[So we came up with this for Mom's birthday a few weeks ago, but the card was late, and then Mom disappeared into the wilderness for a week or so, blah, blah, blah... here I am just now posting. Regardless, certainly worth sharing...]
You are turning fifty, we ought to celebrate,
But a big party and announcement, you are sure to hate
So we kids have taken another route, a little closer to your style,
In no certain order, '50 things' we did compile
There are times that we remember, each one filled with love,
Moments from the past, and many lessons from above
Good eats from the kitchen, and characteristics we admire,
Cause to be like you, we truly do desire
Could we be this lucky? It would seem too good to be true,
As our Mom, GT, and friend, we know God blessed us with you,
We thank Him for you daily, for the time we have to share
And trust that He will keep you, always in His care
• Constant support and listening ears
• Insisting on dinner together as a family; no distractions
• Corn worms and garden time; sharing your love for growing things
• Morning phone calls on the way to work
• Leadership among ladies at church and involvement in youth, even after we graduated
• Never having to ride the school bus
• Endless flashcard studying
• Our favorite breakfasts: chocolate chip muffins & apple dumplings
• Always encouraging mission work and doing those things we ‘may never have the chance to do again’
• The Special Plate tradition
• College care packages during finals (and just because)
• Constant selflessness; always focused on doing things for others
• Special appreciation of God’s creation and instilling that in us; our time outdoors in the mountains and Colorado trips
• GT book time
• Homemade Halloween costumes from a Ninja Turtle to a mouse & a policeman to Piglet
• Example of Christian wife and mother to many
• Teaching confidence in who we are; no need for makeup, earrings, etc., the inside is what matters
• Real Christmas trees every year, be they big or small
• Admiration of the little things in life
• Never missing church and always being ready on time
• After-school snacks in the turtle and car tupperware bowls
• Desire for simplicity
• Teaching us the basics before college (laundry and cooking and such)
• Always coming up with personal and thoughtful gifts for others
• Scriptural knowledge and application in every situation
• Mom’s Mexican Meal House
• Consistent, creative discipline and parenting
• Following arrows of pinecones, rocks, and sticks
• Playing in the snow with our hands & feet wrapped in bread sacks
• Love for all of God’s critters
• Contagious laughter that got us sent away from the table on more than one occasion
• Listening to your singing in church
• Being able to make/bake/sew/fix anything
• Pitching practice in M’s back yard
• Three daily home cooked meals
• Cats & Dogs, Pirates & Bulgars, and Hoppers
• Always asking who, what, when, and where
• Desire and passion to share God’s Word with others; time and investment with international friends
• Pulling weeds by the kitchen timer; creative punishment!
• Fun in the kitchen: animal-shaped pancakes and green eggs & ham
• Willingness to help with any project, any time
• Shopping trips and dollar movies
• An “hour each of time with Mom”
• Thumbprint cookies and sausage ball traditions at Christmastime
• Hidden notes and letters in our school lunchboxes & camp suitcases
• Picking mountain strawberries and drying flowers
• Relationship with Dad; always supporting and encouraging no matter what
• The “Mom I’m Bored” book
• More than enough courage and strength to fight life’s battles
• Constant prayer for us and others
Archive for September 2008
Recipe of the week:
Granola Goodness
Mix 1 1/2 cups low-fat granola (with or without raisins), a handful of
miniature marshmallows, and 1/4 cup peanut butter chips. Cook in the
microwave for 20 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until chips are
fully melted. Let cool before eating.
Note: Eat as a mid-morning/afternoon snack, not with milk right before a
tempo run...
*******
Question of the week:
Who actually wears slipper socks? And I don't mean the socks with the non-slip nubs on the bottom to keep from busting on the hardwood floors. (I even have a pair of those.) No, I'm talking about the half rubber sole, half knee-high sock kind. Frightening, to say the least.
*******
Discovery of the week:
When opening those individual cups of Dole pineapple for an afternoon snack, I have found that the juice tends to explode. All over my keyboard at work. And it's sticky. Yesterday however, I learned a new tactic. Poke a hole in the top of the plastic cover to let the air out, then peel it off. Incredible, I know.
*******
Creative stop of the week:
www.jenstark.com
How to surprise your roommate when she gets engaged:
Step 1: Buy 4 bags (72 pc.) of party balloons and acquire a small air
compressor with funnel attachment. This last item is essential.
Step 2: Blow up balloons with air compressor. This step takes a long time, so
plan accordingly. You might want to get a head start the night before if
you have somewhere else to hide the balloons. Otherwise, allow a good 3
hours for the entire project, depending on room size.
Step 3: Put the cat in the laundry room during transport. Cat claws +
balloons = less balloons.
Step 4: Transport balloons into desired room. Note: You might think using a
trash bag and making several trips back and forth is most efficient. This is
not the case. It is recommended that you 'herd' the balloons from one locale
to the other by way of a sheet or blanket. (This is also a good way to
clean your carpet.)
Step 5: Once the room begins to fill up, put something in front of the door
to keep the balloons corraled as you toss the final ones inside.
Step 6: Keep a few balloons to hang above the door to write a message.
Step 7: Surprise! Happy engagement, Kathleen!
I watched the Nooma video 'Kickball' the other day. Rob Bell's family goes to the mall, where his son wants a toy from one of the kiosks. Bell tries to explain to him that the toy will only get tangled and break and not bring the joy that he thinks it will. But his son is adamant, and Bell finally must pick him up and carry him away from the kiosk. Unknown to his son, Bell had already planned on going to the sporting goods store across the street after leaving the mall to buy his son a kickball. When they get there, he delights in being able to allow his son to choose the kickball of his heart's desire, the 'o-ange one'.
And Bell asks, How often do we want something only to find out that it wasn’t that great after all? Sometimes we ask God for things and if he doesn’t deliver right away, we start questioning whether God really understands or even cares. Do we really trust God? Do we trust that God is good and sees a bigger picture than we ever could? It’s easy to want what’s right in front of us, but maybe God knows what’s better for us, and sometimes we just can’t see it.
One of the verses tied into the video is the classic Jeremiah 29:11-14 that we've all read a million times. And in glancing through the discussion book that comes with the video, I skipped right past the verse, justifying in my mind that there was nothing new to learn from the 'I have plans for your future' speech that never seems to make me feel any better about life.
But then I looked a little closer. And the verse written out happened to be from the Message translation. And I read it. And I read it again. And again. And it took on new meaning for me. And this is not a comparison of one translation over another one, merely just the thought that maybe sometimes we need to see things that we've read hundreds of times in a new light, from a new perspective. Maybe we need to dig a little deeper. So here it is, my emphasis added:
"I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out — plans to take care of
you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I'll listen. When you come looking for me, you'll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed... You can count on it."
So I wonder, how do I go about 'getting serious about finding God'? What does that look like? What would my life look like if I truly sought that more than anything else I long for? What would the future entail?
And I also wonder if God is standing in the kickball aisle of the sporting goods store just waiting for me to get serious.
Saturday cont'd:
4:10 – Hit the beach for the afternoon/evening.
***Disclaimer: I have made a pact to not post the beach photos. Wouldn't want to start a scandal.***
4:11 – Gretchen discovers that the ocean really is salty and it's best to close your mouth when the waves hit.
5:22 – Sandcastle under construction. Kathleen shapes the perfect tower in the center but then it falls apart. She rebuilds.
8:20 – Tired. A quick Taco Bell run.
8:50 – Still waiting on the bean burrito with no onions.
9:11 – Chill time at the hotel. Rachel finds My Best Friend's Wedding on TV. I lunge for my headphones and journal.
Sunday
6:30 – Rachel and I head to the beach to catch the sunrise. She takes pictures and goes back to bed. I head out on an 8 mile run up the coast.
8:30 – Mad dash #1. I return to wake everyone up. Rachel and I shower and pack up our stuff. Biscuits and peanut butter are eaten at some point.
9:30 – Kathleen and Amber head back to the beach with their books. Rachel and I drive up the road and meet Rosco and Major, our majestic steeds, minus the majestic part.
9:50 – Steve and his horse Reggie give us a tour of the beach on horseback. Since we are experienced riders, we get to do pretty much whatever we want... which entails galloping at high speeds along the shoreline.
10:42 – Rosco isn't too fond of swimming. But we manage to enjoy ourselves.
11:30 – Wrap up the ride and head back to the hotel.
11:40 – Mad dash #2. Clean up, throw things in the car, and check out of the Travelodge by noon.
12:00 – Head back to Harlingen. Random picture taking along the way.
1:30 – Chocolate shake at Whataburger. (No, DonMark, I did not eat especially healthy on this trip.)
2:01 – Check in the Sebring and get on an earlier flight.
6:25 – Arrive home. Successful trip. I check off two items on my Bucket List: first trip to the beach and riding a horse on the beach.
And to Padre we went... some chronicles of the trip...
Friday:
8:00 – Amber and I get stuck on the plane on either side of a ridiculously loud guy who yelled at his friends over my lap the entire way. Lucky for him, they made me check my knife instead of carrying it on. We move seats while stopped in Houston, only to trade the crazy guys for a screaming baby...
10:07 – Arrive in Harlingen, pick up our Sebring rental car, and drive across
to the island looking for the Travelodge...
Saturday:
7:00 – First view of the beach! Amber and I explore the east coast of the island while our compadres sleep in. On the way back, we comment on the hurricane damage of other hotels. As we walk up to the ole Travelodge, we realize that the entire roof is tarped down from damage!
8:07 – Meet Kathleen and Rachel for the continental waffle breakfast and discover that we are certainly in the minority here...
10:38 – Drive down the road to the Sea Turtle Rescue Center. Here we meet Fred, a 200 lb sea turtle who will get up to 600 lbs, and Gordita, a snapping turtle, among others. (I think Squirt was there somewhere too.) And did you know that sharks eat the flippers off of unsuspecting turtle? Cause they do.
11:42 – Embark on a mission to the far southern point of the island. Decide to park at Schlitterbahn and take a 'quick walk' down the beach to the jetty at the far end.
12:30 – Figured out that the jetty is a little further than we thought. But we are determined to make it to the end.
1:16 – Surprise! If you stand on the end where the rocks are wet, chances
are you will get soaked. 1 sea turtle siteing. And two dead sting rays.
2:12 – Back to each lunch at the Shrimp Haus. Funny, I was the only one who ate shrimp...
So my fish, Vincent Van Gogh (Vince), is on a diet. Now I realize that's a very strange thing to say, but it's true. He's looking a little chunky. Needs to either add some laps to his daily regimen or cut back on the pellets. I hear the one thing you're not supposed to do with a betta is overfeed it. After all, "if you really want to be good to your betta, don't try to reach his heart through food." (Found that on the website of some guy who is obviously way to attached to his fish; he even goes on to explain how your betta can get 'swim bladder disease'. Call me crazy, but I'm pretty sure at that point, the $3.99 Petsmart purchase is getting flushed.) Now I honestly can't say that I'm trying to reach the heart of my fish. That's way more ridiculous than putting him on a diet. But let's be kind to God's creatures. Don't overfeed. Don't keep a large dog in an itty, bitty apartment. Put out your campfires. Have your pet spayed or neutered. And cut the plastic coke rings apart.
