Knit 1, pearl 1, raise 1...

I had to wait for a few minutes in the casino while Chris finished his poker game. I found a window seat across from the poker room and sat and read my book.

Chris: You are such an oddity.
Me: Not as much of an oddity as I could have been - I wanted to knit.

This is the view from our balcony. We each mentioned what struck us about the view. I didn't notice the NYC skyline. Chris didn't notice the mountains.

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Because it works...

Chris and I are in Vegas.  He loves to play poker.  I want a vacation to ... sit in a hotel room.  Seriously, I could be at Motel 6 in Des Moines, and as long as I don't have to fix a sandwich for anyone, I'm happy.

In the plane on the way here, I really thought the row in front of us was being secretly filmed for What Would You Do.  The plane was completely full.  It was a four hour long Southwest flight with first come, first serve seating.  There were two middle seats available in the row in front of us.  The other four seats in the row were occupied by large men (which would be why those were the last two seats).  One of them looked fierce - dark sunglasses, tattoos, stern look.  An attractive young woman bustled up the aisle with a man in tow.  She asked Fierce to move to a middle seat so she and her fiance could sit together.  Pause for a minute to let that sink in.  Fierce unapologetically said no.  She went frantically back up the aisle to search for two adjacent seats that did not exist.  Finally, she gave up and she and her fiance sat in middle seats across from one another where she - wait for it - BURST INTO HYSTERICAL TEARS.  We all know what happened next.  Fierce, who would probably scare you in a dark alley, is actually a gummy bear on the inside, gave up his aisle seat so that this woman who doesn't look scary could sit next to her fiance.  The tears ceased.  She calmly collected her things and moved to the seat beside her fiance.

Me to Chris:  That's why we do it.  It works.  Every time.

In the interest of honesty, I have to admit something that came to mind as I was laughing at this ridiculous scene.  As a new bride, I would get mad at Chris if he didn't hold my hand in church.*  Not a little irritated.  Not a sarcastic comment dropped here and there.  But hour long discussion kind of mad.  I didn't cry, though.  Whining was usually my MO when I needed to bring out the heavy artillery.**

*I think I need to clarify that - not if he wasn't willing to hold my hand but if he did not initiate holding my hand.

**Yes, I used the past tense.  I like to think of it as hope more than as hypocrisy.

Literally true...

A not so recent conversation...

Jacob:  There's another damn car.

Me:  What did you say???

David:  He means damaged.

Jacob:  Yeah, that car has one damn on it.  

Me:  (outward serenity, internal laughter, and relief that I asked before I flipped out)

King david...

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
       even at night my heart instructs me.
I have set the LORD always before me.
       Because he is at my right hand,
       I will not be shaken.
You have made known to me the path of life;
       you will fill me with joy in your presence,
       with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16:7-8, 11

I'm reading about King David with the boys right now.  He refused to kill Saul or his descendants, even in the face of great provocation from Saul, anointing from God and multiple opportunities.  Out of reverence for and fear of God, he refused to do what made A LOT of sense in his day - to kill off the rival king and heirs who threatened your power, particularly if that king was actively trying to kill you,  was a no-brainer.  David even had the men who claimed to have killed Saul and who had murdered Saul's son executed.  In his day, that was a crazy way to do things - but it was God's way.

This hit me even harder when I read later on that day about the actions of the Roman emporers who claimed to be Christian.  They consistently killed off rivals, and they had Jesus' teachings.  Their culture and the "practical" way of doing things was just too ingrained.  I know that in all likelihood some were not believers but just used Christianity for political purposes.  But I think some really were believers and just would not let go of pursuing life their own way to let the Lord counsel them.

This makes me wonder what I accept blindly and unthinkingly from my culture but is actually offensive to God and not even in my best interest.

Unexpected...

Things I didn't expect to say today:

"No punting in the living room."

"Don't stand in the refrigerator."

"The axe and the dagger are in the front seat."

Things I didn't expect to hear today:

"Daddy, will you hold Mommy down so I can burp in her ear?"

Things I didn't expect to see today:

Purple flowers with a backdrop of fall leaves.

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Menstrart...

Bryan was unaccounted for on Saturday, and the house was eerily quiet.  I assumed this meant he was

1.  Playing outside with his brothers.
2.  Playing alone in the basement - probably with the Lego creations his brothers usually won't let him touch.
3.  Wreaking quiet havoc in unknown parts of the house.

Just in case the answer was #3, implying significant effort from me, I figured I might as well enjoy another chapter of my book before dealing with the mess.

I eventually found this in my bathroom.

In this stunning piece, entitled Menstrart*, the artist used a maxi-pad as his canvas and toothpaste as the adhesive for the decorative tampons.

Seriously, I think I could sell this to the Guggenheim.  It's much more interesting than the pane of glass leaning against the wall or the rusty bedsprings on display the last time I was there.

*Menstrart - menstrual art

Dangers of babyhood in the wilds of suburbia...

Who knew the Tupperware cabinet could be fraught with danger?


For the record, David wanted to take it off him immediately and I insisted on a picture first.

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