Friday Means Plumb

So, off you go now, go see what I posted over there.....

Out of the Mouths of Moms

I can't believe the things I say in my role as a mom sometimes. It's always frightening when things fly out of my mouth that my own parents used to say to me and made my eyes roll into the back of my head. (one of my old faves..."we're starting to see a pattern in your behavior..." ugh. And I have said that to my children!!) So disappointing.

Today is Bedtime Day for Lily's class. It's B day for the ABC countdown to the end of the year. She's been so looking forward to this day, when she can bring Mr. Cuggle Wuggles to school and wear her pajamas. I had a sneaking suspicion that she was hoping to wear her Cinderella nightgown, which is sleeveless, silky, and wholly inappropriate for school. But I waited it out, and this morning, she proved me right, and we had all the elements in place for a battle of the wills. Just exactly the way I want her day to start.

I tried to end it before it began by reminding her that I am the mom, and if we need to fight about this, we'll just skip pajamas altogether and wear regular clothes. That helped, and Lily resorted to crying that she didn't want to wear the other pajamas (that cover her bum and are just cute). I explained that I understood she didn't want to, but we don't always get everything we want. And then I did it. I said this stupid thing. Not one of my parents old phrases reused, my own, but WHY did I say it? Almost as soon as it came out I was wincing and shaking my head. I said, "We are not going to school dressed like a hoochy mama in first grade."

Mothering at its finest. How long before I get a call from the teacher saying that Lily called someone a hoochy mama? Can't wait.

I Want to Know You

We made a family outing to a book-signing last week at a local bookstore. Lars has read all of the Fablehaven books (there are three so far), and was very excited to go meet the author, Brandon Mull. He actually was at the same bookstore in the fall, and we went then to get the first book signed, before Lars had really gotten into them. Brandon Mull is very patient, talks to every person in line, asks questions of the kids who are standing there awestruck, and answers any questions his young fans may have for him. The line was long! And he made it worth it to have waited all that time.

It was cool for Lars to have a second chance to meet this author, to have enthusiasm and be able to take advantage of the opportunity to converse with him. And the real thrill this second time around? Brandon Mull said to Lars, "I've met you before, Lars, haven't I?" Well, Lars just couldn't get over that. "He knew me, mom! That is the sign of a really good author." Mm-hmm. I snapped a pic, of course. My happy boy, with this favorite author.



Can you guess where I'm going to go with it? What a thrill it is to be sort-of known by someone big. We have a God who knows us! He knows our name! We aren't just somewhat familiar to him, He knows us. He longs to engage us, to make our time spent with Him worthwhile. And the beauty is we don't even have to stand in line. We don't have to read the Book first, we don't have to get ourselves in order before we can meet Him, we don't have to do it a certain way. How many chances do we get to converse with Him? The number goes to infinity and beyond, baby. That is, indeed, the sign of a really good author.

We Are Family....I Got All My Sisters...

A group of my friends and I have started doing a Bible study together on the book of Colossians. We've done a few studies together before, but it's been a while. Because one friend moved to Ohio, and another moved to Georgia. And there have been changes in schedules and life....But we've recently discovered a way to do it on-line! Our same old group! I'm really excited to see how it goes, and thrilled to be able to stay connected.

When reading one of those books that is a letter from Paul to the believers in one town or another, I usually skim right over the greeting. I'm looking to get into the substance of the missive. But I appreciated this study making us look closely at this greeting:
"This letter is from Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy. It is written to God's holy people in the city of Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters in Christ. May God our Father give you grace and peace." (Colossians 1:1&2 NLT)

One of the questions the study asks is, "in the best of family relationships, how do brothers and sisters relate to each other?" Mmmm. I like this question. I think about how I instruct our kids to treat each other, how I want them to relate to each other. There are a couple of things I have said literally thousands of times to them: "we're all on the same team," and I remind them how blessed they are to have a brother, or a sister, or two brothers, as the case may be.

We are blessed to have been adopted into God's family, with all these brothers and sisters, all on the same team. We can have each other's backs, we can keep each other honest (you know siblings are great at that!), and we can encourage one another. Sure, it doesn't always go as beautifully as God's original design, because we're all imperfect. Are we seeing what a blessing this family can be? I know I skim over that....looking for the deeper stuff. What a mistake. It's good to slow down and I'm so thankful for y'all, my family!

What's For Dinner?

I'm reading a book about the power of eating dinner together as a family. I've only just started it, but WOW! This is such an important thing. I've always thought so, and it's something Scott and I decided we would do a long time ago, it just is the way we do life in our home. It's actually getting to be more and more fun, the older the kids get. Their observations of the world spill out on the dinner table, and we get to see into them.

What has surprised me though, is how important it is for families to eat together when the kids are older...teens. It makes sense, but I just hadn't gotten that far in my thinking about it ('cuz we aren't living there quite yet). Here's a quote:

"Just at the time when substance abuse rises, from ages twelve to seventeen, is the time when family dinners decline. When you look at high school juniors and seniors, only a third have dinner with their parents on a regular basis. It's easy to see how this comes about. older kids are busy, often tightly scheduled. In many ways, they are quite capable of being on their own, managing busy lives full of activities, jobs, schoolwork, and friends. It is easy to lose track of the fact that they still need the regular contact, the feeling that they are part of a group. They still need and crave adult guidance, even if they communicate the opposite....If we want our kids to lead healthier lives, we should eat with them more often. We should not give up our close contact, or underestimate our influence. And we should not pull back as they enter their teenage years....The meals...set the stage for the kinds of interaction we hope will happen between parents and teens. Parents are so important in their kids' lives. And supper is such an obvious place for kids to get regular access to parental presence and low-key attention."

There are just so many benefits to eating at home together...it improves both physical and emotional health for everyone at the table, not to mention the financial incentives. As the prices of everything keep creeping up, it really pays to plan out a week of dinners, and feed the family together at home. And the laughing! That's what has me hooked. We've got a funny table here at our joint.

T.G.I.F.

How can it already be Friday?!
Well, you know what Friday means, it's my day to post on Plumb.
Go read it!
And have a fantastic, restorative weekend.

Happy May Day!

My friend Yves says that in France, May Day is supposed to be the day that the Lilies of the Valley bloom. Alas, mine are not quite ready, so we'll have to be happy with daffodils and tulips. And, I am happy with them!

Today, I will play this game of tag with Michelle, who tagged me a few days ago. I don't think I can obey the rules completely, as I don't know 6 people who blog! I read some big blogs, where there are gobs of comments everyday, and the authors don't know who I am...sorry about that...And if you are someone I know and have a blog that I don't know about, comment me!

OK, so here are some Random things about me:

1. I'm kind of a foody wanna' be. I watch the Food Network, worked at a specialty grocery store in high school, and I love to cook, but I am a very picky eater. I don't like my foods to touch each other on the plate, and spicy food kills me. Even mildly spicy food. But I'll happily cook things for others to eat that I wouldn't. I also eat kind of weird. I'll pick which thing on my plate I think tastes best hottest, and eat all of that thing, and then on down the line. I don't do this on purpose, it just happens.

2. My brain remembers the first 3 digits of license plates and what kind of car people drive. I really don't do this on purpose, but that vital information is locked in there. Strange, I know. I'm also pretty good at remembering phone numbers without trying.

3. I have really bad vision. One optomotrist told me I'm legally blind (that is if I don't wear my glasses or contacts) but I don't know if that's true. My correction is -6 in one eye, and -6.5 in the other.

4. Our family hosted a Soup Night in our home for five years. Once a week, October through March, I made lots of soup, and there was an open invitation for folks to came and have dinner. We invited about 25 families, no rsvp, and it was great fun! (all 25 families didn't usually show up on the same night...)

5. I have been walking every day (about 20 minutes) since Spring Break ended, and refraining from eating after 7:30pm, and my jeans still fit the same! I'm seeing NO benefit. I'm a little crabby about it.

6. I have a bachelors degree in Sociology from North Park College (now University).

I shall now tag Matt, Heidi, and Sheila.

Here are the rules:

a. Link to the person who tagged you.
b. Post the rules on your blog.
c. Write six random things about yourself.
d. Tag six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.
e. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment at their blog.
f. Let your tagger know when your entry is up.