Not by Chance Journal Entry

About 2 years ago I read the story in Joshua of how God had delivered the Irealites into the promised land by leading them through the Jordan river (this is the second time God had parted water for His people) After they go on dry land, God commanded that each leader from the 12 tribes return into the dry bed of the river and carry out a stone to set up as a monument of rememberence of God's active participation in their lives. Each time they would look at the stones they would remember God's faithfulness. The point made during this study was that "God acts on what He remembers. So do we" Since then I have started keeping a "Not by chance" journal so that I could look back (if I depend on my memory, it's only good for about 2 days) on all the ways that God has actively participated in my life in a way that was very apparent to me. My faith could continually be strengthened as I remember God.

Some like to attribute life's circumstances to luck, but to quote my very wise father..."There's no such thing as luck".

I am not a worrier by nature. I think that is one of the gifts that God has given me is that I really don't worry about much of anything...not about my husband's fickle job, my children's propensity to harm themselves, the weirdo that may live down the street...so when my children were loading up in Granna's car for a weekend at the river and my gut feeling was worry...I paid attention. I just had a bad feeling...but I don't get bad feelings...so I began to pray...and God whispered "I did not give you a spirit of fear"...so I prayed until the fear went away...

Mom called about an hour into the trip and told me that after I had mentioned my "bad feeling about this trip" she began to think of all the possible things that might cause problems along the way. She remembered a slow leak in one of her tires and pulled over to check it. Sure enough, the tire was "extremely low". Ohh! Thank you God for your mercy.

...and another stone was added to my wall of rememberence...

REALLY?? Really!

Tatum's mega-whipped out, every second, throw up on my shoe, PHOBIA... is fire alarms. Just to write the word sends him into pre-hysterical panic.
It all started when he was about 3 years old and a wooden screen fell on him, splitting his head open, sending us to the ER. While we were waiting to be admitted, the fire alarm sounded, sending us outside, in the very chilling weather, like a couple of homeless people, to wait out the duration in the doorway. Fast forward 4 years. Trying to make up for the extra grumpy mood I have subjected my captive children to, I take Tatum and Emma to the high school play, Cinderella. We are having a great time...Tatum is laughing and pointing and smiling the whole time. Now comes the crescendo of the first act... when Cinderella appears... transformed by her fairy god-mother... complete with strobe lighting, smoke, and ....a fire alarm? Without a moments notice, my son's eyes loose focus and become wild as he screams "FIRE ALARM!!!! EVERYONE OUT!!!" and runs from the auditorium, arms swinging wildly above him as he makes a desperate sprint for the back door. He is the first one out because everyone is still sitting in their seats, dazed and confused, watching this crazy child hurl himself up the aisle and out the back door. Of course, Emma and I are the 2nd and 3rd ones out and Emma is so frightened by the scene that she is crying uncontrollably. I am trying to hold it together myself.

Now I ask, how many people have actually been in a building when a fire alarm has gone off? What are the chances that not only have I been privy to TWO but they have BOTH been with the only person in the world that I know who is Terrified by them! Really? What are the odds?!

post script: Yes, Mrs Wilson, I do need to use that many exclamation marks because YES I AM SCREAMING at my audience!

Jesus has Special Spit

After hearing the story of how Jesus healed the blind man by spitting in the dirt and rubbing mud on his eyes, Emma summerized the story by adding..."Jesus has special spit".

Bus 102

Tatum never asks for anything...ever...not at the store, not for Christmas, not in the checkout line, not at birthday parties...never. And this is a problem when it comes to buying gifts for him because you never know what he will latch onto and what he won't even give a second glance. But lately his fettish is buses....big yellow school buses to be exact. So when I spotted this one at Academy, I ripped it off the shelf and shoved it down into the basket. The problem was that Tatum was shopping with me that day and my stealth moves were no match for his x-ray bus vision eyes. I should have known he would have sensed the color yellow and immediately picked up on the scent. "There is a bus near...small...almost toy size...working door and wheels...I'm zeroing in on it...wait for it...wait for it...BAM...shopping basket...3oclock!" Okay, so I was busted. No big deal, I would just let him hold it while we were in the store repeating the mantra, "you can play with the bus while we are in the store but we are leaving the bus here when we leave, okay?" Tatum, in a far away voice and without eye contact..."okay Mom..." When we get to the check out line Tatum begins to wail..."Please Mom can we buy it...Please...I really want it...don't make me put it back...Please can I take it home!!!!" Wow! I've never seen that from him before....so, softy that I am...I trick him by distracting him with a soda and doing the old grab and stuff into a shopping bag while telling him that I'm just giving the bus to the nice checker so he can put it away for us. Tatum is crushed and mopes all the way home. Fast forward, Christmas morning...SUPRISE! And Tatum and yellow bus lived happily ever after.

Impromptu snugglefest

This is the sight that greeted and made me smile today...

Multifunctional

I guess straws by themselves are not much fun anymore. Especially when you can wear AND drink your food at the same time. Needless to say, these are a one time use item. How in the world would you get those things clean?!

13 years ago today...

...My how we've changed...from 2 individuals to 1 unit; from spending in secret to budgeting together; from dinner and a movie to pizza and a rental; from romance to flannel pajamas, from sleeping in to sleeping little, from 600 sq feet and a dog to 3 bedrooms, 3 children, and 2 dogs; from dreaming about the future to watching our children dream; from Beep & Jase to Mommy and Daddy; from loving to liking to putting up with and back to liking and loving even more; from fighting dirty to fighting fair; from red sports car with bucket seats to mom mobile with carseats; from infatuation to deep love and respect; from now until forever; my one true love, the man of my dreams, the father of my children, the one I will grow old with, the one I can depend on for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer. Here's to forever...