thoughts from the deep recesses

The kids and I carved pumpkins last night. We never got around to it last year, and this year, since they're all so much more grown up, they all decided that they didn't want any help with the actual carving process. Thank goodness for those new fangled pumpkin carving tools that eliminate the worry of someone cutting off a finger. When I was a kid it was regular sharp knives or nothin'. I'm surprised any of us made it to adulthood with all our digits intact. Anywho, they chose their own designs, did their own cutting, and I think they did a great job. Can't wait to light them up tonight... Love me some Jack-O'-Lanterns.

It's frosty cold this morning. There were predictions of snow, but it did not come. That's okay with me. I don't want to see snow until November, as a rule. And I especially don't want to be trudging around the block tomorrow night Trick-or-Treating with the kids in it. Although I do love to sit inside with my cup of coffee and watch the flakes fall... makes me really want to put Christmas music on. We had a great weekend. I taught a class most of the day Saturday - an Album in a Day. We completed forty layouts. Phew! It was a great class though - great ladies, and lots accomplished. Church yesterday was perfect for the things I've been pondering about time... the words spoken were totally related to how we spend our time. Funny how God orchestrates those kinds of things. Worship was great. Asia and I met with another couple after church regarding our role in mentoring young couples in the marriage ministry... good stuff. We had taken an assessment test similar to ...

I've been thinking a lot lately about time. My time, specifically. I had expected, all those years I was raising preschoolers, that once I got all three kids in school, I would have oodles and oodles of time to use however I pleased. Time to finally chase all those pursuits I'd had to put on hold. Time to practice my photography. Time to take classes. Time to turn up the radio and clean my house like a mad woman, totally uniterrupted by little fingers poking my leg. Time to scrapbook. Time to have lunch with friends... My kids are gone for six and a half hours, five days a week. That's a lot of time. And yet, I feel busier than ever. Where does the time go? I'm not sure. But I'm determined to work it out. Determined to put in place a purposeful and thoughtful plan for my days. I knew it would take me awhile to find my groove after they were all back in school. The thing I didn't know, is that I would have to create the groove. I don't want to spend my days ...

The little counter at the bottom of the page tells me I have had over 20,000 visits to this blog. I made a big deal out of 10,000, and that feels like it was just yesterday. How in the world did I get to 20,000? Maybe I should stop coming to look at my own blog 50 times a day. We had a very busy, very fun weekend. I actually got to take a class at the store - a class on carving your own rubber stamps. Fun stuff. It's so relaxing to take that carving tool and just work away at the rubber. Loved it. I can see myself spending more time playing in this medium... We went to Green Bluff yesterday with the kids. This is our local farm area - with fall-ish festivities everywhere you look. We did hay mazes and corn mazes and got pumpkins and apples. I think I'm going to make applesauce today. Yum. I took tons of pictures, but haven't gotten them off the memory card yet - maybe I'll post some later. My niece Aubrianne is here - I picked her up at the airport yesterday and took h...

At my kids' school, they offer lots of great extra-curricular activities. Things like sign language, cooking, reading clubs, drumming circle and sports. Each quarter, I offer my kids a chance to choose one. They bring home the list and we read through it together, and they tell me what they want. S. chose French. E. chose cooking. And K.? He chose knitting. My eleven (almost twelve) year old son. Knitting. Now, I should not have been surprised. This is the boy who wanted to play flute. (Asia wouldn't let him. He plays trombone.) It's not that he's weird, it's just that he doesn't care what people think about him. I asked him, "Don't you think the other boys will tease you if you take knitting?" "I don't care," he said. I tried another angle... "Why exactly do you want to take knitting?" "Well," he began. "If I get cold, I can make myself a sweater. And I can make scarves for Christmas presents. And besides, Mo...

Home. I love a road trip. Especially when it's to visit friends. And old friends are best. My time with Corey was super. First of all, she lives in the most beautiful place in the world, I think. Secondly, she owns a beautiful Bed and Breakfast and bought french pastries for us to share on her birthday. Third, I got to see Charlie and give him a hug and revel in his alive-ness. Hot tub. Sauna. Shopping. Great restaurants. Lots of conversation and laughter. Music. And the wildlife... goodness. I saw bears and moose and birds and chipmunks and bunnies. Seriously. Now I have piles and piles and piles of laundry. But I'm refreshed and ready. I don't know if I accomplished what I set out to do with this trip - but I hope I was a blessing - I know that I was blessed. It's not a small thing to have a friend you've known for 33 years. It's a huge part of who I am that I have experienced that kind of loyalty. Love you, Corey. (Thanks for sharing her with me, Paul.)

I'm off tomorrow morning to beautiful Canmore, Alberta, Canada. I'm going to go hang out with Corey and be available to her family in whatever way I'm needed. We will probably go up to her folks' house on Monday to check in on them and see if there's anything we can do to help Kaye manage. Charlie went home a couple of days ago and is trying to settle in to his post-heart-attack self. It's hard. Maybe we can encourage them - pray that we can. Tuesday is Corey's birthday. We haven't been together on either of our birthdays for years and years and years. It will be good to see her. Good to talk. Good to renew. I'll be back late Wednesday. I'm driving. So if you think of me, say a prayer for safe travel and clear roads - I've gotta cross the Canadian Rockies... Could you think of a better time of year to drive through the Rockies? I can't. Oh - and pray for Asia and the kids. They manage just fine without me, but it never hurts to pray. I...

1984. It was a good year. I was in the throes of first love. Reagan won the presidential election against Mondale in a landslide. McEnroe defeated Jimmy Conners at Wimbledon. The Cosby show debuted. Michael Jackson was still cute and released "Thriller." Vanessa Williams was crowned Miss America. We all started asking "Where's the beef?" Apple Computer unveiled its Macintosh personal computer. Cyndi Lauper sang "Time After Time." Carl Lewis won four gold medals at the summer games. "Miami Vice" began its terrible influence on men's fashion. And this man, whom I would marry 8 years later, was working at McDonalds. Love you, honey...

I was never good at sports. I tried a lot of different sports growing up, mostly because I went to a small country school and it just seemed like everyone was playing something... So I played softball (and played pitcher - which to this day terrifies me - my coach must have been either very nice or very stupid.) I played volleyball, coached by the very skinny Ms. Twitty , who made us lunge across the gym for two hours one afternoon. To this day, I've never had such sore legs. My stint with volleyball was when I really learned how to pray. I had to pray every time it was my turn to serve, "Lord, please help it go over the net." I played basketball. I was the Center, because I was tall. That was my only basketball talent. Being tall. It didn't help me out that much. I do remember that I had a rival of sorts. Terrie House, who went to Olney (a school smaller than ours) was their Center and I remember having heard terrible things about her... so I was determined to beat...

Why, oh why do I list things on ebay? Because that means I have to go to the post office. I hate the post office. *whine* Here it is, almost a year after we finished our kitchen remodel and I still love EVERYTHING about it. Especially my fridge. I didn't know I could love an appliance, but I do. As I was digging through the freezer this morning looking for an ice pack for E's lunch I though "I love my fridge." Silly. My new favorite CD? Edwin McCain - Messenger . Wow. What a voice. Gracie has claimed our Larry Boy plush toy as her own. Poor Larry's eyes are chewed beyond belief. I wonder if there is a home for the blind in Veggie Tale Land. The weather? 29 degrees this morning. Brrrr! I made chili and corn muffins for dinner last night. Does anyone remember Kenny Roger's Roasters restaurants? I have their corn muffin recipe and it's TO DIE FOR! I could eat ten. But I didn't. I ate one. Gracie got a new collar the other day. She had outgrown her last on...

I want to be back. Really, I do. But my brain isn't functioning well today. We'll give this a go and see how lucid I can be... bear with me. My week without blogging was nice - a great time to reflect and pray and rejuvenate - several times I found myself wanting to blog about something and had to remind myself that reflecting alone is good for me sometimes. I may still share some stories, because there are some good ones, but for now I will hold onto some things until I get my blogging groove back. Thanks to those of you who are praying for Corey and her family. I am surprised at the amount of stress and concern this has caused me - since these people are far removed from my daily life. However, what they lack in daily (or even monthly or yearly) contact, they make up in the sheer amount of cumulative influence they have had in my life. These are such dear people to my heart and I have spent more time in tears this past few days than I have in years and years - probably since ...

If you are still visiting my very inactive and quiet blog and you are the praying type, would you please pray for my dear friend Corey and her family? Her Dad had a serious heart attack a few days ago. He is still in the hospital and may be for awhile. I'd appreciate it. Her Dad's name is Charlie. He was my pastor growing up and officiated at our wedding. He was like a second father to me for many years. Please pray for healing. Thanks.