Double Standards

I have been very frustrated lately with the political views that have been flying around Facebook, forwards and the like. At first I didn't think much of it, but then as I noticed all the views being expressed were basically one sided, and that they were bashing those who believed differently, it really began to bother me. I brought the subject up with Craig last night and felt my blood pressure go up. I said that I was at the point where I wanted to speak up on Facebook, that someone needed to represent the other side. But I figured my blog would be a good place to get my feelings out on the subject.

If someone wants to support something they believe in, I believe that is their right. What I don't understand, is people saying that others are not "tolerant" when they themselves are not "tolerant" of those people they are speaking about. If I choose to believe that abortion or a gay life style is wrong, does that make me intolerant? Or does that mean that I believe the Bible to be 100% true? The Word of God. That I don't pick and choose what I want to be true out of the Bible and ignore the rest. That when He says that marriage should be between a man and a woman, I follow that. And when He says that we should not kill, I follow that. Just as I should follow other things like loving my neighbors, not lying, caring for the poor...are those things wrong as well? I know that those commandments fall under the "politically correct" section but the others do not.

And I know there are extremist. Those who choose to take things way too far and instead of showing love, they show hate. And that is not biblical. That is not what Jesus did when He was on earth and not what He would want us to do now. Although He does not condone same sex relationships, He would not have us hate those that are gay. We are to love our brothers gay or straight. If a women has an abortion, we are not to hate her. We don't have to agree with it, but we need to show her love.

So for those who seem to think it's OK to call me intolerant, stupid, unbelievable, uneducated, etc., I would just like to ask what that makes you?

Potty and Go-Go's.

Jacob has slowly been learning to "go on the potty". We are not pushing him as with his personality, we know that would not go over well. So we put the potty out, talk about it, ask if he wants to go and watch potty videos. He goes once every few days and has even told us he has to go, held it and then gone. He gets various rewards for going ranging from fruit snacks, to small candies. One thing he LOVES are yogos...yogurt covered fruit snacks. He calls them go-go's which we think is the cutest thing (isn't it though?) Anyway, tonight he was asking for his go-go's. I asked if he had to go potty. He says "pee-pee potty!" so we go try, twice, and no potty. He then asks for the go-go's but I put them up in the bathroom. He then decides to have a complete meltdown. After asking again for his treat, not getting the answer he wanted and more yelling and tears, he gets up, pulls on my arm and says, "Come on Mommy, come on! Too dark!" So I go with him to the bathroom again turn on the light and ta-DA, he finally goes. Just a little bit but he knows that qualifies. Man, when there's a will, there's a way!

Everyone Loves a Pumpkin!

Last Friday we went to a pumpkin patch to bring home a nice round pumpkin to call our own! Usually it would be a full event, rides and all, but this year we are pinching pennies. Thankfully the boys were just super happy to be picking out a pumpkin they didn't even miss the rides! Tonight when Daddy finally gets home from his long 3 days at the L.A. Convention Center, we will turn our pumpkin into a Jack-o-lantern. And fun will be had by all!











And today Zachary had his little Halloween party at school. The kids got to dress up and then parade around the park. The parents were stationed every few feet with bags of candy and the kids went around and trick or treated. Zachary had a blast! Just a few days more until the big event!

Hello God!

I was just going around and opening up windows on our second floor. (Man it sure has been hot!) As I opened one Zachary ran over and yelled out into the open air, "Hello God! I want you to come over to my house!" How cute is that?

Seriously?

So last Thursday night, the night before my Dr's appointment mind you, I was heading to bed. I rounded the corner from our bathroom into our bedroom and Craig had just turned the lights out. My eyes had not adjusted yet so I could see nothing...most pointedly the suitcase still laying on our floor. Before I knew what had happened, I was flying onto the floor and of ALL places, landing ON MY HURT FOOT!!! Not anywhere else...my knees, hands, other foot ...leg...oh no, the left broken foot. Seriously?!? I just lay there for the longest time in disbelief. I sometime truly think I am jinxed!

The next day at the appointment I told the Dr. what had happened the night before. He had been ready to just have the assistants put light bandaging on my foot after he looked at it...I was so happy to be getting the cast off and to have only two weeks left!! Then he looks at the x-rays. Dislocated. Again. "Thankfully," he tells me, "I put two screws in there so I don't have to go back in". Holy crap!!! I must have looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He wanted to know what a suitcase was doing in the middle of the floor...sheesh...it was obviously not put away yet! He then said he was going to have a full hard cast put on and I begged him not to. Going from the expectation of having less on my foot to more was completely unbearable. Thankfully he allowed the soft cast. And I now have at least another 4 weeks completely off the foot...and that's after already being off it for FIVE!! When the nurses came back in to package my foot back up, they knew I was super upset and felt really bad. I was at the point where I couldn't talk because then I would bawl...not a fun place to be. And as for the look of my foot...horrible. Peeling, red, purple and yellow, raw in spots and just plain awful looking.

Please pray that no further injuries occur. I have been so crazy careful and I can't believe that from just a few seconds I set myself back so far. I need my foot back. I need to be able to resume all of my responsibilities and all of the extra Christmas ones that are coming my way. And, man, I just need a break! (NO pun intended!!)

Little Illustrator

When we moved into this house, the boys received our old dinner table as a craft table. They now have a space completely devoted to creativity. As a result, we have seen their drawing abilities and love for art dramatically increase over the past year. Just these past few weeks or so, Zachary has become obsessed with "making books". We thought he would have fun making the first and that would be it, but they just keep on coming! I have never seen him do something with such fervor! Now when it's quiet, I know I'll find him at the table, creating a new book. At least once a day now he comes running, "Mommy I'm done! Can you please staple my book??" He started off making a book for each member of the family. Then he started giving them themes, such as Dinosaurs or Sonic characters. It is so sweet to see how proud he is of his books and to hear him "read" them to us. He is quite a good storyteller and is very entertaining!

Thought you might enjoy some of his art work. Let him know you stopped by to take a look!





Wall-E


Sonic the Hedgehog


Shamu (One of my favorites!)




Holding a book with a Golden Sonic cover.


Taking a break to hug brother!


The illustrator, Zachary James, 4 years old.

And Life Goes On...

It has been so long since I last wrote. So many times I have thought of things I wanted to Blog about but never had the time. We have been going at full speed the past few weeks (well as fast as you can go on one leg!=0)) I guess I'll start there!

I'm still off of my foot. This Friday I have another Dr's appointment where they will do an x-ray to see the progress. I am really hoping for a glowing report!! It has been over 4 weeks now since I broke it and I am very ready to retire my flamingo status! The stitches came out last Monday which was very painful. I can't believe how tender my foot is! I am so happy to have that part over with! Prayer for the quickest healing would be appreciated!

A few weeks back Susie and Adam came for a visit. I had been looking forward to this visit since we left Colorado last March! Having my friend so far away has been a very hard thing for me to deal with this past year. People in your life come and go but she is one that I thought would always be near. Spending almost everyday together since 8th grade brought us a great, close friendship. So, months apart are not easy on me especially now that she's bringing a baby into the world! They arrived here on October 5th and the next day, we held her shower. I was really worried about pulling everything together with my broken foot but thankfully the shower went very smoothly and there were lot's of friends and family there to celebrate. I being a mother of all boys, was especially elated when they found out she was having a girl! Planning a pink shower was a lot of fun and so was shopping for a girl! I am already bursting in anticipation of baby Bella's birth in February!


That Tuesday night they came to stay with us and were here through Sunday morning. It was a great four days and wish it could have been longer! We hung out, played our favorite game Settler's of Catan while watching movies. We went to the Wild Animal Park which I was once again grateful for a wheelchair! One of the nights my other life-long friend, Melinda, came over and just the 3 of us went out to dinner! It was really nice to sit and chat with my girls and then go home and play our favorite game from childhood, NERTS. We have been playing that together for at least 15 years. So neat to have such history and longevity with friends. On Saturday, we went to the outlets for a bit and helped start Bella's wardrobe! I was super happy sitting amongst all of the sweet baby girl clothes. The clerks kept asking if we wanted a bag but I was perfectly happy to have all of the stuff right on my lap where I could look at it! That night family came over to hang out and say their goodbyes. And then it was on to more Settlers! It was nice to see Susie's growing belly, try and "talk" to Bella and constantly ask, "Is she moving much right now"? I'm sad to miss out on the rest of the pregnancy but I have made her promise to take lot's and lot's of pictures (you hear that Suze??) and we talk everyday about seeing baby Bella when she's born. I think Zachary may almost be as excited as I am!


A few days after they left, we headed out to Vegas. Craig had a convention to speak at that had been planned for months. I figured it would be easier to go with him still then to be alone for 3 days. It was a quick trip, Tuesday thru Thursday. Craig was only gone on Wednesday and the boys and I mostly hung out in the room except for a trip out for lunch. They were really well behaved and it worked out better then I had hoped. Both nights there we watched the Bellagio's Water Show. Both free and very entertaining...a great combination! The set-up inside the Bellagio's Conservatory was the best I had seen yet. It is always beautiful but they really outdid themselves. I always marvel at the beauty of Vegas in the midst of all the ugliness. If I could just take away the smoke, sex and the smoke it would be a truly amazing place!


This past Friday, the night after we got back, it was off to an Amy Grant concert! Something else I have anticipated for months! Amy has been my favorite singer since elementary school so it's always a treat to see her. Especially since she only comes in our area every few years. The concert was held at a Church in Irvine so the "smaller" (still over 3,000 people!) venue was fun too! She had recreated the exact band from over 20 years ago for her Lead Me On Tour. So all the songs she sang were from the 80's but she also stuck some in at the end that had not yet been recorded. "Lead Me On" wasn't one of my favorite albums (now if she did a "Heart in Motion" or "House of Love" tour I wouldn't be able to contain myself!) but it was Amy so it didn't matter! I love hearing her talk, always so funny. Seeing what a great entertainer she is. Hearing her sing and watching her dance. It was a fun night!

The next day was filled with soccer, snacks for both teams and a Halloween party. More fun to be had by all! Hopefully life will now slow down a bit...after Tyler's Dermatology appointment, both older boys dentist appointments...and those are all just today! And life goes on.





A part of the Bellagio Conservatory.

I Want to Have My Cake and Eat it Too

The last week has continued to be a struggle for me. The pain is still there. The struggle to figure out how to "live" this way is mounting, not getting easier. I'm just down and trying to fight myself, and the negative thoughts that seem to fill my head no matter how hard I try and push them out. I am reading Max Lucado's "Just like Jesus" and there was an entry about focusing on God every moment of everyday. That means waking with him in my mind from the moment I open my eyes at the start of a new day to ending my day falling asleep in His arms. He writes of a man who tried to achieve this...literally being with God every minute of the day. This man kept journals of how difficult it was to stay focused but that when he did he felt complete and utter joy like he had never experienced before. So much so that nothing else mattered and everything fell into place. It really stuck out to me reading that today. That I want to come out of this place of misery and even more than that, be the complete opposite, basking in his love and perfection. This is what I will continue to strive for.