a random mix of faith, family, and the many things that fill my mind
Just a quick post to announce the winner of the Glo Bible Premium Software. According to random.org, our winner is:
Comment #1: Karen
The best part is that in Karen’s comment, she said, “Don’t guess I stand much of a chance getting the free copy, since I am first to comment… but oh, well.” 
It just goes to show…you never know! Random sometimes means Comment #1.
Congrats, Karen!
Joining Susanne today to share five of my favorite things from this past week.
1. My tween’s cat-sitting job. Our neighbors asked C.(12) a while ago if he’d be interested in checking on their cats while they are on vacation this week. He quickly agreed. First of all, he really likes cats, and we have been cat-less for over a year now. Second of all, there was the potential for income. He’s been doing a great job — faithfully feeding, watering, and hanging out with the cats (Lacey, Hazel, and Pumpkin), AND scooping their litter. Now that I know how good he is at that last job, I might just consider getting another cat someday. As along as he agrees to be the scooper.
2. An enjoyable morning with my boys. Yesterday was designated as a day for running errands, but we managed to add in some “errands” purely for enjoyment as well. Breakfast at Panera, a stop at the church to do some VBS prep work, a trip to Half-Price Books to sell two boxes of books, browsing at Barnes & Noble, getting gas, running to the recycling drop-off. Busy, but not a hassle, because I was with two of my favorite people.
3. Working with a friend. Speaking of VBS, this is my first year on the “leadership team” for our church’s VBS program. Technically though, I’m an assistant leader so I’m not sure if it even counts. But I have to say that the person I’m working with/for is fantastic. She’s organized, diligent, manages to juggle all the details, and is just plain fun to work with. Working with her makes my job incredibly do-able and enjoyable. Thanks, Debbie!
4. A husband who understands me. I had a bit of an emotional melt-down earlier this week. I won’t bore you with all the details, but the bottom line is that I let myself get to a point where even the tiniest thing was bound to push me over the edge. And indeed, I went over. At times like those, I’m especially thankful for Chad. He understands my personality and temperament, gives me wise advice, and does everything he can to help me get back to an acceptable level of sanity. He’s the best!
5. Peter Furler’s new album, On Fire. I was very sad a couple years ago when Peter Furler announced that he would be leaving the Newsboys. I’ve been a Newsboys fan for many, many years, and in my mind, Furler *was* the Newsboys. Imagine my delight when I found out he’d be releasing a solo album this month. Needless to say, I downloaded it first thing Tuesday morning and the kids and I have been listening to it ever since. I’m so glad he’s back!
***
Oh, and I can’t close out this post without wishing a very Happy Birthday to my sweet niece, A. Happy 7th Birthday!
Dear Baby Bunny Rabbits,
We think you’re very cute. We love how you show up every evening to munch on the clover in our back yard. Admittedly, we get a kick out of your twitchy noses and twilight frolicking.
And to be honest, we’re a bit shocked at how tame you are. I mean, two rambunctious boys playing on the swingset mere feet away from you doesn’t make you consider retreating to the safety of your burrows? You tolerate noise, running, patio conversations. As long as we stay about 15 feet away, it’s all good, right?
Well, that’s fine. Like I said, we enjoy your presence. But just be careful. Our neighborhood does contain dogs and cats, you know. And also hawks. And since you probably don’t have access to the National Geographic channel, let me be the one to inform you: all three of those creatures are bigger threats to your personal well-being than our two kids.
So you know, keep being cute, but watch your back.
Warmly,
Your clover providers
***
Dear Skinny Cow Dark Chocolate Dreamy Clusters,
I thought you were a good idea. Gobs of chocolate and caramel and crunchiness for a mere 120 calories? I could fit that into my daily routine.
The problem is, you’re too good. I find myself trying to find ways to eat more than one cute little serving size in any given day. And if we’re not careful, I could be tempted to consume an entire box of you in one day.
Which would not be a good idea.
So if I pass by you in the grocery store next time I’m there, and seem to ignore you, please know that it’s not really your fault. I just like you too much.
Sweetly,
A chocoholic
***
Dear Chin,
Seriously. Enough with the chin hairs. I’m not even 40 yet, so I’d appreciate if you would just suppress your follicular exuberance for a while, m’kay? The plucking is getting really, really old.
So…knock it off. Got it?
Irritatedly,
Me
P.S. I mean it.
***
Dear precious 5-year-old of mine,
Remember yesterday when you threatened to run away if things didn’t improve around here? That is, if we didn’t stop making your life so difficult by instituting and then enforcing standards and guidelines? I hope you’ve reconsidered your travel plans.
Yes, we’re going to keep enforcing the rules around here. But we’ll love you the whole time. And we promise to try to be reasonable in our expectations.
So please, consider staying here where there’s a comfortable bed, plenty of food, books, toys, and most of all….lots of love. We’d really miss you if you ran away…even if your planned destination — as you announced yesterday — is just the backyard.
Love always,
Mom
True confession: I’ve never been in a book club.
To clarify, I have participated in Bible studies and related book studies — usually weekly meetings, going through a particular topic or book. But I’ve never been part of those delightful-sounding gatherings: fiction book clubs. You know, where everyone reads the same novel and then gets together at the end to discuss it? Nope. Never been part of one.
I don’t really have a specific reason for my lack of book-club membership. If pushed to come up with an excuse, I suppose I’d say that it’s not easy for me to add things to my schedule. Between my husband’s out-of-town travel, kid and family and church activities, and my general homebody-ness, I find that my calendar is usually “full enough,” and I try not to mess with it too much. [I tend to become a bit unstable when the calendar squares begin to overflow.]
But I’ll be honest: part of me would someday like to give the book club scene a try.
Right now, however, I have something that just might be even better. I’ve instituted a summer fiction book club with C., my tween. Since he shares my love for reading, and is now at that age where he reads and appreciates some of the same books I do, I decided this would be the perfect time.
To begin, we picked The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien. It’s perfect. C. has never read it, and I haven’t read it in decades years. It was one of my favorite books during my teen years, though, and I’ve been thoroughly looking forward to enjoying it once again. (Besides, Peter Jackson just started working on the movie version, which I am eagerly anticipating.)
We’re not doing the usual book club thing, where you read the entire book and then discuss it as a whole. Instead, we’ve decided to meet regularly and talk about each chapter as we read it. As you can imagine, the meetings will be frequent, but I’m not complaining. Reading a favorite novel with my tween and chatting about it regularly? That’s awesome in my book.
We had our first book club meeting last night, to discuss Chapter 1. We settled into our comfy swivel chairs (in our library, of course), and discussed Bilbo, Gandalf, and the dwarves. We talked about big themes and deep truths, amusing parts and character traits, things we can relate to and things we can’t…and that’s just in the first chapter!
C. has already read Chapter 2 (entitled Roast Mutton). I need to catch up so we can schedule our next meeting. I can’t wait!
Around our house, we’ve been grilling out, pulling weeds, riding bikes, and visiting our favorite ice cream stores. No doubt about it: Summer is moving in and spring is moving out.
As spring says its final goodbyes for this year, we also have to say goodbye to Spring Reading Thing 2011. I want to thank all of those who participated. We ended up with 127 participants — a great turn-out! Thank you for spreading the word, sharing your love of books, and reading along with me this spring.
I’d love to hear how the challenge went for each of you. I hope you’ll take the time to write a wrap-up post and link to it using the Mr. Linky below.
Feel free to work from the questions I listed in this post, or just write about your experiences, thoughts, and results in any way you please. Once your post is up, come back here and sign up on the Mr. Linky below. Don’t forget — include the URL to your wrap-up post, not just your general blog web address, to make it easy for people to find your post.
Also, there are still two Amazon.com gift certificates up for grabs — one for $20 and one for $10. To be eligible, please post your wrap-up post (and put it on the Mr. Linky) by midnight EST on June 24th to get your name in the drawing. I’ll announce the winners next weekend.
Thanks again to all the participants. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading with you!
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