Where's Waldo?

How Many Kings?

Follow the star to a place unexpected
Would you believe, after all we've projected,
A child in a manger?
Lowly and small, the weakest of all
Unlikeliest hero, wrapped in his mother's shawl -
Just a child -
Is this who we've waited for?

'cause... How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Bringing our gifts for the newborn Savior
All that we have, whether costly or meek
Because we believe.
Gold for his honor, and frankincense for his pleasure
And myrrh for the cross he will suffer
Do you believe?
Is this who we've waited for?

'cause... How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

All for me...
All for you...

Bump, Set,

Spike.

Yeah, I know. It's not working for me either.

But, that is the name he came with so that is what we've been calling him while we decided if we were keeping him or not.

We decided he can stay, but the name has to go.

One of the deciding factors?

He puts up with a whole lot of this.

And this.

But seriously, he needs a new name.

So, here's where you come in.

Leave me a comment telling me what YOU think he should be called, and on December 31 the kids and I will decide if any of the proffered names "go".

If we pick your name, you will win either a $10 gift card to Target, or a $10 gift card to Petco.

I will announce the winner January 1, 2010.

You Are Now Entering The Twilight Zone

I lied to myself today. I told myself I would just "run into WalMart" since I had a half hour before I had to be at the baby shower I was going to. The lie is that you can NEVER "run into WalMart". Never.

There is a disruption in the space time continuum as you walk in the sliding doors.

"Hi! Welcome to WalMart!" they say. Or so you think. Really, it is a secret code that stalls your personal space time continuum.

No matter how fast you walk, it is never fast enough. Even if you just stick to your list, inevitably, the last thing on your list will be impossible to find. You will look for a clerk, but the only ones you can find will be holding their name badges in their hands making a beeline for the doors- eager themselves to break free from the time suck. When you do finally find your clerk, he/she will direct you to either one or the other department. They will, of course, be on opposite ends of the store. Coincidentally, neither one will have your item. That item, you will finally learn, will be in the department next to the first one- yep, on the other side of the store. Finding the right department, you will see that the stock of said item is pitifully low- neither model will fit your needs.

You pull your cell phone out of your pocket- your only life line to the outside world- only to see that you have spent 45 actual minutes inside the timeless abyss. Now, to check out....

You quickly find the shortest line and hop in it. And then the lighted number on the pole starts to blink. It must be an electrical phenomenon, because as you contemplate moving, all the other lights either start blinking or shut down entirely. You sigh and resign yourself to the line you are in.

Standing, as you are, with no where to go and nothing to do, you begin to contemplate the company around you. Amazingly, they all look like they hit their heads on the shallow end of the gene pool. Maybe, just maybe, they have been here so long that they have given up all hope and have taken to interbreeding. Hm, it's a theory. I mean, there is a restaurant, all manner of food, bathrooms, cell phone vendors, and, come April, tax preparation specialists. It's just a theory.

When you finally break free from the swirling vortex and break for the door, they say to you on your way out, "Thank you for shopping at WalMart! Come back soon!"

No way, Buddy. Not for a long time.

Fish Wrap

Let's talk about what has been going on around here since Jonah turned 5, shall we?



We had our first snow Sunday night. Before Christmas.

There was no school on Monday, since our little town has NO way to manage the snowfall we get twice a year. The kids could have gone to school with a 2 hour delay since the roads were all bare by 9 am, but since the district put out their automated calls at 4:30 am, I guess they just didn't know that early. I am super glad that I went to the grocery store On Sunday. I didn't go anywhere on Monday except to take Abby to the doctor.



And speaking of Abigail-

Thursday night she fell off the guest bed. the lowest bed in the house. It also happens to have the smallest space beside it because it is tucked between the eaves and the half wall to the stairs in the family room. We have no idea what actually happened, but we think she may have hit her arm on the base moulding. It warranted a trip to the ER. She is such a dramatic child that when she gets hurt- and the drama stops- we know she is really hurt. The ER doctor said that her arm is *not broken* and that was confirmed by the radiologist the next day. However, on Monday she was still asking me for pain meds about 2x per day, and it hurts her arm to be touched or jostled. She is in a soft cast- splint, padding, ace bandage, and sling- which makes dressing an adventure. I had to take the side seam out of the arm of her long sleeve shirt so she could get it on since it hurt too much for her to try to push her arm through the sleeve. We will get a follow up appointment some time this week.



I sewed a new cover for Jonah's car seat. "They" say you should replace your car seat every six years to avoid obsolescence. I don't think it matters too much if you are driving a car that is twice as old as the outdated car seat...

Anyway, Jonah's cover had basically shredded under his tush, and he made matters worse by picking at it while he was sitting in it. I took the old cover, cut the seams out and used the pieces as a pattern for the new cover. I won't tell you where the boo boos are, you don't look too closely, and we will all pretend that this is a new car seat, K? K.

Besides, all the materials for a new cover were only $10. Have you priced new car seats lately? They start at 4x as much!



I got through the MOPs brunch. I put my MOPs newsletter out on the brunch day. Since we don't have MOPs again until January, I have a feeling that the next volume will be rather slim.

I also got to sing some special music and lead Christmas carols with some of my girlfriends. The Moppet Coordinator happened to be in the room to hear it and said, "G, it just doesn't get any better than that." Little did she know.... The Moppet helpers have their brunch after the moms, and we steering stay to help serve. We ladies sang our songs again, only this time we brought Mr. Five-Year-Old-Jonah in on the last song, Go Tell It On The Mountain. For weeks we have been singing this song together. I sing the verses, and he belts out the chorus. My little man brought the house down! I remember singing my first "Special" at a church picnic when I was 5- and I have been singing ever since.



I painted my kids' bathroom. I forgot to take a before picture, of course. The kids had been gone with their dad on a "snow hunt" into the mountains so I decided it was a good time. The bathroom had a wall paper border, but since the kids always forget to turn on the main light/fan combo, the paper was really peeling. I painted the upper section white and the lower section lime green. I also bought a new shower curtain and rug. They really liked the color I chose. I still need to hang the towel rack and I plan to run a flat, white moulding at the color change. Ugh, everything just takes so much time- and power tools. I will have to ask my husband to bring the proper ones home....



Of course there has been homeschooling, house cleaning, business running, bill paying, child bathing, tooth brushing, bed time praying, and clean head kissing too.



I guess that's about all the news that's fit to wrap your fish in.