I Shall Be Random, Vol. 7

~ 1 ~

Last evening, Josiah and David's choir rehearsal schedule was a little different than normal because of their upcoming concert, so I ended up with a gap of time after picking up David before Josiah was done--the perfect amount of time in which to take David and go Christmas shopping (for him to pick out gifts for his brothers).  He wanted to go to Walmart; and as we were walking into the store, a big white van, not unlike our own, pulled up at the entrance.  The doors opened, and the bonnets poured forth.  A group of Old Order Mennonite ladies had evidently arranged for a ride to the store to do some shopping.  I glanced at them and smiled, grateful once again for the cultural influence that the Old Orders bring to our community; but what really caught my attention was an Old Order man, his young daughter held securely in his arms.  Her pink bonnet couldn't hide the shy smile on her face as she leaned down to place some money in the red bucket of the Salvation Army booth outside the store.

Even if I had had a camera, I wouldn't have taken a picture out of respect for their beliefs.  But my heart went *click* and captured the beauty of the moment.

~ 2 ~

Speaking of big white vans...  I've been driving ours quite a bit recently and have discovered an advantage to doing so.  Now when I drive our minivan, I feel like I'm zooming along in a little Miata or something similar.  :) The minivan is so small!  And so low to the ground--no stepstools required to get in it!  And it accelerates so quickly!

It's really amazing what a change of perspective will do!  :)

~ 3 ~

One of my goals for 2014 is to read the entire Bible, and I've already discovered a little trick that will help me accomplish that.  I started early.  :)

On Thanksgiving night, I opened the One Year Bible that I plan to use and went ahead and did the first day's reading.  Why wait for January 1?

It's a great feeling to already be up to January 6's reading.  Maybe I'll actually be able to finish by December 31, 2014!  :)

~ 4 ~

On Sunday, Jeff's mom treated us to lunch at Aroma, a local buffet restaurant.  At the end, the waitress brought fortune cookies; and we cheerfully broke them open to read the sayings inside.  I believe it was Tobin who got the one I liked the best:  "Time to tie up those loose ends into beautiful bows."  After a few weeks of extra-busy schedule and extra-special activities, it's plain to see that I've got a number of loose ends around here that need to be tied into beautiful bows!  I'm gonna get right on that.  Tomorrow.  :)

~ 5 ~

Who has the job of writing the sayings that go inside fortune cookies anyway?  Where do they get all those thoughts from?  (Google searches maybe?)  :)

~ 6 ~

While we were eating at Aroma, Shav leaned over to me and said in a mournful voice, "This world is just going too fast."  I wasn't sure where he was coming from with his comment, so I tried to hide the smile on my face as I questioned him a little further.  Turns out he was already sorrowful over the fact that Grandma Fisher would be leaving in a few days, because "I like her SO much!" he informed me.

A time or two since then, I've heard him making the same complaint: "The world is going too fast."

It IS hard to believe that four weeks have passed since we welcomed Grandma Fisher into our home for her annual visit.  Tonight we had to take some pictures before we let her go back to California.

She...

...is...

...LOVED!  :)

~ 7 ~

During the first few days of a new month, right after I change my blog header and background, I often find myself clicking on my blog at various times throughout the day, just so I can see how it looks again.  I know how it looks, of course; but there's a sense of satisfaction that comes from seeing the real thing in front of me--kind of like when I organize a closet or cupboard and then find numerous reasons to go open it and admire the neatness.  Silly.  :)

Previous "I Shall Be Random" posts:  1...2...3...4...5...6.