Words of Wisdom Wednesday

"The health club is a modern temple, complete with initiation rites and elaborate rituals, its objects of worship on constant and glorious display. I [detect] a trace of theology there, for such devotion to the human form gives evidence of the genius of a Creator who designed with aesthetic flair. The human person is worth preserving. And yet, in the end, the health club stands as a pagan temple. Its members strive to preserve only one part of the person: the body, the least enduring part of all. . . .

"Physical training is of some value, the apostle Paul advised his protege Timothy, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. . . . I have to ask myself . . . how much time and energy do I devote to each?"

- Philip Yancey Finding God in Unexpected Places

The Dish

Not-Me-Monday: Lambs, Bunnies, and Beards

November cannot be nearly a third of the way over. I haven't even put up pictures of Juliette in her costume.




Of course, I certainly did not sew her a costume that was supposed to be a sheep but might have been mistaken for a rabbit nearly 1/2 of the time. Nope, not me. I like to create costumes that are clearly identifiable.

I certainly did not take Juliette trick-or-treating either. Not me! She can't walk and she doesn't eat candy, so I would never dress her up, lug her around in one arm and a plastic yellow jack-o-lantern in the other collecting sugar and corn syrup wrapped in bright packages. Nope, not me. And Seth and I didn't eat any of that candy either. No way!

One of the highlights of our vacation/hunting trip was not the fact that Seth shaved his beard. I confess that I am not a little perplexed why his beard should grow faster than the hair on his head. How can one man grow this much facial hair in four weeks?

I certainly did not suggest that since it was Halloween, my husband should shave a crazy partial shave. No way. I'm not silly like that.

Of course, when he came out of the bathroom looking like a total redneck I did not laugh so hard I nearly split my side. Nor, after an hour, did I decide that I just couldn't stand it anymore and order him back into the bathroom to finish off the beard. No, not me. I'm not that shallow.

We had a wonderful time on our trip. Of course, it has not taken me over a week to catch up on laundry, groceries, bills, etc. The fact that Juliette has cut 5 teeth in the past 5 days hasn't had anything to do with the fact that I have been so far behind on everything. And of course, I'd never be glad to use my daughter as an excuse when it comes to not being on top of my chores. Nope, not me. Definitely, not me.

~~~

Join in the Not-Me-Monday style of cathartic confession:

An Apple A Day . . .

My in-laws blessed us with a whole box of delicious, ripe, organic apples from their apple tree, during their recent visit. Juliette couldn't be happier.

Not-Me-Monday: Sound Asleep

This afternoon I did not sneak into my daughter's room to check on her, only to find her soundly snoring away in this unique pose.

I definitely didn't hurry out of the room to grab my camera, nor did I take a handful of pictures as stealthily as possible, in order to preserve the moment but not awaken my little sleeping beauty. Nope, not me!

I also did not complain several times this week that kissing my husband with a full beard pretty much feels like kissing the carpet. No, I'm always a supportive wife. I'd never make a fuss about my husband's hunting-season grooming style (or lack there of). Not me!

And when my husband came home with a tupperware dish from work that contained moldy lasagna (I can't EVEN remember the last time I made lasagna!!!), I most certainly did not refuse to clean it out. I definitely didn't leave it on the counter for two days until he finally got around to throwing it away. I'm not that stubborn. Nope, not me!

Happy Monday everyone!

~~~

For more Not-Me-Monday fun, check out this link:

Catch-Up

Wow, I haven't posted anything in over a week - it is definitely time to catch-up.

Last week I was down with the flu. It's possible that it was the swine flu, but we don't know for sure. Nearly half of our little town has had it, so there probably is a good chance that is what I had, but frankly I just didn't feel the need to pay for a test to tell me that I was sick. I already knew that I didn't feel well, so I didn't really feel the need to know what it was that made me feel so yucky.

By the grace of God, I was feeling somewhat better by Saturday. It was a good thing too, because we had quite a weekend planned. First we had a chance to attend a college soccer game. One of the interns that worked at Seth's company over the summer is the captain of the team, and she got us free tickets. It was beautiful weather, the game was intense, and we had a fabulous time. Juliette got a little antsy after about an hour or so, so we just let her crawl around in the grass at the base of the stands. She quickly worked her magic with the security guard, and made a new friend.




After the game we hurried down to the neighboring state capital, where my friend and I were going to run a 1/2 marathon the next morning. I was still feeling pretty lousy, but God was gracious, and by the time the race started I felt better. Here is a picture my friend and I at the race start - with the capital building in the background.

Of course the early race start meant that Seth and Juliette had to also get up early to drop me off. Here we are leaving the hotel room. I'm not totally sure Seth is awake.

Do you like Seth's beard? He is growing it for hunting season- but hopefully it will be gone next week after he shoots his deer. I can't wait!

So my friend was gracious enough to run most of the race with me. I'm not sure if I could have finished it without her, but together we enjoyed a lot of good talking and fellowship as the miles passed by. I can't believe how resilient God makes our bodies. Every time I finish a race I am amazed at how adaptable our bodies are - truly we are wonderfully and fearfully made! Here we are at the race finish.


We also were able to meet up with my dad in The Big City, and he was kind enough to do a photo shoot for us. Of course, he was giving me a hard time for wanting to get our Christmas photos done so early, but being the cheap skate that I am, I was itching to take advantage of Shutterfly's early bird specials. Though this isn't the photo I chose for our card, particularly because Jewel's hand is in her face, here is a little sample of the shoot.

Jewel, poor girl, was pretty wiped from the busy weekend and getting up so early to drop me off at the race, so she wasn't that thrilled about posing for pictures. See?

Speaking of Jewel, she has started taking steps on her own. I wouldn't say that she is walking yet, but from time to time she'll take a step or two - or four. She is also really into climbing things. She keeps attempting to climb up the couch, climb on any available boxes or baskets, or even climb into the fridge. Yikes!

I guess that is what happens when you have a mountain-climbing, all-Colorado-14er-conquering, practically half-mountain-goat man for a grandpa. I'm talking about Seth's dad of course. Seth's parents are actually coming tomorrow for a visit. We're looking forward to having them here, of course. And I'm excited for them to see Juliette's new-found skills.

Juliette's sheep costume is finished. Anticipate pics soon!

Last but not least (at least not in Seth's book), we finally broke down and got Dish TV this week. Seth just couldn't stand the fact that his football team has won 6 games in a row, and he hasn't seen a single one of them. So we now have television, after not having it for a year. I have mixed feelings about it, but I have to confess that it will be nice to get to watch something without being constricted to waiting for it to download.

So I guess that pretty much catches us up. Just in time for the weekend - whew!

The Hat is Finished

Now, to get some other things done around here!