Philosophical analogies

In the car the other day, Emily said how cold it was outside. Fritz piped up and said, "It's not cold. It's warm like a soft blanket." It was so unexpected and sweet.

Emily then added her revised opinion, "It's warm like a circle."

People are Fragile like Glass

Tonight I finished reading Ten Green Bottles by Vivian Jeanette Kaplan.

An Amazon reviewer said, "...This is a (true) story not to be missed. It is definitely the best book I have read in a long while."

I would second that. From Vienna to Shanghai the sights, sounds, emotions are palpable. The author is gifted in description. One melancholy line that stood out to me, "Her life has been so changed and she has fought so hard for so long that it seems all of the spirit is gone, used up like firewood."

Those words jumped off the page as a friend I had been praying for died a couple of weeks ago. I don't know if I will ever see her again, because in a letter to me she described herself as "not a person of faith". My heart still hurts, but maybe in her last hours she called out to the Savior.

Yesterday, a doctor here committed suicide. What hopelessness around us! People are perishing without Jesus. When I consider that there is a literal heaven and hell and only one way to heaven, my passivity seems scandalous. I don't want to offend, but who am I kidding? May I love people and love them enough to be a speaker of the Truth.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

A 52 Minute Challenge

Just watched this documentary. I was struck by how Heidi Baker's face glows with happiness and Jesus. This is testimony of God's presence and protection. I believe God still heals like he healed Namaan in the OT and resurrected Jairus' daughter in the NT. This is proof. Heidi's and her husband's charismatic obedience and faith are refreshing. I am not sure I could smile in the garbage heap with the thousands of flies and undoubtedly the stench, but this little lady does. She has a church that meets next to the garbage pile in Mozambique. She takes home orphans from the streets and she ministers to the least of these.

Handsome Hair

Rapunzel and her golden tresses.

This little girl keeps us laughing. She told Ben, "MacGyver keeps his hair handsome. Your hair looks kind of goofy."

Ben took no offense and playfully retorted, "You don't think my hair is handsome like MacGyver's?"

Then our Rapunzel consoled, "Maybe goofy is the new handsome."

Beware men with 80s style, blown-dry hair! My daughter digs your hair.

Brand Confusion

Today Emily asked, "Do you know where my old lady shirt is? You know, the one with sparkly writing."

It snatched me back 12 years to Ben's mud engineer days and his oilfield coworkers (often ex-convicts) calling their wives and girlfriends their "old lady". I remember telling my husband of a few months that I would never answer to such and that I found the term coarse and disrespectful. Perhaps because I voiced my opinions freely Ben started calling me Spunky instead. It stuck and it is still his pet name for me.

After that sidetrack, Emily found her shirt in her drawer where it was suppose to be. Below you can see her sporting her bedazzled "old lady" shirt which is really an Old Navy shirt. Brand confusion happens to the best of us.

Document this

Okay, so we watch a lot of movies. After moving back to Texas, our summer here is like our winter up north. You spend a lot of time indoors. These documentaries were intellectually stimulating and stranger than fiction.


What if Hitler had gotten accepted to art school in his youth? Would the museums now hold his framed pastoral scenes instead of memorials to the exterminated he stole from? As I did not know Hitler was an artist and art crazed, this documentary was fascinating. How works of art travelled during the regime and were hidden in subterranean caves is unbelievable. The restoration of some of the pieces to the surviving heirs years later is dually touching and heartbreaking. What is a brush-marked canvas in comparison to a God-created person?


If you love to play word games like Boggle and Scrabble...this is a must watch. If you love math and probabilities you will be equally impressed. And if you read the dictionary before bed you will find a kindred sole in this utterly crazy documentary about men who have trained their minds with letter combinations and a plethora of 7 letter words.


If you have longed to be independent from energy use and like the idea of recycling this is a very cool look into building homes from trash. I do not endorse his theory of over population and the earth's resources quickening demise, but as a conservative I was angered on his behalf by the red tape strangulation of his wacky but innovative ideas. I am all for the freedom to fail! That is what made America great. Not regulation.


The title prepares you for the hard character...but you will be surprised how the art world operates and the snobbery and subjectivity of art appreciation. Also you will choose a side by the end of the movie. Is it really a Jackson Pollock or is it a fake? Ben and I were of differing opinions.

Weeks of Work - One Big Payoff

As I wanted to stimulate my kids to chip in with the tasks around our house, I instigated a point system. 10 points equals a dollar and 100 points is $10.00. I'm a firm believer in capitalism and the worker is worth his wages. Well, I discovered this nifty Lego set on clearance and purchased it as an extra incentive. Believe me, the boys didn't get to open it till it was paid in full. It remained in my closet waiting for them. Fritz took out the trash and neatened the thirty sets of shoes in the garage and received 2 points. Alex made two beds and received 2 points. The boys washed and dried dishes. Alex mowed the lawn for 50 points and babysat for another 50 points. Fritz vacuumed his room and the family room. Fritz put away his folded laundry for 2 points. Fritz washed windows. Alex swept the sidewalk. The possibilities for earning points seem to be abundant as killing cockroaches also gets points (however you must dispose of their dead bodies or its an incomplete job). I'm very proud of my boys for working so hard!

Don't Make the Crab Cross

My night fisherman arrived home around 5 in the morning with a bucket full of crabs. They were aggressive and actually killed one of their own.


Who knew crabs carried paper and crayons in their shells. These crabs were unemployed so they had time to picket.


The beautiful cooked. It was quite a lucheon for the six of us. We were crunching claws with needlenose pliers and juice and crab meat went flying all over the mirror, the walls and Fritz's eyebrow. We learned that the luxury meat is best retrieved outside where the wildlife cleans up after you.

A Midnight Read

I borrowed this nonfiction book from our local library and found it a fast-paced account of an astonishing escape from a submarine in WWII. Highly recommend. It is an easy and memorable read.

teeth

Jane went to the dentist yesterday. I noticed her back molars were discolored and I was afraid she had cavities. I was taking the blame for letting her walk around the house with a sippee cup...milk decay? Honestly when we got to number four we grew tired. Also we weren't as conscientious about helping Jane brush her teeth. We let her scrub her pearly whites at a much younger age than the others. Well, my suspicions were correct. However the dentist told me that her back molars were irregularly rough and missing enamel. He said she probably got a fever as a baby and those teeth malformed. Well, it seemed sort of sad to have to fill baby teeth but because she shouldn't lose them anytime soon, it was the only thing to do. She sat very still for the dentist and had one tooth filled and another one scheduled for September. Jane was tickled that the dentist called her "Princess Jane" and gave her little bag of prizes, and, of course, the new toothbrush.

Later that night Alex helped Emily pull out her loose tooth. And Jane said,
"When Emily loses all her teeth, she is going to be rich!" The sweet perspective of a four year old.

The little bride

a brief update

1. 12 days ago Ben did mini surgery on my calf to remove a dime-size cyst. Last night he took out the stitches.
2. Since I didn't want to open my incision I have gotten out of yard work for two weeks straight. That is some sneaky strategy.
3. To make mowing our 3/4 of an acre easier...I finally broke down and bought a self-propelled lawnmower. Alex mowed the front yard with it. He mowed it rather squiggly and an inefficient pattern, but it got done and he earned some bank.
4. Ben commented that Alex's mowing job was symbolic of our life. I'll let you figure that one out, because we're still trying to live it.
5. Since I have gotten out of yard work I painted my dining room and room next to it a deep turquoise/ teal color. I really like the umph it brings and will post photos when I get pictures hung.
6. While I was painting I watched a movie called Closing Escrow. It was filmed a little like the Office and is incredibly funny. For you who have bought a house, you will laugh at the preposterous and exaggerated portrayal of the whole process.
7. Jane and Emily were pretending to be August brides today. Don't know who they are marrying but it was cute ceremony.
8. And Fritz read a whole book to me this afternoon. For him that was a huge accomplishment.

TTFN