Walmart With Toddler, in Pictures

I knew it was going to be a rough day when Abigail got ahold of my shopping list and immediately stuck it into her mouth, tore off a piece, chewed it up, and spit it onto the floor. All this happened in a matter of moments while I grabbed a bag of bagels for the four (yes, 4!) teenage girls that will be staying with us for the next three weeks.
Since when are her arms long enough to grab things out of the cart while she's strapped into her seat?


So, I'm walking by the candy aisle when I start thinking I'm smelling puke. No, wait, that's not quite it, but it's bringing up olfactory memories of having the flu. I literally stop and look all around me, trying to figure out what it is. I pinpoint the scent-reference: It's Pepto-Bismol. But there is none of the pink stuff in the candy aisle. It's really bugging me that I can't figure this out, so I literally walk slowly down the aisle smelling for the culprit. (If anyone was watching me leaning into the shelves to sniff the packages, I'm sure they thought I was nuts.)
Lo and behold, I found the impostor: Wint-o-green Life Savers. I will never be able to eat them again. (Not that I ever did in the first place, but NOW - ugh, queasy just thinking about it.) Don't believe me? Go get some and smell for yourself. I'm tellin' ya Pepto smell = Wint-o-green smell.


Obviously, the shopping list was not the only victim of Abigail's rampant teething tirade. Poor box-o-Eggos got snagged while I was reaching into the freezer for some juice concentrate.


When baby gets fussy, I start acting like the cart is some kind of carnival ride. Wheeeeee! We're driving like a race car! Wheeeeee! Mommy's standing on the bottom rack and rolling with you! Wheeeee! (Yeah, strangers are really starting to look at me now - but at least it keeps Abigail from screaming like a banshee because She. Wants. OUT. NOW! Notice that in this picture there are no hands on the handle of the cart. Abigail is rolling freely down the aisle, with physical control of the cart completely relinquished to the forces of gravity, momentum, and the crazy wheel that won't go straight. This is the height of fun, people. She could cruise like that for hours. Her big smile is so cute, it almost made me forget that shopping with a toddler is work. Almost... But alas, we must go check out. And just when we were having so much fun.


Checking out is pretty much always a nightmare, because Abigail despises being still for more than two seconds at a time. Sitting still is bad enough. But sitting still in a cart that's not moving - torture! Being the genius mother that I am, I decide to let her play with the first item that I scan - give her something to keep her busy while I scan and bag the week's rations, you know?

(Yes, I'm a self-checkout junkie. Nobody packs my groceries the way I like them except for ME. I pack those babies full. Why is it that every time a cashier bags my stuff I end up with, like, 6 bags for 5 products. C'mon people - A plastic bag can hold more than three cans of juice! Anyway, back to the saga...)

So I scan a 64 oz. bottle of juice and set it in the cart next to her. I'm thinking - it's plastic, she can chew on it but can't get it open, it's perfect. Silly Mommy obviously didn't think that one through. Plastic bottles don't break like glass when they hit the floor, but they still bust open. That's about 20-some ounces of Welch's White Grape Cherry juice all over the floor. Oh joy!


We survive the check-out, but Abigail hasn't had enough fun yet. We have to stop and say hello to Barney. I don't feed the monster quarters, I just let her climb up on the seat. She has no idea that this thing moves if you put money in it - she just likes to sit there and turn the steering wheel. If I have anything to say about it, she'll never see Barney in action, and therefore I will never have to hear her beg me for a quarter to ride.


We make it to the car and I'm putting groceries in the trunk when I realize that when the juice-incident took place, I never found the lid for the bottle. Now I have an opened, 2/3-full bottle of juice with a busted spout. But by golly, I bought the juice so I'm taking it home. Improvisation is a required skill for motherhood. I managed to get the juice home without spilling a drop or staining my pants (or should I say, without staining my pants more...there's that nice peanut butter spot on my thigh.) Back home in the driveway, I did manage to spill the juice onto the roof of the car when I set it there to get Abigail out of her carseat. But it was a little spill, and it only dripped onto the seat a couple times.

Tomorrow, we tackle Costco.

Christina, Part 1

Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold.

Meet Christina. She is my one of my bestestest friends in the whole wide world.

Lovely Miss Christina and I met 8 years ago. We got thrown together when we both joined a women's bible study on our college campus. I was newly saved, and highly un-sanctified. Christina had little patience for my tales of woe regarding the trivial, worldly concerns with which I was consumed at the time. Christina was bubbly and energetic in her faith. I found her to be infuriatingly cheerful and a little too eager to please.

Needless to say, it was not love at first sight.

Don't get me wrong, we never had any intent of malice toward one another. We saw each other as sisters in Christ and did our best to encourage and edify one another. But in the midst of that, it was also pretty clear that we often rubbed each other the wrong way. The. Wrong. Way.

I talked too much. About unimportant things. And cared too much about boys.

Christina was too loud. She sang to herself. And talked to herself. Loudly. In Public.

Despite our differences, we continued to try our hand at building a friendship. The road was bumpy, with the occasional head-on-collision.

Case in point: Christina was understandably frustrated by what appeared to be my utter disregard for the virtue of modesty during the early months of our accidental companionship friendship. Prior to encountering the Lord during the middle of my freshman year of college, I was rather preoccupied with garnering and keeping the attention and affections of the male gender. I was not promiscuous, but I liked to feel wanted. Despite my desire for subtlety, certain pieces in my wardrobe reflected that desire a leeeeeeetle too much. So, one day as we were leaving to go to dinner, Christina looked at my outfit and said “You look trashy – I’m not going to dinner with you dressed like that!”

Oh, no, wait. That’s not what she said.

She was genuinely appalled at my choice of attire, but showing appropriate restraint she probably said gently, “Are you sure that shirt isn’t too tight/too revealing/too (enter immodest adjective here)?” I tried not to be offended, but my worldly mind wanted to scream – “EXCUSE ME? You dare to question my judgment?” After a moment of internal debate, I knew that she was completely right. I acquiesced and changed my clothes before heading to dinner, and a short while later I threw away the offending shirt.

So began the next chapter of our friendship. For some reason, God made us vulnerable to one another. We were aware of each others’ weaknesses and needs, and we didn’t always like what we found in each other, or in ourselves. As I spoke, I could practically feel her picking up on what was happening under the surface my heart, and as we spent time together, I got pretty good at reading her heart too. The amazing part was this: Although we were uncomfortable when the capacity for sinfulness found lurking in our hearts was revealed, the Lord was teaching us to speak the Truth in Love, and receive godly correction in humility. We cared for one another deeply, even when we were annoyed up to our eyebrows.

Soon, we were unfolding the deep places of our hearts to each other, and finding not only weakness and need therein, but also beauty, joy, and love. Somehow, through the rocky beginnings of our friendship, we had each become lodged deep within the others’ heart. We were bound in a friendship like none other I had known.

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Prov. 27:17

Christina is now serving our country as an officer in the U.S. Army. She is stationed in Iraq. Please see Part Two>>>> to join me in prayer for her.

On Adoption

Kelsey Bohlender of Stuff I Think 2 gave a powerful teaching about the spirit of adoption. Please click here to listen to the audio verson online. This message is timely, powerful, moving, and convicting. Here are some of the points that stuck with me:

Abortion advocates argue that if abortion was not a legal choice in America, then thousands of babies would be unwanted and go into abusive situations… What would happen if a million families in the church in this nation adopted one child? The accusation would be stopped. They could no longer say that children would be born into unwanted situations.

The adoption service the Bohlenders are working with said there are many, many babies available for adoption in the US right now. They said “If you have a home study done, I can place you within two weeks if you’re open to race.” Are we ready to welcome all babies who need a home – including those who don't look like our biological families, or the crack babies, or the ones with health problems?

The system is sick – it costs a lot of money to save a baby. But one has to wonder if God is allowing that because he’s asking us: Will you put your money where your prayers are? Are you willing to do something that costs something?

Adoption is an active, tangible means of spiritual warfare.

Kelsey and her husband Randy (of stuff I think) are currently pursuing adoption of a baby. They have stood in the place of contending through intercession for the ending of abortion in America for years, and now they are "putting their money where their prayers are". They are raising funds to pay for the (expensive) adoption process. Please consider joining me in supporting them through their adoption benefit dinner.

Meme Me

My friend LammyAnn tagged me with my first meme ever. She asked three questions (kinda random, but I like 'em) so here's my answers:

1. Do you think anyone with a desire to create is an artist of sorts?

There is the desire within all of us to create. In some way, deep down inside, everyone wants to create something beautiful, meaningful, and significant. For some, that desire may be expressed through a tangible medium like paint, clay, music, or words. Others work to craft and mold their relationships into works of art, caring for the people around them with tenderness and wonder. There are as many expressions of this desire as there are people on the earth. I believe that this is for one reason - because we are made in the image of THE Create-or. As God has crafted and molded each one of us out of His desire, so we too have desire residing within each of us that longs to create something beautiful, something that will linger in our wake.
So, does this common desire make every one of us an artist? No. I believe that we all have the capacity for art if we dig deep enough into our soul, but this capacity is not always realized. According to Visual Thesaurus an artist is "a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination". When our desire is fleshed out in creative, sensitive, imaginative work - any type of work (physical, intellectual, relational, whatever) - that is when we become an artist.

2. What frightens you the most about getting older?

The capacity for sin within my heart. Wrinkles. Boys getting crushes on my little Abigail. Aaron dying before me. My parents dying. Seeing people that I know die without finding salvation in Christ, especially if I feel like I neglected to share the Truth in love with them at every opportunity. Not in that order! =)

3. When was the first time you travelled by air? Where did you go?

My uncle Tom (who has recently been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer - please pray for him.) was a pilot who probably took us on a short flight in a little plane at some point in time. But I don't really remember that, so I'll tell you about my first real flight.

When I was a freshman in high school I qualified to compete at the National FBLA conference. The conference was in Anaheim, CA. The week before the conference I was on a mission trip in Tijuana, Mexico building houses for Habitat for Humanity with my church youth group. On our way back from Mexico, the church van dropped me off at the Anaheim Hilton and I spent the next week there for the conference. (Nothing like going from the slums of Tijuana to the lobby of the Hilton for a reality check about American affluence and apathy toward the poor. Unfortunately, I was too excited about the sweeeeet swimming pool to fully appreciate the lesson at the time.) So, anyway, to get back home after the conference, I took a commercial flight, by myself. From LA to Portland (Oregon). The next flight I remember taking was also by myself, from Oregon to Iowa. I got lost and almost missed my connection in the Minneapolis airport. Not that you asked or anything, I'm just reminiscing here...

**Edited to add: I forgot to tag anyone, so here goes...I'm tagging kpjara (who I met at the KC Bloggers luncheon and is sometimes mistaken for the Great Kazoo, I mean Gazoo) and her sister - do you use your real name online? - (who I also met at the lunch, and who has an awesome testimony of being healed of terminal cancer. Read about it here and here.) Play along if you want to! **

You Say It's Your Birthday?

Saturday can be summed up in just a few words: I slept. I puked. I slept more. Baby puke. In my bed. GROSS! Thank you Jesus for my wonderful husband. That's all I have to say about that.
Sunday we were all feeling much better. A little rough around the edges, but well enough to go feed the fish at the lake. (Read all about it over at Abigail's blog.)
Tonight, I got my best birthday present at the Sunday evening FCF service. Derek Loux was sharing about how we can be prepared to stand in the Day of the Lord's return. When turmoil breaks out upon the earth and the majority of humanity considers Christianity dangerous, a threat, an enemy of the state; when martyrdom is not just something that happens in China, or Indonesia, or Iran, or "somewhere else"; when saying "Yes" to Jesus may mean literally giving up our life; How will we stand as the great and terrible Day approaches? I was gripped by the Lord with renewed sobriety about the hour in which we live. I was humbled and brought to tears knowing that Abigail's preparation for the Lord's appearing will be determined in large part by how Aaron and I raise her now. Will she be rooted in the Word? Will she have a life of prayer? Will she be unoffended toward God and love Him through the worst this world has to offer? Nothing makes me more resolute in my determination to seek Him wholeheartedly than the knowledge that my diligence to pursue Him is vital for my children's future. I suppose some would see it as a weakness, that I need this external motivation to prod me to run after God. But I, I see it as a gift. He has given me the gift of renewed passion, a heart stirred with longing for my Beloved. I see my weakness, my utter frailty apart from Him. And I am once again set in place, with my eyes fixed upon Him, knowing that He is my hope and my salvation. He is the One for whom my heart yearns. And that, my friends, is a gift.

When It's All Coming Down

These two women have some great thoughts to share about the relevance of eschatology (the study of End Times...aka. when Jesus returns). This is not a subject that we can afford to neglect in the education of our children, or in our own life!

Kristi talks about her first eschatology lesson with her two-year-old daughter.

It was in the fear of the Lord that I proceeded to tell her that she very well might be alive and see Jesus return to the earth with her own eyes. I then told her that Jesus will come back to the earth and be a king. Her response? "That will be fun!" Yes, my dear little one, it sure will be fun. If you're reigning with Him, that is. Out of the mouth of babes......

Kelsey has some great comments about the importance and relevance of the book of Revelation

Intimacy with God is cultivated when we read the judgments of God devotionally...this was the Lord's intention all along. ...They are not separate messages, but one whole package. When John was given all the details in the book of Revelation, it did not produce confusion or conflict - it produced a cry.

For the Want of a Shower

There are three 16-year-old girls sleeping in my living room. They will be here for three weeks. We already have the three adults and one baby in the household. We have one shower. You do the math. (Good thing I usually shower at the gym.)

Speaking of showering at the gym, I would like to publicly acknowledge my immense indebtedness to Miss Karen who runs the "Tot Drop" at our local community center. For a mere $2/day (that's less than a cup o' java, yo'!) I can enjoy up to 2 hours of Mommy time while Abigail tries to steal toys from other children learns valuable social skills. If it wasn't for Abigail's affection for Miss Karen, I don't know if I'd ever get a shower, much less any other time for myself.
As long as Abigail cooperates, I have a pretty good system figured out. While Abigail is playing, I go ride the stationary bike. Why the bike, you ask? I know, I know, the elliptical machine is much better for my knees, and I could get a full-body workout. BUT, if I'm riding the bike I can actually read my Bible and pray during my workout without falling off the machine. Any other time of day, if I try to sit down to read, Abigail tries desperately to grab my Bible from my hands. I mean, I'm glad she loves the Word and all, but she's already ripped out Acts 5&6. I don't really want her to "love" my Bible in such a physically destructive manner, so I tend to keep it out of her arm's reach. The spiritual/physical workout combo is not only practical for the safety of my favorite book, but it also has the catalytic effect of keeping me engaged and consistent. Having my blood pumping from working out helps me to stay alert and really absorb what I'm reading. And, if I am getting really excited about what the Lord is saying to me, I end up getting the workout of a lifetime, because I don't even think about how hard I'm pedaling - I just go for it! Yay for multi-tasking!
So, after my workout, I wander back by the Tot Drop to make sure Abigail is doing ok. (I don't let her see me, of course. If she catches a glimpse of me at that point it's game over. Time to go home.) So long as everything is peachy, then I'm off to the shower. I sometimes even have enough time to do my hair, put on my makeup, and look generally presentable before leaving. Hurray!