And no, I'm not referring to that obnoxious show on ESPN.
We haven't posted on our blog in months but it's been due to technical difficulties. It has to do with our old version of linux not playing nicely with the new version of blogger but apparently blogger felt bad for us old school people and fixed whatever was wrong.
I've tried to update our list of videos and hopefully can start posting other things soon. . .
Perhaps you are relieved. Perhaps you are disappointed. But either way, there it is. :-)
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
A Bubble Kind of Day
Today I was driving Maggie to school and she commented on the traffic and how heavy it was on one side of the street, heading downtown. So we had a nice conversation about commutes and rush hours and things like that. I told her about when I lived in Seattle and how bad the traffic could get there. And she was appropriately impressed. She made some comment about how bad it must be to live there with all that traffic. I quickly spoke in Seattle's defense and said that it was a great city and that I got used to the traffic.
Then I told her a story about one of the ways I used to keep a light heart in the heavy traffic. I attended many weddings while I lived there and when I received one of those little bottles of bubbles, I would keep it in my car. Then, I'd wait for some REALLY bad traffic. The kind when you aren't moving. When people act like a tunnel is an excuse to forget how to drive. When everyone is getting tense around you. . .
Then, I would roll down my window and start blowing bubbles!
And then I would look in my mirror to watch the expressions of the people around me. They would smile! Laugh! In the middle of a traffic jam in morning rush hour in Seattle!
Maggie loved that story. And I always liked it too. At the time, I just thought of it as a way to lighten my mood. Because you can't be mad and blow bubbles at the same time. You just can't. Go ahead. Try it. I dare you!
But as I related this story to Maggie I realized that there is a life application here. As I told Maggie, bad things happen to us everyday. Little annoyances, things that don't go our way. And we have a choice about how we react to it. We can upset. We can let it ruin our day.
Or, we can blow bubbles.
As Maggie got out of the car at school, we prayed that when faced with the choice of how to react to something today we would choose to blow bubbles!
Then I told her a story about one of the ways I used to keep a light heart in the heavy traffic. I attended many weddings while I lived there and when I received one of those little bottles of bubbles, I would keep it in my car. Then, I'd wait for some REALLY bad traffic. The kind when you aren't moving. When people act like a tunnel is an excuse to forget how to drive. When everyone is getting tense around you. . .
Then, I would roll down my window and start blowing bubbles!
And then I would look in my mirror to watch the expressions of the people around me. They would smile! Laugh! In the middle of a traffic jam in morning rush hour in Seattle!
Maggie loved that story. And I always liked it too. At the time, I just thought of it as a way to lighten my mood. Because you can't be mad and blow bubbles at the same time. You just can't. Go ahead. Try it. I dare you!
But as I related this story to Maggie I realized that there is a life application here. As I told Maggie, bad things happen to us everyday. Little annoyances, things that don't go our way. And we have a choice about how we react to it. We can upset. We can let it ruin our day.
Or, we can blow bubbles.
As Maggie got out of the car at school, we prayed that when faced with the choice of how to react to something today we would choose to blow bubbles!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch
Yesterday Maggie's grade took their first field trip. The went to a great pumpkin patch in Saraland put on by College Park Baptist Church. At first I was wondering why were were going to one so far away when there are other closer, cheaper, ones near by. But my questions were soon put to rest.
The church really does a GREAT job with their field trips. They had several activies for the kids - two story times, a pumkin decorating area, a general store where they could choose their snack, a "hay" ride (although there was no hay but I wasn't complaining), individual pictures of each and every kid (including a print out!) and a group photo for the teacher! All the stories and even the hayride had biblical truths in them. Their many volunteers were WONDERFUL with the children - so engaging and creative! I was impressed. And the kids had a GREAT time. And they were so well behaved throughout the whole experience.
But my favorite thing of the whole day was really just getting to be with the class - to put faces with names, meet a lot of the parents. I've been feeling very disconnected from the class since I can't volunteer at the school that much with Abby. So this was a special opportunity for me. (Siblings aren't allowed on field trips, so Ben took off work and stayed home with Abby so I could go - thank you!!)
Maggie with Reagan (left, tablemate) and Blakely (center, buddy for day - we rode together)
The church really does a GREAT job with their field trips. They had several activies for the kids - two story times, a pumkin decorating area, a general store where they could choose their snack, a "hay" ride (although there was no hay but I wasn't complaining), individual pictures of each and every kid (including a print out!) and a group photo for the teacher! All the stories and even the hayride had biblical truths in them. Their many volunteers were WONDERFUL with the children - so engaging and creative! I was impressed. And the kids had a GREAT time. And they were so well behaved throughout the whole experience.
But my favorite thing of the whole day was really just getting to be with the class - to put faces with names, meet a lot of the parents. I've been feeling very disconnected from the class since I can't volunteer at the school that much with Abby. So this was a special opportunity for me. (Siblings aren't allowed on field trips, so Ben took off work and stayed home with Abby so I could go - thank you!!)
Class Photo:
(one child was home sick.)
One of the Storytimes:
Yes, Maggie was enjoying herself:
Hayride took them to the baseball field behind the church:
They had a story along the edge of the field to read as you rode along:
Of couse we had to take one home.....love that smile!
Friday, October 28, 2011
So what do YOU do with YOUR leftovers?
This small trifle was made from leftover birthday cake, leftover cool whip and some chocolate pudding. I put it in a hurricane vase because my trifle bowl would have been too large - made for a nice presentation! I almost forgot how fun leftovers can be!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Nursery Rhyme Day
There was a little bear
Who had a little hair
Right in the middle of his forehead.
And when he had fish was very very good
And when he had none he was horrid!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Top 10 Favorite Things about OctoberBaby
The movie October Baby opens this weekend in Alabama and Mississippi (sorry everyone else! You have to wait till next spring!). So if you are looking for something to do this weekend that DOESN'T involve costumes.... here's my top 10 things I liked about this movie...
10) The oil rig - almost every beach scene has this one oil rig in it.. . .no matter what beach they are supposedly on. :-)
9) Alabama Theatre - this is an absolutely beautiful theatre - if you've never been to one of their movie nights I highly recommend it. Watch the OctoberBaby trailer and you'll see it in the first scenes....
8) Evelyn - who doesn't love a good road trip movie? Especially one taken in a VW Bus? Evelyn, the VW, rocks.
7) Mobile and Dauphin Island - home, sweet, home! It's fun to watch a movie on the big screen and say "Hey! I know where that is!" "I've been there!" The bad part about knowing the locations is knowing that it doesn't really take a day to travel from DI to Mobile.
6) Truman - the comic relief. He's so funny and his timing is great!
5) Jasmine Guy - any Different World fans out there? Can I get a shout out? I loved seeing Jasmine Guy in this role. She was great!
4) Birth Mother - the actress that plays her has an amazing story. Watch it here.
3) Jason - I LOVE that Jason does things the right way. He treats Hannah and her father with respect when it counts the most. Most Hollywood films wouldn't have played it that way.
2) Directors' father - he was at the screening in Mobile and told us a great story. When his two sons were small, they said "Dad, we think God is calling us to make Christian movies". Did he say "That's nice, boys" and pat them on the head? No. He bought them a camera and a computer. Now they've won Dove awards for their music videos and have created their first motion picture which hit it out of the park. Way to nurture your kids' dreams, dad!
1) Helping a good cause - 10% of proceeds will go to crisis pregnancy centers and orphan agencies. Can't beat that!
10) The oil rig - almost every beach scene has this one oil rig in it.. . .no matter what beach they are supposedly on. :-)
9) Alabama Theatre - this is an absolutely beautiful theatre - if you've never been to one of their movie nights I highly recommend it. Watch the OctoberBaby trailer and you'll see it in the first scenes....
8) Evelyn - who doesn't love a good road trip movie? Especially one taken in a VW Bus? Evelyn, the VW, rocks.
7) Mobile and Dauphin Island - home, sweet, home! It's fun to watch a movie on the big screen and say "Hey! I know where that is!" "I've been there!" The bad part about knowing the locations is knowing that it doesn't really take a day to travel from DI to Mobile.
6) Truman - the comic relief. He's so funny and his timing is great!
5) Jasmine Guy - any Different World fans out there? Can I get a shout out? I loved seeing Jasmine Guy in this role. She was great!
4) Birth Mother - the actress that plays her has an amazing story. Watch it here.
3) Jason - I LOVE that Jason does things the right way. He treats Hannah and her father with respect when it counts the most. Most Hollywood films wouldn't have played it that way.
2) Directors' father - he was at the screening in Mobile and told us a great story. When his two sons were small, they said "Dad, we think God is calling us to make Christian movies". Did he say "That's nice, boys" and pat them on the head? No. He bought them a camera and a computer. Now they've won Dove awards for their music videos and have created their first motion picture which hit it out of the park. Way to nurture your kids' dreams, dad!
1) Helping a good cause - 10% of proceeds will go to crisis pregnancy centers and orphan agencies. Can't beat that!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Around this household, that means fall, baby! Cooler weather, football (that's for you, honey), fall food - chili, sweet potato pie, etc - and our annual trip to the mountains of NC to visit my folks!
But first - a sidetrack!
One of Ben's all time favorite bands is (anyone? anyone?) . . . .Chicago. Ben found out they were performing in a SMALL venue in Anniston, AL and this became a top priority for him. :-) So, as an early Christmas present Ben got 2 tickets. However this created a dilemma - who would go with him? After much thought we decided to let Maggie attend. 1) It was a family friendly venue 2) if I had attended the necessary travel plans probably would have caused Abby much stress 3) while I'm always happy to attend things like that with Ben, Maggie really wanted to see Chicago! She's been listening to their music for years (literally) with Daddy and I figured she had earned it. :-)
Both of them had a GREAT time, and Maggie made it through MOST of the concert - she conked out about 20 minutes from the end. ;-)
The next morning we finished our drive up to NC and had a great time! Saturday the girls went downtown to the Apple Festival....
where Maggie got to enjoy her very first funnel cake:
Sunday we had a picnic and hike in Joyce Kilmer forest.
You remember Joyce Kilmer, don't you? No? Well, you probably know the first line of his most famous poem...
"I think that I shall never see
a poem as lovely as a tree..."
Everyone went on that hike - even Abby!
Although this is how she traveled most of the way.....
Hiking's not to hard when you get to ride, eh?
Monday we left Abby at home with the Grammy and Grumpa and took Maggie to a hike up Water Rock Knob, a short drive up the parkway from Grammy's house.
We had a GREAT time on this hike - got to talk to lots of interesting people, although it was mostly about football. The weather was great. They had a fabulous visitor's center with a real stuffed black bear that you could PET! I was enthralled. It was an 18 month old cub and was SO soft. I left my camera in the car ("What could there possibly be to photograph in the Visitor's center??" I thought). Maggie and I loved it - we touched it's teeth, it's claws, and pet it over and over.
Confession time: when I was younger I frequently daydreamed about owning large wild animals - Siberian tigers, etc. Getting to put a wild animal, even a stuffed one, is pretty stinkin' cool in my book. Ok, back to the program....
Maggie's favorite part of that hike was receiving a certificate of accomplishment from the Park Ranger! It was officially stamped and everything! It's only a short hike, but they said it's the steepest 1/2 mile hike on the parkway! And our little trooper did it all by herself - I was pretty proud!
The next day we had to book it on home so Maggie wouldn't miss TOO much school. But even that was ok because then we got to enjoy my FAVORITE thing about coming home from our annual fall trek into the woods:
But first - a sidetrack!
One of Ben's all time favorite bands is (anyone? anyone?) . . . .Chicago. Ben found out they were performing in a SMALL venue in Anniston, AL and this became a top priority for him. :-) So, as an early Christmas present Ben got 2 tickets. However this created a dilemma - who would go with him? After much thought we decided to let Maggie attend. 1) It was a family friendly venue 2) if I had attended the necessary travel plans probably would have caused Abby much stress 3) while I'm always happy to attend things like that with Ben, Maggie really wanted to see Chicago! She's been listening to their music for years (literally) with Daddy and I figured she had earned it. :-)
Both of them had a GREAT time, and Maggie made it through MOST of the concert - she conked out about 20 minutes from the end. ;-)
The next morning we finished our drive up to NC and had a great time! Saturday the girls went downtown to the Apple Festival....
where Maggie got to enjoy her very first funnel cake:
Sunday we had a picnic and hike in Joyce Kilmer forest.
You remember Joyce Kilmer, don't you? No? Well, you probably know the first line of his most famous poem...
"I think that I shall never see
a poem as lovely as a tree..."
Everyone went on that hike - even Abby!
Although this is how she traveled most of the way.....
Hiking's not to hard when you get to ride, eh?
Monday we left Abby at home with the Grammy and Grumpa and took Maggie to a hike up Water Rock Knob, a short drive up the parkway from Grammy's house.
We had a GREAT time on this hike - got to talk to lots of interesting people, although it was mostly about football. The weather was great. They had a fabulous visitor's center with a real stuffed black bear that you could PET! I was enthralled. It was an 18 month old cub and was SO soft. I left my camera in the car ("What could there possibly be to photograph in the Visitor's center??" I thought). Maggie and I loved it - we touched it's teeth, it's claws, and pet it over and over.
Confession time: when I was younger I frequently daydreamed about owning large wild animals - Siberian tigers, etc. Getting to put a wild animal, even a stuffed one, is pretty stinkin' cool in my book. Ok, back to the program....
Maggie's favorite part of that hike was receiving a certificate of accomplishment from the Park Ranger! It was officially stamped and everything! It's only a short hike, but they said it's the steepest 1/2 mile hike on the parkway! And our little trooper did it all by herself - I was pretty proud!
The next day we had to book it on home so Maggie wouldn't miss TOO much school. But even that was ok because then we got to enjoy my FAVORITE thing about coming home from our annual fall trek into the woods:
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