A Typical Evening At the Sharp's

Gracie was playing on the couch.

Maggie was watching a movie.

Ty was copying the words of the Declaration of Independence.

Brody was running around outside, hitting things with a plastic hockey stick.

My pretty front porch that my lovely husband built for me a few years ago. I love it! I took this while sitting on my porch swing. Which, incidentally, Chris also built.

Brody loves to help Chris cut grass. At one point, Chris sent Brody in for his (Chris') hat and glasses. After about two minutes, Brody came running in for his own hat and glasses. He needed to match Daddy.

This picture turned out soooooo cool. I took it at the Guad last week. I wasn't trying for an effect, I just shot it with my cell phone. Neat, huh?

One little thing. If you are a woman that might be interested in going on a retreat go to: http://www.communitypca.net navigate to the Women's Ministries page and take the poll. So far... 8 votes. One of which is mine.

July in Review

Let's see. What did I do this month?

1. Swim ministry on Tuesdays.
2. Pottery class for kids on Fridays.
3. Birthday parties: 3
4. Doctor's appointments: 6
5. Camps: 2
6. Helped organize a banquet feeding 500.
7. Decided on and worked on curriculum for co-op class.
8. Turned in Women's Ministry budget request.
9. Decided on and developed curriculum for my 4 children.
10. Started jogging.
11. Made 200 wedding invitations.
12.Signed Gracie up for soccer.
13. Kept my neighbor's little boy every week day for 2 weeks.
14. Read 3 books.
15. Had Friday night "Girl Night" every week.
16. Forgot my brother-in-law's birthday.
17. Did no laundry for 5 days straight... believe me, not good.
18. Bird-sat Angie's parakeet for a week while they're on vacation.
19. Battled jealousy over all of my friends who got to go to the beach this month.
20. Went to hear Act Of Congress in concert. Great fun!
21. Vow to sleep late tomorrow. Must have sleep soon.

Needless to say, I can't wait for August and the start of school. I need the break. I'm not complaining... I loved everything I did. Well, except the "forgetting Patrick's birthday" part. And the doctor's appointments. Oh, and the jealousy thing. But other than that, I had a great time. But I know that I could not keep up that pace for even another week or two. Resentment would start to set in.

Let me see... was there anything else? ....

Oh yeah, "Hi!" to Laura Kay. Thanks for reading. And if Abby or Michelle read this, we really should meet because I think we're friends just waiting to happen. KimHill and Amber agree.

Love to Jawan. And Marissa. I think of you guys when I'm typing. It makes it seem like a conversation. The kind where I do all the talking. I know, G, you're saying "How is that any different from every other conversation with you?" Well, not very, I guess.

Well, good night, cruel world. I'm off to bed.

Noodling

Have you ever heard of this? Chris had. But me? Nope, never heard of it. Until tonight, that is.

First, let me confess that I am a PBS junkie. I watch it more than any other channel. My favorite things to watch are documentaries... and I will watch anything. Cats? yep. The life of a man with down syndrome? absolutely. If a Ken Burns production is coming on, do not get between me and my tv. So, tonight, I watched a documentary on noodling.

"So", you may ask, "What is noodling?"

Well, it's when men go fishing for enormous catfish in the murky waters of a river with their bare hands. No hooks. No rods. Just their hands. They go poking their hands along the banks and the river bottom looking for holes that these big, bottom-feeders call home. Then, they catch them. And yes, sometimes they get bitten. And yes, sometimes they come in close contact with snakes and turtles and beavers. But who cares? It's a sport.

And although I find it ridiculous... is it any more ridiculous than racing around a room trying to stick a round object into a net with no bottom? Not really.

But the real question in my mind is... is it brave? The film maker called it that, brave. Where is that elusive line between brave and stupid? Personally, I don't think that we can call facing danger for fun brave. Facing danger for the protection of your loved one or your country, yes. Sticking your hand in a hole? I'm gonna have to say nope. I won't go so far as to say stupid either.

46 states have outlawed noodling. Huh. Why is that? Some say it's too dangerous. Well so is skateboarding and gymnastics. Should we outlaw those as well?

My Momma used to say, "It takes all kinds." I guess she was right.

It has finally happened. Ty is reading. Don't misunderstand, he's been able to read since he was 5 but now... now he reads for enjoyment. And competition.



I love to read. So does Chris. So does Maggie. But until we got involved in the Leeds Library Summer Reading Program, Ty just wasn't interested. That all changed when he saw the board of stars. When he realized that he would get stars to put on his name for all to see, he was all over it. That boy has, in the past week, read a Nancy Drew book and Stuart Little. Plus, he's reading small books to Brody so that Brody can get stars and prizes. So far, Ty has gift certificates to Sonic, Arby's, Papa John's, Dominoes and Food Mart. He's gotten a wallet and some other little toy. Apparently what my dear boy was lacking was proper motivation.



I am so like that. Sometimes, I have to call and invite certain people over for dinner just so I'll get the house clean. I say "certain people" because most of my friends are used to cluttered, somewhat messy houses. Other are made uncomfortable by what Amber likes to called "the lived in look". For these people, I feel the responsibility to have a clean house. That is why I call them. My father-in-law is one of these people. He is known as the inspector general. And if he eats with us, I feel compelled to serve at least 2 green vegetables for dinner.



What does this show me? For one, it shows me that I'm not as liberated from other's opinions as I like to think. It is hard to trust God and remember the gospel when I know that they're looking with judgement on my refrigerator shelves or stained carpet. I want to be perfect... no that's not true... I like my pet sins, but I want you to THINK that I'm perfect. Big difference.



Why can't we do the right thing just because it's the right thing? Why is the gospel so slippery? Rhetorical questions, I know.

Nacho

Nacho Libre makes me laugh. If you haven't seen it, you must. Right now. Only you have to watch it with Stokes and Thomas. Or me. But do not, under any circumstances, watch it alone. It won't be nearly as funny.

When Jack Black pops that hip out, I die. When he baptizes Steven, I die. When he and the nun are eating toast, I die. By the end of this movie, my head hurt so much from laughing so hard. And don't even get me started on his scooter. Holy cow!

I like most of Jack Black's stuff. He's just a goofball.

Sorry. I was just thinking about it. It makes me giggle, which is a lovely thing to do.

My humiliation is now complete. Corey read my blog, commented (do i need help with #11-20) and actually showed up at Camp Cornerstone. It was pretty fun actually. Good to see him again. Plus, Boo got a good laugh out of the whole situation. Glad I could help.






This was funny to me. After pottery class, we went swimming. Ty and Michael McGinnis decided they were done swimming and wanted to play the DS. So they used the towel to block the light so they could see better. Brody wanted to get in on it. It just looks funny to me.







Camp was fun. We learned new verses, sang great songs and played in moon walks. All in all, a great week. But I'm worn out.

This week will be no better, as far as rest goes. We have the feeding of the 500 this Thursday. Lots of work! It's one of those things that cannot possibly work unless God is in it. Which takes the pressure off. We are working as hard as we know how and God will take care of the rest. Our motivation is to reach out to the community for the glory of God. I ask you to pray. Pray for the involvement of our members, we need a lot of it. Pray for the people who are coming, that they will feel welcomed and safe. That they will feel the love of God. The details will happen, they always do... God always comes through.

I am a very, very terrible friend. Jawan had her baby. Her beautiful Abigail. I've looked at the pictures, read the posts and not called her or anything. I'm so sorry Jawan. I do love you and am very, very happy for you. Congratulations!!!!!!

I have lots more to say and not nearly enough time to say it. I can hear G's sigh of relief. Maybe I'll find some time later but I doubt it.

I am exhausted... and that's all I have to say at this time.

Bad Dreams

Poor Brody... He's been having really scary dreams lately. He wakes up almost every night crying and wanting to sleep with me. I was starting to get annoyed (cause I'm selfish and like my sleep and this has been going on for a couple of weeks). That is until he described his dreams to me.



I cried with him. His nightmares were horrible. He dreamed that I pushed him under the water. That he fell in the water with snakes and crocodile and monsters. He dreamed he was bitten by a crocodile. He dreamed that Chris died. He dreamed that bad guys took me. He dreamed that I was on top of a mountain and he was trying to get me. Scary stuff for such a little guy.



I held him again as he cried while telling me about his dreams. My heart broke a little. Why has he been dreaming these things? I have my suspicions but the thing that humbles me is that I'm the only one who can make it better when he wakes up terrified. That's my job. What a privilege. He doesn't want anyone else. Just his Momma. I'm glad that I'm his Momma.

Freaky-Eyed Rick

A few posts ago, I told you about Rick's spontaneous eye dilation. Well, Rick gave me permission and here's the picture. Very strange...

More Pictures from D.C. and the Wedding

Finally! I'm putting some of the 280 pictures I took on our trip to D.C. and Pittsburgh on my blog.


The kids' favorite activity... riding the Metro. Gracie is off to the right. They loved the speed.

The Library of Congress. The kids were looking at the Capitol Building across the street. We had taken a tour of the Capitol earlier in the day.

Ty and I had planned this shot for months. We got it from watching Garfield 2.

My AMAZING parking place!!! The van is at the far left of the picture, the White House is on the right. I turned around from taking the pictures of the Washington Monument to take this picture. You can touch me next time you see me.





Cannot for the life of me remember this guy's name at the moment. I'll correct it when I can.

These two pictures were taken at the Jefferson Memorial. We were on the back side having a snack of carrots, sodas and water. We also did a study on perspective. Pretty cool, huh?

This is the little cabin we stayed in while visiting D.C. It was a KOA in Maryland. Really fun!

The Puffy Shirt... from Seinfeld. One of my favorite episodes. I took this picture for Evan. It's part of the collection of the Smithsonian Museum of American History.

This is at the National Gallery of Art. I have a print of this Rembrandt in my living room. It was really amazing to see the original.

The kids and I wanted to see the Impressionists. We walked into the room and were overwhelmed by what we saw. Monet, Renoir, Degas, Manet, Pisarro. Wow! I almost cried.

THE WEDDING

Patrick, Gracie and Meghan at the rehearsal dinner. We ate at Six Penn Kitchens in downtown Pittsburgh. Delicious food and fun times!

Bill (my Dad-in-law), Meghan's brother Todd, Todd's wife Brooke, Meghan and Margaret (my mom-in-law) at the dinner. As you can see, it was a general love-fest. Both families love each other.

Standing around outside the museum for cocktails in between the ceremony and the reception dinner. That's Chip and his wife, Chip married the lovely couple.

Here they come!!! Aren't they gorgeous? Like Ken and Barbie... only real.

Gracie LOVES her Uncle Patrick!

Isn't her dress amazing? She is so beautiful. I'm very grateful that she also has the beauty of a heart that trusts in God.

Weird expression on Patrick's face but I still love this picture. It looks all sweet and relaxed, when in reality, Patrick has a death grip on Brody's hand to keep him from running away... we were trying to pose them for a picture. Why doesn't the 3 year old understand that?

Eat your hearts out ladies! That right there is one good-lookin' man. And he's aallllll mine!!!!

Well, that's only 20 pictures out 280. But your get the overall flavor of the trip. Sorry it took so long to post them.

Ready For Heaven

Sometimes my selfishness sneaks up on me and punches me in the face. I think I'm so generous and loving. Then I'm confronted with the fact that even my ways of showing love are selfish. I need affirmation, attention and affection. None of which are horrible things but I don't just need them, I demand them. And if I don't get them, I feel rejected, unloved and ugly. Oh how I hate my sin...

Random Things

Well, thought I'd post some random memories from the trip. If you were there and have more, leave a comment.

On the trip home, we saw a church sign that said "Download your problems to Jesus." Boo thought they should get points for being technologically savvy.

Also on the trip home, there was a sign that read something along the lines of, "I WON $91,632! ALL MY DREAMS CAME TRUE." The only problem was that the man in the picture looked miserable. It was really very ironic. I was glad that Rick saw it too so that I had someone to laugh with me about it. Rick, if you read this and remember what it said exactly, leave a comment.

While at the beach, we went to Alvin's Island. It's what my father calls a 'jip joint', a place that sells cheap souvenirs. While there, I bought my kids airbrushed t-shirts. Then Kara showed me her henna tattoo. I thought to myself, 'Now that's neat.' So I went to just look. Next thing I know, Thomas and I have committed to getting matching tattoos. Only problem is, we can't agree on which one. I want a cross, he wants a skull and crossbones. And after a very tragic game of paper/rock/scissors, I had a skull and crossbones henna tattoo on my arm that matches an 18 year old boy that I used to babysit. Sad but true.

Yates can do the most amazingly accurate impersonation of Addison. I mean it's just crazy. Emma and I almost drowned from laughing so hard.

KimHill called and asked if we wanted to come swimming today and since I have about three places on my body that aren't sunburned I said yes.

Every night while at the beach we watched a movie. Sounds fun... only one problem. Movie doesn't start until 11 pm. But since the girls stayed up, so did I. Night 1: The Truman Show. Night 2: Nacho Libre. Night 3: Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Truman Show I've seen a hundred times.

Nacho Libre... I laughed until my head was pounding. Holy cow! That's a funny movie. It's really stupid but man, it's funny! "I'm really concerned about your salvation... and stuff." I guess you had to be there.

Raiders of the Lost Ark I slept through. I have never made it all the way through that movie.

Poor Boo could not stay awake for long. She took naps. Her poor, pregnant body would just sorta shut down. I remember what that was like. I'm really glad that it's her and not me. Sorry Boo.

Before we left, I made two Cd's for the trip. The first one was pretty mild. Andy Gullahorn, Nickel Creek, Sean Watkins, Derek Webb, Norah Jones. CD #2 was not mild. Adam's Inside This Skin, Toby Mac, Nirvana, The Darkness, Beyonce, DC Talk. Clean lyrics and strong music.

While there, we listened to Inside This Skin several times. I'll try to post a link for it. Anyway, this song is my favorite. Not just of Adam's but it's like my favorite song. Stokes choreographed it. The youth will hopefully do a 'music video' of it for the Talent Show. It involves James Bond, Satan, machine guns, Robert Palmer-type dancers and other strange things. We laughed our butts off. Stokes is hysterical.

Since we were travelling in 4 different vehicles, we had walkie-talkies. That was way more fun than I thought it would be. I enjoyed listening to Adam, Rick, Stokes and Corey picking on each other. All four of them are so funny. They're quick witted and sarcastic... my two favorite qualities.

At one point, one of Rick's eyes spontaneously dilated. It was very, very strange. We were at the amusement park when Rick walked over to Stokes and I. When I looked at him, I was startled. It was the freakiest looking thing I'd ever seen. He thought I was teasing him about his eyes being so blue. I had to take a picture with my phone and show it to him before he believed me. Rick and I were concerned but Stokes was clueless. He just thought it was hilarious. It wasn't until I started making some calls that he took it seriously. I talked to Dr. Bedsole and he said it was probably fine. Getting sunscreen or cologne in your eyes can make it do that... weird. I have the picture. If Rick says it's okay I'll post it.

While eating at Pineapple Willy's, we started hearing this really lound popping noise. It sounded like it was right where we were. Boo thought it was Stokes but I was sitting right next to him and knew it wasn't. He and I thought it was one of the kids but it was really close. The sound was loud and fairly rhythmic. POW! We started looking around and realized that it was the disposable camera sitting right in the middle of the table. Every time it popped, the flash would light up. We got it off the table because we were afraid it was going to explode. It had a short in it and smelled like it was leaking chemicals. Come to think of it, I'll bet that was what happened to Rick's eye. He handled the camera the most. I wonder if he got some of the chemicals in his eye? Anyway, at the time it was kinda scary and funny at the same time. I wonder if the pictures can be developed?

Well that's all the memories I have at the moment. If I think of more, I'll let you know.

Here are a couple of pics. I didn't take a camera, these are from my phone. They're not all that great. Hopefully, Kasey, Kara, Emma and Bren will send me some.

Stokes and Corey at Pineapple Willy's. Corey's holding the defective camera.

Rick. My new friend. He's getting married in less than 2 weeks to Jessica's sister Stacy.

Adam and Stokes after an invigorating go-cart race. Adam kicked butt. Stokes (aka: Mr. Competitive) couldn't get past Bren.

I'm tired and don't want to mess with rotating this picture. Turn your head if you want. This is my van of girls. We had so much fun together!

Can't wait for your comments.

Too Much

Where do I start? I have too much to say...


I got home today from being 'an adult' on the Sr. High Beach Trip. Wow! That was so much fun. I'm pretty sure that I enjoyed it just as much or more than I did when I was a youth. We went to Panama City for about 3 days. Stayed at the same retreat center that I stayed at when I was a kid. Swam in the same pools, sang some of the same songs. It was very nostalgic.



Let's see... where so I start? Ummm... How 'bout with the cast of characters?


Stokes - the earnest, only slightly high-strung youth director.


Boo - the tired, mildly pregnant chaperon and the only other grown-up girl


Me - the oldest person on the trip, goofy and prone to verbal diarrhea


Adam - the cool, funny chaperon who looks like he's way too young to be there.


Brandon - the brain of the trip, looks like a marine because of new haircut, finds the same things funny that I do, therefore providing comic relief.


Rick - the thoughtful one, also looks way too young, friends with Adam, pianist, really funny chaperon


Corey - the quietly funny, superior speaker, expert at practical jokes and sarcasm. thinks I am insane.


Well, that's the adults. We had 4 girls and 7 boys. All the kids were well behaved and interesting, and only one who was slightly annoying... those who went know who I'm talking about.






Okay, ten reasons why I think Corey Nolen thinks I'm a fruitcake. First, let me say I have no idea why I even care.



1. On our first meeting, I threw a banana peel at him and yelled "Catch!"



2. I actually told him that the girls saw the waistband of his underwear and now call him 'Ralph Lauren'.



3. On the phone, I made a joke to him and he just handed the phone to Stokes.



4. I am a fruitcake.



5. He gives me the "this woman is a nut" look.



6. I got a henna tattoo.



7. My tattoo is a skull and crossbones because I lost a game of paper/rock/scissors with Thomas and now we have matching tattoos.



8. On the trip home, I started following Rick on the interstate. Only it wasn't Rick. It wasn't even a Suburban... it was a Tahoe.



9. Various moments of verbal diarrhea.



10. I really am a friutcake.

Anyways, like I said, I have no idea why it matters. I like Corey. He has a great speaking voice, he should be a D.J. He has a lot of wisdom, I learned a lot. Plus, he never brushes his hair. You've got to admire that.

Well, more later. Bye.

I Need Help!

Ty is very interested in engineering. He wants to design cars. He has maintained that desire for quite a while now. He's been telling me since he was 7 that he wants to be an engineer, he just didn't know what kind. After thinking on it and studying a bit, he stuck on mechanical engineering. Then we watched a great Nova special on PBS titled The Great Robot Race. So now he's interested in robotic cars.

I think that he is absolutely smart enough and creative enough to do it. His biggest problem is his totally clueless mother. I don't even know enough about it to know where to look for books at the library. Any advice on how to cultivate this passion he has? Anything.

He loves Kinex and Lego's. He's done a study on electricity, so he has a smidge of understanding. He knows circuits, conductors, etc. My Dad is an electrician, so there's that in his favor. But I don't even know where to start with the car design and the robotics. So if you have any advice or ideas, please, please, please let me know. Books, videos, people, whatever. I'll take it!

Irony

The other night as I was cooking supper, steaming broccoli to be precise, I opened the upper cabinet beside the stove. This cabinet is where we keep certain medicines, band-aids, and all our appliance and electronics paperwork (i.e. manuals, warranty cards, etc). Anyway, when I opened the cabinet to get Maggie a band-aid, a small booklet fell out and slid right into the flame of the stove burner. Scary! I snatched it before it caught flame.

What was the name of said booklet?

"Gas Appliance Safety Tips."

Weight Loss Update

Some of you have emailed me to ask how my weight loss journey was going. I know that I haven't talked about it much. Sorry.

As of tonight, I have lost a total of 32 pounds. I am now over half way to my goal. My BMI has gone from 34 to 29. Anything over 30 is considered obese! My goal is to get my BMI down to 25 or below.

To track your own BMI go to http://www.weightwatchers.com/health/asm/calc_bmi.aspx

And if your BMI is high, don't be discouraged or disgusted. Just do what God shows you to do, step by step, minute by minute. He is able. He has shown me so much of my sin through this journey. I honestly didn't think that I over-ate that much. But I did. Weight Watchers has been a source of sanctification for me. I have seen the law. I have seen grace. And I have been given hope. But my hope is not in a program or a system but in my Redeemer who uses all things to draw me to Himself.

Anyway... I just wanted to update you. Thank you for your prayers and constant encouragement. Oh, and the compliments. Yeah, I like those too.

Pictures of D.C.

Yeah!!! I just remembered that I had pictures on my cell phone! I'm so happy.

This a picture of Gracie on the subway. This is not a pose. We were riding along and she looked down, saw the paper, picked it up and started reading it. It looked so funny to me that I had to take a picture! When I showed it to Grace, she said "Wow! Look how strong my legs look."

This is a very dim picture of the Archives building. The Declaration of Independance is at the far right of this picture.

This is Union Station. On Wednesday, we took the subway from New Carrollton all the way to here and then walked one block to Jeff Sessions office for our tour of the Capitol. Union Station is so beautiful. And very, very busy! After our tour, we came back to Union Station for lunch. Yum.

This is R2D2, as I'm sure you well know. At the very far left you can see C3PO's hand. We saw them at the Smithsonian. Brody kept saying, "I'm going to go up there and push his buttons and make him talk." To which I replied, "No you're not."

And last but not least, Brody is riding a dragon! And Gracie is riding the horse beside him. The building behind them is the Museum of Arts and Industries. Very fun way to take a break!

Maybe I can post some more pictures another day. The pictures from the wedding are the disc that Margaret has. Hope you like these.

I had made up my mind that I was going to post a picture since I finally figured out how. I was making it waayyyyy too hard. Anyway, I was all excited until I remembered that Margaret (my mom-in-law) still has my disc with all the pictures of the trip on it. Aaahhhhh!!!!

So... here is a picture of a really cool Lotus we saw at Publix. Neat huh?