Adventures Out West

As we are wont to do every 5 years, we tend to have a bigger celebration for our anniversary. September will mark our 20th, so we wanted to do something kinda big. I've never been to Yellowstone, and Ri hadn't been much west, so we decided to "do the west," although another trip will be required for southwest for Grand Canyon, Zion, etc. I may recount aspects of our adventure in future blogs, but for now, I think it will suffice to post some pictures--most are from Yellowstone. Some will make lovely desktop pictures. Be my guest.


Badlands


Wall Drug


Ri blocking the recent Obama addition ;)


Needles at dusk


Devil's Tower


Beautiful flowers at 10,000 ft. in Bighorn Mt. range


Yellowstone Lake


Colorful (& HOT!) thermal pools in Yellowstone


Old Faithful (of course)


Lillypad stream on one of the surprisingly many continental divides in Yellowstone


Forest fire that lasted 3 days in Yellowstone while we were there


One particularly dangerous-feeling area of Yellowstone--taken from a walkway that ran right next to the spurting, steaming pool


Another dangerous-feeling area: our campsite. A grizzly had been spotted in this campground just 3 days prior!


Buffalo traffic jam--sheesh, we went out west to avoid this sorta thing!


One of the more impressive falls and canyon in Yellowstone


Snow at 12,000 ft. near Estes Park


Note the lake


Note the color of the water on the snow

Hope you enjoyed the fast, sequential tour. So many pictures to choose from and videos too, it was hard to pick. More may pop up later. :) Missed everyone while we were away!

One of "those" moms

Well, it's official.  I'm one of "those" moms.  Yesterday, I chose to say the word that children (at least nowadays) all too infrequently hear (trying not to get onto too much of a tangent with that! ;)), i.e., “no." Afterward, I overheard a discussion about my decision amongst the children through my window.  When asked about why the decision was no, I couldn't hear what my daughter said, but I did hear the reply: "Oh, one of those 'because I'm the parent' things." I had to laugh. At least they'd heard it before!

But y'know what?  I'm really fine with that.  I'm fine with being a "no" and a "because I'm the parent" parent.  And y'know what else?  I think the world would be a better place if we had more. Did I have a really good reason to say no?  Actually, I didn't.  I had reasons, but none were show-stoppers.  And I told my daughter that. When she began to verbalize that she felt my reasons were unsatisfactory, I stopped offering them, countering with the (can you hear it coming) "I don't answer to you; I don't owe you an explanation."  And whether or not I had good reasons--or none at all--doesn't matter.  I'm the parent, and I said no.  Can I be talked out of it? Maybe. But if the "talking" is not respectful and reasonable, my resolve will solidify further. So that must make me a "when I say no, I mean no" kinda mom, too.  Yeah.  I like that one, too. :)

Before I go any further with this, though, it's important to realize that this "I'm the boss" attitude (if you want to call it that) does not come out of thin air.  It's not about control, really, it's about roles and responsibility: God-given ones. And it's about Him and us wanting what is right for our children, even when it means forcing them to put away the cupcakes to eat spinach. This is not a new concept in our house.  It's one that's been instilled since day 1. If it has not been, the pill is going to be a whole lot bigger the older they get. Think of a young horse learning its reins at a walk, as opposed to a wild stallion at a full gallop.  Pulling the reins on the latter is not going to be nearly as effective--if at all. Now back to our story.

After the emotions settled down a bit, we had a great talk.  We discussed anger and we discussed sinful anger.  We discussed respect. We discussed love and how most decisions were hopefully made with that as the driving force.  Good stuff. I must commend 'Ri for admitting and wanting to atone for her sinful words and anger at my decision, of her own initiative.  How satisfying it is as a parent to see fruit such as this.

It is a tough world sometimes for a Christian tween with a "no" mom. Would you pray for her with me?  Even though it's love that drives the "no," and reliance on both the truth of the Proverb that "the way of the transgressor is hard" and the commandment with a promise (Ex. 20:12). Hard for now, perhaps (for me, too--it's really easier sometimes to say "yes"), but the payoff is well worth it.  And praise the Lord, sometimes we get a little payout early.

There may be an ironic parallel to this story.  I found out just hours after this incident that a cousin, about 8 years older than me (that's 40's, people), had died.  She'd had quite a rough life, sadly, due to some poor decisions made for her and by her when she was younger as I am to hear. Tragic, really. She was almost raised as my half-sister in a near-perfect, loving Christian family. How blessed I was. One can only wonder how much of a difference that would have made for her. What a precious responsibility we have as parents.  Sobering, but wonderful.

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Dance Recital

Well, it's been a busier month than normal, apparently for almost everyone else too, so not much blogging going on. Need to catch up a bit. Ri had a recital in May. Didn't get any video, but got a few cute pictures of her in her garb.

One reason we didn't get video was because I worked backstage one of the two performance nights. Incredible that there were so few parent volunteers. Sad. I was in a hallway with about 40 girls (some only in 1st grade!) and only 1 other parent. It was chaos. The tensions were high and the tears flowed, and I kept wondering how it could be that not more parents would offer to help, especially when there's 2 nights--one to see it yourself and one to help. Needless to say, my faith in American parenthood wasn't really shaken--because I didn't have much to begin with, sadly. But I digress. Anyhoo, Ri had a great time. Here's some pics:

The second picture is with one of her best friends. She was so dedicated to come and watch the performance that she came a second day after her attempt the first night was foiled by her swelling finger (injured just before the performance, but she still came and tried to stay, only to have to go to the emergency room to find that it was broken!).

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Mother's little helper

Now, it's not what you think. And sadly, I'm probably too late to give you this tip for the mother who has a lot of bare floors and a lot of pets (like me). What can I say? I love my iRobot Scooba. So, if it's too late for this year's Mother's day, consider it for next year. Seriously. :) Here's a video of it in action.

Isn't it cute and smart? It can sense edges and cut corners pretty closely. Just think of all the time I save. It'd be even more if I could get myself to stop watching it and do something else while it cleans for me. ;) Too bad for my mom and mother-in-law as they don't have much non-carpeted area nor pets (but good for my wallet!). Anyway, I'm sure there is some other nice thing you can find for your mother this week.

I just have to say that I'm thankful to still have my mother and mother-in-law, and also very thankful to be a mom, myself. Now what to get them ... and where to take them. I have an uncanny way of picking restaurants that have recently closed, so I'm still reservationless. Sad. I'm open to ideas. :)

And here's a shout out to my mom-to-be (and mom) friends. Enjoy your day!

Spring recital

Time for some new vids and pics.
Verbose, aren't I? What more can I say, tho? :)

Easter



Recital (4/25/08)


End of Haydn "Surprise" Symphony No. 94

Mariah's song "Phases of Matter" (yes, she wrote it--didn't quite get to composing a new tune for it, though)
A solid keeps its shape. Its parts do not escape. Look at me, I'm plain to see, a solid keeps its shape.
A liquid fills a cup. A liquid fills it up. Look at me, I'm liquidy, a liquid fills a cup.
Gases fill the air. They fill it here and there. Look at me, I'm hard to see, gasses fill the air.
Solid, liquid, gas: each of them have mass. Look there's 3, it's plain to see: solid, liquid, gas.

Pets

Note how Honey keeps her distance from the cats! Bob is on the left (you can see his nub tail if you look closely). He and Stormy obviously get along well. Actually, Honey gets along pretty well with them both, but Bob is boss, unless Stormy decides to put him in his place.

Neandertals and Gene Wilder

I just can't resist. A recent news article on New Scientist presents (and they're serious) a "reproduction" of how a Neandertal would pronounce "e." Click here to hear it and not have to read their article. :)

Now, I can't help but notice a distinct parallel to this and an arguably hilarious clip from a famous Mel Brooks movie, Young Frankenstein. Indulge me and watch this clip, mentally substituting "Neandertal" for "creature. " Perhaps we have a new animatronic paleoanthropology exhibit in the making? Enjoy.

Weariness, repetition, and revelation

As I cleaned part of the bathroom for the thousandth time (I rarely do it all at once), I looked at the rest of the bathroom, knowing that it was coming due for needing cleaning--showing its yuck--and I felt momentarily overwhelmed. Vacuuming, laundry, taxes all still needed to be done. The yard will begin to need maintenance very soon. Pet things needed tending. It's endless. Even doing bits at a time. On a bad day, this could get very depressing. I remember thinking, I just wish this were like other things I like to do--things that are done when they're done and you never have to do them again. Like a puzzle, logic problem, or sudoku. Even a video game. But no, that toilet is going to need to be scrubbed again in a few days, but I'll probably let it go a week or so. As I pondered my "plight," the Lord spoke to me. No, I didn't hear a voice, but like so many other times, a thought was planted.

What must it be like for the Lord to forgive us? Over and over we do the same thing--sometimes not even asking for forgiveness or being oblivious. Yet--and this is the really cool part--He doesn't get weary! He knows our frame, and He pities us as His children. And there's another cool part to this. God is done. In our temporal prison, we don't see the end, but He does. He's done! Christ said on the Cross, "It is finished!" And what He accomplished there was so much more important than any of the most-fulfilling tasks I have been able to say that about.

This led me to yet another thought. How awesome is it that He lets us have any idea of what it's like to be Him? To be able to experience love, fulfillment, completion, beauty--even music and art. He Who is the Great Musician and Who gave us these abilities created us in His image to be able to experience these albeit temporary, imperfect pleasures. What a foretaste of Glory Divine! In the most mundane things, we can see things of God. My yucky bathroom: a reminder of our fallen world--a sinful state of never being perfect. Yet God is done. He has already given John a vision of the New Heavens and New Earth--restored and perfect!

As I continued to clean my bathroom, I thanked God for His gift that moment in sharing these thoughts with me--and then for his tireless patience with me. I remembered that whatever I do, I should do it heartily as unto Him--even if it's cleaning a bathroom. I thought that cleaning the bathroom gave a comfortable place to my family whom I love--in a way, I was loving and blessing them by cleaning the bathroom (although I'm sure they'll probably never see it that way--but that's ok). And I was most happy with the thought that I can look forward to a time of rest--a completion--and the continual decay will be forever put away, leaving only the blessings and wonderful things to enjoy forever. Unfathomable. But ... He has blessed us with an inkling, and I'm grateful for it.