J.C.

Everywhere I seem to go lately someone is talking about Jesus. It’s literally everywhere! People are blogging about Him (and not the usual suspects), ladies at the gym are talking about Him, my daughter is praying to Him for her grandmother, my son is winning awards for reciting His word, I was sitting behind a BIG ASS black truck with a Jesus Freak sticker in the window! I couldn’t help but wonder if someone was trying to tell me something. Hmmmmmm….

So, I’m getting ready the other morning and Michael suddenly says to me, “Mom, can God be everywhere at the same time?”
(Clearly)
So I replied, “Yes. God is everywhere.”
Then the five year old corrected, “No. He can’t. So he sends Jesus and the angels.”
Schooled by the kindergartner. I think he was testing me. FAILED! Message received. Now let’s move on.

Michael Earns An Award

Thursday, January 29th ~ This was the last day of the quarter at school and the SOE had the children gather for assembly. Awards would be passed out in recognition of those children that excelled in an academic or social capacity. Danielle, my beautiful little brainiac, would accept the Honor Roll Award and Michael received his very first award for excellence in Bible! WOOHOO!!! Allow me to explain… Every week the children have to memorize a verse from the Bible. This includes the verse, the author, and its numeric location. Michael has successfully completed this task each and every week!
I really should have video taped this, and maybe I still will, but a few weeks ago Michael had the best tongue twister bible verse ever! He has sort of a lisp, it’s not really a lisp but there’s still something there (hard to describe). Anyway, the verse went: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
It was SO cute to watch him stubble through that one and get all tongue tied because he WAS doing it! “I can do all things” Way to go Mikey!

Mom's Got Pneumonia

On Monday, January 26th my mommy was diagnosed with double pneumonia. This is the kind of nasty stuff that’ll win you a not so luxurious stay in the hospital. Fortunately, she sees a really awesome doctor who wasn’t too keen on sticking her in a cold hospital where she’d be exposed to who knows what other kind of viruses! So my dad became a home nurse and had his first patient. We were fearful for his safety because my mom is a strong, fierce Dutch woman who does NOT like to be down! This man’s life was on the line. My friend Brianna pointed out that my dad was a Marine and could handle it, but I just laughed, for I’m fairly certain that a whole squad of Marines couldn’t take on this woman. Which actually gave me a really excellent idea for combat training! Put ‘em up against a Dutch woman! Then the United States Marines would truly be undefeatable!

Patient Update (Friday, January 30th): Mom went back to see the doc today. She’s doing better but still has to take it easy until her next office visit on 2/12! The doctor told her that he hadn’t seen a case of pneumonia this bad in 6 years! Way to go Mom! How about setting your goals elsewhere in the future.

Sign of the Times

I've been so rediculously busy this week! So much has happened and there's so much to blog about... but finding the time to publish a post has proven to be a bit challenging.

Be sure to keep checking in as I'll be bringing you up to speed on:

Mom's Got Pneumonia
Michael Earns An Award
J.C.
Costuming
The 11th Commandment
And Conferences With The SOE (sinister organization of educators)

FlashForward Friday

Tomorrow marks the 39th wedding anniversary of my parents! I was thinking about that as I was driving into work this morning. Thirty-Nine years is a long ass time to put up with the same persons B.S. year in and year out. On the flip side, there is a sort of comfort in knowing what to expect in each others particular brand of B.S., because after so long you either know how to deal with it, manage it, or simply ignore it! My Mom & Dad are such incredible roll models for marriage, for love, for parenting, for work ethics, for life, for spice, and for how to put up with B.S.! When I grow up I want to be just like them!

I promised my Mom that I wouldn’t post this picture… But I happen to love it and I think the fun and laughs my parents are able to enjoy with each other is a huge ingredient in the secret to their success!

To Mom & Dad (Oma & Opa),
Happy Anniversary!
With lots of love, Lesley, Travis, Brian, Danielle & Michael!

Raiders of the Lost Speaker

The Players:
Michael
The Toys
Sub-Woofer (with a hole on the front large enough for a 2-3 year old to stick his whole hand in)

A mischievious combination that when left to its own devices makes way for...

The perfect outlet for toy placement and exploration! Many a toy has been lost to the dark abyss of the Bermuda Sub-Woofer over the last few years. Toys have gone in to explore but have never returned to see the light of day. Once an expedition was sent in to dismantle the aphotic speaker… but the mission was aborted when realized that access to the lost playthings was not possible and the speaker would retain its prizes. Years passed and the small boy had come to accept that he would never again see the small trinkets that once brought so much joy and laughter.

Then, to everyone’s great joy Indiana Dad appeared with a drill in one hand, a screwdriver in the other, and a look of determination that would make the most heinous of all cavernous sub-woofers blow with despair! This was Raiders of the Lost Speaker! With swift action and great dexterity a precision hole was cut and Indiana Dad was able to get the first ever glimpse of the long lost POW’s (Prisoner Of Woofers). One by one he was able to properly execute the safe liberation of all the toys from the clutches of the Bermuda Sub-Woofer. Here is the exclusive footage of the brave rescue:

The first glimpse of the POW's

RESCUED!

GREAT work Dad! (But next time could you rescue a lost tomb of gold?)

Mystery Fuzz

On Saturday it was my goal to clear the old entertainment center (and all of its contents) away from the wall where it stood to make way for the all new SuperShmancy entertainment center!

First I emptied out our bazillion DVD’s, safely and lovingly removed my beloved dragons, and then threw out the 15+ years of small statues, trinkets, tacky frames, VHS tapes, music tapes, and other miscellaneous shit from the bottom cabinets. Then I quickly went to work on dismantling the shelves and separating the bookcase sections. While I was pulling the second cabinet away from the wall I couldn’t help but notice a sort of green fuzz stuck to the wall. ‘What the hell is that?’ Those cabinets had been in the same position for the last 9 years! So I went to get the flashlight and in doing so had the additional thought… ‘If I were watching a movie this would be about the time that I start yelling at the screen, ‘What the hell are you doing? Why do they always do that stupid shit!?! I would be SO outta there! I wouldn’t go back and look at the fuzz! It’s going to turn into something horrible and kill you! You dumb bitch!’

Anyway, against my better judgment and self warnings… I returned to the fuzz with the flashlight. It turns out that applying light to the matter certainly did NOT shed light on the situation. The fuzz was not just green… It was a seafoam green! An 80’s throw-back mint green! WTF!?! Was it actually pulsating?

Once Travis got home we were able to move the cabinet completely away from the wall… and my best guess would be that this strange mint colored fuzz was maybe once a feather of some kind? Perhaps? Hard to say. For in a house where children are present you often find it rather challenging to identify many a substance. So I busted out the warm water and wiped mystery fuzz away. But not before I asked it to ‘Say Cheese!’