Blank Slate

I can't believe it;
my Monday is a blank slate.

No more Christmas shopping to accomplish
or events to prepare for.

No returns to make.

No snow or floods
and the accompanying delays or cancellations
of school.

No children vomiting.

No appointments.

Laundry completely caught up;
not even any loads left to fold.

House clean.

And I am rested and have some energy.

Weird.
So Weird.

But soooooooo awesome!!!

Things That Make Me Happy, 2009 Vol. 1

A fresh coating of snow.
(I know my daughter is sick of it, but I like how it looks).
Long-sleeved layering tees from Gap.
(I picked up a couple for $10 each before Christmas. Ooh-la-la! )
My digital picture frame (Merry Christmas from Jim) that's displaying
My favorite pics of flowers that I've taken over the last few years.
Sharp, sturdy steak knives (Merry Christmas from Sean).
A new Sudoku book (Merry Christmas from Nate).
Killer fuzzy socks (Merry Christmas from Cami).
Facebook. (Too much fun).
NFL wild card weekend starting tomorrow.
Sunshine (albeit the cold variety).
Vacation.
My hubby and kids.
A roof over my head and a warm, comfy bed to curl up in at night.

Adult-Size

It's kept hitting me between the eyes over the last six months or so:
Everything in my house is adult-size. Everything.

Shoes.
Shirts.
Shampoo bottles.
Dishes.
Bodies.
Appetites.
Senses of humor.
Conversations.
TV viewing.
Bedtimes.

It's all BIG now;
grown-up.
Adult-size.

I have to THINK now, when I'm folding laundry,
which t-shirts and socks are Jim's;
they're all the same size (well, I guess Nate's are a bit bigger).

If the kids' friends are over, that batch of cookies or brownies
might last 24 hours,
provided I remember to set aside a little
for tomorrow's school lunches.

Non-essential items in cupboards and closets have had to find new homes
to make room for bigger shoes,
bigger clothes,
more food.

TV shows that used to be too scary are now
family viewing.

The night-owl children in my house
frequently outlast me
and THEY send ME to bed.

Dinner conversations are forums for
adult-size opinions,
views on world events,
and processing about the people and situations around us.

And the shampoo...
My kids all LIKE to be clean - even the boys.
Daily, there are seven showers taken in our home.
Yes, my boys each take a shower before and after schoool.
Does this cost more? Absolutely. But I'm not arguing...
I think it's a small price to pay for them to feel good!

Some days all this adult-sizedness boggles my mind.

At some mundane moment,
like when I open the door of the entryway closet
and am searching for space to put my shoes
because we just can't fit so many pairs in there anymore,
it will hit me...

How did we get HERE?
How did we get
from those scrawny helpless newborns
TO THIS:
Teenage drivers,
electric guitars,
GPAs,
jobs,
picking colleges,
discussions about life, love, faith and futures.

And how on earth did it go SO FAST?

It's a humbling thing for my household to be adult-sized.
I realize at the same time how much,
and how little,
influence I have as the mom.

I'm profoundly grateful for the God whom, I know without doubt,
holds my children in the warm, wise circle of His embrace.

No matter how big they grow.

One Last Bit of Football Goodness

First, let me apologize for the randomness of my posts.
Football, football, something serious, then football again.
Any of you who started reading my blog way back when it began
will know you were duly warned that this was a blog of MUSINGS.
Random musings of whatever is rambling around my brain...
which could be just about anything.
But in the fall, you can bet one of the main things will be
FOOTBALL.
So bear with me for just a little while longer...

Our LC football boys have had a roller coaster regular season,
ending with two lopsided losses.
I'm not sure if even the boys themselves were excited about playing a postseason game.
But play they did.

Traveling to Kings to play on enemy turf,
in super-soggy conditions,
our boys pulled out a wonderful win.
Four second quarter TD's.
Five interceptions by the LC D.
No lost fumbles or interceptions by the offense
(a minor miracle, considering the conditions).
They came, fought and conquered. Yeah boys!

And I missed the whole doggone thing.
My son - my OWN kid -
as opposed to my adopted "football kids",
had a band concert.
A very short band concert.
Three songs to be exact.
(The eighth grade band added another three.)
35 minutes total.

Ah, if only it were possible to be in two places at once!
When is that Star Trek teleporter gizmo going into production?

The concert was neat. Very enjoyable.
I was so proud to see my boy up there doing his thing.
But I did miss being in Seattle for that glorious game.

So the LC boys lived to play another day.
The next game is against a highly-regarded and storied Orting program.
On Tuesday, in Sumner (which is practically in Orting's backyard)
our boys will have one ginormous football mountain to climb.
Barring some unforseen catastrophe, I'll be there.
And barring some unbelievable miracle, it will be the end of football season.
Win or lose, it will be one last bit of football goodness for 2008.

Go team!!!

Which We Have Looked at and Our Hands Have Touched

MY hands have not touched Jesus' body.
I have not looked at His human face
or heard the sound waves of His voice.

But I hold in my hands the words written
by those who did.
The powerful testimony of those who
heard,
saw,
touched;
who witnessed Jesus Christ firsthand
and were compelled
by His presence
to believe.

I cannot adequately explain the mystery
of Christ IN ME -
without having physically
touched or heard or seen,
I, too, HAVE touched
and heard
and seen.
The internal testimony of the Holy Spirit
and the external testimony of God's Word
confirms it.

May the testimony of Christ's life in me
be as tangible and powerful
as that put forth in John's words:

"The life appeared;
we have seen it and testify to it,
and we proclaim to you the eternal life,
which was with the Father
and has appeared to us.
We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard,
so that you also may have fellowship with us.
And our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ." (I John 1:2-3)

There is not one thing I want more in all the world
than for every person to experience
this glorious assurance of fellowship
with their Creator-Savior God.

That they may
hear
and see
and touch
THE TRUTH.