Another Top Ten

28 July 2008

The busy month of July is almost over and I'm afraid I'm on the verge of crashing from this month-long high.

A short list of the amazing things that happened this month:
  1. The Boy, having attended two kids clubs and one camp, made a friend (or two, or three!)
  2. Having become a commuter and a bookclubber, I made a friend (or two, or three!)
  3. Husband unofficially began full-time ministry
  4. Six campers put their trust in Christ
  5. Our crate came! We are now sleeping in our own beds and we are surrounded by family pictures.
  6. I got to design and edit (and finish!) our field orientation manual
  7. My mom bought a plane ticket to visit in November
  8. The Boy is enrolled in school
  9. Summer has come to Ireland - at least for the last 3 days!
  10. The Girl continues to live her happy Irish life

I'm beginning to learn the importance of writing down these (big and small) milestones... to remember God's faithfulness, despite my reticence; to rejoice in His strength, despite my weakness.

Just as I wrote this, a letter came in the post... from our church, and our dear friends.  And a quote:

"Don't sweat the petty things,
and don't pet the sweaty things!"

Truer words were never spoken.

Favourite. Picture. Ever.

22 July 2008

IMG_1721
The only way this picture could be better is if I had gotten Ella's face in the shot.

My Top Ten Reasons...

21 July 2008

...why I don't camp. Period.

1) bugs
2) sweat
3) shared bathrooms
4) very low top bunks
5) bugs
6) dirt
7) Jackson & Ella, unplugged, and outta control
8) early nights
9) earlier mornings
10) bugs

So alas, I have found myself at a camp. I have posted on another blog (a more upstanding and slightly holier blog) about the upside of camp life. I take it all back! No really, this camp isn't too bad. The people are lovely and the scenery is quite beautiful and Husband is in his field of expertise, but the children... oh the children... not the campers, but MY OWN CHILDREN! They're crazies! Nature brings out this feisty, dirt infested, always hungry side to my children. Then there's the being stuck in the same room with them, for hours at time, with nothing but LarryBoy reenactments to keep us company. As of now, I have zero photographic evidence of said children, but that's for fear of sand and dirt and rage being inflicted upon camera.

So I'm considering taking leave tomorrow, with crazies in tow, back home to lovely Co Meath and our separate bedrooms, and DVD player, and bathtubs. Of course, then I will be alone with them, all day, sole disciplinarian and cook (I'm sure those who know me will know which of these two things is the most difficult for me). Stay tuned...

The New Telemarketers

10 July 2008

An email from my mom yesterday...

So I got this phone call last night from Jay Sekulow - the Christian justice guy. So they play this breaking news tape, then the guy comes on and asks me for a couple hundred dollars. I told him I didn't have a couple hundred and he said they didn't need it immediately, just sometime during the next three weeks. Then he explains Jay's message and what it would mean to Christians and would I stand behind Jay, and I said, sure I'll stand behind him, I just can't give any money. Then he talks about it a little more and asks for 35 to 50. And I say I just don't have any money. Then he explains the situation further and I said, Please don't ask me a fourth time. I don't have any money. Then he said thank you and hung up. They just don't give up, do they?

I'm not sure I have any quippy remarks about this one, despite reflecting on the fact that "Christian" appears to have been hijacked by just another mass-market harasser. A more worthy cause then cheaper long distance? Perhaps... Rude and self-aggrandizing? Definitely...

Whatever happened to praying?

 
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