Merry Christmas to Dew

Boy, what a busy week. Probably the most hectic week I've had at work all year. Whew! Sorry I haven't blogged. Before tonight I also hadn't done other things like finish decorating. Gotta pay bills and send packages too. Anyway, in the spirit of the season--and 'cause I could use a good caffeine buzz right now, a dear friend of mine sent me pics of a guy building a Christmas tree totally out of Mountain Dew containers, (and some wire, PVC and a tree stand).

He (and I know it's a he 'cause only guys--and gals with problems, would think this is cool) started by sticking coatwire with cans up the PVC pole. Then decorated with lights and a 2 liter top and, voila!

Ain't it a thing of beauty? I want one for the yard. (=

Merry Christmas to Dew and yours from the Ski-Bo!

Probably my most obnoxious Christmas tune this year

This is one of those weeks where I have a bunch of things to post about. Stay tuned.

For now, let's talk Christmas music. I'm one who can listen to Christmas music year round-much to the chagrin of my family. I've gotten a little better with my iPod since I can classify any tune with a genre of "holiday" and filter them out of my Nano manually.

Still, there are some holiday songs that have a permanent place in my device, year round. Most are from movies. They include:

"Snow" from White Christmas
"What's This?" from the Nightmare Before Christmas
"Polar Express", "Hot Chocolate" and "Rockin all over the world" from the Polar Express
"Skating" from the Charlie Brown Christmas special and
"Wizards in Winter" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra
"Hope has come" off the Sovereign Grace "Savior" CD
Oh, and my favorite, "The Chipmunk Song" by the Lost Dogs. If you listen closely, Mike Roe is hilarious as "Alvin".

Each year I try and add something to my holiday music collection. If you've ever rode with us in the van, you've no doubt experienced my wife rolling her eyes and sighing under her breath or my kids saying "ooh, I HATE this song!" (Which only makes me smile and turn up the volume slightly). This year I think I've found a song that borders on being too obnoxious even for me (yet part of me still likes it).

Someone on the web has "composed" Christmas songs in the style of a Nintendo NES video game system. He's half way done with the album (called 8 Bit Jesus) and you can listen or download it for free. I listened to all of it and can pretty much stand only the first song, a version of We Three Kings. Of course I stink at video games (even B can blow me away) so I don't really have any fond memories of the games these tunes were styled after.

Enjoy (and pray for my poor wife during this season--not only for her leg).

Adventures in Shopping

I haven't posted in ages. Yeah....I know.
But you see, I have a good excuse for part of that time.
I broke my leg.
Well, it is a bit more complicated than that, but we'll just leave it at that for now.

This post is prompted by an experience I had today. But we'll get to that in a minute.

Shopping with a broken leg is an adventure.
I don't particularly care for it.
Before I got my cast, I was at Target. I was riding around in a wheelchair. My oldest dd was pushing me. People just stared at me as if to say... "What is wrong with you?!?!" Oh, and then they would just walk in front of you no matter what. That was NOT fun. It gives me great empathy for the handicapped.

Oh, my dd was not performing her duty to my expectations so I began pushing myself around. I was fine with this, but people began giving me odd looks and one lady even LAUGHED at me. It turned out that my hair was sticking straight up due to the static electricity I was generating. My dd was laughing hysterically and my dear Ski gave me the shock of my life when he tried to smooth my hair down.

One night, we went to the library. WHile this was not shopping, it was comparable. It is a long way from the library entrance to the nearest chair and in between, I met up with about 5 librarians who wanted to know all of the details of what had happened. I love our library and the librarians really like us, too. One of them even told us that our family is her favorite patron. Isn't that sweet?!?!?

We went to CVS one night for some things that I really needed. After shopping there and developing a major foot cramp in my good foot, I decided not to shop in stores without wheelchairs until I can finally walk. Silly me.....I broke that rule twice today. Not a good idea. CVS is really huge!! And add to that, I couldn't find what I needed easily. I had to send Ski walking all of the aisles looking for things. Poor guy!!

Now for today....
This morning I had a long awaited drs appointment with a new dr. What an impression to go with a broken leg. On our way home, I needed a few things. I happen to make my own vanilla. It isn't fabulous or anything, but I know it is safe for my kid, it's cheaper, and it lasts forever. Well, since it really doesn't last forever, I needed to make some more. I use a pint of vodka to make it and I know the brand by sight (but not name) and I basically know where in the store it is. Since Ski knows less about this than I do, I told him to drop me off and I would buy it. He went to a nearby pharmacy to pick something else up for me. My first barrier to overcome was the front door. It was not automatic and I almost fell on my way out of the store. Secondly, I knew before I entered that my vodka would be at the very back of the store. It makes me feel like it is a million miles away. The lady was nice and offered to get it for me, but I could not recall the name. Just when we found it, she had another customer come in and she had to go back to the front. Duh....I put my purse on the floor and almost toppled over trying to pick it up again. So my next challenge was walking with crutches, a purse, and a pint of vodka. I made it to the front of the store, but then there were two narrow steps. Oh my!! My leg has been really hurting and I really didn't want to bear weight, but I did for the first step. Step....grimace....and then used my crutches to go up to the top. I then paid and left.

Ski was still at the pharmacy so I went down the sidewalk and sat on the curb in the parking lot. After a few minutes, a car pulled up. A lady got out and went in the store. After a few minutes, another lady got out. She came over to me (which made me nervous). I feel really vulnerable with a broken leg. It is pretty obvious and I am soooo slow. I was ready to pick up my crutch and get ready to bash. :D Anyway, the lady stuck her hand out and had a few pennies in it. She told me it was all she had, but told me to take them. I probably looked a sight. I was very tired from my drs visit and meandering through the ABC store. I probably also looked pretty desperate to go to the ABC store with a broken leg. After I assured the lady that I was fine, she then asked me if I could give HER some money. Oh my......I could not believe it. When I said no, she asked if my dh would give her money. It was rather comical...

Being a semi-invalid is rather interesting.
Dh won't let me drive so I am soooo dependent. Not the most fun. But I understand why he wants me to refrain from driving. At Thanksgiving, I felt like Tiny Tim sitting with my crutches in the corner. And I even entered the home of someone I don't know well by sitting up the stairs. This was so humbling for me. And when I do go out -- like to church, the dr, or a store, I am utterly exhausted when I get home.

But Ski is the best!! He has served me without a single complaint. He is so cheerful and has even given up our bed to sleep near me in our den. And he cheerfully shops and even sticks to my list. He is beyond awesome!!!

As we gather together

A few years ago some great friends, after having us over for two or three Thanksgiving meals, said we now have a standing invitation to their house for turkey day. I can't tell you how much a small act of kindness and friendship like that means to a family of eight. Since B broke her leg three weeks ago, we again, have been humbled and greatly moved by the acts of love and kind support we've received--in word and deed. Prayers, meals, errands run etc., have been a means of grace to us as she recovers and as the rest of us try to pick up the huge amount of work she does for our family. God continues to work on changing my complaining, impatient, angry heart and is helping me resist corrupting, rotten, decaying speech.

The aforementioned family also started a yearly holiday tradition with us. Each of us writes down something we're thankful for on a slip of paper and everyone else has to guess who it was that wrote it. I was thinking about my entry this year when I ran across a quote from Abraham Lincoln from his original Thanksgiving Proclamation. The Proclamation was given in midst of the Civil War in 1863. It's a little long , but worth the read. So in light of the above and given the seasons we're in (holiday, political, economic), think about this:

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

Of Spiders and Such

One of the amazing things about being a parent is discovering who your children are. We can look at them as infants and think we know who they are, but when they start showing signs of being their own person, it is really fascinating to me.

Of all of my children, Boo is the most puzzling. She looks very much like I did when I was her age. My brother has made comments about her being a little "B." So because of that, I tend to think of her being just like me. This is not the case.

Boo is all girl. She loves dresses, babies, barbies, and all things girl. She likes crafts and cooking. She also loves eating good food. She also loves to sing!! She also has a great fear of spiders. We have joked with her that we will buy all kinds of Halloween things and throw her a birthday party with them as decorations. She saw a daddy long legs walking on my driveway and she gave us a blood curdling scream!! She has a love/hate relationship with our kitty. She loves to pet her, but if the kitty makes a sudden move, Boo will flinch. She also is not keen on jumping into the pool.

Boo loves her family. She is not the demonstrative type. But if you spend a little time with her, she will love you back with interest. I have seen a few people outside of our family do this and I am sure that they would agree with me. She is also very compassionate. You might think she is shy, but she is not so with people that she likes. While she is the quietest member of our family, she is not boring. In fact, she is quite interesting to talk to.

Boo is also very serious and practical. I took this photo to reflect that side of her personality. In a family full of silly people, she is always telling it like it is. She has a unique sense of humor, but she will not fall for any jokes. She also tells it like it is. She is up front an honest and will give you her opinion on anything. I remember that we once had a discussion onf someone we knew who did not like broccoli. My kids eat everything (well....except for their allergens). Everyone here eats all of their veggies. Well, Boo said in the most serious of tones, "If you didn't like broccoli, then you would be silly because broccoli is good for you!"

When she was small she had GERD and a hiatal hernia. Because of the hernia, she developed something called Sandifer Syndrome. This is a peculiar posturing that people do to relieve their symptoms. In her case, we would hold her in her arms and she would bend backwards away from us and end up kind of upside down and twisted. I'm telling you this because in some respects, she still has a different perspective on the world. It is as if she is still hanging upside down and looking at things from a different angle than the rest of us.

There is so much that I could say about my girl. She is a neat person and we went through so much together those first few years. It is really fun getting to know her.

For those of you who don't know, I'm a Bobby Bowden fan. B and I met at a Division III school so we don't really have any alumni ties to any college team (though we have family @ Penn State). But our neck of the woods is smack dab in the middle of the ACC so years ago I started rooting for Florida State.

Truthfully they've been mediocre at best since I started pulling for them (hmmm) but they're usually in the thick of things and they're fun to watch for a few hours on an occasional Saturday. N likes them too.

While I don't hear much about the players, except for those that choose to act like thugs and get suspended, I was proud to read about Myron Rolle, one of FSU's best defensive players. On Nov. 22nd, he's chosen to miss the game with Maryland (which may turn out to be critical to our shot at a bowl game and his career possibilities in the NFL) to conclude final interviews in hopefully becoming, get this....a Rhodes Scholar! Pretty awesome!

How about that Gator fans?? (=

I think it's cool too that the FSU coaching staff is totally behind his decision and encouraging him to go for it.

Makes me proud to be a 'Nole fan!

And now for something completely different....

I stumbled across this video. The guy in the clip is NOT singing. The song is actually by a group called Moosebutter ( I don't know why). Anyway, it's a pretty clever video....