convicting eyeballing or curious envy

Not too long ago, I set up for myself a little challenge. I wanted to see if I could refrain from consuming alcoholic beverages for 15 days. Now before you start jumping to all sorts of conclusions, I must first clarify that I don’t have any sort of serious issues with drinking! Nor do I consider my evening glass of wine a vice. I just had a few reasons for wanting to discover possible benefits of doing without for a set time frame (they are listed below).

So more than a week goes by, tra la la, life is good. All was going well and I didn’t feel too much of a withdrawal while I was refraining. Until…

A weekend birthday party (and for a toddler at that!!) put me right in the line of fire with major temptation!!

There were beverage choices galore and the lusting/longing (both words apply here…) for a lager was almost overwhelming. Because there were many brands and names that I had never heard of before, I was doing some extreme scrutinizing of those sipping merrily from their bottles. I wanted to know what they were enjoying and take some mental notes for when I could indulge again. But the next day, I was troubled that I might have given false impressions to those who were victim of my most severe stares. Apologies were made and I pleaded for pardon, as I confessed not as one who judges, but as one who suffers from another transgression: jealousy. I needed them to be assured that it was not convicting eyeballing that caused me to look their way, but rather curious envy.

And on that note, I am concluding that this little “no drinking challenge” with the goal of possible benefit has, on the contrary, done me (and as it appears, others too) more harm than good. Friends that didn’t know I drink had to endure and wonder what my glaring was all about. I had to put my first $1 in “mommy’s yelling jar” after making it two whole months without any uncontrollable hollering (is there a correlation between not drinking wine and acting like a crazy mom? Perhaps…). I still wake up restless in the middle of the night (I had always concluded being wide-eyed at 1 am was from wine intake. Guess not). But the biggest letdown was in regards to my main reason for the challenge. Knowing that wine and beer have lots of calories, I was really hoping to see some improvements in weight and appearance by foregoing a couple hundred calories a day. Nothing happened. The scale still spins to the same number, my jeans remain a little snug, and my meaty, bulky looking right arm is still seriously disproportionate with the rest of my small scrawny bone frame. You see, I had heard of “beer belly” where folks just gain a larger middle in their abdomen area from drinking; so I had this idea that maybe I suffered from a rare case of “wine arm” and that a lack of wine would remove the extra bulk from my right arm leaving in its stead a sinewy slender limb. Not so!

Oh well, if anything, I have learned for certain that sipping on my evening glass of wine and enjoying beers on the weekend (all in moderation, of course) have no negative consequences. And April 1st (my target date), I can say “cheers” again with a glass in hand!

queen d4 to d2 takes bishop (checkmate)

Halle’s Tia (her Aunt Cristen) gave her a chess set for Christmas this past year and it has been so fascinating to see her develop this keen interest in the game. She is developing quite a knack for the skills involved and can hold her own with Rob for a long drawn out match (I still have yet to beat the girl…)

So when we found out there was a park in Austin that offered knee-high chess every Saturday at Wooldridge Square (in the downtown area at 9th & Guadalupe), we thought it would be fun for her to try her maneuvers against a non-family opponent. It was here that she met up with nine year old Jacob who was checking out the park with his family and was willing to play.

It was so tempting to say ‘watch your queen’ or ‘look what your rook can do’ but this was a special type of spectator sport & parents have to hold their tongues! Still, even without our aid (not like I’d be of much assistance any old way), Halle did excellent and was able to keep her moves in stride with this boy. What a sight to see the looks of intense deliberation on both of their faces as they considered their moves and watched each other’s!

It is too bad that nature started calling for Halle just moments after the game began. Ten minutes into it all, she was squirming around a lot and it was becoming very distracting for her to concentrate. Jacob said he would wait to finish if we excused ourselves to find a potty. But just in case, Halle said “good game” and “thanks for playing” when we left; as we were certain there would be others wanting to play before we would return. It turns out, her ending comments were appropriate because the hike up to the nearest bathroom kept us away a good while, and when we got back a new game had started. Oh well… At least Halle had fun and left in good spirits. We’ll be back again for sure!

In the meantime, I’ll need to work on my own strategy against Halle in order to give her some fair competition and allow her tactics to really develop. Because as it is now, we are not evenly matched. The below are some of my favorite comments from Halle (to me) that have been spoken while she is accomplishing her task of outwitting me at chess:
“You don’t see what’s coming do you”
“It’s all about planning”
“Oh, you saw that” I suprised her by protecting one of my pieces that she would have captured with her next move

thanks Dave Ramsey, we’re now debt free!!!!

Wait!! Before you get too impressed, I do have to preface that we still have a mortgage. But according to Dave, you can call yourself debt free if you have no other outstanding payments on loans or credit cards. And as of 3/9/09, when we made our last payment on the remaining balance of Rob’s loan for his Master’s Degree, we are able to finally share the exciting news of being in this category!!

The quest for this debt-free title started three and a half years ago when we went through Dave Ramsey’s “Financial Peace University” – a 13 week course at our church, back in San Antonio. We had been hearing nothing but praise about it and wanted to see what all the fuss was about. If the class truly could live up to its name, we knew that having a “financial peace” would be of huge benefit to our single-income family of five. And even though we never considered our spending outrageous (we didn’t have credit card payments) and the debt from vehicle and student loans we did have was fairly acceptable (in our eyes at least), we believed there was probably something we could do better in our money management. And if a class could really and truly help create a working budget (we had already tried and failed many times in the past), it was worth a shot to try it out.

Well…

You can safely conclude our opinions now on this class and on Dave Ramsey!! It wasn’t an easy process to get where we are today; a TON of changes in our spending was needed to be able to pay off more than $55,000 in 3 1/2 years. But we did it and believe others can too!!! I know we raised a few eyebrows and possible concerns with our spending habits as friends and families saw the “luxuries” we were doing without; however, I always felt like life was comfortable (we weren’t suffering) as we just slowly adapted to living under a lower (much much lower) standard of living than we were used to. And now, even though our “debt” is gone, we will still continue to apply (for always) all that we learned in ways to spend money more wisely. Dave does stress that ultimately, one main result of being out of debt is the ability to give more freely. And, even better, he encourages that you teach that principle to your children at as early an age as possible. What a different financial state we would be in now if we had this perspective on spending/saving/giving early on in life. A big regretful sigh!!! Better late than never, right? Anyways, as you can see, we are super excited about what this class enabled us to do!!! And we think that everyone (in debt or not) can profit greatly from Dave Ramsey’s material. I know that I do have apologizes to offer out there to friends and family; for probably speaking too much, too often on all this money/debt/budget stuff. I just knew how much we were benefitting (I mean tremendously benefitting!!) from the money management tools we had received, it was almost impossible to keep that news to myself.

So thank you Dave Ramsey! We will raise our glasses high, in your honor, when we celebrate this feat at Fogo de Chão on Saturday : )

shopping then and shopping now

Sink or swim. Fight or flight. Man vs Wild. No, I am not referring to some documentary on the discovery channel, where survival is the common theme; I am describing my own situation that best captured life in those early days/weeks/months after the twins were born. The concept behind ‘survival of the fittest’ became of much personal interest to me during that crazy and hectic time. Agreeing with the idea that only those organisms best adapted to their particular conditions of their environment will succeed in the long run, I knew our livelihood depended on finding successful ways to adjust to the new conditions and challenges 3 kids (under the age of 3) brought upon this family (especially when it came to securing food). Thinking back to our early ancestors means of surviving and how the men did the hunting to provide for their clan, I first let Rob (the man of this clan) have a stab at being the source of our sustenance. But when he would return with his idea of a bountiful “kill” comprised of a month’s supply of unshelled peanuts and shiner bock, I knew that I would need to be the one foraging for our food. And that was scary!! The familiar task of shopping at a store with just one kid became a daunting one, now that three little ones would be part of my expedition for groceries. I was going into uncharted waters, but I knew our survival depended on it and I was determined to figure out a way (or die trying…)

It turns out, it was not as frightful as I thought it would be!! It just required a bit more time and a little getting used to maneuvering two different wheeled-devices around the store. This is how shopping used to look.

Dee and Gracie would remain in their infant carriers and I would push them with my right arm. Halle would get the front seat of a grocery cart that I would drag along behind me. Fortunately for me, D&G were so small that I could keep them in those carriers and shop this way for the first 15 months.

After those days, I would just throw all 3 in the shopping cart. And this is what our shopping trips look like today.

So I am pleased to say that going shopping has (**for about 99% of the time) been a positive experience and not something I have dreaded over the past 3 1/2 years. There are joys to be had (honest!) when it becomes the norm to shop with your little ones on a regular basis. I still love the looks and expressions we get from other shoppers. “God bless you” is a favorite of mine because I can reply with “Yes He has!!” Even though their words are in line with the other familiar “you have your hands full” comment, suggesting life must be super hard with multiple kids, I always want to try to turn it into one of praise for children. There is such a misconception existing today that children are a burden and keep mommy from having freedom in her life, I hope my response and attitude when shopping with my girls gives them something different to consider.

Oh and I don’t want to leave off the part of the ‘survival of the fittest’ principle that concludes when a species can adapt and survive, they can reproduce. It is fitting to include here because we are praying our numbers will increase, soon after we start the adoption process this summer! Just wait till folks see a really full cart!!

**explanation of those non-pleasant shopping excursions: There are those 1% of times where all kids are screaming in the cart as I push it around the store. When people look at me, I am so tempted to say “poor kids, their mom must have wandered off, I am trying to help them find her.” But those are few and far between, and we ALL learn (me included) how to behave better the next time.

Go, Lovely Rose!

So I scored this great set of “The Harvard Classics’ at Half Price Books yesterday (for just $19). I was so proud of my purchase!!! My first thoughts were how cool and scholarly they would look on my book shelf and how they would, hopefully, be something I could read and enjoy in the near future. Of course I had my hopes, that down the road, the great works of these famous authors would eventually appeal to Halle; but for the time being, I had bought them with only me in mind. Well, I completely underestimated my little 6 year old!! Even though time and time again, whenever we walk out of the library or the bookstore with something new, Halle will immediately engross herself with one of our literature findings, I never suspected that it would be these books (these “adult” books) that would strike her fancy. But they did! She wasted no time in looking over the stack (we are getting buckled in the car, mind you) and selecting one she thought would be of interest to her. After about 20 minutes of reading (I’m still driving) from the volume entitled “Chaucer to Gray” she started reading some lines, on her own accord, of something she had really liked.

This is what she enjoyed, from Edmund Waller.

Go, Lovely Rose!
Tell her that wastes her time and me,
That now she knows,
When I resemble her to thee,
How sweet and fair she seems to be.

Tell her that ‘s young,
And shuns to have her graces spied,
That hadst thou sprung
In deserts where no men abide,
Thou must have uncommended died.

Small is the worth
Of beauty from the light retired:
Bid her come forth,
Suffer herself to be desired,
And not blush so to be admired.

Then die–that she
The common fate of all things rare
May read in thee;
How small a part of time they share
That are so wondrous sweet and fair!

**************************

How I love my little Halle!!
What a precious moment it was to hear her sweet voice reciting these words. With appropriate pauses that correlated to the punctuation and near accurate pronunciation; it was an almost flawless delivery. Spoken like she had practiced over and over again.

What a wonder her little mind is to me!!! I am constantly in awe of what she appreciates and comprehends through the written word. I have so much to learn from her insight and can only imagine what the future holds for her!

Rob the Builder

And…

Rob the Painter, the Electrician, the Auto-mechanic, the Plumber, the Welder, the Remodeler, the Dry-wall hanger, the Butcher, the Baker, and the Candlestick Maker  (sorry, I couldn’t resist adding the last three…)

But you get the idea; he truly is a jack of all trades! And thinking back on the many many things he has been able to do that profits friends and family and our home with his sundry set of skills and talents, I realize how much I am blessed as a wife married to this man. I am astounded by the dozens and dozens of building projects he has completed over the years as well as the never ending amount of ways he is able to keep us in the clear of paying repair folks that would usually be required for home and vehicle upkeep.

This is just a small small (very very small) sample of things that he has done over the years, that made me so proud.
*How about you and my grandfather work together to build a bed for us. Done (and it looks beautiful!)
*Rob, this 1950s house needs some remodeling. Don’t you think this wall would look better with a big window that opens up the den to the kitchen? Done (and then more of our friends had him do the same in their home…).
*Rob, there is this precious dollhouse bookshelf in the pottery barn kids catalog. Can you make that for Halle? Done.
*oh, and I like these cool bookshelves in their home catalog. Can you make them for our den? Done!
*Rob, my car window is stuck down in the door and won’t come back up. What should we do? Oh, you are just going to rip the door panel off and fix the broken part. Cool!
*Um, Rob. I had a bit of an accident today and pulled the iron out of the electric outlet. The problem is the plug didn’t come with the cord. You can fix it! Swell!!
*Rob, I am bummed that we just don’t have all the shelf space we did in our closets in San Antonio. You will build a whole wall of shelves in our master closet! That’s super.
*Rob, it would be nice to have a playset for the girls. Done! (and btw, this thing is awesome!!)
*Hey, uh – I think now that we moved this bookshelf into the den, it should be painted black. Oh, and it needs to look distressed too. You’re on that. Sweet!

And the list goes on and on; laying tile, laying hard wood floors, building decks, hanging doors/cabinets/dry wall, remodeling, rewiring things (ahem, so I don’t actually know what the proper terms are for what it is he re-wires, I just know that he does; and it saves us needing to hire electricians every now and then), turning his jeep into a true off-road vehicle, fixing almost every car issue we encounter (alternators, breaks,…), building an entire barn (or as he would say, “equestrian housing” is the more sophisticated term). And even though there are tons of other things to share, I’ll throw in just one more because it is a favorite of mine. He was actually called to remove a raccoon trapped inside a bedroom wall (yeah, one of our friends thought to call up Rob for assistance with the matter when animal control wouldn’t come to the rescue!).

From the very big to the very small, there is so much he has done to make me say “WOW!!

If there is any sort of issue he encounters related to appliances/cars/trucks/boats/home-maintenance/etc etc…, he has this compulsion to fix it right away, no matter the time, no matter the surrounding circumstances. It is not a rare thing to find him tinkering with something in our home (or vehicle) to make it “better.” Not too many nights ago, well after all the kiddos were in bed, I left him at the computer to go brush my teeth. I quickly come back out when I hear this very LOUD banging noise. The scene I come across is Rob on the floor with a sledge hammer and our office chair turned over on its side. The wheels of the chair have been removed and Rob is pounding the ever living daylights out of this poor chair. I ask him what in the world he is doing! “It didn’t sit right,” he said. We’ll yeah, if you bang on it like that of course it will have issues. He didn’t appreciate my humor (sigh… people rarely do…) But I guess he was right, the chair didn’t sit right and because of that, it was dragging a piece of metal across the carpet every time you moved it.

I throw in that story to say this and try to sum it all up. Life is truly better around here because of him! I know that I often take all these for granted, but no more. On this special day (Rob’s birthday!) I want him to know just how much I appreciate and admire all he does.

Many men have done excellently, but in my eyes Rob surpasses them all (and that should be my mindset, because I am married to him!)

As an apple tree among the trees of the forest,
so is my beloved among the young men.
With great delight I sat in his shadow,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste.
Song of Solomon 2:3

Happy Birthday Rob! You are the one that captures my heart’s appreciation, admiration, attraction, and affection.
I love you!!

like a diamond in the sky

In this case though, it is not from a twinkling little star…

We checked out the Austin Kite Festival yesterday (*you can read some background below). It was just our 2nd time to attend, but this event has been going on for the past 80 years. Once you are there, it is easy to see why so many folks have come year after year (and why we will continue to go back year after year). What an amazing sight it is to look up and see thousands and thousands of kites flying in the air, looking brilliant with all the colors against a big blue sky!! And not just your typical diamond shaped ones; what variety and creativity there was to behold. More family photos of this day are posted here

The kites came from their Nonnie, and this was the perfect day to give them a whirl.

Even though their mermaid and angel kites stayed in
the air for seconds at most, the girls still got quite a thrill
over seeing them lifted by the wind.

And higher than the kites, their spirits soared!

*the bit of history I am posting below was found here:
If you look at old Austin maps of the Zilker Park area, the fields currently being used for soccer are labeled the ‘Kite Flying’ fields. Andrew Zilker, who donated the land in two steps, one in 1918 and one in 1932, made this 351 acre park possible. Andrew Zilker came to Austin in 1876 with 50 cents in his pocket – and became one of Austin’s earliest millionaires. It’s said that Zilker was a pilot and loved flying. It’s no wonder Kites are a part of the park named for him. Today kite fliers can be found at Zilker Park almost every good weather day and it’s the home of the longest continually running Kite Festival in the USA.