In This Tent

White Chick in Denial

2012-01-25T22:59:00.002-05:00

I've had to move my work-outs indoors. I always have a difficult time transitioning from outdoor walks to indoor treading. I can't even cross country ski at the moment because all of our snow melted. The silver lining is that inside work-outs can include Pandora radio on my iPod. I don't have iPhone, so I need an internet connection in order to enjoy Pandora. And I do so enjoy Pandora.

This finally gets me to my point. I love Lecrae and 116 Pandora stations! My favorite album is "Man Up" by 116. I realize that I couldn't be less of the target audience. The intended listeners are, well, men, and generally from an inner-city background. I'm a white, small-town, suburban kind of chick. But I still love it.

I'm not sure if I should ask for permission to borrow the awesomeness of the African American Christian culture, if only for the time that I'm on the treadmill. I want to say a giant, "thank you!" to Lecrae, Tadashii, Trip Lee, and so many others who are producing theologically sound, high-quality, fun music. And thanks for letting me elbow my way to the front of the virtual stage, despite my minivan and complete lack of rhythm. It's definitely a good thing that they don't have to see the desecration that is my praise dancing. I'm pretty sure that the LORD is the only One who gets a kick out of that.

[Insert Evil Laughter Here]

2012-01-21T09:37:00.002-05:00

We got ourselves a skunk! My beloved hubby went downstairs to check it out, and there it was: a black and white pain-in-the-neck, behind bars. Somehow, I feel like I've accomplished something, although I had very little to do with it.

As I mentioned previously, I have no idea how many skunks there are. I'm desperately hoping that they see their friend in a cage and run for their lives. I'm pretty sure that isn't how it works, though.

This little victory has given us the courage to carry on. And carry we shall.

Skunk-date

2012-01-19T08:28:00.000-05:00

We checked the trap this morning. The door was shut, but no skunk. Either the animals are getting smarter or the people designing the traps are getting dumber.

The Smell of Death

2012-01-18T20:18:00.001-05:00

We've been skunked! Thoroughly, unrelentingly skunked!

My initial reaction was guilt enveloped by denial. We're well passed that point now. We have recently learned that our house has had a long, sordid history with skunks, and that it has nothing to do with how much I clean the house or how domestic I am. So don't judge me, or I may just send the skunk to your house.

The good news is that it isn't dead. When a dead skunk decays, the smell can literally run you out of your house. The bad news is that we can't find the demonic thing in order to get rid of it. The other bad news is that our skunk may actually be a family of skunks.

We called in a wildlife control guy, who set some traps, but all we've managed to do so far is feed the skunk(s). He came back and re-baited the trap and we're hoping that tonight will be the last night that demon-skunk is with us.

Or else we'll become "the stinky people"... and we'll have no friends... and no one will visit... and my daughters will die old maids...

Maybe I should try some positive thinking. "We will trap the skunk. We will trap the skunk. Oh, please God, let us trap the skunk!"

Almost Blogging

2012-01-14T19:37:00.000-05:00

I know that it appears that I haven't blogged since last Saturday, but I've been doing quite a lot of "almost blogging." I've written several drafts, full of wit and pith, but with every almost-post, I came to the conclusion that it was too critical or could easily be misinterpreted.

Maybe I'm more aware than most of the potentially disastrous effects of a misstep in communication. Pastor's daughters grow up with a higher than average amount of pressure on our words and actions, and I am not someone with a sixth sense of what is appropriate and what is not. I have had to learn the difference between outside thoughts and inside thoughts, a lesson that most people seem to grasp naturally.

I know that there are many people who hold to the philosophy that the best thing to do is say what is on your mind without concern to those who are offended. I have a couple of problems with this idea. First, communication is a two step process. The communicator expresses a thought, and then the receiver interprets. To ignore the second part of the equation is foolish because you will never be able to fully connect with others without ensuring that the interpretation is consistent with the thought you wish to express. The second problem that I have with the "just get it all out" plan is that we all represent our ideologies to the world. I represent Christ, my husband, women as a whole, my parents, and my church when I express my thoughts. It's just, plain foolish to ignore the responsibility that I have to those whom I represent.

On the other end of the spectrum is the belief that you should never offend anyone. I have just as big of an issue with this philosophy as I do with the first. It seems like some people like to get their feelings hurt, and they spend their whole lives looking for the opportunity to be offended. It isn't everyone else's job to coddle them in their over-sensitivity. There's also the issue that there are times when the truth must be spoken, even though it is offensive. There are more than a few situations in which healing can only grow from initial hurt.

So here I dwell on the median between the ditches of complete insensitivity and oversensitivity, guarding each word as if it could be my last. There are times when the only right thing to say is nothing, and the only opinion that needs to be expressed is the opinion that not every opinion should be expressed.

Kids and Their Imaginations

2012-01-07T19:38:00.000-05:00

Ella loves all things Narnia. She isn't obsessed (yet!), but she asked to buy "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" with her Christmas money, and she has been watching it and its predecessors ever since. As I was watching the original today, I began to think about the process of writing such a story. C.S. Lewis is quite obviously a genius, and his background in medieval literature and preoccupation with mythology obviously had an impact on his work. Still, there's something that Lewis and his friend Tolkien tapped into in a distinctive way. I began thinking about the way that Lewis captured childhood imagination with unmatched artistry.

What is it about children that makes them imagine such grand things? Everything that they see can instantly become a part of a mythical adventure that only they can comprehend. I began to consider the possibility that children are more acutely aware of the fact that something is missing in this reality. As they grow older, they become more accustomed to the absurdity of normal, and they slowly lose their grip on the truth within their myths: There is so much more!

As I read the book of Judges, I found myself questioning such a reality that could house such horrific ideas and such completely broken people. Of course, I am quickly snapped into an equally broken present time, which brings me back to the idea that it isn't children who live in a fairy tale. We are the ones who deny what is so utterly obvious to the younger members of our society. There is something more, something greater, something more real than can be perceived. There is a central part of our reality that demands to be discovered, not by touch or sight or sound, but by the inner person that hungers for something more, something complicated, wonderful, inexhaustible.

Maybe children just like to play pretend because they're so small and their minds haven't learned enough about the world to keep them from wandering. Or... Maybe... they're just holding on to the intrinsic desire of the human heart to return to the greatness of the unfallen glory in which we were meant to reside. I'm not sure which is more likely, but there's still a piece of that child in me that begs to ask Ella's favorite question:

"Why?"

Christmas Stories

2012-01-03T10:37:00.001-05:00

I know that I'm incredibly late in posting these, and that most of you are done with the Christmas holiday, but give yourself permission to re-visit Christmas for a few more minutes in order to enjoy these family photos.

This is how Edwin wrapped my present. I really get into wrapping, but I found this method especially adorable because it's from my man.

Ella snuck down to her presents before we woke up. She came upstairs with the only unwrapped presents (pillow pets that she and DeLaynie bought for each other), and said, "Hey! Mom! There are tons of presents down there!" I was obviously shocked that the gifts had suddenly appeared in our living room. Ella then told me that there were "More than 11 of them!" When asked where they came from, she responded, "Hmmmm. I have no idea." (The baby princess dolls are from Edwin's brother and sister-in-law, and the girls absolutely love them!)

DeLaynie is more experienced in this whole Christmas morning thing, but I don't think she slept more than a couple of hours at a time for a week before the big day, she was just so excited. They both ended up in our bed on Christmas Eve, but I have no idea where Edwin was, probably in their bunk bed. There's nothing quite like seeing a little girl in the midst of a sea of wrapping paper, ripping into a new gift with total excitement.

This was the best facial expression of the morning. Although the still photo can't capture the shaking, you can at least see Ella's sweet face about to explode. Edwin and I have no idea why she was so excited about "Sleeping Beauty," but she it appears that she has always wanted it.

Christmas on Sunday has its benefits and its challenges, especially when you're a ministry family. Edwin had to preach with very little sleep, and I had the joy of trying to keep two excited, exhausted little girls quiet through a church service. On the other hand, it really was a joy to be with our extended family on Christmas Day, and it was a real privilege to enjoy corporate worship on the day we celebrate the birth of our Savior.

At the end of the service, our church gave us a gift, which the girls helped to open. For some reason that I will never comprehend, DeLaynie yelled out, "Underwear!" as she was helping to open it. Apparently, the same girl who is too shy to get in front of the church and sing Christmas songs is not too shy to get in front of the church and scream out the word, "Underwear!" My sweet DeLaynie is such a mystery at times.

I hope that you had an equally delightful Christmas, full of stories to tell and pictures to show.

Read the Bible in 2012!

2011-12-29T13:15:00.000-05:00

A woman in Sunday School said it the best: "Just by reading the Word of God, I'm seeing changes. I'm not working on anything, but the Holy Spirit is working in me!"

To be totally honest, I've never liked the "Read the Bible in a Year" reading schedules. I would make it to Leviticus, but after I realized that I wasn't actually digesting anything that I was reading, I would give up. I am strongly against the idea of force-feeding the Bible so that people become bored of it. The Bible should never be boring!

On the other hand, perseverance is a valuable part of Christian discipline. Even when it's challenging, we will benefit from reading the Word of God, provided that we read it correctly. (Definition of "correctly": Seeking to change, looking to hear from God, allowing God to be exactly who He is without censoring the parts of His character that we find unpleasant.)

The biggest difference for me has been reading the Bible as a group. I am forced to read correctly when the people around me are discussing the daily readings, and when we are seeking out God's message corporately.

If you would like to read the Bible this year, let me recommend that you get a group together. Pull together some friends with the same desire. Hold each other accountable. Expect God to act. Discuss, journal, and apply everything that you learn. Love the Bible in all of its occasional mystery and constant wonder.

If you would like to read the Bible chronologically, you may find the curriculum that I'm writing for Sunday School useful. I'm writing it week-by-week, so expect typos and occasional mistakes. On the first week, there is a reading schedule, commitment letter, and the first week's fill-in-the-blank outline. Not everyone benefits from filling in the outline, so don't sweat it if you don't choose to use it. For a full description of the curriculum, click here. For the resources to get started, click here. I will admit that it's a lot of printing, but I believe that anything that helps other women to read, understand, and love their Bibles more is worth paper and ink.

If you decide to start a Bible Reading Club, let me know by leaving a comment or Emailing me. I would love to start a group on Facebook so all of the groups may be encouraged and challenged by each other.

I'm not going to play down the challenge. It will be difficult, but it will be oh! so worth it!

My Favorite Hat Pattern (Knitting)

2011-12-20T12:39:00.001-05:00

I finally made myself a hat, and I have been wearing the mess out of it. It's a slouchy beanie style hat, but I can fold the ribbed edge and wear it as a typical toque. You can find the pattern here.

It's a very warm, versatile hat. It's loose enough that it doesn't mess up my hair too much. Depending on your knitting style, you may need to adjust needles or reduce the cast-on stitches to keep it from being too loose.

Homemade Christmas: Bath Salts and Sugar Scrubs

2011-12-12T13:58:00.002-05:00

Blog #4 of the Imperfectly Pinterest Series.

I wrote last week about how to make lotion bars. This week's post is geared toward last minute gift ideas for groups. The only ingredient that may be difficult to find is the essential oil, depending on where you live. I ordered everything from New Directions Aromatics (who did not pay for me to mention their name or give me anything free, though they are welcome to do so.) because we live nowhere near anywhere.

For the sugar scrub you will need:

3 cups of granulated sugar
1 plus 1/8th cup oil (Olive oil, sunflower oil, etc. Any oil that has a nice smell will work. I don't recommend vegetable oil.)
About 10 drops of essential oil per recipe.

This is really easy stuff to make. All you need to do is mix it together. This recipe will make three large jars or six small (2 oz.) jars. The most expensive thing is finding packaging. I ordered twenty small jars a few weeks ago, so packaging really wasn't an issue. You can find some pretty cute glass jars at Dollar Tree, but if you're making a whole lot of them, that will be pretty expensive. For the really small gifts I packaged it in small baggies. I printed labels onto small shipping labels that I cut in half width-wise. I recommend putting the ingredients on the label so recipients can be aware of any allergens.

To use the scrub: Rub on rough, dry skin and rinse to reveal smoother skin.

This stuff really works! Living in such a dry climate, I have a feeling that sugar scrubs may be a pretty regular ritual.

Bath salts are even easier. All you need is salt and fragrance. The big question becomes what type of salt, which is probably going to depend on what types of stores are near-by at this point in the game.

I used:

Half Epsom Salt (I used some fine grain and some typical, coarse salt)
Half Dead Sea Salt
Plus I added Dendritic Salt to help it maintain its fragrance. You only need a small amount (5%-10% of the total) for it to do its job.
Essential oil. I added it until I was happy with the scent.

In a pinch, you can use half Epsom salt and half ionized salt, or you can use Sea salt in place of the Epsom salt. I will say that the Dead Sea Salt and Dendritic Salt make a difference. I used some of it, and it was the best bath salt ever.

All you need to do is mix it together and package it. Some people add color, but I haven't added any coloring to any of the gifts I've made this year because I wanted to keep it simple and reduce the risk of allergic reactions.

I made lots of these, so I packaged them in small baggies. I know that I could have packaged them up super-cute, like this gal did with her sugar scrubs:

But that would have defeated the purpose of easy, inexpensive gifting. (I mean, hand cutting felt flowers? They're really cute, but c'mon!) I do recommend including a label on the package, though. After wrapping in tissue paper (as in the first pic), they were still pretty cute.

To use bath salt: Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of salt to warm bath water and relax.

I hope that these ideas help you as you attempt to complete your gift-giving ritual this year. Let lots of people know that you care this season with imperfect, heart-felt gifts.

Homemade Christmas: How to Make Lotion Bars

2011-12-05T18:28:00.003-05:00

Blog #3 of the Imperfectly Pinterest Series

A couple of weeks ago, I counted up the number of gifts that needed to be purchased. I realized that there were a lot of people who work with my children each week, and I became a bit concerned. There are almost thirty people who interact with my precious children when you include teachers, therapists, Sunday School teachers, and AWANA workers! I don't know about you, but I am not totally sure how to pay for thirty teacher gifts.

So I'm making them.

After searching the internet, mostly with the help of Pinterest, I discovered a ton of bath and body products that looked pretty fun.

My favorite idea was homemade lotion bars. These bad puppies are made from beeswax, cocoa butter, oil, and fragrance. When you rub them in your hands, a little melts into your hands, and you can rub in like lotion. Although the product is a little greasier than lotion, it's also more effective on dry, chapped skin, and you can leave it in your car when the temperatures get crazy low without fear of freezing. (This may come in handy more up here than where you live.)

Update: I do want to mention that lotion bars really aren't lotion. They are definitely waxy, and are perfect for using on your hands and feet before putting on socks and gloves, and are also great for protecting your hands against repeated hand-washings if you use it just before washing your hands. But it really isn't a regular lotion.
The recipe that I found is extremely simple:

One part cocoa butter
One part beeswax
One part oil, such as sunflower or olive oil (I reduced this to 2/3 of the other two ingredients to reduce greasiness and raise the melting point, but I think that 3/4 or above would have been better)
A small amount of essential oil (About 6 teaspoons per kilo of cocoa butter/beeswax)

After deciding to make lotion bars, sugar scrubs, and bath salts, I went online to find the products that I needed. After quite a bit of Googling and keyword brainstorming, I came across New Directions Aromatics. I ordered a kilo of wax, a kilo of cocoa butter, and 33.3 oz of sunflower oil. I also ordered two tray molds that make 16 square bars each. In the same order I purchased what I needed for bath salts. I am going to write a blog on the bath salts and sugar scrubs next week, but if you plan on making them, you may want to purchase the items along with lotion bar ingredients.

For bath salts you can use almost any type of salt, but I used 2 parts Epsom, 1 part dead sea, and 1 part dendritic salt. I bought a kilo of Epsom and 1.1 lbs of the other two. You'll also need essential oil or fragrant oil.

For the sugar scrub, the only things that you will need to buy online are the oils. The recipe that I'm using calls for three cups of sugar with 1 and 1/8 cups oil (again, sunflower) with three cups of sugar. Thirty drops of essential oil are required for the recipe.

Even when making all three items, you won't go through a bottle of essential oil unless you're making a ton of them!

As far as molds go, I ended up using a cookie sheet that I bought at Joann's Fabrics on sale. Each cavity has a different snowflake shape. I also made three trays worth of square bars to give to other people that I would like to let know that I love them, but I can't afford to buy everyone I love a $50 giftcard.

One warning: Make sure that you wear old clothes and use kitchen supplies that aren't particularly important to you. This stuff leaves oil spots if you splash some on your clothes, and it is nearly impossible to clean it off of spoons and measuring cups, though it can be done.

Now, for the actual steps:

Melt the cocoa butter and beeswax in a double boiler, or, as I did, a Crock Pot.
Remove from heat or turn the power off your Crock Pot, and add the oil and essential or fragrant oil. (If you are using more than one scent, you can pour the mixture into separate bowls after adding the main oil and before adding the fragrance.)
Pour into molds and carefully place in the refrigerator. If not all of the mixture fits into your molds, you can leave it in the Crock Pot with it set on "warm," so it stays melted. Do not put the bars into the freezer, or they may crack!
Wait until the bars are completely hardened, and remove from the molds.
Package the bars. I had a couple of ideas for packaging. One was to wrap them in foil and press the foil so it shows the pretty design. For most of them, I will probably put them in small treat bags with swing tags that I made from printable business cards that I bought from WalMart. The reason that I'm leaning toward this option is so I can explain what they are and let the recipient know what the ingredients are in order to prevent allergic reactions.

Here is a picture of what I put on the tags:

Update: I recommend changing the instructions based on what I now know about the texture of the final products Rubbing in completely is not going to happen.

I hope that this tutorial helps you if you have decided to make some of the gifts on your Christmas list next year. To tell you the truth, I enjoyed making these things so much that I have considered starting my own little company. "Consider," being a key word.

A Monday Without Zumba

2011-12-05T10:41:00.000-05:00

I taught my last Zumba class last week. My certificate ran out, and I wasn't making enough to justify renewing it. I really enjoyed the experience of teaching classes, and I have gotten to know several wonderful women because of it. In all actuality, that was the primary reason that I started teaching in the first place. I don't have many opportunities to meet women outside of church, so I have to find ways to get into the community in order to be around other circles of women. Zumba was extremely effective at the task.

I met some fantastic women. They are so sweet, in fact, that they gave me an ornament and a good-bye party. Although the idea of freeing up some time to write and be with my family is really nice, I am going to miss the women with whom I have spent almost every Monday night for a year and a half.

Each phase has surprises of its own, and I look forward to seeing what the next phase holds.

Hannah's Christmas List: Trash the Dress

2011-11-29T10:34:00.003-05:00

I mentioned in a previous post that I asked Edwin for a trash-the-dress photo shoot as a Christmas gift. I loved the idea of actually getting to wear my pretty wedding gown one more time, and I also loved the idea of having some pictures of me in front of a camera. (I'm usually the one taking the photo.)

Allow me to say this: If you've been contemplating a trash-the-dress, I highly recommend that you follow through. We were able to remember our wedding day, and we now have lots of fun photographic evidence that we really like each other. (It's a great thing to remember.) It would be an excellent anniversary gift from a husband to wife, or a great Christmas present. Just a thought...

We also had some family photos taken. Marriage is about more than romance, after all. Plus, our kids are really cute, and they make us look good.

If you live in the North Country, and are in need of a photographer, allow me to recommend Krista. She does a fabulous job. If you go to her website, you can also check our her ridiculously amazing cakes. They're incredible!

$20 for 3 Christmas Windows

2011-11-25T21:36:00.000-05:00

The second blog in the Imperfectly Pinterest Series.

After looking through several ideas on the Better Homes and Gardens website and friends' Pinterest boards, I decided to give myself a challenge to see how far I could stretch $20 and change when it comes to Christmas decorations.

I started with this:

This is what I was able to purchase, mostly from Dollar Tree:

(The lollipops were to reward my children for being semi-patient while I calculated, recalculated, and recalculated again.)

I used the directions from this tutorial that a friend of mine pinned on her Pinterest board to create a mini-wreath. I cut the wire hanger in two to make the wreath smaller because I didn't want to use that many ornaments, and I didn't feel like a large wreath was needed.

I seriously debated the gardland, but I have decided that I like it around the curtain rod and a part of a bow. Here is how the window turned out:

I noticed that there is a trend in hanging ornaments everywhere, so for a simple decoration on the kitchen window, I wrapped the curtain rod in some ribbon that was left over from my wedding and hung a few ornaments at varying lengths. I have to say, it looks much better in person.

One of my favorite ideas from bhg.com was to hang ornaments in picture frames. The round ornaments in the frames are also left over from my wedding. The middle angel ornament was given to us as a wedding gift. The frames were originally black, and I wish I would have just bought them in white, but I didn't, so I painted them.

I hope that your decorating is off to a great beginning, or that it will be when you get to it. I also wish you a pepper-spray free holiday season. I mean, seriously? Does that video game cure cancer or something? Okay, ranting over.

Happy decorating, celebrating, shopping, eating, and (oh, yeah!) worshiping Christ this Christmas season.

How to Make a Photo Canvas

2011-11-22T09:58:00.000-05:00

Blog #1 of the Imperfectly Pinterest series.

Edwin requested some Scripture for his office walls as a birthday gift. This is how he became the first family victim of Pinterest. I found the perfect tutorial on a friend's board, and decided to put it to use as a birthday gift for my wonderful hubby.

Here's how it went:

1. Get your supplies together. You'll need-

as many blank canvases as you need (I went with 8x10)

photos printed in the same size as the canvas (You may need to trim the adges. The photos should be slightly smaller than the canvas)

Mod Podge

Brushes, I went with sponge brushes

Black paint

Ribbon or (better) scrapbook paper (If you use ribbon, I have come to the realization that it would be best to prime the edges and sides of the canvas with the black paint in order to reduce the appearance of gaps.)

2.. Mod Podge the canvas. I just used the extremely cheap sponge brushes.

2. Press the photo onto the canvas.

3. Turn over the canvas, and press out all of the air bubbles.

4. Mod Podge the sides.

5. Cover the sides with ribbon or 4 strips of scrapbook paper cut to almost the same size as each edge. I now realize that the scrapbook paper works better.

6. Mod Podge the whole photo. I used a thick coat and made a circular motion that made the appearance of brush strokes. That works well.

7. Let it dry... Then dry sponge the edges with the black paint. I first used a sponge brush, but I then discovered that a makeup applicator sponge is much better at getting the light effect around the edges.

8. Allow to dry. Be extremely happy with your results, no matter how imperfect they are.

The photo below demonstrates the difference between the sponge brush application and the makeup sponge application.

Make sure that you check out the original, and far more perfect, instructions on Blue Cricket Designs. Edwin was extremely happy with his birthday gift, which was really the point, after all.

Pique Your Pinterest

2011-11-20T00:06:00.000-05:00

I recently joined Pinterest. I have mixed feelings regarding the new social media. On one hand I really don't like the fact that there is a new guilt-tripping mechanism that is trying to force me to spend every waking moment organizing, cooking, decorating, and crafting. Actually, I'm not totally sure that there would be time for sleep if I tried to tackle every project that brought on guilt.

On the other hand, the holiday season has a strange way of making me wish that I could build a table from a door or cook the perfect Christmas turkey for $3 a person.

This brings me to a place where I am trying to wade through the ridiculous projects in an attempt to find the accomplishable ideas that will actually benefit me and my family... as opposed to making more work and covering my entire home in glitter.

You are invited to join me on this tumultuous journey through the domestic battleground as we begin a series that I have affectionately titled, "Imperfectly Pinterest."

Edwin Was Born!

2011-11-17T13:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Edwin's birthday. God has blessed this little planet with Edwin for 32 years now. He never ceases to amaze me with the amount of wisdom and maturity he has collected in that short time. I have known him for nine of his 32 years, and I desperately hope to have many, many more opportunities to celebrate his addition to the world.

For Christmas I gently requested (or nagged, whichever) a trash-the-dress photo shoot. We also had a few family photos taken. . I plan on blogging about the trash-the-dress experience soon, but I wanted to share some of my favorites that feature my insanely handsome
husband now. For more information about the photographer, check out her website here. I must admit that I struggle with jealousy for her abilities, which include photography and gorgeous cake decorating.

A Little About My Brother.

2011-11-10T10:25:00.000-05:00

My brother has been living with us since September. He is taking a semester from seminary to come and help out our family and church. I must admit, I didn't expect him to be as helpful as he's been. He is constantly seeking out opportunities to be nice to us. If he sees something that needs to be done, he usually jumps right in and does it.

I haven't lived anywhere near my brother since graduating from high school. The girls knew him... sort of, but they didn't have a real relationship with him. It has been great to get to know him again, and for the girls to get to know him for the first time. (I think Edwin likes having him around, too.)

It's no small thing that he took time out of his life to come and live with us for a few months. Micah is going to be a great pastor, a great dad, and he's already a great man. I'm so thankful for you, bro. I'm not looking forward to when you leave, but I am tremendously grateful for the time we get with you.

Google

2011-11-07T23:36:00.000-05:00

My brother just tried to tell me a riddle. I thought about it for a few seconds, but seeing as I had a laptop handy, I decided to Google it. Because thinking is just so last century.

The man who made it doesn't want it. The man who bought it doesn't need it. The man who needs it doesn't know it.

What's the answer?

A coffin.

You have to respect a company whose name has become a verb. When we went to missionary training, we were told that it would be a good idea to "Google yourself." I don't care how mature of a Christian you are, that's going to crack you up.

The availability of information is an amazing, and incredibly dangerous, development of our time. There are very few secrets in our world. Saturday night we were watching the post game show after the Alabama-LSU game (I'm not ready to talk about the game), and Kirk Herbstreit stopped the question because he had just felt an earthquake. Before anyone could have reported it, before the earthquake had even concluded, thousands and thousands of people were aware of it.

I personally enjoy the speed with which I can retrieve the weather report, price comparisons, and product reviews. I like you, Google, even if you do ruin my brother's attempts to befuddle me. I'm more than a little scared of you, though. Do you see everything? Do you spend your life going to and fro across the earth, looking for information to organize by keyword?

I would like to continue on my little rant, but this blog's server is owned by the Google dominion, and I've seen enough movies and read enough books to know that you don't mess with the technological powers that be.

Did you hear that, Google? I'm going to bed now, a place where I'm pretty sure that you can't see me. At least, I hope not (insert Twilight Zone theme music here).

Dressin' Up and Showin' Off!

2011-10-31T22:05:00.000-04:00

DeLaynie wanted to be a princess this year... just like last year. I'm almost willing to bet she's going to want to be a princess again next year. I went to Target.com and looked for a princess costume on clearance, and a Snow White dress fit the bill.

Ella wanted to be everything that she saw. She wanted to be a puppy, a monkey, a piggy, a princess... and then I shut my computer. Then I found a butterfly costume on clearance, and made the suggestion. She went for it! I was pretty happy about the situation. (So was she.)

Uncle Micah won "Most Confusing Costume" at the fall festival. Okay, not really. But only because we didn't have a contest. He was actually Prince Ronald from one of the girls' favorite books, "The Paper Bag Princess".

Ella always enjoys the games at the fall festival. She also enjoyed the perks of being the pastor's daughter and grabbing way more than the standard amount of candy per turn.

DeLaynie doesn't like the games as much because her favorite thing in the world is a bounce house. But she likes the games and getting candy enough to take a few breaks.

"Look! Lemonade!"

Sassy little princess!

We had a great time, and now the girls are thoroughly asleep. I'm currently taking parent tax (i.e. raiding the kids' candy stash).

Hat Season!

2011-10-28T15:29:00.000-04:00

It's fall in Northern New York, and that means that it's time for headgear. (It also means that I'm constantly saying things like, "It's almost Christmas!" and "I can't wait for snow!" But that is a totally different subject.) As a yarn nerd, I crocheted a couple of hats for the girls in September.

But one day we were walking through WalMart's yarn aisle, and my brother, Micah, saw a book of patterns for slouchy beanies which evoked the reaction, "Oooooooooo. Slouchy beanies!" We bought the book and some yarn. Then I started looking through the book, and realized that all of the good patterns are for knit hats. That was a bit of a problem because I had tried to learn to knit, and it was a no-go.

I started a crochet pattern, but I never fell in love with it, so I pulled out the computer and headed over to Youtube for some knitting lessons. After watching several videos on the basics of knitting, I started playing around with a super-simple beginning knitter hat pattern. Although it's a little bigger than I had hoped, the girls both really love it.

Now, $50 in knitting supplies and more hours than I care to admit later, the world's most expensive hat is finally on the needles! I hope that it's wearable after this crazy-long process, but the effort should at least communicate that I love my brother, even if it won't keep his head warm.

It's the Great Halloween Debate, Charlie Brown!

2011-10-21T15:02:00.000-04:00

I don't like Halloween. It just isn't my thing. That probably has something to do with the fact that my parents ingrained the evils of all things Halloween into me from a very young age. Now that Ella is older, she is beginning to push for typical Halloween celebration, like trick-or-treating. DeLaynie is so easy-going that it hasn't bothered her that we pull away from Halloween to celebrate imagination and dress-up through sweeter, less vomit-inducing methods. Ella is her mother's child, so she questions everything, like why it's not okay to trick-or-treat, pretend to be a ghost, or joke around about witches.

Living in an area with less Evangelical Christian influence has escalated the debate tremendously. There are decorations everywhere, and the school even has a Halloween "parade" every year. (Essentially, the kids dress up and walk around.) We might could go for this, but the costumes that the kids wear are far from acceptable according to our family's standards. Edwin drove by the school last year, and his comment was that it was down-right disturbing to see the costumes that the young children were wearing.
All of this has brought about an internal struggle over where the line is between healthy imagination and unhealthy fixation on darkness. I considered thinning the line for a while, until Ella started pretending to be a "mean witch". Something about that simply did not sit right. It was at this point that I decided to err on the side of holiness. Yes, it will be extremely difficult to insulate my children from the worldly concept of "innocent fun" that plays around with death, demons, and devils, but it may just be one of those battles that is worth fighting.

If nothing else, the efforts to protect my children from typical Halloween festivities will open doors to conversations about holiness, the value of life, and loving Light and not darkness. We will not teach our children that people who celebrate Halloween traditionally are in sin. It's a parenting decision that we have made for our children because they have been entrusted to us.

Most of the choices that I struggle to make have something to do with the balance between holiness and incarnational living. The Bible doesn't draw a picture of what this looks like in each situation, so it's up to us as parents to seek the answers that we need from the One who has them. He is faithful in all things, even the Great Halloween Debate.

Vacating the Scene

2011-10-17T16:00:00.016-04:00

I know that I've been MIA lately. This is partially due to the fact that I've been ill with something that doesn't seem to want to move on. It's probably just a bad case of strep throat, so I should be feeling better soon. I guess that the best way to get back into the swing of things is to just jump right in, so...

Edwin and I realized that we had never taken a real family vacation. We'd left the girls with grandparents and gone on trips, but we'd never taken them anywhere. It was with this realization that we pulled out the school calendar and looked for the first break long enough for some sort of vacation. We decided that the Native American Day/ Columbus Day break would work if we let DeLaynie skip an extra day of school. So we found a rental house in Niagara Falls, Ontario and set out on our first family vacation.

These are the American falls. They're much smaller than the Canadian falls. The little boat is the Maid of the Mist, which takes you right up to Niagara Falls. We took a ride, and I got a couple of pictures. That mist is thick, though, and my camera only took a couple of pictures of the main falls because the lense got wet faster than I could wipe it off.

DeLaynie loved the boat experience, but I've never heard Ella so terrified. She screamed and cried with unprecidented intensity. Five minutes off the boat, though, and she claimed that the boat ride was her favorite part of the trip.

The girls both loved looking at the falls. The view was nothing short of spectacular, and the best part of the experience was watching them marvel at it.

My Inferiority to Men

2011-10-04T08:53:00.000-04:00

Since my brother came to stay with us, I've noticed that I'm much more concerned about the goings-on of the sports world. My previous experience with our television was that it carried children's programming during the week and football on the weekends. As it turns out, it is possible to get sports news every minute of every day, though it does seem like they "break" the same story several times a day.

I've always been fascinated by the male fixation on sports. I honestly don't understand how they have such a natural fortitude for random statistics and strategy for sports to which they claim to be indifferent. My husband, for instance, always seems to know about breaking headlines in golf before ESPN reports them. How is it possible that he can remember who had the most homeruns in the 1936 World Series when he can't remember why he opened the refrigerator?

Please understand, I'm not insulting his forgetfulness. I consider "Fridge Amnesia" a pretty typical disease, of which I sometimes suffer. But how does he remember all that other stuff?

I will now do something very difficult, and admit that, on this one, men have me beat. I could study this stuff constantly, watch all the same things, read all the same news, but I'd never have the library of sports knowledge that they have. I know that there are some women out there who can do it, and to them I say: You go, girl! Represent us well.

A Big Commitment

2011-10-02T14:13:00.002-04:00

Today was our first Sunday Morning Bible Study piece of the one year Bible-reading challenge that I have dubbed, "The Feast". I have to admit that the commitment is a big one. We're reading large chunks of Scripture every single day.

But the women have bought in better than I imagined. They're talking about what they're reading. They're on Facebook asking questions and keeping each other accountable. I know that this is how it should be, but this is how it should be!

I can't take credit. This idea is an old one. It's not like I'm the first person to say, "Hey! Let's read the Bible in a year!" In fact, the church that my dad serves is doing something very similar. Although it is not an original idea, it's powerful. Imagine 30 women reading the same thing, thinking the same God-inspired thoughts. Imagine 30 women who are completely on the same page because they are actually reading the same page!

I'm amazed at what God is doing, and I can't wait to see what's next!