Random...
That pretty accurately describes me most of the time! So welcome to my world. That (i.e. random) will be the theme of this post. There's lots of things I wanted to share -- probably would be worthy of individual blog posts, but I'm too lazy to do that. So hop on my wavelength and consider yourself randomized! :)

The Boob Fund
Ha! That feels weird to even write! However, it's completely serious, and I want you to check it out. My friend, Hugh (aka Dude to Dad) is raising money for Breast Cancer as a gift for his wife's (Amy) first Mother's Day. You see, his Mother-in-Law discovered she had breast cancer while she was pregnant with Amy. She died the day after Mother's Day in 1980. Hugh and Amy's daughter is named after Amy's mother. What a beautiful way to celebrate and honor a life -- and what a touching Mother's Day gift. Please go check out http://www.theboobfund.com/ and donate if you're able. You can watch the video and laugh and cry, just as I did.

So... now for pics from this weekend. I already shared pics from the Komen race we attended on Saturday. On Sunday morning... oh yeah, that was my other random thought...

We went to church, and the pastor spoke on the Church of Thessolaniaca (I'm sure I completely messed up that spelling). He talked about their misunderstanding of the time in which they were -- they believed they were in "The Coming of the Lord" and past the rapture. I'm not going to summarize the sermon, because I'm sure I won't do it justice. But it was one of the better sermons we've heard. Anyway, he went on to talk about the Rapture and how all Christians being taken up would leave the earth void of the Holy Spirit (because the Holy Spirit indwells all believers). Then he used a great quote from C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" illustrating non-believers who choose to believe in the Lord once He's plainly visible. It's the quote that just really stuck with me and that I wanted to share:

"God is going to invade this earth in force. But what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream, and something else -- something it never entered your head to conceive -- comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us, and so terrible to others, that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature.

It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing; it will be the time when we discover which side we have really chosen, whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back, to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.." ~ C. S. Lewis "Mere Christianity"

I just thought it was SO powerful -- it's easy to put off believing and having faith when Jesus Christ isn't right there in your face saying, "here I am -- believe!"

Anyway... on to my next random and how we spent the rest of Saturday. It was spent here (or at least part of the afternoon following naps):

I had seen this park a few times as I drove past it, and thought it would be a fun new place to explore with the kids. And it was. Except it was sand. And we were intending to go out to eat when we finished at the park. And we weren't intending to go home first to clean up. Read: MESSY!

So, we instilled a "no touching the sand" rule. Yeah, that was successful! (please hear the sarcasm dripping).

Actually, it was pretty successful for Amara. She kept looking longingly at the teens building sand castles. Then she'd look up at me and say, "Look mommy, I'm not touching the sand. I'm building a giant sand castle with my feet." They didn't really play on the equipment at all -- they longed for the sand.






Dominic, on the other hand, not so good at the no hands in the sand rule. He plopped right down next to the teen girl building the castle and asked if he could join her (hey -- at least he asked!). She looked hesitatingly at me, and I granted permission for him to hold the cup and tip the sand castle into place. It was semi-clean. Of course, then he immediately took his hand and smashed the castle to the ground so he could rebuild it. Not so clean!

Now if you don't know me well, it's imperative that you understand that I AM NOT A NEAT FREAK. I truly love few things more than just getting totally sloppy dirty in the mud, sand, or whatever. I loved playing in sandboxes as a kid. The biggest challenge we faced on Sunday was the desire to go to a restaurant without first driving home. Wet wipes and restaurant bathrooms can only accomplish so much. Jon, on the other hand, is much more of a neat person. He's the only person I know who can sit down to a 4-hour crab-picking meal (think Baltimore Blue Crab covered in Old Bay) and come out of the event with not only clean hands and arms, but also a clean glass. Me -- I'm covered in the stuff!

So I expressed to Jon how much I used to love playing in the sand and that I wanted the kids to experience that, too. Jon said, "I used to love playing in the sand, too... until one of my friends got worms from it."

My instant response: "OK, kids, let's go to the restaurant." We'll find a new park next time! EW!!!

On the remodeling front, here's the photo of our Sunday efforts:

I do realize that the photo doesn't look much different from the most recent photo. However, the differences are significant -- about 3 hours worth significant! From the old photos, you'll see that the top left cabinet was filled with grey fluff -- that grey fluff was insulation. We removed all of that into a black plastic garbage bag to be returned to the attic. The other thing you'll notice about the earlier pictures is that there was a frame work of 2x4 studs and a sheet of wallboard framing off the area above the cabinets that used to be the soffit. Additionally, there was a frame around the door. Removing all of these pieces of wood and framework was a very tedious and challenging project. Not only did they continue in the immaculate design by the carpenter, but also their location and tight spaces made it very hard to maneuver the hammer and pry bar. And the nails were HUGE nails and at angles opposite each other to provide strength -- all making it challenging to remove them!

But we did! (or Jon did). Yay us! (Yay Jon!) :)

This week may be challenging to get time for renovation work. Monday night I started a new Bible Study called "Lord, Change My Attitude." I'll admit, it speaks directly to me. The first chapter last night was on complaining. Yep -- totally convicted me. Why is it that when I'm at a loss for what to say I can't settle for silence, and must instead complain about something (it's so hot, I'm so tired, etc., etc., etc.). As if people need to know a play by play of the negative things in my life. The convicting thought was this: our complaints of the few little things in our life that are "wrong" are a direct slap in the face to God, who has given us bountiful blessings. Why can't we focus on them instead and trust that God will get us through the "small annoyances." And if we choose to focus on the good things, and choose a positive reaction to the "bad" things -- how much more joy filled will our lives be!

Yep, it was a brick upside the head night last night. Stop complaning girl!

OK, I'm off my randomness now. Out of topics for today. At least I mixed it up with some pictures. :)