He gave the best head-butts (almost giving his you a bloody nose if you weren’t expecting it). Max was a lover, he let the boys lay on him, pet him the wrong way it didn’t matter because he just wanted the lovin’. If anyone was crying he would come over and sit with you until you stopped, rubbing his head on your face the whole time. I really haven’t ever met a cat as friendly as Max.
This last week we had to put Max down, he was 12 and developed some major health problems, among them diabetes. We debated and knew that it just wasn’t right for him or for us to have to treat him for it.
We all imagine that Max has little wings and is flying above us in our dreams. I don’t care what anyone says, I think there will be animals in heaven. No question. I am
Thinking about running again and about sore muscles. It has been a long time.
Life has calmed down a little, the boys are older, they sleep through most nights and I need to take time to do something I haven’t done for 10 years: exercise. Yeah, that does sound bad, and it is bad to not be active at least for 30 minutes every day. In high school I ran like lions were chasing me, sometimes three times a day and it did pay off at state, but since then I was so burnt out on running that I swore (not literally) that I would rather do anything than go running.
The other day though, I was looking into the nike + ipod deal, where you can track your runs, your miles, your mph, time spent running, your highs and lows throughout your run and even the calories you burn! I am on my way today to pick up the nike+ ipod sports kit, which since we already have the ipod, will only be $29. I won’t splurge for the nike + equipped shoes, especially since I have never really been a nike believer, but there are options as to how to attach the little sensor to regular shoes, via pouch, incisions, or duck tape.
I have decided to do this running thing, not race, not compete, just run. Just for me. Skinny people can be completely out of shape too, I think that is a huge misconception in our culture, and yes I am skinny and I know that I am horridly out of shape. This whole running thing is going to hurt, and because I have known that for 10 years, that is why I haven’t done it.
Do you exercise? What is your favourite thing about exercising? what do you hate about it?
We are in Spain for the next bit, some of you have begged for pictures, others have done nothing short of threatening me….either way I feel the love, thanks! We have loved every day so far, and we are headed to Segovia to see the sights there, the castle there is impressive and the aqueduct is insanely cool. Stay tuned, I hope to have pictures up of that soon….depending on internet connection. Until then, enjoy a little tidbit of our journey in photos.
I will try to post pictures here again, but I will be uploading them all to my flickr album España.
If you want to see our pictures of Spain in your google (or selected) reader sign up for the RSS for the España flickr album.
The boys love the summer, the heat, the long days and most of all that they can play non-stop outside. They have been on a mission run, play and dig enough to last them throughout the rainy season. I don’t quite think it will work, but I don’t tell them that!
The Visitor Directed by Tom McCarthy Indie Drama PG 13 (for brief strong language) 103 Min. April, 2007
Awards: Best Music – 2008 St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Associat Best Original Screenplay – Tom McCarthy – 2008 San Diego Film Critics Association Best Independent Film – 2008 National Board of Review Best Director – 2008 Independent Spirit Awards
A grieving and bored-with-life professor (Richard Jenkins) is just getting by in life. He survives committing himself to nothing more than the minimum effort required to make it day by day- he eats, sleeps and works. When his boss sends him to represent a paper he co-authored he finds something waiting for him in his apartment. Unsure and very cautious he takes a full step forward, it is by mistake that he finds himself with the hope of human relationships. The need for family, for a human bond will make the widowed professor Walter Vale assess the real value of all that he has and has lost- and needs to get back.
This flick is the type where while (and after) you watch it you just can’t imagine how it could have not been brought to your attention before. I only have the Netflix automated suggestions computer to thank that I have even seen it now. For me there are films, flicks and movies…those which you choose because you just want to veg and sit and watch- they aren’t really worth the time, but they are just filler in a busy day. And then there are movies like The Visitor, which I watched almost two weeks ago and still I am thinking about it, chewing it, loving it. The actors, (Richard Jenkins, Haaz Sleiman, Danai Gurira and Hiam Abbass) although not really bigwigs, they did some of the best acting I have seen in a long time. Plot, acting and cinematography all work together to make The Visitor a flick worth its weight in books. Yes, this is a must see, period.
The Visitor is a story of grief, of relationship, of family and the loss that is felt when people leave. Holes which we think can never be filled again. In truth that exact place cannot be perfectly matched. But because we fear moving on it is easy to be trapped in a place where our joy is limited- by no one else but ourselves. Choosing to live in the past so as not to forget, so as not to move on. Fear and love hold tight, only to be broken open when the grieving person allows for joy to come back in.
When life takes turns to drastically satisfy are we ready to jump with it, or is the choice of ‘moving on’ just as hard as living a life in mourning?
I have a new award, I think you will like it and I am honoured to give it to this flick before any other one, yes this movie is to cluck about!
This is The Visitor trailer, however I will caution you that if you already want to see it after the review that you NOT watch it….I wish I had expereienced the film for the first time while watching it. I feel like too much is given away in the trailer. But if you aren’t convinced yet, after my review….check out the trailer, then you will be won over completely. Promise.
Only 3 weeks from today we will be getting on a plane and heading to Spain to enjoy the sights, the sounds, and the tastes of a country that up until now the boys have only seen in a fantasy world. I don’t know if they are expecting candy paved streets, trees producing toys year-round, or what. They are thrilled to go on our little 18 day journey to Spain.
There are some things I do know that they are looking for. What are they looking forward to? Well, grandma and grandpa and I know for sure that they are holding out for brave men in armor, these may be the most entertained children by medieval weaponry that the museum staff has ever seen! My dad is excited to bring them to see armor, I just hope he understands they are expecting to see armored soldiers from the point they get off of the airplane!
Lately we have resorted to doing flickr searches of “spain sword”, “spear spain”, “cannons”, “soldiers armor”, and “spain armor”. Did you know that the horses even had the most exquisite armor?? Yes, well we will know the ins and outs of armor, castles, battles, and any type of fight while growing these two boys-and it is silly to me that some people really believe that boys would rather play with a doll. We have one doll, it is a potty training doll (which didn’t work don’t buy it!) do you know what they do with her? They push her arms straight up, bend one leg down and leave the other straight back to form a “T” shape, then they use her as a gun. Yep, they would most certainly rather play with dolls. HA!
My little (not so little) Jackson loves making stuff. He makes draws pictures for Oliver when he is sick, or sad, or being grouchy. He is on a (not so loved by me) spiderman kick even though he has never seen spiderman, so he draws that all day. It ranges from pirates, to superheroes, to good ‘ol wild, wild west.
This time my boy made something for me. Jackson found each component on his own, working away then he beamed to present his gift to me. I beamed too .It is so cool, and it makes my heart drool that he made it on his own, thinking of me. The sweetest thing is how he smiles and really notices when I wear it, and I do- to book club, church, wherever.
I haven’t even been to this store, but my sister and brother in-law live in Brooklyn New York and so family goes to visit them sometimes (not as often as we need to) so for different gift giving events we have gotten some of the benefits of their travels. We love these dishes, made by Fishs Eddy, designed by Jordan Awan, the set is called Brooklyn. Sketched after the ever-growing-in-popularity city, this design is so plain and pretty that when I drink from the stuff it makes me smile. Possibly too because it makes me think of my family over there when I use it, but still, I just had to share how cool these items are.
I love the lip, I love liped mugs, it makes my mouth happy when I am drinking some precous hot beverage, or just milk too. And the salt shakers are fab, at first the boys just could not keep their fingers off of them, they were sure that there was a castle in the drawing somewhere!
Other dish sets from Fishs Eddy that are excellent:
Do you have a favourite set of dishes or mugs? Do you find their value is more sentimental sometimes?
Disclaimer: I was not paid, bought or asked to do this post, and I will receive no benefit in return other than sharing a good place and product with some friends. I hope you love it!
Our friends, the Bocks (they have known me since I was 5 years old!) are leading an amazing ministry in Spain and all throughout Europe known as On The Red Box: Proclaiming Christ on the Streets of Europe.
They gather and pray together and then use props to help the listeners remember and relate to the concept they hear. From my time in Spain I know that witnessing in this way is one of the most humbling things that one can do. You stand there and people who don’t even know what you are preaching yell at you as they walk past, they laugh at you and then you realize just how much you rely on approval, and on the common consensus being that you are cool. It always made me think of Jesus and how much more it would hurt him, because when He was being laughed at it was direct, when we are mocked it says in the Bible that they are persecuting Christ, not us.
I had only heard about On The Red Box since about 6 years ago, but since there are videos up I just had to share them too. It is powerful stuff, the word of God spoken in the streets.
There is something about standing there proclaiming Christ that makes your blood run quickly through your system. Fear, energy and the power of God all contribute to the adrenaline rush, but just as God said, where His word is preached it will not come back without bringing change.
In this next clip Ben Bock (the son of the man preaching above) who is a college freshman pours out his heart to the crowd. It says something about a ministry when the kids are fired up enough by the parents to walk the walk too. It is a testimony of God’s faithfulness.
When you do street ministry, you realize more than ever just how people would really see you if you were wearing a billboard sign that said: I am a follower of Christ, redeemed and forgiven- not by what I have done or will ever do. ASK ME HOW. Maybe I should make a shirt out of that. I love how people all the way in Europe can stir me on, inspire me to be aim to be Christ seeking instead of self-seeking and how to really lay it all down.
Thank you to all the peeps at On The Red Box, you inspire me!
How does your garden grow? Ours grows with water, weeding, and watching. The boys enjoy helping me with their red wagon, they pretend to “harvest” weeds, and then bake them in the sun to kill them. These are all activities that I welcome, as they are becoming pretty rapidly semi-professional weeders. The progress the garden is making is good as well. There are currently TONS of green tomatoes just waiting to ripen up. I harvested variegated sage, pineapple sage and chamomile last week. I’ll be sure to put some pictures of up of that process.
Dreadlocked, organic-loving mamma from the Pacific Northwest gives a peek into life with three crazy boys, eleven squawking chickens and a few strange cats. Lots of pictures and a few choice words.
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