Shine Your Light and Rock the Air Guitar!....

The other night, Brian and I had the privilege of attending an Eagles concert. Let me just say....it was SO FREAKIN' AWESOME! I have always enjoyed the Eagles. When their songs would come on the radio I would sing along or tap my foot or something like that. Brian, however, is a little different. How I feel about Oreos is how Brian feels about the Eagles. They are the air he breathes...the blood in his veins...the sun in his sky....in other words, he likes 'em!

When he found out they would be doing a concert in town he could think of nothing else. He looked at tickets...too much money. He looked at tickets again...don't really want to spend the money. This scenario went on for a month. I finally took the matter into my own hands, surprised him, and bought tickets.

I'll pause for a moment while you give me a standing ovation and cheer my wonderfulness...

Alrighty then....

So we arrived at the concert Tuesday night after what seemed like a 200 mile hike from the parking garage. We then proceeded to snake our way through the crowd of fans buying $40 T-shirts and $20 programs until we reached our seats. After stopping my nose bleed brought on by the effects of high altitude, I sent Brian back down the mountain for some snacks.

While he was fulfilling my need for sustenance in the form of chocolate, I began to people watch. Yes, I admit it, I'm a people watcher. Please don't confuse me with one of those annoying types on the bench at the mall that makes it their duty to stare at you, no, I'm much more discreet. I notice details about people, and wonder what makes them act the way they do. For instance, why didn't the lady with a cane buy floor seats? Or, why would you wear a tank top to a concert in the middle of winter? Things like that.

The concert got under way and in case I didn't mention before, it was about THREE MILLION KINDS OF WONDERFUL!

I continued my people watching while enjoying Joe Walsh rock out on the guitar.
There was the woman who obviously had been filled with some kind of spirit, and I'm not talking Holy here people. She was so inspired by the musical goodness coming from the stage, that she felt the need to yell "raise h*ll" every five minutes. This is not a Kid Rock concert lady, there are old people here! She continued with this magical form of cheering until she was escorted out by the lovely men in blue.

There was the woman sitting two seats down from us who actually needed two seats of her own. She played the air guitar for the entire three hour gig. It was a sight to behold!

But by far my favorite was the man sitting below us. He had long scraggly hair and a beard to match. It's possible that he was a former ZZ Top band member. His Harley Davidson jacket and tight black jeans told me that he was indeed there to enjoy him some tunes. I figured that this was not his first trip down memory lane with the Eagles. However, when he brought out his lighter and ignited the flame, waving it in the air for all the concert goers to see, I could hardly contain my emotions. Here, amongst the throng of 20,000 Eagles lovers, was the one token "lighter guy". When cell phones and flash bulbs were going off by the thousands, he was content to shine his light. I think it's possible that he has seen a tequila sunrise or two...........

Josh isms....

If you have followed this blog for any length of time, you know that I get a good deal of my material from Josh. It's not that I'm exploiting him, it's just that he's so dang funny!

For instance, a couple weeks ago, he was wanting a glass of orange juice. I went to the fridge to fix it for him and he stopped me with a concerned look on his face. "It's not the kind with pus in it, is it mom?" Pus!? In orange juice!? I was a little shocked and grossed out until I figured out that he was talking about pulp! Pus, pulp, same thing right?

Last night, as I was tucking him into bed, he asked me if we had any super glue in the house. Now, when a seven year old boy asks you for super glue, many alarms, loud bells, flashing red lights and other warning signs flash before your eyes! No good could possibly come from giving him super glue! I calmly asked him what he needed it for. He proceeded to explain to me how every night while he is sleeping his pillow falls off of his bed, the obvious solution to this problem was to super glue it down! Ofcourse! Why didn't I think of that?!

So here's to Josh...the provider of all good blog fodder!

I Wish I Knew Her Name...

Her lonely face swept through my dreams last night. This girl was still so young but seemed to have no feeling. How could a child become so hardened and indifferent? After all, we were there with tons of toys, games, and gifts of all kinds. Any child would be excited and anxious to receive what were offering. Not this child.

Yesterday, as our large chartered bus drove into the small Kentucky town, I knew that my life was about to change. The houses were old, and battered. The creek was garbage lined. The school that was "our mission" was at the end of a long road. It was a small building that had a peculiar smell as we entered. Inside this building were 400 children waiting for our arrival. For many of them, this would be the only Christmas they would experience.

As the bleachers of the gym became filled with smiling faces and buzzing voices became louder, my heart became larger and heavier. How sad, I thought, to have a room filled with impoverished children. What must their lives be like? Do they have enough to eat? Are they warm at night while they sleep?

Children were assigned to all of us that had come to help. As this girl approached me, I was rehearsing what I would say to her. How could I put her at ease? I wanted to be her friend. It never occurred to me that she would want nothing to do with me.

I asked her name. She would not answer. I introduced myself and she stared at me blankly. I asked her if there was anything that she was hoping to find there today and what she wanted for Christmas. No response.

I didn't know what to do. Here was a beautiful young girl, who even when presented with her choice of many wonderful things, still would not let herself be happy. My heart ached for her. Was she really that void of emotion? Was her young life hopeless?

After several minutes of trying desperately to have some communication with her, I finally asked if I could choose some things for her and put them in her bag. She shrugged her shoulders. I carefully chose gifts that I hoped she would like. I wanted her to have happiness. I longed to see her smile.

When we were finished I walked her back to the bleachers. I told her that it had been wonderful to meet her and that I hoped she had a Merry Christmas. She climbed up the steps and sat down with her bag. She did not smile. I watched her for awhile to see if she was going to open her bag and look at what I had put in it. She never did. She sat alone and then left with her class.

I left Kentucky yesterday filled with a mix of compassion and sadness. I had walked many children through the treasure lined tables. Most of them were happy and excited to pick out their gifts. But even through the joy of these children I could not get my mind off that lonely girl. What was she doing last night while I was dreaming about her? Will she be there next year when I go back? Will I ever get to know her name?.........

Girl Interrupted....

I'm a girl who likes to be in control of her situation. Please try to hold yourself together it's... shocking I know! Lately however, it seems that every time I make plans they are interrupted. Why is this? It's not that my plans aren't valid or important. They aren't going to harm anyone. They just don't come to pass.



It is difficult to give up my control. It makes me feel vulnerable and at risk. What if I don't get to do the things that I feel are so important? What if my goals are never attained? What will I do? How will I cope? Will my life be forever marred by the day that my shopping plans got changed or by the fact that we didn't finish an algebra lesson? Will I live a life of regret because the fish bowl was left with a ring of scum around it?



These plans that I make are all important to me, but are they really the most important plans? The only thing that's going to suffer by my blocked goals is possibly the fish! What I really need to be asking myself is what plans does God want me to make. How would He have me use my time? Is the time that I am going to spend shopping going to interfere with time I should be using for Him?



I have been studying Paul recently. Talk about your blocked plans. Here was a man that shopped when he wanted, never missed an algebra lesson, and had an impeccably clean fish bowl. He was well educated, held a highly respected position, had an abundance of "frequent donkey miles", and still found the time to persecute and stone Christians.



God obviously had better plans!



When Paul's life was interrupted on the road to Damascus, his plans and perspective changed. He went from making his own plans to giving his all for the plans of the Lord! How convicting!



I am hoping that God doesn't feel the need to strike me blind on the road! (especially since i would be driving) My prayer is that whatever plans He may have for me, that I would be a willing participant, that I would not be aggravated that they interfere with my clean fish bowl. We so often wander through our lives concerned about such petty things. It's time that I got focused on the eternal!

Give Me Liberty!....

This morning, as I reflected on the election results, I was tempted to be discouraged. I also thought for a moment that I should pack up my family and move to Antarctica for the next four years.
However, when I really think about what happened yesterday, I have nothing to do except count my blessings.
I was born into a free country!
I was able to drive my own car from my own house whenever I wanted yesterday and stand in line to vote for whomever I choose!
I was able to homeschool my children!
I was able to go to my sister's birthday party without anyone questioning my motives!
I was able to sleep soundly in my bed. No one knocked on my door and threatened my family because of my beliefs!
Praise God!
Was the man who was elected my choice? No. Does that mean that I should not be thankful? No.
I am extremely thankful that our new president will be a man who was elected by the people of this nation.
I am extremely thankful that this man was not appointed for me, or is in this position because of his military threats and power.
Right now, as I am sitting in my cushy home typing these words, there are millions of people throughout the world that are suffering at the hands of their leaders. They have no say in their government. The choices they make in their everday lives are closely monitored and dictated for them. They risk their lives and those of their families if they do not conform to the mandates of the people in power over them.
Today, as a proud American, I am counting my blessings! Freedom is worth far more than my opinion!

Remember Me?....

Hello? tap, tap, tap Anybody in there? I know I've been gone for almost a month, but please tell me you didn't forget me!
Quite honestly over the last few weeks I have been trying to decide what to do about this here blog. I enjoy telling the whole entire internet all about our lives, but it seems that lately I've had nothing to say. Don't get me wrong, it's not like things haven't been happening around here. We've had school, and rabbit raising, and Brian finally getting back to a normal work schedule. We've even had Josh learning how to swim "star wars style". One million points to the person who can figure out what that means.
For all five of you who are my loyal blog readers, I want to say thanks for hangin' in there. To the rest of you...I want to say whateva!
I'm going to keep the blog going for now. I might not be posting on a regular basis, but I don't want to give it up just yet.
So keep checking in, and hopefully I'll see ya soon!

Quick Post Cause I've Got No Time....

Well we are back from a week at the beach! It was wonderful, refreshing and fun!! Of course now that we are home we have to get back to the daily grind. UGH!

This week should be busy. We need to get back into school, clean the house, and tomorrow we are going to pick up our killer rabbits.

Hopefully I will have some vacation and bunny pics to share in the next couple days. Until then...SEE YA!