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Archive for October, 2010

Bottom, Bottom, Bottom

October 28, 2010

My son loves to say the word, “Bottom.”

Because he can’t say, “Butt.”

Because we don’t say things like that.

So he says, “Bottom” and “Booty” and laughs UPROARIOUSLY whenever he says it. Or he says it slyly to catch me off guard so I will giggle.

He likes to change the words in songs, so for example, Jingle Bells would be Jingle Bottom, Jingle Bottom…and believe me, he does it ingeniously with LOTS of songs.

It’s sort of a gift he has.

He comes home telling me about kids from school who called each other names like “Bottom Face, only they didn’t say bottom…”

Or that someone said, “Bottom Eyeball, only they didn’t say bottom…”

And I say, “Well, that isn’t even funny…Butt Eyeball? That doesn’t even make sense!”

But then we sit there long enough and get tickled about it.

We’re hopeless.

Posted in Mama Musings, October 2010 | 7 Comments »

Pa! Get Out The Fiddle!

October 27, 2010

The Great Wind blew in here yesterday and is still blowing.

It caused the Great Excitement when the power went out last night. The kids ran around in the dark with their flashlights and then their light sabers. We lit candles and a Great Hyperness filled the land.

Of course, it was right at bedtime and the Little Ones thought they could not possibly sleep in all this Darkness and Quietness. So they kept thinking of one more thing they needed before finally settling down for a Short Winter’s Nap.

Have I mentioned that Me & Non-Drowsy don’t get along? You know, that little writing you see on medicine bottles…

To me, it’s the same as drinking Decaf~ you just don’t do it. Why would anyone want to bother drinking coffee without the Zing?!

Same with cold medicine, why would anyone want to take it unless they were insured they’d be knocked out for at least an hour or two or twelve? By the way, if you know of anything that knocks you out for twelve, let me know…because there’s something in my system that makes Non-Drowsy medicines basically the equivalent of me drinking a couple Mountain Dews.

So I was awake a bit. The kids who thought they could never sleep were asleep within minutes of the last tucking in. Nate dreams of quietness like the kind that comes with no power so he was at peace. I listened to the wind raging and thought of the Native Americans and Laura Ingalls Wilder, in no particular order.

Excuse me while I go heat some bricks and braid my hair.

Posted in Family, Life, Mama Musings, Minnesota, October 2010 | 4 Comments »

Hoarders

October 26, 2010

Have you ever seen the show Hoarders?

I had only every heard of the horrific show, knowing I might not be able to stomach it for very long. However, in one of the brief moments that I got control of the remote control~ what is this fine silver instrument with all the numbers on it?

I digress…

Hoarders…

Oh my stinkin’ word.

It is ALARMING! The messes! The filth! All the stuff! The decay! The rot! The dead things!

It is a reality show about people who have houses piled full of things…and not just things, but NO BARE SPACE. Every inch is full of piles and piles and piles of stuff. There’s no way to even see what is there. Help comes to clear out, throw away, clean…

I can’t even make it through one show. It is so troubling~ not just that people can get so obsessed and attached to things~ but how sad and heartbroken they are to have it exposed…and how determined they are at first to hold onto everything.

It’s all so troubling.

I don’t see how a good cleaning can even fix the problem…not to mention, the houses are in such bad shape after all the disgusting rot has been in there so long, it seems like they just need a torching.

All I know is it makes me want to clean. That is always a good thing. Maybe that was a worthwhile 10 minutes of viewing after all…

And it makes me wish my Mama was here to help me clean the closets. She is the best closet cleaner in the world. Do you know why? Because she does it on a frequent basis. I don’t just mean a little touch up, I mean a THOROUGH going through…

I once saw a house like the ones on Hoarders. It wasn’t long after I got married (it wasn’t mine, thank the good Lord~ I may like to keep things a little too long, but…) and I went to take supper over to this lady who’d been sick. She had quite a few kids and hadn’t felt well, so I knew she’d had her hands full, but I still wasn’t prepared for what I saw. I didn’t even know it was possible to do that to a house and still live in it, function and on the outside appear like everything was just fine.

It messed me up. I confess that I was thoroughly grossed out. However, at the same time, I had compassion for that poor Mama who had gotten overwhelmed past the point…past the point of caring, past the point of being able to get a grip, past the point of finding a way out of the disaster.

I wish I’d been able to do more than cook dinner for that family. I thought about trying to help her get the house back together, but knew it was beyond my capabilities. It really needed a professional team like you see on Hoarders.

Maybe she’s watching the show and it will inspire her to get help.

Maybe I can show this to my daughter when I’m trying to get her to clean her room…or maybe not. She’d feel like she was doing a really great job when she saw how bad some rooms CAN get…

Maybe I will never have to watch another episode again and be just fine.

Posted in October 2010, Touchy Subjects | 7 Comments »

Catch the Wind

October 22, 2010

Tonight’s the night…

This morning I’m feeling that scary feeling of, “Is anything really going to come out of this sinus-y infested throat/head?” But somehow it does. There have been many times that I could not speak, but when it was time to sing, sound actually comes out! It’s amazing.

It doesn’t necessarily sound good, ha, but it comes out.

I’m so glad to be part of such an awesome group of people…the ABC Youth Choir never fails to energize, encourage and bless me. The musicians and singers are so talented and have such good hearts. This night is especially fun because of all the new songs we’ll be doing…

Nate has been writing songs like crazy and I’m loving them. We all are. Can’t wait to share them with everyone.

Tonight at 7 we will be singing our guts out. Tomorrow at 9 we will have workshops directed to worship leaders, musicians, singers, and anyone who wants to know more about praise and worship. There will be a lunch break, we’ll learn songs together, etc. Fun times…and I think we’ll all learn a lot.

ABC 1545 Dieter Street, St. Paul, MN 55106

Posted in ABC Youth Choir, Ministry, Music, Nate, October 2010 | 6 Comments »

Lost & Found

October 21, 2010

We have a couple glorious days off of school. Woohoo!!!

Not sure I could handle another day of putting my crying boy on the schoolbus and watching him look at me out the window with tears rolling down his cheeks. Oh my. I do love my Little Man. He does tear my heart up with that behavior.

It has gotten better~ the whole school thing. He actually does like it…once he’s there…it’s just throughout the morning that he comes running, hugging my legs and not wanting to go that he thinks he DOESN’T LIKE SCHOOL ONE BIT. No. Not. One. BIT.

My other offspring, however, is flourishing. She got not one, not two, but three parts in her school play and she is loving every minute. She loves it so much that she doesn’t mind spending part of her days off today and tomorrow at practice…even with cold and snurfles, she’s ready to go to school. That just thrills my soul.

There’s lots going on around here. We’re doing a concert/workshop this weekend at ABC for all you locals. The ABC Youth Choir and worship team will all be there. I can tell you more about it tomorrow or Friday (or email if you’d like more information: lori.sabin@gmail.com), but here are the basic details. Friday night concert at 7 PM and Saturday workshops 9-2. It will be a LOT of fun and a great time together.

All that to say, with the play and rehearsals for the weekend, our days and evenings have been pretty full. I’m trying to remember to let myself off the hook and yet still get laundry done, catch up from being sick last week, take a minute to breathe, enjoy the quiet moments to prepare for the chaotic and to stop and notice the leaves while they are still with us. And it’s working. So grateful.

Last week= Lost my mind.

This week= Found it.

The moments I’m not doing all the things above, I’m whipping my hair back and forth. (For those of you who don’t know, it’s a song~ Whip My Hair by Willow Smith. Listen to it once and it will be stuck in your head for DAYS. Nay, possibly weeks.)

Happy Thursday. I hope your day is brilliant. Go dance around the kitchen for a little while. You’ll feel better.

Posted in Mama Musings, Ministry, Music, October 2010 | 4 Comments »

Freedom, the Roundabout Way

October 19, 2010

We saw the funniest thing yesterday. Nate was home so we both walked down to get Indigo from the bus stop. It’s a little trek to the corner of our street.

Many times it is my only form of exercise.

I probably shouldn’t have just admitted that.

On our way back up to the house, I heard some leaves rustling on the driveway, looked over and they were actually moving. I don’t know what got into me. I knew it was a critter…but I did it anyway…I moved the leaves with my boot.

Well, brace yourself.

It was the tiniest of mice. We also wondered if it might be a vole…do any of you get those? They’re different than moles, but just as annoying.

TINY little thing. Tiny, tiny.

It started flipping out that it was exposed and started running in circles.

When I say “running in circles,” I’m telling you~ it never stopped. It ran around my feet, Nate’s feet, Indie’s feet. We all yelped and hollered. Well, Nate laughed, but Indie and I yelped and hollered.

But then it got going around Nate’s feet…and it was bizarre. It got going and was taking laps around his, what looked like a HUGE shoe, compared to its tiny size. It couldn’t stop. It was trucking.

We laughed and laughed and laughed. It was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.

I couldn’t get over it and still can’t get the sight out of my head. Several things really struck me about it. Sorry, I’m going all analogy here…

It had no idea that it was so close to something that could stomp it.

How many times do we circle so close to things that could destroy us?

It had no idea that it was so close to something that could save it.

We could have picked it up and put it in the nice grass and given its heart a break.

It had no idea that it was so close to something that could betray it.

We REALLY wanted to take it to our neighbors’ house…the ones that aren’t friendly…and put it in their yard. Maybe THAT would teach Mrs. to wave back once in a while!

Or maybe not…

How many times have I been that little mouse? Running circles and not getting anywhere…taking laps so close to the things that are not my savior, getting distracted by the huge shoe in my path, not able to stop because of fear or simply losing my way.

We had mercy on the mouse. Its circles began getting wider as we (REALLY) were trying to lead it to the neighbors’ house. Finally it circled its way to the grass and under the evergreen. I’m not sure it can do anything but circles, so it is probably having nightmares of running straight this very minute…

But it’s free.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Posted in Hope, October 2010 | 8 Comments »

Hugs & A Side of Bedazzling

October 18, 2010

My son has a love/hate relationship with performing for others. He loves to be funny and to make people laugh, yet when people actually laugh at/with him, sometimes he can all of a sudden feel insecure and want to hide. Other times, he just enjoys making people laugh.

Yesterday, during a rehearsal, he was enjoying showing all of us how he could blow bubbles with his gum. (He learned how to do this last week after many months of practicing. Woohoo!) I think he might have shown us every bubble and was absolutely fine with the praise and giggles.

Later, at home, he was pretending to be “Dark Vader” and said, “I can do his evil laugh.” He got ready to do it for the three of us and suddenly noticed all of us intently looking at him. He leaned his head over on Nate and said, “I just want a hug.”

That’s how I felt last week.

Without going into the gruesome details~ they involve no sleep, everybody getting sick while Nate was out of town, etc, etc, etc…I couldn’t seem to quite work up my sunny self for this blog.

I just wanted a hug.

And a nap.

I wish I could say my spunky self has returned, but it hasn’t quite yet.

Maybe you could deliver hugs and edible sleep and I will get some sparkle back. I’ll be anxiously awaiting that and a tall Bedazzling with a lot of foam, please.

Posted in Life, Mama Musings, October 2010 | 4 Comments »

Breathing

October 12, 2010

I’ve been on a mini-computer break of sorts. It didn’t start out as an intentional thing. I was just busy~ Savita came and it was wonderful! I’m kicking myself that I didn’t get ANY pictures! But oh, what a nice time we had. The time to talk and laugh and eat good food…so wonderful! Then just the busy-ness of rehearsals, sick kids, not having much to say or too much and not knowing where to start…as I was talking about last week…

You know what is always surprising is how little I miss it. For something I enjoy so much, it sure is interesting how good it feels to not have that extra thing to do.

On the other hand, I do so enjoy catching up with all of you. So it’s always fun to come back too. Balance, moderation…these are the words of the day.

I’ve got the full load this week. Nate’s such a good daddy that when he’s gone we really feel it. I’m grateful for that, though, and for the extra dose of grace that God gives me when he’s away. I’m hoping for a lowkey, relaxing, lovely week…we’ve had a couple of doozie nights, so I feel like it’s time for smooth sailing.

Please, Lord, please?

Indie had horrible dreams and asthma night before last. He ended up taking over the bed with me and having full conversations in his sleep, while also nearly flying over the edge. I have to hold onto him for dear life when he sleeps with me. Midway through us going back to sleep, Greyley came in and was sick. So then it was a Mama sandwich for the rest of the night.

She’s much better, by the way.

Last night, Indie’s leg got caught in the rails of his loft bed. He was asleep before we got out of the room good, but I was wide awake after that. However, when he came in wide awake at 3:30, I had finally drifted off. And then again at 5, I was REALLY sawing logs. When the alarm went off at 5:45, I felt like I must be cursed and that surely I was dying because who could really expect me to get up at this ungodly hour?

You know, life. It happens. We deal.

I’m not even really due smooth sailing. I’d like to say I’m due for some peace, but the fact is, I’m just quietly, gently, tenderly hoping for some.

Nate spoke on Sunday and titled it, “Breathe In.” That’s what I’m trying to do right now. When we breathe in, the Spirit of Life can fill us up. I’m craving that. It happens even when I’m not craving it, but it’s extra good when I am…know what I mean?

Have a glorious Tuesday. XO

Posted in Family, Hope, October 2010 | 8 Comments »

Preparations

October 7, 2010

Sometimes I have trouble writing on here because I have nothing to say.

Other times I have way TOO much to say and therefore, can’t say anything. Am I the only one who suffers from this affliction?

And then I just really need to clean my house and not sit down for even a second.

I’ll let you guess what I’m feeling today…but I’ll give you a hint: MY FRIEND, SAVITA, IS COMING TO SEE US TONIGHT!!!

Woohoo! Savita lives in Dallas and this will be her first time to come see us. I’m so excited. We laugh until we both wheeze and not just because we both have asthma either, although that does help, I’m sure. We have known each other for years and years, but have only actually seen each other in person a few times. She hasn’t met my kids in person yet, which is so hard to believe! Cannot wait for her to get here.

Hoping for these days of perfection to continue and that we will have the time of times…I know it’s going to be spectacular.

To be continued…

Posted in Friends, September 2010 | 6 Comments »

Going Out on a Dying Limb

October 6, 2010

My friend, Christa, who has published NOVELS under her belt~ isn’t that awesome!~ has joined the list-making fervor. She’s an awesome writer, blogger, movie critic and I am thrilled that she is taking on the lists! Take a look at her blog over the next few days if you want a great read and if you’re missing all the lists around here.

I’m even sorta missing the lists, so I think I’ll go on over there myself and hang out a while.

But since you’re here…

Something semi-momumental has happened over here…OK, a few things, besides a scooter wreck, my son doing WAY better about kindergarten (although, still having days of tears about going, but NOT once there, hallelujah!) and other general life-changing things…

Maybe it’s not so monumental when I put it in perspective like THAT…but it feels like it should at least be somewhere on the LIST of Big Deals…

I have embraced Fall.

Now before you go and think I am crazy for not loving Fall, let me just remind you~ I grew up with ocean. I grew up with warmth. I have lived in Minnesota for 16 1/2 years and instead of the winters getting easier, they get harder. They last forever and a thousand days. They wear you to a tiny nub. They eke the life right out of ya….they…

Well, you get the point. I’ve sort of taken a disliking to Winter lately…and Fall has just laughed in my face with a HaHaHa, let me show YOU what’s around the corner vibe that I just have NOT taken kindly to!

It has. Fall has been like that. Really. It lures you in and then when you least expect it, Fall snatches the grass right out from under you and puts in its place Snow. Cold. Winter.

But…

THIS Fall…

This Fall has been Amazing.

The days have been perfect. The sun has never shone brighter. The trees are magnificent and they haven’t all blown off of the trees already! There is warmth in the sunshine, but a cool breeze that makes you feel refreshed, not chilly.

I think I have to take back every hateful thing I’ve ever said about Fall.

Knock on wood.

I know this is risky and our love affair is too new to even be speaking this way, but…

I have hope. I have hope that Fall + Me are going to get along Very Well.

At least this year.

But that’s enough for now.

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »