blessed beyond measure

besides the grown-up, big-picture reasons that really every day is great there is one trivial yet huge-to-my-inner-child reason that today will be especially great the best stretch of the year begins tonight at 8:00 you'll know where to find us

I went to the eye doctor on Monday, just for a checkup and so they could tighten my frames. Hadn't been there in over three years, which the doctor made sure to chide me for. So we go through the exam. Side note: anyone else get panic attack symptoms when you really don't know whether 1 or 2 is better? Anyhoo, the exam finishes. Doctor: It's good news for your wallet. You don't need new lenses. It looks like your vision has stabilized. That happens as we get older. How old are you? Me: Thirty. Doctor: Not young anymore! Great, thanks.

Lord God, please "teach us how to bring up the boy[s]". Judges 13:8

There have been a couple of sixty-ish-degree days lately. And how marvelous it has been to leave the windows open all day! There is always some smell around here - I live with three guys and we have no trash service. So I am grateful for a fresh breeze inside the house. My husband might have been caught singing Christmas songs to himself in the last couple of weeks. It is now less than one month before Brandon's official Christmas season begins, on November 15. We quite enjoy walking by choir practice at church on Wednesdays, to hear them practicing for their cantata. I can't take videos anymore. Not good ones, anyway. There have been some super-precious moments that I have tried to capture. Trey and Aden rasslin and tickling, both of them belly-laughing. Trey reading to Aden. Aden dancing, oh my goodness. But they are not to be snuck up on. Aden immediately stops what he is doing, squints his eyes and says, "DEEEEEEEE!" (That's "cheese!") T...

Pinterest is a wonderful thing. I first heard about it months ago, took a quick gander, and in my giddy, overwhelmed state, decided I just couldn't commit. As if I need anything else to provide me with less sleep. And Pinterest would do it too. Has done it. And I don't even have a board, or whatever is the techno-term for whatever it is you pin to. About a week ago I allowed myself a few minutes to look around. Saw something. Looked doable. And free, since we had most everything on hand. And fabulous. Had to try it. (This is my personality, in case that hasn't become clear.) Two one-pint Mason jars. Orange acrylic paint. Black sharpie. Two tea lights. Voila. Trey did the painting, and I did the drawing and fire-starting. They would probably look better if the Mason jars weren't fruit-textured. (All my untextured pint jars are full of grape jelly!) And I'm not really sure what to do with the top portion. Guess we could have painted that too. But ...

Trey: Mama, what's this? Mama: Wow, that's an old phone. Trey: How do you talk on it? Mama: Hmm, lets see. [looks for receiver] Here! You put this part to your ear and talk into here. Let's plug up the cord. Trey: Is that for charging the battery? Mama: No, this phone doesn't have a battery. Trey, a long time ago, there were no cell phones. This was how we could call people. There was a cord to go between the numbers piece and the receiver, then another cord that plugged into the wall. And then you'd have to stand right near this piece to talk. You couldn't walk around much. Trey: Can I use it? Mama: You can pretend with it. We can't use that kind of phone anymore because we stopped paying for it. Trey: Where's the call button? Mama: No call button. You'd pick up this part, and there would be a sound like "doooooooo", and you would press the numbers, and then it would call all by itself. And there is no cancel button ...

So, creative peeps. Need a little inspiration. Trey's preschool Halloween party is coming up, and each family is supposed to supply a treat bag for each child. And, as seems to be the case with many other things of life, my mind is stuck. Last year I bought plastic pumpkin baggies at Walmart, and we stuffed them with Oreos, raisins, and Veggie Tales gummies. Part of me wants to not do food/candy this year, as I'm kind of disillusioned with the whole gluttony aspect of the holiday. This probably stems from the sticker shock of how stinkin much it's going to cost to buy 1,000 pieces of candy to hand out at Trunk or Treat, half of which will go to teenagers who put on mascara and carry around a smelly pillowcase just to get a freebie from an easy target. Grr. Yes, I know I should be praying for their salvation. And I don't hate Halloween. Really. I'm super pumped about the boys' costumes for this year. I'm just totally not fond of the indulgence factor. ...

For poor Aden's face, anyway. It's rare to see him without a bruise or scrape on his face, usually self-inflicted. He is wide open and very, very boy, after all. These particular wounds resulted from an unfortunate run-in with some uncomfortable bushes when Aden lost control of his hopalong car in a sharp curve in the sidewalk at Nana's house. Tsk tsk. I just don't know where that boy gets his crazy driving habits.

Yesterday I read this groundbreaking blog post . And immediately had to try it. And upon finding my microwave virtually spotless (a sight unseen since we unboxed the dern thing), I gave in to the glee, squealing and hopping around the kitchen. Perhaps this is a widely known trick. But I am a careless, clueless cleaner. For I no longer have time to maintain my Type A-ness. It's been tough to let go of. Nice to have a little piece of it back. Dear microwave, my apologies that you have been mistreated so these many years. I vow that, at least until my excitement over actually being able to clean something the right way wears off, you shall henceforth be shiny and white at all times. Hey readers, yes, both of you! If you have any magical cleaning tricks to pass along, I'd be forever grateful. Might even write a blog post in your honor. And really, that's about as good as it gets.