For Mom (...and Dad, I guess!) and the Family

It has been a weekend of gatherings. I'm guessing it will take ONE MILLION trips to the gym to combat the eating that has been happening here in the South. Sunday night we celebrated with Di again and the Bradley's. It was misery the rest of the night to lead me directly into this morning when Anne came by with pizza and cake for lunch.


Tonight, We went to Ruby Tuesday's because I felt the need for salad...Yes, something green, please! Of course, Sam made fun of me!


There was the infamous "carrot cake" that I get every year...


I loved this picture of Josiah looking "reflective". He actually posed for it, which cracks me up!


I had wanted an ipod (I'll explain what that is to you later) so I can store all my music for when I run, but I got the next best thing for now...Sam picked it out. He said he knew I would like it because it was "purple with flowers on it"! It should bring on some interesting conversations at the gym!

There's a party planned on Thursday night with my girlfriends and I'll try to post some pics for you. They are taking me "out on the town" so hopefully we'll have some fun pictures. I'll try to be careful...I know how disappointed you were that I went to a movie!! (I'm kidding, Mom!)

Thanks everyone for your calls today. I saved them all and I miss everyone very much. (The message from little Donovan was a killer! *sigh*)

Hey, I'm 32 so that makes the rest of you guys...um...REALLY OLD!!!

This day in History.

837
15th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet

1594
Henry IV is crowned king of France in Chartres.

1801
The District of Columbia was placed under the jurisdiction of Congress.

1807
The poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born.

1827
1st Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans

1844
Dominican Republic gained independence from Haiti.

1861
Russian troops fired on a crowd in Warsaw that was protesting Russian rule over Poland. Five marchers were killed.

1879
Two American chemists announce the discovery of saccharin

1902
Author, John Steinbeck was born.

1908
Star #46 was added to U.S. flag for Oklahoma.

1922
The United States Supreme Court declares the Nineteenth Amendment constitutional, thereby guaranteeing women's voting rights.

1932
Actress, Elizabeth Taylor was born.

1933
German Reichstag building in Berlin was destroyed by fire.

1934
Consumer advocate, Ralph Nader was born.

1939
The Supreme Court outlawed sit-down strikes.

1951
The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, limiting the President to two terms.

1972
President Richard M. Nixon and Chinese Premier Chou En-lai issued the Shanghai Communique at the conclusion of Nixon's historic visit to China.

1973
Members of the American Indian Movement occupied the village of Wounded Knee, S.D.

1974
Wife and Mother, Charity Harmless is born!

1974
The first issue of People magazine, a weekly publication featuring entertainment and social-interest news, hits the newsstands.

1980
Former President's daughter, Chelsea Clinton was born

1980
Singer, Josh Groban was born.

1986
The U.S. Senate approved telecasts of its debates on a trial basis.

1990
The Exxon Corporation is indicted on five criminal charges relating to the 1989 Alaskan oil spill.

1991
Kuwait was liberated in the Gulf War.

1997
Divorce became legal in Ireland.

1997
Legislation banning most handguns in Britain went into effect.

1998
With the approval of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's House of Lords agreed to end 1,000 years of male preference by giving a monarch's first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as a first-born son.

2002
Alicia Keys won five Grammy Awards for her debut album, ''Songs in A Minor,'' tying the record for a female artist held by Lauryn Hill and since tied by Norah Jones and Beyonce.

2003
A design by architect Daniel Libeskind is selected to be built on the former site of the twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center.

2003
Fred Rogers, of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, died.

Birthday festivities-By Charity

Monday is my 32nd birthday.

I miss my mom and dad and my best friends-so for them, I will blog the festivities that will lead up to a fairly insignificant day for most, but another monumental year for me!

It all started this morning with a call from my good friend Diane, who invited me to come along shopping with her and enjoying some lunch. I was released from my wifely and motherly duties (which of late has been round the clock care of the sick) and I took off for an afternoon of catching up on latest news and checking out the jewelry at Belk. It was fun.

I love Diane. Just about any time with her is fun. We are planning a road trip back home in May and I CAN'T WAIT!

Then, we picked up Kate...the highly demanded babysitter from BJU so that she could watch the boys tonight for my birthday dinner out. She was at Anne's and that gave us a chance to visit with my poor sick friend...who has the same bug that my family has had. I patted her on her poor, feverish head and it was off to dinner at Portifino's and the movie.

This is where it gets interesting.

I'm pretty much notoriously known for loving a good, scary movie. I tend to attract friends that don't enjoy them so much and my husband's side of the family OPENLY discourages them. My intellect understands why...They aren't good for your mind. They desensitize you to evil. They scare you.

Regardless of these facts, I continue to line up for a good ole' horror flick!

One of the first scary movies that I ever watched was called "When the Stranger Calls Back", so when I saw that they were going to re-release it, I was excited to see a version of it on the big screen. I remain convinced that the average scary movie today is actually NOT scary in the least because it is not realistic.

Such as...

People don't come back from the dead with knives on their fingers.

Mothers don't die to save their "alive" children to parent resentful ghosts!

Sharks don't really take revenge!

Girls with long black hair don't crawl out of televisions!

Men with hooks for hands do not arrive when you say their creepy name three times! (Although, I WILL NOT DO IT!)

I have seen my fair share of scary movies and nine times out of ten I walk away disappointed because not only was it not scary but it was so typically predictable, I get drowsy before the second half and decide sleep seems much more appealing.

I am a worrisome person. I imagine scary things that could really happen EVERY day! Is there no one like me that could take on a script and produce something realistically terrifying?

Would this be so hard to do?

Well, "When A Stranger Calls" is a remake of a remake and I remember seeing the second version of the movie and being scared to death! It had all the elements of a true to life nightmare and left you feeling breathless and looking over your shoulder as you went upstairs to bed.

(I will mention though, that I was a young teen in my babysitting years, so that may have had something to do with it. The reviews for that movie are HORRIBLE and I don't get it?)

I can only say that although I anticipated (by further BAD REVIEWS) being very disappointed with the third version of this film, it was surprisingly frightening and while I was frustrated that it was not covering the entirety of the first two productions...It left us knowing that they would be back for more!

It was a good time had by all!



I want to personally thank my mom for my demented mind that can only really appreciate a movie if someone dies in it! Thanks to her and "Murder She Wrote"...I never had a chance!

sick

I called in sick today because, well... I am sick.

I have had a fever and body aches for almost a week, and they were at their worst the last two days. I went in yesterday only because I had a commitment to drive the bus for a field trip. If it hadn't been for that commitment, I wouldn't have gone to school yesterday. And for the time that I was there, I was almost useless. Trying to teach while you are running a fever doesn't work all that well.

Absurdity

I think that the theory of evolution it absolutely and completely absurd. In fact, the more I hear about the topic, the more I am convinced of it... Evolutionary theory is absolutely ridiculous.

Even Darwin admitted the absurdity of it in his famous book, The Origin of Species. In the chapter titled Difficulties, he states,

"To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree."

I just read an article about how churches were being urged to support the theory of evolution. The president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) even made this statement, "It's time to recognize that science and religion should never be pitted against each other."

And I am thinking..."What are you talking about?!? Of course Science and religion should never be pitted against each other. Did you just come up with this on your own?"

I would say that true science and true religion are not pitted against each other. It isn't science that is pitted against religion, it is the theory of evolution that is pitted against religion. For most of history, science and religion have walked hand in hand. Many of the greatest scientists have been Christians. Because true science is systematic study and acknowledgement of truth. Which I also believe is a good description of a true Christian. Einstein put it this way, "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind."

I don't have any desire to type out an argument for the case of Creation, because I don't believe that is the real disagreement anyway.

If a person believes in evolution and also says that they are a Biblical Christian, the problem is a lack of understanding of what the Bible is, and how to react to it.

If a person believes in evolution and totally rejects religion, the problem is much deeper. It is not a problem of science. (Because frankly, I don't believe that there is one solid scientific fact that would even lead to the theory of evolution. And I would challenge anyone to come up with one.) It is a problem of the soul. If they admit that the world was created by God, then they would have to admit that they will one day have to answer to God, and they are not willing to admit that.

A Comic

The other day a student left this Foxtrot comic on my desk. It was so fitting that I had to share it with you.

Blocked.

For some reason, I can't get to Google, Gmail, or Blogger from the school.

I am not really for sure why this is. I can get to any other site out there, but I can't get to these. It doesn't make any sense.

I have my suspicians that one of the Internet Techs messed with something.

It really bums me out though, because those are the three sites that I visit most during the day. I haven't been able to get on there since last week, and I am starting to go through Google Withdrawal!

Oh well.

I have put in my formal complaint now, so maybe it will be fixed in the next few days.

My First Official Birthday Party

(By Josiah)

Tomorrow is my fourth birthday but my mom and dad had my first ever, real birthday party with my friends today. We met my church playgroup buddies at my favorite pizza joint (CiCi's) and there was a great Hot Wheels birthday cake.



My friends all helped me celebrate....Claire, Molly, Caleb, Naomi, Annelise, Baby Stephen and my bubba, Sam.





We all laughed and ate a BUNCH of pizza and I got some really great presents....Even though, "actually", I'm still three!



I missed my Grammy and Pop-Pop and my MeMaw and Paw-Paw. I missed my Aunts and Uncles and all my cousins...but it's good to know that you can make new friends wherever you go! I left this movie clip of my BIG moment so you can all feel a part of my party!


(click this picture to watch a short movie clip)
Be Patient! It takes about 30 seconds!

Be Careful What You Wish/Blog For!

(By the Mom, again)

Yes, my friends...it was the wee hours of the morning that I was awakened by not only one sick Josiah but also one very sick Samuel!

There were a few bleak moments in the bathroom with a sobbing little boy-and I will save you all the gory details!

I will say that I have gotten to play "caregiver" all day and just for the record, it's MORE fun when you've had a little more sleep!

Sick or not-they are so sweet and I wish I could force them to stay small forever.

"True Brotherly Love"

(By the Mom)

I thought this was so sweet!

Samuel and Josiah beat me downstairs this morning and I was so touched by what I found a few minutes later after I came into our living room.

Josiah had gone to bed with a cold last and so Sam decided that he deserved a little "TLC" to start the day off...



Samuel had prepared the couch just the way JoJo would like it with all of his favorite things. New favorite book, favorite cars, favorite cats, favorite pillow, bowl of favorite cereal, favorite cartoon on the tv, and of course, all the best blankets in the house!

The funny thing is, I was just thinking yesterday that while I am SO (and can I stress SOOOO) glad that no one has gotten very sick this winter yet, I am a little sad because I haven't gotten to spoil a sick person for a long time. It's one of my favorite duties as the Mom. (...Or wife, or friend, or neighbor, or for just your basic stranger. I clearly don't want to CATCH your sickeness but I love to to take care of those in need!)

So, while I'm thrilled to see that Sam got the "caregiver" gene...

I'm a little jealous, too!

Raul Midon

I don't listen to very much secular music. I just don't keep up with it anymore, plus most of it is trash. But every once in awhile, I will run across an artist (whether by accident or by recommendation) and will become an instant fan.

So the other day this friend of mine shows me this clip of this guy named Raul Midon. And I gotta tell ya, he's cool.

You can check out his website here and then you can check out his live performance at the Kennedy Center.

You have to watch at least enough of the live performance to see the "trumpet" thing that he does. Pretty amazing stuff.

Coffee worship

Every week the pastor of our church sends out a church-wide e-mail with some though-provoking comments concerning the coming week's teaching. This week's e-mail says this:

Which is better, worshipping (a) at a church or (b) at Starbucks? George Barna would answer (b). He contends that Spirit-filled, biblical Christians are throwing off the traditional trappings of local church worship and creating highly personal expressions of their love for God. He calls this a revolution,” like the Reformation, Great Awakening, and Missionary Age. Churches can either jump in or lose out.

Is this good or bad? How does this emphasis relate to Jesus'’ teaching on “spirit and truth” worship? We will tackle these kinds of questions this Sunday morning.

I am really excited about this topic because it seems like such a prevalent opinion with so many oChristianristian" bloggers out there. I have even met a few people who gather together, yet refuse to call themselves a "church" because they don't like the implications of that name.

I think that I know where the Bible stands on this, but I am interested to see what my pastor has to say about it. I have great respect for him and his teaching and I am really looking forward to this.

(By the way, last week's sermon was excellent... you could listen to it here.)