Sometimes you hear about something so big and so awful and while you know you just can’t ignore it and do nothing, you have no idea what to do.

And sometimes not knowing what to do leads to inaction.  How can I make a difference to such a big problem?  What can I do to help someone hurting half a world away?

That’s kinda how I felt after writing this weekend thought about Sudan two weeks ago.  Then Scott and I got to talking and we came up with something.

It doesn’t have to start big. 

Why don’t we start small?  Why don’t we stop thinking about what we can’t do and start doing something with what we can do?

Like shopping

Yes, you read that correctly.

How many of you shop online?  Here at the circus we do it with great frequency.  I love the fact that I can make my purchases from the peace and quiet of naptime without providing a three ring circus act for the people at Target. 

Any of you shop at Amazon?  Amazon.com has a program which allows certain sites to become "affiliates" which means Amazon will pay the site owner a referral fee for each purchase that originates via a link on the affiliate site.  And we plan to use 100% of that money to help those suffering in Sudan.  Please click here to find out all the specifics of our grand idea. 

I am very excited about this.  I think it can really make a difference.  It can work.   And all you gotta do is bookmark the page, and start your shopping by using the link or search box on that page.  No sacrifices.  No cost to you.  Just using the resources provided to make a difference for those suffering. 

Please read and bookmark the explanation page , twit it to your friends, even post about it on your blog if you are so inclined.  The more we tell and the more who click, the more money we can raise for those suffering in Sudan.  At 6% of each referred purchase the earnings may start small but, if this were to really take off, imagine the difference it could make.  It won’t solve all the problems, but it’s something.  And God can use our little somethings to do much greater things than we could even imagine. 

What are you thinking about this week?  Why not use your last post of the week to highlight something a bit "deeper" then the average Momblog fair?  I’d love to read your thoughts.  Please feel free to write and link up a  “thoughtful” post below.  You can write a new post or link up one you wrote earlier in the week. 

The relationship between siblings is a funny thing.  I once read a Times magazine article about siblings that really struck me.  It’s funny, 3 years later and I still remember this one line  “Our spouses arrive comparatively late in our lives; our parents eventually leave us. Our siblings may be the only people we’ll ever know who truly qualify as partners for life.”

Being the mother of three children, I think a lot about the bonds of siblings.  It’s been my prayer since one became two that our children would form lifelong bonds of friendship.

Some days I wonder if that’s at all possible.  As I negotiate the tense battles of “who gets to use the letter spoon today” and “who gets out of the van first” and listen to them fight because “she’s too loud” or “I had it first” I wonder if they will grow up to be friends or enemies. 

And then my son will make a bracelet for his sister at VBS or my daughter will willingly give up her prized position of back seat to her little sister.  And I’ll realize that beneath the tormenting and manipulating, they do really love each other.

I especially liked this paragraph from the article. 

From the time they are born, our brothers and sisters are our collaborators and co-conspirators, our role models and cautionary tales. They are our scolds, protectors, goads, tormentors, playmates, counselors, sources of envy, objects of pride. They teach us how to resolve conflicts and how not to; how to conduct friendships and when to walk away from them. Sisters teach brothers about the mysteries of girls; brothers teach sisters about the puzzle of boys. Our spouses arrive comparatively late in our lives; our parents eventually leave us. Our siblings may be the only people we’ll ever know who truly qualify as partners for life. "Siblings," says family sociologist Katherine Conger of the University of California, Davis, "are with us for the whole journey."

I pray that through the journey, my children will see each other as more than just the person who shared their bedroom.  I pray that they will see each with more frequency than the holidays.  I pray that they will have genuine bonds of friendship between each of them that will last through the journey and beyond.

It’s funny how a simple thing like dinner on a Wednesday night can have an dramatic impact on your life. 

7 years ago we went out to dinner with another couple in downtown Annapolis on a Wednesday night.  If you know anything about summer in Annapolis then you know that Wednesday nights mean sailing races. (Truth is I grew up around here and just learned that fact 7 years ago).

When I saw the boats I thought “Hmm nice boats, cool.  Ok, what’s for dinner?”   But Scott and Tim talked nonstop about the boats and races.  Turns out Tim had a sailboat and was setting the stage for recruiting crew.

That fall Scott joined Tim on his boat for a Saturday fall race.  Little did I know that was just the beginning. 

That spring our son was born and sailing season started a few weeks later. 

And the rest is history.  

Every Wednesday night from late April till early September for the past 6 years, he’s been out on the bay. 

And as much as possible, the kids and I are cheering him on. 

I can remember when it felt like so much work to go out there with a baby.  More often than not I stayed home.  But I did make it out there a few times that first summer and several more the next summer. 

And then I had two kids and realized how easy it was to go out there with just a baby as I was now chasing a toddler and pushing a baby. 

Hmmm no pictures of the sailing watching in 2006…must have been too busy juggling two.  Here is one of the two shortly before they became three.

Once I had two toddlers walking around we moved from our spot on the bridge, to a spot with more room to run while we waited for Daddy to sail by.

Funny thing is that when I had our third child we found ourselves out cheering Daddy on more Wednesdays than not. 

And as the kids grew bigger they really began to love it. 

They  get so excited when they spot his boat in the distance.  They start screaming and jumping and dancing.   

Tonight they started talking about how they can’t wait till they grow up enough to go out and race on the boat with Daddy.  (I know that’ll be a dream come true for Daddy too).

My little crew in red, white, and blue.

First time playing with sparklers.

Visit here or here for more Wednesday picture fun!

Living near the Chesapeake Bay affords us many opportunities for boat watching.  

“What’s that?”  “A sailboat.”

“What’s that?”  “A motor boat”

“What’s that?”  “A kayak.”

Many such conversations have gone on between the kids and I over the years.  Now they happily call out the boats they see as we play at the beach or the park nearby. 

Last week my kids got all excited when they saw a cruise ship sailing by our park.  “Look mom, a cruise ship!”

Later my five year old called, “Hey Mom, a China boat!”

I suppose one day over the past few years my son asked about a freighter and I told him it was a boat carrying stuff to the port of Baltimore.  Inevitably it was followed by a question of where the stuff came from.  To which I must of replied offhandedly “China.”  Hence now when my son spies a freighter carrying goods to our local port he indentifies it as a “China boat.”

Too bad, he’s probably right.

Click here for more great quotes from children.

I’ve been to a few parades in my day.  Unlike the kids, I’m not all that surprised by what I see.  I’ve come to expect the fire trucks, army tanks, corvettes, marching bands…

This year however, there were a few things I hadn’t seen before. 

Gotta love keeping it green with the organic fertilizer.  Not your typical parade entry.

This was probably my favorite though. 

I’m all for safety, really I am, but if that missile accidentally goes off, how much good will that fire extinguisher do?

This weekend our family, like many across the country, will gather together, and after watching a small town parade, we’ll enjoy some barbeque and corn on the cob, and conclude the evening with a gorgeous fireworks display. 

Meanwhile, our troops are away from their friends and families.  They are not sipping lemonade on the back porch, while grilling up some burgers.   Tonight they will not be holding their children on their laps as they watch the fireworks burst in the air. 

As is quite often the case with many holidays, it is often easy to get so caught up in the celebrating…in buying those darling coordinating patriotic outfits,  making up the potato salad, purchasing the cookout foods, that we can forget why and what we are celebrating. 

I love the fourth of July.  Love the food.  Love the parades.  Love the fireworks.  Love the red, white, and blue everywhere you look.

But, the fourth of July is not about fireworks, cute outfits, or corn on the cob.  The fourth of July is our nation’s birthday party.  We are celebrating our country.  Our country which was founded to give us freedoms. 

And those freedoms that we enjoy are not free.  They were and are paid with the sacrifice of soldiers past and present.   As much as I love the family gathered together enjoying barbeque on my back deck, and snuggling to watch the fireworks over the waters of Annapolis, my favorite part of the day is the parade.   I love the parade because I am given the opportunity to say thank you to the men and women who have fought to defend the freedoms I enjoy daily.   As I wave my flag and give a standing ovation to the soldiers marching past, my heart fills with gratitude as tears spill down my cheeks.  I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to look these soldiers in the  eye and scream “thank you.”  Once a year is not nearly enough, but I am appreciative of this opportunity and the chance it gives me to teach my children the value of honoring our troops.  Because they deserve our gratitude and respect. 

The fireworks, friends, family, and food, are all fantastic.  But they aren’t free.  They cost our soldiers and their families quite a bit.  And I thank the Lord that I live in a country where I can enjoy these things free of fear.   

I encourage you today to spend some time in the midst of your celebration, to say thanks. 

What are you thinking about this week? Heard a song lyric that touched your heart?  Read something in a Bible study that got you thinking?  Why not use your last post of the week to highlight something a bit "deeper" then the average Momblog fair?  I’d love to read your thoughts.  Please feel free to write and link up a new post below, or to link up a thoughtful post from earlier in the week.

I remember very little from my college biology class.  The one thing that sticks in my brain is the genetics unit.  I can remember sitting there running through the calculations and thinking, “If Scott and I were to get married we’d have blue eyed kids.”   The hopeless romantic, head over heels in love teen that I was, I enjoyed the game of “wonder if.”  The other thing from the genetics unit that sticks out is that the ability to touch your tongue to your nose is genetically dictated. 

Sorry bio professor, that’s all I remember from the entire semester.

But it brought great amusement to our post dinner conversation tonight.

I asked my kids if they could stick their tongue out and touch their nose.

My daughter’s response?

Hmmm…not exactly what I meant, but definitely what I said.

My son however, was able to do it correctly.

To which his sister responded, “My tongue just needs to grow more.”

These are the high-falutin’ conversations I strike up around the dinner table here at the circus.  

(Tell the truth, did you just try to touch your nose with your tongue?  Did it work?)

This weekend, I surprised  Scott and the kids with a high seas adventure in Annapolis. 

After donning their costumes 

And getting their tattoos

We were ready to board the ship and set sail in search of our treasure

The kids used their loot to purchase ice cream for dinner. 

A good time was had by all.   Though I fear the pirate life may agree too well with them.  Don’t they look quite fierce?

For more Wed fun with pictures, visit here or here.

The one piece of parenting advice I wish I had adhered to better is to “write down those cute things your kids say b/c you will forget.” 

Me forget?  Come on… there’s not way I could forget those cute little things my kids say… I’m super mom.

Yea, I also never thought I’d bring my kids to church with mismatched shoes and no diaper bag…but

5 years and 3 kids later and super mom has left the building. 

So, when I found out about this carnival, I thought it sounded like a great way to write down those things my kids say which I swear I’d never forget and quite often by the time Scott is home from work, I’ve already forgotten…they may not be incredibly profound or hilarious, but years from now I am sure I’ll be glad to have them recorded. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3 year old says to me at dinner on a swim class day, “Mom, I got wet when I went swimming.  Every time I go that happens.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5 year old son, “Mom do want me to grow up?” 

me:  “Well I’ll probably miss the days when we could sit and snuggle together when you were little.”

son: “Don’t worry mom, when I am a grown up I will come over every day and snuggle with you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

23 mth old, (reaching hands to sky) “can’t reach moon… can’t reach it!”

5 year old brother says, “Don’t worry, when I grow up I’ll take you there b/c I am going to be an astronaut.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After watching the Orioles lose to the Red Sox my 3 year old was on the phone with her grandpa and said, “It was a bummer the Red Sox won, but I still had a good time because we brought food.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After going on a pirate adventure for our father’s day celebration this kids all retuned home with gold coins.  The next day my 5 yr old son was carrying around his sack of coins and asked I could help him with his “tax appointment.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And while it isn’t exactly a quote, it cracked me up nonetheless… on Saturday morning after I made pancakes for breakfast, I sent my sweet little daughter in to wake up Daddy and tell him breakfast was ready.  When I got no response, I went down the hall and found this….

Nothing says rise and shine like your little girl standing over you with a toy rifle.