I can paint!

I have a dear friend, April who is an artist. She made a darling measuring stick for Zoe's room. It's the first thing you see when you walk into her room. It's safe to say I love it completely. I would pay any amount to have April to my home to paint her goodness everywhere.

She and her husband Andrew (who is a very talented musician) were in town this weekend for some fellowship with friends.

Additionally, April taught a painting class. While I can barely draw stick figures, both April and Andrew assured me that I could learn. Because I don't like to go to these types of new adventures alone, I bribed my mom into doing it with me.

I'll be darned. We can paint. I was totally impressed with both of our pieces. Actually, I'm going to take my 50% off coupon from Michaels and get the picture framed.

Thank you April and Andrew. You both have ministered to my soul in ways that I cannot thank you enough.

April, major points to you for teaching me to paint. I only wished I lived in Nashville so I could be your constant student.

We are Jumpers

The YMCA has gymnastics classes for toddlers. There was originally some confusion as to which class we should be in.

The website said we should be in the Gymagine class. Apparently they work on the vault, uneven bars, balance beam and floor. While I have no doubt Zoe will be a gymnastic prodigy, this class is a mommy/me class. I can't even play Twister without losing much needed oxygen. There is no way I can do the vault or the uneven bars.

Just the thought gives me flashbacks to high school P.E. It's not pretty.

Fortunately, because God really loves me, we are indeed supposed to be in the Jumpers class. That means intro to gymnastics and perhaps working on Zoe's sommersaults.

We start next Thursday. Because N is done with this quarter, he will get to watch and document the night for years of black mail against me.

When the moon hits your eye like a big piece of metal...

N got home Wednesday night and complained that his eye was a bit sore. When he rubbed it he thought he had something in it. Like an eyelash.

He put his eye under the faucet to flush whatever it was out.

This morning it was still hurting. Not to mention a little swollen and bright red.

Not to appear like a wuss, he went to school tonight ready to learn more about metal.

Then he called me about 45 minutes into his class. He couldn't see and his eye was incredibly painful. He was thinking about coming home. His teacher said he could do his final on Saturday. Oh and could I pull the lids of his eye back and flush it out with some saline solution?

Like the caring wife that I am, I told him to go to the minor ER because there is no way I would be able to pull any lids open and flush anything. The thought made me vomit a little in my mouth.

The official diagnosis from the medical professionals who can pull lids and flush stuff was a piece of metal ground into his cornea.

But wait, if that wasn't bad enough, there was also a rust ring. On his cornea. Which they had to scrape out. With a buffing like tool.

With his eyes open, but numb.

Apparently when the moon hits your eye like a big piece of metal that's rusty.

You want me to put my right foot where?

For Christmas E got the game of Twister. In pink. She's been dying to try it out.

After a couple months of good, solid stretching, N and I decided to try our skills. Apparently neither of us are that limber.

We both suffer from heat exhaustion after putting our left foot on green, right foot on pink and doing some downward facing dog move from yoga to put our right hand on purple. I'm still a little lightheaded from all the downward facing.

D & E decided to start the game in jeans and I in a sweater. Apparently jeans are a bad idea. Not much movement in them. I won the first round. Although I have to say I don't remember much due to the lack of oxygen from having my head pointed toward the floor and waiting for N to SPIN. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SPIN FASTER!

It feels like an eternity when you are losing precious oxygen to wait to hear the next place you have to put your left foot.

Fortunately we got the hang of it. Squatting is essential in the game. Even Zoe got in on the action. Although she's still working on learning her colors and her left from her right. She was more of an obstacle than a player. Fortunately she didn't get squished.

She did make up her own moves. Apparently the newest thing in Twister is to put your forehead on a color now.

The good news is you can also put your knees on the ground and pass out.

Woozle Sleuthing

In one of the Tigger and Pooh episodes they go sleuthing for Woozles. We've seen this episode many times. Each time Zoe will bring us a net.

It wasn't until this weekend that N figured out what she was doing. Apparently our house is infested with woozles. Zoe needed help finding them all.

Here she is with daddy on the hunt.


They were successful. They caught me. Apparently I'm the oldest woozle known to man.

They were so proud.

Our little Keiki

This past week I've been cleaning out Zoe's closet to make room for all the new, summer clothes.

I found a dress I forgot we had.

Awhile ago we took a trip to O'ahu for Christmas with N's family. Aunt Mer bought a dress for Zoe because it matched the colors of her nursery.

At the time Zoe looked like this.

The dress was a size 4 and I knew it would be perfect for a summer many years down the road.

Fast forward to this past Sunday. She's big enough to wear the dress. It's just a little too cold for sleeveless.

Thank you Aunt Mer for the beautiful dress. She was a total hit with the nursery crowd.

Global Food Crisis Day

I'm one of those people that when the radio stations go into pledge drive mode, I listen to another station that week. I know that's probably really wrong to admit, but it's a whole week of "we need your money" and it gets on my nerves.

This morning you can imagine my delight when it was another pledge drive. I almost changed the channel until I heard the words "1 dies every 7 seconds." That totally got me curious as to what they were talking about. What dies and why?

Well it's Global Food Crisis Day. While I know there is hunger in many parts of the world, that statistic totally threw me. As I listened, I was totally thrown by the other statistics.

300 million children will go to bed hungry. Of those 25,000 won't wake up tomorrow because of malnutrition. Parents have to pick which of their children will eat when they have food.

I cannot even fathom looking at any of my children and saying, "I'm sorry, but you can't eat today." Then to go to bed, pray that they survive through the night and that tomorrow might bring food.

We are in an international crisis. People who used to afford food no longer can. The cost of rice has doubled in the last year. For families who spent 80% of their income on rice, just to eat, now cannot afford it at all.

Yet I can go to any number of grocery stores and buy that food without problem. I can also give up 3 lattes a month and feed a child.

If you are interested, you can go to Compassion International and feed a child for a month for $13. It can be a one-time contribution.

You can help some parent not have to pick which child will eat today.

"Help your brothers until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you" (Joshua 1:14-15, niv).