Tongue Tied

Author's note: This post was inspired by the documentary "Lord, Save Us From Your Followers". I highly recommend it. I'm a person who likes to debate. Actually, "like" might not be the right word. I don't really enjoy debates, and yet I often find myself participating in them. I feel urges to be heard, to be right, to let my opinion be known. In other words, be totally annoying. Part of this is personality. I'm strong willed. Part of it is sin. I'm prideful. Part of it is inherited. Have you seen some of my Dad's facebook statuses? Debate has become a huge part of American life. No matter what the issue, this country is pretty much split down the middle. Healthcare. Economics. Foreign Policy. Gay rights. Abortion. Education. You name it, we've all got an opinion on it. Liberals blame everything on conservatives. Conservatives blame everything on liberals. Politics in this nation has literally severed relationships, sometimes before they ...

So...the new member of our family is not flesh and blood, but it's very welcome nonetheless. A few months ago, my dear Gramma passed away, as you know. Being the kind of grandma that likes to spoil, she left each of her grandkids a portion of her and Grampa's inheritance. I've mentioned before the financial hardship we have endured the last few years. I am so so so blessed to be able to say that things are improving. It wouldn't have been possible if not for the generous help we received along the way. We are so grateful for the kindness and prayers of our friends and total strangers alike. God has provided when we were sure the mess was too great. NOTHING is too big for our God to handle! I'm also grateful for my hardworking husband. Without his incredible work ethic, things might have never gotten better. I am beyond proud of him. Anyway, when my aunt sent me the check from Grandma about a week after her funeral, I sat on my couch and wept. To say there is a ho...

So it's been a few days since I blogged. If I let this go, it will turn into months before I post another thought. So this post is entirely my attempt to simply keep my feet in the blogging pool. I told you I had a short attention span. Things around here are pretty busy. The Hubs is playing the bass for an area school's production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown", so he's been gone most evenings for rehearsals. That's sort of a drag, but the silver lining is that Thing One discovered the practice cd and we have been enjoying (enduring?) every song every time we get in the van. He is way stoked about this play. "I can't wait to see this in action." His favorite song is "My New Philosophy." Thing Two's is "Little Known Facts" because he loves to holler "Oh, goo gweef!" with Charlie Brown. When I told Thing One that his Daddy played Snoopy in highschool his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Some kids mig...

Thing Two is far too cheery in the morning. He comes to my room bright and early. Climbs up on my bed and starts being cute. Making faces to his poor, half asleep mother. Who only has enough energy to reach for her cell phone to take pictures. This one showcases his bed-head comb over. It doesn't bother him that everyone else is still asleep. Because, for Thing Two, the day starts the moment sunlight touches the house. He's no child of mine. This was in response to me saying "Make the face." He's sorting through his mental Rolodex of faces. Then he decides to scamper into the living room. Leaving me no choice but to heave my sorry self out of bed and follow. Because I have a desperate need to capture "the face". And he has a desperate need to make it difficult for me. Then Thing One awakes. Not so bright and cheery. This is my son. Thing Two comforts the newly awakened. A smile! This early in the day! Finally, a clear shot of "the...

I'm a rational person. I wouldn't characterize myself as flighty, bubbly, or overflowing with optimism. I lean toward pessimism, realism, sternness and stubbornness. But, doggone it, I'm still a woman. And as every woman knows, especially a woman who has borne a child before, holding a newborn that is not your own is dangerous. My sister just had a baby. And when I say "had", I mean "suffered to get". There was very little that was positive about the events leading to the baby, other than the pregnancy test. There was horrible "morning" sickness (which would better be described as breathing sickness). There was heartburn from the fiery pits of darkness. There was high blood pressure which led to swelling like an oompa loompa. There were debilitating migraines that led to hospitalization. There were constant remarks the likes of "You sure there's only one in there?" Then there was the actual delivery, which entailed 17 hours of gr...