For The Birds?

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. (Matthew 10:29)

Yesterday was a fun day for Little Bit and a busy day for me. We invited a friend over for some playtime for Little Bit so I could get a few things done around the house. We moved our office to a new and much closer location last week, and in the process acquired a rather large amount of used office furniture. Some we will keep and use, the rest we will sell this weekend at a--UGH!--garage sale (I hate doing garage sales.). So I've been going through Little Bit's toys, my books and various other things around the house that we can include in the sale this weekend. I also took the girls out for lunch and a few rounds of bowling. The girls had a lot of fun, but by day's end, I was spent. That spent feeling always sets in somewhere around eight or nine pm each evening, but it hit me much earlier yesterday...say around 6:30? So after we dropped Little Bit's friend off at her home, we headed home too, where I immediately put Yummy to bed and pointed Little Bit in that same direction. The Hoffer has had a long couple of weeks moving and settling into a new office, so he was off to bed all on his own around 9:15. So thankfully, I was given some escape time all to myself. YIPPEE!!! Normally I would dive into my most recent "sappy romance novel", but as I am currently bookless, I headed upstairs and watched two of my favorite DVR'd shows, "Burn Notice" and "Royal Pains" (both on the USA Network, in case you're wondering). Around midnight the Hoffer woke up and came to drag me away from the couch and off to bed.

Now, I don't know about you other moms out there, but when I am getting ready for bed, about a dozen plus small tasks come to mind that I could knock out easily and quickly. Oddly (in my mind, anyway), the tasks that popped into my head involved my front porch. We have a pick-up/drop-off laundry service that leaves the Hoffer's dress shirts cleaned, pressed and hanging on our front door from a hook on Wednesdays (I don't iron...he would have no shirts left). Given that last night was Thursday, I realized that, since we don't often use the front door, our laundry had been hanging on our front door for more than 24 hours. So I open the door at 1:00 am to find the laundry...and this:

That's when the verse from Matthew popped into my head, because just above our front porch is this:

Can you see the birds' tails sticking out of their nest? I don't know what kind of birds these are, but I must admit it's kind of fun having them make their home right outside my front door every spring/summer. The only negative is that it does result in a very messy front porch...if you know what I mean. No consideration or discretion at all on their part. Disgusting is too kind a word.

So at 1:00 in the morning, I have a dilemma: what to do with this little bird who has fallen down and can't get up. I try to get the Hoffer to help me, but he's not getting back up out of bed for nothing. And while I do want to help the little guy, the thought of picking him up doesn't really induce any motherly or tender feelings. All I can think about is all the germs that might be on his feathers from being near that pile of bird poop on my front porch. (I didn't include it in the pictures for a reason...who wants to see THAT???) And besides, if I do put him back in the nest, won't the mother reject him because I touched him? I was stumped and didn't know what to do. So, with that verse in mind, I prayed for some guidance.

The Hoffer suggested I get online for ideas (I felt like kicking myself for not thinking of it on my own!!!). The site I found said that if you find a seemingly orphaned baby bird, it's okay to put it back into its nest, that the human-scent-rejection story is only a myth. I also decided to wake Little Bit up so she could be in on the excitement. I found a step-ladder and tested it, only to find out I was too short to get the bird back home. So I went back to the Hoffer and said the magic word: "Pleeeeease?" That was all it took (I'm going to remember that the next time I want to buys something frivolous!). He very sweetly got right up and put that helpless little bird back into his nest. My hero. :-)

So knowing that God doesn't waste anything but has a purpose in everything, I've wondered why He allowed that little bird to fall out of its nest. Was it just so my family could have a special bonding time over him? Was it a test of some sort to see how I would respond? Or is it something else still? Perhaps it was merely this: that I would write about it on my blog and find not just Matthews 10:29, but also the verses that followed:

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

In today's world of upheaval and unrest, of uncertainty about what a sometimes scary future might hold, when worries and fears bombard us and wear us down, sometimes we all need a reminder that God loves us and is going to always take care of us. "His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me." What a comfort that is.

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!

Final Holiday Thoughts, Facebook and Picture Day!

So Queen Flowerpot brought out her soapbox--and I LOVE it when she does--and reminded me that my list was all about "doing". My Christmas was a very "Martha" Christmas. You know, Martha in the Bible? It's found in Luke 10:38-42:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!"

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

I really relate to Martha. It bugs me when I am "slaving away" (drama queen!) at something and others sit around, seemingly oblivious to the massive amount of "stuff" that needs to be done. It's very self-centered of me. Jesus would probably tell me the same thing He told Martha. After all, isn't Christmas His birthday? Why shouldn't He get what He wants? I love the Christmas "to-do's"...they make great memories and traditions...but they need to be in balance with what's truly important about the holiday. It's not just a cliche'; Jesus really is THE REASON for the season.

Thanks, Flowerpot, for the reminder. You can get up on your soapbox with me ANYTIME!

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I did it...I finally took the Facebook plunge!!!! On one hand, it's a drudgery to have one more computer-related thing to keep up with. On the other hand, I have friends from high school that I haven't seen since graduation that I found on Facebook, so I'm very excited about that. I was tagged by one such friend to post a 25 Random Things About Me, so if you are on Facebook, I would love to have you check it out. I had fun writing it, and it's a little different from the 7 Random Things I posted here last year.

I really tried to avoid the whole Facebook thing, but I had to finally give in. Little Bit wanted a page so bad, so I caved. She's the main reason I joined: I wanted to be able to see what it was all about and keep an eye on her all at the same time. Check me out if you're on Facebook too!

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My internet connection is finally fixed, and I can now post some pictures!!! YIPPEE! It's embarrassing...all it took was the push of a button. Argh...that's maddening. Anyway, here are some pictures I've been wanting to share. Enjoy!

I think she's about 3 months here.

No, we didn't give her the ice cream!!! But oh, she wants it baaaaad!!! That's my girl!!!

Wonderdog has great respect for the Dog Whisperer!

The HOFFER came up with this idea: Baby Bit's pacifier holder attached to the bottle to give her (him?) a "hands-free" feeding system. I'm not sure if I'm proud or embarrassed.

Baby Bit is about 2 months old here. Little Bit loves her baby sister! Next are some shots from Halloween:

My "little mermaids" and their daddy.

Little Bit and a friend from school...a very grooooovy girl!



Two Little Mermaids

My Littlest Mermaid


I'd better stop there...Baby Bit is HUUUUUNGRRYYYYYYY!!!!

Miscellany and a Few Pet Peeves

I have been severely lacking in mental abilities and motivation of late, which partially explains my recent online absence. The other reasons are being just flat-out tired and having guests in from out of town. A friend's daughter, who for some reason thinks we are too much fun, came and spent several days hanging out with us. She's a sweet girl, and I hope she will come back very soon. Incredibly mature for a high school sophomore, I often forget she's not an adult. Regardless, we had a good time showing her around town and introducing her to our favorite eateries.

My brother is in town from Virginia for a couple more days. He and his two grown sons stayed with us for two nights and are now over "mooching from" another sibling (his words, not mine!) till early Saturday morning, when they will load up and head back to their goat farm. Little Bit and WonderDog are moping around the house now because they are gone! And by the way, if you've never been to that part of the country, it's a trip well worth taking. The scenery is incredibly beautiful, and the weather is amazing. Not to mention the TONS of history that went on in and around there. Their house is five minutes from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where John Brown conducted his infamous raid during the Civil War. Great place for history buffs, to say the very least. The house where my brother & family live, and where my sister-in-law grew up, predates the Civil War and has even been designated a historical landmark. Pretty nifty, if you ask me. Alas, no one did, but this is my blog, so I get to say what I want. ;-)

One of the places Big Brother and Sons wanted to go to while here in town is a BBQ restaurant called the Salt Lick. It's an absolute dive but has the best barbecue you'll find for miles. And I do mean miles, as it is a good ways outside the city limits. It's in a dry county, so those that want beer with their beef have to bring it with them. Seriously! On weekends, if you don't arrive before 5pm, you'll easily have a minimum 2-hour wait just to sit down and look at a menu. Thing is, it's worth the wait. We took them there the last time they came to visit eight years ago, and they've been bragging on it to their Virginia cronies ever since. After eating there the other night, one of my nephews commented, "Waited eight years for that, and it was SO worth the wait." Truer words were never spoken.

We are currently preparing for Little Bit's birthday next week, as well as my sister and her husband coming in from Kentucky for several days. School starts the following week, and we found out who our teacher will be for this next year. Little Bit had a couple of teachers she hoped to get and did get one of them, so she is very excited. All through 2nd grade she prayed to get a certain 3rd grade teacher, but God said no, not this time. So I am very happy that she has a teacher she really wanted. Add to that the fact that one of her best BFF's (best friends forever, for those of you who don't have pre-teen daughters) is in her class this year, and fourth grade seems to be shaping up into a great year.

I have just over 4 weeks to go at this point, and I am SOOOOO TIRED! My brain is shot, I can't seem to focus on anything, my house is a wreck, and I can't get comfortable to save my life. Tiny Bit is her busiest at night when I would REEEEEALLY like to get some rest. Fat chance. I try to remember at those times that it will all be worth it once she gets here, but I'm not always so successful. So while I'm in the mood to grouse, I'm going to pass on an article from the good folks at WalletPop.com: their list of what they think are the 20 most annoying things done at grocery stores. It's a great list, and I agree with most of it. I've even found myself doing a few of them...most often for me is aisle blocking. My sincerest apologies to anyone I have blocked!!! Things I would add to the list? People who don't put carts back in the cart stalls provided (there's a good reason they are provided, people!!!), and pedestrians crossing the parking lot that seem to think that they don't need to hurry and get out of the way of impending traffic (SO rude!!). So go see if you agree with their list, and I'll be back next time in a better mood and better rested.

Yeah, right.