Minivan Moments

I just finished the most amazing book: The Shack . This book was not only a great read, it was poignant, inspiring, and life-changing. If you have not heard of the book, check out their site: www.theshackbook.com If you have heard of it, but not read it, PLEASE reconsider!! This book sat in my house for several months before I was convicted enough to read it, and when I read it, I was really hooked! I couldn't wait to get back to the book each time I had to put it down (which was often since I have three children, all of whom were ill during this time). I am not going to tell you much about the book; I am just going to tell you that it will change how you think about God... in a GOOD way. In a let-out-that-breath-you-were-holding way. In a kind of " Oh, Thank You, Jesus! " kind of way. Seriously, this book could be the difference between really knowing God and just thinking that you know God. One thing I have said for as long as I have considered myself a Christia...

You know, I used to believe that I would never get married. I have been married for 7 years now. I used to wonder if I would have children of my own. I have been blessed with three. I once thought that if I went to college, I would fail. I got my Bachelor of Science degree in 4 years with a 3.7 GPA. When we moved to Tennessee in 2000, I had no friends, and I wondered if anyone would want to be my friend. Now, I have more friends than I have time to appreciate. I once believed that I was an invisible member of society. Then I became a Christian, and invisible was good - I want people to see Jesus when they look at me, not Angie. Last weekend, as you know, my dear grandfather passed away. It was said to be peaceful, but it was -and is- painful for the rest of us. Since my grandfather served this great country in the Navy for many years, he will be honored with a special burial at Arlington National Cemetery next month. Since that day is several weeks away, my neighbors (dear ...

There is no easy way to deal with saying goodbye to someone you love. If they have had a good life, a long life, it gives you little solace in the midst of your pain. Those who leave us have no knowledge of what life is like without them, of how much they are missed, loved, appreciated. When someone we love is taken to "a better place," there is some comfort in that, but our hearts forever lack the fullness that their life brought to ours. Even knowing that the time is drawing near, as a loved-one "gets on in years," doesn't quite prepare us for the moment it all becomes a reality. Death. We call it many things: passing away, leaving this world, going home to Jesus, the eternal sleep. Those words help us deal with what has happened, but they do not shadow the harshness as much as we may wish them to. Death comes to us all. Our time here is limited, some more than others, and I remain grateful for those people I have been blessed to know. People who have...

This weekend, we finally conquered The Boy's room. I picked out the colors based on the quilt that I am working on, which The Boy picked out eons ago. So, since we have this reversible Outer Space quilt in the works, and The Boy loooooooves Star Wars, we decided on a Star Wars/Outer Space room. We already have a rocketship ceiling fan, and he has 2 space pictures thanks to his Aunt Joyce. So, the colors. I picked out the blue first. The one that worked was called Dazzle . I liked it but was worried about the whole room being that color, so I picked out a second color from the quilt. It turned out that Electric Lime was just the right shade. I know, Electric Lime ! It is just what you are imagining, seriously. What is totally awesome, too, is that The Boy's toy bins and throw blanket are ALL in those two colors!! What a treat! Well, it is once it is all put together. We have one green wall, two blue walls, and one half-and-half wall (which will sport a running shelf...

Well, it has been a long, relaxing weekend so far. We celebrated our nation's independence in the good ol' American way: with the grill, the neighbors, and some flashy stuff up in the sky. Lots of flashy stuff. We learned the year after we moved in here that we need not travel to see fireworks. We need only plant our bottoms in our front yard - far enough out to get a good 360 degree view. Yup, the fireworks are plenty, and on all sides of us. This year, our city even had their own show... which was just down the street, so we got to see those over the trees as well. Only problem we had was Dania. She started off crying and begging them to be over. "No, pop! Done! No more, pop!!" Sob, sob, sob. So, being the Mommy, I took her inside to watch television, which we had to turn up pretty loud to drown out the sounds of the "pop!" Eventually, she settled down to sleep, but she did cry out in her sleep later, "No, pop!" Poor dear. Anyway, we ...