sore thumb

Just finished my Monday class.  Two hours of hissing, gargling and sticking my tongue out.  Sounds more like an exorcism.  LZ, my teacher, gave me a 2 1/2 page review towards the end of class and when I got a word or sound just right, she'd have this happy smile that shone through her eyes.  I love that. Monday is Lily's full day of preschool.  She goes without a fuss which makes it so much easier on me.  I'm hoping she doesn't figure out what a push-over I am when it comes to her little sad eyes.  I do miss her on Monday afternoons. Maddie's been planning her 7th birthday for several weeks now.  Now it's less than 2 weeks away.  7 years old.  I have a 7 year old.  Wow. Matt Redman's newest album, 10,000 reasons, is amazing.   Sunshine, blue sky, falling leaves...praises

Many mornings in this country start off with the fresh morning breezes of sewage smell.  This morning is no exception.  No one, at least no one I know, is quite sure of the reason.  There's a rumor that fountain water is recycled sewage water.  There are a lot of fountains in our complex but since my girls and I have played in that water, I'd rather be ignorant and think the smell comes from somewhere else. We have a turkey in our freezer.  Many, many people have not eaten turkey.  In fact, I would dare to say that more people in the world have not eaten turkey than have eaten turkey.  Am I blowing your mind?  Well, most folks here haven't eaten turkey, but they are raised here by some, and have you ever seen a picture of an African eating a turkey leg?  No.  My point exactly.  But, we eat them and so when a friend said the village he was visiting had turkeys running loose, eating whatever they'd like off the land and streets (organic, free-range is the fancy way to s

When your baby is actually a baby, naps are really important.  A baby needs lots of sleep.  It's a bonus for the parents because when the baby rests, we get to rest, too. When your babies aren't so much babies anymore, rest time is really not for the kid at all.  It's totally for the parents.  That's where I'm at today. This morning started with high emotions and hasn't gotten much better.  We're at the tail end of a week holiday and Monday morning is like the light at the end of the tunnel.  There are those moments of sweetness, moments of "ahhh, our children are radiantly glorious" but their shininess quickly fades when the tattling and arguing over who Ken and Barbie belong to, begins.  I know, I know they grow up too fast, cherish these moments, blah, blah, blah.  I usually feel those things once they're peacefully asleep. So, on to other, more uplifting thoughts.  I've been thinking so much about the exploitation of women and child