Our local Chinese restaurant has an awesome family special so we went out to dinner tonight. The boys actually did great. Their antics were mild and received smiles and chuckles and not "those stares." They even attempted chopsticks, which lead to some skewering on Chi's part and flipped rice on Gabe's part.
Here are our fortunes:
Gabe's: Someone thinks you are wonderfully mysterious.
So many girls fawn over him so this is hilarious to us; not so much to him.
Chi's: People are naturally attracted to you.
Um, duh.
Mine: You are accurate in your thinking and have the ability to convince others of your viewpoint.
See? I've been telling you. ;)
Matt's: Keep your feet on the ground even though your friends flatter you.
Matt's reaction, "That's not a fortune! That's just advice. I got an advice cookie."
I told him that maybe he must follow the advice to receive good fortune. That and his last three fortune cookies have been advice cookies. I think the cookies are trying to tell him something. :)
Monday, March 28, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Goof Balls
Okay, I first have to tell you that Chi, you know the kid who just turned 3, is now in 4T clothes. It's a bit crazy. Gabe is growing too, but slowly. I predict that Chi is going to over take Gabe by this time next year. We all expected it, but I figured Chi would be in school by the time it happened. I hope Gabe takes it well. Laundry is going to get confusing.
Matt believes Chi has begun to use his cuteness as a weapon. He will flash a smile, look at you with doe eyes or say something (usually something normal, but he'll finally say it correctly so that you just want to cheer him on) and then we melt. Oh, Lord, this boy is going to undo us! He still has no has no modesty. We had company over for dinner. Chi comes out of the bathroom, naked from the waist down carrying his underwear. "I went to the bathroom," he tells us. Well, yes, we can see that. :)
Gabe has decided to go into business. He has been drawing birthday pictures (sort of cards, but full size pages, no folds) and he wants to sell them. I don't know how well this will go over, but he's determined....for now. He sometimes has the attention span of a gnat, so we'll see. But he has been drawing very nice, detailed pictures. He'll be on Spring Break this week, so we will have to come up with things to do. Unfortunately it will not be warm enough to go to the parks. We do have a butterfly display at the gardens this month, so one day I'm sure we will go check that out.
Matt believes Chi has begun to use his cuteness as a weapon. He will flash a smile, look at you with doe eyes or say something (usually something normal, but he'll finally say it correctly so that you just want to cheer him on) and then we melt. Oh, Lord, this boy is going to undo us! He still has no has no modesty. We had company over for dinner. Chi comes out of the bathroom, naked from the waist down carrying his underwear. "I went to the bathroom," he tells us. Well, yes, we can see that. :)
Gabe has decided to go into business. He has been drawing birthday pictures (sort of cards, but full size pages, no folds) and he wants to sell them. I don't know how well this will go over, but he's determined....for now. He sometimes has the attention span of a gnat, so we'll see. But he has been drawing very nice, detailed pictures. He'll be on Spring Break this week, so we will have to come up with things to do. Unfortunately it will not be warm enough to go to the parks. We do have a butterfly display at the gardens this month, so one day I'm sure we will go check that out.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Clinkal, clinkal
Okay, so I know we have to start correcting Chi's pronunciation a bit more. (Sometimes it's just laziness that makes him say things wrong, and we need to stop that. Not trying to be mean or anything, but it might be cute at 3, it won't be cute for much longer.) That kid is hilarious though. He has started singing more and often gets the lyrics a bit mixed up. Like, "Old McDonald had farm. e-i-e-i-o. Old McDonald had a pig. Oink, oink, here. oink, oink, here. oink, oink, oink, oink, had a farm."
But my favorite, "Clinkal, clinkal little s-car. Wonder what are. Up above (mumble, mumble) high. Clinkal, clinkal little s-car." Love it!
But my favorite, "Clinkal, clinkal little s-car. Wonder what are. Up above (mumble, mumble) high. Clinkal, clinkal little s-car." Love it!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Last weekend
So we had fun in Frankenmuth as mentioned. I thought I should toss up the few pictures I took.
The kids had to have a picture in front of the giant cheese...though we couldn't get them all there at once.
The day had the feeling of herding cats...
Sylvie as a Bavarian Maid...
Sienna did not want help. She felt she could get high enough on her own. :)
And Gabe in lederhosen.
I love his winter hat peeking around his face. It really adds something. Haha. It was a bit chilly and it's hard to use my cell phone camera with gloves. I just didn't manage to snap many, but at least these are cute.
The kids had to have a picture in front of the giant cheese...though we couldn't get them all there at once.
The day had the feeling of herding cats...
Sylvie as a Bavarian Maid...
And Gabe in lederhosen.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Marching in like a lion
What a week. Chi was the last of us to get the flu and his turned into another ear infection. We had to go to urgent care on Tuesday, but I set up a follow up with his doctor on Friday. It's a new doctor. First, the urgent care doctor gave him a stronger prescription, so everyone thinks this will really work. But, it tastes terrible and gives Chi diarrhea, and that means getting him to take it is very difficult. We have to psych ourselves up to even deal with giving it to him it's so bad, but we have no choice. We still have most of this week to that. :( I don't know how I feel about our new doctor. I told Matt I really just want to drive him back to Iowa because I just don't like doctors here. But, obviously, no matter how much I want to, it's not going to happen. What bugs me is that the doctor didn't seem much concerned about an underlying cause. Apparently, it's not strange to have so many ear infections start so late. But I don't know. I wonder if doctors just didn't take the time to figure out in each case why it would set on later. He offered us the option of going to an ENT about tubes, but one winter of ear infections and nobody cares why, but I'm going to send him into surgery? I don't think so. I'm considering seeking out an allergist for a second opinion on whether the underlying cause might be an allergy (because he's had so much mucus). I want to trust the doctor, but I live with my child. I know what's normal or not for him. I want the doctor to trust me too. You know?
Gabe went to the dentist. I actually really love our dentist office, so that's good. Everybody thought Gabe was the cutest thing ever. :) (If they only knew...) Ha. He was very excited to learn he has no cavities, but not so happy to learn that his permanent teeth are still not quite pushing the baby teeth out of the way. It's still going to be awhile before he loses any teeth. Poor kid, most of his friends are almost done losing teeth and he hasn't lost one. I have a sneaking suspicion that he doesn't believe in the tooth fairy, but he doesn't want to admit it so that he doesn't miss out on the money. :)
Mike, Kathy, Sienna and Sylvie came to visit this weekend. It was a nice visit, but I do wish the weather had cooperated a bit more. We walked around Frankenmuth because they hadn't been there before and also went to Bronners. It was kind of funny at the candy store because they loaded up with candy and I just bought a couple treats for us, but I can easily go back and get more, so I didn't think I needed to stock up. My puny little bag next to their large bag was a silly looking comparison. The kids had fun playing, and we all had a nice visit. Though the cat hid out for so long, we did start to get a bit worried. She's never shied away from people like that. But the kids were running around and loud, so I guess she just played it safe.
Gabe went to the dentist. I actually really love our dentist office, so that's good. Everybody thought Gabe was the cutest thing ever. :) (If they only knew...) Ha. He was very excited to learn he has no cavities, but not so happy to learn that his permanent teeth are still not quite pushing the baby teeth out of the way. It's still going to be awhile before he loses any teeth. Poor kid, most of his friends are almost done losing teeth and he hasn't lost one. I have a sneaking suspicion that he doesn't believe in the tooth fairy, but he doesn't want to admit it so that he doesn't miss out on the money. :)
Mike, Kathy, Sienna and Sylvie came to visit this weekend. It was a nice visit, but I do wish the weather had cooperated a bit more. We walked around Frankenmuth because they hadn't been there before and also went to Bronners. It was kind of funny at the candy store because they loaded up with candy and I just bought a couple treats for us, but I can easily go back and get more, so I didn't think I needed to stock up. My puny little bag next to their large bag was a silly looking comparison. The kids had fun playing, and we all had a nice visit. Though the cat hid out for so long, we did start to get a bit worried. She's never shied away from people like that. But the kids were running around and loud, so I guess she just played it safe.
Monday, March 7, 2011
This is the title that can't be clever
So, I know some of you just want to hear about the family and would rather not hear my opinions on things. But it's my blog, I can do what I want to. Nah Nah. KIDDING. Sorry, couldn't resist. In all seriousness, I do want to use this blog to address anything that I feel is important. I reach friends who do want to read the opinion stuff, so that's why it's there. You won't hurt my feelings if you want to skip that post. You won't hurt my feelings if you disagree. You may make my day if you toss me an Amen, sister!
Moving on. There is next to nothing to tell you about the family except that we have been doing absolutely nothing except trying to recover from the bubonic plague, also known as the flu. Catching Gabe up on all that school work has been fun (that was sarcastic). On the plus side, his school carnival was this Friday and we got to miss it since we weren't healthy enough. It's not a fun event. It's too crowded and hot and it's March in Michigan so you can't just have it outside. Glad to have had an excuse to miss that.
Chi has become a chatterbox. He's still content to sit quietly. But he likes to tell you everything on his mind right now. Explaining everything that is going on right in front of us. But here's a fun sample conversation:
-How are you?
-I'm Malachi.
-Are you 3?
-I'm Malachi.
-Do you want a banana?
-No. I'm Malachi.
-Yes, but do you want a banana?
-No. I'm--oh, yes.
Moving on. There is next to nothing to tell you about the family except that we have been doing absolutely nothing except trying to recover from the bubonic plague, also known as the flu. Catching Gabe up on all that school work has been fun (that was sarcastic). On the plus side, his school carnival was this Friday and we got to miss it since we weren't healthy enough. It's not a fun event. It's too crowded and hot and it's March in Michigan so you can't just have it outside. Glad to have had an excuse to miss that.
Chi has become a chatterbox. He's still content to sit quietly. But he likes to tell you everything on his mind right now. Explaining everything that is going on right in front of us. But here's a fun sample conversation:
-How are you?
-I'm Malachi.
-Are you 3?
-I'm Malachi.
-Do you want a banana?
-No. I'm Malachi.
-Yes, but do you want a banana?
-No. I'm--oh, yes.
Trouble with faith
Over the years, I have had lots of concerns about what is going on with Christianity. Recently, some one misinterpreted what I said, not maliciously, but bent it into a narrative that they had already developed. This is not a response to that person, but just an attempt to explain why it is so hard to deal with these issues, no matter how you try to go about it.
It bothers me when people try to disguise their message by not admitting who they are. "Conservative Evangelicals" as there is now no other name because rather than confront why some people shy away from the types of denominations these churches sprang from, they called themselves "nondenominational." This makes it sound nice; like there is room for everyone. But their real motive was to drive a particular message, without regard to what the Holy Spirit may be moving in another person. Fit into the narrative or be condemned is where the outcome wound up going. Maybe it wasn't by intention. If you know there is something about your message that pushes people away from God, maybe the problem is your understanding of God's message and the way we are called to witness.
To confuse matters, you can't just say all nondenominationals are conservatives because springing out of that mess is the emergent evangelical movement. Emergents focus more on God's grace and love. In some areas they don't go as far as more progressive denominations, but they are getting closer and closer. The conservative evangelicals call the emergent evangelicals heretics. Yeah. Really.
My first brush in life with conservative evangelicals (CEs from now on, my own abbreviation, no one else will know what you mean) was in college. I was walking alone across campus on a Saturday morning. All of a sudden a group of people with high tech camera equipment descend on me and yelled, "Do you know who Jesus is?!" It was morning and I'm a smart ass so I replied, "Yeah, I might have heard of him," and kept walking. They kept blocking my path (I'm not a morning person so this was really ticking me off.) "Don't you know who Jesus is?" They pushed again. The tone was really condescending which is part of the reason I have never forgotten this encounter. I responded with the usually litany about who Jesus is and confirmed I believed. Without knowing me at all, they assumed I was not Christian. That always bothered me. Why would you open a conversation that way? Why would you spend your whole life assuming you knew more than those around you? They asked a series of questions, feeling more like an Inquisition than anything else. Get these right or we won't let you leave! it seemed. Finally they wanted to know how I witness the gospel. "Through actions and love and not by attacking people with video equipment. Good-bye." And I pushed my way out of the little circle and went on my way.
I have so many problems with this. CEs have all these Biblical arguments for acting the way that they act. Unfortunately it is all utterly simplistic and formulaic. Do this. Say this. Believe this and presto - you are saved. It's a heck of a lot of me needing to do something in order that God will then do something. And while I think this is totally off base, the truth is it is wicked easy! I get to have control over the whole process. Woo hoo. It doesn't demand an critical thinking or moral reasoning skills at all. So, I get why this is so appealing to American Christians. We are, after all, lazy thinkers.
The trouble is, God makes it clear (if you read cover to cover, story to story and not just pick random verses from the Bible) that you can't do any of it yourself. You can't make a decision. You can't do good works. You can't save souls. We can't find a way to go up to God, God always comes down to us. God does it all through grace and nothing I can do will change that. The Bible even points out that the ability to have faith in the first place is a gift of God. I can't "decide" to have faith. This is why I am not going to judge God's plans. I don't know what happens when we die, but I doubt I am "saved" and Gandhi is not. If that's the way God works, I think I'd have to tell God to let me trade places with Gandhi because he deserves heaven more than I do. But CEs limit God. Gandhi didn't believe in Jesus, so too bad for him, done deal. Really? He lived a life that was the epitome of what Jesus called for but some would claim he knew nothing of God. It's ridiculous. It requires effort to not think to believe that.
Religious thinkers (and lay people) used to understand that the Bible was simply a tool for learning about God and having a greater understanding of how we should attempt to live our lives. No one ever thought the thing was literal. Every single reading of the Bible is an interpretation. And the Bible itself intentionally holds interpretations because there is not supposed to be one simple, formulaic answer. And that's what the CEs don't get. But they also put up walls, calling anyone who puts care and love above dogmatic rule, heretics. It is exactly why most people believe all Christians are highly judgmental. It's why there is so much religious strife. They are so convinced they are "right" they don't need to hear from anyone else. And if we used our own moral reasoning skills (which I think are God-given in the first place) CEs may be overly concerned about getting something wrong. Gasp. The horror. As if trying to be overly extreme on Biblical teaching hasn't lead to wrong thinking either. I was actually once told that it takes more faith to see all the scientific evidence of when and how the earth has developed and the life on the earth has developed and still take Genesis literally. I don't think so. I think it takes more faith to realize we don't get to have all the answers neatly summed up and still believe there is a higher power. Because if Genesis isn't true, that persons faith pulls apart at the seams. Mine doesn't. That person cannot engage with anyone who presents differing views because they cannot handle questioning their faith. It tends to lead to attacks on people.
I think we only get it completely wrong when we don't think or engage, when we think God is easy or simple to understand, and worst of all, when we harness God for our own objectives. Religion should be what sets you free, free of your fears and shortcomings, to do what God needs done on earth - the free and unconditional expression of love. Being a voice for the voiceless. Standing with the outcast. Caring for the forgotten. If your religion is based on strict dogmatic thinking as the point, then that religion has already failed in its purpose. Even the Pharisees eventually got it right. (You won't find it in the Bible. They held to dogmatic thinking above all else and Jesus said they were wrong. But I recently learned about their history after the fall of the temple. They actually became protectors of the same message Jesus preached. Though, not of his divinity, they remained Jews.) Right thinking or even right living isn't the point. Care of others, thinking beyond yourself, is more of the point. Of course, I could be wrong... but I'm okay with that.
It bothers me when people try to disguise their message by not admitting who they are. "Conservative Evangelicals" as there is now no other name because rather than confront why some people shy away from the types of denominations these churches sprang from, they called themselves "nondenominational." This makes it sound nice; like there is room for everyone. But their real motive was to drive a particular message, without regard to what the Holy Spirit may be moving in another person. Fit into the narrative or be condemned is where the outcome wound up going. Maybe it wasn't by intention. If you know there is something about your message that pushes people away from God, maybe the problem is your understanding of God's message and the way we are called to witness.
To confuse matters, you can't just say all nondenominationals are conservatives because springing out of that mess is the emergent evangelical movement. Emergents focus more on God's grace and love. In some areas they don't go as far as more progressive denominations, but they are getting closer and closer. The conservative evangelicals call the emergent evangelicals heretics. Yeah. Really.
My first brush in life with conservative evangelicals (CEs from now on, my own abbreviation, no one else will know what you mean) was in college. I was walking alone across campus on a Saturday morning. All of a sudden a group of people with high tech camera equipment descend on me and yelled, "Do you know who Jesus is?!" It was morning and I'm a smart ass so I replied, "Yeah, I might have heard of him," and kept walking. They kept blocking my path (I'm not a morning person so this was really ticking me off.) "Don't you know who Jesus is?" They pushed again. The tone was really condescending which is part of the reason I have never forgotten this encounter. I responded with the usually litany about who Jesus is and confirmed I believed. Without knowing me at all, they assumed I was not Christian. That always bothered me. Why would you open a conversation that way? Why would you spend your whole life assuming you knew more than those around you? They asked a series of questions, feeling more like an Inquisition than anything else. Get these right or we won't let you leave! it seemed. Finally they wanted to know how I witness the gospel. "Through actions and love and not by attacking people with video equipment. Good-bye." And I pushed my way out of the little circle and went on my way.
I have so many problems with this. CEs have all these Biblical arguments for acting the way that they act. Unfortunately it is all utterly simplistic and formulaic. Do this. Say this. Believe this and presto - you are saved. It's a heck of a lot of me needing to do something in order that God will then do something. And while I think this is totally off base, the truth is it is wicked easy! I get to have control over the whole process. Woo hoo. It doesn't demand an critical thinking or moral reasoning skills at all. So, I get why this is so appealing to American Christians. We are, after all, lazy thinkers.
The trouble is, God makes it clear (if you read cover to cover, story to story and not just pick random verses from the Bible) that you can't do any of it yourself. You can't make a decision. You can't do good works. You can't save souls. We can't find a way to go up to God, God always comes down to us. God does it all through grace and nothing I can do will change that. The Bible even points out that the ability to have faith in the first place is a gift of God. I can't "decide" to have faith. This is why I am not going to judge God's plans. I don't know what happens when we die, but I doubt I am "saved" and Gandhi is not. If that's the way God works, I think I'd have to tell God to let me trade places with Gandhi because he deserves heaven more than I do. But CEs limit God. Gandhi didn't believe in Jesus, so too bad for him, done deal. Really? He lived a life that was the epitome of what Jesus called for but some would claim he knew nothing of God. It's ridiculous. It requires effort to not think to believe that.
Religious thinkers (and lay people) used to understand that the Bible was simply a tool for learning about God and having a greater understanding of how we should attempt to live our lives. No one ever thought the thing was literal. Every single reading of the Bible is an interpretation. And the Bible itself intentionally holds interpretations because there is not supposed to be one simple, formulaic answer. And that's what the CEs don't get. But they also put up walls, calling anyone who puts care and love above dogmatic rule, heretics. It is exactly why most people believe all Christians are highly judgmental. It's why there is so much religious strife. They are so convinced they are "right" they don't need to hear from anyone else. And if we used our own moral reasoning skills (which I think are God-given in the first place) CEs may be overly concerned about getting something wrong. Gasp. The horror. As if trying to be overly extreme on Biblical teaching hasn't lead to wrong thinking either. I was actually once told that it takes more faith to see all the scientific evidence of when and how the earth has developed and the life on the earth has developed and still take Genesis literally. I don't think so. I think it takes more faith to realize we don't get to have all the answers neatly summed up and still believe there is a higher power. Because if Genesis isn't true, that persons faith pulls apart at the seams. Mine doesn't. That person cannot engage with anyone who presents differing views because they cannot handle questioning their faith. It tends to lead to attacks on people.
I think we only get it completely wrong when we don't think or engage, when we think God is easy or simple to understand, and worst of all, when we harness God for our own objectives. Religion should be what sets you free, free of your fears and shortcomings, to do what God needs done on earth - the free and unconditional expression of love. Being a voice for the voiceless. Standing with the outcast. Caring for the forgotten. If your religion is based on strict dogmatic thinking as the point, then that religion has already failed in its purpose. Even the Pharisees eventually got it right. (You won't find it in the Bible. They held to dogmatic thinking above all else and Jesus said they were wrong. But I recently learned about their history after the fall of the temple. They actually became protectors of the same message Jesus preached. Though, not of his divinity, they remained Jews.) Right thinking or even right living isn't the point. Care of others, thinking beyond yourself, is more of the point. Of course, I could be wrong... but I'm okay with that.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Caution: sick house
I have nothing to report except that I am sick. Matt is sick. Gabe is sick. Chi is sick. Gabe came down with the flu Sunday and missed the whole week of school. Actually his fever had been down and he was doing better Thursday morning so we sent him, and he was sent home early because his chills and fever came back. So he stayed home Friday. He looks better today and hasn't had a fever since Thursday, but I really didn't expect that last relapse, so I'm cautiously optimistic.
Matt has been sick most of the week, but has been taking it in stride. Still working and trying to take care of the rest of us. Normally when he's sick he is so cranky I feel like quarantining him on a count of that alone, so this is great. Though I am worried it will mean a longer recovery time for him.
I have not felt this bad in a long time. On Wednesday, Matt had an extra long day at work and I had both boys, and searing joint pain. I could barely move. I'm slowly recovering, but still have headaches due to the congestion.
Chi, we hoped was coming through unscathed. But Thursday night he woke up with a fever and threw up. He was so awful yesterday, but today he seems to have really bounced back. Probably because he kept sucking down juice all day yesterday and all night long. He really got fluids. He's not totally healthy, but he's probably recovering faster than the rest of us.
So, now all I want to do is air out the house and Lysol like crazy, but it's snowing again. I hate winter. It's just not sanitary to live in a shut up house for this long. I feel like it's Narnia and the Snow Queen is making it winter forever, and I really have no love for Narnia anyway. I really don't want it in real life.
Matt has been sick most of the week, but has been taking it in stride. Still working and trying to take care of the rest of us. Normally when he's sick he is so cranky I feel like quarantining him on a count of that alone, so this is great. Though I am worried it will mean a longer recovery time for him.
I have not felt this bad in a long time. On Wednesday, Matt had an extra long day at work and I had both boys, and searing joint pain. I could barely move. I'm slowly recovering, but still have headaches due to the congestion.
Chi, we hoped was coming through unscathed. But Thursday night he woke up with a fever and threw up. He was so awful yesterday, but today he seems to have really bounced back. Probably because he kept sucking down juice all day yesterday and all night long. He really got fluids. He's not totally healthy, but he's probably recovering faster than the rest of us.
So, now all I want to do is air out the house and Lysol like crazy, but it's snowing again. I hate winter. It's just not sanitary to live in a shut up house for this long. I feel like it's Narnia and the Snow Queen is making it winter forever, and I really have no love for Narnia anyway. I really don't want it in real life.
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