Confusion

My son is 9 months old...9 months old, and he still hasn't figured out that if you have a pacifier in your mouth, nothing else will go in it. So...a couple of weeks ago, he started feeding himself puffs. All was well and good until I put him in his chair with some puffs while I made his lunch. When I went over to check on him, his tray was empty -- some would think this was a good sign, however, in the next moment, I noticed that he still had the pacifier in his mouth! He had very successfully put each puff to his mouth and then dropped it into his bib. A week or so after that, he was cruising around the den and found a pacifier. He was a bit perplexed when he tried to put it in his mouth and it wouldn't go in -- already one there. So, where did he put it? In his ear! Thank God it wouldn't fit! Later that morning, he grabbed his sippy cup, but it wouldn't go in his mouth. Once again, paci! So...what did he do but put it to his forehead!?!? He did it a few minutes later with his puffs. Is there an orifice there I don't know anything about???

Chasing the Moon

Friday night, the moon rose large and round and orange. I could see the rabbit and the man in the moon and the eagle. We chased the moon. How long did we drive? We made our way north and east and then north again keeping the moon in full view. It was beautiful to see it above the tree tops and then above the "sky scrapers" and then kissing the clouds. The moon stretched out as the clouds played across its face. We drove for what seemed like forever gazing, staring. Fascinating, beautiful, simply amazing.

Aaarrgh!

Ok, I did a long post this morning and it is nowhere to be found!!! On my "edit posts" page it says I have six posts, but there are only four showing. Help!

Smiles!

What makes me smile?

• my son's ornery smile
• the thud-thud-thud-thud-thud as he tumbles across the floor, so excited to see me
• my husband's kiss at the nape of my neck
• his hand in mine
• a clean and empty floor
• the butterfly and daisy stationery in my Yahoo! account
• a phone call from a friend...just because
• warm chocolate chip cookies and milk
• time with my sisters
• baking with my nephews
• hearing my brother-in-law sing the song he wrote for my son..."Don't call me Bill, don't call me Willie. My name's not Nelson, or Big Green Chili. If you want love from my mother, you'd better call me by another!"
• hugs from mom & dad
• a clean body on fresh sheets
• a massage
• fitting in to pre-pregnancy clothes!
• a fresh breeze
• a bird singing in the morning
• sunshine
• coming home to a clean house
• having friends over
• singing in four-part harmony

I don't think that there's enough time in the day to even come close to finishing this list. The Lord has blessed me with the ability to find joy in the simple things of life, which means that my life is filled with joy. If you hear me grousing about my life, give me a swift kick, and remind me of the simple things!

Compassion International

I cried my way through the Compassion International magazine this morning. Their focus was on the global poverty crisis, and they spoke of children in Ethiopia being fortunate to get one meal a day. Ok, I know that Ethiopia seems to be cliche for drought and other issues, but the magazine was saying that this one is even worse than the problems they had in the '80s...and they're receiving less help. I would imagine that is due to the global economic crisis. I held my very healthy sleeping baby boy in my arms as I read and cried. How we forget that these simple things we take for granted -- being able to feed our children and ourselves more than enough -- are huge blessings from the Lord Almighty. There but for the grace of God go I. Compassion International is an amazing organization who puts the highest percentage of sponsorship monies toward the children -- not advertising or paying for their costs. I have sponsored two children to adulthood, and we are now sponsoring a little girl in Kenya, Serphine. She is beautiful and doing great! November 7 there is a Mercy Me concert at Quail Creek Church here in Amarillo. I have the wonderful privilege to be a volunteer at the Compassion booth. I would love to see you there! Please, would you prayerfully consider sponsoring one of these children around the world who has no one to be an advocate on their behalf? I was reading in Proverbs today and it talked about those who gave much had more, but the wicked gave nothing and lost all that they had. (No, I'm not labeling you "wicked" if you don't sponsor a child. What you do with your wealth is between you and God. This is just one area He has laid on my heart.) Blessings on your day!

Elections...

Elections are upon us. So many years I feel as though I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place...the devil and the deep blue sea. Bottom line, though, my "triggers" of support or denial come down to supporting life, supporting the family, and backing Israel. I've had a blog and a video sent to me that struck two of those chords in my heart. See the links at the bottom. Yes, our economy is an issue; yes, the war is an issue; yes, the energy industry is an issue. However, if we choose to honor God by protecting the gift of life and the institution of marriage (established by Him) and His chosen people, the other things will fall in line. By allowing the murder of the unborn and expanding on God's definition of marriage, we effectively remove our nation from under the protective hand of the Lord. Please prayerfully consider the candidate that you are going to vote for this election day. No one is perfect, but there are candidates who line up with the above mentioned issues. Ok -- I'm finished now. :-) (No, I'm not "done." As a wise woman once told me, "Roasts are "done," people are "finished.") Eternal Perspectives (Randy Alcorn's blog): Not Cool: Obama's Pro-abortion Stance, and Christians en Source: randyalcorn.blogspot... http://www.onenewsnow.com/valuesvoters.aspx ps -- I've disabled posts. It's my personal views, and I hate political debate -- there's no changing my mind on this one.

The First of How Many???

Well, this is my first foray into the world of blogging. I wonder how long this will last? It's hard for me to keep up with something like this. You should see all the journals I've begun and then had to catch up for the year(s) I'd missed! This is not complete confession time, just the ramblings of a scattered mind in a house quiet all except the space heater and washing machine... On a different note, completely, I wore a hat all day today. "They" say that you lose the greatest percentage of your body heat through your head. I can attest today that I stayed much warmer today because I wore the lovely black & white crocheted hat my Mima made for me...in spite of the fact that it's filled with holes. I don't get that one. I am sure I got more than one look as Will and I strolled through Sam's for 2 1/2 hours. God bless the lady who told me she liked my beanie! May any who read find amusement and perhaps some poignancy in my ramblings. Blessings to all who enter here.