Love.  Love is a many splendored thing.  Love makes the world go round.  Love covers a multitude of sins.  Love is complicated. Love your enemies.  I  NYC     Love is everywhere you look, t-shirts, mugs, calendars, bumper stickers, tattoos,  billboards, jumbotrons in sporting arenas… you can’t go anywhere without seeing the word or a heart in place of the word. 

We all know there is more than one kind of love.  I love my husband in a whole different way than I love ice cream.  I love my children and I love looking out my window and seeing mountains, but it isn’t the same love.  I could tell you that there is a variety of root words that mean different things, but somehow in English we’ve decided to use only one word for all of those meanings. 

It would not be a lie for me to say I love people.  I often tell people I love them too and I always mean it if I say it.  It would also not be a lie to say there are people I love, but I don’t tell them because I don’t even want a hint of confusion.   Truthfully, that bothers me.  What has happened in our society that we’ve made it creepy for adults to tell young people we love them?  Or that is is not ok for a married person to tell anyone other than a spouse that we love them?   I know there are people out there that are creepy or misguided.  But, I hope that those people are the minority.  Why do we have to carefully choose our words and say something like ”My kid loves your class.  You are a great teacher.”  instead of saying “My kid loves you.  Thanks for being a great teacher.”   We direct the LOVE to a thing so we don’t offend or creep out the person.    That just seems so backward to me.

When I hear of things being misconstrewed  or taken wrong, it makes me sad.  I realize it happnes.  I know it happens probably more often than not.  But still.. something in our society as a whole has broken when our first thought after hearing I LOVE YOU is to jump to the wrong conclusion.   I have seen a saying on a plaque somewhere and maybe even a t-shirt; Live well, Laugh often and Love much.    I want that on my gravestone… only in past tense.  Donna lived well, laughed often and loved much!  For real!  Someone write that down.     I just have to figure out how to say it to those people that might be confused if I did say it to them. So, I’m tring to figure out how to say I love you without saying I love you.   HAHAHA

Have a happy day!

Every album has the “good songs” and the other side.  So, if you read my story bragging on my daughter, here comes the B side.  It’s super funny, but not nearly as holy and amazing as the first story.  Same kid.. different day.

Little sister lost a tooth yesterday.  She said she almost swallowed it but thankfully she didn’t and for that she was glad. She was excited for the tooth fairy to come for a visit.

quiet pondering…………   little sister is thinking.

“So mom, I wonder, is there a poop fairy?  Because if you swollowed your tooth, the tooth fairy obviously couldn’t come get it that night, so a poop fairy would have to wait a day or so and then fly though all the plumbing and pipes and stuff and find the right poop with your tooth in it and dig it out.”

HAHAHAHAHA  a poop fairy!  I’d hate to be the magical being that had to take that job.  When magical jobs are being given out, I assume Easter Bunny, Santa Clause, Tooth Fairy.. those probably go fast.  Sandman, Jack Frost, Leprechauns.. those aren’t terrible.  But the Poop Fairy?!!!   I would be willing to bet there is not a huge pile of applications to go through to get that job. 

What do you think happens to those poor children that swallow a tooth when it falls out?  Is there a poop fairy?

Have a happy day!

Sometimes a mom just has to brag.  People around her have to suffer through the story and then nod and smile like they were listening.  So, fair warning.  I’m about to launch into a mom brag. 

Yesterday I took little sister to a nearby middle school (that happens to be where big sister attends, but that is irrelevant) for an easter egg dig.  DIG!  I have never in my life heard of an Easter egg dig. I had no intention of going there, but our neighborhood HOA egg hunt was not where it was supposed to be, so I took her over to the egg dig.   A church was putting this on as a way to reach out to the area I suppose. 

We got there and they had all sorts of stuff.  A whole lot more than just the egg dig.  There were pony rides, egg toss, bike raffles, rocket launches, bounce houses, hot chocolate and coffee (it was sort of cool and very breezy) and a whole lot of people.   She got to bounce in the bounce house, ride a pony twice and had a cup of hot chocolate. Then it was time for the egg dig.  There were two areas with eggs buried in wood chip/mulch stuff.  One area was for kids 0-2 years old and another area for kids 3-12 years old.  The little kids had 1000 eggs hidden in their pile.  The announcer guy kept calling it playsoft, but it looked like wood chips you would use for landscaping.   The pile for the big kids had 3500 eggs buried.  On the count of three all the kids ran onto that stuff and started digging.  Let me just say, it was a lot longer to find an egg than just spreading them out over a field of grass and racing to pick them up.  I thought the idea of hiding them in playsoft was a really smart idea.   Little sister ended up with 15 eggs.  That was a pretty decent amount considering all the kids there.    She seemed happy with it.  She went and watched a rocket launch (the little hobby kind that all little boys love doing) and then got a balloon sculpture thing.   We left.

NOW.. on the way home, I was asking her about the time we had just spent there.  I asked if she had fun.  She said yes she did.  She thanked me for letting her ride the pony too.  She was quiet for a moment and then said something that just made me so proud.  She said, “Mom, do you remember last Sunday when you were teaching our Bible class and you were talking about how Jesus wants us to love our enemies and that we are supposed to turn the other cheek or give them our shirt?”  “Yes.  I remember that.  Why?”    Then she said, “Well, I was digging for eggs and this boy took two of the eggs out of my basket.  I asked him why he did that and he said he couldn’t find any and he wanted some eggs.  So then I didn’t get mad at him.  I asked him if he wanted another egg, because I just kept thinking about Jesus telling us to give them our shirt when someone takes our cloak.”

I nearly cried!  She was listening, but more than that, she was finding ways in her own life to obey the Lord.  I’ve got a good kid!!!!

Have a happy day

So the lock in on Friday night was super fun.  There were 21 teens there and 4 adults.  We had all sorts of fun.  We played big group games, a few board games, a few video games (well about 3 boys played those) we played some movies and we ate some snacks.  It was good fun.  Several of the kids stayed awake all night long.  At about 4 in the morning they were slap happy and laughed at anything.  My husband called one girl the wrong name.  He called her Brittany but her name is Brianna.  I thought she was going to laugh till she cracked a rib.  She laughed for several minutes straight.  And since it was 4ish in the morning, the rest of us laughed too.   It wasn’t even funny, but there we were, laughing ourselves silly.  Good times.

We played human foosball.  THAT was fun.  I put pieces of tape on the floor and the kids all stood on a piece of tape.  Then we used a pool ball that was the size of a basketball and played.  They had to keep at least one foot on the tape at all times and they could not turn around.  They had to face their goal.  It was so funny!  They loved that game.  It frustrated the kids who play soccer in real life though because they wanted to move.  I will say that teen age legs are significantly more flexible than 40 year old legs and they could stretch and bend in ways that would have sent the adults to the hospital.  

There was a time of Bible study and singing.  They seemed to really like this part.  They don’t get to sing all that often because the regular youth minister is not a singer and doesn’t usually think about incorporating songs into the youth group time.  So we sang with them.  That was excellent.  All in all, a good time was had by everyone.  I might have pictures eventually.

Have a happy day

Tonight I am going to be one of four adults that is hosting a lock in for the teens at church.  This means, about 30 teens, 4 adults and a bunch of junk food will be locked in the church building for the night.  We’ve got games planned and some movies (I don’t know which ones… I’m not in charge of movies) and we’ll have a devotional and sing some songs.  I’m sure there will be very little if any sleep going on.  It should be fun.

Our teens are our future leaders.  As adults more of us need to step up and be involved in their lives.  We need to mentor, guide, set example and just plain old be friends with them.  There are some amazing teens in our world. Let’s all get out there and encourage them and help them.  We’ve got so much potential out there, it would be a shame to see it wasted.  Find a teen and step into their lives. I’m SURE you won’t be sorry. 

Have a happy day!

Yesterday was a lovely day.  But, during the course of the day, hubby read something to me that really bothers me.  Really!  This is a big deal.  It was in the upper 40′s in the morning I’d guess.  Little sister and I went for a walk through the neighborhood and talked and walked. It was really nice.  As we got back to our street a raindrop or two splashed on the sidewalk in front of us.  We timed that nicely.  So we got back home and I found hubby on the computer checking the weather.  First of all, that is not unusual.  He loves weather and weather info and anything relating to weather.  He read the forecast for the day to me.  THEN, I was so confused.  I  didn’t even know what to do. 

He showed me the weather forecast page on the weather channel’s website.  It said for our area there was “100% chance of snow”.   WHAT?!!!  What did that mean?   Is it going to snow or not?  Because the word “chance” implies that it might snow or it might not, but 100% means it is a certain thing.  So how is it even possible to have a 100% chance?!  Either you have a chance or you have 100% certainty, but you can’t have both.  I’m pretty upset about this.  I want to talk to the proper authorities about this forecast, but I don’t know if I need to talk to a mathematician or a grammarian or a forecaster?!   Is this a math problem or a language problem or a forecasting problem?    We got snow.  Quite a lot of it actually.   I’m still boggled by the “100% CHANCE”!   That is just not right.  Maybe I’ll start a petition and send it to a high ranking official at MIT. I hear there are people there that like math and such.    There is a 100% chance I might actually do that.  (or is there?!)

Have a happy day

Parenting is a tricky thing sometimes.  This morning I found myself in one of those parenting moments when I questioned what I should do or NOT do.   As a teacher, I’ve seen many helicoptor parents.  You know, those parents that hover around their children and swoop in to rescue the children if anything might be going on.   I think that in spite of the parents best intentions, helicoptor parenting is not very helpful for raising independant children.   As a general rule, I subscribe more to the philosophy of “let them learn from their mistakes in the safety of our home”.   So, for example, we went to a play the other evening.  I suggested to big sister she might want to have a jacket at least.  She declined because we’d be inside most of the time and she didn’t want to be bothered with a jacket (that would also not go with her outfit  ).   Consequently, she learned that she should have taken a jacket as we had to walk a few blocks in a pretty decent breeze in about 36degree weather.   I didn’t have to worry about her freezing to death, but I knew she’d be cold.  So I let her be cold.  That was an effective lesson. 

This morning, little sister was having all sorts of issues getting herself ready for school.  She is not a morning person at all.  AT ALL!!   So, I’m trying to hurry her along and get her to school on time.  We raced out the door sans coat or jacket (she couldn’t find them and again.. that is a lesson she can learn from experience.  Put your stuff away so you can find it later.)  I no sooner got home and the phone rang.  She forgot to bring her poster she needed to work on today for a group project.  She asked me if I’d bring it to her.  There it is.  Do I take her the poster, thus rescuing her for her forgetfulness but keeping her on track with her homework or do I let her learn responsibility by NOT taking the poster?   ACK!   If she didn’t have the poster, she would fall behind in schoolwork and probably miss recess.  If I take the poster, she will learn that she doesn’t have to be responsible because someone will rescue her.

Part of parenting is knowing your child.  Little sister really struggles with school.  It is not easy for her and she doesn’t enjoy it.  She also needs to move or she shuts down.  Losing recess for her is more than just not getting to play.  It effects her school work the rest of the day.  So, I took her the poster, but not her coat. I knew if she got behind on that project, she would almost certainly just give up and fail.   I also gave her a mini lecture about getting up and getting ready instead of waiting till the very last minute to try to do everything.  Responsibility was mentioned in there somewhere too.    If this had happened to big sister.. I would have said… “Sorry.  I guess tomorrow you will be more careful about remembering your schoolwork.”    Parenting is not a one size fits all, and that makes it even more challenging!

Have a happy day

Lately, I’ve been in the audience for some shows. So now, I will review the shows.  Get out your popcorn and feel free to add an opinion if you want.

Thursday night, the entire family as well as my brother in law and sister in law went to see Cinderella.  This play is a Roger’s and Hammerstein show and thus, filled with fun songs!  Cinderella was a beautiful girl that looked exactly the part.  I was disappointed that she was unable to belt out the songs and be heard throughout the theater.  I was sitting in the very last row of the theater, which happened to be four rows from the stage!  It was a small cozy theater with seating on three sides of the stage.   I could only hear her sing, if no one else was on stage.  She seemed to be afraid of being there.  The prince, the king and the fairy godmother all had voices that rocked the house!  They were amazing, rich, velvety voices that drew you into the story.  I could have listened to them sing for much longer.  The stepsisters were hilarious.  The physical comedy they portrayed rivaled Lucielle Ball.  Every time they were on stage, the audience was laughing.  The prince’s steward was perky.  He was so perky, I wanted to reach out and pinch his cheeks and say……… awwww aren’t you a cute boy.  You’re so perky.   I refrained.   The costumes were stunning!   The costumer deserved some sort of award for the way the cast looked.  Overall I would give this show a 4 out of 5 stars.  Well done cast and crew of Cinderella.

Friday night, the girls and I attended a local high school production of  Oklahoma.   This is also a Roger’s and Hammerstein show.  The music was familiar and lively.  I found myself singing along a few times.  Interestingly enough, in all my years being involved with theatre, I had never seen this show.  I’ve sung most of the songs, but I didn’t know the story.  I was pleasently surprised.   The story was entertaining, and releveant even still.  The main character, Curly, was played by a young man we know from the theatre troupe my girls are involved with.  He was completely amazing to watch.  He sang and danced and acted miles above what you would expect from a senior in high school.  He had the accent and the sweet sincerity to pull of the character.  AND the most impressive part of all was that he did this while he was sick.  There were a few blunders on stage, but honestly, the cast covered them SO well, you really didn’t know there was a problem.  Well except when the gun wouldn’t shoot and someone had to make up a line to cover for a non working gun.  Still, the entire cast did an amazing job.  It was really fun to watch this show with my girls.  They had a blast.  Overall, I would give this show a 5 out of 5 stars.  Fantastic!!!

Tonight, we are going to see a show at the school the girls used to attend.  This is an original show that has never been done before.  I can tell you that it is called Mr. Nosey and it is a murder mystery where the only eye witness is a dog.   I imagine it will be great fun. 

Pass the popcorn and have a happy day!

Today, I pulled a question from the jar and now I will answer it.  Extemporized right before your very eyes. 

Question:  What would you do if you wanted to be friends with someone who spoke no English?

Answer:  Spoken language is only one way to communicate.  There is the universal smile, music, laughter and hugs.  You can start out with what you’ve got and learn new ways as you go.  Ok, that sounds a little generic, so I will attempt to be more specific.  I’ll imagine a scene and go from there.

If I happend to meet someone on a bus while I was riding into work, I’d start with a smile and attempt to have a conversation.  Then I would discover that this other person didn’t speak English.  I would still talk to them anyway.  I might say a word they  know, like ‘thank you’.   That would be able to communicate that I was glad for something they had done.  YAY!  Then I would look for the person each time I rode that bus.  Say hello, share a seat, maybe even share some food such as a muffin or a cup of hot chocolate that I would bring for them.  I would find out what language they spoke and see if I knew any words in their language.  Wait.. back up.  First I would learn their name.  The sweetest word you will ever hear is someone saying your name.   Think about that.  It’s true.  Names are powerful words.  When they are spoken, they are so sweet.  When they are yelled, it invokes fear or anger.  So, I would learn the most powerful word I could an speak it to them often.   

So now that I know their name and the fact that they like blueberry muffins and hot chocolate, I would move on to try to communicate more.  Bring that person to a concert.  Music can be understood by anyone.  Find ways to DO things together and learn from each other.  Eventually, one of us is going to learn enough words in the other person’s language to talk to each other.  While we are learning that, we can still grow a friendship.    I think it would be fun to try. 

Have a happy day!

Maybe some of you have heard, and maybe some of you have not.  There was a shooting yesterday at a middle school here.  Two 14 year old kids were shot.  One is in critical condition at children’s hospital, the other one has been treated and released.  The suspect is in custody.  A teacher tackled the shooter and other teachers rushed over to take the gun and hold him down till police got there. The school was just getting out.  Several students were on a bus to go home and others were coming out of the building as it happened.  The students left inside the building were eventually let out by the police as they went room to room.  I saw on TV these children running from their school, across the street and down the block, through a gauntlet of police officers to the elementary school gym so their parents could pick them up.  There were no fatalities.  This school is about three miles from Columbine High school.  Because of the things schools and emergency personal learned at Columbine, this had a very different outcome. 

In the newspaper this morning there were several articles about this event.  In one of the articles, a 13 year old boy  had called his mom and said this… “Don’t come for me.  There’s been a shooting.  I’m in a lady’s car.”   That was all he said.  He didn’t say he dropped his violin and jumped into a strangers car.  There was just something about that quote that got to me.  He let his mom know something happened, he was safe and he wanted her to be safe too.  I am willing to bet she came to get him anyway.   I’m not going to lie.  I cried.   He is 13!  Maybe because I have my own 13 year old this just really struck me hard.  Maybe because I know a whole lot of middle school kids. Maybe because my 10 year old is named after a girl that died at Columbine.  Maybe just the senseless act of targeting children. 

Our children are a precious gift.  They are ours to love and train and eventually launch out on their own.  We need to love them every day.  Even those days when they behave like rascals and get on ever last nerve.  Love them, protect them and teach them.  BUT… don’t keep them sheltered.  

Part of living in this world is knowing that it is a broken world.  There are bad things that are out there and some bad people.  That is why we need to train them.  Staying away from all the bad is impossible.   I was reminded this morning as I was driving home from the grocery store of a verse in the Bible.  It says.. “God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.”  I remind myself that my children have THREE parents.  Me, their dad and God.  And of the three.. God can protect them the best.  So, I do not fear sending my kids to school.  Someting terrible might happen, yes, but something good might happen too.   I’m counting on the training and love to hold up if the bad does happen.

The community around Deer Creek Middle school is going to need a lot of prayers.  MANY students saw the entire shooting.  MANY knew the kids that were shot.  There is just going to be some nerves and tension for awhile. Please pray for all the staff, students and families that are affected by this needless shooting!

Hug your kids and have a happy day!  Life is precious