$2.00 or Priceless?

What an interesting day it’s been.  We met our friend Jill to go to a couple of garage sales.  The idea was to all ride together in Jill’s minivan.  So we parked at her place, loaded up the van, and commenced our garage sale bargain hunting.  House 1 (of only 2):  We put the kids in strollers and walked around the driveway and garage looking at various toys, clothing, and general household stuff.  Quin spotted a cute Bob the Builder toy and continued pointing at it until I looked at it.  It was marked with a $2.00 price tag.  What could I do?  It was a good looking toy and reasonably priced.  So I did what a loving mom would do.  I bought it for him.  

What I didn’t realize was that Quin had set down his precious doggie on a table at the garage sale as I paid for the toy.  In case you didn’t already know, that doggie is his security blanket.  He sleeps with it, asks for it whenever he is sad, or has been corrected, or just about anytime really.  We once tried to find a second doggie to have as a backup.  (I confess I really don’t get it washed as often as I’d like to.  Having a second one would be so nice to rotate out and allow me to keep one relatively clean.)  We gave up the dream of a second one when we realized that it would take a very high bid on Ebay to get it.  But now I am straying from today’s adventure.

We packed up the mini van and headed for House 2, not knowing that we were now without said doggie.  We absolutely had to take our new toy with us as Jill & I scanned many antique items.  We liked lots of what we saw at House 2 but couldn’t bring ourselves to buy anything at the prices marked.  So again, we packed up the mini van and headed out.  By now we were thinking of lunch.  Jill’s in-laws called to see if we wanted to meet at Chick-fil-A.  As we talked about getting my car back, I didn’t even think of the precious doggie.  Until…we got back to our car.   This is when Quin began to miss the doggie and started calling out for his doggie and paci.  

I looked on the floor.  I looked in my bag.  I even checked the stroller.  No doggie.  By this time, Quin was cranked up pretty well.  The drama was in full swing.  (Who said only girls are dramatic?)  As Jill & I tried to retrace the morning, she thought she had seen Quin with the dog at House 1.  So…I folded my screaming Quin into his car seat back in our car and went back to House 1.  As I drove, listening to my son cry out, “doggie, doggie, doggie, paci, paci, paci,” I would have paid any price to get that dog back.  

When we arrived at our destination, Quin miraculously calmed himself and began speaking normally.  We walked quietly back through the driveway and garage.  I kindly asked if we had left our doggie behind.  I am thrilled to report that the dear woman had found it and asked her children to put it aside for us.  She figured we’d be back for it.  I guess all moms know what a priceless treasure those security blankets are.  We are grateful to have our doggie back.  Maybe I should rethink paying upwards of $80 for a backup from a seller on Ebay.  Is anyone with me on this?  Perhaps that doggie is priceless, at least it is to Quin, and after today, I think it is to me as well.

I’m amazed at just how many things Quin has tried to throw recently.  I wish I could say that I am seeing signs of early football quarterbacking skills.  Alas, it is just the wonder of the toddler years.  Dear angelic Quin seems to be doing most of his throwing of all sorts of objects when he is being corrected, challenged or otherwise given instruction that he simply does not want to follow. Can anyone relate to this?  

I am reminded yet again at the patience, endurance and consistency that parenting requires.  I want to say that I’m totally up for the challenge, but I’m really not.  I need God’s grace to help me.  The good news is that it is always available to me.  

Quin is nearly 2 years old, and the pediatrician recommends that we wean him off his pacifier soon.  Apparently the dentists say it is harmful for proper tooth alignment or something like that.  The doctor even gave me a few strategies for trying to wean him off.  I have no trouble believing that the end should come for the pacifier, but Quin has a little soft plush dog/blanket that he sleeps with.  The dog seems to go in combination with his pacifier.  He always wants one with the other.  One day I even caught him trying to give his pacifier to his doggie, holding it up to his mouth and everything.  I thought it was an absolutely adorable moment.  Of course I don’t want the boy thinking that everyone has a pacifier or needs one.  I don’t want him to be dependent upon it for comforting, soothing, or sleeping.  Yet at this age and stage of his life, the pacifier seems to be filling those needs for him to some extent.

This notion of dependency has had me wondering.   What do I run to when I need comfort, or refuge or soothing?  I know in my head that God should be my refuge and comfort.  He alone sustains me, and yet my pacifiers are all around me.  I run for quiet, food, or sleep.  Many times I just wish to be alone not serving anyone else’s needs.  Do you have a pacifier that takes the place of God?  Do you need to be weaned off?   God, please give me the grace to run to you and not to earthly things to pacify myself.

Apparently, I’m about 2 1/2 years late discovering this little gem of a tune by an artist named Derek Webb. It’s called “A New Law” and is on his “Mockingbird” CD. I had not heard of him before finding this song, nor have I listened to any of his other music yet. But this song is mostly very good.

I came across the song because the White Horse Inn podcast used it as bumper music. The topic for the episode was “Shallow Waters” in which they were discussing the shallowness of the American (western?) church. Basically how evangelical churches (for the most part) aren’t encouraging their members to study the scriptures for themselves, how we in America want all things just handed to us, etc.

BTW, I recommend their podcast. Usually pretty good stuff there.

Back to the song. I find a lot of what it says and how it says it causing me to grieve somewhat for the state in which we find the church today. Here is a clip that I lifted from the podcast. Basically, it’s the bumper. I’m guessing (hoping?) that I’m not trampling on anyone’s copyright by posting that piece of the song here, since it was technically used in an over-the-air broadcast (the White Horse Inn is a radio show that also podcasts).

Here are the lyrics, copied from one of those freebie song lyrics sites:

don’t teach me about politics and government
just tell me who to vote for
don’t teach me about truth and beauty
just label my music

don’t teach me how to live like a free man
just give me a new law

(pre-chorus)
i don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy
so just bring it down from the mountain to me

(chorus)
i want a new law
i want a new law
gimme that new law

(vs. 2)
don’t teach me about moderation and liberty
i prefer a shot of grape juice

don’t teach me about loving my enemies

don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit
just give me a new law

(pre-chorus/chorus)

(bridge)
what’s the use in trading a law you can never keep
for one you can that cannot get you anything
do not be afraid

I hopped over to amazon.com and spent the $0.99 to get this song (DRM-free!). I’m finding myself listening to it again and again. It’s got a simple piano and guitar track which is quite effective in bringing across the message (i.e. it has good prosity).

The song kind of falls apart at the end (in my opinion). He repeats that last phrase, “Do not be afraid” over and over again for a full minute. I think it detracts from the rest of the song. I can kind of get a message of “do not be afraid to study” or “do not be afraid to require your church members to do more study” as a kind of capper to the song’s message, but putting a whole minute of a 4 minute song to just repeating that phrase makes the song seem to end in an anticlimactic way.

But other than that flaw, I think the song is just wonderful. Go spend a buck on it.

Oh, and then study something!

Ok, I know this is a poor subject for a post, but I needed something quick to get done, so here it is:  my first review.  What can I say?  I tried McDonald’s new southern style chicken sandwich tonight, since I had a free coupon.  I also needed an excuse not to cook.  (Rick has been taking a motorcycle safety course, and tonight he is busy at the class.  There may be an upcoming post about the motorcycle…At any rate, we’re on our own for dinner.)  So Quin and I cruised to the drivethru and ordered a cheeseburger happy meal for him, and a free sandwich for me.  My vote about the new sandwich is skip it and go directly to Chick-Fil-A.  I know I am slightly biased here, but really McDonald’s, why try to copy what you just can’t duplicate.  The classic Chick-Fil-A sandwich is well worth the money as compared to a freebie at McDonald’s.  Sorry McDonald’s, not lovin’ it.  That’s my opinion, for what it’s worth….

I guess I sometimes become programmed to think that my little toddler knows what he should and shouldn’t touch.  This evening after Rick had gone out for a meeting, I was going along with a somewhat normal routine.  I left to use the bathroom for just a few minutes, and when I came back into the family room, I saw dear little Quin hacking away at the keys on my laptop.  I quickly told him to stop, and pulled him away.

Unfortunately, I was too late for something that he had done.  This kid has quite a knack for punching just the right key sequence to do something dangerous.  I normally have my screen locked out after a few minutes so that a proper password is the only thing to unlock it.  Alas, my quick trip out of the room was not long enough to kick on the lockout.  All of this to tell you the significance of “Universal Access.”  I don’t know that I’ve ever had to change anything in that item under system preferences on my MacBook before.  Tonight I learned a valuable lesson.

Everything on my screen was HUGE.  ENORMOUS.  So big that I had to scroll all over the place trying to do a search on help to figure out what Quin had done to me.  Normally if something like this had happened when Rick would be home, I’d just get a quick answer from him.  Tonight I actually had to work for it!  So if your kids or coworkers or someone does this to you, go to your Apple menu, System preferences, Universal Access.  And then under Seeing, turn the zoom to OFF.  Amazing that a nearly two-year old could manage to change that setting.  I wonder, is he brilliant or just that lucky?

For this month’s gaming we got back to some old-school classics:

• Carnival
• Star Castle
• Lady Bug

We had planned to play Battle Zone as well, but since fewer than usual people showed at first we ended up replaying games more than we would have. By the end of the night we found that we didn’t have time for four games.

Here are the scores:

Highest score: Me! And as usual, I don’t like to keep my own prizes, so the first place prize of a sports-bottle-ice-cube-tray went to Ben. He needs some help with keeping his drinks cold because his gaming was so hot!

Lowest score: Lisa! She won a pack of Tums antacids, to help with the sick feeling she must be having after taking last place.

The hot game of the night was Lady Bug. It was surprisingly fun. At first, it seemed like just another Pac-man knock-off, but it had surprising depth of play. Most of us ended up wanting to play it a few times.

Worst game of the night: Star Castle. That game is just too hard to be fun. Carnival’s music track made us not enjoy it too much either, but it was at least a decent game to play.

Today we went on a little field trip with our friends to the Springhouse Market and Farm.  http://www.springhousemarket.com/  We participated along with a local homeschool group since we were invited to join some friends that are part of the homeschool crowd.  It was informative to learn about the milking process at the farm.  Quin had an opportunity to see and touch milking cows and some newborn calves.  He didn’t actually milk a cow.  Nor did he feed a baby calf.  Both of those involved way too much focus for him.  He was just about as interested in the farm tractors and equipment as he was in the cows.  

We had a great time (although I am exhausted!).  Thank you to Diane, Jared and Jessica for inviting us to join in this little adventure.  

It’s been way too long since I’ve posted an update regarding the cancer. Sorry about that.

The short-version is that everything is more-than-fine. My oncologist said he’s “cutting me loose”. Basically from here on out I’ll just have a physical (or something that involves blood-drawing) twice a year. No more follow-ups with either doctor.

Obviously, I should keep my eyes open for any symptoms that might indicate a recurrence.

Most people enjoy a nice cookout and a day of relaxation over the Memorial Day weekend.  Our weekend included those things but only after lots of yard work.  This was the final weekend of our free project…hedge trimming.  However, since Rick was tasked with the job of trimming from the ladder, the project turned into what I will now refer to as scalping the hedges.  Our backyard will never look the same.  I can only hope that the forsythia will rebound nicely from the severe trimming that they received.  Our neighbors were gracious enough to allow us onto their property to trim back the overgrowth past their fence.  The upside of the job is that we can now actually walk behind the shrubs which will make future trims much easier.  So thanks to my dear husband for working so long and hard on the job.

I learned something else about our yard as well.  We had some friends here yesterday for a cookout, despite the on again off again rains.  I honestly thought our tulips had morphed into some other crazy looking flower.  After doing a little searching around today, I have discovered that we’ve got several Allium plants.  These are also known as giant flowering onions.  I found a photo image to confirm it.  To all of our guests, you have my apologies.  The “Dr. Seuss plants” are really called allium.

We were able to enjoy the local Memorial Day parade this year, along with family.  It was fun to watch little Quin watch the parade.  He thoroughly enjoyed all of the candy that was thrown his way.  And although we were worried that he might be frightened of all the loud sirens, he just stood and pointed at those fire trucks.  It may have been the highlight of the weekend for me.