Here are pics of the murals my sister and I have been working on.

Bragging

I have been crocheting lately. I usually don't finish, but I had a reason this time.

I gave it away to someone. My mother told me the lady I gave it to wore it to church this morning, and looked great. Another lady put in an order for one. I stayed up late last night and made the same pattern in a fluffy white yarn for my mother to give to a friend. It looks totally different, but is very beautiful. (and yes, I am aware of my poor grammar this afternoon. but I find I'm too tired to care)

A Lament for Goldie

Our fish, Goldie, died last night. We are amazed that he made it this long. I bought him at Walmart. I gave him to my son for his last birthday, in January. No one thought Goldie would live out the first week. But he made it through the last 8 months. I did not know I was attached to Goldie until I found him, lifeless, at the bottom of his tank. I had just remarked a few hours earlier that he seemed to recognize me when I walked by. When I conducted the solemn rite of toilet flushing this morning, I got a little teary-eyed. It was sad because I remembered how excited P. was that I got him a fish. It was one of those moments when all was well between us. I had the pleasure of giving him a gift he had not asked for, and seeing the joy it brought to his little life.

P. was more confused than anything when I told him Goldie had died. He asked a lot of questions about if other things die, like cats, and dogs, and soap. A few minutes later he became really still and took a deep breath and asked, Do people die? But he handled it well and suggested that we just get another fish and call it Goldie.

Monday Miscellany

I haven't posted for a while, so I figured I should. I don't have anything too specific to talk about though, so I am borrowing from my dh and having a miscellany day.

Painting-I am currently quite busy painting murals on the walls in the nursery rooms at church. It is really quite fun, but tiring. It has inspired me to rethink my children's rooms. I have always wanted to do murals, but was afraid. I think I could do it now.

School-P. starts his new school tomorrow. It will be weird to not be able to walk by and peek in his classroom to see what he is doing. I have always known that letting them start their own separate life would be hard for me. I like knowing what they do all day. I guess it's the part of me that won't put down a book until I finish. I like knowing all the details and how things end. I am excited for P. I think this will be good for him and for me.

No school-I will not be returning to the MMO this year. I am a little sad, especially since the room is finally being redone, but I am more happy that I will not be working. Those three hours that P. will be gone are looking awfully precious.

Bedtime-P. is usually pretty good about going to bed. Last night, however, I heard him crying. Usually it means there is a bug in his room. But last night, I'm not sure what set him off. I kinda think he must have fallen asleep and had a bad dream then woke up. But his face was puffy from crying, so he must have been crying for a while. I did actually feel a little guilty that I did not hear him sooner. He said, "I cried and you didn't come!" That didn't make me feel any better. I comforted him and tried to find out what was wrong, but he wouldn't tell me. During the middle of an incoherent ramble, he asked me for a picture of me and his dad. I obliged with a picture of us before we were married. He just gazed at it, but he still didn't want me to leave. A few minutes later, I convinced him I needed to go, that he could just talk to my picture, "but pictures don't talk" he said. I finally promised to come check on him in a little while. He manfully held back his tears, I could tell it was hard for him, the corners of his mouth couldn't have possibly gotten any lower. I told him I was very proud of him for letting me leave, and that he was a big boy. His parting comment was,"big boys cry sometimes?" I really hated to leave him, but E. was alone in the living room. This is not a good thing. I was planning on putting E. to bed in a few minutes so I could check on P. Then she started choking. I was convinced she had swallowed a small plastic animal. She stopped choking, but her eye was all red. Then half of her face got puffy and red, and she said her eye hurt. I am trying to decide if I should take her to the e.r. Her daddy is looking up possible causes of eye pain and says across the room, "is it shingles?" I'm thinking pink eye, or a sinus infection that has leaked into the skin(which has happened to her before) or just plain allergies, but in the back of my mind I'm still wondering if she swallowed a small plastic animal. I finally just give her an anti-histamine and put her in the pack-n-play and she falls asleep. At some point during all the worry, splitcat goes upstairs to check on P. for me. He informs me that he is laying in bed gazing at the picture I gave him. By the time I made it upstairs, he was asleep. So the first thing he says to me this morning? "Momma, you didn't come check on me." p.s. either the prayer or the antihistamine worked, e. was fine in about 30 minutes.

E.-since I'm usually moaning about her various illnesses, here is a brief, aww isn't she cute(with a little moaning). Two nights ago, E. wouldn't go to sleep, so I brought her back downstairs(end motherly complaint). splitcat was watching Batman (the cartoon from the early nineties, which is still one of my favs) E. got really into it. Not too far into the second episode, she picked up a dark blue throw and slung it over her head and said....."I'm Batman"

Complaining-I do whine alot about the various illnesses and what not, so this is just to say that I do find my children to be very delightful. Usually. :) Maybe I should always end a blog with something I like about the people in my family.

Something good about my family:

splitcat: patience

P.-I like how he doesn't care how other people think about him. I also like how he flaps his wings(his hands) every time I pick him up. Yes, it looks goofy, but I know it makes him feel special. In his mind he really is flying. I don't want him to lose his imagination.

E.--I like the way she randomly points to her fingernails and says "more." (Because I painted her fingernails a couple of times she always wants her nails painted) Why do I like this. Because she is already a girly girl. She loves to wear dresses and fix her hair and wear lots of jewelry. Though I am wondering how this will all pan out when she hits 13.

It is the end of a long conference day. I am still working out all I've heard today. While none of the messages was necessarily new to me, I realized that it is important to be reminded of the things we know about God. When our eyes are turned more toward ourselves than Heaven we begin to forget the message of the cross. When we lose ourselves in the miry clay of the world, sometimes we forget that His hand is always extended and poised to pull us free. We just have to reach out and take it.

The worship today was astounding. This morning was Todd Ganovski, and this afternoon and evening was led by Merchant Band. If you don't like intense worship, I will not recommend these people to you. It can be both loud and strangely silent. There is no pressure to do all the right worship things. You may sit or stand, dance or lay on your face. I'm not telling which I did :). What has impacted me most, both last year and this year, is how I can see the light of God in the faces of these people. They have set themselves apart, and it shows. Tonight's teaching was on being set apart, like John the Baptist. Living a life of fasting and prayer.

I have had much on my mind and heart lately about being set apart, about what it means to be a christian. So I had some confirmation on some things I have been thinking.

I think I am too tired to say much more, so good night.

I'll be away this weekend at the OneThing Conference. We had a wonderful time last night, two more days to go. I expect to be thouroughly tired, hoarse, and wonderful by the end. But I already miss my family. Hi guys!!

Put Your Foot Down, It's Party Time

We had quite the party weekend, and I am only just recovering. On Friday evening we went to a birthday bash for my mother-in-law. It was quite a party, she wanted to do something to thank all the people who had helped them out over the past year as she recovered from her surgery and subsequent near-death experience. It was really nice to see all these people and how much they appreciate my mother-in-law. She is the person who will do anything for anybody. We try to tell her it's ok to say no, but she won't. It wasn't easy for her to let so many people help her, but they were able to repay her for all the kindnessess she has done for them.

Saturday, we went to the in-laws to visit with the out-of-towners. We stayed up late playing Acquire and Texas Hold-em Yahtzee. I had a really great time. Unfortunately our sleeping schedules(and by "we" I mean E.) got all out of whack. So if I look like death warmed over, it's because that's how I feel.

I'd like to give a shout out to my sister for the fortitude she has shown this week in sending her kids to public school.

Today we went on a play date with my college roommate's little girls. I am so glad to have found some more children that P. likes. It's been great visiting again with my friend, too. I find it amazing that even after ten years, mostly apart, we still have that subtle understanding of one another that comes when you live in a 15x15 cement block room with the same person for two years.

That's all the news for now, I guess. It's hard to blog when all you can think about is the next time you get to sleep.