Pages

5.27.2005

This is supposed to be about scrapbooking...

Since my blog really is supposed to be about scrapbooking, here's a page I made a while back using the Grace alpha stamps from LaPluma.

Come Fly With Me

Five Little Words I Can't Stand Seeing...

This. Page. Is. Not. Available.

Uggh!

When 2Peas is down I get a little crazy. (I'd put a link to 2Peas, but it's down so what's the point?)

I often wondered if other scrap sites notice a spike in their stats when 2Peas is off-line?? All those bored peas, wandering aimlessly thru cyberspace with nothing to do. It's not like we have a hobby or something.

Come on Jeffrey. Hurry.

Chant with me.

Hur - ry Jeff - ry
Hur - ry Jeff - ry
Hur - ry Jef - ry

This and That...

Little catching up to do...

One of the pastors at our church, Kevin Twit, and his family have adopted a little girl from China! Here's their story of this beautiful journey. Adoption stories are precious to me. There's something so special, so miraculous that takes place in adoptive Christian families. What better picture of God's grace could there be? How beautiful it is.

I have discovered a new/old thing...Vintage Tupperware. When I was little, my mom bought some Tupperware. Yellow, orange, brown, green...those beautiful decorator colors from the late 70s. Until now, golden harvest yellow and avacado green have had NO place in my house. It's something I've avoided at all costs. I've even made fun of mom's collection, although I must conceed that it's held up very well under years of heavy use. Suddenly, after attending a Tupperware party last week, I decided to check eBay for Tupperware. (I generally operate under the premise that one can find positively anything on eBay.) Sure enough, loads and loads of Tupperware for sale there. Then something caught my eye. "Vintage Tupperware".

Oh my.

It's avacado green, harvest gold, chocolate brown and lemon yellow come to life again! Can it really be called "vintage"? Well, it is pretty old stuff (as stuff goes) and yes, Tupperware is now a multi-generational product...so while "antique" would be stretching it a bit...vintage fits nicely.

Oh and the best part...that orange, brown, gold and green Tupperware that I used to detest so much...suddenly has a familiar charm to it. It feels like home.

And it's going to go perfectly in my kitchen.

5.18.2005

Red Alert!!

"Can I take a test drive, Mom?"

Now there's a question that'll set your world on its ear...especially coming from your 9 year old.

Such was the question earlier today. It was an addition to the conversation we had yesterday about the extent of his biking priviledges.

Yesterday's conversaion:

Julian: Mom, can I drive down the driveway?

Mom: OK, but be sure to stop at the end. Do not go past the mailbox.

Julian: When can I go around the block?

Mom: (cough cough) Why do you want to go around the block?

Julian: To explore the neighborhood.

Mom: Huh. Well. (stammering, trying to think of a good excuse not to encourage neighborhood adventures...) Um. Maybe we should let you and Daddy take a few test rides around the neighborhood. (Yeah, put it off on Daddy...that works.)

Julian: OK

So today, he asks for permission to take a "test drive" just to end of the driveway. I said OK as I watched from the window in my workspace. I dare say God hears more fervant prayers from the mothers of boys than from any other class of humans. The term "wailing and knashing of teeth" comes to mind.

Alone.

An exceptionally inquisative, brave and daring, always-pushing-my-limits, nine-year-old-boy-on-a-bike-exploring-the-neighborhood...alone.

Shouldn't that cause enough alarm to raise the National Alert System to at least red?

(In my best Will Riker voice..."Red A-lert")

Look out Neighborhood. You don't know what you're in for.

5.17.2005

Beatiful Racket



A fellow Pea, Sabren, posted this song in her blog a few days ago and while I am a Mary Chapin Carpenter fan, somehow I have missed out that she has a new record out. (We’ll remedy that tomorrow.) This song is on her record…if every there was a perfect song for me and a perfect scrapbook page title, this is it!!

Beautiful Racket

So your day begins like this
Wondering what might have been
Old regrets and chances missed
Borne away on some lambent wind
The job's ok, so it doesn't inspire
Thoughts of leaving it all behind
You used to have dreams of setttin the world on fire
All you want now is peace of mind

Chorus:
And a beautiful racket, it whispers and roars
The bitter and sweet, between the truces and the wars
The noise and the quiet, the courage and the fear
And all of the wisdom between a smile and a tear

You do your dreaming in traffic jams
You do your running in shopping malls
You do your breathing the best you can
Between car pools and cell phone calls
Who cares, you'll never live in Paris
So what, you'll never travel by Lear
How do some of us learn what matters
While others never get to hear

And a beautiful racket, it whispers and roars
The bitter and sweet, between the truces and the wars
The noise and the quiet, the courage and the fear
And all of the wisdom between a smile and a tear

Hold on, hold on
So your day will end like this
Turning slowly down your street
Silent worlds of kitchens lit
Front yards full of fallen leaves
Trees are bare, the garden's done
Another season gone to earth
Before you blink a new one comes
To remind you what the old one's worth

And a beautiful racket, it whispers and roars
The bitter and sweet, between the truces and the wars
The noice and the quiet, the courage and the fear
And all of the wisdom between a smile and a tear

Such a beautiful racket...such a beautiful racket...

Driving Me to Drink


Get out the quart Mason jar.
Fill with ice cubes.
Fill with cold water.
Drink.
Repeat 8 times a day.
At least.

I’m a drinker. Betcha didn’t know that about me…huh? Constant thirst--it’s one of the glorious side effects of being diabetic.

I’ve found that I adore drinking from a Mason jar, as “Mississippi” as that sounds. Saves having to refill 42 thousand times a day.

5.14.2005

LaPluma DT

LaPluma is a company owned by Debra Beagle, a friend I met thru the TennScrapbooking Yahoo Group. Debra is, among many other things, the author of "Hand Lettering Made Easy". LaPluma produces a variety of magnetic alpha stamp sets that are perfect for scrapbooking and cardmaking.

It’s O-f-f-i-c-i-a-l!

I was honored to hear from Holle Wiktorek this week that I was chosen to be a part of the LaPluma Design Team. How cool is that?!!




5.13.2005

Rankin County Angel

It’s been a while since I thought about the anonymous angel we know in Rankin County, Mississippi. On 2peas tonight there was a story linked from the NY Post that told of a little girl choking to death on a piece of hard peppermint this week. It reminded me of J’s angel…a story I should probably scrapbook.

When J was about 2.5, Joal and I took him with us to eat at our favorite hole-in-the-wall Mexican place. Cafe Azteca in Brandon. This was our favorite Mexican joint while we were in college…good food cheap, no dress code…perfect college cuisine. It’s a small place consisting of maybe 15 tables in a room about the size of a large garage and they did a booming take-out business.

During our meal one night, J began to choke on a piece of a tortilla chip. He was really blue before we could get him out of the seatbelt in the chair and up. Having had the child safety training class when he was born, I knew what to do...or so I thought. I got him up, laid him over my arm and pressed but nothing happened.

In this moment, my baby is obviously distressed, in the periphery of my mind I can hear Joal praying, the waitress calling 911 and while the whole room watches, I am having no success getting his airway unobstructed.

From another table, a woman approaches me and says “I’m a nurse. Can I try?” I handed my baby to a perfect stranger and watched as she performed the Heimlich perfectly and up came the chip. She slips a finger into his mouth and pulls it out. Then she hands me a screaming bundle of 2 year old boy. Screaming is definitely a great sound in some situations.

Now, and even then, the words “Thank you” seemed so shallow and so unequal to the task of saving a baby’s life. What do I say to this woman? I had no clue.

Needless to say, the Devendorf family meal was over. That was a bit too much excitement for us. Joal was pretty shaken up during the event. Julian was calming. I had yet to completely comprehend…that’s me…always behind. On our way out, I asked the lady her name and she said “Sweetie, don’t worry about. I’m glad I was here to help. You just take care of that baby.”

With great humility, we paid our tab and hers and slowly made our way home. About halfway home, my brain caught up with the details and I realized that the evening could have had a very different ending.

God is good.
And somewhere in Rankin County Mississippi is a woman who doubles as an angel.
A woman who quietly saved a tiny little boy’s life.
A life that is very precious to me.

I pray for her. I pray that God will return to her a thousand fold the blessing that she gave us that night. She will never be forgotten.

I’m grateful that she was present and willing and trained. As I think about it now, it takes some fortitude to walk up to a stranger and say “Can I try this on your baby?”

Yes, we took the Red Cross Child Safety/CPR classes when J was born. I still remember the head-knowledge of what to do and how. However, when it’s your heart and soul turning blue, it’s different.

Choking can happen to anyone at any time. Choking is especially harmful to children. Not just hard candy, but all sorts of foods…hot dogs, jelly beans, nuts, fruities, ice cubes, chips, and so many other things.

Be ever watchful.
For choking babies.
And for quiet angels.