Giant Tomatoes Take Over Salem

The city is all in a frenzy over the giant tomatoes that have invaded. Eye witnesses in South Salem say the tomatoes are larger than a VW Bug. No one knows quite what has happened here, but everyone has their own theory. Elise M. says, "They just grew and they grew and they grew!" "Steroids," was one more neighbor's explanation. Another witness simply screamed, "Noooooo!" and ran away in fear. So far the tomatoes don't seem to be causing any chaos. Residents here say that if the tomatoes prove to be "just tomatoes," they will have a record breaking batch of salsa!

Elise's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Today was Elise's first day of kindergarten. I am way more excited than sad so it's a good day. On her first day of preschool I cried in the car a little bit on the way to drop her off. But this year I am just so excited to see her growing up and becoming more independent. I didn't cry at all when I dropped her off. She quickly busied herself with an activity soon after we got in to the classroom. She was totally fine without me. I'm sure she was thinking, "Gee Mom, would you hurry up and say hello to the teacher then LEAVE!" A funny side note . . . I asked her, "What would you like for lunch today since it's your first day of school? You get to choose." Out of the blue she replied with, "Raspberry pancakes!" Until today, I'm not sure I've ever made raspberry pancakes and if it ever did happen, I'm sure it wasn't for lunch.

He's Asleep!

Today was our trial run for our new fall schedule. After a lot of thought, we decided to put Elise in to afternoon kindergarten. My HOPE was that Shawn would be able to nap right after we get back from taking her to school and then I would be able to use that time to work. Well, over the past few weeks, Shawn has decided that taking regular naps is no longer fun. He would much rather terrorize the house and fly off furniture and build bouncy houses out of the couch cushions. Gone are the days where he would run in to his room and climb into bed on his own. Right when it was time to start adjusting his nap schedule to be a little earlier in order to fit the kindergarten schedule, he decided to not nap at all. After a long weekend with Mark home, I'm back on my own today and it's time to get serious!! So we took Elise to school this afternoon (not technically her first day of school. There is some sort of testing they do but it's the same time she would normally be in school.) After we got back home we grabbed the dog and went for a bit longer walk . . . you know . . . to get him nice and sleepy. . . . mmmmm . . . didn't work. So we came back home and I thought I'd lay down with him for just a little bit (you'd think I'd learn that I can't just lay down with him for a little bit. It's all or nothing.) But finally after two baby gates stacked on top of each other in his doorway, about 45 minutes of crying, and one trip to the bathroom, he finally fell asleep!!! Yeah! When he does manage to nap it's a good two hours. He's only got one hour today though before we need to turn around and go get Sister. But he's ASLEEP! I did it! I feel like I accomplished something great! Thank you Jamie D. for the extra baby gate! I feel like the parent again.

Guilt?

I recently received an e-mail from a dear family friend whom I have known for a long time. It was in response to my last blog entry. She really gave me something to think about. GUILT. What is it? What's the difference between guilt and conviction? I use the word guilt a lot in daily life. "I feel guilty for leaving my kids at Grama's all day." "I feel guilty like I should be getting something done right now." I probably am not using the word correctly even in those type of situations. Guilt in the spiritual realm is something I've always thought I did not have a problem with. Accepting Jesus' forgiveness has never been an issue for me. I've always known and believed that God loves me no matter what. But how well is God going to use me if I never open my mouth?


Here's a bit of my e-mail back to her, "'Guilt? I'm not feeling guilt.' I thought what I was feeling was a genuine desire to be on fire for God. I want to be passionate. I've never had trouble accepting that Jesus loves me. I've always been secure with that. What I'm not secure with is my own response to His love & forgiveness and the truth of the Good News. I know I am saved by faith and not works. I also know that we are called to be fishers of men and I am feeling that I need to be a little more bold with my 'lures.' So I don't know. Is that guilt? Is that conviction?"