In-Law Visit, Part 2 and Church Membership

Well, they are here. Rob is out playing golf with his dad, and Grace and I had a lovely morning of shopping with Grandma! Grace has learned to say "Grandma," but instead of the "gr" at the beginning, it's an "m" sound. We went to a new store in town, Tuesday Morning, where I spent more than I should have, and was tempted to spend even more. We also found a lovely bookstore downtown, where "Mandma" found Grace a pink MS State hat, something she'd been looking to buy for her. Then we came home and had a delicious salad for lunch. I think we're going out to dinner, again...

Also we were privileged to join our new church here yesterday. We were equally privileged to have Grace baptized. We've been made to feel very welcome by everyone here, and we are grateful for that.

A visit from the in-laws

My in-laws are expected to arrive sometime around 2pm today. They will be visiting for about a week, during which time we plan to take them to see Graceland! After all, Elvis still lives on in the hearts of his many fans. I also have to keep up with my schoolwork while they are here. That includes taking the Praxis II test in English at 7:30am on Saturday, and taking an online Sociology exam sometime between Wednesday and Friday next week, when we will be in Memphis.

Also on Sunday, my husband and I are joining our church, and our daughter Grace is getting baptized! We are very excited and blessed, and it adds to our excitement that Rob's parents will be here to see that. We are praying for God to move in their hearts while they are here.

We also continue to follow the new administration with great interest. We are excited to see what the next four years holds for this great country of ours.

Another year has come and gone

38.

Thirty-eight.

THIRTY-EIGHT?! That sounds so adult, so responsible, so... OLD!!! How is it possible that I've lived on this earth for 38 years, yet I still feel so young? It seems equally impossible that I graduated from High School more than TWENTY years ago! Where has the time gone?

It is interesting to read my post from a year ago, in which I said that I am not in touch with very many of my high school classmates. Since then, I have joined Facebook! There are LOTS of my classmates from the Northampton High class of 1988! In fact, the 20-year reunion is this year! Sadly, I will not be able to attend. My family and I have made other plans for Thanksgiving, and the reunion is the Saturday following. I am hopeful that my classmates will have a great time, and will post lots of pictures on their respective Facebook accounts.

I am happy to announce, however, that my life is SO MUCH BETTER now than it was 20, or even 10, years ago. Since the 10-year reunion in 1998, which I helped to organize, I have met my wonderful husband and we have Grace, our beautiful 2-year-old daughter. I have moved cross-country twice, the first time by myself to marry Rob, and the second time with him, just this past summer, for his career. I have attained a Bachelor's degree in Accounting, and started on a Master's degree which will probably end up being in Education. 10 years ago, I was single and had moved back in with my parents. Now, I have a family in my own right and though I never expected to live anywhere but New England, I have lived on the West coast, and now live in the South. I have seen so many wonderful sights in this country, and I am very thankful for all of the things I have been privileged to do. Here's to the next year, and the next decade, and the next 20 years!

Not the Veggie Tales I remember.

Last night, we decided to rent "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything." My previous experience with the Veggie Tales videos has been that they are either Bible stories or fable-like tales, directed at children to teach Biblical values. For example, "Rack, Shack, and Benny" is a re-telling of the story of Shadrack, Meschach, and Abednego. Rack, Shack, and Benny are workers in a factory that makes chocolate bunnies. One day at work, all of the employees are told to bow down and worship the giant chocolate bunny. R, S, & B refuse, because their parents had taught them to worship God alone. At the end of these half-hour tales, there is a summation given by "Larry the Cucumber" and "Bob the Tomato" which gives a scripture reference, and encourages kids to live out the principles illustrated by the story they have just seen.

We expected the same type of lesson from "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything," and were very disappointed. The story lacked the usual wit of the creators, and the only lesson taught was a very subtle message of "do what's right." There was no mention of God. The best reason given to do what's right is so that your kids will be proud of you. Not a terrible reason, but not exactly Christ-centered either. While we intend to purchase several Veggie Tale videos as Grace gets older, "Pirates" will not be one of them.

A new era

Tonight, Rob and I watched election returns. We sat, hand in hand, awaiting the results, then they came. Wolf Blitzer announced that Barack Obama is the President-Elect of the United States of America. What an historic moment. Whether you supported Obama or not, it is undeniable that for this country to elect a man as President who is not white is a monumental feat for us.


We are awed, and stunned, and amazed, and incredulous. Right after the announcement, we said a prayer that God would change his heart on the abortion issue before he takes office, and that he would be a man who listens to wise counsel and seeks to do the will of Him who, ultimately, placed him in that position.


May God bless you, Senator Obama. I pray that you really will bring to this country the "change we need."