Cabin Fever

In case you were wondering what cabin fever looks like!

Christmas Ain't Christmas...

... till somebody cries.

That's my favorite new Christmas quote, from Shrek the Halls.

Thing is, despite being snowed in together for over a month (okay, okay, it was only a week), the only one who cried was the 5 month old. And that's allowed.

Christmas cookies baking (7 kinds in under 2 hours), ornament decorating, family talent show, lots and lots of games (favorites were Farkle and Time's Up!), sleeping on the floor, snowball fights, fondue night, and more. It was a Christmas to remember.

I hope yours was as happy as mine.

God bless us all.

Family OD, Blog Withdrawal

The promised snowstorm finally arrived after a week of promises and threats. We decided to hunker down with the whole family... and I mean the WHOLE family. My parents, siblings, and all the spouses and kids, in one house.

Thing is, with so many of us under one roof, no one has time to blog. And with no one blogging, we're all going into blog withdrawal.

So, this is for you, family. The title about family OD is not true. (Yet.) It's fun hanging out together, staying up too late, and seeing the appreciation we all share for the next generation. There's some pretty special kids in this house.

No one's starving. No one's cranky. And no one smells too bad.

Yet.

Hope 2 Others

Back in May, our family attended the Rebelution where teens challenged teens to do hard things, to stop living up to the low expectations our society puts on them.

Our kids took up the challenge. They ran with an idea to make H2O bags, a project originally started by some other teens in a nearby city.

These bags are just lunch sacks filled with a nutritious lunch- tuna, peanut butter crackers, fruit leather, a bottle of water, a mint, some tissues and hand wipes, a Bible verse, and a pair of socks.

The kids distribute them at church to adults who are willing to pass the bags out to panhandlers who frequent major intersections. For $3 a bag, it's a way to give a little help, both physically and spiritually, without handing money to someone who might not use it wisely.

Since May, the kids have made and distributed about 250 bags. Yesterday, they were invited to share their project with our local Council for the Homeless. They made enough bags for the whole council and prepared what they wanted to say, then were greatly relieved when our preacher, who is on the council, did all the talking for them.

Their project was well-received and the council members spontaneously gave them enough money to make another 25 bags.

I hope the project has been a blessing to others. I know it has been to us.

s'no snow day

Won't my kids be disappointed this morning to wake up and find it is not a snow day? Despite grand predictions of inches of snow, the streets are dry and bare. The icy winds did, however, arrive and are seeping into the house under and around doors.

In all my years of schooling, I remember two snow days. But that was up north where drivers and road crews are accustomed to dealing with winter.

Here, it always seems to come as a surprise. The news crews come on and tell us how cold it's going to be, how much snow we're going to have, and how to prepare ourselves. Then they come on telling us how surprised they are that we didn't get snow, how much warmer (or colder) it is than they expected, and how we shouldn't stop worrying. Something's bound to go wrong. Just wait and see.

Hope y'all have a great day. And remember - don't stick your tongue to the flagpole. Then we'd really have something to report.

Uwajimaya

There are some things that are best done with someone who appreciates them. I'm thinking Uwajimaya is one of them. This giant oriental grocery store is full of delightful (and not so delightful) foods and other products.

I'm sure that if I'd taken my kids with me, they would have been begging to leave after 10 minutes. So I didn't take my kids, I took my dad.

The two of us spent 3 hours walking up and down the aisles, looking at packaging and trying to guess what was inside. Dad is curious about everything and knows a little about most things, so the slow trips up and down the aisles came with much discussion. I bought a few things, but I'm wishing now I'd picked up a package of umeboshi plums.

Oh, well. I'll just have to go back.

A Lot of Hot Air

Our government has had some stupid ideas over the years, but this one might top them all.

The EPA has proposed a cow tax on the notoriously flatulent beasts because of their carbon emissions. Are they kidding?

Are cows causing global warming?

I can just imagine where this could lead. You start taxing cows and you kills the dairy industry and the beef industry. Those food production projects go overseas, like to China, where safety regulations are much less strict.

If all the cows go to China, do they emit less carbon? Do Chinese cows have fewer digestive problems?

Is it just me, or would said cows still be emitting carbon into the air, only on the other side of the world? And what of the fossil fuels we'd be burning to import our beef and milk and cheese?

I know we have a lot of things to worry about, but I honestly don't see how taxing cow farts and burps makes us better off as a country or as a global society.

Jesse Tree Instructions

I've had a couple requests for info on how we do our Jesse Tree. There are many ways to do it, but here's the adaptation we've come up with through the years. We've borrowed heavily from The Voice.

December 1 - Set up the tree. We use a small one with tiny ornaments we've crafted out of Sculpey clay. You could use paper ornaments or have your kids make their own each day.

1 Sam 16:1-13
Isa 11:1-10

2 - Creation

ornament - the earth

Gen 1:1-2:3

3 - The first sin (man separated from God, God promises that Eve's offspring will truimph)

ornament - apple

Gen 2:4-3:24

4 - The Flood (God redeems mankind and makes a promise)

ornament - rainbow

Gen 6-9 (or just tell the story)

5 - God's promise to Abraham

ornament - stars

Gen 12:1-7

6 - God saves Isaac

ornament - ram

Gen 22

7 - Jacob receives the promise

ornament - ladder

Gen 27:41-28:22

8 - Joseph 

ornament - colored coat

Gen 27-50 (paraphrase this one. It's long!)

9 - Passover

ornament - lamb

Ex 12-14

10 - God gives the law

ornament - 10 commandments

Ex 19-20

11 - The fall of Jericho

ornament - trumpet

Josh 6:1-20

12 - Samuel crowns Saul King

Ornament - crown

1 Sam 3:1-21, 7:1-8:22, 9:15-10:9

13 - David

ornament - shepherd's hook

I Sam 16-17

14 - God proves his power to Elijah and the Prophets of Baal

ornament - stone altar

I Kings 17-18

15 - God delivers the Faithful

ornament - a tent

2 Kng 18:1-19:19, 32-37

16 - Isaiah's call to Holiness

ornament - tongs with coal

Isa 1:10-20

17 - The Exile

ornament - a tear

Jer 1:4-10, 2:4-13, 7:1-15, 8:22-9:1-11

18 - Waiting

ornament - watchtower

Hab 1:1-2:1, 3:16-19

19 - Return to Israel

ornament - city wall

Neh 1:1-2:8, 6:15-16, 13:10-22

20 - Mary

ornament - white lily

Luke 1:26-38

21 - Zechariah and Elizabeth await their child

ornament - tablet with "John" written on it

Luke 1:57-80

22 - Joseph trusts God

ornament - hammer

Matt 1:19-25

23 - The Wise Men come to worship

ornament - star

Matt 2:1-12

24 - The birth of Jesus

ornament - manger

Luke 2:1-20

We top off the month with another reading of the complete Christmas story. You can have another devotional on Christ using John 1:1-14 to wrap things up, if you choose.

Advent

We have many Christmas traditions at our house, some from my childhood and some we've introduced as our kids have grown. One of my favorites is one that is new to this generation - the Jesse tree.

The Jesse tree starts out the month of December bare, but each day it gets an ornament and each ornament has a story. We'll start today by hanging the tiny ornament representing light. We'll talk about God speaking light into existence and we'll talk about how this points to Jesus, the Light of the World.

The Jesse Tree takes us through the entire Old Testament as God weaves his prophecies through the fabric of his people's history. Just as the Israelites had a sense of expectation for the coming Messiah, our family builds a sense of expectation for the memory of his birth.

This little tree gets its name from Isaiah 11:1. "A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a branch will bear fruit."

Jesse, father of King David, ancestor to the long-awaited promise.

Don't You Wish!

I was informed this week by a very Christmas savvy little girl that you only have to good from the beginning of December until Christmas for Santa to deliver the goods.

Listen!

I couldn't sleep last night. All my ideas and projects and things to do drove me from my bed. After working on a couple of things, I curled up with a blanket in the recliner and tried to rest.

Tick.

Tock.

The living room clock and the dining room clock played ping pong with each other. Back and forth. Back and forth.

I don't hear these sounds very often. The quiet click is drowned out by the noise of life - kids, TV, music, talk. Yet underneath the clatter, the clocks mark time, steadily and silently doing their job whether I take any notice or not.

In the craziness of December, I want to remember the clocks. Not for their sake, but as a reminder that God is constant. He doesn't scream for attention, but speaks in a still small voice.

Be still and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10) 

The Deadly Sins

As I drag myself out of bed at 8:45 this morning, I wonder...

Is sloth a deadly sin if it only lasts for a day or two?

The Price of Parenthood

You makes your choices, you pays your prices.

And one of the prices of having children, even homeschooled children, is attending their recitals, open houses, and various other performances.

It can be painful. Not to watch your own children, of course, who are the most talented, the most brilliant, the most beautiful and amazing kids on the planet (after mine). But you know your child's performance will take 17.3 seconds of the evening. And then there are the other 14 hours.

So, last night we went to a showcase of what the kids have done in our homeschool co-op for the past semester. And you know, it wasn't bad.

Strike Out!

You've probably heard by now. Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska has conceded the race. With the highest seniority among Republican senators, Stevens was and is a mainstay in Alaskan politics. Honestly, I can't imagine him not being in Washington D.C.

I predicted he'd be acquitted of fraud charges.

He was convicted.

I thought he'd step down from running for reelection.

He ran.

I said he'd be reelected.

He wasn't.

A swing and a miss. A prophet I am not.

Just as well. The senate was set to kick him out if he was reelected. Rough week for him. Happy birthday, anyway, Senator Stevens.

Face Lift

Some people like change, and some people don't.

I think I'm one who likes change, for the most part. I like to see things get a fresh new look, especially a less cluttered look.

That's what I was going to for when I went with a friend to get my eyebrows waxed. My husband doesn't like it much. He says it looks like something's missing.

That's what I was going for when I redesigned the church bulletin. Mostly people like it, but not everyone.

That's what I'm going for today as I tear apart our home office and try to make it appear more spacious and less cluttered. (Wish me luck!)

And that's what I'm considering for my blog. Do you think it's time for a face lift?

announcing...

We've still got a ways to go to get that counter to 20,000. But I'm eager!

So... whoever bumps it up there and is the 20,000th visitor will get a prize. Maybe it will happen before Christmas!

We Regret

Two of the hardest words to hear are "We regret..."

The first thing that comes to mind, and by far the most serious, is the military or police chaplain that shows up at the door of a spouse.

"We regret to inform you..."

But there are other kinds of messages that say "we regret." Apparently, it can substitute for "I'm sorry," when you don't want to apologize. Consider how this statement about Fannie Mae mucky-mucks spending $6000 on a golf trip this month.

"We do regret that the activities surrounding the customer meetings in Dallas may be perceived as excessive," company spokesman Brian Faith said in an e-mail message.

"We regret" are dreaded words for us aspiring writers.

I got a "we regret" letter this week on a piece I had high hopes for. Shortly afterwards, I got news that a friend of mine was chosen as a semi-finalist in the same competition.

I'm happy for her. I really am. And for the three others I know who have signed their first book contracts this month.

At the same time, it makes me wonder if all the hard work and sacrifice is worth the constant rejection.

What if I pour years and years into becoming a better writer and no one ever reads my books? What if I've wasted all this time and money on what might just be a lonely and expensive hobby? What if I pour myself into something I will never succeed at?

Questions born out of insecurity. They don't mean a thing because, whether I ever "succeed" or not, I have to write. I have to tell stories.

I have to.

Around the World In 80 Days

Every four years a grand event takes place that sends my family to the computer several times a day for updates. It's not the Olympics and it's not the election, though those also got some coverage.

It's the Vendée Globe. I'm sure you're following it, too. (Click the little British flag in the upper right for an English version.)

The Vendée Globe is a solo sailing race around the world. The 30 skippers in this year's race left the coast of France on Sunday and already three are out of the race. Names like Moitessier and Gautier will pepper our conversations for weeks and we'll pull out Moitessier's memoir, La Longue Route, for story time.

This year, the kids are racing their own boats in a virtual version of the game. Don't imagine a Wii or X-box. This is a real-time game with little blips on the screen that will take 80-100 days to make it around the world. Maybe longer, depending on the winds. Even the six-year old has a boat and has rounded the northern tip of Spain.

Can you imagine actually doing this race? All the way around the world without touching land and without any face to face conversation? If you want a picture of how harsh it can be, I suggest The Godforsaken Sea.

We might be the only ones on our block checking Vendée Globe stats instead of football scores, but I think it's part of what makes us unique.

Water's Edge

Did you miss me? I was only gone two days, but thanks to a very generous invite by a friend to hang out with her at the coast, I come back refreshed.

From our room, you couldn't even see the ground. The mighty waves crashed up against rocks below. The sky shifted constantly from blue to gray to white and back to blue.

A verse kept running through my head during the two days and this morning I looked it up.

"Who shut the sea behind doors when it burst forth from the womb, when I made the clouds its garment and wrapped it in thick darkness, when I fixed limits for it and set its doors and bars in place, when I said, 'This far you may come and no farther; here is where your proud waters halt'?"

If not for those invisible limits, the condo on the rock would be swept away. But the creator holds back the seas with his invisible breath.

What beauty. What majesty. What a treat.

Leaf Dump

One of the most frustrating aspects of having neighbors is living with their choice of trees. The cottonwoods just over our back fence constantly drop either cotton or leaves into our yard to be cleaned up. I suspect the neighbor trained them to do that so they wouldn't make a mess in his own yard. On the few weeks a year when they're not dropping junk, they're busy sending up little shoots, recognizance spies who plan to infiltrate our grass.

In front is the brilliant yellow maple tree whose personal mission is to lay an even layer of leaves on the street and mask any hint of asphalt. Nice special effect until it rains. Then it turns to an even layer of brown sludge.

This tree law goes both ways. When some neighbors moved in behind us, they thought we were throwing grapes at their dogs. No, it was our cherry tree throwing cherries at them.

Sorry 'bout that.