Baseball Season Begins!

It's game time! Almost, anyway. My son had a scrimmage this evening - the first of the year with his new team. Scrimmages are only fun for the people playing, by the way. Maybe for the coaches and some of the dads, but not for the faint-hearted. For starters, there's no food booth, no permanent bathroom facility, no bleachers and was far from home (clear across town, can you imagine? Just kidding). I've been a bit spoiled by the fact that the regular field is roughly located in our back yard.

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So, this evening was spent dodging foul balls, shivering and trying hard to decide exactly how loudly nature would have to call before I'd resort to the porta-potty (a/k/a the big, bad, blue box) set up directly behind the umpire. It was all completely worth it when my favorite ball player stepped up to bat. I love watching him play, he is so determined and even when he is on the bench, he cheers enthusiastically for his team.

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My husband teases me though, because I tend to close my eyes if the count is full (3 balls, 2 strikes) while he is batting. I just can't watch. Sometimes I even pray. I know that it seems so minuscule, but I can't help it - the anxiety gets to me.

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And so it begins, baseball season is upon us.

Something New

I've always loved making things. Ever since I was little, I was always trying to sew something, cook something, grow something or invent something. I also loved to try to sell the things that I made - with mixed results, I might add.

So, with that in mind, I'd like to show you my newest endeavor.

http://www.aprilinjanuary.etsy.com/

I only have four items listed so far, but more will be coming soon.

The Importance of Education a/k/a Gettin' Schooled

I remember my college graduation very well. My grandmother attended and was so proud that one of her grandkids (there were 8 of us) had gone to college - I was the first. When I returned to her and my parents afterwards, my dad asked me how I felt. Being young and thinking I knew everything, I answered, I am SO glad to be done with all of this learning. My grandmother, at the age of 80, chuckled and said, Don't be silly. You'll never be done with learning. Wow, was she ever right. Because of her, I adopted a new outlook - you truly do learn something new every day, whether you want to, or not.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend a youth worker's conference at Messiah College and was completely blown out of the water. What an awesome experience it turned out to be. Reggie Dabbs was a dynamic speaker - funny, serious, motivational, inspirational and interactive - altogether amazing.

I'm still processing the information that was "uploaded" yesterday, but I already feel recharged and a renewed sense of purpose for my work with the youth group.

So Proud!

One Saturday evening, my daughter competed in our county's idol competition. We asked her repeatedly if she was nervous, and she just shrugged and said, "No, not really." She loves to sing, so this was right up her alley.

Her song was "Sky Full of Angels" by Taranda Greene. It's one of her favorites.

All together, she brought in $460.00 for PRIDE. What a kid!

My only regret is that we don't have a video of her singing.

Brand New Teenager!

I can't believe she's a teenager! Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

This is her favorite tree. She loves to climb up and perch on that branch, it was one of the first things she did after we moved in.

I can't believe how much she has changed over the past few years!

Here's some interesting family trivia:

• My son and my daughter have birthdays on the 20th of different months
• My brother and I have birthdays on the 25th of different months
• My uncle (passed on) and my mother have (had) birthdays on the 26th of different months.

My Accomplishment for Today

Created by Train Horns

35 years old, and WOW was that sound annoying!

Unfortunately, I passed this test too.

Created by Parent Audio Test

Rantin' and Ravin'

Please pardon this rant, it has been building up for awhile now and I really feel the need to voice my rather strong opinion on this issue.

Recently I checked in on the Pure Freedom website http://www.purefreedom.org/ and their sister site http://www.secretkeepergirl.com/ , as it is an awesome resource for books and information aimed at Christian tweens and teens, and, on their blog, was introduced to Barbie's latest incarnation.

Are you all ready for this?

Tattoo Barbie

That's right folks, Barbie is 50 years old and to celebrate she went out and got inked. But not to worry little girls, she brought enough tats to go around.

How ludicrous is it that Mattell even thought this would be a good idea?! Now, just so you know, Barbie and I have never been close. The few Barbies I ever owned ended up looking like Demi Moore in G.I. Jane due to my frequent and amateur haircuts. I much preferred playing with my imaginary friends, Ponch and Bo Duke. My daughter inherited my ambivilance towards the dolls, so Barbie was not much of an issue for us. Because of our indifference, I guess I kind of lost track of what she was up to these days, so imagine my surprise when I saw how Barbie has changed.

As I was still reeling from Barbie's somewhat extreme makeover, I stumbled upon a reality show called Toddlers in Tiaras. To be very honest, I could not stomach more than 15-20 minutes of the program. Within that limited time frame, I witnessed little girls under 7 years old getting fake hair, fake teeth, fake tans, legs shaved, eyebrows waxed and enough makeup to buy a Mary Kay rep one of those pink cars. It was horrifying. What does this say to girls about self-image, body issues and the true meaning of beauty?

So, between Barbie Gone Wild and the Toddlers in Tiaras Trainwreck, I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw my daughter's most recent issue of Brio lying on our dining room table - until I picked it up, that is. Apparently, Focus on the Family has made the decision to discontinue Brio magazine in its printed form. According to their website, they made the decision due to economic reasons and discontinued two other publications as well. I have always been pleased with Brio magazine and the quality of all of Focus on the Family's products, which makes me all the more disappointed in their decision to discontinue what is to my knowledge the only Christian magazine aimed at teenage girls available at the moment. I'm still hoping that they reconsider their decision. Raising young girls is hard enough with the world trying to tell them that they have to look and act a certain way, especially so if those of us who believe differently don't take a stand.

Its a Wrap!

I finished two wrap skirts for my daughter a while ago, but hadn't managed to post the finished product here yet. The pattern is by Make It Perfect!

Because teal is her favorite color at the moment, here is one done in teal with a gold/yellow trim. (I took these pictures with my phone as my camera is not functioning well.)

Don't you just love the bare feet? She shares the same aversion to shoes that I do. Genetics, what can you do?

Since she needed a black skirt for various upcoming concerts, we made a black wrap skirt too. It turned out well, but really shows the lint.

Again, sorry about the phone pics.

How I Spent My Wednesday Evening

My husband spent the weekend not feeling very well and felt even worse as the week began. His doctor diagnosed him with asthmatic bronchitis (we're all going to assume I spelled that correctly, 'kay?) His general feeling of misery increased as the evening progressed last evening and while I am a great admirer of various shades of plum and purple - it is just not a good color for him. Our conversation around 8:00 went something like this:

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Me: I think maybe you should call your doctor.

Him: I'm (cough, cough, cough, cough, wheeze) fine.

Me: How about we just go to the emergency room.

Him: No (wheeze, wheeze, wheeze, cough). I don't (cough) need (cough) the emergency room.

Me: I'm dialing the doctor.

Him: Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough.

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The doctor told us to go to the ER. Go figure. Unfortunately, we were treated to an extensive stay in the waiting room, where, in an effort to make your stay more enjoyable, they offer coffee now. I'm thinking it is going to take a lot more than coffee to make it worth my while. Hubby tried to leave three times during our hour and a half stint waiting for the triage nurse.

So, finally, after codeine cough syrup and a chest x-ray, he received a nebulizer treatment at 1:30 in the morning and I did what any mature, mother of two would do - started giggling and taking pictures.

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Fortuately, our trip to the ER was greatly helpful and my ever loving husband is able to breathe again - and I am very thankful.

Awesome Article

I just found an absolutely awesome article on the Dare 2 Share website http://www.dare2share.org/ (Equally terrific website, by the way). Reading this made me laugh, because it is just so true. Enjoy!
http://www.dare2share.org/students/christians-are-to-the-world-as-dwight-is-to-the-office