Oh boy.

Today was my daughter's 1st birthday party. We had a grand time. She received all sorts of fun gifts. We went swimming, spent time with family, had yummy cake. I made two cakes, because it was also a birthday party for my cousins two girls. We had carrot cake in the shape of a bunny, and the other was a banana layer cake. They were both very tasty.

My husband made the pork barbecue. He likes to tweak recipes.

My daughter had a taste of her cake. She liked it very much. We got pictures. She is still in the midst of her "I'm not eating much" stage, but she had no problem getting that cake to her mouth. We leave in three days to drive to Colorado, and I hope the food thing goes well.

Today was the last day of VBS. The kids had a great time, they learned all about God, they learned to make Him a part of their lives, they learned some fun songs to help them remember.

Tomorrow is a birthday party.

We are having a wild time, here at Serengeti Trek. We are also learning how too live what we are learning. When we go home at night, we need to share what we learned with someone. We can teach how great God is.

I am excited to see how excited the kids get about God.

This week is vacation Bible school at my church. The theme is Serengeti Trek, where kids are WILD about God. I will be leading kids around from site to site, helping them remember the Bible points: know God, talk to God, tell about God, love God, and work for God.

There is an animal from the serengeti for each point. A zebra, lion, crowned crane, giraffe, and elephant. We have many fun songs to learn, too. And motions. It is a wild time. We will also learn about Gideon, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Mary Magdalene in the Garden of Gethsemane, and Paul and Silas.

And we have fun Bible snacks, that go with our Bible story for the day. We also play fun games, too. Some with water.

It will be a wild week.

Yes, she did it again. Not only did she eat her meal, she just kept right on going. My dad said that if she kept opening her mouth, he was going to keep putting food in it.

Tonight we went to the Phillies game. It was close. They went into extra innings. But the fightin' Phils prevailed in the end. Chase Utley hit a two run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to win the game.

My very good friend drove up for the weekend and met us at the ball park. She had traffic, but since the game went into extra innings, she got there right before Chase was up to bat. She brought her doggie. He and our cat should get along splendidly.

Now starts a weekend filled with games, food, and movies. What else could you ask for?

Yes, my daughter ate her meals again today! Might I hope for a third day?

There is talk that my friend will be coming this weekend. Somehow, someway she is going to try to come. It is hard for her to be in a car driving for so long. But she wants to see us. I think it is mostly my daughter she wants to see, for my girl is very adorable.

I wonder . . . .

Does anyone have notes on a Thursday?

I have a comment on a Wednesday!

MY DAUGHTER ATE TODAY!!!!!
She ate all her breakfast, she ate all her lunch, and she ate all her dinner. There was no arms flailing, no tongues sticking out, no food being spit out, and almost no food dropping to the floor.

Can I hope for another food day like that tomorrow?

A friend.

A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.
A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.

That is how dictionary.com defines a friend. But I have a few more. Loves you, your husband and daughter. Plays you in scrabble. Compliments you. Reads you stories. Listens to Frog and Toad stories (requests them, actually.) Sings with you. Makes you laugh. Laughs at your jokes. Understands you and your problems. Shares her joys and troubles. Heeds your advice. Gives you advice. Gifts things upon you. Memorizes Bible verses with you. Shares with you from her abundance. Watches movies upon movies with you. Plays card games with you. Is working on being a better loser with you. Cuts your hair. Will change stinky diapers and soothe a cranky baby. Cooks the most delicious food. Is willing to eat pizza with you at every meal. Is a sister to me.

I have a friend like that.

My daughter will hardly eat.

We went to the cabin this weekend. Gary accomplished much on the stone wall. In fact it is finished. The driveway is cleared. The two flowerbeds, void of flowers lest it become a deer buffet, are quite beautifully bedecked with ferns and moss.

My daughter still chose to eat a portion of her normal amount. I think the most frustrating part is that she sometimes won't even open her mouth to find out what is coming.

We picked blueberries. Watched some movies. We were going to go swimming in the lake, but there was a high E. coli count, and the beach was closed.

I like swimming in the lake. There is no squishy bottom, just smooth rocks. I also like taking the boat out. But there is no boat in the water. It is slowly rotting, sitting unused since my grandfather got too sick to care for it. No one else is able to take care of it.

Maybe I will take care of it. Somehow.

My daughter will hardly eat.

At a restaurant, no less. We went our for my grandmother's 86th birthday. My two cousins and their children, my aunt, my mother, my sister, my daughter, and I gathered to wish grandmom "Happy Birthday!"

My child would not eat the Cheerios , or the toast, or the Italian wedding soup. Neither did she want much of her bottle. She did eat a few (a few mind you) of the carrots from the soup and some pasta from a pasta salad. She also ate some applesauce.

All the food she consumed amounted to only a fraction of the normal amount that she eats. She usually sucks down her bottle and cries fiercely if it is taken away, even when it's empty.
But not this week.

Her mother is very frustrated. I am trying to nourish my child. She sticks her tongue out, turns her head away, flaps her arms at the spoon, dumps the food on the floor. Her mother is very, very tired of this little practice.

Maybe it's her teeth coming, for she has none.

My daughter will hardly eat.

My daughter will hardly eat.

What have I learned from the Women of the Bible?

Eve - God shows grace in the face of my sin.
Sarah - I need to wait for the Lord.
Hagar - The Lord shows me mercy.
Lot's Wife - Follow the Lord's directions.
Rebekah - The Lord is faithful.
Rachel - God will always remember me.

I very much enjoy reading about different women of the Bible. I have read about these women countless times, but each time I learn something new. That's the way God's Word is. Living. Breathing. Unchanging. Changing me.

My nose tells me the smell is gone. My brain tells me not to be so sure. It may be back.

We are slowly working on getting the dining room back into order. I think it will be a while. The spackling has to be finished. Then the room will be painted (which we still have to buy.) Some of the molding is painted. Some of it still needs to be cut.

My husband has been doing most of the work, and he doesn't have a lot of time to work on it. Just some evenings and some weekends (we seem to be rather busy.) I've begun to help with painting the molding. But since we have a ways before we need that, I haven't been working too hard. But it should look splendid when we are done. Until then, we live in disarray.

Understanding each other is difficult. It will always be, because God made us unique. But you work at it, you do not give up and resign that you must be a knucklehead.

My husband and I are forever miscommunicating. We don't love each other less for it. It helps to learn more about each other. Although it is very tiring at times to have my words interpreted much differently than what I had planned, I am glad we are talking.

It has also caused me to really think about how I say my thoughts, and if I should always say them. Could the tone of my voice be saying one thing and my words another? I know that is the case sometimes, much more than I want to admit. That is something on which I need to work.

I think back over a conversation and realize that my mouth would have done far better to have been stuffed with cotton. And I am learning to listen to my tone, speak only what will be edifying, and carry cotton at all times. My getting-better-progression is shown by the length of time it takes me to realize I should not have said something. The time is getting shorter.

My husband and I went to a zoo of sorts several weeks ago. I thought I was going to see farm animals. We did. We also saw animals that do not belong inside a fence.

The saddest sight was the bison.
I lived in Yellowstone National Park for a summer and hiked throughout the park. The bison ranged on thousands of acres. On one hike we were very near a large herd of bison. There were apparently scouts in the herd. They slowly walked us away from the rest of the herd.

At this zoo, the bison's jail was very small. I equate it with me living in my bathroom. We both need more room. He needs his herd.

If you want to see a bison, then go to Yellowstone.

Happy Birthday America!

America, the beautiful. What does that mean?

If you ask Katherine Lee Bates, who wrote the lyrics to America the Beautiful, she might say, as she looks upon our country from the top of Pike's Peak, that America is beautiful, with its purple mountains and fruited plains. I've been on Pike's Peak, and the view is breath-taking. God's creative hand is obvious.

She also wrote of a country with unselfish heroes and patriot dreams. She wrote of a country with pilgrims willing to cross unknown wilderness. She wrote of a country where God is present and gives grace. She wrote of a country that is beautiful.

My friend brought this song to mind. It was sung at her church on Sunday. She couldn't sing it. She saw the dark portions of our history, which cannot be separated from the good.

We don't know what was in Katherine's mind when she wrote this song. Maybe she saw the good and beauty in our country. Maybe she ignored the bad. But she did want the grace that God gives us.

But what of the horrendous past? What about the suffering caused by the pilgrim's feet across the wilderness? Can we call something in our country beautiful, knowing that it came with a bloody price?

I think the answer is yes and no, depending on what it is.

The words from a Nichole Nordeman song come to mind (she is referring to God):
But you called me beautiful
When you saw my shame
And you placed me on the wall
Anyway

I have not yet decided how these words apply to our country, if they do at all.

I like to listen to books on tape. I like the freedom it gives my hands. I can "read" a book while still doing things around the house and while driving. I think my favorite is John Grishom.

I am actually reading a book right now, though. Even though while listening to a book on tape I can still do things, there is nothing like reading a book for yourself. I can stop and reread a confusing part or a fantastic part. When I read I am in that court room; my stomach has knots with the young woman about to be married; my tears flow because of his sorrow. I am in the story. The experiences happen to me, too. And I love it.

I find it fascinating to be able to understand those markings on the pages. I simply cannot fathom how small and grey my world would be without the ability to read or write. It is incomprehensible to me that people make it through twelve years of schooling and cannot read or write their own name. How could a teacher let that happen? How could someone not notice?

To be able to write what is on my heart and on my mind is a wonderful gift. I thank God for all my abilities. And for His Word, which I can read and know to be true.

Yesterday, my daughter did something new.

I put her in her crib so I could wash my hands. Her pants were decidedly on. When I came back to get her two minutes later, her pants were decidedly off.

And to top it off, she had them dangling outside the crib and dropped them right as I came into the room.