I Shall Be Random

~ 1 ~

We have neighbors!  Our nice, new, northern neighbors moved into the house vacated by my parents who, by their move across the parking lot into my dad's old office, have now become our northwest neighbors.  The family that moved in is actually the family that lived there before my parents moved into that house (and my parents moved into that because Jeff and I and the two sons we had at the time were returning from Israel, and my parents had offered to sell us the big house and move into the smaller one...I had always imagined that it might work the other way--that we would live in the little gray house until we could find a larger house in the area--but my parents' generous offer was welcomed by us, and it's turned out splendidly for all of us).  Anyway, when Dad and Mom moved into the gray house, Alex and Ana and their family moved into a home that was the parsonage for a church just down the road from us; none of the church staff needed that house, so it was available to rent.  A few years later, we and my parents started attending that church (and my parents are still members there), and my dad kept in touch with Alex sporadically through the years, enough so that when Alex heard Dad and Mom were moving into the reconverted office, he expressed interest in moving back out to the gray house when it became available again.  Turns out that a new pastor at that church is in need of a place to live so he will end up living in the parsonage that Alex and family just vacated.  A classic case of perfect timing (a.k.a. God working out all the details)!

~ 2 ~

My boys like to remind me of how, one day when we were reading the Bible together at the beginning of our homeschool day, I tried to read the account of Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac; but as I read, I started crying so much that I couldn't even finish and Josiah had to read the rest.  I'm not sure I'll ever live that one down.  I'm also not sure that I'll ever be able to read that story without tears filling my eyes and threatening to spill and a large lump blocking my throat.  

That's not the only story in the Bible that gets me.  Joseph's reunion with his family is another one that, no matter how much I try to strengthen my resolve not to get emotional, I never can make it through without experiencing that familiar tightening of my throat, and I start to blink rapidly to hold back the tears.  Last night, inspired by my friend Margie and her appreciation of Walter Wangerin's books, I was reading The Book of God.  I was glad that all the boys were tucked in for the night and even Jeff was asleep on the couch so that no one could see the actual tears that were rolling down my cheeks as I read about Joseph.

As I'm getting older, I'm finding it easier to relate to the Biblical characters as real people and to connect with the strong emotions behind many of the events recorded in the Bible.  If I'm this connected to emotions when I'm 34, how will I be when I'm 54 or 84?  Maybe by then, all I'll have to do is pick up the Bible, and the tears will start flowing.  :)

~ 3 ~

David could never be accused of lacking imagination.  No, not when he holds out his nibbled-on PopTart and says, "Look, Mom, it's Oklahoma!"

Or when he runs his finger through his salad dressing to draw out a "nose" and exclaims, "I've made Pinnochio!"

And then comes his famous question:  "Will you take a picture?"  :)

~ 4 ~

Five days ago, it was 72 degrees outside.  That's why, in the first picture in this post, David was barefoot as he raced pell-mell down the hill to greet our new neighbors.  That taste of spring didn't last long, however, and yesterday we were back to this...

...a little bit of snow on top of the freezing rain that fell and coated everything. 

Ice made this bare brown stalk (below) look like, in my opinion, a bony chicken foot.

It transformed this patio table into a frozen cascading waterfall.

It made this green picnic table look like the open mouth of a large-toothed crocodile.

And it made this weed (yes, this same weed that I keep photographing) finally bow its head under so much weight and lie gently on the ground.  I think it looks like a strand of rock candy, and I'm seized with a mighty craving whenever I look at this picture!

~ 5 ~

Have you heard the one about Joel Northrup?  He forfeited a chance to win a state wrestling championship because he wouldn't, "as a matter of conscience and [his] faith," wrestle a girl. And to that, I say:  

Good for you, Joel!  I commend you for your actions and sacrifice and respectful manner in which you communicated your decision.  Thanks for being a young man that holds up the kind of standard that I hope my own four young men will hold to as well.  In my book, you're a star.