Prudence or paranoia?

The older I get the more, well, "prudent" I get:) Up until recently my only ICE (in case of emergency) supplies was an extra bag of chips. Now I have about a month's worth of food and water. Recently a good fried sent me their family list of ICE supplies and I noticed some holes in mine so I am building mine up a little more.

This is something I think about on a semi-regular basis. When do we just go on faith that everything is in God's hands and when should we be prudent? For instance jumping out of an airplane and relying on God would be a bit foolish in my eyes. But you could also go on the other end and have a stockpile of food for 6+ months and uber-goony guns of a small well funded army. I know people that I think may fall on both ends of the spectrum, especially these days. There are probably more than you think on the gun side. Don't believe me? Try buying some 9mm ammo. You are looking at a 2-3 month wait. So this is not just your Ruby Ridge gun hording people, this might be your neighbor. Part of it might be the fear that our Democratic Congress and/or president might put some old and/or new gun bands in place. But I digress...

Back to the original post. Let's use the H1N1 flu for instance. Yesterday I posted on Facebook "is anyone else nervous/paranoid about the flu." I got responses from God is in charge to load the guns. So I ask (you don't have to actually respond) what is prudent and when does it cross the line to not trusting God. You could stay at home until this passes or go about your life as normal. But wouldn't you feel bad if you did the later and your child became the 2nd or even the one millionth death in the US? So faith or prudence, here are a few examples to mull over....

• Do you lock your doors?
• Do you get a flu shot?
• Do you have regular check ups with the Doctor?
• If there is an illness at your kid's school would you keep them home?
• Do you have emergency supplies?
• Do you have smoke/CO2 detectors in your house? Do you test them monthly?
• If there was no helmet law would you wear one on a motorcycle/ATV/bicycle?

Sorry about all the questions this early but what can I say.... I don't have many adults to talk to during the day:)

A couple of funny pics from yesterday... William asked for me to take a picture of his elbow to see his owie. Then I heard something during nap time to find Jackson sleeping at the top of the stairs. Never a dull moment:)



I always admired atheists. I think it takes a lot of faith.
Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, Northern Exposure, Seoul Mates, 1991

Al

I love CEREAL!

Why clean?

We seem to be assisting several colonies of ants in survival. It seems every time I turn around I need to put another ant bait somewhere. We live in a 20 year old home so it is not exactly air and bug tight. Between our dog and the Triplets I sometimes vacillate between being a clean freak and saying oh well, I will just clean that after the next meal.

Part of what I am up against is a dog that likes to play with his food. He takes pieces into other rooms of the house them throws them in the air to try and catch them. He is a VERY good only dog:) The other and more challenging obstacle(s) is (are) the Triplets. They LOVE Cheerios, Goldfish, and other crumbly snacks. So I find them everywhere! It is almost like they hide them from me. Not to mention the VERY annoying gravity storms they have where they fall down for no reason or the cup/bag leaps from their hands "on its own." We had this happen at Church Sunday with a bag of Cheerios. It turned out to be a good thing as Jackson was occupied for the next 10 minutes cleaning them up:)

Add to all this keeping the Toddlers clean.... Yes, those specks on her neck are from blueberry pancakes. She even had it IN her ears and on her legs. COME ON! Are you kidding me?




Everyone is born with genius, but most people only keep it a few minutes.
Edgard Varese (1883 - 1965)

Al

Is it bad when a Toddler's lips turn blue?

The CFO panicked a little when she came home to find William looking like this. She did not have the benefit as I did of seeing him enjoying one of his Easter gifts - a ring pop! Of course then Jackson also wanted blue lips/tongue. What a bunch of sheep Toddlers are:)


Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.
James M. Barrie (1860 - 1937)

Al

How much is too much?

Our Church is getting ready for a big yard sale so the CFO and I are taking the opportunity to donate all the stuff we de-cluttered when we moved here. Heck, we rented a 10x10 in Dallas to declutter so we could sell the house. That is ridiculous! We have talked about having our own yard sale but the thought of doing all that seemed too much. God provides:)

This way we give to the Church and it's ministries while taking a burden off of us. Burden you say? YES! Almost every Sunday and Wednesday (if not most other days) I (we) feel guilty as we walk by the pile (mountain) of excess in the basement on the way to our cars. Seriously. It is a bit of a sad statement that we (most Americans) have so much while others have so little. As our Preacher says "Americans are the only Christians that think we should have (deserve) a better life because we are Christians." Most of the world expects it to be tougher to believe in Christ and be about his work. Maybe that is it.... it is pretty easy to believe.... but to walk the walk (to the cross) is the tough part, at least for me:)

At the festival last weekend the kids got to "ride" the old firetruck again. This year we did individual pictures.

It was on my fifth birthday that Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Remember, my son, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.'
Sam Levenson (1911 - 1980)

Al

Woke up late.... will post in a bit:)

Just a stick? I think not!

I am always amazed by how my kids can turn anything into a toy. Now I see why a friend and neighbor of mine in Seattle called rocks, sticks, broken glass and bottle tops "farm toys." William decided that his stick was a comb last weekend and he REALLY needed to brush the CFO's hair:)





When everyone is against you, it means that you are absolutely wrong-- or absolutely right.
Albert Guinon (1863 - 1923)

Al

With girls, they learn so early......

Funny moments from the weekend

I have always loved adding subtitles to pictures or movies with the sound turned off (don't ask, it is from my college days.) The kids just make it even more fun.

Fireman: "If you see smoke, get out of the house"
William: "So it sounds like I first need to memorize a blue print of our house, then come up with several exit strategies depending on the circumstances."

Abbie and Addison: "You go girl!, no, you go girl!

William: "Taking into consideration my mass, the pitch of the slide, and the composite material is made of I might have a chance at reaching terminal velocity... this could be tricky."

Jackson: "Was that funny to you... did I make you laugh funny man?"

William: "Am I the only one here concerned by the fact that a man is dressing up as a dog to get closer to children?"

The United States is a nation of laws: badly written and randomly enforced.
Frank Zappa (1940 - 1993)

Al

Trip to the in-laws.

We love many things about where we live. One of the things we love is that we are only about 2hrs from the CFO's family. That way we can do day trips like we did Saturday. We were going to go up for the night Friday but the kid's day out school had a program that ran longer than expected on Friday so the CFO had to work later than expected that night.

The Triplets had a great time as usual visiting family and the Dogwood Festival. Jackson might even get in some local advertising! They were painting at one of the booths and the owner of the business asked us if she could use him in some advertising. All pro-bono of course. It is about time for him to get some face time. Addison and William have already had their time in the spotlight. The funniest time was in the Fire Department's trailer where they were talking about fire safety. YES, we know they are only 2 1/2 but hey, you can never start too early. They use a fog machine to mimic smoke. Jackson flipped out! But it was funny.

They got to ride a train, go on a slide that is WAY too high for toddlers (the CFO was on the protective detail), paint and even eat cotton candy. (I know I am getting slack with their eating:)

You know that children are growing up when they start asking questions that have answers.
John J. Plomp

Al

Gone off the deep end.

Our Preacher one Wednesday night commented about how "going off the deep end" might not be that bad of a thing considering that if you don't then you are just shallow:) The problem with the Christian deep end is that the deep seems to be looking inside yourself. Think of it as a whole body scan by Jesus. If that doesn't scare the heeby geebies out of you then I don't know what does. I am just glad I learned about Grace before starting to evaluate my own glass house.

Our current class is talking about the parables of Jesus. It seems that Jesus likes not only stirring the pot but tipping it over, kicking it down the stairs, out the front door and watching it as it rolls down the hill. I mean come on, why can't this stuff be easy?

Take for instance the parable of the workers in the vinyard. Matthew 20:16 "So the last will be first, and the first will be last." I always thought that meant that God just inverted the field. That we are use to and we can relate to. But oh no, that is way too simple. It is first=last=first=last. WHAT! This sounds like Communism:) But I have always heard that God is just but that "fair" is something that comes to town once a year.

One of my other challenges is reining in my sarcasm and antagonistic nature. If I let it run wild I would say something like "so if everyone has a get ouf jail free card then why am I trying to do the right thing?" Two words to pick out of that statement "trying" and "right". I will always say I "try" because I slip up, a lot. But the Bible is full of people who really muck things up so I figure I am in good company:) The other word "right" or you could use the word "good" has really been tough to use since reading The Shack. Not to mention what Jesus said in Matthew 19:17 "Why do you ask me about what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good."

In some ways I feel like I have had a burden lifted from me. There is no way for me to determine what is good. Boy, that can be either be uplifting or drive you crazy.

I do the best I can with what God gives me,

Al

PS Sorry for the rambling nature of this but it is how I think.. I tend to jump around a lot:)

What happens when the Triplets stay up late?

We went up to the in-laws for the Dogwood Festival in Athens yesterday. We left at 7am and got back at 11pm. So the Triplets were up till around 10pm as they were wound up from M&Ms and chocolate chip cookies from their Mimi and Granddaddy. Not to mention all the fun with their twin cousins Kate and Abbie. So you would think they may sleep in.... or at least sleep till their normal time... oh no.... they wake up at 5:30 am.

No pics yet... I am too tired:)

Al

Do I need help?

I realize more and more that I am making it through the minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, etc.... through centrifugal force. I am a wheel and if I stop spinning I fall down. For instance yesterday the kids had a program at their day out school. I dropped them off at 10am and the program was from 11 - 12. Most people would relax, read a book, get a coffee or something like that before the show. Me? Oh no... I drive to my Mom's apartment complex and wash the minivan. I also give her truck a quick wash before heading back to watch the kids. The CFO met us there and everyone had a great time.

So if I am being honest with myself I am not sure if I am always doing something because there is so much to get done or that I am afraid of doing nothing. I am seriously happier when I am getting stuff done. Maybe I am making up for all the time prior to Graduation from College:) Or maybe my first job (stayed there 11 years) made me a work-a-holic and a multi-tasking junkie.

I am a little envious of the people that truly live in the moment. I am much better than I use to be but I am still a work in progress. But then again, aren't we all.

No matter what the reason I do not think I want to change. People like me have a place deep inside of us that believes if we stop doing what we do the world will fall apart. Wait, that might not be that bad of a thing:)

Triplets is not just 3 times one child, think of it as one child to the third power,

Al

Egg Hunts #3, #4 and #5

The last egg hunts were at Mimi and Granddaddy's. I say hunts because they hunted for eggs, then Easter baskets then eggs with money in them. The Triplets had a GREAT time with they Twin Cousins. Addison does not get much time with girls so she really enjoyed some girl time!







Jackson brought in the most loot with $6! Time to start the Dave Ramsey money jar for the kids.

When you're through changing, you're through.
Bruce Barton

Al

Easter Egg Hunt #2

The first one was at Church last Wednesday night in their classroom. Our small group from Church had one at our house on Saturday. The kids LOVED it! I just had to warn everyone not to pick up any "brown eggs" they may find. We have a dog and I clean up the poop every other day but I always seem to miss some:) One of the Mothers in our group put together the eggs with "treats" in them and she did a GREAT job. Yes, she sometimes reads this blog but she really did do a great job with them. Some had pretzels, others had cheeze-its (she had to hide the box from her husband or he would have eaten them all) and some had candy. Yes, he also reads the blog and he is the one who told me she hid the box from him.

The Triplets are still working on their egg hunting game plan. They vacillate between just standing there and pointing when they find an egg, stopping each time they find one to eat what is inside and just gathering them in the basket. We found all of their tactics to be funny. It seemed to break down like this:

• Addison - she points, says EGG!, then waits for instructions
• Jackson - runs from egg to egg collecting as many as possible and getting VERY mad if someone gets to it first.
• William - it is all about the food! At the birthday party earlier that day he ate his piece, 1/2 of my piece, then when Jackson and Addison got up to play he ate what was left on their plates:)

Now for what you really want... pictures:)

The best defense against the atom bomb is not to be there when it goes off.
Anonymous

Al

What color were your Easter Eggs?

To dye or not to dye, that was the question....

I truly love the CFO. Without her the Triplets would not have near as much fun. She is much more spontaneous than I am and she does not share my sense of realism (pessimism as she sees it.) I look at any given situation and I can usually predict the outcome or at least see the potential for things to go wrong. I always say "the truth hurts some people, I have learned to live with it."

Take for instance dying Easter eggs. My idea was to have the kids "help" by dropping the eggs in the dye but we would then take over from there. But the CFO wanted them to do everything. I thought about it and quickly pieced together the worst case scenario, I could live with it.... So we took the plunge..

I made a few "suggestions" and away we went. The smocks from Mrs. Netherton really came in handy!



They even used the metal egg picker-upper thingies, for a while.....

But just when you thought things were going too well...... Yep, they started using their hands. No big deal until the CFO asks "uh, how long will this dye stay on their hands?" It is almost off now:)

If I am not part of the problem then how can I come up with the solution.
Paraphrased from a dear friend

Al