I came across it on Etsy last week and ordered it immediately from Alexander Creative. When it arrived on my doorstep yesterday, I dropped everything and went out to get a frame. The kids shared in my joy (Rule 3, baby!), and Evan has already said at least four times that the easiest rule to keep is "never stay angry." If you know him, that sounds about right, huh?
Ryan Alexander offers lots ways to customize this poster (and several others, too), so be sure to check out the goods in his Etsy shop!
Sometimes I force myself to do stupid things just to see if I can.
As a kid this meant sorting my Skittles into piles by color and seeing how many yellow ones I could call out as actually being red ones "trapped" inside yellow "bodies"...all without biting into them. My tween years are best remembered for my bad hair relentless attempts to consume as many Olive Garden breadsticks as I possibly could just to see if I could beat my record (which I believe topped out at 14 glorious breadsticks). In high school I used to stand in front of the microwave and see how many squats I could do before my Cup o Noodles finished steaming. At ASU I requlalry tried to bike from my dorm to Sun Angel Stadium before Sister Hazel sang through "Change Your Mind" on my Discman (click here for a funny picture).
And don't even get me started on how low I've allowed the gas tank to get in the rush name of "seeing if I can make it."
Clearly I have issues, but that's not the point of all of this. All I really want to do is welcome you to the latest random competition I'm having with myself:
That's right, between now and Christmas Day, I will attempt to generate enough content to keep us all moving toward the new mercies waiting for us at the mall manger. I'll do it with photos. I'll do it with words. And you better believe I'll do it with links.
Will this be the first unstupid thing I've ever forced myself to do? Please pray that's the case.
The last couple of weeks haven't afforded me much time for blogging or reading blogs, but I have managed to stumble upon a few videos that really moved me. Here they are:
This isn't a video, but I still have to share. I adore the entire vibe of this wedding. Click on the image below to enjoy the full post. Funky, vintage gorgeousness!
Technology
I'm a Mac, never a PC, but I have to admit...this Microsoft vision is tight:
I was picking up the house; she was talking to a My Little Pony:
“Don’t be fraid…don’t be afraaaaayed…don’t be fraaayd…”
Huh?
“Don’t be fraid…don’t be afraaaaayed…don’t be fraaayd., Pony…”
Is your pony scared of something, Selah?
“No, Mommy.”
Uh, okay.
“Follow. Follow. You go. Follow.”
Where are you going?
“No, Mommy.”
“Don’t be fraid…don’t be afraaaaayed…don’t be fraaayd…follow. Meeeeeee. Don’t be fraid. Afraaaaayed!”
OH! JUST RISK THE OCEAN, THERE”S ONLY GRA-ACE / just risk the ocean, there’s only gra-ace / where you go we will follow / I’m on my knees / where you go we will follow / oh God send me.
“Yes, Mommy. You're so silly. Don’t be afraaayed!”
Thanks for the reminder, sweet girl. Do you want to hear Daddy sing that song?
I installed this app for Selah after losing my cool with her one night during story time. She couldn't tell me that a balloon was yellow even after I pointed to it, told her the answer, and had her repeat it to me at least 10 times. No matter how many different ways I phrased the question, she would not answer correctly, and I ended up getting angry and making her feel stupid. It was not pretty, but it was real...a real wake-up call that I needed to find another approach. And quick!
Thankfully I came across this Cool Mom Tech post a few days later, and now Selah and I are having fun--instead of fights--as we try to spot the colored dots on my iPad.
This couple:
I love what Good Culture writer Wylie Overstreet says about them: I can see now why they call it the golden years. Not only are these two obviously still in love, but they're having a great time bumbling along with their fancy new web cam. Monkey faces, boob talk, made-up song lyrics ... it's all hilarious and adorable, and a reminder that life is too short to take too seriously.
Everything Ryan and I learned early on about biblical manhood, biblical womanhood, marriage, and raising a healthy, missional family points to Mark and Grace Driscoll. God has used their marriage and ministry to refine us in every way. Until this week, though, Grace's online presence has been virtually non-existent. I have always appreciated and understood this (she has needed the protection, privacy, and time to lend her gifts elsewhere), but I have also been frustrated by it. Of all the "high profile" pastor's wives out there, it's Grace who I most want to hear from because it's Grace who I feel I most identify with.
So I'm beyond excited that she a) has an online platform to write from and b) has co-authored a book with Mark that will be the first thing I read in 2012. It's called Real Marriage & The Truth About Sex, Friendship and Life Together and it releases January 3.
"Are we ever tempted to think that because of fluctuating feelings and harassing doubts, we are no longer acceptable to God? Let us remember that it is never because of anything in us that we are accepted at all. The measure of our acceptance is was Christ is to God; and that remains ever the same."
I'm currently burning both ends of the candle (not proud of this), so blog neglect has been one of the many side effects of said behavior (an overworked coffee pot is another).
While I work to get caught up, here's a misc. list of things I've been looking at this week that have either alarmed or inspired me. :-)
