Georgie got a haircut!

Here's the picture as promised (see post below). It's not the best shot of the haircut with my fabulous layering on the sides or back, but it's a pretty cute picture Leon took tonight with his blackberry while George enjoyed and ear of corn. Isn't he adorable!

Georgie got a haircut!

George hates hair cuts.... He's actually only had two in his young life, but he screams when he gets them. So, to avoid the drama, I just let his hair get quite long. It's been several months since he got it cut last, and I've just trimmed his bangs so they don't hang in his eyes. Thank goodness long shaggy hair is in style for boys!

So yesterday George, as usual, wanted to go outside. He LOVES being outside. I know most kids do, but he REALLY loves it, more than my other kiddos did at this age. I took him out on the front steps and we just sat for a while. He was actually enjoying just sitting there feeling the breeze and the warm Texas-in-January air.

His hair has been looking pretty shaggy lately, and I even saved a coupon for the kid cut place, but I haven't been able to bring myself to take him and endure the torture. So as we were sitting there, I was playing with his long locks... when the idea hit me! What if I just went and got some scissors and let him sit here and do what he wanted while I stealthily snip away? ... I won't go too far, just get this back part that seems to stick out all the time...

Well, you can already guess that I didn't just get the back part... I mean, there's no real way to stop snipping when you don't know how to cut hair, and have never done it, and the kid is actually sitting there playing with sticks and letting you cut his hair, and you have to keep fixing the part that now looks ugly because you just chopped a section out!...

Thirty or forty minutes later the cut was done. There were pieces of hair ALL OVER both of us, in the grass, on the sidewalk, and in our faces and mouths. It was a bit of a mess cleaning us off, but at least the wind was blowing, so that helped as we shook like crazy.

I was really scared we'd be in a barber's chair today to fix the terrible chop job I had done... In fact, as I cut, I was quite prepared to do just that. Today is the day when I just have George, while the rest are in school, so I had it all planned out. BUT actually, after I gave him a bath, dried his hair, and made one or two more evening-up snips, his hair actually looked pretty good! I really cannot believe that I gave George a decent haircut!

So today as we have seen people who have noticed his hair cut and told him how handsome he looks, I haven't said a word about me doing it. I just wanted to see people's reactions, and so far no one has asked "What happened!?" So it's possible no one might ever know that good-old Mom did it... well, until now, that is.

Kid number four, and I'm still enjoying some firsts! Yay, me!
(Sorry I don't have a picture yet, but I'll take one and post it soon, so you can see my masterpiece. hehe.)

Happy MLK Day!

What do you think of when you think about MLK Day?

I have to admit that for me it's just been a day off school, or a day off work, or a day we don't get mail. I mean, I didn't grow up having this holiday (the first year it existed as a National Holiday was 1986, when I was 14) so it was cool when we started getting an extra day off pretty soon after being back from the holidays. But I truly haven't really "gotten" the day. Of course I learned about MLK Jr. in school and I know what his actions meant to African Americans. But I suppose I figured that this was a holiday for African Americans, and I haven't ever embraced it to truly honor and appreciate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Until this year.

This year I think I'm just beginning to get it.

I can see now, just by my interest in this holiday, how much my thinking about justice issues has actually changed over this past year alone. Through conversations with people, a certain conference I happened to attend, a couple of particular books, and reading His Word, God has taken me on a journey - a journey that I didn't even know I needed to take - from ignorance and apathy about poor and marginalized people, to caring and even some action toward justice for them. It's been an unexpected shift, but I'm so happy it's happened.

Now Martin Luther King, Jr. is so much more a hero to me than ever! Not only were the things he lead out in and spoke about needed for basic human decency to exist in America, but these things were AND ARE also at the heart of the message of Jesus. Dr. King's willingness to cry out for equal treatment for all kinds of people in the midst of such hatred and violent persecution shows a courage and a character that I can only hope to imitate.

So, this year, and in the future, as we have a three or four-day weekend for MLK Day, my family is going to make something more of it! We're going to talk about who Dr. King was, what kinds of things he did and spoke about, and why all of that is important. I hope to begin instilling in my children the importance of human and civil rights, and the absurdity of thinking any one kind of people are below any other. And we're going to celebrate with acts of service. (In 1994 MLK Day was made into a National Day of Service.) We're going to do things that help our community - big or small - some things the kids come up with, and some pre-planned projects. No longer will MLK Day just be a day off for us. It now will hold meaning, teaching lessons of justice and love for all people!

Okay, I know that last part must sound a bit dramatic... I'm sorry... I'm just really excited about this new found passion - mainly because I know it's a passion Jesus had! So, please forgive me if you've been someone who has understood what MLK day is about all along and wonder why I'm just now getting it... And, on the other hand, if you've been like me and not given it much thought, consider this your opportunity to give it an extra thought, to maybe make a shift, to broaden your view of justice issues, and give Martin Luther King Jr's message a chance to take hold of you....

my guess it that it will!

"We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."

"All life is interrelated. The agony of the poor impoverishes the rich; the betterment of the poor enriches the rich."

"Life's persistent and most urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?"

"Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love."

"We must learn to live together as brothers, or perish together as fools."

"Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve."

--Martin Luther King, Jr.

Favorite Friends

I suppose my small revelation isn't original, in fact, it's probably universal... but nonetheless, it is a revelation that I thought I'd share. It has helped me to decide who I really want to be around me when the rubber meets the road. Maybe it can help you to put words to something you already know, too. So here it is...

My very favorite friends are those people who 1) let me completely be myself, 2) somehow just "get" who I am, and 3) make me better.

You know how there are kind of levels of friends that you have. It's like a spectrum all the way from mere acquaintances to the closest and best of friends. Friends even tend to move from one level to another, based on things like: something said or something done (positive or negative), where they live or work or hang out, and whether you put the time and effort into that particular friend at any given point. I don't think having different levels of friends is bad. It's probably quite a good thing - enriching our lives as we grow and develop. So we don't have to try to make every person we meet a BFF, we just have to be open to how they can contribute to our lives - at whatever level.

I've always prided myself for being the kind of person who can get along with anyone. And I truly do enjoy knowing and befriending people of all types. At least from my perspective I can get along with just about anyone (i.e. I can't think of anyone who I can't stand to be around). And I do consider many people to be my friends... true friends... ones I trust with my kids, ones I have spiritual discussions with, ones I share my struggles with, ones I call on in time of need, ones I love to help out - real, true friends.

But I have discovered that there's an even smaller group of people within those true friends who I am a bit more drawn to than the others. These are friends I just really want to hang out with... friends I seem to long for when it's been too long since we've connected... friends I consider to be my favorites. So, I started thinking about what sets those particular friends apart from the others. These favorite friends are different from each other in lots of ways, so it's not necessarily a certain personality type. And some of these friends I've known for years, while some I've met fairly recently, so it's not just how long we've been friends. And then, some of these favorite friends I've had lots of experiences with, while some I just get to connect with occasionally. So, I wondered what that something was that made them special to me. The above revelation is what I came up with.

When I'm around these favorite friends, I can say what I think, be who I am, and let all the walls down - and they respond with encouragement, love and sincerity. They seem to see who I really am inside. They get why I say what I say and do what I do. They might disagree with me or guide me to think differently or hold me accountable, but behind all that is the love and sincerity.

Other friends might speak with a judgemental tone, or try to "one-up" me with their stories or their piety, or might let me know in one way or another that their disagreements with me are obstacles in our relationship. But these favorite friends don't act that way. There is more acceptance with these friends, more mercy, more openness, and even more willingness on their part to be who they truly are with me.

My favorite friends demonstrate some key core characteristics in their relationships toward me: humility, integrity, having the heart of a servant, being forgiving, trustworthy, and loving. They are what I'd call true quality people. And in these things, they make me better, challenging me to be like them... and ultimately like Christ who they emulate.

There is much value in investing in relationships with quality people. I really hope and pray that I am this kind of friend to all of my favorite friends (probably most of those who are reading this :)), and to more. And I hope my little revelation can help you think about the quality favorite friends nearest and dearest to your heart, too.

Getting UN-stuck

So, I'm back. I'm determined to get back to blogging this month. I got stuck in a month of icky-ness in November, then the holidays seemed to take over in December. So, here's January... and I'm going to go for the proverbial new start with a new year.

~I've read another good book, so I'll review that soon.
~I've taken some great pics (mainly of the kids), so I'll share those soon.
~I've reflected on the crazy, icky month of November that had me in a funk, and so I'll share some lessons from that soon.
~And I'll try to not get stuck in the big stuff and start sharing some of the small things with you.

So here's my first attempt at re-entering the blog-o-sphere! :) Thanks for checking back in and reading my blog!


Some brief highlights from the holidays:

1. Christmas cards! I love getting them. It's fun to display them and see the number grow. It's so nice to see great family pictures, and read sweet sentiments. And it's good to catch up with friends we only connect with via cards once a year. We got a ton of them this year, and I hope to reciprocate soon. I loved every one of them!

2. Kids being kids! Emily dressed up and sang into her new microphone in true diva style a lot over the last couple of weeks. Trey got a motorized scooter and he continues to ride it until it runs out of charge, come in while it charges, then head back out again to run it down again. Timothy has had a blast with his new DS... sending messages to his cousins on their DSs has been a favorite. And George has thrown more balls over an over again these last few weeks, that he must be developing quite the muscular arm! Without the schedules of the regular school year, the kids have had fun just discovering playing again!

3. Music and Dancing! Whether it's jamming in the car to pass the time on a long trip, getting better at DDR or Wii Fit aerobics, or be-bopping around the house with an ipod in the ear - all of us have been loving the music this season! And we have some kids who have the MOVES!

4. Down time! With the kids and our schedules, it's hard for me to truly have down time EVER. But this vacation, when we went to spend the week with Leon's parents, we had NO SCHEDULED EVENTS... well, maybe one when the whole extended family came over (with 16 kids ages 11 and under!). But other than that, we just laid around, played Mario kart, read some, slept late, took naps, let the grandparents take care of the kids a lot - and all this for a whole week! Wow! I'd forgotten what it was like to have NOTHING to do! It was wonderful and needed!