Flip Flops: Old Navy

Tattoo: Suisun Ink

:-)

Steve, now that you're an old man, I guess you are just going to have to start behaving a bit more RESPONSIBLY, eh?

We love you, my friend!

Quote of the Week (continuing thoughts from yesterday)

"The church is the only place where you can study all your life and never graduate."

(See rest of article here if interested: http://www.thereporter.com/faith/ci_6158381 Not a perfect article, but some things good to chew on, others to perhaps spit back out.)

One of Mark's observations last summer when we were going through everything we were going through, was that it felt very much like we "had graduated" from what we were leaving. This was not meant to offend anyone (although it did), but simply the truth of what he was feeling. Church in a traditional setting can become so comfortable, that you don't want to leave. We all know at least one "perpetual college student". You know, the person who never graduates, just keeps going to college, has several degrees, but never really accomplishes very much outside of those walls.

The church is (and has been for us) a wonderful place to grow up in the Lord. We could never discount the role that it has played in our spiritual growth. AND, I gotta make it very clear, that there are those who have continued to love and be in communication with us through the past year. Brothers and sisters who care about what is happening in our lives, whether spiritual or otherwise. We have grown through this together, our relationship has changed in the where and when, but we continue to love, communicate, and learn from each other. It has not always been easy and/or immediate, but it has been awesome.

I think where the problem lies, is that just like a college/university/seminary etc., there are those who stay, to continue to teach and nourish students, but there are many more who just sit, continuing to be taught and nourished until, literally, they die. They become that "perpetual student." AND, when someone attempts to "graduate", thereby taking everything they've learned, to try to apply it to real life, they are met with great resistance by those "sitting" unless they are moving on to another "institution" of the church, ie. missions (as defined by the church), another church, seminary, etc.

I say all this, because it has very much been our experience. Because we did not move on to another recognized part of the church, we are continuing to deal with the fallout of that. We love all of those who are still in the "education" business. We applaud and support their efforts, but we have received very little of that back. What we are doing is still looked upon with great suspicion, and even resentment, by many. Can we not all embrace each other, cheer each other on, and realize that there is no one right way? In conversation with those who have chosen a similar path as ours, I find very little rancor against the church. What I do hear, and I feel myself, is confusion and hurt, that after being told all of those years to take it out, there were real stipulations and conditions on how that was supposed to look.

So it kind of comes down to unconditional love and a willingness to listen to another point of view. From both sides. Our door is ALWAYS open. Let's keep talking...

In case you were wondering...

Term: SPRING 2007
Course Name: CHEM 160
Course Title: CHEM, LEC/LAB
Grade: B
GPA: 3.0

Whew, am I ever glad this is over! :)

20 Years Today

20 years ago today, Mark and I promised to love and cherish each other.

The time has flown by, it hardly seems possible.

We've known each other for 38 years.

God knew what he was doing when he engineered the friendship between our families.

I'm so thankful that we were obedient to his urgings.

I'll love you forever, my friend, my love, my husband...

Jessi's a Freshman!

...and Zack's a Senior. How did this happen? We are so proud of both of them, and I am so glad they will have one year together in high school. Zack is already terrorizing Jessi with stories of Freshman Friday. I truly think they will enjoy their time together. Watch out Vanden!

Rily (Remember, I Love You) May 24 - June 8

I'll miss you, sweet baby...

Rock, Paper, Scissors

This past Thursday I was privy to watching the playground judicial system at work. I was pulling yard duty at recess and noticed a fairly heated game of "Switch" (ask your kids) going on. The game was getting intense, when sure enough, two boys stuck their foot in the same corner. There immediately rose a contention as to who was first. The call went out for the "judge" (the next person in line) to step forward. He did so very importantly, peered closely at the two feet and declared, "There is a tie!" At this point, I thought all #@*+ was going to break loose, (mind you these were 2nd and 3rd graders) but without missing a beat, the two tied boys stepped back, and calmly went into the rock, paper, scissors routine. One through a rock and the other scissors, and that was that.

It was all done with so little fuss. I couldn't help but think, "Man, wouldn't life be so much simpler if we could all just play Rock, Paper, Scissors and be done with it!"

What do you think?

Ahem, introducing...

Rily Lokomaika'i Ke Akua

AKA

Rily Grace

Welcome Baby!

Beautiful filly!
Hi guys!
Can I have a little kiss?
Wow, she's finally here! Ginger's baby arrived on May 24th at 8:15 am. We had been on foal watch since Sunday night, so we were really glad to finally meet her. 11 months is a long time to wait! She looks just like Ginger with a beautiful blaze and Ginger's rich copper coat. Yesterday she had about 10 visitors in addition to the 12 or 13 folks who have been living at the Dawson's since Sunday. Jessi, Alex, Hannah, Sammie, Amanda, Jessica, Samantha, and Peggy were all present for the delivery in addition to myself and Vicki. We had a couple of little complications, so the vet has already been out for the first visit, but overall, everything is WONDERFUL. I will have pictures up on Flickr in the next day or so, so keep an eye out for those. Thanks for all of y'all's prayers, excitement, and overall encouragement, and a special thanks to Tracy, Keith, Jacqui, Rich, Diane, and Dale, who lent us your children this week. It wouldn't have been the same without them!

She's due in 7 days...

Ginger's foal is due on May 23rd. It could happen anytime now, really. I try to go out to see her every day. My heart just swells with love every time I lay my hand on her big, awesome, belly. It is amazing to think that in just a week or so, we will all get to meet the baby inside. 11 months is such a long time to wait. Talking about how big it was as the weeks went by. "Now it's the size of a beagle, now it's about as big as a lamb, now it looks like Zoey." This is going to be one of the coolest things I have ever experienced. I've been around lots of mares and babies born, but they never belonged to me. I want to share it with everyone. The foal watches will begin soon. Just a few more things to do to the stall. I've thought about the actual moment of birth. I hope I will be there, but I hope even more, that Vicki will. She has taken such wonderful care of this mare of mine for the whole 11 months. The foal will belong to us all, but the bulk of its care will fall on Vicki. I love her because I know she loves doing it. Like she loves doing for all of us. I guess I hope most of all, that we will BOTH be there together, sharing the moment and looking forward to all that will follow...

Jessi wrote this amazing poem...

My Beautiful

As she gallops across the field,
I stare in awe
For she moves with beauty and grace.

She feels free
As her silky mane blows in the wind
And her radiant coat shines in the valley’s sun
She takes advantage of whatever chance she gets
To impress me,
For she does it quite often.

Her blaze shines bright beneath the deep blue sky
And her big belly full of foal.
Ten days until she is due to give birth.
She looks so beautiful today
As she always does.

My grandma turned 90 last week.

She is the most amazing women. Still lives at home, still cooks for her grandbabies and great grandbabies.

She makes the most delicious chocolate cake in the whole world, known far and wide by even the most extended and unrelated family. One year at a family reunion, I tried to hide the cake on top of the refrigerator because of course there was no way enough for everyone, so wouldn't it be better for her FAVORITE grandchild to be able to enjoy it with a few others after the crowd dissipated? After about the 10th person came in asking "Where is Grandma Ruby's chocolate cake?", I gave in and fessed it up.

Two years ago, Jessi, Zack, and I flew into Tampa on the red eye, with plans to go visit with Grandma for the day, and then head on up to my mom's house in Inverness. Jessi said to me on the way from the airport, " I wonder what Grandma Ruby is cooking us for breakfast? Do you think there will be BISCUITS?" I gently explained to her that Grandma had just recently returned home from a lengthy hospital stay, and that we might better not expect breakfast since it was only about 6:30 am. We walked into the house to the smell of sausage, the sound of eggs sizzling, and a big pan of grits on the stove. Ten minutes later, out came the buttermilk biscuits! Jessi just looked at me with a whole, "How can you doubt, Mom?"

When I joined the Army 25 years ago, I remember getting on the plane in Tampa, for Germany, having just came from Grandma's house, thinking, "Grandma's getting older, will this be the last time I see her?" I thought that again, when Mark and I took off for the Philippines in 1990, and then again in 1996 before we left for Okinawa. I don't think that anymore. I trust that Grandma will be here on earth for as long as God sees fit to keep her here, and that will be more than any of us can have ever dreamed, or deserved.

Grandma lived through World War I and II, working as an aircraft maintance person in WWII. This for a woman who never drove a car in my memory. (I think she had a license once very briefly). She was divorced at a time when divorce was not considered, yet she held her head high, and raised her family. She married another man carefully, knowing he would be all of our's grandpa. He was!

Our whole lives are wrapped up in my grandma. She is the glue that holds us all together. She sewed our clothes until we got to "old and sophisticated" to appreciate the love and effort. So, then she made us quilts with scraps of material from all of the clothes she had sewed for us. She still remembers every birthday and sends goodies for Christmas when she is able. Mississsippi Mud Pie and Cheese Bars. When I was home in January, she made me my own chocolate cake. I shared with everyone I could, (but I did hide the last piece!)

I love you, Grandma, you are the wisest, most wonderful woman I know!

I love artichokes!

Last night I had my first ever artichoke courtesy of Rich Crockett, who not only allowed me to eat the artichoke, but taught me how to prepare this amazing vegetable (which heretofore has COMPLETELY intimidated me), so that I might have lots more to eat now!

Thanks, Rich!

So, What Did You Do With YOUR Income Tax $$$ ?

He is risen!

He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.

Luke 24:46-48

Strengths

So we have been doing these strengthfinder surveys, and it has been an interesting process. Finding out what our own strengths are and how they tie in with everyone else's. For instance, I find that I share 3 of the 5 strengths with Steve T. Empathy, adaptability, and connectedness. Pretty cool, huh? We don't have all of the "results" in, but it's fun and informative. Of course, we have all been raised up to fix our weaknesses, as opposed to capitalizing on our strengths, so even now, we are tempted to look at the very thing that has been identified as a strength, as a weakness. It definitely causes a shift in our thinking. Kind of like the PIN thing that Jacqui has taught about. It is easy enough to build up and encourage others, but we tend to be hyper-critical of ourselves. Anyway, just random thoughts on a Thursday afternoon. By the way, my other two strengths are intellection and consistency. Go figure...

PS I LOVE YOU, KEVIN WINN!!!!

I'm typing one-handed cause I have a puppy on my chest...

Blind Edge

What's in a name really? I don't know, but we finally picked one last night, and it was just very cool. Not just the name, but the whole process. It was full of all the emotion, all the fears, all the strongness of us, but when it all was said and done, we picked one! Yes, just one. Everyone had a say, and everyone listened, although not always without comment :-), and it was good. I'm digging it, and I am digging all of you! Yeah...

Behold, The Horse!

This, my friends, is why I love Dressage!

http://www.youtube.com:80/watch?v=zKQgTiqhPbw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPJGEzI3aIc&mode=related&search=

Enjoy!

I found 5 of these stone tablets and hung them on our fence recently just because I liked what they said. I was out doing my daily leaf count this morning on all of the trees in my yard and took this picture. This is the embodiment of what we are doing these days. And if you just kind of look at the surface of this, you think, " Yeah, we're doing that, and isn't it cool?" But you know what, it's also really hard. It's hard blending all of the personalities in the people we hang with. It's hard to always care when someone needs caring. It's hard to listen to someone sharing their problems when you just want to say, "Get a grip already!" To know that next time it might be you with the problem and the last thing you'll want to hear is "Get a grip!"

Why can't I be more compassionate?
Why do I have to be so practical?
What is wrong with me anyway, that I just don't seem to feel as deeply as everyone else?
Why do I have to be so honest right now?

Please everyone, call me on this stuff. Help me to understand your problems, so that I don't immediately want you to just get a grip. Don't stop talking to me and telling me what's going on in your lives, because now you know my secret thoughts when you do so. Tell me WHY you can't get a grip. Help me to become less pragmatic and more compassionate. Help me to know when my practical side is overpowering my feeling side. I know that too much EITHER way is not healthy. There has to be a balance. And please, please do not think that I am directing this at any of you. It is totally me, and what's wrong inside MY head. If you are reading this right now, know that I LOVE YOU! I love you with all of the good and the troubling.

And finally know this: The second part of this tablet has been no trouble for any of us. We laugh and dream together WELL, and easily.