How I keep from, or maybe contribute to, losing my mind

This was a fun little lunch outing at the Fullerton Train Station with the kids. They were so excited about french fries and watching trains that I actually got to enjoy a lovely conversation with an old friend.


Yes, that's shaving cream on my sliding glass door. It needed to be washed anyway, so I figured, what the heck.
The Boy was more excited about our washing-off station.
It doubled as a long-distance birthday card for our sweet Mimi. =)

How old are you again?

This was from my girl's last first day of pre-school. She'll be a big Kindergartener next year! She didn't notice the difference, because we did playgroup through the summer, same bat-time, same bat-channel. But we did say goodbye to one of our little guys and then hello to two new little guys. We've been very thankful for our group and our kids, but especially our Miss Blair.

A whole lotta money down the drain

So wanna know what we did with a nice chunk of Steve's hard-earned cash?

Bought a piece of civilization. While you hate to spend that kind of money on something like poop, knowing that I will NOT in fact have to hold my breath every time someone flushes the toilet is worth a pretty penny. We've had the plumber out 3 times this year, and would've likely had someone within a few weeks from what we were told about the state of our pipes when they got started. I've gotten very, very good at damming water with towels, and our wet-vac skills are pretty impressive.

But now I am considering flushing that bucket of golf balls that our toilet advertised it could do. You know you'd want to try it too!

One of two big holes that were dug in our yard before 8 a.m. They did a techique called pipe bursting. They take an instrument from point A to point B and shatter the old clay pipe, so they don't have to dig up your whole yard. Then they feed the new pipe through and seal it.




One long pipe means no tree roots growing into the connections!

Had we forgotten the temporary flushing ban, this hole would've looked a lot different... =)

And that's enough crap for one day. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Ice Breaker Questions

So I want some ideas from you. I'm looking for some good ice-breaker questions for GWF (Grace Women's Fellowship -- not Gophers Wearing Fedors, as my brother posited). I'm looking for something not silly, not stupid, something that won't put people too much on the spot. I liked this one:

*Who makes you laugh the most and why?

I'd love some that help us get to know people well, that are interesting, and are potentially meaningful without being too serious. Tall order, eh? Any great ideas?

Stuff You Missed In History Class

I LOVE this podcast. It's now up there with Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me and This American Life. Oh, how I wish I'd discovered these things in college. (And also ipods, but hey, I got to wear flannels then, and you just can't have everything.) This is what my mind was craving during that time. Information, fun, smart, witty. I love "Stuff You Missed In History Class" because it tackles some fabulous historical niches and answers the kinds of questions you always wondered about when reading dry history books, all while making you feel that the editors just invited you to grab a cup of joe with them at Peet's. I think we're entering an era of a new kind of education, which makes me a tiny bit worried for maintaining a high standard of academic integrity, and makes me a little concerned about whether we should expect our educators to be entertainers. However, if done well, it can satisfy those cravings for interesting learning, and I want that so badly for my kids!

To give you a quick morsel: Did you know that in the early 1900's North Boston was flooded by millions of gallons of molasses? And funny as that is, that it was the catalyst to many safety codes and to litigation precedents for negligent corporations? And how exactly do you clean up millions of gallons of molasses from an entire portion of a major city? And why the heck would you have millions of gallons of molasses stored in any kind of massive vessel like that anyway? Stay tuned!

Pretty!

I hardly feel like we've earned this... but I'm not complaining! Isn't it just beautiful??
I was able to go on a run this morning without dying of dehydration or sun stroke. Did I mention I've started running again? Oh, it feels grand! Very thankful that I enjoy running and don't hate it. I spent many years hating running because a.) I'm an asthmatic, and b.) I spent enough time in high school volleyball practice doing hell runs to condition myself to classify running as evil. But God bless Associate Dean Geringer at Talbot for teaching me how to run without hating it. Start slow, increase, make just going your goal. I do feel a tad smug pushing my 70 pounds worth of children when I see college kids out on their runs.

And then some other stuff happened.

I learned a long time ago never to say I would never do something. Because I now wear my hair without bangs, drink black coffee, and I married a seminary student. I wish fervently that I could go back 5 years and tell myself that I would not only be attending my church's moms' group, I'd be loving it, and oh, by the way, I'd also be leading it. I would laugh hysterically or else weep in fear! And yet, that's what happened. I said no twice. And then some great stuff happened and I said yes. Long story, but let's just say I am rarely that aware of the Holy Spirit leading in a particular direction.

Some really cool stuff has happened since I accepted. I was worried about feeling like I didn't have time. But I have seen God multiply my time. Right at the time I accepted, I weaned The Boy, so I started drinking coffee again (insert Handel here). And then he started sleeping all night consistently. And my girl hasn't had a night terror in over 3 months. So coffee + sleep = crazy things like a clean house, extra energy, lots of really weird, awesome things.

Second, I was worried I would feel obligated and dragged down. I have been super excited about doing this, all to my amazement. I'm excited about the team, I'm excited about the possibilities, I'm enjoying all the work. It's crazy.

I have rarely had such a clear sense of the Holy Spirit leading me, and I have rarely been able to enjoy watching him work in such minute ways. People praying for specific items, then watching them just... happen. I'm just so incredibly aware that God has plans, and I feel like it's a wild privilege to just ride along.

So that's the other fun thing that happened. And the other reason I've not been blogging much.

Okay, you deserve pictures now. I don't even read blogs that don't have lots of pictures now.

A little gift for a new mom... I don't think she reads my blog, so I can post it, but I can't wait to give this to her! There are so many new babies right now!
Snack bags for the nieces.

Poor baby had an ear infection for his birthday. Look at those sad eyes!
A little trip to Pretend City in Irvine. Seriously, AWESOME. Also, look at Miss Blair's CUTE skirt to the left of Lucy. I need to take her shopping with me.