What did you do at 10:10 on 10/10/10?

I saw on K's FB page that she had just gotten back from a "10:10 on 10/10/10 Party".  Fortunately I am two time zones behind her, so I had the heads up, and the clear impression that I should, also, do something at 10:10 on 10/10/10.  Clearly it is too late for a party, especially since I am tired, already in my jammies, and can hardly keep my eyes open.  So, that leaves me 25 minutes to decide what to do. 

Road Trip

These two will be getting in a car tomorrow with their mother and aunt.  They will be going to the great-granny's house for the weekend.  They will be driving for twelve hours.  Pray for them, that their mother and aunt will behave for this very long trip! 

I live here!

Where's Waldo?  

Ok, not really, it's Kris. 

He and Jim got to spend the whole day on this river.

Catching and releasing.

Sportsmen.

Overheard in the Church Lobby

"Hey, Alex!  How's it going?  How's married life?"

It's great, man!  Great!"

Yeah?  That's good!

You bet!  Today when I got home from work, she had burgers grilled and ready!  Marriage is totally worth it, even if just for the food! 

Baby Shower Advice

I went to a baby shower yesterday.  A sweet youth worker at our church is expecting Baby #1.  And she's 24.  Who does that anymore?  (Well, besides Christa!)  I just smile when I see W and her husband.  They are young.  They are hard working.  They love my kids.  They love to do things for others.

The shower was well attended with nearly 20 ladies.  She got alot of nice gifts, always a help with those new Little Ones.  At several points of the shower, the hostess asked anyone that wanted to to share some advice with W.  She had no takers until nearly the very end.  And even at that point, I just couldn't come up with any advice.  Really?!  I suppose I'm a bit timid in group settings, especially those that include people I don't know, about sharing advice, especially since the jury is still out on a couple of my kids!  :)  Several spoke about the importance of praying with your children, keeping them on schedules (to which I had to bite my tongue!), consistent discipline, knowing your child, but I suppose I appreciated the lady that said "My advice is to listen to others advice, then go with your own instinct."

Yes, listen to others, but let your heart speak the loudest.  I guess that's true of a lot of things in family life.  Not just how to feed, discipline and raise your children, but also how to let them go.  Some people wonder why I'm not a basket case with my chicks strewn out all over: Chicago, Tulsa, Colcord, Germany, and living with a Muslim family.  Sometimes my heart screams at me "THEY ARE TOO FAR AWAY!"  That's when I realize my heart is solely consumed with itself.  Mostly my heart tells me that they are fine adults, capable of making the best decisions for their lives.  So I will continue to listen to others, sometimes I have no choice!  :)

I will listen to others, but let my heart speak the loudest.

Garage Sale

Andrew and Emily are moving out of their apartment, so yesterday we had a yard sale.  They didn't have a whole lot, so maybe a "driveway sale" is more accurate.  Some of the highlights of the day were: 
1:  Having Em spending the night with us, and waking early Saturday morning to her smiling face!  I miss her.
2:  Wishing we had donuts, over and over. Even though neither of us really like them, it just seemed like the right thing to have for a yard sale day.
3:  Watching Em dicker prices as people offered less than the marked price.  She was a tough cookie!
4:  Em laying down in the middle of our street in protest of "Drive By" shoppers.  I told her I totally do the same Drive By Yard Sale Shopping, too, so I understood.
5.  Getting chastised by Em when I donated some goblets to a ladies church group.  She deducted $12.00 from my total. 
6.  Humiliating Andrew and Em by using the binoculars that were for sale to watch the shirtless roofer on the house across the street.  They said I was not being sneaky enough. I say "What roofer?"  It's just so fun seeing my kids squirm!

We didn't make a lot of money, but sure had a lot of fun!

Country Music

When I was a kid, one thing I loved about my Dad was his love for country music.  I only got to listen to country when I was with him.  I have vivid memories of a concert he took me to.  We saw Loretta Lynn and Jerry Lee Lewis.  That inspired me to save my allowance to buy what may have been my very first album, a collection of country favorites!  I listened to that album until I had every word memorized, including Lynn Anderson's "I've Been Everywhere, Man!"  Watching The Porter Wagoner Show and Hee Haw was a welcome diversion from my suburban life style!

Well, I can add country music concert #2 to my list.  Last night Jim surprised me with tickets to the Brad Paisley concert.  Brad Paisley in Bozeman?  That's a long way from Nashville!  Justin Moore and Darius Rucker were on the concert stage as well.  Just a couple of observations, and forgive me if I state the obvious here.

1.  I'm pretty sure there was not a cowboy boot on stage.  Now, Brad had on what looked like work boots, and he was indeed working.  But there were no slick look-how-pointy-these-sweet-foot-covers can be.  I love cowboy boots, that's all I'm saying.  Guess you don't have to be a cowboy anymore to sing C&W.
2.  Concert fans love to stand, rather than sit.  I guess if I wanted to stand for three and half hours, listening to three guys croon-and-holler isn't a bad way to keep my mind off the fact that I'm standing for three and a half hours.
3.  Concert fans also like to sing along.  Loudly.  Hmmm, so why aren't they on stage?  I really don't care if know every word to every song.  So do I, pretty much, but you don't hear me belting along off tune with Brad and the boys.
4.  There is still something very exciting about all the lights (albeit they be lazer), smoke, and loud noise!
5.  There is still something very romantic about snuggling with your love to all the love songs.  Smile!
6.  I was still star struck, cowboy boots or not. 
7.  Brad Paisley is an amazing guitarist.  Even if his weapon of choice is usually an electric guitar.  Can you say "Whiny"?
8.  I love that my rock-and-roll husband has finally seen a small glimmer of country music light.  I guess my rocking to Queen and his singing along with Brad is proof that after nearly thirty years of marriage indeed, you do become each other.

Long live rock-and roll!  (Errr, I mean country music!)