Nine Tidbits

* Having friends (that we haven't seen in over a year) come from California to stay with us for a few days is wonderful incentive to do things like...
~ clean out the refrigerator,
~ plan the menu (not just for supper, but for breakfast and lunch, too),
~ do a thorough grocery shopping,
~ clean and organize everything in the room in which they will stay,
~ put out some smoldering hotspots that have been ignored for far too long.

* Thinking of them flying, with their three young children, on a red-eye flight right now reminds me - a little too vividly - of our experiences with flying with children.  Tonight, I'm grateful to be here in my own sweet home, ready to crawl into my own cozy bed, not thousands of feet up in the air, crowded into too-small seats, wishing that the recline button made the seat go back even further, and praying earnestly that the children would sleep the whole way!  Even still, I'm glad that our friends are willing to make the sacrifice to come.  :)

* Google still won't let me load pictures to my blog, even though I bought the storage space and my account shows that I have the storage space.  Hmmm...what's going on?

* Our dogs killed a possum last night.  Our pasture is no playground for rodents and other critters, that's for sure.  All three of our dogs have hunter characteristics in their blood, and they aren't predisposed to show mercy to wanderers in their territory.

* This stood out to me from a sermon I heard on Sunday:  We dare not reject one for whom Christ died. (spoken by Sam Wenger) There are some people that are so hard to love; but when I think about it in the light of Christ's sacrifice for them, how could I possibly do less than love them?

* This post stirred up some interesting discussion; I had no idea I was touching such a nerve!  I really enjoyed and appreciated hearing a wide variety of perspectives on the topic, so thank you to those of you who threw your hat in the ring and left a comment.  I learned from you!

* As we were driving away from David's soccer game on Saturday, he was sitting in the backseat, munching on his Congo Square.  My late-night cookie-making angst was instantly worth it when I heard him exclaim, "Man, this cookie is GOOD!"  And then Tobin piped up, "Yeah, I like that cookie, too!"  (Except in Tobin Talk, it sounded more like, "Ah, I yike dat ookie, too!"  In that moment, I was SO glad I had made those cookies; I got all the reward I needed.  :)

* Tobin's favorite expression these days:  "Oh, dear!"  Jeff claims he got it from me.  I suppose he did.  Regardless, it cracks me up when he says it.  Oh, Tobin Bear, you're adorable!

* Here are two posts that stood out to me in recent days:  first, this one at Feathers in Our Nest, showing four generations of women.  The great-grandma in this picture was my kindergarten teacher, and she's kept in touch with my family through the years and watched me grow up.  The grandma in the picture has reached out to me, especially since we moved back from Israel; and her input on homeschooling, the comments she's left on my blog, and other unexpected kindnesses she's shown me have blessed my soul numerous times.  What a joy to see the new mama in the picture and her precious little girl.  The Godly legacy continues...  The second post is this one at Amy's Humble Musings.  The title alone - "I'm not sure who came up with the 'family integrated' church model, but I guarantee you, it wasn't a single mom." - was enough to intrigue me; and when I read it, I laughed and laughed as I nodded in agreement.  Yes, I know exactly how you feel.  The comments on that post just add to the merriment.  Good stuff.