You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet!

Today's Drudge Report leads with an interesting story entitled "Skeptical Reporters Tossed Off Obama Plane" and one of the articles starts with the line "Al Queda wants Bush, Republicans humiliated...". This month's Reader's Digest has a cover story about the '08 Election titled "The World is Watching" and it goes into some detail about global polls that overwhelmingly show that the rest of the world think we should elect Barack Obama. Doesn't this say anything to ANYONE!!! If the rest of the world wants Obama elected that is because he is NOT the best choice for America! Trust me on this, I just recently came back to the U.S.A. after 4 1/2 years in Southeast Asia and the rest of the world does NOT have the best interests of America at heart. They want to live here, they want our business, they want our freedom but those desires are rooted in envy. We should be terribly alarmed about the blatant way Obama is willing to punish the members of the press that don't agree with him. All the reporters that were kicked off Obama's campaign plane were from papers that endorsed John McCain, The NY Post, Dallas Morning News, and Washington Times. I think we need to recognize what a truly dangerous person Barack Obama is. If you thought the Clinton's used the power of the White House in inappropriate ways...you ain't seen nothin' yet!

What can we honestly expect???

Yesterday I went to Wal-Mart. Now this isn't an occasional thing for me, I probably go to Wal-Mart at least twice a week, but yesterday I was just killing time wandering around Wal-Mart. I was actually supposed to be going to Home Depot but Paul had asked me very sweetly for a Batman toy so I decided to run into Wal-Mart first and find one. As usually happens to me when I get to Wal-Mart I ended up looking through the video section and I noticed something very interesting. While I was walking down the aisle with all the little children's videos, the Classic Disney, multiple episodes of Barney, Dora the Explorer and all the lesser offerings (you know the straight to video cartoons and rip-offs of Disney with really BAD animation), well...I glanced over to the other side of the aisle. It was filled, and I do mean FILLED, with the most grotesque and lurid videos and video covers that you can imagine. Envision the goriest scene from Friday the 13th and then picture it on the front cover of about 100 DVD cases. Right there, at EYE level, across from the DVDs created for our youngest children.

Anyway, after this dawned on me I stopped and really looked around. The video department was full of people of all ages looking at these DVDs, they're BIG sellers (and yes, I do realize it's less than a week until Halloween). At the end of the aisle was an endcap with some "classic" horror movies and a woman with her child who appeared to be in the 6-8 age range trying to decide on a DVD. She was holding two cases and he was letting her know he preferred Freddy VS Jason.

I thought seriously about talking to the manager, pointing out how inappropriate their displays are but I have to admit I heard myself thinking "what's the point?" I didn't do or say anything and I'm really very ashamed of that fact.

Actually, that's not quite true. I did do one thing...I had picked up a movie for Paul. He loves the movie Zathura and our copy is quite scratched. Wal-Mart had it for $7.50 so I was carrying it around with me and as I looked down at the movie in my hand I remembered some things Rick had said. He was talking about the children in the movie, they are unpleasant and foul-mouthed in a PG kind of way. He was pointing out that nothing they say is positive or edifying and they are full of anger, albeit in an innocuous kind of way. He concluded with "they're just such unpleasant people, I really don't want to watch them". I walked over and put it back. Do I really need to have my little boy watching things like that? I believe very strongly in the concept of the slippery slope and I've applied it to a lot of things in my life but movies and TV shows are one area where I don't always think about it. Do the rude children of Zathura eventually become the crazed killers of Scream? Does the flippant treatment of sex and sexuality in Friends and Desperate Housewives deteriorate into Sex and the City and eventually hard core pornography?

I see a connection, I see a slippery slope and it's one I intend to start dealing with in my own home...then I'll take on the rest of the country, beginning with Wal-Mart!

Surviving Ike!

Buying a house has been one trauma after another but Ike definitely topped them all! We moved back to Houston on July 1st, then Rick and Stephen left for their Philmont trip (already discussed in an earlier post) and were gone until the third week in July so house-hunting couldn't really begin in earnest until then.

We finally found a house in mid-August and closed within fourteen days but the sellers wouldn't move out before closing. I can't really blame them as they were frightened by the number of closings that have failed. Anyway, after they moved out we finally were able to get into the house to clean and paint. The house didn't LOOK dirty but it was filthy. They had 3 cats and a dog and the place had a distinct litter box smell that we couldn't seem to get rid of. After having the carpets cleaned once, and enzyme treated twice we finally just pulled it up and replaced the pads underneath (and seeing the pads pretty much convinced me that those cats NEVER used a litter box) so finally the smell was gone. The paint looked great and we've purchased a new beveled glass front door that will be installed later so....fast forward to Monday the 8th of September.

Our sea freight finally arrived and the entire day was spent unloading the shipment. On Tuesday two of the guys returned to the house and we started unpacking a LOT of things (but not all since nothing gets put away, it just lays around on every available flat surface). Tuesday I began organizing my kitchen (always the first priority) and then Wednesday morning was the first BSF intro class. The timing was bad but if I didn't go there was a good chance I wouldn't be put into a BSF group so I went to the intro class and then back to the house to finish the kitchen and begin on Paul's room (the number two priority). Wednesday night we got the last of the things from the apartment we've been living in since July 2nd and cleaned it from top to bottom.

Thursday morning news "Hurricane Ike Aimed at Galveston!" so a great deal of time on Thursday was spent in a fruitless search for water and D batteries. I got up at 6 a.m. on Friday and finally found the water but the batteries continued to elude me. We did a few moving in things on Friday afternoon and evening, set up the TV and game room and Stephen got his entire room unpacked but that night....here came Ike.

Saturday rained ALL day, no power, hot, damp (we're in Houston what else needs to be said)! It wasn't sunny enough outside to be able to see inside but sustained minimal damage, part of our fence is down from a falling limb but otherwise just scattered winds and some water in a few downstairs windows, the windows didn't break, just seeped in with the 100 mph winds but of course that necessitated pulling back carpet so the pad and foundation would dry making any kind of moving in/putting away exceedingly difficult.

On Sunday we decided we could deal with a hurricane or we could deal with moving in but dealing with both was just beyond our abilities to deal and the entire mess wasn't going anywhere so we buttoned up the house and headed to Fort Worth and my parents where we've had a bed that isn't damp, air conditioning and laundry facilities. Thank you LORD for great parents!!!!

Anyway...today we're heading back to Houston to actually move into our house and settle down, hopefully with some power soon. So...any of you who've been wondering what we've been up to...you're up to date! Once life returns to some semblance of normal I promise to blog more regularly and on more important topics. Can't wait for BSF to really get started, I'm sure there will be lots to talk about!

For now, I'm going to listen to something by Tina Turner (another Ike survivor) and count my blessings!

She's there!

Well, we did it! Chelsea is settled in at OCU. Her dorm room is tiny, her roommate seems very nice and her RA is a sweetheart! I'll get pictures up as soon as possible (still need to download them from my camera) but we got her room all fixed-up with lime green fake fur and pink satin so it's a drama queen's haven (as it should be).




We drove her up to OKC on Monday morning after spending a wonderful Sunday night with Chris and Jeanie. Jeanie and I spent time talking about decorating my new house but that will be in a later post. This one is about getting my first little chick off to college and I realize I must be the weirdest mom in the world but I still haven't been teary or sad about it. Just excited for her and sure she's going to have a wonderful time. (Jeanie says it has to do with how well-grounded Chelsea is. She felt the same way with Rachel, just confident that she'd be fine. It's our BOYS who will give us worries!)

It rained the ENTIRE time we were in OKC, in fact it rained from the time we left Dallas until we drove back through it yesterday, but that just meant that the temperatures were nice and cool. I think Oklahoma City will be a good place for Chelsea to get used to being on her own, especially doing more driving. It's laid out on a grid, making it easy to get around and the people seem so friendly and down to earth (even for drama people) which is a very good thing.

She and her daddy got her bank account established, student ID, bills and car registration done so all she had left to do was to get a phone in OKC. Something she can handle on her own without any problems. I'll write more when I get some pictures up.

Cheap Trick/Heart/Journey ,,,and PAUL!

We had so much fun at the Journey, Heart and Cheap Trick concert in the Woodlands but like Vicki Courtney (my alltime favorite blogger!) I was a bit amazed at the side shows.

I had mixed up the date on the concert and Rick and Stephen were still in Philmont so Chelsea invited two of her best friends to go with us, Megan and Melissa. After a very rushed dinner we headed to the Woodlands and managed to sit in traffic for 30 minutes before finally parking in the garage (which I was very happy about!)




So...there I am at the concert with three beautiful teenage girls and one little DS boy! They had a terrific time and I think WE were probably the side show for the people around us at least during the concert. Paul was rocking!







He stood up and danced during Heart and got on my shoulders to see Journey (let's face it he was quite a bit shorter than everyone around us).



While up on my shoulders he was playing air guitar and if you think it's easy to have a 60 pound kid playing air guitar perched on your shoulders you would be WRONG! By the end of Journey's set (and by the way Arnel Pineda is wonderful but no one will ever truly be able to replace Steve Perry in my book) Paul was sacked out on our blanket, deeply unconscious.



The girls were pretty into the music too. I think Megan sang along with every song Journey did and Melissa was dancing. Chelsea and Paul were getting into it too!
Dancing and taking bows? I know, I know, it's just one of Paul's idiosyncrasies)




We decided to just wait for the place to clear out before we made our way back to the car and that's when I started to realize that the hill was littered with people who were simply too wasted to get up and move. Most of them MY age!!!! Here's Paul also wasted but in a completely different way!




I have to say I was embarrassed for my contemporaries, especially when we got to the lift of the garage. We'd finally got Paul up and made our way down to the car and waiting for the lift were two women, one of whom could barely stand. She was leaning against the lift door, too inebriated to support herself. Her friend (who to give her credit appeared to be a designated driver) helped her in to the lift and then four more middle aged women got on, loudly laughing and cursing. The women got flustered when they realized there was a child on the lift and started apologizing in that profuse drunken way. My daughter and her friends thought it was funny but I have to admit I was just embarrassed for them. All I could think was that a hangover is a lot harder at 48 than it is at 18 and they were really going to be hurting in the morning!



By the way, despite Megan's expression my girls had NOTHING alcoholic to drink!

China Patterns, Cars and Houses: The Common Denominator

I've been thinking a lot lately about what makes marriage work, specifically my own. Part of the reason this is on my mind is that I had a little discussion about it yesterday with, of all people, a used car salesman. Kevin was a young man who while we were looking at cars told me he is engaged, and is very excited about it. I told him that getting married was the smartest thing I'd ever done and I find it kind of cool that that is still true after 20+ years. We talked through 5 test drives about the give and take of being married and the impact having parents with good marriages makes on one's own marriage. He was one of the best car salesmen I've met and I'm definitely going back to buy a car from him. He also got to see in practice a bit of the give and take I was talking about.

Right now Rick and Stephen are backpacking at the National Boy Scout camp in Philmont. This 12 day hiking trip was planned before we knew we'd be moving back to the states and I have to say it couldn't be more inconvenient. I can't do anything without Rick! That may sound like a whiny exaggeration but it's actually the truth...I mean I drove 5 cars yesterday, one that I would have purchased immediately if Rick had been with me but since he wasn't it will have to wait. (the frustrating part is that it's a used car and it probably won't be there when he gets back!) The same thing is happening with house-hunting. I found one I ABSOLUTELY love but it's a foreclosure and chances are again very good that it will be gone by the time Rick gets home.

BTW, I realize that God is teaching me a lesson about waiting and not getting my heart (and mind) focused on a thing! If that house and that car are God's will then they'll be there when I can purchase them...and if they're not God's will I'm much better off without them! I really do want to be in God's will but I will confess that sometimes it would be better if I wanted it more!

Anyway, I got a bit off topic but back to the subject of marriage. I could tell that Kevin really wanted me to buy the car (and like I've said I would also have liked for me to buy the car) but after our earlier conversation I pointed out to him that making a major purchase is something married people do together. That's one of the things that make marriage work. And while I've been frustrated shopping without Rick and often feel like I'm wasting my time, deep down I know that I'm not. I'll narrow the house field down to 5 or 6 that I really like and then we'll look at them together and decide what's right for us. We've actually been using this system since before we were married. When we were engaged we needed to choose a china pattern and while I loved looking at china patterns Rick had other things he preferred to spend his time on. So...I chose three patterns that I liked and Rick looked at the three and said "that one". This may seem like an overly simple system but we've found that it works in our marriage. The truth is that I often can't make a final decision, more than one thing appeals to me, and Rick is able to judge more objectively and look at function over form (something I think a lot of women struggle with).Our system works to our strengths and I believe it is also Biblical. It keeps Rick in the position of leadership which is important in marriage.

Just some thoughts for today...now I'm off to look at more houses!

Catching up!

Well, I just realized it's been more than a month since I wrote anything. An international move will do that to you. At this moment we are in an apartment that is maybe 950 square feet (quite a change from the more than 4000 we were enjoying in Singapore). Our air shipment arrived today and I'm looking forward to being able to cook in my own wok again!

Something I studied in nursing school was stress as a predictor of illness. Most of you have seen this thing somewhere, it lists stressful situations and prescribes them a point value up to 100 points. Loss of a spouse is 100 points, divorce is 75 points so forth and so on, even Christmas gets a point value. A score of more than 300 puts one at high risk for stress-related illness. Well, I was calculating some of my stressors, international move, child leaving home, major purchase of car or appliances (3 cars, washer & dryer, lawn mower et al), mortgage application, new school...the list just goes on and on. Then add in that Rick has all the same ones I do plus a new job and the fact that while I get to be married to him he has to be married to me (far more stressful!) and you can see we're feeling a bit overwhelmed!

Anyway...I didn't write all this for sympathy (but if you want to give me some I'd be happy to take it) I wrote it to talk about something related but different, ways to deal with anger. I have a natural tendency to express stress and anxiety as anger. (Rick tends to withdraw into himself which is why he's easier to live with than I am) And anger has been the big thing the Holy Spirit has been convicting me of ever since I did Breaking Free. In fact one of the things Beth Moore suggested in that study that has been a big help to me is to get some 3x5 cards and look up all the Bible verses related to your area of bondage. Then, when you're feeling the need for wise words you can look up your verses. Well, I have about 35 3x5 cards on a little ring that I try to always have nearby. Some of my favorites are Proverbs 29:11 "A fool always loses his temper, but a wise man holds it back." and Isaiah 58:9b-10 "If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness and give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday." and James 1:19-20 "This you know, my beloved brethren, But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God."

Anyway, just wanted to share something that's been helping me to control anger and ask you to pray for me to keep it up. I'll try to post more frequently now that we're in Houston and I'm online again! God Bless