Family of Five (Almost Six).

Last Saturday in the midst of lots and lots of rain and chilly temps, we dared to face it all and have family photos taken. I've admired Amanda Donaho's work for years and was sad when she moved to the Cincinnati area last year... but as luck would have it, there are enough of us fans still around that when she had a trip scheduled back this direction, we made it on her list! I'm feeling very round and very pregnant, but she managed to make me - and the rest of my family - look pretty good. Here are just a few of my faves. If you happen to check out her site, be sure to go to her blog, too. There are more pics of us there.

I Watch Entirely Too Much TV.

In the 5th grade, I was happily singing theme songs from TV, when my teacher said to me, "You watch entirely too much TV." I thought it was funny and that line has stuck with me ever since. Even last Wednesday night at church, there was a point in which I found myself thinking "I watch entirely too much TV". From where I was standing, I could see a gentleman who was wearing shorts and flip-flops (I go to a great, very casual church) and all I could think about was the recent episode of The Office in which Angela was grossed out by Oscar wearing sandals to work on casual Friday. I'm pretty sure I should have put forth more effort to concentrate on something else, but it was amusing to me, so I didn't really try.

Turns out my mom also watches entirely too much TV. We have over the years accumulated one-liners from movies, shows, etc. that lend much humor to our daily journey. For instance, at a place and time when I should have been much more reverent, I noticed that someone who was standing suddenly wasn't. And, instead of immediate concern, all I could think of was how funny it would be to text my mom "We have a piper down" from the movie So I Married An Axe Murderer. (I went to YouTube to put the clip here, but there's all sorts of stuff in the clip that I forgot and well, isn't suitable for my audience - just saying.) There's also the line, "A date?! Is she pretty? Is she prettier than me?!" from a program we saw when I was maybe 8 or 9 years old. That show also had a line "Is that a big enough piece of cake or what?!" which we use frequently and interchange "cake" with whatever we find to be much too large for the current situation (hair - especially bangs, etc.) Just one more - In a stand-up comedienne's monologue she talks about staying at a hotel where after requesting shampoo from the front desk, the staff member showed up at her door with handfuls of lotion and explained, "We're out of shampoo." The comedienne says, "Can't you see that no matter how many lotions you bring to me, they're still not shampoo" and later when she's out with friends, and they're commenting on how yucky her hair is, she responds, "But, feel my hands!" So, we use this one a lot too when we've asked for one specific thing and whoever was supposed to get it ended up with something else. . . .

What I'm saying is that this trouble-ticket my 5th grade teacher tried to file turns out to be one of my favorite aspects - and frankly a very entertaining part - of my relationship with my mom.

So, Happy Mother's Day. I hope you have something funny to share with your mom, too.

A Week.

So, every time I think I should sit down and blog (because I know you're all wondering "Why don't she write?" - a reference to the movie Dances with Wolves) I am just a little stuck. I've actually been really blessed with photography and design work, so that's a plus, but that isn't really the reason I've not had anything to say.... I think I've just got a lot going on in my head. We'll start here:

Last weekend was the ladies retreat that my church puts on each year. What a refreshing time. It was just overnight, but it was exactly the right amount for me. I don't really do well with girly things and feel out-of-place, but somehow I did just fine. I didn't feel obligated to participate in the games after a while and just enjoyed visiting with people I don't often get the opportunity to sit and chat with.

Ok... then there has been the photography appointments. This is still so fun for me. I've had families, seniors, sports teams, and it does my body good to get out and meet people and frankly just enjoy being outside.

Then, there is the neighborhood-wide garage sale this weekend. Garage sales aren't my thing. I've never had one at my home, so it is a little overwhelming to me. Mr. Favorite said he's still feeling pain from the last time I put stuff in a garage sale our friends were having... He says he is still sick about all that perfectly good stuff that I sold. When I asked him what was particularly painful, he could remember only the Pampered Chef pizza baking stone (that was used at the most twice since we'd been married). Funny - I had no idea.... So, today is the day that I've got to get my rear in gear and get that stuff together.

On the graphic design stuff... I've got 4 or 5 projects for my church going (my favorite client) and another one that has been shoved behind the stove (no where near the back burner, if I'm honest) and I'm not sure how much longer her patience will hold. She said there was no rush, but I know her better than that.

Oh! And in Little One news, he's walking... Yes, that's right... The boy is all of 9 months and 2 weeks when he decides to take his first steps to get something his daddy has. It is so stinkin' cute, but I'm feeling so round and slow in my almost 4th month of pregnancy, that I'm wondering if it is a good idea to encourage this behavior. I can almost keep up with him when he's crawling (he's SUPER fast!).

And, lastly... I have come to love this scripture. My friend, K, has it on her wall in her oh-so-fabulous crafting room:
Starting from scratch, he made the entire human race and made the earth hospitable, with plenty of time and space for living so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find him. Acts 17:24

I love that in his design, he created this place so that we've got all the time and space we need for living... and not just painfully groping around to find our way, but the true life that is found in being a friend of God. He was purposeful in his creating... He had you in mind when he did it... before the foundations of the world were set, you were in his heart. He had settled on you as the object of his affection. In whatever you're experiencing today, his heart breaks with yours, he rejoices with you and he desires to be your calming peace. He is right there. Right there with you.

Easter Rides Again.

So, most of you were good bloggers and have already blogged about your Easter. Well, that didn't quite make it to my list of things to do yesterday, so here it is today.

Lunch went well. (A couple photos to prove it):I made brown sugar, honey ham steaks (so good), green bean bundles, and two kinds of potatoes. JL brought yummy rolls, and Mom brought green bean casserole and peach cobbler. There are things I'll do differently next year (do you hear that I'll actually do it again?!), but it was great overall. I'm all of 32 years old now, so I guess it is ok if I have grown-up things under my belt at this point, but I still have to conquer my fear of sucking at cooking. Funny thing is that even my dad - actually he was the very first to comment on how good the ham was. He just doesn't do that... Here are a few more pics. Little One was so stinkin' cute that day. Such a delight.And one more... (And, by the way... I made this new springy background all by myself in Photoshop. Certainly not what I should be spending time on, but fun, nonetheless!)

How to Catch a Wild Pig

Ok, so if you know me at all, you know that conflict and confrontation are not my favorite things in life. I'm very much about us all being nice and getting along... but I'm more and more concerned about the path our nation is on. Socialism used to sound so foreign. Not so much anymore. I had heard this illustration before, but it is painfully true. What can be done?

A chemistry professor at a large college had some exchange students in the class. One day while the class was in the lab the Professor noticed one young man (exchange student) who kept rubbing his back, and stretching as if his back hurt. The professor asked the young man what was the matter. The student told him he had a bullet lodged in his back. He had been shot while fighting communists in his native country who were trying to overthrow his country's government and install a new communist government.

In the midst of his story he looked at the professor and asked a strange question. He asked, 'Do you know how to catch wild pigs?' The professor thought it was a joke and asked for the punch line. The young man said this was no joke. 'You catch wild pigs by finding a suitable place in the woods and putting corn on the ground. The pigs find it and begin to come every day to eat the free corn. When they are used to coming every day, you put a fence down one side of the place where they are used to coming. When they get used to the fence, they begin to eat the corn again and you put up another side of the fence. They get used to that and start to eat again.

You continue until you have all four sides of the fence up with a gate in the last side. The pigs, who are used to the free corn, start to come through the gate to eat; you slam the gate on them and catch the whole herd. Suddenly the wild pigs have lost their freedom. They run around and around inside the fence, but they are caught.

Soon they go back to eating the free corn. They are so used to it that they have forgotten how to forage in the woods for themselves, so they accept their captivity.

The young man then told the professor that is exactly what he sees happening to America. The government keeps pushing us toward socialism and keeps spreading the free corn out in the form of programs such as supplemental income, tax credit for unearned income, tobacco subsidies, dairy subsidies, payments not to plant crops (CRP), welfare, medicine, drugs, etc. While we continually lose our freedoms -- just a little at a time.

Big Girl Panties.

So, I have this friend, K, who does these huge Easter events for her family and I've always thought I would love to have something similar for my family, but it is just Mom, Dad, Mr. Fave, and now Little One... But, something got in my head that we are what we are and if I want holiday traditions for Little One and the Littler One who is on the way, I just might have to get out my big girl panties and put them on. So, tomorrow, I'm hosting Easter dinner here at my home. I'm excited because I know that it is good for me. I've also invited one of my favorite friends, JL, and love that she's a part of my family, too. So, it isn't the ginormous event that my friend, K, puts on, but in my little world, it is a big deal.

On another note, I had forgotten about it, but while I was pregnant with Little One I had this same sensation I'm experiencing now. I feel like I need to cry - really hard - and I can't. It's bizarre. I feel like those emotions are riding just below the surface, but I can't seem to get them to get out. I can feel that I need that cleansing feeling that comes only from that kind of good cry. Now, this might seem weird to you, but I'll tell you anyway. I used to love to watch the movie Steel Magnolias when I knew I needed to cry. The reason was this: First of all, I felt like I could relate to Sally Field's character, M'Lynn, when after the funeral, she kind of just goes nuts. I can remember some of those same feelings and emotions after losing my brother. Secondly, I love that the movie doesn't leave you in that place of despair. Immediately, Clairee throws Ouiser (sounds like Wheezer) in front M'Lynn and says, "Here, hit this!" It makes me laugh and then the crying ends. I hate when movies just leave you with that sick feeling. I don't think that's healthy... for me, anyway. I don't want to "live" there, I just know I need some kind of catalyst to get through this wall that's keeping me on edge. Any of you have any idea what I'm talking about here?

And if you want to see the clip, here it is: (And, really... what is Darryl Hannah doing in a film?)

Unplugged.

So, yesterday I spent the day without my computer. It was really nice. I didn't do anything productive with all that extra time, but there was something powerful about not even coming in this room. I didn't have to check my email; I didn't look to see what updates Facebook had; I didn't check on the shipping for something I'd ordered; I didn't look to see what my blogger friends had to say; I didn't Tweet even once... I simply stayed away. I think there is something very healthy in that for me. Next time I do it, I'm going to have a plan for all that extra time.