Monday, January 30, 2006

Sweet River Roll

Along with being one of my favorite Waterdeep songs, much of my life is spent rolling along after my sweet River Elizabeth, my 2 year old daughter. We have so much fun together, and recently it's been even more fun because of the stage she's in. Yes, ask anyone who knows her, and you'll hear what a handfull she is. Full of energy and purpose, and dedidcated to completing whatever task is at hand. I've been enjoying instilling my favorite pasttimes...watching a movie while having popcorn and hot chocolate, going to Starbucks or Barnes and Nobels, cuddling in a chair with a good book or two, eating dessert in the middle of the day, dancing, singing, and being so silly we laugh until our sides hurt. It's great, and every day it gets better.

The recent phrases have been really cute. Hearing other children phrase things differently, I have wondered how she would phrase different thoughts she has. Like "I want to do that" comes out as, "I do!" "I do!" Or, when she wants a bite of something, "I do hom!" (I want some.) I've been going a little crazy with the same question about 3000 times a day, "Dat, Mama?" For what happened, or what's that? She asks it even after I give her the answer! It's adorable, but in the moment you sometimes want to say, "I JUST TOLD YOU!"

However, I'm amazed at her constant infatuation and wonder of life. She is so able to celebrate life without being inhibited by all of the insecurities that we who have lived a while have developed. She doesn't stop to think "Are they an ok person to say hello to?" before shouting out "HEY!" to someone walking down the street. Nor does she get squirmish when her Daddy and I tell her how incredibly beautiful she is, or how great a job she did at something. Even though she is only 2, she teaches me how to live the way we were meant to, to embrace what God has given to us in this precious thing called life.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Nothing I Can Do?

It's been interesting to see that over the last year living on Florida St. we've had more people in the neighborhood come to know that we're "nice" or "Christians", or at least people who will let them in, or hear their story, or tell them, "No, I'm sorry we can't give you any money, but we can do...." One woman who periodically comes by for prayer, or a ride, or desperate hopes of just a dollar or two, came by the other day. This time was different...almost. She was drunk, soaking wet from the pouring down rain, and was asking us to call Alcohol/Drug Rehab to see if there were any beds available for her. So of course we let her in, and made the call. There were in fact beds available, but we would have to wait until after 2pm to check in. So, she said she was going to pack up some stuff, and I could come pick her up a little before 2 to go. I was sceptical of this actually taking place, but with her desperate desire to be free from an abusive relationship and addictions, I thought..."Maybe she'll go." So, I went by to pick her up at 2, and as I thought might happen, she was not ready to go, and for this reason or that reason, wasn't able to go. So, I told her when she WAS ready, to let me know, and I would definitely take her to ADS. The next day she came by, hoping for something, money, clothes, anything I might be "giving to Salvation Army", I'm sure just anything to use for alcohol or drug money, and I told her, "I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do for you." I wonder, is this true. I know that praying with her, as I've done in the past, is the most I can do, but in this situation, I wonder is there nothing I can do?

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

A Day in the Life

So this morning I decided to make a special meal for dinner tonight. Randy was coming home from a very long couple of days at work, and I've been excited about making this meal for him. For him, moreso, because it's a Polish meal, that he grew up having. (And, it's a pretty easy one, too, so that's always a plus.) I had told him, "We'll have a good dinner tonight, sweetie!" so he could look forward to it.

So I get all my stuff out to do it, and after fighting vigorously with my can-opener for at least 10 minutes, I get everything in the crockpot, set it on low, and am set to go. The only bad thing about this particular meal from my hubby's heritage, is that the smell is quite potent, and definitely fills the house!

A few hours go by, and I'm thinking, "This is so great, dinner's made, and we'll be all ready to eat when we come home tonight." But then I start realizing, "Wow, the house really doesn't smell all that bad. It's so much better than I remember it being." So, before I leave the house, now at 3:00, I go to check on our dinner. And that's when I realize, that the crock pot isn't that warm. In fact it's still cold... in fact, IT'S NOT EVEN PLUGGED IN! Great, this is just great. So, I check the meat, and thankfully since it was frozen as a rock before, it was still cold. I decide, well, I'll go ahead with it...I'll just cook it on High for 4 hours instead of Low for 8. I plug it IN and head out the door.

OK, so this is the best part. We finally sit down together for dinner after putting our little one in bed, and I'm asking Randy about the meal. "So, is this how you all always had this meal, or did you have different things with it?" He says, "Oh, we actually never had it like this, we usually had it..." "But, babe, I really like it like this, so this is great."

OK, WHAT??? So where in the world did I get this "recipe" from, that in my head is my husband's favorite from his polish roots??? WHO KNOWS!!! It's just another day in the life of my funny little world.

Saturday, January 21, 2006

my first...

so, yeah, my first blog...thanks to my cool friends mike and kari! and as of right now, yes, you guessed it, i'll be having my night's coffee and chocolate. untill next time...so long!