Alone

there is just something about being home by yourself that i love... for example.

1. not answering "why are you doing that?" a billion times

2. multitasking tons.. like cleaning, creating, and organizing, blogging.. all at the same time.

3. jumping in the car and leaving in a matter of minutes

4. don't have to cook a thing.. i had cucumbers for breakfast and cold cereal for din din today.

5. silence.

but what i REALLY like is that when i sweep the floor i can find the dustpan.

happy monday to you! hope your finding it just as spectacular as i am!

oh i made this today..... (which is REALLY ugly in the pictures.. but uber cute in person)

i found the tute here .. love it :)

state fair!

a week ago today our whole family went to the state fair to attend the ceremony for all the century farms in the state. the secretary of agriculture was on hand to dish out the best compliment and sure to be very inflated over the years by those who heard it.

"those t-shirt's are the best i have ever seen"

yah, created big heads for my lead singer and my super hero dad who both had major parts in getting us them for the party and for the fair. i must say that it was easy peasy to find each other amongst the crowds during the rest of the fair.

today is our last day of summer.. so i'm off to make it razzle dazzlily for the world changers...

please listen!

seems like i have had to push the button in world changer trainer mechanisms over and over and over since birth. it's the "please listen" button. i hate it. i wish just once they'd listen and respond appropriately. it gets very very very tiring telling someone they need to brush their teeth, pick up their socks, and or even please change your clothes.

i have only myself to blame, i'm one of those uber relaxed mommies who really aren't harping on my world changers constantly, but i do expect them to be human and at least want to smell nice. i tend to be creative and flexible and in any environment: including chaos.

which is why i don't blame my world changers for not being great listeners. i trained them not to be. i trained them to question authority and to only pick those things that are most important and do them really well. Who cares if my room is messy?? as long as i can find clean clothes... who cares if i have a bad hair day? that's why they made hats!...did i set out to train them intentionally??.. heck no. everyone loves a compliant kid who does what they are told..

i'm not raising kids.

i'm raising world changers.

happyday was super fun today. i wish wish wish i could have taken a picture of the boys at my first daycare. when we sing the "goodbye" song... they get all quiet and then realize about all at the same time that our time is done for the day. their eyes get super big and and plead with me to stay and play. one boy says to me.. "come inside and play!"... breaks my heart, but also fills it, and i leave all teary eyed and try to get my game on for the next house that's about 2 minutes away.

it rained during my time at the second house. making my search and prayers for a bus more fervent.

three things.

three things that don't belong in a church:

#1 light shows ---i don't care if it's your gift or calling to create such great light shows and that's how you worship. please don't make me sit and wonder why i'm in a worship service to see your distracting lights. it creates an atmosphere of entertainment and i'm not there to be entertained. i'm there to worship, and worship is not for me.. it is for GOD...my advice? become a DJ and get a dance floor.

#2 foilage and fabric --- never before have i seen so many fake flowers and trees in a church. there are some by the piano. drum set. in front of the "Jesus candle", in the bathroom, in each and every classroom, in the kitchens, in the hallways, windows, on top of the mailboxes.. i'm not kidding.. they are everywhere. and although not totally taking away from my worship, when the light show starts.. i find myself not focusing on how great a God we have.. but instead.. wow.. those are really ugly flowers... and add too that really huge fabric draping behind and over the trees.. and you have yourself a wonderfully cheesy environment... way to go church ... cause your goal in building the church building you did was for it to never look like a church. it looks more like a funeral home... goal accomplished.

#3- Community with out leadership-- it's my opinion that community is so very important in church life. it's were the rubber meets the road, where folks are held accountable and lives are impacted, it's where the "work" of becoming like more like Jesus is lived out and learned. but here is the thing. community still needs a leader. someone to say "no", someone to say "yes", someone to say.. "that's not right" or "lets go this way." i'm afraid in community lives become so intertwined that it becomes that much harder to lead people, because leaders are afraid to upset people by making unpopular decisions and destroying the community of that they wish to build. it's a balance, but if your a leader being lead by God you should lean harder on Him then those relationships in your community anyways, after all.. it's leaders who will be held accountable for the souls that they lead.

oh church.. my heart aches for you.. you are the Bride of Christ.. He's coming for you.. i pray you are found ready.

24 hour fave report

most faves in the past 24 hours

~hung out with E and her family in her bedroom
~got a motorcyle ride
~ate 2 yummy carrots from my garden
~taught a 21 year old special needs man how to knit
~read my littlest world changer "benny's penny's" 10 times.
~listened to a soul stirring sermon by my pastor matt
~got paid!!
~made 14 bubble wands
~got the bubble solution brewing for happyday!
~had a fab country spare rib grilled by my oldest world changer
~got my "feet" back into ministry. and i'm MOST stoked about that.

what did you do that was FUN in the past 24 hours....???

i'm a librarian!

so i had one of those... " i work too much" moments this morning. and it was so very dumb i have to share it with you because i am normally very brilliant but then there are those moments that you know your not firing on all your brain cells..

did you know that Proverbs comes AFTER Psalms?

yah.. only took me 10 minutes to find it.. then i realized i was alphabetizing the BIBLE..

ugh.

messy

oh my goodness.. it was a fantastic day to play! i intended to have the kids make paint with cornstarch, water, and food coloring.. and that's JUST what happened. oh i was so very very happy!

once we mixed up our paint, measuring and carefully stirring, we spread out on the driveway and painted so many wonderful things. the first stop was Jenny's house.. full of boys. so i was a bit worried that they might not slow down enough to actually enjoy themselves and get in the moment. oh boy was i wrong! i piped out some etta james on my ipod dock.. and those kids really immersed themselves into a fantastic time. towards the end of our time.. they were so close to each other the colors started to mix. and smiles and those "aha!" moments were to die for! ...super sad when we had to clean up.

at the next daycare i was a tad bit smarter. like mixing the cornstarch into the water.. duh....

and we cut a few things out of our storytime cuz i knew the kids would need extra time to create wonderful beautiful works of art. and yes. as expected the time went way to fast, and JodiE has a wonderful new look to her driveway... and a few rocks as well!

so i get home... intending to upload this whole wonderful process via pics.... but my wonderful camera chose to keep them.. and the only way for you to see them is to come have coffee with me and my camera. i'll put the pot on.

(the pics are JodiE's.. she took them and uploaded them to my facebook page.. that's y they are sooo very small.. but sooo very fun either way! thanks jodiE!)

knitting teacher..me?

there is this young adult who comes into the library quite frequently just to visit. he's a super sweet kid and i love him to death.

death... i guess maybe i should have used another word.
he's had a few near death experiences. it's his heart. it just doesn't work so well, to put it simply.

so anyways, he comes in today and just seems bored.

i ask "do you have any hobbies?"

he says.. " i collect lord of the ring cards"

i say. " do you want to learn to knit?"

"well, i suppose i could do that, can you teach me?"

" um....sure i can... "

looking back it was a simple conversation that lasted meer minutes, but now i'm praying that i can actually teach someone to knit...