Run away words

Lately I've caught myself replaying conversations in my mind alot. Like last night, after coffee with the girls, I had a quiet drive home (Unusual!) As I drove into my driveway, I realized that I'd played back the entire conversation in my head, trying to decide if I'd said anything that might offend someone or misrepresent someone or something just plain stupid that I never should've said. And if I thought of something, I spent time wondering if I should apologize to the people I've misrepresented or offended - when they probably went home and forgot about it or didn't know in the first place.
It seems that I say things I shouldn't all the time! I don't know why this surprises me so much. I mean, James 3:8 says, "But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison."
But here's my dilemma. I can't decide if the repetitive playback is based on the Holy Spirit's attempts to teach me to control my tongue or if I'm just obsessed with myself, worried that someone will think less of me if I say something dumb.
Even as I write this, I'm reading and re-reading, attempting to see it through your eyes and remove any wayward words. I think I could drive myself crazy really quickly!

Oh, something else totally off subject but not deserving of it's own post. I completely inadvertently taught Julia to say "Uh oh" yesterday. She was sitting in her highchair and dropped a Cheerio on the floor. I looked at her and said, "Uh oh", and she said "Uh Uh". I almost fell out of my chair. I was not expecting that one! Anyway, it's really cute, and I wish you all could hear it! =)

Oh what a beautiful morning!

Caleb was running out the door to work on Wednesday morning. He opened the garage door, and this is what he saw.

Surprise!
The car had been parked just in front of the driveway on the right side of this picture. A lady down the street had been headed to work when her son escaped from his car seat. She unbuckled, turned around to buckle him back in and SMASH!


I was happy Caleb wasn't in the car when she hit it. But the car's totaled - kind of sad cuz it might have been old and not very beautiful, but it was a dependable little thing that got good gas mileage. Oh well. I guess that's the way life goes. Caleb wants a pickup. I'm not sure how much money the insurance will give us for the car, but I bet it's not worth much (except it was to us!). Anybody have a decently running pickup they want to sell for...oh... $1500? =)

My guy

Caleb was putting Kylie to bed the other night. I noticed her pink blankie on the living room floor, so I carried it into her bedroom.
Teasing, I said, "This is mommy's pink blankie. Mommy loves her pink blankie," as I cuddled with the blankie.
Kylie started insisting, "That's MY pink blankie, mommy," and laughing hilariously. So I handed her the pink blankie. She grinned and then looked worried - like I might be sad cuz I didn't have a pink blankie.
Realizing what she was thinking, I said, "It's ok, Kylie. Daddy's my blankie," and I cuddled up next to Caleb.
She looked at me for a second and said, "No, He's not your blankie. He's your guy!"

And now Becca will be laughing!

I was coloring pictures with Kylie today. She asks so nicely that it's impossible to say no.
"Mommy, will you please color with me?"
So I finally managed to sit down with her. She wanted me to draw her a picture, "of Kylie and Ethan and Daddy and Mommy and Julia." I have NO artistic talent, but I tried.

Look! Caleb and I are even holding hands! =) Anyway, I got to Julia (who just started crawling) and decided to draw a picture of her crawling on the floor instead of my usual standing up, arms straight out stick people. So I draw my masterpiece and ask, "Who's this, Kylie."
"A turtle," she replied.
Then I looked. I think it does look more like a turtle than Julia after all. Ethan LAUGHED! Wow! Who knew as a mommy I would need artistic talent? I think I'll hire Becca to do art with my kids!

Becca's going to kill me...

Those of you who know my sister Rebecca know she is great with a camera. She takes absolutely amazing pictures of all sorts of things. But, when you point the camera at her, she makes terrible faces, hides, does all kinds of antics to get out of having an actually decent picture of herself. Well, I decided the other day I wasn't going to stop snapping pictures of her until she smiled nicely for the camera. This is what I got.





After 57 pictures - and about 20 more I deleted - here's my reward!

Star Struck?

Caleb says I'm star struck. But, I think it's the opposite. I finally found a politician that I'm pretty sure I could sit down and have a perfectly normal conversation with. That's right, I watched Sarah Palin give her speech at the RNC last night. I really know very little about her - I'd never heard her speak before last night. I know alot of people are saying very good things about her, and alot of people are saying very bad things. But, I thought she was excellent last night. She's an compelling speaker, intelligent, and feisty. But, I think she'd just be a fun person to know. I wanted to hold her baby and talk about how he's sleeping at night and what the other kids think of him. Did anyone else see the shots of her youngest daughter (she's 8 maybe?) holding the baby, licking her entire hand, and smoothing his hair down? It was the cutest thing! Too bad Julia doesn't have much hair, or I'd teach Kylie to do that just so I could have it on video! Adorable!
Anyway, I know very little about Sarah Palin's political or moral convictions (although the fact that she considers her baby with Downs Syndrome a blessing from God speaks volumes about her heart), but I think if she was my next door neighbor, we would be friends. Is that a good enough reason to vote for her to be Vice President? =)

Am I really talking about politics??

Although I think politics is interesting, I don't usually write about it. I don't really want to debate with or offend people who don't agree with my view. It just creates strife. But, I can't resist making a couple statements about Barack Obama's acceptance speech last night. First of all, I'm not a huge fan of Obama. He seems too popular to be right to me. But, I have to say that most of what he said last night sounded pretty good to me. I mean, I'm just as sick as everyone else of the way "politics" goes in our country. I'm tired of continuous attacks and words with no substance behind them. I'm tired of people talking smoothly enough to be elected into office, only for their power-hungry egos to be corrupted by power. Obama did a good job of listing the problems in our society and stating that, with his leadership of course, the American spirit could solve the problems.
I was bothered by the way people reacted to his speech. I mean, I think most of the people in that stadium would've bowed down and kissed his feet. That fanatic loyalty evidenced by screaming, sobbing devotees seems to me like adoration that should only be lavished on God - not any man.
Also, I think Obama revealed his ignorance of God and His ways. The last line of his speech quoted the Bible saying, "in the words of scripture hold firmly, without wavering, to the hope that we confess." I can't tell you off the top of my head where in the Bible that comes from (although if my dad reads this, I'm sure he'll tell me), but I am positive that the hope we confess is not hope in Barack Obama or the American spirit. It's hope in God alone and the salvation He offers through His Son, Jesus Christ. He's our only hope for peace or security. If Obama does not line up his life with Jesus Christ, ultimately everything he does will end up in failure - if not on earth than in eternity.
Behind the winning smile, the persuasive speaking, the grasp of what America could be with good leadership, Obama fails to honor God in his view of the world. He chooses phrases from the Bible to fit his purposes and ignores parts that are inconvenient to him. Perhaps all politicians do that - certainly most would if they thought it would help them get elected.
Bottom line is this. If I was going to vote for a man who I thought would cause our country to prosper economically and regain it's respected status in the world, I would at least consider voting for Barack Obama. But God cares about things like the lives of unborn babies and the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. And because of that, I cannot vote for Barack Obama. I'm almost sad to not have a choice.