A Bit of Mud Slinging

I love summer break. You really have no idea how much. And since Yummy has joined us, time off is much harder to come by. So when school let out recently, there was a collective sigh of relief, I think, from everyone. No more getting up early to get Little Bit out the front door, no more arguing about what she's wearing, whether or not she has or even needs to brush her hair or teeth, no more worrying about being late, just getting up when we decide and doing whatever we decide. AAAHHHHH!

One of the things we like to do during the summer is to go out on our front driveway and just hang out as a family. The obligatory glass of "Summer Drink" (The Hoffer's tasty concoction of Diet 7Up and cran-grape juice) is almost always present. Sometimes we just sit around and talk, other times we play games. Little Bit tries to decipher the stars in the sky and see if she can find various constellations. The Hoffer, ever the creative one, came up with the UFO Game. Whenever something--plane, helicopter, etc.--flies overhead, someone says, "Hey, I can't tell what that is. It must be a UFO! There must be three aliens on board!" (because there are three of us...each of us gets an alien). Then we take turns naming our aliens and talking about what planet they are from, what their favorite foods are, what they are most skilled at doing, whatever we can think of. It's a silly way to pass the time and make a family memory. I am pretty certain, however, that these memories may lead to therapy later. That's okay, we'll all go together. :-)

Last night The Hoffer decided it was time to get out the garden hose and do some watering. First he cleaned off the door mat that was covered with, um, bird poop. Birds come every spring to build a nest right above our front door. It's a great nature lesson but always leaves us with a disgusting front porch and porch light. While the door mat is an easy fix, it is never-ending...once it's cleaned, it's messy again in a short amount of time. The porch light was not quite so easily fixed. The Hoffer sprayed it down and in doing so, shot out the light bulbs. Oops. (It was really funny at the time.) After that, he brought out a couple of bags of soil, spread it out some, then watered it down. When Little Bit made it outside, they decided to do a little mud slinging while Yummy and I watched. Here's the end result:







Thank goodness my washing machine is RIGHT inside the garage door!!! Any mud that made it inside stayed in the laundry room. Whew!!!

Yummy was unimpressed. Very cute, but unimpressed.








Even with all this silliness, I'm glad for our summer break. Maybe especially with all this silliness. We're ready!

The Killers: "A Dustland Fairytale"

I used to watch David Letterman religiously when I was in college, but late-night TV in general isn't as attractive an option these days as a good full-night's sleep. And even if I was able to stay awake long enough to watch, staying up to the end of the show just so I could see the musical "talent" is just not worth it. Most live performances, irrespective of whichever of the vast myriad of talk shows that are on at that hour, are highly average at best. Recently, however, I managed to keep my eyes propped open long enough to be absolutely transfixed by one group's performance on Letterman. If you missed this amazing performance, I am so excited to be able to share it with you here. From the first plucks of the harp to the final guitar chords, The Killers' performance of "A Dustland Fairytale" had me mesmerized, glued to my seat, and completely drawn in.

From what little I have been able to find about this song, lead singer Brandon Flowers wrote this song about his parents. They met, grew up and fell in love in the same trailer park. His dad was an alcoholic and converted to Mormonism when Brandon was five. (Brandon is still a devout and practicing Mormon, even as a rock-&-roller.) The last part of the song refers to his mother, who is battling cancer of some form, and was still alive as of December of 2008 when Rolling Stone interviewed the band for an article (a very good article, I might add, and worth reading). I considered adding the lyrics, but all I could find were various attempts by someone besides Brandon Flowers to decipher the words. I am including, however, the stanza about his mom:


Now Cinderella don't you go to sleep
It's such a bitter form of refuge
Ahh don't you know the kingdoms under siege
And everybody needs you
Is there still magic in the midnight sun
Or did you leave it back in sixty-one
In the of the cadence in the young man's eyes
And where the dreams roll high


Here's their performance from Letterman. Enjoy!!

A Little of This, A Little of That...And Then Some of Those

In my last post I lamented the fact that it is so very difficult to get Yummy's smiles caught on camera. Well looky here:






Little Bit got her giggling, and I grabbed my cell phone (my camera is AWOL) and snapped this. I love to hear babies laugh, and my Yummy is especially giggly. Doncha' love it???


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If anyone out there lives near Waco, there was a puppy mill shut down this week in the Waco area. Mostly rat terriers, but there were also some Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (like WonderDog!). No decision has been made as of this writing as to what will happen to these dogs, but if you are interested in helping out, whether financially, donating supplies to care for them, or fostering a dog or two in your home for a time, contact Sheila Simmons of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club Rescue USA, Inc. to find out more (www.cavalierrescueusa.org).

This is amazing to me, that people could be so beastly to those who can't defend themselves. Who says mankind is inherently good? "As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not even one..." (Romans 3:10)

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I love my sweet friend Flowerpot. She always has a smile on her face and a good word to share. She is one of the most beautiful people I've ever met, inside and out. Our girls have been in different classes this year, plus she's been working full-time and I've been so busy with Yummy, so I don't get to see her happy smile much. Since our schedules haven't matched up well this year, I like to go check out her blog to see what she and her precious family have been up to. (I like to do that anyway, but especially since we haven't seen each other much this year.) One of my "favorite" posts that she has written was back in February called "Worship Check". It's a very convicting post. She talks about how and where we spend our time and our money, and what that reveals about us. Ouch. For me, it wasn't pretty. This particular post been rolling around in my brain's very packed file cabinet, just lurking for the right time to be used. Well, God's timing is always perfect, and He brought it out of its "file drawer" and is using it in our lives to honor Him and help others. The Hoffer and I recently made a commitment to be better givers, to give to God His 10% first, even if it's difficult. (And believe me, with our economy the way it is right now, IT'S ALL DIFFICULT!) We decided to give more not just to our church, but also when we see a need. And God was faithful to give us opportunities to give RIGHT AWAY. The Hoffer was able to share with some who really needed it. I got an email from our church about a new crisis pregnancy center opening up, and we are donating a sofa/love seat combo to help get things set up. I hope I don't sound like I'm patting myself on the back...I am just so OVERJOYED at the opportunities the LORD is giving to us! How generous of HIM to give us yet another second chance to honor Him. Here are some verses He used to reiterate to me that we are to give generously:

Psalm 37:21, 25-26:

The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous give generously;
I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread.
They are always generous and lend freely;
their children will be blessed.

I love it when God gives me confirmation that I am on the right track...His track. :-) Thanks for the post, Flowerpot! Another jewel in your crown!!!

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Little Bit has had a rough afternoon. She has two BFFs (best friends forever, if you've never heard the term) that she has known for some time and loves dearly. One of these BFFs has been very unkind to the other one, and Little Bit was defending the wrong one. It was just too difficult for her to comprehend that someone she loves so much could do something wrong. Many tears were shed, but she is coming around. We are praying for a peaceful resolution. I love that God uses difficult situations in our lives to help others in need, and I was able to tell her about similar situations from my growing-up years and how I dealt with those situations. It's a comfort to her to know that she's not the only one to go through this situation and that I can give her some advice on how to handle things. Just goes to show you that God doesn't waste anything. :-)


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Finally, we have only TWO WEEKS OF SCHOOL LEFT!!! Bring on summer! I'm ready!!! And Happy Mother's Day to all you mommies and soon-to-be mommies out there!