

Last week I read Adam Hamiton's book "Why?" in which he states that he believes in both coincidences and "God-incidents." Yesterday was full of "God-incidents."

Adventures at the Hospital

One part I love about being a mother is seeing the world through the kids' eyes. Everything is new and exciting.

Yesterday we went to Harris Hospital in downtown Fort Worth to visit our friend Richard. He's one of the greeters at church and one of our favorite people. Going to visit an old sick man at the hospital might not sound like an adventure to some, but those people would be wrong.

First we had the excitement of the parking garage. "We're getting higher and higher! We're in the sky now!"

We parked on the top level. Adam taught me to do that a long time ago. That way I always remember where the car is. At Harris, the top level also has a Careflite helicopter, which we got to see take off.

Then there's all the elevators. Up! Down! Woohoo! We like to split up the button pressing and one one kid will press the button outside the elevator and the other one will press the button inside the elevator. "Look! There's a window on the elevator and you can see outside!"

Then we went to see Richard and give everyone a hug. It was so touching watching his wife leaning over him to tell him that she loves him.

After our visit, we rode the elevator again...more fun!

Then we followed our noses to the popcorn machine where we got to watch popcorn popping and a magic trick performed by the popcorn volunteer.

After that we chucked some pennies in the fountain and stared at that for a while.

We followed that with a few laps in the revolving doors and then the trek back to the car. It was an adventurous afternoon.

Thankful Tuesday #3

Today is the day of the week when I list what I'm thankful for. I have so much that I am able to do this once a week!

1. My new Ipod Touch -- While I didn't deserve or need this, I am very excited about it. Now I can put all my music on one Ipod and play Words with Friends. I haven't won a game yet, but I'm getting better!

2. Early morning wake ups -- I get so much more done in the day when I wake up at 5 a.m. See, I've already drank a large cup of coffee, done my Bible study, checked Facebook and e-mail, played Words with Friends, and blogged and it's only 5:48!

3. Dollar Tree -- My kids have run out of activities at my granddad's house. Apparently a box of broken toys from the 1960s doesn't hold the same allure as it once did. I took the kids to Dollar Tree on Friday before we went to my granddad's and felt like a millionaire there. "Sure, we can buy the kids tape! Sure you can have that coloring book and those pencils! Bubbles? Sure!" I loaded up on fun stuff to keep there and there was zero fighting that day. I was actually able to install a printer with no interruptions!

4. Ceiling fans-- You can raise the temperature on the AC thermostat and turn the fans on and not notice a difference. Money saved!

5. Cute babies -- While I will probably not have another one of my own, I have been surrounded by cute babies this week. It was Baby Sunday at church and I got to hold and squeeze nearly every one of them. Yesterday I got to hold another. Nothing compares to the hug you get from a fat baby.

6. Blooming daisies and growing tomatoes -- I have successfully kept my tomato plant alive and it has about five tomatoes still growing on it. I'm very proud of that plant that I bought already blooming at Wal-Mart. Cheating, I know, but fresh tomatoes will taste the same whether you cheated or not. Also, my favorite flowers are blooming in the backyard. I love daisies! They make me happy every time I look at them.

7. Our backyard -- Although you'd have to look hard to find a few feet of unobstructed grass in the backyard, we have it full of fun. A pool, trampoline, and a play set.....It's a kid's wonderland.

8. St. Augustine grass -- I love walking barefoot through our grass. No pesky cockle bur stickers, just soft grass.

9. My grill -- Last year my little gas grill pooped out and we got me a glorious new one. It's red and has five burners. I love it and use it almost every day during grill season.

10. A sleeping house -- Everyone, including Wesley Eugene, is sleeping peacefully right now. I will hopefully be able to catch up the laundry uninterrupted.

Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I had a delicious day. Adam brought me breakfast from Whataburger, we went to lunch at Mexican Inn and met his parents at Outback for dinner. There was church and a nap in between.

I don't know if it's Hallmark's fault or memories of my mother lounging on Mother's Day, but somewhere I got the idea that Mother's Day meant that I didn't have to lift a finger. In my mind, Mother's Day is like actually practicing the Sabbath. Oh no! I can't load that dishwasher! It's Mother's Day!

I had to force myself not to do small acts of work, and then at the end of the day, I wondered, what's the point? Making myself not hang those clothes was both difficult yesterday and more work I have to do today.

Where I got my sense of entitlement from, I don't know. While it's great to relax on Mother's Day, I should also use some common sense. There are other mothers in the world that don't get three meals served to them in one day, that actually have to go to work on that day, or women in other parts of the world who would laugh at a day for a mom to sit on her fanny.

At dinner last night, I sat next to my sister-in-law Amanda. I asked her what she received as a Mother's Day present. I was all ready to hear the sentimental actions and gifts she had received from our niece. Nope. She got nothing.

"Why?" I asked, mortified. I, by the way, got three meals, flowers, and an Ipod touch.

"I just don't need any more stuff," she said.

"Not even flowers?"

"No, the cats eat the flowers and they die in a couple of days anyway, so I told everyone to save their money."

That was quite humbling. Not only did she not receive any material gifts for Mother's Day, it was because she didn't want them. It was a small reality check for someone who got spoiled but didn't need it, either.

"Well, did you at least get to relax today?" I asked her, expecting that she, too, laid around and didn't lift a finger.

And those of you anticipating my reality check again, are right. Yes, my sister-in-law took her mother to the ER in the middle of the night. And she did a week's worth of laundry and cleaned the house. She also took her daughter to acting lessons on the other side of town. She had more she was going to do that night.

On the way home from dinner, I announced that Mother's Day was officially over, and got to work.

Campaign Fun

Two years ago, the city government in Fort Worth proposed shutting down some of its libraries to make up for a budget deficit. One of the libraries on the chopping block was the Wedgwood branch, the one we walk to weekly. Of course we were upset and even spoke at a city council meeting to protest.

The library stayed open and we got to know our city councilman, Jungus Jordan. He assured us that we wouldn't lose the library as long as he was in office and we assured him that we would help him when he was up for re-election.

Now's the time. I am a supporter of Jungus for political reasons, and the kids are supporters of Jungus for friendship reasons. They love the guy. One day we saw him shopping at Albertson's and the kids yelled, "Hey Mr. Jungus!" down every aisle and he didn't get the least bit annoyed. So we are all official Jungus fans over here.

Today Adam and I took the kids and campaigned with Jungus down our block and on the next street. Our campaign trail was small because we have small people involved, but there was a lot of heart. The kids rang a lot of doorbells and would tell everyone "Vote for Mr. Jungus!" I think we won over a few votes from cuteness alone.

We also met some interesting people and a parrot. We stayed a long time campaigning to

Heather, and I think we got her vote.

Above is Jungus talking to the real voter in the house about actual issues. He did talk to the parrot, but I don't want you to think he's actually "talking to the parrot." But really, isn't this guy great? How many people take time out of their day to talk to a parrot and discuss political concerns with the parrot's owner?

The kids posed with Heather the parrot, trying to persuade her to vote or to sing "Row, Row Your Boat."

Quotes that Quack Me Up

I've started keeping journal in my purse to write down the quotable quotes from Claire and Paul. Here are a few from the last month.

1. Paul is making snorting noises.

Claire: "Stop that! I don't like that noise!"

Paul: "I'm not going to stop. I like that noise. That's how I roll!"

(I did end up having to get him to stop the noise, though.)

2. Claire: "I wish I could have giant armpits."

No explanation was given for this other than she loves her armpits.

3. Claire: "I'm cool like that!"

4. Claire: "At the library, Ziya said my hair is real pretty. And it is."

5. Claire: "Paul, you know if you glue a cross on your hat, people will know you are from the Methodist Church."

6. Claire: "Pat-a-cake, Pat-a-cake, Bake your hands."

7. Paul: "Mama, my library CD has Little Bunny Foo-Foo Hopping Through the Meadow Scooping Up the Field Mice and Bopping Them on the Head!"

Apparently that's the song title.

Prayer

I have been reading the book, Spiritual Classics, edited by Richard J. Foster and Emilie Griffin. This book has prompted me to examine my prayer life and how it has evolved.

For most of my life, I have put prayer in a box. I believed you must bow your head, close your eyes and follow other traditions or you weren't actually communicating with God. Over the last few years, I have opened my mind and extended my definition of prayer.

Now I believe:

1. Eyes closed or open; God doesn't care. If you're praying while driving, you better keep those eyes open!

2. Formal introductions aren't necessary. If you feel like addressing God as "Our Father who art in heaven," that's great, but he also hears you when you start mid-sentence.

3. You don't have to say "Amen." In fact, beyond prayers for food and corporate prayer at church, I never say "Amen." That implies your praying is over. Mine never is. My mind works 90 mph, so I will pray a little bit, think a little bit, and then pray some more. I think God can handle it.

4. Sometimes you don't even have to use words. You can offer God your feelings. You can just think about your problem or your praise and mentally send it up to him. He gets it.

5. I believe physical actions can also be prayers. Feeding a homeless person or helping up a fallen one is a prayer of service to God. Any action you do that extends love to another is a prayer.

6. You can write them down instead of saying them aloud. I enjoy this because it helps me focus, and then months later I can look back in my journal and see how my worries of that day compared to other days. It puts some perspective in my prayer life.

7. Sitting quietly and listening to your heart is also a form of prayer.

This is by no means a complete list of forms of prayer. That's the point. You can't make a complete list because you can't quantify all the numbers of ways to pray. People think up new ones every day and God still hears them.

Thanksgiving Tuesday Number Two!

As part of my new Tuesday tradition, I will list items I am thankful for.

1. Fort Worth's balance between urban and rural.

I love living in a big city. Every destination I need is within reach. I also love trees and flowers though, and I think Fort Worth has the perfect balance of them. You go downtown, which only consists of cement in many cities, and you see trees and flowers in beds. If you get tired of the gray, you just have to turn your head for some green, and if you get tired of the green, you just have to turn your head for some gray.

2. Texas weather.

Last week we were sweating and this week we're wearing sweaters. I love that I never have to stick to one item in my wardrobe. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

3. My tomato plant.

I bought one of those cheater plants at Wal-Mart that was already blooming and I have managed to keep it alive and healthy. We'll have tomatoes soon.

4. Quotes and Quips from kids.

Yesterday Claire confessed that she thought Pat-a-Cake said, "Bake your hands" but now understands that it is "Baker's Man."

5. Half Price Books

Last week I took two bags of books in and a vague idea of a Bible study book I wanted. I found what I needed and almost paid for it with what I didn't.

6. A cold glass of clean water.

I'm drinking one right now and I'm lucky. Millions of people in the world can't do that.

7. E-mail

I HATE talking on the phone. It's paralyzing and there's something that draws the children to me when I'm on the phone. They'll be busy making crafts but if I get on the phone, all the sudden they are hanging on me like monkeys. I am so grateful that in this day and age, I can e-mail instead of talk on the phone with most people.

8. Birds singing.

In our neighborhood, I often hear the birds singing even at night. It's beautiful.

9. My Steam Mop

I highly recommend my Shark Steam Mop. No detergents and you wash the mop pads. It's wonderful.

10. Flavored coffee creamers

For years, I have been wanting to buy the fancy flavored coffee creamers, but denied myself because I thought they cost too much. Recently I discovered they are only $1.28 at Wal-Mart. It's changed my coffee-drinking experience.

Chex Mix

I went to a Bible Study retreat on Saturday, and we all brought snacks. My favorite was Robin Stout's apricots dipped in chocolate. Delicious! I made Chex mix, which was tasty, but nothing compared to apricots dipped in chocolate. So at the end of the day, I had nearly a gallon of Chex Mix left.

I was driving home from church, trying to figure out how I was going to get rid of a gallon of chex, when I saw a homeless man with a sign that said, "Hungry and Broke." I always debate whether or not to give beggars money, but Chex mix isn't money, and I was going to give it away anyway, so I rolled down my window and gave it to him.

This man was so excited! He told me that he knew God had wanted him to bring a backpack that day for a reason. He said he was going to try to sell the backpack, but now he filled it with Chex. He handed me a grubby bookmark and thanked me profusely. Then he told me "God loves you and I love you so much, too." He kept saying that now he wanted to find someone to give him money to buy milk to go with his Chex.

It was awesome, and all it cost me was the loss of a giant container. I think I'm going to start keeping more snack mix in my car.