mackey's visit

Here's a thought about friends ~ They are the ones who are still standing by you after the dust settles; after you pick yourself up off the ground, dust yourself off, and can finally see beyond the tears in your eyes. (Sunday Sermon Metaphor)

They are also the ones who jump into a 2 foot kiddie pool, fully clothed, with sunglasses on head and cell phone in pocket - without flinching - to save your 3 year old who has lost her footing. (Saturday Afternoon Event)

This weekend the Mackeys came to Medford, and what a great time we had! Friday night I met up with Muna for coffee and pie. Saturday consisted of Elmer's, climbing Table Rock, swimming (mentioned above), NoHo's, and Dairy Queen. Sunday we went to church, Red Robin, then biking and football at the park. All of this was done with extremely well behaved children and near perfect weather.

I miss my friends, all of my Bend friends, so very much. They not only say they "have my back," but have actually stood in the gap for me and my family. They are the kind of people who you want by your side, because they never ask "what's in it for me?" - they just love you and receive the love that you give to them. They are real ~ genuine ~ and I love them so much.

marissa

Marissa is getting so big, so fast. In many ways she still seems so little, but most of the time, I cannot believe that she is so grown up.

Being the second girl, and third child, she has received many hand-me-downs. But, this Easter, her daddy bought her her very own, brand new, big girl bike! She was so excited - though more about the lunch bag and water bottle attached to the front of it than the actual bike. She rides all around the neighborhood - just one of the many reminders of how big she is. On Easter, a neighbor girl came to the door to see if the kids could come out to play. Marissa told her "no" and that, "I got a new bike, but you can't come in and ride it. Sorry." She said this with a shrug of her shoulders, then a closing of the door. It was rude, it was not nice, but I was so set aback by its bluntness and cuteness that I couldn't reprimand her for her behavior...I just don't think it would have seemed genuine through my laughter.

She loves to dance in the kitchen - but, her mood has to be just right. She will do ballet - this consists of standing with one foot atop the other while losing her balance and catching herself on the refrigerator. She will also "riverdance" when her Grammi makes music for her. This looks a little like tap dancing with a frog in her pants. She also loves to spin in circles, but it makes her "busy."

When she wants to stay up late, she's a big girl. But when she wants to drink from a sippy cup, she is a little girl. I am constantly amazed by her ability to work the system in such a casual and unassuming way.

She is good at getting her way, especially with her Poppi. I often find them watching Wow, Wow, Wubzy or Blues Clues together. Once, she asked to watch her shows and he said "no." After a few minutes of sitting in his lap watching CSI, she turned to him with her hands over her ears and a scowl on her face...he changed it to Max & Ruby.

She is great, I cannot imagine life without her. I hope everyday she knows how much I love her and cherish her, and how much I love being her Mom.

whelmed

Today Allen told me he was feeling "whelmed." I thought, wow, he is so overwhelmed that he doesn't even have the energy to make complete words...

Basically, he told me that he was not overwhelmed, just whelmed. Lots of stuff on his plate, but nothing that he couldn't handle...whelmed.

Hmmm...I think I like that Allen-ism. I will use it myself in the future.

air 1 revolution

I recently started listening to a Christian radio station, Air 1. It has been great. Not only have I enjoyed the music, but the commentaries and testimonies have been inspiring. This week they started their annual pledge campaign. Since they don't play commercials they rely on donations to keep the station funded. They said that only 3% of Air 1 listeners support the station with financial funding - interesting I thought. Then, they likened it to 100 people being in a room, with 1 person about to commit suicide. They said that they would hope that 100 out of 100 people would do something to stop that life from being taken...well, yeah...but, even though their station saves lives all the time (75 already confirmed this year), financially speaking, only 3 people have stood up - wow.

Allen and I both felt lead to donate to this ministry. So, I went online to sign up for our monthly donation. There was a spot where we could leave a little comment if we chose. Never being one with a lack of words, I did leave a comment...

Air1 hasn't changed my life...but it does make me feel good! And, if there were 100 people in a room and someone wanted to end their life (from earlier broadcast reference) I absolutely would do something to stop it. More than that...what if that person was one of my children? or my husband? or my best friend? I want them to hear the good news and have the opportunity for this radio station to change their life.
I love God with all my heart. And it makes my heart smile when I hear all the good that one radio station can do in the lives of the least of us.
Continue your great work.
"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." -Galatians 6:9

It felt good to contribute. It felt right, and important. Later that afternoon when I was out driving around, I was listening to Air 1, and they were thanking people on air for their contribution. "Sarah in Boston gave $35 a month, Bill in Vegas gave a one time gift of $250, Joah from Oregon made a $32 per month pledge and she says..." Yeah! They read my message...all of it! AND, they said my name right! What are the chances? Well, they were reading a lot of testimonies and airing phone calls too...but hello-my name, they said it right! Wahoo!

In all seriousness, after I heard that, I started to cry in my car in the parking lot of the Dollar Store. It is important to believe in the causes you support, and I believe in the message of God and His amazing grace! I may have never had a life changing moment because of Air 1, but I might some day. But more importantly is that SOME PEOPLE HAVE. God's grace and love is for EVERYONE, and if I can in some small way, with my $32 per month, help spread that message, then I am IN!

pear blossom

"Yay" for Pear Blossom weekend in the Rogue Valley...

Gage had a sleepover planned for Friday night, so after we dropped him off, the girls and I headed downtown to find Allen, who was working at the MetLife booth at the Pear Blossom festival. Marissa was the first to spot him-I actually didn't believer her when she said, "I see Daddy!" But, after I crouched to her level, it was clear that she had a great view of him through the trees and people!

We ate elephant ears and then headed out to locate the giant inflatable dragon for the girls to bounce on. Abby heard music coming from across the street and announced, "The dragon must be that way...because where there is big music, there is big fun!"

Saturday, Gage went to the parade with his sleepover crew-which was such a blessing since I woke up with an earache and didn't want to get out of bed. Eventually though, our day got moving. We dropped Abby off at a birthday party, and headed back downtown to meet up with Allen. Our mission was to find my friend's booth who was selling waffles and her own syrup. Mission accomplished! We found her, the booth, the waffles, and the syrup...delicious!

"Yay" for being back in town during this annual celebration! "Yay" for Pear Blossom weekend in the Rogue Valley!

easter cookies and heaven

Today, the kids and I baked Easter cookies. Not wanting the true meaning of Easter to be lost in the hullabaloo of bunnies, eggs, and sprinkles-which, on a side note, is what happened this Christmas. Once the holiday was over I realized that I let the whole season go by without having the main focus be on Jesus. I guess that's one of the by-products of living back at my parents house. Growing up, all of our holidays were very commercialized. We weren't a Christian household and we didn't talk about the birth of Jesus, or His death and resurrection either. Even now, I have to make a conscious effort to un-paganize my holidays because of the traditions I was raised with, and still cherish.

So today, during the shaking of sprinkles on to the doughy bunnies and eggs, I took the opportunity to talk to the kids about Jesus dying on the cross, being buried in a tomb, and rising on the third day. Abby seemed to know all about it already-I guess all that churchin' and Sunday schoolin' is working out. Gage was a little surprised and excited because he thought Easter meant we were going to “see” Jesus.

So, after I re-explained Easter to him, we segued into the second-coming discussion. I told him that Jesus is in fact coming back, but that we don’t know when (but probably not this Easter). Next we were discussing heaven... I entertained their every thought. Marissa thinks God will like her ballet. Gage wants to takes naps on clouds and ride a gold motorcycle on the gold street. And Abby says she will be happy when she gets to heaven because "God will be in charge of her instead of Mom"...but ultimately I had to let the kids know that we really don’t know exactly what heaven will be like, but that it will be great.

Later that evening I overheard Gage (age 5) talking to my dad. “Poppi, when you die, I want you to make sure you take your cell phone to heaven with you- that way I can call you up and find out what it’s like.”

rachel's busy day

Today the baby...



walked backwards and thought she was the funniest kid ever.
lifted her leg to put her pants on while I was getting her dressed.
lifted the same leg for the other pant hole while I was getting her dressed.
stumbled through my legs and giggled with absolute delight.
took the filter out of Poppi's oxygen machine.
ran away from Poppi when he tried to get the filter.
crawled up on the footstool.
ran around on the footstool.
fell off the footstool.
climbed on the footstool again.
found herself barricaded out of Poppi's room by the love seat so she could not climb on the footstool anymore.
took the filter out of Poppi's machine again.
pulled on Grammi's tablecloth.
got told "NO" very loudly. It made her jump.
pulled on Grammi's tablecloth while shaking her head no.
got her hand slapped for the first time ever.
ran to the corner and fake cried (not the first time).
walked backwards some more.
pointed at the refrigerator when she wanted milk.
climbed on Poppi's oxygen machine when she discovered the filter had not been replaced.
took a toy truck from Marissa.
ran down the hall to get away from Marissa.
threw the truck when Marissa caught her.

made me work VERY hard.
made my heart smile.
filled me with joy.

this blog

So here's the deal...I've been blogging thus far, only when I can sit down, gather my thoughts, and really put time and effort into my writing. I've got a few blogs written now that had the words carefully chosen, thoughts in a row (at least in my world), and pictures to match.

Sometimes I do not blog because I don't have time to do it "right," so I just don't do it at all. Or, I want to come across witty or funny to me readers (all 2 of you)-so if my topic doesn't seem read worthy, I don't write.

Last night, I was making some notes in a saved file on my computer desktop. It's a file that I jot down funny things my kids say that I don't want to forget. As I was entering something, I thought to myself, "wouldn't it be great if I could keep these things in a diary that I could go back and read"...hmmmm...sounds a lot like a blog if you ask me!

So I've decided to turn this blog into more of a personal online journal. That way all my thoughts are here for me to look back on whenever the mood strikes me. And, I won't lose it (hopefully), or throw it out when I do a purge of documents and clutter. It's great, unless you read this, then you might get bored...but, I think I will be happier about it when I look back and see each day how I was feeling or what was happening!

So, just so you know, that's where this blog is headed...for now-until the next time I change my mind about its purpose!