Our Weekend in Tulsa

We took the kids to Tulsa this weekend to see some long-time friends. My hubby & these guys were like the 3 musketeers from about 6th grade on, and the other two musketeers moved to Tulsa in October. We have really missed getting together with them. When we all lived close, we spent a lot of time together. The guys were all in each other's weddings. I remember when the 6 of us would go out for dinner, then meet at one of our houses & play games until midnight or so. Now, between the 3 couples we have 3 boys & 2 girls. The oldest is 4 and the youngest is 14 months... what a houseful when we all get together!!

We left Friday afternoon, and of course had to stop at the McDonald's that goes over the highway. If you've ever driven from Joplin into Tulsa, you know exactly which one I am talking about... it is pretty cool, but for a 4 year old, it was REALLY cool! We got some popcorn and chicken nuggets & sat by the windows so we could watch the traffic zoom by underneath us. Now does that sound like heaven to a kid or what?? When we got there, everybody got together at a Mexican place called Abuelo's that was really good. Now for me, that is saying something because I don't care for Mexican food. Well, in truth I like it okay, but let's just say it doesn't like me. We were already geared up for Mexican though, because I had been telling my husband about this place I had been in Tulsa when I was in high school that was really fun, Casa Bonita. Unfortunately, we learned that they are out of business, which was really sad. They had little flags on the table, and if you needed your server, you just ran your flag up the little pole, and they would come by. The atmosphere was great too -- several different rooms, each with a different theme. One had an indoor waterfall & was decorated like you were sitting in an open courtyard. I still remember their sopapillas served warm with honey... mmmmmmm........ After dinner we went back to the house & got all the kids to bed. The adults stayed up talking & playing board games, Wii, etc. until 4:00 am. I cannot even think of the last time I was up that late! We all agreed it was probably because we had not seen each other in so long & we had a lot to catch up on. I vote that we get together more often so we don't stay up so late next time!! Our kids were up at about 6:30 Saturday morning, and the rest were up by 8:30. Ugh!

The two girls had their first ballet class on Saturday morning, then that afternoon we took the kids to the Tulsa Zoo. They loved the petting area and riding the carousel! Everybody loved the train too, except the baby -- he was great with it until we went through a tunnel, which he didn't like at all. It was pretty crowded, I guess because the weather is finally getting warm. We were going to eat dinner at an Italian place called Jonny Carino's, but when we got there, we discovered it was Prom night! The wait for a table for 11 was almost 2 hours long... and with 5 young kids who missed their naps, we all agreed that was not going to happen! We ended up at another Italian place called Carrabba's. There were some Prom-goers there too, but we got in within 15 minutes, so it was perfect. I think everybody had a great time, but we were all exhausted at the end of the day! We left Tulsa at about 9:00 pm, which put us home at midnight. Praise the Lord for getting us home safe on so little sleep! Then we were up early for church on Sunday, since DH is on worship team and I am doing drama for children's worship. Naps for all on Sunday afternoon!! All in all, it was a good weekend. It was great to see everybody again... we will have to do this more often. Minus the 4am part...

Bug Inchies

These are inchies I made for a swap on the Christian Paper Artists group. Inchies are 1"x1" collages, usually made from paper or fabric. Mine are pretty simple, as this is only my second attempt at making these tiny treasures!

"Ladybug"

I stamped the ladybug in black on red paper and cut her out, then hand drew her antennae. The flowers have gold glitter glue centers. (The ladybug stamp and paper flowers are from Close to My Heart.)

"Bee Happy"

The bee and words are stamped in black ink, and then I added the dots by hand with a micron pen.

"Flutter"

The butterfly is printed and cut out, then glued on over a random-stamped background. The background and word are edged in blue ink. (Background stamp from Magenta.)

"Dragonfly Dreams"

The background is stamped with VersaMark on textured card stock, then chalked. I freehand-cut the wings and drew the bodies. (Background stamp is "Eight dragonflies on a black and white background" from Rubbermoon.)

The Meanest Mother in the World

"We choose those we will be like, those we will relate to, those we will release our innermost thoughts to. We may think we are aimlessly associating with others but we’re not. Friends influence our morals and attitudes second only to family. This is why parents scrutinize their children’s acquaintances so closely. I am so thankful for my friends. I agree to walk with them because they walk with Christ. O, Lord, as we walk, keep our paths straight and narrow. When we stray, quickly bring us back with what ever technique You must use. If I ignore Your elbow, You have my permission to use stronger methods." - Vonda Ludke

As my son starts exerting independence in his choice of friends, I realize how important those choices are. I look at my own life, and realize that as an adult (am I really an adult??) I have chosen to surround myself with Godly people. My circle of friends comes from two main sources: Church, and Stained Glass Theatre. Honestly, I think it has been a subconscious choice, and I suppose the credit for that belongs to my parents...

So I owe a long overdue thanks to Mom and Daddy for badgering me incessantly about where I was going and with whom and what time I would be home, etc. Reluctantly, I have to say "Yes, Mom, you were right" (I hate those words...) yet again. My mom was the "Meanest Mother in the World" when I was in school. You know the one. All your friends have a great idea, and somebody says "No, we can't do that because so-and-so's Mom won't let her." Just call me so-and-so. And your friend was right. Mom wouldn't have let me. Guess what? My friends' moms LOVED my Mom. They got to say yes to anything and be the "cool mom" because they knew that MY Mom would take the responsibility to say no. My Mom would also insist that everybody come hang out at our house, just so she knew what was going on and we weren't all roaming the streets. We had an open door policy (Mom always said we had a Revolving Front Door) and all my friends knew they were welcome at any time. Some of Daddy's students even slept on our couch when they were having problems with their own folks.

Now that the tables are turned, I guess it is my turn to be the Meanest Mother in the World. Just tonight I found myself saying to my son "No, honey, you can NOT go be with them. They are running around and being loud in church, and that is not respectful of God's house." Trying to contain an energetic 4 year old boy during a two-hour church service is no easy task, but when his friends are being allowed to run through the sanctuary at full tilt, it becomes Mission Impossible. I guess this is just the beginning of my Boot Camp towards becoming the next Meanest Mother in the World...

Famous Faces

I am playing in an ATC swap on the Christian Paper Artists yahoo group. The theme is "famous faces" and I chose Einstein. This piece uses one of my favorite quotes, and one of my favorite word stamps from Stampers Anonymous. The background looks like graph paper with random equations written all over it, which was awesome, but of course is mostly obscured in the finished product. I used a small white feather boa to embellish his iconic hairstyle. No greater brain ever wore a feather boa so well, don't you think?

HOPE On My Bookshelf...

Right now I am reading Jennifer Rothschild's book Self Talk, Soul Talk: what to say when you talk to yourself. This is part of a women's Bible Study we are doing on Wednesday nights. Last night we focused on chapter 6, which deals with HOPE. She talks about hope being our anchor...

"Hope anchors us because it provides spiritual grounding. Hope brings stability to every part of our being: physical, mental, emotional, and spritual. It's something steady to hold onto when fear and despair rock our world."

Fear is never on your side. Fear is a tool of the enemy to shake and intimidate us. Fear will betray you, but hope never will. Fear and despair will make you quiver, but hope will make you unshakable. Despair will work against you - serving what you are trying to avoid. When you are in despair, do you sabotage your own situation by yelling, crying, eating, or shutting yourself off from the world? Change your reaction - turn to God for help! You can make a deliberate choice to choose hope.

Jennifer does an excellent job of showing how the Psalmist dealt with hopelessness. In chapter 42 verse 5, he says "Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me?" The Message says it this way "Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? Why are you crying the blues?" Jennifer suggests that the Psalmist is interviewing his own soul, with honest, perceptive questions; a habit we can all benefit from! Despair will not go away if we ignore it - we must face it head-on with the Truth.

Choose hope, and Give GOD the control!

See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. -Song of Solomon 2:11-12

This Is My Now...

"This is my now, and I am breathing in the moment. As I look around I can't believe the love I see. My fears behind me, gone are the shadows and doubt. That was then, this is my now..."

My first Blog post! I have finally done it. Here it is, in all it's mediocrity... my very own blog. My little corner of the web to talk about the things I love, and rant about the things that irritate me (that could be a lengthy list...), post pictures of my boys, share my heart and my art, and my love of all things Longaberger.

So why the title "This Is My Now"? It is a song that fits me at this point in my life. The last few years have been full of change and I have had to learn to trust in the Lord and be content with my life as He has ordanined it for this moment. His ways are not my ways, and He has a Plan that I am not in charge of, and do not know all the details. Let me assure you that my typical type-A "must control all situations at all times" personality has had difficulty learning this lesson. It is a lesson God is still teaching me, but I know that He is faithful, and this is my now.

Won't you join me on this journey? I have no idea where this path will lead us, but if we always know the ending, where is the excitement in getting there?