Uninhibited joy

As I get old and grey, my kids get older and not quite as cute - well cute to me, but maybe not cute to other people. So, for your viewing pleasure, I give you my nephew Levi, having quite the ball in the bathtub. LOVE his laugh!!!

Sisters, I need your advice/input

There is a little boy on the bus Kaylie has befriended. She is in second grade, he is in kindergarten. His name is Patrick. She sits by him on the bus and apparently they get along swell. When she first came home and told me "there is a boy on the bus and his name is Patrick and he likes me" I wasn't sure what to think - sounded basically harmless and innocent. Then when I found out he was 2 years younger (which at this age is 2 big years) I really didn't know what to think. She is so sweet and caring and has such an open heart - I don't her to mislead this young boy. As many of you know, Kaylie has her own issues which we have dealt with for years and so we have to tread delicately in some areas and she does not always get along socially with her peers - so it does not surprise me, given this and her sweet spirit that she has made this friend.

You are thinking, they are just friends on the bus, what is the problem here? Well, a couple months ago, he gave her a tiara that he told her he made. Cute - maybe he has a crush, but let's move on. BUT, today the school secretary called me to tell me that he gave her a little purse for Valentine's Day. So now that the school is concerned enough to call me, I am really stressing over this. The school says, we can tell Patrick's parents that Kaylie's parents said no thank you or something along that line. But I don't want to hurt this little boy or offend his family - his grandmother told the secretary it was just because he appreciates her being his friend. And I don't want to try to change Kaylie from the loving person God made her to be. I felt like since the school was calling I was supposed to have some kind of response, but I just didn't know what to do.

This is probably a good learning opportunity for all of us - she needs to know how to be her loving self with out opening herself up to something unhealthy (not so likely now - but she could set herself up later) and I need to learn to not be such a wimpy avoider of anything resembling conflict. (I also tend to worry way to much about what other people think) But I am not sure how to handle this situation - if in fact it is a "situation" at all.

I am thinking we should somehow communicate no more gifts - I don't really want to contact his family, as that seems to be making a mountain out of a mole hill, but am concerned if I tell Kaylie she needs to tell him no more gifts, it might come out wrong and when replayed for his family, will lead to the insult I want to avoid.

I don't really know what to do about this and some of you out there are Super Moms and much better at this than me and I am wondering what your advice is.

Extremely unscientific movie survey

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. I have seen 46. I guess that means I need to get out more. That or I just don't watch the movies this random quiz maker watches. (who comes up with some of these things? Why did I do it then? Curiosity to see how many out of 239 I would have seen. I knew it would be low - it was almost higher than I expected)

( ) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints (WHAT?? I have NEVER even HEARD of this)
() Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
() Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
-Total: 3
(x) The Princess Bride
(x ) Anchorman
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
( ) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
( ) White Oleander
() Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
-Total: 4
() Scream
() Scream 2
() Scream 3
() Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
() American Pie
() American Pie 2
( ) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp-Total: 0
( ) Harry Potter 1
( ) Harry Potter 2
( ) Harry Potter 3
() Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
() The Village
( X) Lilo & Stitch-Total: 2
(x) Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
( ) Signs
(x) The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
( ) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
() Robots (actually, I might have seen this one. hmmmmm...)
-Total: 2
( ) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
( ) Deep Impact
() KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
( ) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
() Joe Dirt
() KING KONG-Total: 1
( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
() Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
( ) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
( ) Halloween
() The Ring
( ) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving X-MAS
( ) Flubber-Total: 0
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
( ) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
( ) Ghost Ship
( ) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards-Total: 2
( ) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
( ) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
( ) Gothika
() Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
() Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
( ) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask-Total: 1
() Bad Boys
() Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Slevin
(x) Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
( ) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
() Bedazzled
( ) Predator I
( ) Predator II
( ) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George-Total: 4
( ) Independence Day
( ) Cujo
(x) A Bronx Tale
( ) Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) ET
( ) Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
() War of the Worlds
( ) Rush Hour
( ) Rush Hour 2-Total: 3
( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
( ) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
( ) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
( ) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
( )The Terminator
( ) The Terminator 2
() The Terminator 3-Total: 3
() X-Men
( ) X-2
( ) X-3
( ) Spider-Man
( ) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
( ) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
( ) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x ) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2Total: 6
( ) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
( ) Old School
( ) The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
(x) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin-Total: 3
() Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
() Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
() Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
( ) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade-Total: 2
() Baseketball
() Hostel
( ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
( ) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
( ) American History X
( ) Three-Total: 1
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc
.(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard-Total: 3
( ) High Tension
()Hulk
( ) Club Dread
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
( ) Hook
() Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
() 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
( ) Waterworld-Total: 0
( ) Kill Bill vol 1
( ) Kill Bill vol 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
() Kingdom of Heaven
( ) The Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness-Total: 0
(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
( ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor-Total: 6
() The Matrix
() The Matrix Reloaded
( ) The Matrix Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
( ) Silence of the Lambs
( ) Hannibal-Total: 0
Now Add them up and...

The Third Place

I am very blessed to be part of a vibrant church that worships in an amazing facility that was built just a few years ago. We have benefited so much from the church leadership and their desire to create a "third place" for families and individuals to go. We spend tons of time there, and not just in worship services and meetings. Take today for example:

• We get to church at 7:30am and hang out in the Gathering while Kaylie gets her picture taken with her youth basketball team - yes, it is early, but there is a nice open area with tables and couches and room for the kids, so we can hang out and chat and forget it is early. Plus, soon Lori Julian, coffee queen extraordinaire, shows up and opens the Eagle Creek Coffee Company shop that is right there in the Gathering and you can get coffee and bagel and cinnamon roll and big chocolate chip cookie and muffins and on and on.
• Then Kaylie has a basketball game (which I have to admit, I pretty much missed, because I did not make it past the social phase of the morning and was still in the Gathering catching up with a very dear friend who I have not had the opportunity to see very often lately) - right there in the gym at church with the Traders Point youth basketball league.
• Then we have a brief layover, so we go to the Park, a huge indoor playland - STILL inside the church and the girls play for about 30 minutes.
• Then back to the Gathering for Jim and Hannah for her photos and then her game in the gym.
• Kaylie and I head to another area of the church for a "Fiber Arts" class on quiltmaking hosted, by the way, by Jean Abbott who has known me since forever - scary the things she probably knows.
• Then we did actually go off campus just for a smidge (well Jim did - yay Jim!) to get lunch. Alot of the time we bring it and eat in the Gathering, but we decided to go wild today and eat fast food, being the wacky folks we are.
• Finally, still at church, it was movie time with the special needs ministry where the kids watched a movie on the big screen and got to spread out on the floor with blankets and sleeping bags and pillows and eat popcorn and everything.

And then we had to go because we had been at church for almost 7 hours and the dogs were probably getting yellow eyes. But I LOVE that we have so much we can do there and the above is just part of what was happening there today. Yes, we need to be out being salt and light, too, but I still feel so blessed to have such a wonderful place to do so many things with my family!

Be a Hero

Oi! Been many moons since have blogged. Logging way too much time on Facebook. Anyway, local music duo Connersvine (Chris Wilson and Colts punter Hunter Smith) are getting ready to release their next single, Hero, and need grass roots help getting it promoted on the airways. It is a good song with a good message. I give it two thumbs up!

Go to their website, www.connersvine.com (creative, eh?), and check their blog for the message asking for support (post: "The Christian Radio") and a vdeo clip of Hunter talking about the song (post: "Hero"). Go to the post "AFC ProBowler 2009" and click the link to download the song and give it a listen (if you haven't heard it).

Sorry for not giving you multiple links for all this, but it is really easy to find it all in their blog - they are not frequent bloggers right now, so there is not alot to wade through.

Rock on!