Yesterday was December 29th. My dad died on December 29, 1989 - 16 years ago. He had a heart attack at home, and died before the ambulance could get him to the hospital. Actually, he was probably already gone before he hit the floor, but mom and I tried CPR anyway until the ambulance could get there and the paramedics could take over. The funeral was on New Years Day. I have so many strange memories from that time - things you would never imagine that you'd remember from a time like that. For example, one of the paramedics that showed up at the house was my 8th grade English teacher, Mr. Whetham. They loaded my dad up in the ambulance and were getting ready to head out, and he paused, put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I'm here if you need me," and then turned and walked out the front door. Looking back, that's how I knew my dad was dead before they even left the house. Here's another one: when we got to the hospital, they led us straight into the "Family Room." We waited in there for what seemed like ETERNITY for someone to come in and tell us what was going on. A priest finally came in (we were at St. Joe's) and told us that dad was dead. While we were sitting there, taking that in, he offered this wise spiritual counsel: "It hurts like hell, doesn't it?" Last one: there were hundreds of people at his funeral. SRO - standing room only - and there were people literally standing in the foyers and outside. Because of this, it was especially warm inside and one of my friends passed out right in the middle of the service. Hit the floor. It was oddly funny at a very un-funny moment.

Today marks the day that I have lived longer without him than I did with him. It's strange to think about it, because I know that so much of me is the way that it is because of him. He had a huge influence in my life, both relationally and genetically. For those of you who know me and my family, it's easy to see that I'm not too much (not nearly enough, most of the time) like my mom. I got a lot more than my dad's red hair. I got his quick temper, outgoing personality, impatience, sense of humor, lily white skin and freckles, etc., etc. It's difficult to attribute so much of who I am to someone I never really knew all that well. I mean, I knew him as well as any kid can know their dad, but it would be completely different to know him now that I am an adult - from a completely different perspective. I've spent years of my life wondering what he would think of this or how he would feel about that. Even about stupid things, like (and this is a really good one) Michael Jackson. My dad was a pretty big fan of MJ and he died while he was still black and fairly normal (sorry, but it's true). What would he have to say about all of that? More seriously, I wonder what it would have been like to have had him at my graduations, to have had him walk me down the isle, to have seen him hold each of my kids for the first time... I wonder what he'd be like when playing with them now. I know he would have just loved them and been just as proud of them as I am. And they would have loved him - he would treat Abby like a little princess, and he'd have special nicknames for them, and he and Jacob would wrestle and chase around the house just like we used to when I was growing up...and then I remember that he'd have just turned 58 this month, and he probably wouldn't be chasing around quite the same as he did back then...and then I wonder what he would look like now, and that really messes with my head.

I know that there are many theories about what heaven is going to be like - whether we'll see our loved ones again who have gone before us, and whether we'll know them, and what our relationships will be like if we do. More than anything, I hope that I get to see my dad again when I eventually get there (a long time from now, unless Jesus comes back, because I have kids to see graduate and get married and have babies) and that he'll wrap me up in his arms like he used to and that he'll smell just like I remember and it'll be like we were never apart.

Directly south of the "K" you'll see Grand Island. We are due west about 20 miles in a little town called Aurora. It's a town about the same size as the high school that I graduated from. In fact, every weekend at our church back home - GCC - we have about 1000 more people in attendance on any given weekend than live in this town. It's a wonderful place - very friendly people, and old-fashion town square with cute little shops all around it (including a decent scrapbook store and a coffee shop called "Espressions" - hehe!) We're staying at a very unusual place called "The Leadership Center" that's only about 2 blocks from my aunt & uncle's house. Jacob describes it as "the coolest hotel I've ever been to!" It's basically like staying at a YMCA with a hotel attached - and we have the whole place to ourselves for the whole week (with the exception of tonight, when they have 190 middle school students on a retreat - YIKES!!) They have a HUGE pool with a hot tub and sauna, a gym with basketball and volleyball, and a game room with ping pong and foosball. They also have a lobby-type area with a big-screen TV. We're becoming quite spoiled and I'm sure the kids will be forever ruined for hotel stays - they'll expect an olympic sized pool all to themselves everywhere we go from now on!

They and their cousins are having quite a time getting re-acquainted. They've just met Brayden, Alyssa and Kelby for the first time in at least two years, so they didn't really remember each other at all. They are all peas in a pod, and they spend all of their time following Kaitlyn around and fighting over who gets to sit next to their "cool, older" cousin. They've spent countless hours in the pool so far, getting water-logged and pruny, and jumping into the arms of anyone who's foolish enough to stand in the way and catch them. We've only lost one or two of them to the bottom of the pool - temporarily - on a couple of occasions. Unfortunately for the adults, the majority of the kids are completely fearless.

Tomorrow is the rehearsal/dinner and Saturday is the wedding - while ya'll are celebrating the New Year, we'll be here "dancing the night away" at Jeff and Faith's reception. Feel free to give us call at midnight - it's an hour earlier here than it is back home! Maybe we'll return the favor as the clock strikes here! ;) Sunday we hang out for the gift-opening, and Monday we head back home to the real world... Should have plenty of pictures to share once we get back. I'm sure you're all waiting on the edge of your seats to see what Nebraska looks like in December. I only wish I could share the SMELL with every one of you!!

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with this time of year. It was taken this summer. I was just going through my Picasa files and stumbled across this one, and it made me laugh out loud. Thought maybe it would do the same for you! My kids appear to be having a great time...don't know what the deal is with the other two! (Couldn't have anything to do with the headlock, could it??) Love those kids - all of them. In case you don't recognize them, those are my nieces, Adia and Tori, sitting there with my kids. Fun kids. They're in Wisconsin for a while, and we hope to see them again soon. We miss them.

The holidays...

I started my Christmas shopping yesterday. That's right, I said yesterday. Welcome to the land of procrastination, where I am Queen. I haven't sent out my Christmas cards either. They're addressed and ready to go - just haven't made it to the post office. So if you're sitting at home thinking, "Those lousy Callenders - no Christmas card from them again this year?? That's it - they're off our list!!" That's not it at all. Be patient - you may get one sometime in January. Fortunately, I am making most of my Christmas gifts this year for friends and extended family. Would love to be able to afford to do more, but you know how that goes. There's always next year, after we win the lottery! ;) Anyway, I made a good bit of progress in the few short hours I had at the mall, Meijer and Target. The kids are pretty much done. I just need to set things out, probably after the kids go to bed tonight, and figure out if I'm about "even."

I went to help out at Jacob's "Winter" party at school today. Do I need to get started on how annoying it is to me that we can't call it what it is?? IT'S A FREAKIN CHRISTMAS PARTY, PEOPLE!! Give me a break. Yes, there's an Indian boy in the class. I'm sure there are kids of other religions in the class. Fine. Have a Christmas party. Have a Hannukah party. Have a Kwanza party. I doubt the kids would mind a couple of extra parties in the name of fairness, right? What happens when people decide that they don't believe in Winter anymore - then what are we going to call the party?

Kids have a day off school for MLK's birthday, and another for President's Day. We honor these history-makers and we call it what it is - Martin Luther King Day. Even if we don't all believe that Jesus is the son of God, can't we all agree that he holds a prominent place in history and was an incredible humanitarian who fought for the rights of the poor, needy, neglected members of society, all while taking a stand against an oppressive government. Seems that he deserves to be recognized for such accomplishments and that his work should be added to text books and studied like any other history-maker, don't you think?

Sorry - tangent. The party was wonderful and the kids had a great time. I led the "Holiday Bingo" and baked chocolate chip cookies for the class. I love having the opportunity to be involved in the kids' classes - it's what being a parent is all about! I know all the kids in each of their classes by first name, and they all know me as "Jacob's mom" or "Abby's mom." I love it.

Wednesday night was Abby's Christmas program at school. She was incredible. What a performer! She isn't huge on the words - not like some kids that are yelling them out - but she is all about the motions. I pity the children who get in her way. She will show them no mercy! If I can get Adam to help me figure out the video capture thing, I'll try and share some of it with you. It's truly priceless.

I hope you all are taking time to enjoy your families and friends and that you're reflecting on what this season really is about. "jesus' birthday." (Jacob just typed it for me. What a smarty!)

My early Christmas present

This is my new space! I can't tell you how warm and fuzzy I get just looking at it! I've never felt so creative and organized and...I don't know what else, but something! I have TONS of natural light and I can sit and gaze out the window whenever I feel like it - I LOVE IT!!

The best part is that it was lovingly assembled by my wonderful, talented, manly husband, so I think of him every time I use it. Now, if I could only use it more often... ;)

The Weekend's Activities

Ok, now that I'm back among the living, here's what happened during this action packed weekend (that probably sent me right into the afore mentioned flu):

First, the GCC staff Christmas party on Friday night. Had a great time hanging out with the Lawleys, Rosanders, Beesons and Kim V. Delicious food and great company - what could be better? We, of course, had the traditional "white elephant" gift exchange - which is actually not your traditional white elephant - they're valuable gifts (mostly gift certificates to favorite spots and stuff like that). But they are exchanged in very unusual ways. It's Mark's time in the spotlight...because he doesn't get enough stagetime! ;) Then Hacienda afterward with a few close friends, and what happens at Hacienda stays at Hacienda!


Saturday - Abby's FIFTH Birthday!! We tried something new by having it in the morning (it's a long story) with Krispy Kreme's, Panera Cinnamon Crunch bagels and coffee - YUM! Nothing like sugar and more sugar, followed by some...sugar! Birthday cake! Needless to say, we had a handful of kids with a lot of energy running around the house. It was a lot of fun, and Abby had a great time being all dressed up with her best friends. After the party, a handful of friends hung around, had some lunch and and watched Wrestlemania 2005 in our family room - "Kids Against Corey" - it was insane! At one point they were jumping ON him from the couch at he protected his sensitive mid-section with one of the cushions. They LOVE Mr. Corey, for obvious reasons. Who else (besides their dad) would put up with that?


Saturday night was the big Christmas program at church when the kids got to sing on stage. There's nothing more entertaining than watching your kids' personalities shine on stage in front of hundreds of people. It's amazing how different two kids from the same parents can be. Jacob started on us a couple weeks before the program - he didn't want to get on stage because he's "shy." That's right - I said shy. Don't ask me where he got this stuff. I've never seen the kid act shy a day in his life! However, when he got on stage...he was all business. Serious look on his face - pure concentration. It was especially funny because I could see exactly what he was staring so intently at - it was the screen in the back of the auditorium that had the words to the songs on it. This is the first year he could actually READ those words, and he was quite pleased with that. He wasn't so much keeping up with the song as he was just trying to get all of the words before the powerpoint screen changed. He did a great job - exactly what we asked of him - his very BEST!!
A study in contrasts - Abby. She couldn't WAIT for this weekend to roll around for her big moment in the spotlight. Truly her dramatic mother's daughter! She was all smiles, huge motions, a few words here and there, and definitely in her element! I couldn't be more proud of both of them - each did their best as they knew how to do it, and they gave Adam and me (and Grandma and Uncle Steve and Aunt Jessica...)the opportunity to sit out in the audience beaming and clicking away.

Finally, Sunday. VIP night at Pages In Time. We invite 360 of our best customers for an exclusive night of shopping after-hours at a 25% discount. We feed them, we do make and takes, and generally just show them how much they are valued. The best part is that most of them seem to really appreciate it. That's always a nice payoff. For being an extra night of work this week, it was pretty painless, and we all earned a bonus of shrimp cocktail and cheesecake - that could make just about anything worthwhile!

That brings us to Monday, the day of the flu. But you've already heard enough about that! ;)

Well, I have the flu. Strangely, it's not the same flu that every other member of my family has had recently. It's the "traditional" respiratory type flu. Fever, achy muscles, sore throat, hot flashes, cold sweats...generally a whole lot of fun! I actually tried to go to work today. That lasted about 3 hours, at which point I promptly came home and went back to bed - for about 3.5 hours. I'm feeling quite a bit better now, though still running a fever and such. Bedtime again. In all, I've been in bed more than out of it the last couple of days. Too bad I can't do that when I'm not sick!

Here's my latest DT project - for a U-Pick (meaning I got to pick whatever product I wanted from a list of available projects). This is Chatterbox printed paper and wood frames with Bazzill cardstock and my title was cut with Quickutz Studio alpha. There ya have it!

Adam's got it. I'm off to take my Lysol throat lozenge and go to bed...I'm not taking any chances!

The gift that keeps on giving...

The McMullens shared a beautiful gift with my children this week. The flu. That's right - constant fluids from every imaginable orifice for about 17 straight hours.

It started with Abby around 4am on Saturday. Let me just tell you, she is a champion puker. Everyone should wish their kids could vomit like this one. She calmly says, "I think I have to throw up," and proceeds to walk to the bathroom and do her business neatly and quitely in the toilet. As I'm kneeling with her, holding hair and forehead, she takes a break in the middle to make a little joke or tell me a story...then turns back to the toilet to finish up. I'm not kidding. When she's done, she rinses, smiles, and goes back to bed. Bizarre, but quite pleasant.

Jacob is another story. His adventure began closer to noon, and his personality is significantly different in these situations. He apparently thinks that NOT going to the bathroom when you feel like getting sick may actually prevent the hurling from taking place. Giving in and rushing to the toilet is equivalent to condoning his body's response to the virus, and he's not about to do that. So with him, you have to watch for body language. Pained looks on his face, moans and groans, the occassional glance toward the bathroom...all signals that Jacob is considering the fact that he knows he needs to ralph, but refuses to accept it. On more than one occassion I had to physically carry him to the toilet. I then assume the appropriate position (kneeling, hand on forehead) only to have him fight me off! "Get off me! You're holding me down!!" He apparently believes that, by holding his head near the toilet, I am forcing him to throw up. Interesting. I offer him a kleenex when he's done and he yells at me, "I don't want it!" and after the first or second heave (clearly only in the middle of the process) he attempts to run from the bathroom, exclaiming, "I'm DONE!!" only to start to wretch just outside the bathroom door...Ahhh, kids.

Fortunately for me and my lack of mercy gifts, this flu only lasted about 8 hours per kid. Thank you, Jesus. Now, if Adam and I can just manage to stay healthy...

So, Jacob comes home from school today and walks down the stairs to where I am sitting at the computer. I give him a big hug and we talk a little about his day. He turns around and starts to walk up the stairs to get his homework and he breaks out into song..."I like big butts and I cannot lie..."

After I got up off of the floor, I asked him (calmly - I know you don't believe me), "Jacob, where did you hear that song?" He thinks a minute..."I don't know. Maybe at Grandma's?"

Thank you to my PIT DT friends who helped me figure out tonight that it was in the movie Shrek that Jacob and Abby watched on TV last night...clearly a lapse in judgement on my part. Revoke my parenting license now.

And thank you to Sir-Mix-Alot for the classic song "Baby Got Back." Where would our society be today if not for quality lyrics like those??

I'm around - just not a whole lot to say. At least, not a whole lot good. This last week was rough. Lots of work issues that I didn't want to have to face - lots to think about. None of it pleasant, really. Thus, blog silence.

One highlight of the week, however, was joining Adam for a GCC staff outing up to meet Rob Bell at his church, Mars Hill (near G.R.). Fascinating. I really enjoyed what he had to say - almost all of it deeply thought-provoking. We had two hours with him, and I went in thinking that he'd have something prepared to share with us. Maybe something he'd been told would be appropriate for our group, or whatever. Nope. He walks in the room, sits down on the stool and says, "So, what do you want to talk about?" Silence. I'm pretty sure most of us were just stunned speechless. We had two hours to ask him any question we wanted - nothing off limits. He told us about his new books that will be coming out (that are still in the formation stage), what he does with his free time, what his schedule looks like, what he thinks about hell, missions, how he runs his church, things he's learned, where he grew up, etc. Definitely worth the trip up there, as well as the broken-down bus on the way back. Ever seen 76 people pile into one tour bus? It's an interesting site...trust me.

Another highlight was a trip to Ikea on Saturday. I love Ikea. I could spend A LOT of money there. If I had any. Instead, we spent someone else's money - which is almost better, except I don't get to keep all the stuff! ;) So, there's my week for you - a lot of bad, some good, and some other stuff. So far, this week's looking a lot better!

Abby has a loose tooth. She's not even five. And I don't just mean a little wiggly - it's legitimately loose. It could easily be pulled out right now. But that won't happen because Adam's not home, and I don't do teeth. It's in the contract. Sure, I'll brush them, but anything more serious than that and I'm out. Since when do preschoolers lose teeth??!?

Our own little Evil Knievel

Here we are, only 23 days from first taking the training wheels off, and it's already begun. I have a boy. Where did he even get the idea to try this?? I marvel at how boys are just born...boys. Tyler McMullen recently reminded me of this (and Jacob was the same as a toddler) when he picked up one of Jacob's matchbox cars and that noise just came out of him. You know the one. The motor noise - the one that they don't have to be taught. The one that even adult girls can't make - and we look like idiots for even trying - it just doesn't sound the same! I understand the mechanics behind it, but my mouth simply cannot make that sound. Same with riding a bike. No one showed Jacob how to do this trick. He may have seen a little neighbor boy doing it, or maybe not. But that boy didn't come over and say, "Ok, Jacob, when you build up just enough speed to maintain momentum, take your feet and put them on the middle bar, remembering to balance and keep your eyes on the road..." It's outstanding - the nature of it. And despite the fact that I'm envisioning his front tire catching on a small rock, the bike flipping, and his precious head cracking on the concrete, I can't help but smile at how God made my boy just that - every bit a BOY.

A Milestone

Tomorrow my nearly 5-year-old daughter is going to have her very first haircut. We didn't set out to go 5 years without a haircut. It just kind of happened. Now, on the eve of this "major" event in our lives, I find myself thinking not about her gorgeous, flowing, ringlet-bouncing, golden locks, but about how my baby is growing up. And tomorrow she'll look it.

Our Trick-Or-Treaters - Jacob (Spiderman), Allison (Snow White), Abby (Ariel), Tyler (spider baby), and Rachel ("Cinderelli"). They're cold, wet and on a serious sugar buzz...

Halloween Jack-O-Lanterns (the one on the left is a ghost that's saying "BOO!")

Let's set the record straight...

This is my dog, Murphy:

Not to be confused with the now feared and despised baby-maulers that are now housed at the Humane Society:

Scary, huh? But do not fear - our Murphy is incapable of such violence. Sure, he'll chase you around the house and try to pull your pants off...but that's about as far as it goes. Does this look the face of someone who could do harm??

So if you happen to run into my dog somewhere...say in our neighborhood, or at the grocery store, please refrain from shooting him on the spot. He's innocent. At least, that's what he wants us to believe...

Another DT project...

These are 9" tall wooden letters made by Provocraft. They come white (and look great that way, too!), but I have altered these by Mod Podging paper onto them. For Abby's letter "A" I used My Mind's Eye - from the Kaleidoscope collection. Once the paper was dried onto the letter (I did the sides, too) I distressed the edges with sandpaper, then Mod Podged over the whole letter again. Finally I added some Making Memories rub-on letters to spell her name, a little organza ribbon and some mini Prima flowers to top it off. I love how it turned out and think it will look great on her bedroom wall once it's done hanging in the store for the month of November!

On Jacob's "J" I used Basic Grey Skate Shoppe paper - same technique. Again, Making Memories rub-on letters for his name at the bottom, then I tied some of the Gin-X Fabrix around the bottom and hung a mini Doodlebug tag from it (it has a picture of a little inchworm on it). I LOVE the frogs!! And the little flies! Too cute! Very boy. Thanks for looking!

Carving Pumpkins

Do I need to tell you that the kids are a little anxious for tomorrow's festivities? Jacob came sprinting into our room this morning - "Today is Halloween!!" "No, hon, it's tomorrow." "Oh." It can't come fast enough, and by bedtime tomorrow, they'll be talking about what they're going to "be" next year, while coming down from a mild sugar high.

The McMullen's will be joining us again this year from some trick or treating around the neighborhood before we part company to head to the respective grandparents houses. It's becoming our Halloween tradition, and I hope it's one that continues. These kind of activities are always more fun when you get to participate with friends (and the kids enjoy that, too!).

The pumpkin carving this morning was a lot of fun - we let our kids pick out whatever they want to put on their pumpkins, but then mom and dad are completely in charge from that point on (knives in their little hands...are you kidding??). The kids are really funny about it because they become quite attached to their pumpkin "visions." They sketch out exactly what they want to see on their pumpkin (this year I had the privilege of carving a forehead and heart-shaped eyes, while Adam was challenged with a ghost and the word BOO!), and then they draw their sketch onto the pumpkin for us to use as a template. If we don't cut exactly what's drawn, you better believe we hear about it. Fortunately they're usually satisfied with "I'm doing the best I can, sweetheart." Ah, artists...so tempermental!

Abby sketches out the plans...

The heart-shaped eyes indicate that this is clearly a girl pumpkin

Daddy and Jacob working on Jacob's pumpkin

Jacob is enjoying "family time"

The remains...

Abby and Jacob with their completed masterpieces - "Ariel" and "Mr. Ghost"

Fall has arrived!

Abby's preschool class took a field trip to Matthy's Farm this week, and I got to go along. She was so excited, she talked about it for days beforehand. Finally, the day arrived - it was quite cool, probably in the low 40's, so we had to bundle up, but a trip to the pumpkin patch wouldn't have been right any other way.

This is Abby with her friend, and future husband, Taylor Stevens. Don't they look cute together? Get used to it! ;)

Abby's enjoying the crisp weather and the exciting ride to the corn maze...

Mom and Abby take a self-portrait on the hayride - it was a great day for both of us!

Abby led me and Faith and Taylor Stevens through the corn maze. We only went in circles for a little while...until I finally thought to explain to Abby the concept of the maze..."we're looking for a way out!" "OH!" I was only slightly surprised when, after the 3rd time around the circle, I heard her ask me if we were still in Indiana...

Abby picks her pumpkin out of the pumpkin patch - she wanted a "cute, little one"

After the pumpkin patch was the petting zoo...Abby was reluctant to pet this thing. I don't blame her. He had a pretty bad attitude.

Finally...

I scrapbooked something. It feels lately that I only get to do that when my deadlines are down to the wire - only then can I make the time to get it done. I need to work on that. If it weren't for all of the working (dumb job) and house cleaning (yuck), I'd have plenty of time for scrapbooking, right? Something tells me that even without those, something else would get in the way...

So, here it is - my latest page. It's for this month's DT assignment, which is "Technique of the Month" and the technique is "monograms." The paper is Basic Grey Skate Shoppe, the letters are Basic Grey Undressed chipboard covered in the Skate Shoppe monogram letters (I Mod Podged them on, sanded the edges, then Mod Podged again). There are actually ribbons sticking off the top that you can't see because my scanner is too small. The pictures are of Jacob eating his very first push-up, which is a monumental event for a kid who's allergic to milk! I journaled about that - it's under the photo that's directly above Jacob's name. It's long so I won't include it here, but basically it's about Jacob's allergies, from birth to present. Also worth noting is that I actually sewed on this page - the large circle on the left side of the page is sew on - pretty crazy, for someone who isn't very domesticated!

Kitchen is clean. Mostly. Still need to sweep and mop, but I'm outta time. Church starts at 7:30. I get to save the rest for tomorrow! Yeah!!

My room is clean (or pretty close to it) and the laundry is put away.

The upstairs bathroom is clean and, thanks to Adam and a morning-long trip to the laundramat, most of the laundry is done.

Jacob's room is clean.

Abby's room is clean.

if you want to see something funny

CLICK HERE

Here is my niece, Adia, on her 2nd birthday with my daughter, Abby. You can almost see her thinking, "Get this kid off me...Please?" Adia received two hamsters for her birthday, along with a pretty, pink hamster castle and a pink ball for them to run around the house in. I'm not convinced that she won't "mistake" it for a soccer ball...

This is my niece, Tori, with a princess dress hanging out of her mouth...She's 8 months old already! She's crawling and standing up while holding on to things. She also has a strong affinity for climbing my stairs.

PIT Staff

Here are my good friends and co-workers at Pages In Time - front row: Keisha, Jen, Anne, Michelle B. 2nd row: Jamie, Katie, Alice, Jeri, Freida, Brenda, Jenny. 3rd row: Julie and Me.
There were a few people missing: Alexis, Michelle W., Stacey, and Pamela.

We have a great group of girls working at the store and I love spending time with all of them! You'll notice that we're all wearing/holding Quickutz t-shirts. They are courtesy of my good friend Spencer Livingston, our QK guy. He's way cool!

NO MORE TRAINING WHEELS FOR MY BOY!!

It really only took a couple of tries - me running along side the bike to help him keep his balance. In fact, I probably could have quit before I did - it was literally two times and he was off and going! The next challenge was learning to start himself without that initial push from mom or dad. A pep-talk and a couple of tries with dad was all it took and he was on his own. Now watch, it may be days before I see him again! He's now "fully" independent!!

set...

Ready...

and go...

GO!!

Want to know what gets my blood boiling?

In case you hadn't figured it out, my family and I are pretty heavily involved in our church. There are some people out there who apparently don't agree with how we do things. That's fine. Honestly, I have no problem with that. In fact, I would encourage you to read what they have to say: HERE and HERE and HERE.

Now here's what you need to know. They are entitled to their opinion. I have one - why shouldn't they? I frequently share mine. Why shouldn't they? I have a website where I can do that. Why shouldn't they?

What I have an issue with is that, when I chose to share my opinion with them in the form of a comment on one of the above linked sites, the author of said site BLOCKED my comment. Not only that, I happen to know that my friend's comment was also blocked, leading me to believe that we weren't the only ones!

It's one thing to start an intelligent discussion of topics of interest to various parties. It's an entirely different thing to start an argument by making inflamitory remarks, inciting a blog riot, and then proceeding to screen out most of the comments of those whose opinions differ from their own. It's cowardly and only proves that he or she feels that their argument isn't strong enough to withstand criticism. Pretty pathetic, if you ask me.

The road to Vegas...

...is paved with more strange things than I can even begin to cover, but this photo should help. When we arrived at O'Hare and got in line at the ticket counter to check in, we look over and...THIS!! Just so you completely understand what you're looking at - it's a poodle. Really. With hot-pink-dyed hair, a pink cowboy hat, a jester-like collar, complete with beads and flashing lights, and a STROLLER! After a couple of minutes of gawking, mouths open, jaws on floor, we noticed movement in the pink stroller. Another custom-dyed poodle! I didn't get a picture of that one, but it was green and red - ready for Christmas! Another jester-collar, but no hat. These guys flew (along with an English bulldog puppy and a greyhound puppy - all with different owners) all the way to Vegas with us. I don't know if they were on their way to Vegas for some kind of dog show, or if they were leaving one in Chicago...what I do know is that, believe it or not, this wasn't the weirdest thing I saw this week...

The view from our hotel room - on the top floor (or the penthouse, as we called it) of the Flamingo!

Las Vegas Boulevard

The view from one of the walkways over Las Vegas Blvd