Our camping trip this weekend was a comedy of omissions. We forgot so many things that we "needed"--so many that I can't remember them all (obviously, since I didn't remember them in the first place). You've heard the expression "necessity is the mother of invention"? One of the things we forgot was silverware, so Code-man invented the sporkanif, pictured below.

It's a spoon, it's a fork, it's a knife...it's a sporkanif!

On Saturday, we canoed and kayaked down the Brule River.  This was taken during a rest stop, right after Code-man successfully ran a rapid that 3/4 of the canoe crew ended up having to run backwards due to an unfortunate encounter with a rock (the other 1/4 was stranded and had to find her own way down the river).

Saturday evening all of the boys decided to hike along the Amnicon River to take in all of the beautiful waterfalls.

On Sunday, Code-man and Sawblock kayaked a livelier section of the Brule, while Logo, Bubby, and I headed to Lake Superior to play in the waves and dig in the sand.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day, and everyone had a terrific time.  Unfortunately, no one brought the camera with them.

Back to civilization, the boys decided it would be fun to make super-sized water balloons.

I'm pretty sure none of them found animate targets.

Labor Day(s)

I made a cake in honor of the 10th anniversary of my first day of labor yesterday.  You may recall that the mammoth, exhausting ordeal took a whopping 40 hours, from the time I entered the hospital, until little Code-man entered the world.  He had considerably less hair back then.  I'm pretty sure he was worth it (it's not like I can take it back, anyway)...

Omlet Sandwich

I figured if I was going to type out this recipe to send to Beaver and Chip, I might as well just post it for the rest of y'all, too.  It's a bread-based breakfast casserole, but a bit less labor intensive to put together--you just build sandwiches in your pan and then poor the egg/milk mixture over them.  I got this recipe from a MOPS friend, who says her four children and husband always request this for their birthdays and on holidays.

Omlet Sandwich

1 loaf Engish muffin bread or cottage bread
1 pkg thinly sliced ham
1/2 lb sliced swiss cheese
1/2 lb sliced cheddar cheese
8 eggs
3 c. milk
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1-1.5 cups crushed corn flakes or rice krispies
1/4 c. melted butter

Grease a 9x13 pan.  Cover the bottom of the pan with bread.  Then cover the bread with a layer of sliced swiss cheese, then ham, then sliced cheddar cheese.  Top with another layer of bread on top as if to make a sandwich.  Blend together eggs, milk, mustard, and salt.  Pour over the top and refrigerate overnight.  Before baking, melt butter and stir into the cereal.  Sprinkle evenly over the top.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour, making sure the middle is cooked.  Cover with foil if it starts getting too brown on top.

Yummy!

Falling in Love

 I heard More Like Falling in Love by Jason Gray on the radio as we were driving home from church on Sunday.  It surely wasn't the first time I had heard the song, but in that moment, it was as if it was the first time, and it touched me in a new way.  I posted the video if you'd like to listen (if you read my blog via email or on Facebook, you'll have to go to my blog (bluefield5.blogspot.com) to view the video).

Do you remember what it felt like to fall in love?  That breathless, almost aching, thrilling, head over heels falling feeling, that always thinking about and wanting to spend time with the object of your affection?  I do.  But over the years, I have to admit, the excitement has faded.  Sawblock and I have been married for almost 15 years now, and we've become...comfortable.  Don't get me wrong, I love him more now than when we were in that falling stage, and he still can make my heart beat a little faster, but we know that each of us is in this for the long haul, and, as a result, I think we take each other for granted a little bit.  There are so many other things (including three little things named Code-man, Logo, and Bubby) competing for our time and attention, and we've become complacent in our courtship of each other.

As I listened to the song, I realized that that's exactly how I've been feeling in my relationship with God lately: complacent, comfortable, familiar, stagnant.  It's a knowing in my mind, in a reserved, stand-off way, rather than a knowing in my heart, in a personal, experiential way.  There are so many other things competing for my time and attention, that I've been taking God for granted, and I haven't been paying attention to God's wooing.  And that's exactly what I need: to be swept off my feet, falling in love, losing my heart again to the One who pursues me.

I think many of us need this reminder, that it's not about religion, it's about relationship.

"...I need more than a truth to believe.  I need a truth that lives, moves, and breathes.  To sweep me off my feet, it's gotta be more like falling in love than something to believe in.  More like losing my heart than giving my allegiance..."

More Like Falling in Love by Jason Gray

Give me rules, I will break them

Show me lines, I will cross them

I need more than a truth to believe

I need a truth that lives, moves, and breathes

To sweep me off my feet, it’s gotta be

More like falling in love than something to believe in

More like losing my heart than giving my allegiance

Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now

It’s like I’m falling, oh

It’s like I’m falling in love

Give me words, I’ll misuse them

Obligations, I’ll misplace them

‘Cause all religion ever made of me

Was just a sinner with a stone tied to my feet

It never set me free, it’s gotta be

More like falling in love than something to believe in

More like losing my heart than giving my allegiance

Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now

It’s like I’m falling, oh

It’s like I’m falling in love

Deeper and deeper

It was love that made me a believer

In more than a name, a faith, a creed

Falling in love with Jesus brought the change in me, it’s gotta be

More like falling in love than something to believe in

More like losing my heart than giving my allegiance

Caught up, called out, come take a look at me now

It’s like I’m falling, oh

It’s like I’m falling in love

Jason Gray - More like falling in love

Have you heard this song yet? BOLO (that's be on the lookout, and now that I've typed it out, why should I even bother with the abbreviation?) for my thoughts, coming soon :)

BTW, if you read my blog via email or Facebook, you'll have to go to my blog (bluefield5.blogspot.com) to view the video.

Bubby's teeth

Wow, four posts in two days!  Don't get used to it, folks :-)

So I just got back from taking Bubby to the dentist.  You may recall that just before his first birthday one of his front teeth started chipping away until there was a huge omega-shaped hole in his tooth--his tooth, what was left of it, looked like tiny little fangs hanging down.  Called the dentist, and they basically said it happens all the time, there's nothing they can do, you're an over-reacting, hysterical mother but we still like you (they didn't say that, but I know they were thinking it), but I insisted that this was no normal baby tooth chip, and managed to get our dentist to agree to see him.  Dr. H took one look and said, I'm going to refer you across the river (to the pediatric dentist).  So Dr. H's office manager gets on the phone with the pediatric dentist's office, and they said the same thing, that it happens all the time and there was nothing they could do.  She finally convinced them to see Bubby.  The dentist took one look and started grimacing and making serious sounding noises (that's right--I'm not an hysterical, over-reacting mother, at least in this case, I wasn't).  Dr. M patched the tooth and told me it was a stop-gap measure that would hopefully last long enough so that Bubby would be old enough that we wouldn't have to give the poor kid general anesthesia to put in a better patch.  Dr. M. also said that he couldn't tell whether or not the nerve was dead, but if it was, we might have to pull the tooth.

Fast forward almost 2 years...we've been seeing the dentist every 6 months to check on the patch, and it's been holding up well.  Bubby had his first X-rays today, and the hygienist did a little mini-cleaning.  He did so well!  And today, Dr. M. discovered an abscess above Bubby's tooth, which means the nerve is dead, and it's infected (and now it makes sense to me why Bubby has felt warm to me every time I've picked him up in the last week or so).  Really there was nothing that we could have done to prevent this from happening, and it's amazing that it took this long, but now my poor little Bubby needs to have a pulp treatment, so that hopefully we can save the tooth. That's right--my not quite 3 year old is going to have to have a procedure similar, but not quite as complicated (according to Dr. M) as a root canal.  Yikes! Why are we going to so much trouble to save a tooth that's going to fall out in a few years anyway?  Because the baby tooth acts as kind of a place-holder for the permanent teeth, and it's so much better to have that tooth stay in until the permanent tooth is ready. 

So he's scheduled for a cleaning at the end of July (the 27th, I think), during which they're going to do what they can to prepare him mentally for the pulp treatment on August 17.  Ah, poor Bubby!  It's not all bad news, though: we got a free toothbrush, 2 sample-sized toothpastes, 3 sample-sized flosses, and a little pull-back truck out of the deal :)

Observations/Updates

It's been a busy summer so far, and I haven't been able to blog very much, so I thought some of you might be wondering what's going on around here.

The garden is doing well.  We've been eating sugar snap peas right off the plants for about 3 weeks now, and we just froze about 2 gallons of green beans for later eating.  Some of the corn is taller than Code-man--we're hoping to get enough corn to freeze some of that, too.  The watermelons (yes, we're trying watermelons again--maybe someday we'll get to eat one that we grew) are starting to flower and the zucchinis have flowers as well--there may even be a baby zucchini out there--they kind of hide, so they're hard to see if you're not right there looking and moving leaves out of the way.  Hubby tells me that the pumpkin plants are blooming as well.  I planted them in a sunny part of our back yard this year, so that they couldn't overtake all of the other plants in the garden enclosure, and as a result, I don't keep as close an eye on them.  I suppose that's good, as they grow slowly and it's much more exciting to go out and find that you have a 5" pumpkin already than it is to just see it grow microscopically each day. 

The tomatoes just got put in the ground.  I got a late start this year, planting about a month after I planted last year (I know, crazy, right?), and I hadn't started the tomatoes because last year when I started them indoors they all died before it was warm enough to plant outside, and I had to start over.  So this year, I thought I'd just plant the seeds directly in the ground, but when it came time to do it, the seeds seemed too small and vulnerable to just plant out there.  I didn't get around to even starting my seeds indoors until about 2 weeks later, and now, about a month later, they're finally in the ground.  I'm kind of disappointed about that, because I was hoping to be able to can some diced tomatoes for chili and tomato sauce for pizza and spaghetti this year.  I guess I'll just have to wait and see if there's enough time for my plants to produce any tomatoes.

My flowers are growing, too.  The zinnias are blooming, and I just got my first ever snap dragon bloom.  Unfortunately, a lot of the zinnias got baked while we were out of town--they're in window boxes on the front of the house and the house faces west, which makes it very hot out there in the afternoon and evening.  My hanging baskets aren't doing the best either.  I started 3 different kinds of daisy-like plants this spring, but I don't think they'll be big enough to bloom this year.  We need to get digging on our pond and waterfall so I have someplace to put them.  And it's definitely time to dig up the front flower beds, divide, and replant.  It's a jungle out there.

A mama bird built her nest on top of one of the support columns for the roof over the place where our some-assembly-required porch will go someday.  This is right outside our bedroom window, and I can see it from where I type.  I was very worried about this mama bird and her choice of nesting sites.  There's only about a 5.5" x 3" area, and in fact, the first nest she built fell down.  She rebuilt, laid eggs, and the babies have hatched, so we've been hearing little voices clambering for food, and little beaks open wide when mama flies back to the nest with some tasty morsel.  I think there are 4, but there are at least 3 babies, and I find myself wondering how that mama bird knows which chick to give the next bug to.  I know I had a hard time remembering which side to start on when I was nursing my babies, and that was only one at a time!  Maybe mama birds don't get as sleep deprived.

We've already raised and released one monarch caterpillar, Rocky, who actually turned out to be a boy (for once our gender guess at the larval stage proved correct in the adult stage).  Now we've invited Victor II to be our guest until metamorphosis.  I'm a little cloudy on the correct naming of this little guy, because Victor I turned out to be Victoria...or was it the other way around?  Anyway, since the first Victor wasn't really Victor, shouldn't this be Victor I?   But then we have to differentiate somehow...and what if this Victor turns out to be Victoria?

So far this summer, pretty much all we've done (besides watching the garden, the birds, and the caterpillars) is swim lessons.  I really don't know what happens to the rest of the day.  We get home, get our stuff put away and then it's lunch time.  Then suddenly it's nap time and then daddy's home.  It's very disconcerting.   We have one more camping trip planned this summer, and the boys are heading out for their 4(?)th annual Boundary Waters trip later.  Hubby has surprised me with a trip to celebrate our wedding anniversary, so I have that to look forward to as well. 

It blows my mind that the summer break is already half over.  I remember when I was a kid, the summers seemed to stretch on forever and I was almost always anxious to get back to school by the end of the summer.  Now, it seems to be just flying by.  I always think that summer is going to be slower, more relaxed, but it never is--there's just so much to squeeze into such a (relatively) short period of time.

Pictures

Our camera appears to have stopped working (grrr), but here are some pics from before that happened:

Here are the boys drying off after playing in the pool at Code-man's School's Out Sleepover. 

That's Blake, Code-man, Derek, Connor, Ryan, Cole and Logo, all refusing to look at me.

 

Code-man kayaking in the pool.  I'm not sure why he decided to use a noodle as his paddle or why his Dad is about to knock him over the head with his real paddle.

Logo and Bubby kayaking in the pool

Work

The other day, someone I like a lot said to me, "a woman's work is never done," while the two of us were finishing cleaning up after supper.  It's one of those throw-away statements that people say without really thinking about, but you know me: I think about everything.  It is true that in our family, generally the woman (me) does more of the cleaning, cooking, and caring for children, while the man (Hubby) does more of the outdoor and repair-type chores, but in our case, the division of labor is more about what each of us is good at and what we enjoy (or, should I say, what we tolerate versus chores we despise), and what we have time for than it is about stereotypical gender roles.  In our house, Hubby is responsible for cleaning bathtubs (a chore I hate) and mopping, while I've been known to clear drains, clean out gutters, wash cars, and fix a broken toy or two from time to time.  I resent the implication that women should be the ones doing the cooking and cleaning, while our men sit on the couch flipping channels.  I resent the attitude, that apparently still exists, that gives men a free pass on all things household because they're the breadwinners (which is no longer even true in many cases).

Usually I have no problem with this attitude, because, as I said, in our house, it's not an issue, each of us doing what we can to keep our household running, somewhat clean, and in good repair, but sometimes... sometimes I come across someone who expects me to behave differently: someone who expects me to be doing "women's work," while my husband and sons sit by doing nothing.  And that makes me mad.  Because while I choose to do what is needed for my family, and often that includes doing the work that has been traditionally done by women, I don't want anyone telling me that I have to do it, or expecting me to do it because it's my womanly duty.  And I don't want anyone teaching my boys, by word or by example, that there are some tasks that only women should and can do.
***
2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. ...
4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Romans 12:2, 4-8

Ads

OK, so I've added ads to my blog...because I want to make money telling other people how to save money (can you say, "obsessed"? It's a lot of work, though, so I'm not sure it's worth it--stay tuned). But the thing is, I'm not supposed to click on my own ads. It makes sense. If I could click on my own ads, and get money for it, I would just sit here and do that all day. Or better yet, I'd set my kids up to do it for me. The ads are selected by Google to be placed on my blog, based on my blog content--the idea is that if people are reading a blog about coupons, they might be interested in...coupons. And guess what? The author of this blog about coupons is interested in...coupons, and I want to click on my ads...I would ask one of you to do it for me, but I'm not allowed to do that either ;-)

Really Google, I promise I won't click on them for the money--I just want the coupons, and quite frankly, I could be the only one willing to click on the ads on my blog--I'm not sure anyone else is reading. Don't you think your advertisers would rather reach one consumer (me) than no consumers? *sigh*

Salting the driveway

Turns out that dial-up is dial-up, even if the phone is a cell phone. Here's one of the 13 or so videos that I've been carrying around on my jump drive for a while, hoping for an opportunity to post.

Bubby and Hubby broadcasting ice melt this winter, in an unusual way...

Please note: if you read my blog via email or facebook, you will need to visit my blog at http://bluefield5.blogspot.com to view this video.

Mortified

Bubby pulled the fire alarm at swim lessons today. That's right. My two year old is responsible for about 200 swim lesson students, parents, instructors, and life guards having to evacuate, as well as however many school-aged care kids, summer school students, and teachers were in the building. I was mortified. How could he have done this? Why wasn't I keeping a better eye on him? Well, because it literally only took 2 seconds and the deed was done. I guess the bright side is the hour was almost up anyway...

Now I'm trying to decide if this is worse than the time I walked upstairs at our house in WV to find a Morgan County Sheriff's deputy standing at my door with his gun pointed at me and my child, because Logo, at the age of 2, had called 911, without my knowledge...

One of the other parents tried to comfort me by telling me that we'll laugh at this someday (maybe some of you are laughing already). I know that's true, but I'm still mortified.

Those Parents

It seems that I am one of those parents. You know, the ones who stand on the sidelines of their kids' games and just can't stop yelling. I've seen the looks other parents give me. I'm fairly sure the boys on Code-man's soccer team don't even hear me, but still I can't help yelling at the forwards to get in front of the goal, give him someone to pass to, control it, and dribble it all the way in, the defenders to not let anyone behind them, take the throw, and protect their goalie, the goalie to pick it up, and everyone to spread out, talk to each other, and stay in their zones. I'm happy to say that I have managed to refrain from yelling at the refs thus far, but I have, on occasion, said things loudly like, "hand ball," or "purple throw," (just friendly little reminders) and I'm fairly certain that two games ago, the ref would not have called a goal when the other team's goalie caught the ball on the wrong side of the goal line if it hadn't been for Hubby and me standing and applauding loudly for the goal. I really, honestly, can't help it. After every game, I think to myself, Scarlet, you really need to bring it down a notch, but game after game, there I am, yelling--always encouraging, constructive things, but still yelling, almost the entire game. I think this must be why my Dad coached his kids' soccer teams--to give him an excuse to be the one yelling on the sidelines.

Deodorant

Well, folks, I'm not sure what to say. We currently have enough deodorant to last both my husband and me through the end of 2011 (well, me anyway--not sure about that husband of mine), and yet, tomorrow I'm planning on bringing some more home. It's not that we're particularly stinky people...although my feet have been known to be somewhat funky from time to time (I blame it on the fuzzy pink slippers)...it's just that it's hard to resist, if they're going to pay me to take the stuff home from the store. Just today, a store paid me $1.51 to bring home a deodorant and a body mist. Tomorrow, they'll pay me $0.51 to bring home some more. I guess they really, really want me to have it. Maybe I do stink, and I just have never realized it.


I've become more serious about couponing in recent months. Well, actually, what I should say is I've become addicted to couponing in recent months...or, I suppose, even more accurately, I've become addicted to couponing blogs in recent months. A couple of years ago, I learned something that changed the way I shop, forever. I learned... Are you ready for this? ...that you can use a store coupon AND a manufacturer's coupon on the same item. So if you have $1 off store coupon and a $1 off manufacturer's coupon for the same item, you can use them together get $2 off that item. This discovery completely revolutionized the way I shopped. I got some deeply discounted things, some free things, and even was paid to take a few things home, but it was all based on items I would normally buy and had coupons for.


But now, thanks to websites like PocketYourDollars and Hip2Save, I'm learning about deals I never would have thought of. I mean, in real life I would never buy a Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-a-Clean Power Sprayer (really! The thing has batteries! How hard is it to spray an aerosol, that they had to add a power-assist?), but if someone is going to pay me $3 to take it off their hands, sure, I'll take it (and I'm sure my husband will enjoy cleaning the bathtubs with it). These bloggers make a living by telling people like me which coupons, including printable internet coupons, to match with which sales to get the most for our money (man, I wonder how I can get a gig like that).

It's been interesting, to say the least. I now find myself pondering questions, like, "do I need this? Do I even want it?" and, "how much is enough?" and, "if it's free, but I won't use it, should I get it anyway? How about if I'm making money on the deal?" There is something so satisfying about getting something for nothing, that it's tempting to accept somethings with no value, just because they're free. Should I send for that free sample of barbeque sauce, even though we don't use BBQ sauce? It's so thrilling to get a good price that it's easy to get carried away, and spend more than you intended in the name of saving money. Goldfish for 99 cents? Let's buy 10!

The other question I find myself asking these days, and the one that I find most worrisome, is "what deal am I missing?" There is always this nagging feeling that I'm going to miss out on a great deal. And now it's even harder for me to pay full price for anything, because I know, sooner or later, it'll be on sale...with a coupon...and a rebate...

Ah, but for now, I'm enjoying my obsession, and my 12, no, make that 13, deodorants, and my 4 body washes, and my 5 shampoos. We'll use them...eventually...

Camping pics

What is that crazy kid doing? You like his new hat? (For those of you who can't tell, that's his underwear on his head--I was trying to sort the laundry. You see what obstacles I have to deal with here? Is it any wonder that I'm so on board with the self-folding laundry thing?)

Oh...maybe that's where the craziness comes from! Sawblock just couldn't wait to get out in the kayak.

Went biking on the Old Abe something trail Saturday morning, and crossed this bridge. We were somewhat surprised, when we were done, to discover that we had biked about 13.5 miles, with no complaints whatsoever.

Here's one of the canoe crew fishing on Lake Wissota Sunday morning. Code-man was off in the kayak somewhere...

It was drizzly and rainy for most of the weekend, but we still had a nice time. In fact, for most of us, the rain was only a factor in that it made starting the fire a little more difficult. Others of us (the ones possessing two X chromosomes), are not so happy to be wet and in a tent. One or the other is enough for those XXs among us.

Success

OK, true confession time: sometimes, I watch "The Biggest Loser" on NBC. You see, my laundry days are Tuesday and Friday, and I like to watch TV while sorting and folding. And there's nothing good on TV, so I end up flipping until I find something tolerable, which, on Tuesdays, sometimes turns out to be TBL (and since we're in true confession mode, my Friday laundry often doesn't get folded until Monday night, when "House" is on).

So if you've watched "The Biggest Loser", you know Jillian Michaels, aka the toughest trainer on TV. During the past several weeks, advertisements have been airing for her new show, "Losing It With Jillian." I must admit, as a person who feels like she is "losing it" on a regular basis, I have been intrigued by the title, and by the concept: Jillian moves in with a family for one week, and during that time, teaches them to "lose it," whatever "it" may be. It's not just about losing weight, but more about letting go of all of the barriers and obstacles in our lives that hold us back from living life to the fullest. Last night was the premiere, and yes, I watched it, because I had 5 loads of laundry to fold and "Glee" wasn't long enough for me to finish (wow, all kinds of TV confessions today).

What really struck me about last night's show was a comment Jillian made to the daughter, who was the only one in the family who wasn't overweight--she had had gastric bypass surgery, lost a bunch, but still felt like that fat girl she had been. Jillian said to her, "why would you choose failure when success is an option?"

My first thought was that we don't choose failure, it chooses us. No one in their right mind would choose failure when success is an option, right? Failure is what happens when we simply cannot. But then I realized that so many times in my life, I haven't really believed that success is an option for me. So many times I have limited myself, believing that I couldn't do something, or that I wasn't worthy of success or happiness or whatever. So many times I have given up, thinking that just because something was difficult, that meant it was impossible for me. I think Jillian's point is that success is always an option. And it is a choice. And how can we choose anything less for ourselves?

Bubby is so proud to be riding his new (to him) two (plus training wheels) wheel bike!

Logo, trying to stop before he hits the photographer.

BUGS!

So my Bubby, who is a little more than 2 1/2 years old, woke up screaming a couple of times on Friday night, telling me that he couldn't sleep because there were bugs in his bed. This freaks me out more than the typical mom, I think, because several months ago, I watched a TV special about a girl with child-onset schizophrenia, who was living with one foot in reality and one foot in the world of her hallucinations, which would often seem more real, and more threatening, to her than our world. Shortly after that, Bubby started telling me things like,"there's a guy out there," while staring out his window, and "there's a guy under my bed." I literally got chills when my little guy said that. It's possible that Bubby had been saying that kind of stuff before, and I had just kind of tuned it out because I had no meaning to attach to it. I really shouldn't watch shows like that when the kids are in bed and my husband is out of town. Slasher movies are nothing compared to real life mental illness in children.

Back to the bugs. It freaks me out to hear Bubby say that there are bugs in his bed when I know there aren't any. I fear that he is not merely having an active imagination, but that he is in actuality, having real-looking hallucinations. And who can tell with a 2 1/2 year old? Is there really a difference at that age? But wait: there are bugs in Bubby's bed. Currently, Bubby has a Pooh sheet on his bed, with hundreds of...honeybees on it! I didn't have the courage to ask why he was afraid of them, fearing that he would tell me they were moving, coming for him; instead, I reassured Bubby that the bugs would not hurt him, and I doubt I will put that particular sheet on his bed again. It turns out I wasn't quite reassuring enough: Bubby slept the rest of the night on Friday on the floor, and insisted on sleeping there Saturday night as well. Perhaps it didn't occur to him that the bees would fly out of his bed and find him on the floor...

I don't know whether to to fear for my child, or to laugh at my fears and at myself, so I do a little of both. What a privilege and what an incredible responsibility motherhood is, calling for gut-wrenching displays of courage on a daily basis. I don't know what God was thinking when He put me in charge of these children's earthly lives. Maybe just that I would rise to the occasion and do my best, putting the rest in His extremely competent hands. I have never known such all-encompassing love, or such debilitating feelings of inadequacy. I guess the true measure of a mother is her willingness to charge bravely into those situations that she really would rather not deal with, because that is what is needed to protect, and guide, and nurture her child.

Jump! and Cub Scouts

Speaking of jumping and breaking things, yesterday, Bubby decided that it would be great fun to jump off of our coffee table (kind of a misnomer, as I'm fairly confident this table has never had coffee set upon it) to the floor and then do a forward roll. Over and over and over again...I took some videos, and hope to someday post them (just like the other 15 I've been carrying around on my jump drive for about a year waiting for the day that I find myself near a computer with high speed internet access when I actually have time to upload them (could be a few years, so don't hold your breath)), but in the meantime, some still pictures of our incredible tumbling kid.In the air...Tuck your chin!THUD! Let's do it again!
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Last weekend was the year end camp-out for our Cub Scout pack. Here's Logo, with 3/5 of his den, graduating from Tiger to Wolf, plus the Cubmaster and some other people. Here's Code-man with 6/7 of his den, just staying Webelos.

And here they are with their puppets...pretty creative, huh?

Today

Today my plan was to head to story time, followed by a picnic lunch at a nearby park, and maybe a walk down by the river. Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Unfortunately, Bubby's plans were different: to go fishing. We compromised by hiking to a waterfall followed by running a few errands.

As we were walking back up that steep, steep hill (I'm always surprised by just how steep it is--selective amnesia, I guess), I started thinking about plans. Have you ever heard that saying, "we plan, God laughs"? We know that God has great plans for us, but how often do we say to God, no, I don't really want to do your plan today--I had something else in mind? Now really, I can't say that my plan was any better than Bubby's plan for today, and our compromise ended up being (probably) better than either of our separate plans, but how in the world could our puny little human plans ever possibly be better than God's good plans for us? How many times do we stamp our feet metaphorically, stubbornly insisting on our own way, and force a compromise, that may be good, but is merely a shadow of God's intention for us?

I remember one year on my birthday, I must have been turning 4 or 5, something like that, and our family's plan was to go to McDonald's to celebrate. It sounds funny now, I'm sure, but I had probably only been to any restaurant less than 10 times in my entire life, so McDonald's was a big treat, and I was really looking forward to it. We all piled into the car and drove off. When we stopped, we were not at McDonald's, and I threw a major fit. I don't know if my parents even managed to talk me into getting out of the car. My Dad had driven to a mini-golf course, to surprise me--it was free for birthday girls, and they were planning on going to McDonald's afterwards. My parents had good plans for me--they thought I would enjoy playing mini-golf, and they were probably right, but in my frustration at the change in plans, I refused to let the good plan happen to me (sounds like something Logo would do!).

One of the things that being a mother has taught me is that sometimes, I just have to let go of my plans. Things happen. Today I figured if I dragged Bubby along and he didn't want to be there, neither of us would be happy. I don't like letting go of my plans, and it's rarely easy, but, as I experienced today, sometimes letting go of my intentions turns out better than I could have anticipated. How much better is God's plan for us?! Friends, I urge you to let go of your plans and to let God's good plan happen to you--you may not like it, it might not be easy, but it will be so much better than anything you could have dreamed.

More pictures of children

Here's Code-man with his alter ego, made for a year end Cub Scout puppet show.

Logo. That says it all.

Our 2 year old nephew, Ua, broke his leg Sunday night, jumping off his bed. He got his cool blue cast put on this morning, and I guess he's been calling it his drum (the kid loves percussion instruments). His mama, Chip, says he's doing OK. He'll be able to walk on the cast, if he wants to, and he only has to wear it for 4 weeks.

I just keep coming back to this: he broke his leg jumping off his bed. No, Ua does not have an unusually high bed--it's not a bunk bed or anything, just a regular ol' bed. All three of my children regularly jump out of things higher than Ua's bed. Just this morning, Bubby spent half an hour jumping from the arm of our couch to the floor, over and over and over again. This was after he had already spent a good 20 minutes doing flips with the assistance of my legs and/or arms. And before that he spent about 10 minutes jumping from the top of the toy box (the bigger one--almost taller than him) to the floor (he's the jumpiest of the kids, I've gotta say). How have we managed to escape with only a cracked thumb (and that wasn't a result of jumping, really) through 8 or more years of increasing numbers of children jumping from increasing heights?

Come to think of it, my brother and I used to jump out of all kinds of high places, too, and between the two of us, the only broken bones occurred when Sheppy fell on his own thumb while playing soccer. I suppose there's something to be said for all that landing practice! Mom, Dad, you did know we used to jump out of our windows in Bremerton, right? We were practicing fire drills. And conducting scientific experiments.

Ua, hope you're feeling better soon. Chip, at least it'll be easy to clip his toenails for the next month or so :-)

Fishing

I took the boys fishing Friday night, and Scott took us all on Saturday. We didn't catch anything, but it was nice sitting by the lake, watching the loons (the waterfowl, not the children. Well, it was nice watching the loony children, too), seeing the fish jump, and looking at the clouds.

Turkey courtship

Saw these two lovebirds (ha ha, punny) upon our return from running errands this morning. I hope she says, "yes!"

They're a little blurry because I was taking them through the window and was all the way zoomed in...

Garden of the Earth

Just wanted to share some pictures from Code-man's concert last night, "Garden of the Earth." They had an Earth Day/recycle/take care of our planet theme. Can you spot Code-man?There he is! Second row, on the left.

Code-man played a drum on "The Earth is Our Mother," a Native American chant.

The kids did a terrific job, and the theme was wonderful. Even better, the concert coincided with the school's art show, for which the kids made recycled art projects. Logo made flowers from old floppy disks (raise your hand if you still have a floppy disk drive--I don't), and Code-man made a bowl out of an old magazine (really). Some of the other classes made CD mobiles, wooden piece collages, rock pictures, and jungle multi-media pieces. Hats off to Mrs. S and Mrs. Y.

And here's Logo, being Logo, before the concert. Chip said that my pictures of the boys in and around trees captured their essences perfectly...I think this one does it even better.

Yup, that's Logo. I might just have to frame that one.

The Arsenal

Seriously? Do my children really need this much fire power? And this is just the nerf guns: it doesn't include the squirt guns or the dress-up guns or the bow or the swords...

Pictures of children in and around trees

I think I must be trying to connect to my husband's heritage...I have countless pictures of my children adorably looking at tulips. I took more than one of Bubby today, but had to post this one which also contains my famous color-shifting tulips.Here's one of Bubby up a tree. It's easier to keep an eye on him up there, since he can't get down by himself. He looks like he's having a good time, doesn't he?And here's Code-man, practicing for senior pictures, or maybe he's holding up the tree.Logo, looking slightly deranged. He's of the opinion that smiling for pictures is too passe...or something.My attempt at a "professional" pose. Guess I'm not quite ready to quit my day job, yet...

Logo's birthday

My middle baby is 7 now...

Here he is at his party on Sunday blowing out the candles on his dragon cake...beautiful day, lovely party, wonderful birthday boy.

Here's a better look at the cake--I took one with the candles lit, but "unrecognized file format" strikes again...and the dragon was beheaded shortly thereafter, so no retakes.

The Amazing Egg Hunt

Just have to brag, because once again, I've come up with a brilliant idea (it's rare enough that it's worthy of note). I know that some of you are fans of "The Amazing Race"--those of you who have at least seen the show will appreciate this more than others.


So each year, we send our children on an Easter egg hunt. We generally will send them on a treasure-style hunt, where they are given a clue to an egg, which contains the next clue to the next egg, which contains the next clue, and on until they reach the end. Sometimes there's a grand prize at the end, and others there isn't, but it's all fun.


You may have noticed that I'm in a bit of a funk these days, so I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to put it all together this year--inspiration and creativity is key. So I hadn't really been thinking about it a whole lot until yesterday when the threat of disappointing my kids spurred me to action. Zap, an idea popped into my head, and The Amazing Egg Hunt was born. Really, it was so simple, and the boys had a great time with it. Code-man's already been telling me what the Easter Bunny can do to make it better next year...I didn't bother to tell him that it was the best the Easter Bunny could do in the circumstances, and by the way, the E.B. was freaking out as she was outside hiding clues at 11:30 last night...


If you don't care, you can stop reading now, but I'm mighty proud of this egg hunt, so I'm going to list the clues we used below (there are some pictures down there, so maybe you at least want to scroll through).

Welcome to the Amazing Egg Hunt!
On the hunt, you will be working as a team of three to complete your tasks and bring you to the pit stop and the big prize. You must collect your eggs and clues in the provided basket and not make a big mess when searching for your clues. The person who finds the clue must let someone else open it.
To begin your adventure, make your way to Bubby’s room and search for your next egg.

Detour
All team members must make their way to one of three showers, then wash their hair and body and dry off. Once all members of the team are dressed in their Easter finery, you will receive your next clue.

Route Info
All team members must now make their way to the sandbox, where you will search for your next egg.

Detour
Team members must weave through the provided cones carrying an egg on a spoon (Bubby can just carry the egg). If the egg is dropped, the team member must start over. When this task is completed, you will receive your next clue.

Road Block
Choose one team member to climb into the fort, out on to the monkey bars, retrieve an egg, and slide down the slide (the other team members can slide down the slide, too, if they want).

Route Info
Make your way to the living room, where you will search for your next egg.

Detour
Each team member needs to pick up and put away the number of toys they are old (so Code-man puts away 9 toys, etc). These can be from anywhere, upstairs or downstairs. You will receive your next clue when all of the toys have been put away (all the way away where they belong).

Road Block
Team members must now collect the garbage and recycling from the following areas:
C & L’s room
Kitchen (under sink)
Upstairs bathrooms
Bubby’s room.
Once the garbage and recycling has been collected, place it into the appropriate bins, and take the bins out to the road. Once the bins are in place, you may search for your next egg.

Route Info
Make your way to the garden, where you will search for your next egg.

Road Block
Two team members must make their way to the tree fort, climb up, and yell “Happy Easter” as loud as they can. When the task is complete, you will receive your next clue

Detour
All team members must now ride their bikes down the bike path to where the “Lake” should be, where you will search for your next egg. After you find your egg, return your bikes to the garage.

Route Info
Make your way to the basketball court, where you will search for your next egg.

Detour
Each team member must make the same number of baskets as they are old. When all the baskets have been made, you will receive your next clue.

Road Block
Team members must now make their way into the house while balancing a marshmallow peep on their head (Code-man—no hands; Logo—one hand; Bubby—two hands). When you have reached the laundry room, eat your peep and search for your next clue.

Route Info
Make your way to the Pit Stop in the Living Room. Happy Easter!

They were the first team to arrive (of course), and as winners of this leg of the race, they won Easter baskets filled with edible and inedible goodies.

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Went to the zoo on Saturday--it was a lovely day. For once, the tiger was moving--I think we've only ever seen him sleeping. The snow leopard and cougar (puma/mt. lion) were out, too--I didn't believe they actually existed until yesterday.

Guess what our favorite treat at the zoo (and amusement parks, and festivals, and parades, and the circus, and...) is!

We went to the Conservatory, too. The spring flowers in the sunken garden were gorgeous--well worth the trip, if you haven't been yet. I tried and failed to get a good picture of the boys with the flowers in the background, but they enjoyed staring at the koi. I think the koi liked them, too.

Sunday

For Jesus' disciples, all of their hopes and dreams had died and were buried right along with Jesus. But today, we proclaim:
Christ is risen!
Christ is risen, indeed!

And because Christ is risen we have been given eternal hope, not just today, but every day.
Amen. Alleluia!

Saturday

Today I think of Jesus' friends. We know that the disciples still didn't understand what was happening--they still didn't quite "get it" until after Jesus' resurrection. We have the benefit of knowing the end of the story, but what must they have been thinking and feeling on that dark Sabbath day, the day after their beloved teacher's death? Confused? Abandoned? Scared? Wondering what comes next? Where they will go? What they will do? These men and women had literally left their old lives behind, to travel with Jesus and to learn from him. They left their jobs, their homes, their families...all of that, just to have it all end with such sudden and crushing finality.

In the church we attended during my teenage years, it was a tradition to strip the altar at the end of the Good Friday worship service. The congregation would sing the verses of "Were You There?" slowly and ponderously, pausing between each one while someone would read one of Jesus' last words, and more items would be taken from the chancel area: the big Bible, the candles, the altar cloths. After the altar was bare, it would be draped with black cloth, and a crown of thorns would be placed on the draped cross. After each verse of the song, more lights would be turned off, so that it would be completely dark by the end. We would leave in silence, in the dark. It was an extremely moving experience, a loving act of remembrance.

Do you know that hymn?

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
Oh, sometimes, it causes me to tremble, tremble, tremble.
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

As I would leave the church's sanctuary, devoid of light, seemingly devoid of hope, Jesus' last words echoing in my mind, it was easy to imagine that I had been there, witnessing the horror, the blood, the pain, the cruelty. And, in a way, I was there. Every one of us was there, because our sins were the nails driven through Jesus, into that cross, and it was Jesus' love for us that kept him there.

Warning: Cute Kid Story Ahead

So Hubby called tonight. He was driving on a windy road, came to a place called "Lover's Leap," and decided to call me. I, of course, told him not to jump! But anyway, while we were talking, Bubby slipped out the sliding glass door to our deck (note to self: get a child-proof lock for the sliding glass door). I didn't even notice him leaving until I heard the outdoor faucet turning on. I looked out, and there he was, outside, wearing Logo's shoes, spraying water at our gas grill (no, it wasn't on). It was just so funny seeing my little 'un wearing these 6 sizes too large shoes. What a cutie-pie.

In other news, Code-man called Sawblock to ask permission to build a ramp/ladder in one of our oak trees. SB said yes, and just look what happened!Just in case you can't tell, Code-man and Logo climbed really, really high.

And Hubby--here's where I put the swing, for now...

That was in sunnier times... (uh, yesterday)

Friday

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:45-46

It feels so right to me, that the sky became dark, because this was a dark, dark time. Have you ever felt so utterly, completely abandoned? Oh, it makes my heart ache. Horrible. Even worse than horrible. In fact, that is the definition of hell: being completely and eternally excluded from the presence of God. This exclusion from God's presence is the consequence of sin. Jesus, bearing the sins of the world, experienced this, on the cross, so that we would never, ever have to.

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. Matthew 27:50-51

Do you understand the significance of the temple curtain being torn? In the temple, the curtain separated the holy place from the most holy place. No one was allowed to go into the most holy place except for the priests, because that's where God was. In fact, the priests wore bells on their robes, and a rope was tied to their ankle, so just in case the priest died while he was in there, they could pull his body out without entering the space containing God's presence. The idea was, if they couldn't hear the bells tinkling anymore, the priest must not be moving, and must be dead. With the curtain torn in two, there is no longer a separation. Jesus made it possible for each of us to come directly into God's presence.

When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" Matthew 27:54

Surely, Jesus is the Son of God!

Thursday

In the night in which he was betrayed...

It's Thursday, the day we remember Jesus' last meal with his disciples at the Passover feast. Jesus began the evening celebration by washing his disciples' feet, something which normally would have been done by a servant--just one more example of Jesus' complete counter-culturalism. In fact, Peter was horrified, at first, at the thought of his Master washing his feet. Jesus told them,

"I have given you and example to follow. Do as I have done to you. How true it is that a servant is not greater than the master...."John 13:15-16a

After supper, Jesus went to a quiet place to pray. He "began to be filled with horror and deep distress" (Mark 14:33), and told his friends "My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me." (Mark 14:34)

He went a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him pass him by. "Abba, Father," he said, "everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine." Mark 14:35-36

I'd just like to point out, here, that saying Abba is like saying Daddy. Can you imagine a 30 year old man calling his father Daddy? That, more than anything, demonstrates to me the sorrow and distress, even despair that Jesus was feeling. Luke reports that

He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. Luke 22:44

Once again, I love this picture of Jesus. It is so easy, amidst the miracles and healings and teachings and throwing out of demons and walking on water, to remember that Jesus is God. And it is so easy to forget that he was, at the same time, fully human. I think we just gloss over that part sometimes, because it's so difficult to understand how he could be both, God and human.

And yet, here he is in the garden. Jesus knows what he has to do, and, quite understandably, doesn't want to do it. It will be difficult. It will be humiliating. It will be painful. It is beyond words, what Jesus will go through. But Jesus, because he loves us (US!), does it anyway. Jesus has free will, too, we all do, and he chose salvation for the world, redemption for us all, in exchange for his life.

When I was younger, I never really understood why Good Friday was called good. I never understood why Jesus had to die. It seems to me that the day on which Jesus died was awful, horrible, terrible, anything but good. I guess I didn't understand salvation at that point, or how God can use even the most horrific situations to fulfill his purposes.

It is no accident that Jesus' sacrifice came during the season of Passover, the time when Jews remember the angel of death passing over the Hebrews' homes just before their escape from slavery in Egypt. If you remember, the Hebrew people were to slaughter a lamb, a perfect lamb, without blemish, and smear its blood on their door frames, which would signal to the angel of death that this household was to be spared. Jesus, on this night in which he was betrayed, became the perfect passover lamb, once and for all, and his blood is smeared over the doorways of our hearts, sparing us from the horror and the grief, the agony and distress of death: the slavery of this imperfect, sinful life.

Wednesday

Continuing in our journey together through the week before Jesus' death, this actually happened Tuesday (two days before the Passover Feast), but I'll talk about it today (since nothing is recorded in the Bible for Wednesday).

Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. They were delighted and agreed to give him money. He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present. Luke 22:1-6

The rat! One of the Twelve, Jesus' most trusted inner circle! How dare he? How could he? Let's back up a bit to an incident that happened the previous Friday in Bethany. Mary (of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus) took a jar of expensive perfume, and poured it on Jesus' feet, anointing him.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,"Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." John 12:4-5

Why, indeed? Read on...

He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put in it. John 12:6

Oh. Gotta love that commentary from Jesus' favorite disciple. And then Jesus responded:
"Leave her alone. Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial." Mark 14:6-8

In John's gospel, this little incident is reported in chronological order, so even before the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but in each of the others, it's recorded right before Judas heads to the chief priests seeking to betray Jesus. I don't think that's a coincidence or a mistake. It seems that Matthew, Mark, and Luke all felt that the perfume incident was a direct antecedent to, and perhaps even a catalyst for Judas' betrayal.

I feel a little sorry for Judas. He gets a bad rap, but I think he honestly thought he was doing the right thing. He must have thought Jesus was a little crazy after the thing with the perfume--he must have felt like his teacher was losing it, and going to the chief priests, allowing them to take Jesus into custody, probably seemed like a prudent course of action. If Jesus is going insane, Judas must have thought, then it's for his own good that he be taken off the streets before he can hurt himself or others. Of course, it didn't hurt that the religious leaders were willing to pay Judas for his betrayal, given what we know about Judas' money habits.

Then there's this: yes, Judas had free will, we all do. Yes, Judas chose to do an evil thing. It was all Judas. But! God made Judas, created Judas from nothing, and God knew Judas' inmost thoughts, God knew what Judas would do when faced with that situation. Jesus knew that Judas would betray him and placed him in his inner circle anyway, because that was what needed to happen. The son of man needed to be betrayed, so that we all could receive forgiveness for our sins. It needed to happen, and Judas was the one chosen to do the deed. It was Judas' destiny. Now we can get all tied up in a discussion of predestination versus free will, but quite frankly, I don't want to do that right now. The point is, God knows each of us better than we know ourselves, and God placed Judas in that place, at that time, so that the scriptures would be fulfilled. I feel like, in some ways, we owe Judas a debt of gratitude.

Judas was sorry for what he had done. Matthew reports:
When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned [to die], he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty silver coins to the chief priests and the elders. "I have sinned," he said, "for I have betrayed innocent blood."Matthew 27:3-4

Judas had no idea that Jesus was going to die as a direct result of his action. I like to think that God forgave Judas his sin. We know that God uses all circumstances, good and bad, to honor and glorify God, and it is certainly the case here. God used Judas' betrayal, his sin, to redeem the world. Thanks, in part, to Judas, we've been washed in the blood of the lamb, and made clean. We have been set free from the shackles that bind us to this imperfect world, and we are free to live the life of perfect communion that we were made for. Out of the devastation and destruction of our sins, the most beautiful things can happen. Only God has the power to do that.

How to make seed balls

Seed-Balls (a.k.a. Seed-Bombs) are a seed distribution technique. Evidently, there are guerrilla gardeners out there, who make these and lob them over fences into neighbors' neglected yards, along the highway, or into vacant lots. The seeds are protected, from those who would eat them, by the clay, and sprout on their own once enough water has fallen to release the clay. I'm making them to give out as favors at my middle child's birthday party, and I could definitely see this being a great idea to do with kids for Earth day or a garden party.

This recipe is from http://heavypetal.ca/archives/2007/03/how-to-make-seedballs/, but there are lots of variations out there.

Mix 5 parts dry red clay, 3 parts dry organic compost, 1 part seed, and 1-2 parts water (just enough water to form a mix that will hold together). Pinch off small bits of the mixture and roll into 1/2 inch balls. Let them sit for a few days until they're completely dry. The Heavy Petal gardener used a 16 oz measure and said the recipe made enough for 300 (!) seed balls.

The red clay you can get from a well-stocked craft store or from a pottery supply store--remember, you want the powder, not the pre-mixed stuff. The seeds can be anything you want, although it's a good idea to include only native plants, or at least non-invasive plants, if you're planning to use these to re-plant the world guerrilla-style.

Here's a little more explanation about seed balls: http://heavypetal.ca/archives/2007/03/a-brief-history-of-the-seed-ball/

Tuesday

This week, that we call Holy Week, in which we remember and celebrate the events that happened in the week before Jesus' death, is the most well-documented week of Jesus' life. If it was me, with all this stuff going on, my mind would be reeling. I just can't get my brain around the impromptu parade of Sunday, followed by cleaning house at the temple and teaching all week, all while one of your closest associates is plotting with your enemies to get rid of you. I can't imagine how the tide of public opinion could shift so swiftly, that they were shouting praises to a king five days before shouting even more loudly for his death.

So, today I want y'all to think about something that our children's timeline Bible says happened on Tuesday of that week, but the other Bibles just say happened sometime between the triumphal entry and the last supper. Jesus was teaching in the temple, and the religious leaders thought he was dangerous and stirring up trouble (true, true), and so they were looking for a way to get rid of him, and they sent a spy to try to trick Jesus. Let me just stop here to say, what a smart man Jesus was. He knew they were trying to trap him, which, really anyone could have seen, but he knew exactly how to transcend the situation, and not get snared in their trap. Amazing.

Anyway, the spy asked Jesus if the Jewish people should pay taxes to Caesar. This is a no-win question because if Jesus said they shouldn't pay taxes, the Roman government would be upset, and accuse Jesus of treason, but if Jesus said they should pay taxes, the Jews would be upset, and not just because they didn't like paying taxes. I'm a little vague on this, but it was something about graven images being against God's law, and, of course, the coins used to pay taxes contained a graven image.

So what did Jesus answer? He asked the spy to show him a coin, and then asked the man whose image and name appeared on the coin. "Caesar," he replied, to which Jesus answered, "well, if this is Caesar's, give it to him, but make sure you give God what belongs to Him." (that's the Step-by-Step Bible wording, you've probably heard it with renders and untos in the past). The religious leaders were "amazed" by Jesus' answer (me too). They were so sure that they had caught him, but there was nothing they could say to that. Stay tuned, though, because those religious leaders just don't give up...

I've thought a lot about the second part of Jesus' answer: "make sure you give God what belongs to Him." It gives me tingles to read that, because the Roman coins were made in Caesar's image, with Caesar's name on them, but we, flawed and imperfect as we are, are made in God's image, and God's name is written on our hearts. Sure, the Caesars of this world can have their money, but God...God demands all of each of us: everything that we are, everything that we do.