First Hair Cut

Before

DD got her hair cut last night. This normally wouldn't be big news, but this is the first time in 16 years she has had more than an inch or so taken off for just a trim. She wanted to go to the specific stylist that is making a donation for each hair cut to the the Jamaica mission trip she and her brother are going on in a few months, and I think she has found her permanent stylist! You can tell by the back view what a difference the cut made, and it has turned her from looking like a preteen (people couldn't believe she was in high school, much less driving!) to very much a young woman. *sigh* My baby is growing up.....

15-16 inches later....

My Current Dilemma

Every year our church holds a Mother-Daughter banquet, and while the men do the cooking and cleanup, the some of the ladies do the decorating of the tablets. The woman in charge does an excellent job every year of coming up with themes and then carrying that theme through the whole evening. Those of us who "do" a table are requested to come up with a centerpiece that is auctioned off to help cover the cost of the banquet and a small favor for each place setting. Last year the table was to reflect your talent - I did a dozen Christmas ornaments attached to grapevine trees and a small ornament as the favor. One year I did a cake (no favor needed).

This is year we are to do something from the kitchen; the exact name of the theme escapes me at the moment. My first inclination was to do quick breads, specifically banana, strawberry, chocolate chip, poppy seed and lemon breads as the centerpiece with small individual loaves as the favor. The problem? My oven is not the most reliable. The thermostat is off by approximately 25 degrees one way or the other once you get past 325. I am going to attempt the banana and strawberry breads this weekend as a trial run using an oven thermometer and see how that goes.

If it doesn't work out, I need option B. So I've been thinking of something from the kitchen that doesn't require baking. One thought was a basket of mixes - brownie mix, cornbread mix, soup mix, etc., with a cake-in-a-mug mix for the favor. Very easy and simple to do. My other thought was to do a pizza garden - the centerpiece would be a pot with a tomato plant and basil and oregano planted in it, with perhaps an apron, hot pads and a pizza dough mix. Favors could be mini pots of basil - even if you don't cook with it, it is supposed to ward off flies. I'm thinking that would be very different from what everyone else might be doing, and I have plans to do one for myself anyhow, but it might get a little expensive mainly with the pots. (And seeds - have you seen seed prices lately??? I looked in Wal-Mart last night and nearly fell over. $1.87 for a packet of basil seeds? Seriously? We had better have a lot of pizza this year! haha) With the herbs, I would probably need to get those started NOW to have them even popping out of the soil in 2 weeks or else buy already-established plants, which I would probably do for the large centerpiece pot. Or decide on a different favor - a potholder or mini whisk maybe? Anyhow, this weekend will be full of baking, although I do not have high hopes of reliable success. Can you tell what I'm leaning toward? Is it something anyone but me would even want? Wish me luck!

Busy Week Ahead

This has got to be one of the busiest weeks we have had since Vacation Bible School last summer, and I don't think life in general is going to slow down any time soon! This is what we have on the schedule this week: Monday - deliver the last of the candy eggs that the youth at church sold in their fundraiser, I have an appointment to update my will at the attorney's office at 4:30 and DD has to be at the high school to serve dinner for the honor society at 5:15. I also cannot forget to go to the bank to pick up my old will from the lock box on my way to taking DD to her grandpa's so he can get her to the high school since I'm not sure I will be done at the attorney's in time to take her. I'm also planning on doing some grocery shopping, although most like just an "absolute necessities trip" since I have only a partial list and no menu plan done yet. Tuesday - the kids have a history day at the American Legion not far from here instead of a regular day at school. I've adjusted my work schedule since they don't have to be there until 9 AM, not out the door at 7 AM as usual. If it is raining, I will need to drive them; otherwise, it is close enough that they can walk. And we can't forget to pack a lunch. Which I probably will. At 6 PM, DS and I have a welcome dinner for his acceptance into the local JVS for the next 2 years. Wednesday or Thursday - Experience the Cross at church. This is a walk through the last week of Jesus' life. I'd like to go Wednesday because of my Thursday schedule, but actually Maundy Thursday would be more appropriate. Thursday - Bible Study Fellowship in the morning, which pushes my work schedule back as usual. We'll go to Experience the Cross tonight if we didn't make it Wednesday. Friday - No school but we will attend the Good Friday service in the evening. Sunday - Easter! We have to be at church at 8:45 for DS to practice for the skit he is in, in both services. DD and I are attending the first service and doing childcare in the toddler nursery for the second service. Once we get home, we have nowhere else to go - Grandpa is attending a family party (that once again, the kids aren't invited to, but that's not for this post!) - so we won't be going there for Sunday night pizza, and my Beth Moore Bible study will not be held this evening. I have a huge nap scheduled for this afternoon! Sometime this week, I need to do laundry, catch up on my Bible reading and Bible studies, catch up on cutting coupons, make a better grocery list and menu plan, pay the bills, go through my piles of paperwork to make sure I'm not missing something, decide for 100% sure what I'm doing for the Mother-Daughter banquet on May 7 and inventory what I have for the kids' Easter baskets. I know I need to stop by the local candy-maker and get chocolate crosses for their baskets and I need to get a wallet for DS, but I think that's all I need. It's easy to get overwhelmed when I think of everything that needs to be done in addition to work and the usual daily activities. I just need to remember to pray that I get done what God wants me to get done and not worry about the rest. If I let Him prioritize my day and pay attention to what He's telling me to get done, all will be good. :-)

Stretching Their Wings

Yesterday we applied for passports for the kids. They are both going on a mission trip to Jamaica this summer with our church and will be gone 10 days. I'm proud of them for both wanting to go and help and being so enthusiastic about it, but I'm a little anxious, too! The longest we have been apart has been 6 or 7 days, and that was way back in grade school. DS was enthusiastic without question right away, but DD was undecided for a few days about going. She wanted to be sure she was going for the right reasons, which I have no doubt she is. But while we were talking about it, I told her I needed to have my priorities for this trip as much as she did. It would be very easy for me to say, no, you can't go - too much money involved, too far and too long to be away from me, going to a foreign country at a young age, etc. - but I told her I knew that it was a good thing for her and her brother to do. It will be a good thing for them to be the hands and feet for Christ, first and foremost. It will be a good thing for them to experience a different culture while under the supervision of godly and trustworthy adults. It will be a good thing for her to have to eat something other than pasta and Cheerios every day! And it will be a good thing for both of them to start to learn to live, even a few days, away from home. As for me, I'm trying to get a few ideas of what I could do while they are gone. I will be working, of course, but I will have at least 1 full weekend and possibly part of another to fill. I already have a short list of home and away ideas, so I think I will get through it. haha I just don't really like being home by myself overnight alone. I told my one friend I may be "borrowing" her dog for the 10 days the kids are gone! haha The other issue that concerns me, of course, is finances. It's approximately $1500 per child to go. That doesn't include work clothes from Salvation Army or Goodwill, a lightweight bed roll or passports. I've prayed that if this trip is God's will for the kids, He will provide the funds for them to go. The first confirmation of that came yesterday when the kids' dad paid for the application fee for the passports. I had to pay for the passports themselves, but I hadn't considered at all that he would volunteer to pay for anything, so that was a definite blessing! And I'm sure there will be more confirmations to come. As an aside, yes, their dad was with us to apply for the passports. I wasn't 100% sure if he needed to be there or not. One spot on the government site said both parents had to be there in person if the applicant was a minor without specifying an age, another spot said both parents had to be there only if the applicant was under 16, and another spot said if one parent had sole custody, the other parent did not need to show if there was proof of custody. Kinda confusing so as long as he was being cooperative, I thought it best if he was there. And they did have him sign the forms and took his ID copies and such, so that was good. And the kids seemed to enjoy talking with him, which was very good. They talked about all sorts of things, and it was only when he was talking about doing "12-ounce curls" for upper arm strength and telling the kids that some day they may enjoy beer, that I had to bite my tongue. Other than that, he behaved. :-) He even said he would be making a donation for their trip fund - again, another confirmation. So off they go in a few months. It's time for a short flight from the nest before they leave for good in a few years.

And Yet Another Conversation.....

I have a very strong-willed son. He does not give up until he gets the answer or result that he wants. Which can be a good thing, but it can also try his mother's patience! His focus currently is finding me a new husband. Via internet dating. (insert giggle while rolling eyes!) He hasn't tried to set up a secret profile for me or anything, but it is a topic of conversation at least once a week. He has good intentions. He knows he and his sister will be leaving for college at the same time in about 2-1/2 years and doesn't want me to be alone. But while he also knows that I would like to remarry at some point (in God's timing, which apparently isn't my timing and is the subject of another post at another time!), I'm not too keen on the idea of meeting someone online (or having to pay to do it!). *sigh* It doesn't help that my niece met her current boyfriend (and he looks like he could be "The One") on a dating site and suggested getting me a membership for Christmas! So what's a mom to do? I'm getting tired of repeating my reasons for not being interested in sites like eHarmony or match.com, but he will not give up. You'd think by now, after 16 years, he'd have some idea that his mom is just as strong-willed as he is! haha So I guess if he can keep this up over the next few years, so can I. :-)

Judge Ye Not....

"Judge ye not lest ye be judged".....it's part of a Bible verse (Matthew 7:1) that has been used and misused in so many different ways. Does it mean we are never to judge other people? No. It means that you will be held to the same standards to which you hold others. If I'm talking to my kids and point an unacceptable behavior from them, I had better make sure I'm not doing the exact same thing! But that's not really the point of this post. I have very thin skin in that I take a lot of stuff personally and get my feelings hurt very easily. I try not to, but it happens anyway. I also am my own worst critic. I can say something at 8 AM with the best of intentions, starting thinking about it several hours later and by noon I'm kicking myself because the other person *may* have not taken it how I intended it, been offended by it, how I could have handled the situation better, whatever. I'm not a perfectionist, but I do have high standards by which I hold myself accountable. Too high maybe? In more sane moments :-) , I'm sure 90% of the time, people don't think twice over whatever I'm beating myself up for, or they are judging themselves for their part in the interaction. For example, I post on Facebook and delete those posts an hour later because they could be taken "wrong" or because I shouldn't have joined someone else's thread. But the worst is, I always have felt as though people judge me by my children's actions. Those kids arguing 3 minutes after church service ends Sunday morning before we're even out the sanctuary doors? Yep! They're mine! Good job, Mom! *insert eye rolling emoticon here* That's actually one reason why we left our previous church. Everyone else's kids behaved perfectly and siblings got along like best friends and mine didn't. I felt so guilty that I was doing such a poor job and didn't have the savings available for when my kids would need therapy as adults for their terrible homelife as kids! Thankfully there are more "real" families at our new church home, ones without perfect kids. *sigh* Anyhoo....yesterday I was reading the notes we get each week at Bible study, and there was a statement in there about how Christ died for our sins, AND He died for our guilt. I have no need to feel guilty for every word that comes out of my mouth (not that there couldn't be less of them coming out!) and every action. I don't need to feel guilty for what I perceive other people judging me or for what I judge myself. I DO need to examine my words and deeds and ask the Holy Spirit for conviction when I DO do something that needs repaired, but as an imperfect creature in an imperfect world, I have to understand that will happen occasionally, just not necessarily as often as I think it does! And it's a good thing that when I repent, that God doesn't keep rehashing all my mistakes. He doesn't continue to judge me on that. It's gone - the offense AND the guilt have been wiped away. I would do well to remember that more often. Does this all make sense? I know I'm too sensitive and consider too much about what other people think. I just want to be a good witness for Christ and for my words to honor Him, and I don't want people to judge Christ by my words and/or actions, and I don't want to hurt anyone else's feelings. *sigh again* And you know as soon as I hit "publish post," I'm going to be questioning myself over whether that was a good idea or not...... (and yes, I've already posted and edited!)

April Goals

I know, it's been a while. I've been so distracted lately, it's been all I can do to get work done, much less post anything. Spring fever maybe? Anyhow, I did pretty good in March with my goals, distractions and all. I made my extra payment to Visa, did a savings deposit, read a book, got the storm door down, filled a bag for Goodwill and purged the bathroom cabinets. That distraction thing has interfered with my Bible reading, so I need to get back in that habit again this month. Actually, I have been reading my Bible daily, just not following the Bible-in-a-year plan that I need to be. So here are my goals for April: 1. Catch up and keep up with my reading-the-Bible-in-a-year schedule. 2. Extra payment to Visa. 3. Savings deposit. 4. Read a book. 5. Unfinished project - cut fabric for quilt! 6. Bag to Goodwill. 7. Deep clean of living room (purge stuff, sweep out sofa, clean ceiling fan, etc.)