Today my son took a ride on a shopping cart- solo!

Today was one of those days when I could have sworn I was still dreaming- I mean this really didn't happen, right!?! You see, my husband was off of work so we all decided to go to a bookstore and get calendars for next year. Of course, it is just three days before Christmas and that means that the bookstore was packed. Yah, all of Augusta was there to see it! I was actually thinking how well my children were behaved during this trip (why can't I learn not to think these thoughts???). Ok, they were behaved but my son sitting under the basket of the cart singing Christmas carols may have attracted a little attention even before the actual event. We were just about done and waiting in the checkout line. I put the books and calendars on the counter and made my first mistake- I let go of the cart. As I mentioned, my son was sitting under the basket with his feet touching the floor; this would not have been a problem if his feet weren't still moving! Yeah, you are starting to get the picture. My son is actually propelling himself and the cart towards the wall. Now this wall had a huge framed picture (honestly like 3 feet wide and 8 feet high) propped up against it. I calmly say "Son, I wouldn't do that if I were you", and he continues to move. My son continued to propel himself forward gaining speed and then he lifts his feet (or would be brakes) off of the floor- for a ride, of course. At that point I begin wondering what is he doing???? Then I yell (OK, I admit yelling may have alerted the last two people in the store not already watching us that something was wrong) "Put your feet down!!!". I registered several things at the same time: 1) that picture is not attached to the wall but propped up against it (why, oh, why didn't they hang it?), 2) my son is headed straight for the picture and 3) he has no intention of stopping! I am in the process of paying but quickly drop my credit card and run, yes run, after him as he drives straight into the picture. By the grace of God, he stops himself with a mere bump of the picture and I think all is well- until I turn around. That was when I noticed that all 30 people in line were watching me. I had no idea that 30+ pairs of eyes were on me until everyone started to laugh and then we heard the comments. The comments were fine until we heard that dreaded comment "Hey Bill, good to see you again; was that YOUR son?". Oh yes, someone who my husband works with was in the other line and saw the entire thing. At these times you can either laugh or cry- I did both. I was laughing so hard that I started to cry. I couldn't even pay the cashier because of the tears in my eyes. I did recover enough to pay him and walk out of the store with my head held high- or at least I tried. My son took me by surprise today but I am so thankful that nothing takes God by surprise. We may not be expecting job problems, difficulties with our kids, a friend moving but God has already planned out how He will take care of us. Thank goodness because I have a feeling there will be many more blogs like this and I know God won't be surprised next time my son take a cart for a ride.

Today my lab ate my Christmas present.

Today I learned one thing my husband got me for Christmas. You see, I walked downstairs and looked at my beagle, Pete, and he looked about as guilty as I have ever seen him. Then I saw my lab, Sammy, and he actually looked triumphant (the audacity of a dog). From past history (see blog archive "Today my dogs ate my daughter's guinea pigs"), I knew something was up but I had no idea what they had actually accomplished. I quickly tried to remember if I left the pantry door open or a box of cereal on the kitchen table but everything seemed to be in place. What had they done? Then I spotted it, under the Christmas tree. Not only had the dogs (most likely my lab) torn the wrapping paper off of the present, they also went on to remove the tissue paper the sales associate wrapped around the present for my husband. There laying on the floor was a Yankee Candle, lid off and everything. I carefully inspected it expecting to find teeth marks in the wax and there was nothing! Apparently, the smell was too much for my lab to ignore but in the end he was disappointed to find out that it really wasn't worth the effort. That made me think of all of the temptations I face everyday and wonder how hard I work to get what I want (even if it isn't what God wants) only to find out that God's way was best all along. So often, those things that I put so much effort into accomplishing didn't meet my expectation. On a side note, I emailed Yankee candles telling them about the alluring scent of their candles along with a picture of the destruction I found. I am happy to say that they also found humor in my situation and responded with the following email. "Dear Bev, Thank you for your wonderful email and picture. We all enjoyed it. We are very happy you and your furbabies enjoy our fragrances." Hopefully, it won't take an over eager lab for you to see what things are worth putting your time into today!

Today I am hoping you laugh with us.

The picture I am posting today was from our third Christmas together in 2000. The caption under my husband reads "Ho, Ho, Ho, She's having a baby", my caption reads "Ho, Ho, Ho, I'm having a baby", our labs caption is "Ho, Ho, Ho, here comes the baby" and our poor beagle's caption says "Huh? Huh? Huh? baby, what baby?" My daughter was born just a few days after Christmas and as every first time parent knows- nothing was the same. Do you see the look of ignorance on our faces? Yeah, that was the last picture we have of me looking so well rested. Enjoy the look of utter ignorance on our faces and then laugh with us knowing what we experienced after we felt the full impact of having a new baby in the house. Oh, I know you can relate. But it is worth it, isn't it?

Today I had a lizard in my house!

Very early this morning, and I mean very early (like just one cup of coffee early), I spotted a lizard on my family room floor. Now when you live in Georgia occasionally you will get a lizard in your house. My husband's grandmother once called 911 to report a lizard in her house. The dispatcher said "mam, a lizard won't hurt you" and his grandmother replied "yes, but they sure can make me hurt myself". This memory was going through my head as I watch the lizard slide away and I couldn't help but agree with her. I told my daughter to get my 4 year old son who loves worms and frogs and anything that belongs outside. He came running downstairs eager to help and found me standing on an upside down dog bowl. I explained to him that the lizard was trapped under the bowl and he needed to grab it and throw it outside. He said "no"! What??? I tried another approach; I slid a magazine under the dog bowl to trap the lizard and then I would throw everything outside. This method appeared to be working pretty well and I actually had the thought "this is too easy". Why, oh why can't I control my thoughts? The next thing you know the lizard escaped and I let out a blood curdling scream. This was a great scream- I didn't know I had it in me! I mean this scream would have made it to the movies! What was the result of this impressive shriek? Well, my brave son, my son who can catch a frog in mid leap, ran up the stairs and hid in his room. This just happened to be the one day that my husband had left early for work. I knew it was up to me. I did the only thing a mom could do and grabbed the dust mop. I then hustled the lizard to the open door and as I was doing this I realized that it was a baby lizard. Not just a tiny lizard but one that was moving slowly. It's color was bad and you could tell that he had been in the house for a long time (I tried to ignore this thought). He was thirsty, hungry and scared. Then I wondered how many times have I been caught in a house that I shouldn't be in? A house full of envy, anger or bitterness. How many times has God gently corralled me to a place of safety. I know there are many time I have fought His leading and I hope that next time I will pay more attention so He won't have to let out an earth shattering scream!

Today I am celebrating Christmas early.

Each year my family likes to have a little fun with Christmas pictures. We don't tend to send out the traditional family picture but we do like to show a little bit of our personalities in our pictures. I have decided to post some of our old Christmas pictures on this blog for everyone to enjoy. This picture was from 2006.

Today I went green.

This seems to be green week and I have decided to join in. Now in the interest in full disclosure, I must admit that this green thought wasn't my idea. No, it wasn't some idea Al Gore came up with on the same day he invented the Internet either; this idea came from a friend of mine who has given me great sanity. Today I used a source of energy that will never run low. This source has no greenhouse emissions, no carbon footprint and will not run out in the year 2049 leaving us on empty. This source of power is something so unique that it will never change and is completely renewable. What is this power that is so dependant? God. What??? People who really know God, know His secret. Our source of power is renewed every day and will never run out. People who don't know this secret gain their sense of power, value from things that do change. You see, people who don't understand God often wake up each morning and take stock of their lives to see where their value in the world is each day. Am I pretty, do I have enough friend, are my children smart enough, popular enough, is my house big enough, does my husband have the right job? All of these questions lead to comparison to determine one's value. Think about it, what better way to stack the comparison in one's favor than to put someone else down? Unfortunately, these things change. God does not change. People who don't know this secret usually evaluate their worth daily based on things that are not renewable- things that get used up. Where is your power, your value coming from today? Are you taking strength from His love that will never run out or are you evaluating your power level from something that will be destroyed? Where moth and rust does not corrupt...lay up your treasures in heaven, Matthew 6.

Today my dogs ate my daughter's guinea pig.

You see, it all started when I decided that the dogs needed a bath. It is too cold now to wash the dogs outside (yes, even in Georgia) and my neighbor said she puts her dog in the shower. I thought I would do the same because it wouldn't be too hard to clean up the mess. One thing I forgot, my neighbor has a detachable shower head to spray the dog with- I do not. After trying to maneuver a large lab and a very (I mean very) overweight beagle under the shower head that didn't move, I finally was satisfied with my effort. I congratulated myself by deciding that the dog washing was enough exercise for one day and I could skip my (sometimes) daily workout. All was well, or so I thought. The dogs don't normally come upstairs and when I sent them out of my bathroom I thought that they went back downstairs like good little (OK, not little) dogs. I was wrong. They decided to investigate my daughter's room and there they found guinea pigs and guinea pig food! While I was in my closet I kept hearing a loud squeak. The thought did actually occur to me "huh, that sounds like a guinea pig" but then I dismissed the sound as "but our guinea pigs aren't that loud". Not so smart. I heard the squeaking again and called to my son to find out that it wasn't him. I heard it again and by then decided I should run to find out what was wrong. I expected to see my lab eye to eye with two frightened guinea pigs but it was much worse. My dogs had tipped over the cage and our little Snowy was screeching as our lab stood over her. Of course, you have guessed by now that she didn't die since she was squeaking but she did look worse for the wear. I grabbed her up and tried to comfort her as best I could. She was all wet; I'm not sure if it was dog slobber or water left from the dog shower but she was scared. I put her in her hiding spot and then searched for the other guinea pig. She was perfectly fine hiding under my daughter's desk. As I was cleaning up the gigantic mess, I began to think about what had happened. Snowy has not been the easiest guinea pig. She is more timid than others and has needed a lot of time spent with her. I have been the one to spend that time with her and I have found that effort satisfying when I see the progress she has made. Snowy was just beginning to trust me but one curious dog may change all of that. All of the time and effort I put into her may be for nothing now. I asked God what he wanted me to understand from this and the thought came to me that we might do the same thing to other Christians. We don't know what is going on in another person's life. God may be teaching them to trust Him again, maybe He is helping them to become the person He created them to be. How easy is it for us to be just a little too curious (gossip, judgemental, critical) and have a negative impact on them. I know I have been that big bad lab before. God still loves me just like I still love my lab but hopefully next time I will be a little more gentle and help encourage trust not scare it away.

Today I thought I lost my son.

Don't worry, I didn't loose him but I am a little embarrassed to tell you how I thought I lost him. You see, I have been quite busy lately with many little things on my mind. It appears that many little thoughts (like "maybe I should have filled up with gas yesterday since my gas gauge has never registered so low... or I wonder how long it will take for our Jack-o-lantern to decompose on our front porch") all add up to one huge distraction. As I was hurrying my son into the car on the way to preschool, I absently agreed to his request to sit in the extra booster seat in the very back of the minivan. This seat isn't usually there and he doesn't usually sit in it. I drove quickly to school and DID observe the cop on the way without any problem. The problem arose when I opened the sliding door to get him out and screamed because my son was not in his seat. Yes, there were other mothers around when this happened. No, I did not explain to them why I screamed. My heart stopped and then started again when I saw him in the extra booster seat in the back of the van- sitting quietly for the first time in his life. I actually forgot in a two minute drive that I let him sit there! I laughed out loud and then my son asked what was so funny- he didn't understand. I am guessing that it is time I take the verses to heart that say we don't need to worry about tomorrow (or those little thoughts that add up quickly) because God really will go ahead of us and take care of all of those things even the little ones. So please, don't loose your child today.

Today I experienced a high speed chase.

OK, I said I would be honest- it wasn't high speed but I really did chase someone. You see, earlier this morning as I was coming home from dropping my son off at preschool, I stopped to talk to a friend who was walking in the neighborhood. As we were talking, a man drove by who frequents the street much more than other people. We both had noticed him over the last few weeks and assessed his behavior as strange but didn't think too much of it. A few hours later, my neighbor and I were going to lunch and as we were leaving my driveway the very same car I had just talked about this morning drove past us. We decided to follow the man to make sure he lived in our neighborhood. The chase was on! We followed him around several loops in our subdivision and once he even eluded us. We spotted him a minute later hiding in a cul-de-sac (we knew he didn't live there). Now I am not sure why a man would be afraid of two youngish women riding in a minivan but he was certainly acting guilty. To cut to the chase (pun intended), we did later learn that he lived in the area. While I am still wondering why this man would be afraid of ME, I can say that the time I spent with my neighbor was encouraging. The Bible tells us that we do need to spend time with other people (where two are walking, when one falls down the other is there to help...). I know how busy we all are, and how sometimes we don't feel like making the effort to socialize. After all, we can do just about anything in this world without ever talking to another person (self-checkouts, getting our drivers license on-line...). Take the time, put in the effort and go out for lunch with a friend. You may be able to encourage your friend or you may even get some encouragement yourself. Go ahead, go on a high speed chase today.

Today I noticed a lot of people watching me.

I took a trip to Walmart this morning and purchased some soda (Alright, I am a transplanted Yankee to the South so I will translate for you Yanks "POP"). The cashier put the sodas in a bag and put it on top of the bag turn thingy. You see, sometimes I have a tendency to over estimate my abilities. The bag didn't look so heavy but it was. I reached out to grab it and couldn't quite hold it up high enough to get it into my cart. There was a lot of sodas in the bag- OK?! I somehow managed to bang the sodas into the credit card reader consequently swivelling the reader around. That stopped the momentum of my bag but then started me in another direction. For some strange reason, directly behind me was a large pillar with an industrial paper towel holder attached to it. You guess it, I smacked the back of my head into the hard paper towel holder and quickly looked around. The cashier was staring at me with her mouth open in what can only be described as horror and the man in line behind me laugh. But wait there is more; the check out was in front of the photography studio which had no customers. I notice the cashier at the front of the studio gaping at me and then I see her friend sitting in a chair laugh at me also. Go ahead and laugh- I did. Thankfully, the only thing that came out of my mouth was "Oh GOODNESS!!!". Let's be honest, goodness didn't quite describe the anxiety I felt at that moment. However, I didn't take God's name in vain and maybe, just maybe someone wondered why not.

Today I turned 34.

I've decided to write this blog because I have had enough time in life to realize that life is hard but we all must laugh. Today, my birthday, seemed like a good day to start- don't you agree? Being a Christian in America is not easy, trying to live in the world and determine right from wrong without letting other people dictate what truth is, is even harder. In my blog, I plan on writing about trying to be a Christian whose actions follow my words, but I also plan on being honest when I mess up (and believe me- those time will be many). Hopefully, people can relate to what I am saying and have a few laughs along the way.