Ooooo. . . . . . Shiney . . . .

Epiphany, according to Webster:

"3. a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience"

I had an "epiphany" this morning while I was getting dressed. I was pondering Ben's little (not so little to him) life's trials and thinking of how he got there. In doing so, it seems my mind literally jerked around to Goldilocks! What a contrast of characters! What a surprise to my thought process!

I will speak of Goldilocks and her role in my "epiphany".

On Wednesday night I kept Rease, Helena and Piper overnight for varying reasons. Paul dropped clothes by for Rease and Helena after they had gone to bed. Rease wore what Paul brought her, but Helena chose something from here. I bagged up the clothes and sat them by the front door to send back with Paul. But as with many things, in the haste of getting home Thursday night, they were left behind.

Rease had a field trip Friday morning. Paul brought the girls early, because Rease had to be to school early. She was all ready except for her hair. While I was putting Rease's hair in a pony tail, Paul told Helena to put on the jeans he had brought for her the other night. All this is taking place in the kitchen. Said jeans are in a bag in the living room.

Helena immediately sees some sea shells she found around the house and wanted to show her daddy - probably for the umpteenth time! He once again directed her to the living room. While on her way there she remembers a bag of sea shells she has in her "scrapbooking cabinet". Paul is getting frustrated by this time. She has been side tracked twice now. So he gets firm with her and sends her yet again to retrieve her jeans. She proceeds to have a conversation with him - about her sea shells as she is dawdling and slowly making her way to the living room. In his frustration I tell him he should be used to her getting side tracked by now. He then said something that is so true - as he is twisting his head and looking around, up in the air at imaginary things - " oooo. Pretty. Shiny. Just like her mommy", indicating that Kelly is the same way.

I related to that this morning. How we get ourselves into such quandaries. I know it doesn't take much in the "oooo, shiny" department to get me side tracked from the things of the Lord. It can be something as simple as thinking about what my day will hold, to doing laundry, or cleaning, or painting, and even the TV and the computer. These "shiny" things keep me from doing what God wants me to do on a regular basis: pray, devotions, reading His Word. I have the good intentions. I start in that direction. Then I catch it out of the corner of my eye. That "shiny thing" beckoning to me. I go to investigate and, well, the rest is history.

So it is in the very lives we live. The "shininess" of it gets us every time. Just like Helena, her mommy, me and even Ben, our peripheral vision catches that shiny object and we need to explore it. We need to embrace it, touch it, live it. I don't stop to think that perhaps Satan knows the shiny things I am attracted to. That he is more than happy to sit in his easy chair with his bag of pop corn and watch how it all plays out. That he is cheering me on, diverting me. I can only speak for myself when I say that I need to channel that diversion to the most important thing in life - my Lord. It will take discipline, but with God's grace and His gentle nudging, I should get there. I want to get there. I need to get there.

That's not to say that "shiny" things don't need to be or shouldn't be explored. Just not every single one! There's always going to be "shiny" things. But. . give to God what is God's and enjoy the shiny things He gives back! That's my goal. That's my desire.

Bath Time

If seeing a baby being bathed in the kitchen sink makes you squeamish, please turn away now.

I love giving Baby Girl a bath. She really enjoys bathtime, and that makes me smile. But I am totally amazed at the length of this little one's hair! It goes midway down her back when it's wet.

She is mezmerized by the water coming from the faucet. She thinks she should be able to grab hold of it. She was steady at it for quite some time!

When grabbing it didn't work, she opted to use her spoon to help snag the flowing stream!

Of course, now, I had nothing better to do than to watch her try and conquer this upside down spout. Nothing at all. Glad I'm not paying by the gallon!

Happy Birthday, Hopie! ! !

Happy Birthday, Tweener
Remember, to run with the wind at your back
And the sun in your face!

Reach for the stars
But grab the moon on the way!

Keep the ground beneath you solid
And your family close to your heart!

I love you Little Lady!
Happy Birthday!

Love,
MOM-MOM

Ben vs Hamsters

What does one do on a rainy Friday afternoon besides sleep, and you're 23, or 9, or 6?

If you're nine, you convince your uncle that's twenty-three to play your "Mazin Hamsters" game and win you lots of money so you can buy a house for your "Mazin Hamsters"! Of course you are going to root your uncle on. The more confidence he has, the more money you get!

And if you are twenty-three and bored out of your brains you allow yourself to be talked into playing "Mazin Hamsters" by your nine year old niece! The more "practice" you get, the more money you win your niece! And for a little while you get to be a "gamer" once again and she gets to buy a house! It's a win win situation!

But, now, if you happen to be the six year old, you just sit and watch and wait your turn - that never comes - so you can play on the computer too.

Two of My Favorite Things. . . .

These have become two of my favorite things.

I am/was an avid Miracle Whip user. There were no choices when you visited my fridge. Miracle Whip or nothing. Well, you could have mustard or ketchup if you chose. Or bring your own. I used it for years and years and years! But like everything else, the price of my favorite condiment went up. Way up. Even at WM. While shopping my new favorite grocery store - Food Lion - I saw that the Kraft Mayo with olive oil was on sale (even cheaper than Miracle Whip). So, I bit the bullet and bought it. Of course Ben thought I was buying it for the health benefits, so as any good mom would have done, I let him think it! Needless to say, once I tasted it, it had me - hook, line and sinker! I am torn. How to say goodbye to my beloved Miracle Whip. Any suggestions? Hm?

The Veggie Straws, well, now, they are the bomb! I had them at Miss Heidi's house one day. Let me just say, they are habit forming. I can't seem to stop thinking about them. The kids love them. I love that the kids love them because they aren't loaded with a lot of fat! You can have 38 of those little buggers and not feel guilty. Thirty-eight! ! That's a lot for a youngster. They think they've hit the "chip jackpot"! That's a lot for me. And can I just say one more time - I love them! They satisfy that chip craving without all that guilt. Priceless. Simply priceless.

They Say. . . . .

. . . . good things come in small packages! I guess that includes laundry helpers! One of Piper's new things is to stand at the dryer while I am loading and unloading it. I think she likes the coolness of the wet clothes and the warmth of the dry ones! Now if I could only get her to fold them and put them away!

And. . . . she works up an appetite in the process!

Hebron's Easter Parade

The "Proverbial Lemon Tree"

I haven't talked about my Lemon Tree lately. Maybe it's because I have been underneath it for a while and haven't even noticed that I have been overcome by lemons until late.

It's all well and good. No. Not really. But what am I to say? It's all bad? No, it's not all bad either. It just is.

There have been varying kinds of lemons - are there different varieties of lemons? Why, yes, yes there is. I know this because I just "Googled" it. In my lemon grove there has been everything from unemployment to health issues to school demands to stress to . . . . you name it.

I have realized that while I didn't realize I was buried under the tree, I did survive the over abundance of lemons. It seems we had just the right amount of rain and sunshine to produce the amount of fruit that came from those dag-nabit trees. They were worse than a herd of bunnies!

Survival for me is not a "sole" thing. I need to be "sured" up so I don't topple into a heap of insanity on the floor. My "surer-upers" did a splendid job getting me thru the harvesting of my lemons. That's not to say I didn't drive them into a heap of insanity on their floors! If I did - I am truly sorry. I know your insanity all too well. Please forgive me?

In case you are wondering about where those lemons are now - well, they are in baskets on my deck, waiting for me to deal with them. I am figuring if I tary long enough, they will rot down into juice and go back to the earth from whence they came and I will still be standing, probably in a stinky, lemony gas, but standing non the less. If any should survive the ooey, gooey death, I will take care of them. I figure they would be worth a look if they made it thru the rotting process.

At any rate, a lemon is trying to talk to me as I am trying to think and type, so before I fall into that insane heap on the floor, roll my eyes and cop an attitude, I had better go see what is terribly important.

That's all I have to say about that. For now.