Failed Experiment

We recently returned from a trip to Arkansas to visit David's parents. For reasons I really don't understand I decided at the last minute not to pack my usual arsenal of make-up and hair accessories. I just tossed a lipstick, an eyeliner and some mascara into my bag. I left the make-up, curling iron and blow dryer in their usual spaces and walked out of the bathroom. What was I thinking? I don't wear a lot of make-up, but what I do wear, I need. A quick swipe of mineral powder, bronzer and blusher, some eyeshadow, liner and mascara...all essential (it turns out) to my well-being. My hair is this semi-curly mass badly in need of a trim and THIS is the time I decide to leave it all behind? Again, what was I thinking. I did not feel like myself the whole time we were away. At first it was liberating...a couple quick scrunches of the hair and I was done BUT then I caught a glimpse of myself later in the mirror. Eeeeeek! As it turns out, I am a slave the the girly entrapments I thought I could do without! Never again, my friends. I am back to my former never-go-out-the-door-without-full-make-up-and-hair self!

Oh and as to the long hiatus from blogging? I think it can best be attributed to writer's block. I've never had that before and it was very frustrating. Nothing really seemed like the right thing to blog about - it all seemed too trivial for words. But it appears the block has lifted itself and "trivial" doesn't bother me anymore!

Impromptu

A long time ago I read an article in some family or woman's magazine about taking time to say "yes" to your kids. The article went a little further that I would want to (candy for breakfast?) but the idea has stuck with me. Obviously with two working parents we have to say "no" a lot - either out of exhaustion or frustration or, you know, just because. But this week it's just Kyle and I and today I decided we would (shhhhh!) skip church and have some fun! I didn't give Kyle the green light by saying I would say yes to everything he asked, but I decided I would be more open to possibilities of saying YES. It helps that it's 70+ degrees today. We started out with a great breakfast where Kyle helped me crack and cook some eggs. Then after getting ready for the day we headed to Barnes and Noble, which FYI is very quiet at 10:00 am on a Sunday! We spent a long, long, time reading books and magazines, playing with the train set and loafing in a multitude of chairs. Kyle finally decided on the first book in The Chronicles of Narnia, "The Magician's Nephew" a book I didn't even push him toward, but was thrilled with because I read the same book to Tony when he was 7! (Tony is now 19.) When we left the book store Kyle glanced across the street and said, "Can we go to PF Chang's for lunch?" YES we can. We shared kung pao chicken and pot stickers and a lot of good conversation. Our waiter was funny and engaging and couldn't get enough of Kyle's funny ways. Then it was into the mall for a shirt for school pictures on Tuesday then Kyle wanted to go to Putt Putt - okay, we're off!

This afternoon I'm going to be saying yes a lot more to things that are in and around our neighborhood and maybe close the day with a carpet picnic and a good movie. It's been nice saying yes and forgetting about towels that needed to be washed and floors that need a good vacuuming.

Oh and my newly found yes-ness led me to invite three of the boys back to our house for an hour after cub scouts. I found myself surrounded by four 7-8 year olds who kept saying dude this and dude that. Apparently this is their way of communicating.

YES - it's a good thing!

I'm ready to go back!

We had a marvelous time at Disney World - the trip was a complete surprise to Kyle and we were driving under the "Welcome to Disney World" sign before we told him what was going on! He was so excited and shouted, "Today I start living!" He's a little off the beam sometimes! My best friend Angela and her two lovely girls (Larissa, 12 and Zoe, 9) met us at Disney which was an added bonus for all of us!

We stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and had our coffee each morning with zebras, giraffes and the like right off our balcony. We did Animal Kingdom Park, Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot - with extra time at Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. We also did a day at Sea World - which if I had to do it over again I would have put that at the beginning of the trip instead of at the end...it was a bit of a letdown after Disney!

Enjoy the photos!

When you wish upon a star...

We're off to Disney World tomorrow - be ready for lots and lots and lots of photos when we get back next week! Say a prayer for us! HUG!

The Good Word

My bible has been with me since early 2000. It was given to me by my friend Heather when I was slowly finding my way toward a life with Christ. I was afraid of it at first - treated it with almost too much reverence. I was so very careful with it that I...uh...kind of forgot to read it. Forgot to consult and rely on it. No longer! For the past six or seven years it has been used and abused - written in, written on, and tears have stained the pages. I have post-it flags on key passages (a lot of them in Psalms) I write dates on verses that particularly impact me and even write down what was going on in my life at a certain time. I slip notes with prayer requests for my friends between the pages and find myself reading it too long on some mornings that I put us all behind in the "getting ready" routine. Thank you Heather for giving me the best gift - as I often say, you followed me to Topeka to lead me to Christ!

Goodness!

I am way behind in my blogging. I've composed several posts in my head but something always seems to distract me...you know, things like Facebook, playing Nintendo, laundry, life! We leave on Jan. 21 for Disney and I hope to have a decent blog post up before then! Stay tuned!

Deja Vu

It was like a step back in time, "Funky Town" on the PA system, carpeted seating areas and a young girl in white skates with POM POMs tied to the laces! Yesterday I took Kyle roller skating and it was awesome! It really hasn't changed much since I was a kid, except now there are speed skates and roller blades mixed in with the quads. They still do the hokey pokey, the limbo, the chicken dance and speed races. The concession stand is filled with all the usuals - including the giant pickles I just love!

Kyle had been skating once over the summer on a camp field trip, but I had never taken him before so I was a bit doubtful about his promises of being a speed skater...well, as it turns out he is a speed skater - on the carpeted areas! I noticed right away that he was really skating, not just clomping around like a lot of the other kids so I was anxious to get him into the rink. I learned to walk, then I learned to skate. My dad was a competitive roller skater in his youth (though you wouldn't know it to see him now!) so my brother and I were on skates as toddlers - it was one of the few things that came easy to me. I took Kyle around the rink a few times and although he lost his footing a lot I could see it wasn't going to take much for him to "get it" - all it really took was a friend showing up who was a tiny bit better than Kyle and loved being on the rink - that was it...Mr. Competitive was on his way! I was thrilled!

Of course today we're both sore and Kyle took quite a tumble toward the end - even hitting his head, but he's ready to go again and for $6 for the two of us (including skates!) it's bargain exercise on a rainy post-Christmas weekend!

On another note - today Kyle made the long walk down the aisle at church to profess his faith and accept Jesus as his savior! During the service he had drawn a picture that said, "Thank you Jesus...for all you've done for us" Amen to that little man, Amen to that!