Vignettey Thoughts

Sometimes our worship leader stops playing and steps away from his microphone. Then it's just the voices of the church, and it's lovely. Sometimes I stop singing just so I can listen for a minute; sometimes I can't sing because it's such a beautiful sound. Today the guy playing the bass guitar was singing his heart out. He had stopped playing, too, and had his hand raised high. 

Charlie preached today; he is so passionate about the gospel. I admire that so much. He doesn't mess around, or tiptoe about on eggshells when the tough issues come up. His personal demeanor is such, though, that he is able to get his message across without leaving people feeling like they have been beaten with a baseball bat. He makes the listener think, hard, about these words that sometimes get glossed over because they've been read so many times before. 

Another family is leaving, moving on to another call. They are headed out tomorrow. Saying goodbye is hard. I mourn the fact that a friend is going away, and I also mourn the time that I missed, the days when I could have called and said,"Hey, are you doing something this afternoon?" Christian's very good friend is part of this family; he is sad. This will be tough for him, I think. 

There is stuff going on, church-related and denomination-related. It hurts. My heart breaks to think about all of the discord in the body of Christ. Part of the passage that Charlie preached on today was Romans 13:13, which encourages believers to behave a certain way, and ends with,"...not in dissension and jealousy." I am grateful for the message of reconciliation we find in the gospel, and that even though there are divisions or pain in the church, there is also love and unity, rooted in the love and unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Hopefully, there is healing in those things. 

It is exciting to accomplish a goal, especially one that I didn't think I could. (No, I did not get the laundry all done...that might be so exciting it killed me.) I am jogging (read: bouncing) for longer periods of time, and uphill, too. I am considering registering for a 5K. It's Thursday, so I guess I better make up my mind. (Mike said,"You'd better do it!")

Isn't redemption beautiful? I think so.

It's Official...Summer

Today was Christian's last day of third grade. I can't believe it! He had a great year...his class and the second grade were partially combined, and the two teachers' personalities seemed to compliment each other so nicely. They had such positive things to say about him at the end-of-the-year conference. And now summer is upon us! 

It's hard to believe that, technically, I have a 6th grader, 4th grader, and Kindergartner now. I need to do a lot of preparation for next school year so that we can get off to a good start, and stay organized. If you could see our school table right now you might fall in the floor laughing. It's covered with binders, papers, toys, notebooks, schoolbooks, workbooks, and writing utensils. That has been the "next project" on my to-do list for days now. Ha! I have master skills in the art of procrastination! 

I tried to take a couple of pictures today, during Christian's field day festivities. It was crowded, though, and whenever he did anything, he was so fast! Then there was a pool party at a classmate's house, which was so kind, but very chaotic! Again, no pictures. Oh well. I need to get a picture of him because he wants his hair to grow out, and right now it's already ridiculously long. We'll see what happens this summer. He looks like his dad when his hair gets long. (Like his dad looked when he was a boy, since, well, Mike is lacking in the hair department these days.)

I am looking forward to not setting the alarm for the morning, but I also want to try to get up at a reasonable hour and do the exercising earlier. It's already so warm here by the afternoon that it's harder to get motivated to go outside and move around, much less jog! We are all excited that it's summertime, though. Are you?

Putting Things Together

Don't get all excited. I'm not putting things together in an existentially meaningful, philosophical way. I haven't come up with any revelations that are life-changing or newsworthy. 

Here is what has been going on around here...a little building. Years ago, we bought Michaela a new desk and small cabinet-type drawer-cart thingy. Mike put the desk together shortly after we bought it, but the cabinet remained in the box for at least two years. We are awesome like that. Just the other day, I thought,"We've got to make that! It's taking up space in her closet!" So, one morning we got her room all cleaned up and then dragged the box out of the closet. She was very happy.

She opened the box and took out all the parts and pieces, she sorted them out, and we found the drill (and its accessories). It was just like Phineas and Ferb, except we didn't blow anything up or use fire or make a roller coaster, and there were no platypuses around. 

This girl is perfectly comfortable with power tools. And figuring out how things go together. 

She was careful and methodical, but she still had fun.

There is that period of time during childhood when work doesn't seem like work. That's a little glimpse of heaven, I think.

Eliana wanted to help very badly. She was pretty good about waiting for her turn. 

She and Michaela were a good team.

Michaela is, for the most part, a very patient big sister. 

She explains the way to do things, and helps Eliana see that there are many ways to be helpful. 

Eliana did her part, and then made sure that Michaela was doing hers. 

We were just about done when Christian got home from school.

He helped a little, and he also entertained Eliana.

You know, the hands in the knee-pit kind of entertainment. 

That will always get a laugh, I'm afraid. 

Finally, the project was finished, only a few tears had been shed, and no one had gotten hammered (by the hammer, I mean...but no one needed a drink, either). 

My only concern in the end was the existence of holes that have no purpose. Why? Why is there a hole there? This is a question that I will come back to many times. It's disconcerting. 

You might think that I took a picture of the final product. But that would mean that I was good at putting things together. Around here, that's what the kids are for. 

Tuesdays Never Got So Much Attention

It's Tuesday! Taylor has stuck with her May project, and I am joining in again this week. 

This was the first week since I started exercising and changed my diet that I had a certain monthly visitor. I have to say, my issues must be seriously related to my period. (Sorry! I am talking about my period!) There was a definite noticeable shift for me, as far as my energy level went, feeling motivated, attitude; honestly, it was crazy to note the difference. Yesterday and today were better (even though I have a ridiculously out of whack cycle, it seems like the beginning is the hardest on me).

I stuck with the exercise and the lower calorie diet, drank only water, and resisted things (for the most part) like brownies, ice cream, and extra waffles. (In the interest of full disclosure, I did eat a few small bites of the brownies that I made, here and there. I also licked a couple of ice cream spoons after serving the kids.) I weighed myself today and I was down one more pound from last week. Out of curiosity, I weighed myself earlier in the day and then again tonight, and it was exactly the same both times. I thought that was interesting. 

A couple of days ago, I began Level 3 of The 30 Day Shred. I am still walking/jogging each day. And truthfully, most people wouldn't call what I do "jogging," but it's bouncier than walking. So, I'm bouncing. And I'm doing it uphill. But not when I have the jogger (ironically). When I have Eliana, I just walk fast, and I am able to keep my heart rate up without adding the bounce. 

I have really enjoyed the exercise. It feels good to be doing something that contributes to my fitness. Here are a couple of pictures; I can see a difference, and hopefully it's not just wishful thinking. (I promise that is not a not-so-subtle call for compliments on my endeavors. I hope it doesn't sound that way.)

This is last October. You might look at this picture of me and think I look fine. And I guess I do look fine, but...to me, I don't look like me, at least the me that I am used to. My arms were bigger, my face was bigger, and my tummy was bigger than any other time in my life, other than when I was pregnant. And even then, it was a different kind of bigger. I'm also sure I was holding it in for the picture. When I let my belly go, I looked six months pregnant. And I know I had gained weight even since October. 

A friend took this picture last weekend (Saturday) and sent it to me. I know it's not a great shot as far as seeing anything other than my head,

but I think my face does look different. I am planning on getting a photo taken wearing the same Texas Rangers shirt at the end of the month, to do a better comparison.

So, I know the changes are taking place. I know I am getting stronger, and things like taking the stairs to the third floor at church or even carrying the laundry from the laundry room up to where I fold it don't make me quite as winded as they used to. I still have quite a roll around my middle, and those irritating saddlebag-like pouches on my outer thighs. I am curious to see what happens to those areas, say, in another month.  

I have to keep telling myself that getting to a better place takes a lot of work. And when you start out with this kind of material... 

well, 30 days just isn't that long.

Time? It Flies, Y'all

I'm so sad that I haven't posted since Tuesday! I feel like I am constantly writing blog posts in my head, but...they never make it out of there. 

I have thoughts about songs I hear on the radio.

I have thoughts about baseball. (I really like baseball. Did you know?)

I have thoughts about my kids growing up.

I have thoughts about having an empty nest.

I have thoughts about my laundry. (Many of them include words that would not be appropriate for this blog.)

I have thoughts about not eating what I want to some of the time.

And although all these thoughts are winging about in my mind, I have been unable to sit down and give them a coherent black and white permanent place on the Internets. 

I'm going to try to be better about posting, even if it's just what we do on a certain day, and it's not all that exciting. I used to do that all the time, but I think somewhere along the way I started to feel like it had to be Something Special about which I posted. What I know, and have struggled to see in many ways, is that it's all special. It's special because we are here, and we are together...one step at a time.

(Do you see what I did there?) 

I do think the exercise has helped my general well-being. I think I have been a little more pleasant, had a little more energy, and been a little more laid back ("a little" is a step in the right direction, yes?). The exercise has not helped me get the laundry under control. Maybe I need to do the full 30 days? 

That is a goal for this week...getting the laundry down from a full-blown mountain to something more along the lines of an anthill. 

This is terribly enthralling, isn't it? 

Here is some news, for those of you that have been reading for a bit...My mom's friend, Jan, who had a liver transplant a few months ago, is about to go home! There have been some ups and downs since her initial surgery, but now she is just about to get back to her own house! She also just celebrated a birthday, and what a wonderful one it was! So, thank you for praying for her way back then, and if you think of it now and then, I'm sure that prayers for a smooth transition into a new normal would be greatly appreciated. 

If you continue to read here, know that that is also greatly appreciated. I am grateful for the bloggy friendships I have made...they are very meaningful to me. And it is so much fun to hear from friends that I know and don't get to see often, too! 

This might be one of the most random posts I have ever written, but that is a window into my brain right now. Good night!