Are You Fully Charged?

September 30, 2009

In a recent sermon, Brother Tim mentioned that the purpose of Sunday services was to recharge us spiritually and to prepare us for the week ahead. My mind immediately went to my constant companion—my cell phone.

The wonderful phone I have now can do almost anything. I can check the weather, sports scores, and send e-mails all at the touch of a button on my phone. The downside of this fabulous technology is that it EATS battery power. If I don’t plug it into a battery charger every single day, it is nothing but a useless hunk of metal and plastic that serves no purpose.

The same is true in my relationship with God. I can go out and carry on with all my responsibilities as a mom, wife, daughter, church member, and citizen—but at the end of the day, if I have neglected my relationship with God for the day, I am spiritually empty. I need to continually “plug in” to a body of believers and get my spirit recharged so that I can be the best servant of God that I can be.

If you find yourself running low on power, remember who is the source and owner of all power. He will recharge and renew you in all ways.

He's not a Girly Man.

September 23, 2009
...

This is "Johnny Appleseed" week at school. Luke has come home singing the praises of homemade applesauce and apple pie the last couple of days. My assignment is to send apple muffins tomorrow.

Luke is really into the whole "Johnny Appleseed" story. But I noticed that when I brought it up at bedtime Monday night, he looked a little confused.

Me: "What's up, buddy?"

Luke: "Mommy, did Johnny Appleseed have girly hair?"

Me: "Huh? I don't think so, I mean, I don't really know..."

Luke: "Oh, okay. Goodnight!"

I tucked both kids in and came downstairs. I was cleaning up the kitchen when I saw some of Luke's schoolwork sitting in a pile on the counter, with a Johnny Appleseed puppet on top.

I get it now.

Roll Tide, Emma!

September 21, 2009

...


We had all the ingredients for a Perfect Storm: Alabama football, pouring rain, crazy high humidity, and my sweet Angel of a daughter:Emma is not a football fan. In fact, she really didn't want to go to the game last Saturday. The only other game Emma had been to was the infamous contest against Southern Miss that resulted in "The Catch." It doesn't get better than that, people!

Emma.HATED.it. Big Time. She hated everything about the game experience. We took her to an A Day once after that, but I don't even like those, so I understood her angst.

I had talked the game up as much as I could and had even bought matching shirts for the two of us girls to wear. It didn't help my case that we had to (1.) Get up early on a Saturday morning or (2.) Drive in the pouring rain for over an hour to get to Tuscaloosa. I made the mistake of telling her that I brought a poncho for her that had Care Bears on it. She gave me the stinkiest Stinkeye that has ever been. (In my defense, it was a poncho that I'd bought when she was 6 or 7 and she had never worn. Note to self: Care Bears are NOT COOL for 4th graders.)

I was happy to see that the rain completely stopped the second Jason parked my car. As we got out (preparing for our 8 mile hike to the stadium--another plus for Lil' Miss Grouchy), Emma handed me her Nintendo DS, so she'd "have something to do during the game."

Oh dear.

Emma complained less about the trek to the stadium than I thought she would. Jason upgraded our tickets, so we didn't have to hike to the top of the back of the stadium, so that helped her mood a lot, too.

The game kicked off. I glanced over at Emma.She was actually watching the game...and she looked interested. (Luke was totally into the game. He is Terrence Cody's #1 fan.)

She wasn't cheering or anything, but at least she wasn't complaining.

We scored a few touchdowns. I dared look at her again.
She was smiling?

Halftime rolled around. The Million Dollar Band put on a fantastic show, as always.And, glory be, Emma was still happy.
We scored another touchdown or two. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw this:Emma was cheering and signaling a touchdown. Who are you and what did you do with Emma?

The action slowed a little bit with the second stringers in, so Daddy sweetened the deal with popcorn and sodas for everyone:Food and caffeine ALWAYS help. (Yes, I am sunburned. Yes, we were sitting in the shade. Yes, it was a mostly overcast day. I am a special kind of pale.)

It may have helped that we promised Emma that we were going to go out for Italian when the game was over. Emma is a big, big fan of noodles. Noodles ALWAYS make Emma smile.Alabama won the game 53-7, which kept everyone in a great mood. We managed not to get rained on at all, so all in all, it was a pretty perfect day. (By the way, the Nintendo Game never came out of my backpack! Score!)
We had dinner at Mr. G's Italian Restaurant with Grandma and Grandpa. No sooner than when we sat down, the bottom absolutely fell out of the clouds. There was torrential rain, lightning, and thunder all around us. It stopped just as it was time for us to leave. God is so good.

I can't help but think of the quote from Bear Bryant, "God smiled on the Tide today." I think God smiled on the Robinson family, too! I am so proud of Emma having a good attitude and making up her mind to have a good time!

Note: Emma said she had a great time, but doesn't think she wants to go to any more games this year. I am totally okay with that!

A Precious Moment

September 16, 2009

Luke excitedly rushed up to me in the cafeteria as I was waiting to pick him up from school yesterday.

"Mommy! I got to go the the Treasure Box today. I got you something!"

"Oh, how wonderful! What is it?"

"It isn't candy!"

"Oh! Wow. What is it, Luke? I can't wait to find out!"

"I'll show you when we get home."

He excitedly fidgeted and grinned from ear-to-ear the whole way home. He even took a break from being a pesky little brother to Emma, he was so pleased with himself.

After we came in the house and hung up backpacks, Luke ran into the kitchen with one hand behind his back. After telling Emma to come see, he took both my hands in his hand and gave me this:He told me that I would need to be very careful with it and not to lose it. He said he thought my jewelry box would be a good place to keep it.

I hugged him tight and told him how much I appreciated him thinking of me. I know that he passed over suckers, Tootsie Rolls (his favorite), stickers, and other assorted items that would have made him happy, just to get something for me. My heart still melts every time I think about it.

He told me this morning that he had to save marbles from 6 days of school in order to earn enough credits to go to the Treasure Box. I asked him how he earned the marbles. He told me that he has to do nice things without being asked to do them, like being quiet in the bathroom and getting his stuff together at the end of the day. He told me that he is going to save up and get me another one in blue to wear on my other hand.

I am going to treasure this ill-fitting piece of silver and purple plastic always. I sure do love this boy.

This is a No-Shake Zone.

September 14, 2009

I have mentioned before that I hate shaking hands. With all the fears of flu and other generally nasty bugs going around, I would like to propose that we cease ALL handshaking immediately.

Could we adopt the Japanese bowing custom instead?
Nobody touches anybody, and unless somebody sneezes on the way down, no germs are exchanged.

Lately, I have found that my germaphobia may be getting the best of me. Just yesterday at church, I knew the pastor would be greeting people as they arrived. Since we are always some of the last people to get to church, he stands in the hall and waits for us. All I could think about was how many hands he had shaken right before we got there. Instead of shaking his hand and walking straight into the bathroom to suds it up and wash it off, I transferred my purse, my Bible, and my church bulletin to my hands. When he extended his hand to me, I waved my full hands at him. He laughed at me because he knows what a germaphobe I truly am. In fact, he tortures me with the handshaking sometimes. (NOTE: He is a wonderful man of God, really. God just blessed him with an evil sense of humor.)

To protect myself from cooties and other various and assorted maladies, I've been thinking of other ways to avoid the dreaded handshake:

• Sneeze or cough directly on your hands right when the other person extends theirs. Apologize and look sheepishly at your hands.
• Go in for the side-hug when the person comes at your with their hand out. (If you are me, turn your head in the opposite direction. And maybe go change clothes. Whatever.)
• Wave from a distance. This especially works well if you go with the "full hands" avoidance maneuver. That way, you both avoid the awkward extended hand left hanging.
• Gloves and/or hand braces. "My hands are really cold!" and/or "Ouch, my hand, my hand!"
• Salute. It looks weird, it feels weird, but no germs are exchanged.
• Tight pants. "Sorry, my hands are stuck in my pockets and I totally can't get them out."

I know I'm not the only crazy clean one out here. What do you do to avoid handshakes?



While you are in the neighborhood, go check out Wendy's "Life is Funny" blog carnival. Just wash your hands before you stop by, okay? : )

Yes, he is always THAT funny.

September 11, 2009

Yesterday I heard Luke telling Emma about something he wanted to play. I listened closely the 2nd time he said it to make sure I'd heard him correctly.

He said, "Emma, where is my chump rope? I want to chump rope with you."

I asked, "Luke, did you just say 'chump' rope?"

He said, "Yep."

I laughed a lot.

The day before that, we heard the Free Credit Report commercial on the radio. You know the one: "F-R-E-E, that spells free!" Luke was listening carefully (mostly because I was singing and dancing to it), and had a confused look on his face. (Maybe it was my dancing...)

"Why are they singing about that?"

I told him it was a commercial to get a free credit report and that f-r-e-e did, indeed, spell 'free.'

He thought for a second.

"But why do they spell the number the same way?"

It took me a few seconds to catch on.

"Do you mean three, t-h-r-e-e?"

He replied, "Yep. 'Free.' T-h-r-e-e."

*Snort*


(This is how Luke ALWAYS sits. We call him "Pretzel Boy." I'm pretty sure I was NEVER that flexible.)

Disturbing Toy Alert

September 10, 2009


Oh, look. Emma found a funny rubber chicken. It is just so hilarious, what with its rubbery chicken-ness. Oh, dear. What's that? Eek! What came first, the rubber chicken or the nasty rubber egg? Complete with yolk? Ugh. I die.I found these on the Clearance Aisle at Toys-R-Us. I just can't imagine why they were there.They are "Baby Abuelitas." Tiny little dolls of grandparents. That sing. In Spanish. That look really odd. And Creepy.
One more disturbing kid-related item, just for kicks...

Martha Stewart wants to help you make a Halloween costume for Junior.
REALLY, MARTHA STEWART????

What disturbing items for kids have you found lately? Are you going to make a costume for your baby that makes other people want to eat him or her?

Tide Pride, Deep and Wide!

September 4, 2009

I didn't grow up in a "House Divided" home. It was more like a "House Apathetic." My parents really didn't watch football, so as a by-product of that (mis)guidance, I didn't either. That explains how these pictures exist:

"What's that shirt say?"

"But, Lianne, how...what...?"

It says "I'm a Little Tiger from Auburn." And, yes, that's me.
Never speak of this again.

Even though my parents committed the cardinal sin, they still had positive images in the house for me to learn from.That's not to say they didn't do their part to confuse me. They owned the obligatory glass Bear Bryant Coke bottle that EVERYONE in the state owns. But they displayed it in a wooden Auburn shelf thing. It's a wonder I don't have split personalities.

Of course, once I got to elementary school I learned that one MUST pick who to root for. There is no gray area when it comes to Alabama and Auburn in this state. I decided that since the little boy I liked in kindergarten was an Alabama fan, that I must be one too.

And that's how it started.

A few (19) years after kindergarten, I bought a Daniel Moore picture for another boy I liked enough to marry. Emma was born 5 days before football season started in 2000. Really, I had some concerns as to what would happen if she waited until the middle of a game to make her appearance. One must have priorities.

(She's wearing Alabama booties here.)Emma soon learned of the wonder that is Crimson Tide football.

We began the brainwashing early on.

When Luke was born, he, too, was indoctrinated.

And they were so darn cute in their Bama outfits.

We took them to God's Country, Tuscaloosa, early and often.

We have a LOT of Bama stuff in our house. A LOT.

And outside our house...

Coming and going, we are rolling with the Tide.

We own the requisite picture of Tyrone Prothro making The Catch. We saw it in person. It was just as amazing as it looked on tv, if not more so.

I have curtains with elephants. Big Al would approve.

A little light coffee table read.

Gameday flag...

Pictures of Bear are required if you are a real fan...

...as is a football shrine of some sort, that MUST include the Alabama Coke bottles, if not a bust of Bear himself.

The kids have closets full of Alabama gear. Luke once went a whole week of kindergarten where he picked out an Alabama shirt to wear every day of that week.

My Brother-in-law, Joel, sometimes lets us go with him to the games. His seats are VERY high, as in top of the back of the stadium. It's like climbing Everest to get there, but we love it.Emma was proud to show off her Bama spirit just this morning.

Luke would wear this jersey 365 days a year if I'd let him...

...because it's not only Alabama, but Jay Barker autographed it.

Tide Pride runs deep. We are really looking forward to this football season!

Roll Tide!