WE'VE BEEN ROBBED!!!

If your house had broken into you'd call the police.

Who do you call when a whole HOLIDAY is stolen from you!?!?!

I KNOW you know what I am talking about.

Somehow we went right from Halloween to Christmas, skipping Thanksgiving altogether.

I blame the retail outlets, advertisers and radio stations...and US..for letting them do this to us.

The day before Halloween the stores began to move what was left of the Halloween merchandise on the clearance shelves and the Christmas merchandise was set out front and center. Even before that the Christmas stuff was out....it was just a few aisles over. Not quite the focus of attention....but it WAS there...in the ready...playing Jedi Mind tricks on us. "This is NOT the Holiday you want."

Now...don't get me wrong. Those of you who know me well KNOW that I love Christmas. From the cookies, to the gifts, to the gatherings, to the decorations. ALL of the decorations. Our living room usually looks like Santa threw up in it. All of our OTHER home decorations are removed and they are ALL replaced by our various collections. We even have a "nutcracker" clock that plays music EVERY hour on the hour.

I LOVE Thanksgiving too though. I love the colors, what it represents and the fact that it makes us stop and be thankful before the insanity of the Christmas season begins.

BUT WE HAVE BEEN ROBBED!! The commercials for Christmas sales and shopping began several weeks ago as did the Christmas songs on the radio. I was listening to the local "oldies" show a couple of weeks ago and one of the DJs was reading the hate mail he had received for playing Christmas music the morning before.

And this year "Black Friday" has bled over into Thanksgiving day itself. I just finished reading a news article that said MANY stores were opened THANKSGIVING morning at 4 am. One lady said she put her turkey in the oven and left her daughter to watch it.

We live across the freeway from the outlet mall. This year the owners of this and 21 other outlet malls opened at midnight on Thanksgiving night. The local coffee shop which our friend Kimmie manages and where Kirsten works was there selling coffee and Jeff and I thought we would go over just to say "Hi" and support the baristas as they stood around in the cold.

Now, when I say we live right across the freeway I mean it. As we drive out of our neighborhood we can see the roof of the mall. We can see the top of their 77 ft Christmas tree! It takes us about three minutes to get there if the five lights between us and the mall are green. But last night...we couldn't even get out of our neighborhood much less make it across the freeway.

Why you ask?...because as FAR AS WE COULD SEE there were headlights. Just a few hours after our last piece of Thanksgiving pie it had started.

For miles to the north on I-25...for miles to the south...up Founders PKWY which runs in front our neighborhood and at both exits....there was total and complete gridlock. We managed to make it ACROSS Founders but dared NOT turn into the traffic going to the mall lest we become mired in first waves of the commercial insanity of the season.

We drove around to a point in the bank parking lot..... and just sat and stared at the hundreds of cars trying to get into the mall.

And I became very, very sad.

I don't know if there is anything we can do to stop the retail juggernaut which threatens to destroy the JOY of the holiday season ON THE WHOLE.....but we HAVE to be able to stop it's effects on OUR FAMILIES!

I'm not sure how we are going to do it yet...but I PRAY that over the next couple years I,my family and YOU are OVERWHELMED by the true meaning of the season and we are granted Divine inspiration as to how to do this.

Maybe that's the key. To treat the season as a prayer. We are taught as believers to Begin prayer with Thanksgiving, that the middle should be filled with OUTWARDLY focused intercession...and we are to finish our prayers by calling upon the name of Jesus. What better way to finish our year than by LIVING the last couple of months...when all of the rest of the world is going CRAZY....as a prayer.

Jim Henson would be rolling over in his grave.....

Have you ever heard something so INCREDIBLY insane that you think yourself, "The world has OFFICIALLY gone MAD!!"?

Well, it happens to me at LEAST once a month. Just when I think it can't get any worse I let my guard down and then BAM!!!

Today I am watching the news and I hear this...... "A new DVD release of old episodes of Sesame Street comes with this warning, "These early 'Sesame Street' episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today's preschool child." "

Why? Cookie Monster carries a pipe in one parody—and then eats it. There are also concerns that his obsession with cookies may cause health issues for toddlers. Oscar the Grouch is too grouchy and mean. And in the first episode, a grown man—Gordon—asks a little girl to come home with him for milk and cookies... and she does!

Please Jesus....just take me home now.

Now, I do NOT think that Sesame Street is the BEST children's programming ever created. According to my mother I was scared of the cookie monster and hid behind the couch whenever he came on the screen. And although I love the newer character Elmo....I am a purist...and Kermit will forever be my frog prince. But FOR YEARS Sesame street was all we had as far as educational television. Until The Electric Company came along at least.

I digress though...AND show my age.

My point here is this.

Well....give me a minute...I'm trying to think of ONE point. There are just SOOOO many things wrong here I don't know where to start.

Ok...How bout this? .....LIGHTEN UP PEOPLE!!!!

WHY....WHY do "THEY" have to twist and pervert EVERYTHING that we held sacred as children!?!?! Heckle and Jeckle, Song of the South, Candy Cigarettes. There are TONS of other examples too.

My OTHER thing is this...If we are watching TV with our children it seems to me that WE could USE these questionable things as a way to explain that smoking, eating too many cookies, going into a strangers house...or even TALKING to strangers are BAD!

I admit. I let my children watch WAY too much TV...but when they were little I WATCHED what they were watching WITH them. That is how I fell in love with Bear in the Big Blue House. (Which by the way is also a Jim Henson Production.) And there is NOTHING like watching GOOD children's programing curled up under your child's blankie with them.....or lying on your stomach on the floor coloring in their favorite coloring book while you "watch".

Or hey....if you don't watch TV...pick a good children's book.... and if you don't have one of your own ,borrow a niece or nephew, or offer to babysit for your friends....and curl up under a blankie and READ. You'd be surprised how good it'll make you feel.

This is what I think though. I think we should buy those Sesame Street DVDs....bake about 10 dozen choc. chip cookies....throw a party and invite EVERYONE we know....and every time the Cookie Monster eats a cookie....WE EAT A COOKIE!!!

That'll show em!!

Topics of conversation overheard at this afternoon's Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner......

Upcoming wedding

Dogs

Upcoming birth

Jobs

Upcoming surgery

Church

Upcoming graduation

Cars

Upcoming move

Children

Upcoming Star Trek Movie

Pie

Upcoming Holiday Plans

Immigration to Canada

Upcoming Election

Starbucks Plan to take over the world

In some "zen" type of attempt to close a circle which began several years ago, Jeff and I hosted a Pre-Thanksgiving "Linner" for about 22 people this afternoon.

The "INVITEES" were mostly comprised of the original members of a small group formed as an effort to stem the lameness of the fine arts in the "church". This effort soon failed and was replaced by a move of the Holy Spirit to create a SERIOUSLY odd "family" led by an old chick and a revolutionary. It didn't take too long to before we all began to realize that the old chick might ALSO be a revolutionary ...and the revolutionary might just be wise beyond his years.

This move was of course hidden from us at the time.....

cause that's the way God rolls.

ANYWAY..... As you all know we are TRYING to move to Washington State. Because of this we will be hosting several different social events in order to spend as MUCH time as possible with the friends we have made in the eight and a half years we have lived here. We have to break it up into chunks though because we have so MANY friends. Today was the first event.

So.... one balmy June night several years ago several people met in our living room to discuss fine arts in the church...and why in OUR opinion is SUCKS. It was me and some kids???..... youth???.... young adults???......people lacking in years???

Since then two of these young people have graduated from college, two have gotten married, one has had a child, one is engaged and has started his own business, and one is getting ready to graduate from High School.

We also rotated in....and out...upwards to 25 OTHER people....settling at a consistent 20 or so. Within THIS group of people we have had two MORE marriages, a baby on the way, the OTHER half of that new business, three MORE college graduations, ANOTHER almost High School graduation, and one of our members now tours with an up and coming band.

We have gone through births, deaths, illnesses, weddings, loss of jobs, the start of new jobs, and at LEAST seven out of country trips...that I can think of right off the top of my head. We have gone to each others plays, concerts and family gatherings of ALL sorts. The most recent being an engagement party on Friday night.

We consist of Mothers, Fathers, Brothers, Sisters, Couples, Singles, Writers, Artists, Vocalists,Actors, Musicians, Photographers, Nurses, Teachers,Engineers, Baristas and students.

We have shared tents, condos, apartments and houses and more than one wayward son has moved out of town and then moved back...and a couple brought their future wives back with them!!!

We have gone on camping trips, day trips and to more than a dozen movies. We have watched even more movies and a couple dozen episodes of "Lost" on TV. We have played lots of games, have shared lots of music, read lots of books together and have had a LEAST a dozen "family" dinners.

We have taken hundreds of photographs, prayed for each other,picked each other up at the airport, chatted online until the wee hours of the morning, sent hundreds of texts, used thousands of cell phone minutes ......and I personally have baked a million cookies, consumed several hundred Rock Stars and sent an UNCOUNTABLE number of emails in order to "wrangle" this ever changing, ever growing family.

So .....this is what I learned this afternoon...... There is no EARTHLY way on God's green earth that we are EVER going to be able to close this "circle"!! How do you close or try to create an end to something that continues to grow change and become stronger with each passing day!?!?!??

What am I supposed to do......quit caring, not come back for future graduations or weddings, not bake cookies,not rejoice at the births of the newest members of our "family", not pray for future illnesses, exams and jobs or weep at future deaths?

GET REAL PEOPLE! I'll just have to mail the cookies....and some cards. We'll all use more cell phone minutes, chat on line more, send more texts, and we'll have to plan some more road trips.

It has been said that the quote, "Blood is thicker than water." does NOT mean what we have been led to believe. It actually means, "The blood of Christ is thicker than the water of the womb."

This I know is truth .... for there is no other way that a group of "rebels" seeking to eliminate mediocrity from within our body......

became a family.

If you're looking for a movie check these out.....

The kids and I have seen a few movies on DVD lately that have really impressed me. It may have been a big coincidence but all of these movies carry a common theme....or I am just super sensitive and see this theme in EVERYTHING. The theme....community...and the fact that we can NOT get through this life separated from it.

First.....Reign over me. Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle....who are both GREAT in this movie buy the way. Rated R....for sexual references and language. If you can get past these things I HIGHLY recommend it. I have been very hesitant to watch any movies concerning 9/11. It is just too hard for me. They don't just made me cry...they make me quit breathing. The trailers make me quit breathing! But this movie is about the aftermath...what has happened to those left behind. And although it made me cry they were tears born out of truth.

Next.....In the Land of Women. Meg Ryan, Adam Brody, Kristen Stewart. Quirky,chick flick, good date movie, great soundtrack. Once again....how do we get through the difficult times in our lives without the help of others?

And last.....Evan Almighty. DON'T LAUGH!!! I SERIOUSLY challenge ANY believer to watch this movie and NOT be blown away by the strong themes of family... and following God at all costs. OF COURSE it is silly....and there are probably serious theological flaws.... but the good FAR outweighs the bad. I LOVE Evan's prayer!

Once again....the themes of family, community and communication are VERY strong through all of these movies. Rent them if you haven't already!!

Wedding showers and showers of blessings

There's this "fun" thing women are asked to do at most wedding showers.......no, not design a dress out of toilet paper. It's the one where we have to write our best piece of advice on marriage or love on a slip of paper and drop it in a jar. Then as their first year of marriage passes the newlyweds are supposed to pluck one of these slips out and read it. I went to one shower where the brides MOTHER wrote, "Never fry bacon in the nude." Pretty wise if you ask me.......

BUT ANYWAY.....I always write the same thing at every shower, "Be careful what you say.....because once it is out there you can't take it back." Why....because that is one of the hardest things for me to remember. I screw it up EVERY time.

I don't mean to. I start of well. I am calm. I remind myself that "words hurt". And then when the conversation doesn't go the way I feel it should.... BAM.......WORD VOMIT!

Get this though....I don't do it to just anyone. I do it to the person I love most in this world. My husband Jeff.

Can someone please explain that to me why is it that we really do "always hurt the ones we love"? Why is it in our effort to build a better relationship through communication we end up saying things that HURT our relationships.

I don't know....maybe I am the only one that does it. I know my husband doesn't. As far as I can remember he has never said a hateful thing to me. How IS he able to do that?

Of course how does he do anything he does? The man is freaking amazing to me sometimes. He is so patient and kind and loving and funny. He is a better mother than I am and a better cook too. He allows me to be a stay at home mom and puts up with my fits of insanity whether it be a two month crafting marathon leading up to a craft show were I MIGHT make a couple hundred dollars, my insistence that he stop in the middle of the road so that I can take pictures of flowers, or my need to fill our house with young people and then proceed to stay up til all hours of the night talking with them. He bought me a camera when I thought I could be a photographer, a guitar when I wanted to learn to play so that we could sing around the fire on camping trips, every CD I ever ask for whether he likes the artist or not and a Rock Star or a Monster when he knows I'm draggin' a bit.

Yes, he is a flesh and blood HUMAN man. He has issues. But somehow I don't seem to remember those issues when he is clowning around with our friend Dann and making me laugh until I bray like a donkey and tears are pouring down my face. Or when I watch him doing cartwheels with a bunch of teenage girls on our daughters 18th birthday outing.

I love that he can build a shed AND design a piece of stained glass. That he pushed carts at Sam's Club full time and went to school four hours a day when I was pregnant with our oldest. That he makes a mean apple crisp AND is great at physics. That he busts out in fluent Spanish to our children almost daily just to keep them on their toes. That he watches Star Trek in all of it's incarnations with me even though he doesn't REALLY like it. That he can speak to the guys working in the shop where he works with the same respect with which he addresses the president of his company. That he puts one arm around the men he admires and loves at the same time he is shaking their hand. That he is the same man on Sunday morning in church as he is in the office on Monday morning. That he doesn't cuss or smoke. That he LOVES babies and baby talks our chihuahua. That he cried during "The Color Purple" and turned purple from laughing SOOO hard during "Taladega Nights". That he will stop someone in the store if he notices that they are wearing an insulin pump like him and that he WEARS that insulin pump 24/7 in order to live a longer more productive life with his family. And I LOVE that both of his ears are pierced although he works in the "corporate" world AND that without planing it we bought each other diamond earrings for our 21st anniversary.

And I guess more than anything...I love that that he still loves ME when I totally forget my favorite piece of advice to newlyweds.

I am blessed.

The Tiny Dog Rant

I am sitting here in my bed, wide awake since 4am....well awake, if not wide.....because our Chihuahua, Gidget, has decided that THIS....4am.....would be a good time to go to the bathroom!!!! For the second day in a row! She is over two years old and has ALWAYS slept through the night and NOW she decides she wants to get up at 4...like some OLD MAN. So here I am, awake and hour and a half before I need to be...and she's back in her crate SNORING! What gives? Is it the time change? Is she punishing me because I am making her stay in a playpen during the day? Which be the way is HER fault. She shouldn't crap on my floor! She's smaller than a cat. Do you think she could use a litter box? Or maybe I could just buy a cat that would mistake her for a rat and eat her.

ARRRGGG!!!

For those of you who have been following the daytime drama, "As the Ankle Turns" for the past FIVE years....which is a spin off of the REAL drama, "It Takes a Village to Raise Cheryl"....I went back to my favorite podiatrist, Jeanne O'Roarke yesterday.

I have been having some problems with my ankle lately and decided that I probably needed to have it checked out. For my troubles I will now have to have and EMG/NCV...which as far as I can ascertain has something to do with sticking some kind of needle into my ankle in combination with electricity. I am SOOOO looking forward to this.

More on that after the test.

And on the "moving" front. It looks like....unless we get an offer on the house first....we will be moving to WA Dec. 21st when the kids get out of school for the Christmas holidays. We will be leaving this house empty and living with my mom and dad until this house sells.

More on THAT soon too.

K.....Well, my alarm just went off! I should go wake the kids up.

Maybe to be mean I'll just wake Gidget up and throw her out front with Benji. It's in the 20's...that should wake her up. Her snoring is making me MAD!

True Love, Teenagers and Tankless Water Heaters

I got a call from our friend Kate on Wed. morning. She is visiting CA with her boyfriend Noah and his family..... and on Tues night he asked her to marry him. We've known Noah's family for about 6 years now so we are very happy for ALL of them. Kate is a beautiful young woman, inside and out, and when Noah started dating her and brought her into our circle of friends she was a welcome addition to our group.

My joy for them is a TINY bit clouded by the fact that we will not be here as they spend the next few months planning for their wedding due to our fast approaching move to WA. There is nothing like the excitement of being around a couple who are truly in love as they prepare for their future together. Especially when they also love the Lord and seek to do his will.

Just wait though Kate and Noah.....one day YOU might have two teenage daughters with beautiful, long, thick hair. Ours just spent about 10 minutes arguing about who was going to take their shower first. Kirsten "called it" first....but Kaitlyn argued that she should go first due to the fact that Kirsten always drains the water heater. Kaitlyn DID have a point....but how do you argue with the "I called it" rule??

THANKFULLY in choosing all of the upgrades for the house we're having built in WA....we're getting a TANKLESS WATER HEATER!!! YES!!

So Kate and Noah....make sure you get one of those before you have teenagers......because you MAY just end up with a SON whose hair is just as long and thick as your daughters!!!

Congratulations Noah and Kate!! We love you both dearly.

(Since this blog was posted our contingency ran out and we will NOT be getting the new house we were about to start building...so NO tankless water heater!)