something light

the other day i fixed elias's breakfast. i put his pancake on a plate and just placed his sausage on the table next to the plate. he said "you are KIDDING me!". yeah, he's a controlling 3 year old. what else would you expect from a strasser babe? i hung my head and wandered back into my domain....the kitchen.... to get the young prince a plate. that made him happy.

my husband and the cop

if you know my husband, you would know that the two don't mix. however, he has had many chances to mix and it never turns out pretty. yesterday at the coffeeshop a car was parked in the do not park between 4 and 6 lane. it was 4:15. H went out to see if there was anyone around who owned the car. the cops are obnoxious about giving tickets for that particular offense. he noticed a police car coming around the left lane of traffic into the right lane. he went back into the shop to see if it belonged to anyone there. a woman said it was hers. he told her that she needed to move it really fast because a cop was making his way down right behind her car. she ran out and left. H noticed that the cop drove past the shop and he went out to see if he was going to follow her. when H got outside he saw that the cop had pulled into a handicapped spot in the parking lot next door. of course, H was curious as to what the cop was doing. he walked down the block a bit and saw the cop in skyline ordering up a cheese coney! SO, my husband decides to sit on the bench in front of the parking lot and wait. when the cop walked out H approached him and said "do you have a minute?". the cop said he did. H proceeds to ask the cop if he knew that he parked in a handicap spot. the cop said "yeah, i guess i did". H asks him if he sees anything wrong with that. the cop says "well, there aren't any handicapped people around and i was only running in skyline for 2 minutes". H says, "but you parked in a spot you're not supposed to park in and some people around here would really love to see someone who is the law show some integrity, follow the same law and do what is right." then the cop asks him what he has done all day. H says" losing money". the cop then says "so, you just sit and wait to crawl up someone's ass?". then the cop went on and on and on about being important and needing to park close because he might get called to a robbery or something. THEN another cop drove by and motioned to the cop H was talking to wondering if he needed help! so the OTHER cop pulls in the parking lot and comes and stands behind H with his hands on his hips. (might need his gun, ya know). at this point H just stared and said nothing. the cop says "what do you want me to do, write myself a ticket?" H says "yeah, that would be nice. if it had been me parking there you wouldn't have thought twice to write me up." the cop then says H needs to find something else to do with his time and my lovely husband replies "i'm just trying to change the world one person at at time...."
i think that was the end. the cop decided to leave. i really wish H would have just gotten his camera, taken a picture of the car, taken a picture of the cop in skyline and sent it to the enquirer or city beat!! H and authority have never gotten along. must be why we get along so well. i hate it when people get on power trips. i just don't have the guts to say anything. i LOVE my husband's big mouth! i LOVE that he was standing up for the person who might have needed that spot. i just think he might need to take some martial arts or something......

on church

a friend just wrote a great post on offerings in the church setting. i would link you to her, but she likes to be anonymous. basically, she was really happy that her kids didn't really know what "passing the plate" meant. they go to a vineyard church and vineyards are typically pretty discreet about the giving part of the service. i made a comment that i was glad my kids don't really know what church is. i lied. they do really know what church is and they know it in a much deeper way than i ever could have. in fact, i didn't really figure out what church is until i left college. to my kids the church is the people around them. the ones who step up when we need help. the folks we hang out with. do we pray with these people? rarely out loud. do we sing worship songs with them? never. do we enjoy our lives with them? definitely. can we count on them in a tragedy? definitely. do they love our children and are walking with us in raising them? definitely. so when i say my kids don't know what church is, i really mean they do not quite understand a church meeting. to them life is church. god is everywhere. the spiritual abounds in the sounds at night and a gentle rain. for awhile i felt guilty that my family does not attend a church meeting on a sunday. i've given that up. i think it was when my 14 year old handed a $10 bill of his own money to a homeless guy.

i do have to say that i think church meetings are a good thing. i think it's a place where you can find community among believers. i especially love this place. lots of great things can be learned in a corporate worship setting. i guess i just finally feel free. free of the "have to go" mentality. my entire life i had to go to church and i had to dress up and i couldn't EVER wear shorts and i couldn't be late and i could NEVER skip out. god was there and he might miss me. and what would people think? i was the pastor's daughter, ya know. i never missed a potluck, a sunday night, a wednesday night, a choir practice, a sunday school, a anything. i couldn't WAIT till i was old enough to work in the nursery. i was a social being, so i suppose i didn't mind as much as i seem to as an adult! plus, it was just what i was used to and didn't experience anything different until i went off to college and could CHOOSE! thus began my slow awakening to the possibility that one did not HAVE to attend a church meeting. but the GUILT! would i lose my chance to go to heaven? would my parents despise me? what would everyone think! gasp! over the course of the next 20 years, my way of thinking was re-trained. in reading books by brennan manning and hanging out with fellow revolutionaries my brain was un-brainwashed in believing that my salvation depended upon my attendance record at the local meeting house. so, my children are being raised in a completely different manner than i was. it's kind of interesting. my husband and i are the sunday school teachers. my husband and i and our various friends are the pastors. our children know god because they see him in our friends and our world around us. it's a lovely, lovely freedom.

my friend sarah...

is having lots of fun at her new space.

she and i went to the same college in east tennessee and we've now re-connected on facebook! imagine THAT. anyway, her thoughts are well worth reading and she does cool things like housewarming parties! SO, go check her out.

i want to write more...HOWEVER, i have to take the taxi to pick up Aidan from basketball and deliver him to soccer. i really thought by now he would hone in on ONE sport.

peace and love

camping and the aftermath

i love to camp. we go about once a month. friends usually join us. i took TWO naps! that never happens at home. the only problem with camping is coming home. i spend at least one day recovering. doing laundry. showering. my kids watch ungodly amounts of television because i'm doing laundry, showering AND cleaning house. i come home from camping feeling so simple. we don't take much. a few clothes. some food. my older kids pack their own stuff now and cora my 9 year old just had a backpack packed with stuffed animals, drawing things and a few clothing items. i asked her if she felt that she was prepared. you know "enough undies?" she said if she ran out she'd just wear her bathing suit! which of course happened on the second day.....so she lived in her bathing suit for two more! she could've cared less. i wish i had that simplistic nature. i did wear the same shirt, but wear my bathing suit for underwear? no can do. my 5 year old isabel feels the need to change every time she gets wet or muddy. which is quite a bit on a camping trip. therefore, she takes 6 or 7 pairs of undies for a 4 day trip. even then i have to fake her out by picking up the worn ones and sticking them back in the drawer. with every clothing change she must put on new everything! anyway, when i come home, i want to power clean my entire house. get rid of most of the clothes, toys and whatnots. when you camp or go on vacation, you realize what really matters and how much you can really get by on! and if i were forced to wear my bathing suit on an entire camping trip, i'm sure i'd survive.

here's my boy......

the baby

i never thought i'd call the last one "the baby". but it is SO hard not to!! this is the last picture of me and the kids before "the baby"was born. literally. he was born that night. we were on our way to consume indian food and david had to take some pictures! after returning home, david went out with some friends and i stayed up. i realized at about midnight that i probably should call david, my friends and the midwife! everyone arrived, candles were lit and my best memory is sitting on the birthing ball surrounded by my husband, my midwife, two doulas and my two good friends. the place i went was surreal and so spiritual there are no words. i wish every woman who experiences birth could allow themselves to experience it this way. the pain is practically unbearable but the love and strength that can surround you is amazing. all i remember of transition is the chanting of the women there and my feet being rubbed! our kids all joined us when the time was nearing. their faces at the end of the bed as i pushed out their sibling is unforgettable. the best part is that they all covered their ears! (i'm really LOUD) anyway, my "baby" is 3 now and i'm not pregnant again! we just packed up the crib and put him in a big bed. he had his first haircut. i no longer have to rock him to sleep. he doesn't WANT to be rocked!!! somebody needs to rock me. I'M the one in need of comfort. do i want another one? no, not really. if i were to have one, i'd be okay with it. but i'm not planning. i think you get to the point of being done. ready to move on. but it doesn't stop the achy feeling in your heart. and now i know why almost everyone i know calls the last one "the baby".



disclaimer: i'm terrible at putting pictures on here!! someone help me!