I found something new for "the list". I want this new wireless memory card. Just take pictures and instead of downloading them to your computer, just send them straight to your favorite photo-site or even your computer if you desire. Sweet!
So cute
Please don’t give me a hard time about a 3 and 5 year old getting their nails done. It was cute and they loved every minute of it. I was only going to get Emma’s done today but the way it ended up, I had to take Lexi too so you know I just couldn’t have one done and not the other. But aren’t those chubby little fingers so cute orange?
Today might be a little crazy
Today we have a Thanksgiving dinner program thingy at Emma’s school at 10:30. Scott has to drive separately because he has to pick up his new trainee right after lunch and take him to meet the Captain and do some other things for a few hours. I will probably take the girls out to eat for Emma’s birthday and maybe sneak in a little nail painting afterwards.
This afternoon, I will try to get some work done. If Scott gets home before dinner, I want to take Emma to the pottery place to let her paint. I’m not quite sure about dinner tonight. I know Mom wants to do the whole present/cake thing with her but MIL also told Scott she has a gift for her so I’m guessing we’ll end up doing something here.
Oh, and I have an implementation for work tonight too.
It’s going to be a busy day.
Dear Emma,
Today you are 5. You didn’t seem happy this morning when I tried to make a big deal about your birthday. No! You protested. But then I told your daddy in front of you that you didn’t want your birthday and we shouldn’t give you your presents and and we shouldn’t take you to get your nails painted or to the special place I have planned for you. And then you were ok with it being your birthday. I know that was just your shy nature coming through. Just like Mommy. Not too much attention on just you. You still get shy in front of people. Even people you’ve seen several times. You usually hide behind me or look at the ground when someone speaks to you. I keep telling you it’s only polite to respond. You’ll get it one day. Mommy did. And look out to the people you trust well. You don’t quit talking.
Your favorites have changed even in this past year. You still like your computer games but your passion seems to be art. You love to paint especially. And you love to make things for other people. I think you may have gotten a creative gene or two from Grandma. You love to learn. You know how to write your alphabet and your name and Lexi’s name now although you always ask if Lexi’s name ends with an I or Y. You are starting to sound out words and can tell me what letter they start with usually. And we’re working on learning to read! You can sound out some words in our "reading book".
You’re not so much a fan of math though. Counting and adding and subtracting don’t seem to enthrall you nearly as much. The other day I think I heard you count to 39 and then got stuck until I reminded you that 40 came next.
You have some TV favorites right now although recently we haven’t been watching nearly as much. But you get excited when you see LazyTown, Max and Ruby, Little Bear or Little Bill on Noggin. And you can finally figure out Blue’s Clues on your own.
If I were to guess what meal you might pick to eat tonight, it would probably have mashed potatoes and gravy, maybe roast–you just call it "meat", and lots of bread and butter. And of course a Peppermint Patty or pink ice cream to finish the meal off. Oh boy and root beer to drink! Maybe even some Starbuck’s with that dessert 😉
You are such a kind-hearted little girl. You are like a mother to your little sister. Always making sure she’s doing the right thing. You give to her and everyone else until Mommy has to remind you to take care of yourself a little. Your name, Emma Grace meaning full of grace, is in full swing. And I’m so proud of you for that. You are a joy to me and your daddy. You are a joy to everyone you meet. You bring life to a room and nothing is ever dull when you are around. You are the leader when there are a group of kids and you make sure everyone has a part. I hope you know how many people love you. I love you so much I’m just not sure I can explain it. And I hope you know how much Jesus loves you. Much more than I ever could. He has special plans for you and I can’t wait to see what it is.
You have blessed our lives these past five years and I’m so, so grateful I get to be your mommy. I love you, my little Emma.
The Bachelor Finale November 19, 2007
*Spoiler*
Well, I was right in as much as he picked DeAnna over Jenni. Never guessed that he didn’t pick either of them. And where’s the promise ring? Why does he have to say good-bye? He obviously has feelings for her and from the looks of the After the Rose show, she still looks torn up about it. Why not give it another whirl? Maybe an engagement tomorrow night??
I don’t know, it feels very unsatisfying that the deal was not done and I watched a whole season for that. I do have to give the man some credit though for not committing to something he wasn’t 100% sure on.
`
The day marches on
Busy at work today. Bad Monday at work as production problems with a report filled the morning. Scott did the school thing today and that was a nice relief.
This afternoon I’m going to make my second trip to CVS and maybe a trip to Walgreens. This evening we’re going to D&D’s for dinner. Free food, good friends, busy children at someone else’s house. It will be fantastic.
CVS Black Friday Deals
I am SO in the Christmas mood this year and that includes Black Friday shopping. Scott is actually off Thurs – Sun this year and that means built-in babysitter if I want to go shopping. I mentioned making several CVS deals this week and I found the Black Friday sales for CVS. There are several GREAT deals that I plan to line up for. In case you’re interested in taking a peek, here you go!
Things I’m looking at getting:
Digital Frame
Digital Picture keychain
Soft Soap Body Wash
Advil PM
Jergens Lotion
Tylenol
Colgate
With coupons, all but the first two should earn me more ECBs than I spend. Yay!
Filled by what
Today something very cool happened. My bible study, Sunday School lesson and the pastor’s sermon all converged. Little pieces from each add up to answer a question I’ve had personally and actually had thought about posting in the last few weeks. The topic it surrounds is drinking alcohol. Let me tell you how I’ve run into this 3 different times…
In my Beth Moore’s Living Beyond Yourself, Fruit of the Spirit study, we are studying how we live by the spirit with gentleness this week. Beth says there are several aspects to gentleness, one being humility. She uses John the Baptist as an example of a humble person. In Matthew 11:11, Jesus says John is greater than any man that has lived. Wow. God saying that is pretty cool. It’s sort of like that “well done, my child” that we all want to hear. But in the you’ve done it better than ANYONE ELSE kind of way. Whatever he did to earn that is worth looking into.. In Luke 1:15-17, I found it interesting that out of all the things they choose to note about this great man, one of the few is that he would never drink wine or fermented drink.
Let me stop there and bring it together later.
As for Sunday School, I mentioned I taught on wisdom. One of the activities the lesson plan had us do is read Ephesians 5:15-20 and help us see this is basically showing the difference between doing wise versus foolish things and had us list out some things in each category. One of the things listed in there was do not get drunk on wine. In contrast, we should be filled with the spirit and live by the spirit.
I’ll leave that there and go on to the sermon from today.
So guess what verses the pastor had us turn to today? Ephesians 5:15-20. Seriously. Because God is cool like that. Anyway. I won’t go into the whole sermon but the general theme of it was we should desire to live by the Spirit. Specifically, one of the first comments he made was when you are controlled by alcoholism, you do things you’d never thought you’d do but when you are controlled by the Spirit, you also do things you never thought you could possibly do. And on my own what did I find the difference was? When you do things under the influence of alcohol, most times you can’t wait to forget it yet when you do things under the control of the Spirit, you never want to forget it.
So that’s my three separate incidences in just this week.
So my question has been, why have I never drank and don’t continue to drink? Is drinking one drink a sin? Is it only a sin when you are drunk? And if so, what is considered drunk?
I honestly don’t know if I have all the answers. I do know this…
I think the Bible is pretty clear being drunk is a sin. It is listed several times throughout Scripture in several lists of “bad things”. I think it gets shady when you are talking 1 or 2 drinks when people are not drunk but they have consumed alcohol. Is that a sin? I don’t know. I took the easy way out right? But here is what I do know. Jesus called John the greatest man ever and he never drank at all. I’m sort of shooting for that label or at least a well done, my child so I feel good so far I’ve chosen never to drink.
But let’s say I choose to hypothetically. Am I drunk now? What’s God’s legal limit? Can it be .04? .08? .12? Is it when you say you’re drunk or when you can’t say the alphabet backwards? Is it when you can’t drive a car or when you start puking your guts up? People say they know their limits but I’m guessing you’d have to be drunk a time or two to know your limits and then it’s a little too late…you’ve already sinned. Let’s say because of your former life you definitely know your limits and you will not get drunk at one drink. Again, what constitutes drunk? Assuming you aren’t drunk by whatever God’s standards are, you should be “fine” I suppose with that line of thinking.
But is that really what we’re after here? To know what we can get away with? No. Not for me. My goal is as it states in Ephesians 5 is to be filled with the Spirit. It even says to make the most of every opportunity. We are here for such a short time and only have so much time to make a difference for Christ, to fulfill that purpose He has for us. I want every second to count. Do they all? No way. I fail to make Him my priority 99% of the time. But that’s my goal.
And if I have to spend my time trying to decide if what I’m doing may or may not be wrong, I’m probably not living by the Spirit. As Scott’s mentor told him as a teenager, if you have to ask whether it’s wrong, it probably is. I’m not suggesting drinking one drink of alcohol is a sin. I’m not suggesting it isn’t either. What I’m saying is as Christians we should be so consumed with living by the Spirit, that we don’t have time to do that much less think about doing it. Coming back to what my pastor said this morning, he said we should not be satisfied with anything but being controlled by the Spirit. I’m not. I want more. So for me, not drinking isn’t about whether one drink is ok or not. It’s not about how much it takes to get me drunk. It’s about concentrating on what God has for me to do, living by the Spirit so much that I’m not even taking a fraction of a second thinking about it. That anything that is even a hint of sin repulses me. I want the mind of Christ. And for some reason, I’m thinking He doesn’t think too much about His next drink. I don’t mean that to be flippant or sarcastic or scathing. I’m serious. I really don’t think if I have the mind of Christ I would even stop to think of doing it. But that’s just me. And the good news is God’s grace and mercy and forgiveness is enough to cover us even if we do mess up. I thank God I’ve never had to deal with drinking or alcoholism in my family or with myself and I seriously send out a heartfelt prayer for those that do. God is big enough to heal any wound. Or even enough to keep us from it.