the second of march

I've had a pretty light load the last two weeks work-wise, and have mostly thoroughly enjoyed it.  I don't have unending amounts of energy these days, and it's been really lovely to take things a bit easier.  We've still got our taxes to do, but as of this moment I'm caught up with my billing and whatnot and am feeling pretty accomplished (aside from the pile of filing still to address... Sesame Street is only an hr long, y'all).  I'm feeling our baby kick and move around pretty regularly now, which I love.  Here are a few photos from today... notice the meadow that is our back yard (we have a date with the lawn mower this weekend, and our front flower bed is a verdant sea of weedy weeds):

this one is a little obsessed with balls right now.  along with Elmo and apples, of course.

help, mama!

today - 21 weeks 1 day.  notice how comfortable I am with y'all - I got up this morning, threw on some clothes, and got with it.  aside from pinning my bangs back with a bobby pin, I did not fix my hair at all.  obviously.

The garage makeover is slooowly coming along.  More photos will come as we progress.  The clean-out has proven to be a more time-consuming job than I anticipated.  So far we've purchased an outdoor plastic storage unit for the back of the house to store the mower/leaf-blower/charcoal/wood chips for grilling & smoking/etc, and a metal shelf unit to live in the garage.  We've made trips to Goodwill and Recycling.  We've been collating things to keep from the attic with things to keep from the garage, and getting rid of trash.  M has gone through most of our boxed-up cd collection and is taking a large pile to Cactus Music to sell. Truthfully, it still looks like a train wreck out there but we're super-close to the next step:  blowing insulation into the ceiling and doing some repairs to the ceiling/walls before we can paint everything.  Other things we're eyeing for the space:  this cabinet to go by the washer/dryer for laundry and whatnot, and this ceiling fan to keep us all from melting away in the summer. 

Of course, the ultimate goal is to make our 2 bedroom/1 bath house work as well as it possibly can for us as we add a new member to our family.  here are other things I'm plotting:

Girls' room 'Before'.  The plan is for all of the things I've been storing in the closet to the right (as well as a few things in the one to the left) to go somewhere else to make way for a real closet organization system doohickie for these little people (we're likely going with one from Home Depot).  That white shelf unit to the far left will likely get moved across the room and turned on it's side to become the changing table (while still giving me good shelf storage).

I'm thinking we'll move the crib to the other side of the window and put a toddler bed for Magz under the tree branch, where her crib currently is (except positioned lengthwise down the other wall off to the right).  The red bookshelf, playmat, etc will get rerouted back over to the other side of the room where it used to live, in place of the white shelf unit by the closet.

The little hideabed craigslist couch is finding a new home somewhere else in the house... the while shelf unit will hopefully be here on this wall as storage/changing table. That tall lamp is being moved to another room, too, I think.

This shelving unit (sister to the one in Magz' room)  will likely be replaced by the little hideabed couch.  Tentative plans are to turn this unit back up on it's end and put it on the wall off-camera to the left.  I have a smallish old sewing table from YaYa (currently in the garage) that I'm plotting to put by the sofa with a lamp on it.  The short wall under the airplane art would be a space to put a toy basket to hold things currently hanging out in corners in the living room, Maggie's purple chair, etc.  I'm not sure where the coral chair would end up.

So see, that white shelf unit can go on it's end where the pretty brown cabinet is and still hold records and stuff.  Maybe.  Oh, and that closet back there in the dark hallway needs a do-over, too...

and the pretty brown cabinet can go in the dining room where the tree painting is.  Maybe.

Our house isn't huge, but the good-sized rooms give us lots of options for configuring our space.  This process of pulling dusty, hidden things out and holding them to the light is good - it's making us sift through things and determine what's worth keeping and what's not, and I truly think half of the battle is simply not having as much 'stuff' to worry about/keep up with.  

In closing, I'd like to mention the bible study I've been part of.  Though I've been far from perfect with regard to keeping up with the homework, overall it's been such a blessing.  I want to offer a word of encouragement to other mothers that I sincerely hope isn't translated into a guilt-thing - I know there are so many things vying for our time, but I encourage you to prioritize being a part of a bible study as you're able.  Sunday mornings haven't really been optimal learning times for me since I had Magz and I'm lousy at self-discipline in my day-to-day, so this Beth Moore series has provided me with a weekly opportunity to hear good teaching and delve as much as I'm able into the Word, with a little positive accountability built in just by being part of a group.  It's not always convenient, but the net effect on my spirit helps fuel me to be a better wife, mom, and church volunteer.  I loved a moment early in the series when Beth was speaking of her early days in teaching... she confessed something like, "Do you know how hard it is to teach a bible class when you're never in the Word?"  I DO know what that's like - in all of the volunteer capacities I serve in at SWC, I can easily feel run down, given to resentment, and covetous of 'my time' if I'm not being driven by love for God and His people... and that's just at church.  Can you imagine my attitude at home?!  So, maybe a class like the one I'm doing right now isn't for you... if anyone has other ways you obtain nourishment for your soul, I'd love to hear it.  If, however, you're our of practice like me and just need an encouraging voice to remind you that it's vital for us to be looking for spiritual sustenance somewhere, consider this that.

happy weekend,

-m.y.

* a quick addendum - the above thing I wrote about bible study isn't a sentiment reserved just for other moms, and I suddenly realize that's how it sounded.  that's just where I'm at - I wasn't good at self-discipline/practicing regular spiritual pursuit before I had a child, and having one just highlighted the fact in neon.  if you don't have offspring I want to encourage you to be a part of a study, too.  :) xo.

quickly, while the baby sleeps...

I was at the Y earlier and whilst traversing the treadmill Alastair Begg addressed the topic of our culture as it relates to the Christ-follower. I'd read a blog post about this topic last weekend that stuck with me, and I'm prompted to share. Alastair was speaking specifically of Starbucks, and how easy it is now to walk into one, pull your laptop alongside a stranger, and pretty much start up a philosophical conversation about anything. The phrase that sticks in my head was that he said we should be 'one foot in the Bible, one foot in the culture'... my paraphrase is that in order to share our stories and let the love of God pour out we need to be sure we're not cloistered away. Share the goods with the world around us, engage where we're able.

A couple of excerpts from the blog linked to above:

"It is implied that Christians should be counter cultural regardless of what values are upheld by the culture. But acting in that way only encourages pride, stunts the growth of the Church, and ignores the Spirit of God at work among all peoples. In fact, the Church can learn a lot from nonChristians, and if nonChristians agree en masse about something, that's called culture. And sometimes nonChristian culture is right. Many cultures without the influence of the Church, for instance, are right about the importance of respect for their elders. Other cultures are right about personal liberty in the face of oppression. So to be blindly counter cultural ignores the image of God emblazoned on each and every culture. Somewhere in each culture, He's there. We must learn to recognize those aspects, learn from them, and use them as inroads for the Gospel."

I really like that last part about finding common good, worthy aspects of culture, learning from one another, and using them as inroads for relationship.

and this point:

"So the problem with our view of the disease of culture is not that it exists, but where it exists. The Church should be made up of people who point to themselves and say, "Me. It's me. I am the problem with the world." When Christians, as His representatives on Earth, fail to recognize the sin in our own hearts, even the cultural sin, we mar His image and bring ill repute to His name. Yes, there is sin in the world that we should fight. But we must always look to find the sin in ourselves first. When pastors, authors, and teachers encourage us to counter contemporary culture without regard for the broken cultures within the Church, we look like a bunch of finger-pointing hypocrites."

no time to elaborate, baby stirring. just food for thought. would be happy to hear any thoughts you have about the church vs. culture (how do YOU define 'culture'?), being 'in the world but not of it', etc.

-m.y.

the power - and boredom? - of repetition, or why your weird prayer is ok

here's something you may or may not know about me - I will read words written by other people, but I really, really want to cite them. in other words, I don't want people to think words I speak are mine if they're not. it's a quibbling thing and is hardly remarkable at all except that I have to address this quibble whenever I'm asked to read something publicly, like prayers written by others. there are many wonderful prayer books and I'll read out of every one of them if I'm asked... but I want you to know they sprung from someone else's inspiration, not mine. it's probably the result of having a hardcore English teacher at some point who seriously impressed upon me the importance of giving credit where it's rightfully due.

I mention this because I've been thinking about prayer. I grew up in churches in which you almost knew what the words were before they fell out of the mouths of the persons uttering them. you know what I mean. I think sometimes we grow bored with the expected and known, or we think that the same words spoken over and over feel dead. I know I've felt that way. then there are the wild card prayers, when you know the person well enough to know there's no telling what's going to come out. will it be 15 minutes long? will it contain something profoundly awkward that I hope the visitor over there can overlook? in light of these prayer possibilities, a scripted prayer certainly offers fresh words for the rote and some sort of approved content for the renegade, not to mention the fact that it can just be a very nice thing on it's own merit, regardless.

for a moment, though, I want to stick up for repetition. my Grandad died recently, and on our last trip home my Grandma offered the prayer before one of our meals. as she started to say the words, my heart and mind joined in, "Bless this food to the nourishment of our bodies, and our bodies to Thy service to do Thy will. These things we ask in Thy name, Amen." it's what she says. it's what my Grandad said. it's lovely and comforting and holy and I hope it never changes. I feel the same way whenever we say the Lord's prayer at the end of a meeting. there's palpable weight in the same, simple words and thoughts, uttered together by a people who believe there is One with all power to save and change us. I'll use the word again - it's holy.

I'm also feeling a desire to make the case for letting the renegades pray their odd, political, long, who-knows-what prayers. for a really great fleshing out of this idea, please see this post from RHE's blog, 'Blessed are the un-cool'. I can't improve upon it, I can only add that when you're blessed to have a unique church makeup, like mine, and blessed to be a part of a culture that encourages the voices of everyone to be heard, I think I have to accept that sometimes some of those voices will say awkward things, not play by the unspoken 'prayer rules', or not be really good at speaking at all. and that's okay. it's their contribution to the family, and though some awkward moment may make me squirm I'm pretty sure God doesn't give a rip, except for whispering that I should be less critical of my brothers and sisters. on the other hand, we also have people who are such gifted communicators in different ways that we're all blessed teach and learn from one another. I love when S. Walker prays, as happened Sunday. it thrills me. I love to hear my husband pray, because he wasn't always comfortable doing it out loud.

from the blog entry I linked to above, 'the truth is we’re all guilty of thinking we’re too cool for the least of these. Our elitism shows up when we forbid others from contributing art and music because we deem it unworthy of glorifying God, or when we scoot our family an extra foot or two down the pew when the guy with Aspergers sits down. Having helped start a church, I remember hoping that our hip guests wouldn’t be turned off by our less-than-hip guests. For a second I forgot that in church, of all places, those distinctions should disappear.' Letting anyone who will speak, speak their own words, is definitely an exercise in relinquishing control, but where will control lead us?

I have nothing against written prayers. there are loads of great ones that can speak to, minister, comfort, encourage and teach us, and I believe there is definitely space to share them. the Serenity prayer comes to mind. it's really good and every time I say or hear it I wish I said or heard it more often. I do hope, though, that we remember that our prayers are good enough without dressing up or borrowing from others. the authentic prayer of a believer can stand alone.

-m.y.

buzzing... around my head and in my heart

we spent last weekend in Hico, hanging out with family and playing at the annual Old Settler's Reunion carnival.

grandma reading to the girls. sniff.

we all descended upon the Care Center to pick up yaya.

at the carnival, where I spent the majority of my effort warding off bees. there were so many bees, people!! boo. I know bees are very important and that they're in danger of disappearing, which would mean bad things for everyone, but it's no fun fending them off all night at an outdoor carnival. ah well. maggie was unperturbed. mostly because of my fending skills.

see all those people along the gate? yeah, I'm related to all of them.

daddy took magz in the spinning strawberry!

mica, yaya, and her new wheels. the grandkids all chipped in and helped purchase this scooter. she was so surprised! mica leigh is awesome for finding it and letting us help.

I went down the super slide once. I'm telling you, I was too busy battling bees.

yaya and kaitlin

mugging.

in addition to all of her awesome books, let it be known that our daughter has a taste for deeper things. behold, amy carmichael's "if":

this arresting quote has been attributed to ms. carmichael:

"We profess to be strangers and pilgrims, seeking after a country of our own, yet we settle down in the most un-stranger-like fashion, exactly as if we were quite at home and meant to stay as long as we could. I don't wonder apostolic miracles have died. Apostolic living certainly has." — Amy Carmichael

and that paperback below would be "More Than a Carpenter" by Josh McDowell. mmm-hmm.

she's also been known to frequently pull out "Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God". because, you know, there's nothing like a little 18th century Jonathan Edwards before kicking back with Elmo's World.

this is how it feels a little now. lovely and fast.

she had a hard time going to sleep last night, so I caved and went in to help. she'd gotten herself pretty worked up so I held her against my shoulder, did a bouncy, swoopy dance, and let her catch her breath. we plopped down on the couch in her room and I started singing some of the familiar songs, patting and drumming, and kissing any dear, soft skin that came near me. in the beginning, it was the cabin in the woods song, then she asked for itsy bitsy spider, and finally I moved into 'I love you with the love of the Lord', over and over. she looked up at me with such open trust, such sweetness and beauty in her big toothy smile, such assurance in the half-whispered 'mamas' she said as she patted my face and chest. that I'm her mama, her property of sorts, is something she knows, and the deep intimacy and fierce rush of love completely overwhelmed me. I cried and sniffed and tried to keep singing even as that baby mimicked my sniffles and giggled at her cleverness, and I just thanked God over and over.

I love you with the love of the Lord, I love you with the love of the Lord. I see in you the glory of my King, and I love you with the love of the Lord.

-m.y.

sort of a blur

this feels like a 'dear diary' post. may happened so fast in my memory, but there a couple of things worth talking about:

I've been very, very blessed with work. I'm so thankful, particularly so since this morning husband and I did our budget together for June and were able to plan to contribute to retirement and savings this month, even Magz' college fund. thank you, Father, for abundance. it certainly helped that we got a tax refund a few days ago... which you don't really want, since it just means you gave the gov too much money last year, but we'll take it back with gratitude. hubs is working at building his freelance clientele, and even though the Lord has blessed us and taken care of us beautifully I'm afraid I'm hard-wired to worry and fret about funds. 'what if I lose a client, or three?', 'what if I get pregnant again right now, and it's harder than last time, and I can't work as much?', 'what if we dip too far into savings on down months, and get used to it, and forget what it's like to have goals and a plan?'... I know that there's probably a healthy level of concern to have about such things, which propels people to get out of bed and try to take care of business, but I also recognize that I can totally forget to include God's provision and peace in my habit of defaulting to my own ability to to perform and make things happen. after 13 years of self-employment I'm afraid I also still tend to forget that I'm in a boat with two oars, and that everything looks a lot better and less stressful when I'm sharing and shouldering with mgb. I'm so thankful for my husband, and for how he serves our family.

I'd like to brag on him a little - he showed up to a gig the other day to work as a Production Assistant on a reality show shoot (which is a position that he's 'above' ability-wise, but the tech crew was out of LA and those were the local positions they were hiring). as the gear was brought in it became apparent that no one really knew how to set it all up and poof! there was mgb. he got everything up and running and ordered so that everyone could clearly see what was what, and at the end of the day the director even asked if he wanted to continue on to the Miami shoot. that part didn't actually transpire, but the point is that my husband showed up and did what he does very well (which is make life easier and more enjoyable for people who want to make things with cameras), and I'm just proud of him.

I've also been making some lifestyle/health changes over the past 5 weeks, which have been both great and challenging. I used this upcoming movie part to galvanize me into these changes, but it's a little bigger than that now. I retained a trainer, who's helped me so much. Kathy has shown me what pushing myself really looks like, and I'm acutely aware of the fact that when I was 'working out' before I was barely scratching the surface of real training. I feel so much stronger than I did before, and I'm gratified by the progress I've made with strength training. I still have some recurring issues, like lower back pain, which I believe will get better with continued core training, and feel like cardio is where I'm the weakest overall, but still... two months ago, ten minutes on the cross trainer made me huff and puff and hurt, and two days ago I did an hour between the treadmill and cross-trainer. so woot woot!

I'm challenged both by the commitment to the activity of exercise/strength training and my desire for instant gratification - I haven't magically dropped ten pounds since starting with Kathy, and there's definitely still extra stomach poochage going on. I HAVE lost about 5 pounds (and gained muscle weight, for sure) and my shape is visibly changing, but it's been and continues to be a process and I feel like I'm really earning whatever is happening. so, I have to cheerlead a little and push to keep on keepin' on.

Kathy also turned me onto the clean eating diet, which I mentioned before. I've been fairly committed to it, and mgb and I both have had a positive experience with it. in a nutshell, clean eating shoots for the following (from the front of the April/May CE magazine):

eat five or six times a day - three meals and two to three small snacks, attempting to include a lean protein, plenty of fresh fruit and veggies, and a complex carb at each meal. the goal: to keep your body energized and burning calories efficiently all day.

drink at least 2 liters of water a day - which is one of the hardest things for me, personally. they also hope you choose to drink it out of something reusable and environmentally-friendly. I recently bought a Brita water bottle, and am hoping to do better.

get label savvy - clean foods contain just one or two ingredients. in short, try to avoid the things with ingredients you can't pronounce, or that look like they need a ton of artificial fortifying.

avoid processed and refined foods - such as white flour, sugar, bread, and pasta. enjoy complex carbs such as whole grains instead. the big deal here is that we just try to choose better bread and pasta choices - there are lots of sprouted/whole grain options, so I don't feel deprived of my bread/pasta loves.

know thy enemies - steer clear of anything high in saturated and trans fats, anything fried, or anything high in sugar.

shop with a conscience - consume humanely raised and local meats. we try when we can, but budget/etc doesn't always allow for this.

consume healthy fats every day. olives, avocados, olive oil, etc. would fall here.

learn about portion sizes and work toward eating within them.

reduce your carbon footprint - eat produce that's seasonal and local. we love to shoot for this, obviously.

limit alcohol - make it a rare indulgence. this one is SO easy for me. :P

slow down and savor. food tastes best when it's savored. enjoy every bite.

take it to go. pack a cooler so you always have clean eats on the go. I got the insulated bag below from Marshall's and am still trying to get into the habit of packing it in the morning when I've got a full day. BUT, when I do, it's really great and I love that I don't have to think about where to pick up food between sessions/appointments.

make it a family affair - food is a social glue that should be shared with everyone!

things I like about it:

no calorie counting. it's most definitely a lifestyle, not a short-term weight loss plan.

supports ideals we already are attracted to - eating locally, eating fresh

I do feel better and more level energy-wise.

no food categories are off-limits, and you can choose to cheat where you wish... though I find myself not being as attracted to sugar and questionable food as I was, so I don't really pine to cheat. plus, if I eat something processed now I can feel it, and it's not particularly pleasant. pizza is probably my favorite cheat food right now, but if we make it at home it's still not THAT bad...

challenges:

planning meals/snacks requires more attention than I'm used to giving to my own daily care. I plan for the baby's outings, but can easily leave the house without my water bottle/snack/meal and not give it a thought.

remembering to shoot for the lean protein/complex carb/fruits/veg mix is requiring me to learn what all of those things are.

actually remembering to eat every 2.5-3 hrs. for example, we blew it this morning on breakfast by, oh, not eating it at all. major no-no, since now our bodies have to go forth unfueled and our metabolisms haven't been prompted into action for the day.

so far, I'm into it. I feel like it incentivizes us to eat the way we want to, anyway, and isn't rigid to the point of being too hard to incorporate into our lives right now. as far as what it costs, the jury's out on how or if it's affected our food budget. last month we were a little nuts with what we actually spent, but I'm not at all sure eating clean contributed to that. I'll be able to better tell this month.

in other news, our baby is totally standing by herself and is *this close* to walking. help us.

they're waiting on me so we can, appropriately, go grocery shop. woo-hoo! I feel like it's been so long since I've written anything that gets into what I'm really up to. I'll try not to go so long again.

-m.y.

overwhelming gratefulness.

for people who share themselves, who are brave enough to confess and uncomfortably compel us to it.



both this video and the one beneath it on their website are so good to me, and are wonderful calling cards of this church. If we move to Arkansas, I want to go here.

sniffling.

-m.y.

a stolen moment catch-up

it's been sort of busy around here. you know, stuff and work and stuff.

I think to write things all the time and they never seem to make it here. but here's an update!

I've been making an appearance at the Y more. 2 of Olga's yoga classes, even! which are so so hard. the plan is to hit another today, to ring in the weekend with the appropriate level of muscle-spasmy ouch-but-yay accomplishment. my attention span being what it is, I've been doing modified circuit training and running sprints lately. that's fun to type - I've never really been a runner of any kind, but the sprints get my heart rate up and give me quick goals to meet, which works right now. my body, still something of a wild card in it's new post-baby reality, is really feeling better and better.

hubs sent me out with gift certificates to get some things for myself, and after spending a couple of hours searching/trying on clothes and finally coming home with 2 candles and an outfit for the baby I decided I need some help. I can't seem to decide who I am anymore, or at least how to translate that to how I want to dress. I'm not young enough (or have the body) to dress in certain styles, and I'm not ready to embrace what I deem 'soccer-mom'-wear. I want to be fairly classic and still cool. I'm unsure right now of how to do that.

I've been trying on some different podcasts lately. one that I'm liking is by Cornerstone Church, the church in California where Francis Chan used to preach. I've been in a dry place for awhile with little energy and less attention span, and I'm really seeking things that resonate because it's no fun to be in the valley and I'm weary of it. in my current 'season', I'm finding myself desiring different experiences... I told M that if we were a church with two services, I'd likely be choosing the contemporary one right now. I love hymns, I sing them to my daughter, but my dry space could do with some fresh emotion, new expression. I think podcasts and things like that are a good way to experience new things without burdening my church with the responsibility of meeting my changing needs.

I'm teaching cradle class on Sunday mornings. Right now it's just Magz and I, but we'll be joined by another little one soon and I'll work out a schedule of other helpers. The positive things about teaching are 1) I get to work in a gift, because singing and making things fun for this age group is natural to me, and 2) I'm being forced to think of the most basic things, like the love of Jesus. the power of God. what I believe. I miss attending my own Bible class and it would be easy for me to feel a little isolated, but with the baby I don't feel I have much of a choice right now other than stay home until worship time (which is what I think others with babies have done). I used to take her to class with me but it's way too distracting now, so I started a class for Magz and the other babies coming to attend until she turns 2 and can join the existing classes. plus, they're able to learn so much! I'm glad for her to have a class, and I'm hoping it will be an encouragement for more young families to feel welcome during bible class. I'm also hoping I will be able to be able to structure things so that I can return to class myself at some point.

she's up now, and it's time to go do stuff again. in closing: my husband is the best one. our baby is so lovely. I'm so thankful for blessings abundant, and for spring.

-m.y.

photos trapped in camera - send help!

I was going to post a whole lotta photos and video, but my camera/computer connector is bent and I think I have to go buy another one. boo! BUT, that made me look for something else to post about, since the baby and hubs are still in bed and I have this expanse of coffee time.

I think this is terribly worthy.

we saw Amy Seiffert on the news yesterday, and I just got finished visiting her website/blog. what a great example to me right now. the news was covering her decision to wear the same dress for six months to raise money for the daughter project, and she came off as just being a fun, vibrant person. I really appreciated that, in a montage showing her wearing the dress different ways, one quick shot showed her holding a sign that read, 'Micah 6:8'. which is:

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

I want more stories of Christians like this, please.

stirring from the nursery. let's get this show on the road.

-m.y.

real quick before I go to work.

we've pretty much been hanging around the house for the past few days. baby and hubs have been sick, and the weather got the email and helped effectively carve out delicious home hibernation time. after the baby went to bed one night we watched most of Ghandi, and at the point where Indian men, women, and children were being massacred by English soldiers for the crime of publicly meeting together I lost my mind and started bawling. I cannot bear cruelty. I cannot bear being reminded that babies lose their parents every day, that there are those who would kill the most defenseless among us, that people treat people (and other living things) so thoughtlessly and cheaply. I look at my baby and wonder about her life, and wonder about my own. I want to stop everything and put up a forcefield to repel the evil.

I appreciated very much Ghandi's philosophy, and am still a little challenged to wrap my mind around it. to practice 'non-cooperation', a non-violent civil disobedience, to bring change about... there's nothing passive, wimpy, or safe about that. I mentioned to M last night that, to me, when the people began to really act out their convictions in a civil way, it only served to magnify the sheer brutality of the opposition, the lengths people and powers will go to maintain control whether there's actual cause for violence or not. while performing a cursory search, I found that there are many opposing opinions worldwide about both Ghandi and the philosophy he espoused. I'm glad of the movie, though, for challenging me. What would I do or condone to contain those I want to repress? Is violence part of our natural, God-given makeup to be allowed healthy exercise, or maybe just exercise in arenas we deem 'safe' or 'justified', like video games/sports/politics/religion/the dude who cut me off today? Do we claim an acceptable place for holy violence citing Christ in the temple, or call spiritual maturity the ability to suppress our tendencies to lash out and pursue the path of peace in His name?

and on an entirely different note:

while surfing the 'net this weekend, this post about body image issues for children at cjane (Feb 2 posting) caught my attention, reminding me that I simply must get over my own body issues to help magz grow up as free as possible of unhealthy self-scrutiny. I can happily report that my body seems to be, finally, bouncing back, and I'm so grateful for it.

-my

thanksgiving 1.0

during my Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers group last week, I got the inspiration to serve a thanksgiving meal to the kids that come to church on Wednesday night. they already get snacks and stuff, I just thought it would be incredibly appropriate to actually have a real meal. so on Sunday, we asked the church for donations and as of COB Monday we had a bunch of money and willing volunteers to help! here's a peek at how it went down:

group shot #1. they look so SERIOUS.

group shot #2. MUCH BETTER!

look at whitney's cute banner! I made the signs with beth c's help:

sara's explaning what's what. we had turkey, ham, pizza, mashed potatoes, yams, green beans, mac & cheese, and broccoli-rice casserole, along with lots of fun desserts and drinks (including hot apple cider, which many of the kids were somewhat suspicious of). our guests were actually really good about trying some new things (even the apple cider!), and after we invited some of the adults from Cafe Grace over to have a bite we were still able to send a lot of food home with the kids:

we like these people a lot:

V.I.P. table:

the older kids (mostly) patiently waited for the little kids to go first:

my main cohort in thanksgiving crime. this girl was a huge help and is just a seriously lovely human being:

magz was with me @ the church for most of the day. she had her rough patches, but all's well that ends well. :)

I'm so glad we did this, and I'm grateful to everyone who helped! thanksgiving blessings!

-m.y.