A Donkey in Church?

We went to church tonight to see the annual Easter drama production. Everyone I spoke to earlier in the week raved about how the drama ministry in my new church is so strong. "Semi professional" is the term most used along with "and it's free". Many said that I could not miss it. Just about all said they wouldn't miss it.

I had a MOPS meeting at church on Thursday so I was able to peek at the scenery. WOW! As soon as I saw this set, I knew I had to see the play. The stage was set in the old sanctuary of the church. The scenery ran along every wall. It was 360 degrees of Jerusalem scenery with all the chairs for spectators in the middle. I was so impressed but is the play really going to be as good as the set? As good and better.

The play was awesome! The acting was fantastic! The band played well! I have been to many plays and even volunteered at a theater before. I've never seen a play produced as well as this one.

The Play is told by John the disciple when he is an older man, just after he finished writing Revelations. It is looking back on the last week of Jesus' life to the Resurrection. It was well done and there were at least 500 people in that sanctuary that could attest to this.

My daughter had two favorite parts. One was when Jesus was dragging the cross down the aisle to the front. It appeared real to her. Maybe that is because the cross was real. This guy is dragging a solid wooden cross that is twice his size and he was struggling with it. He half carried it, half dragged it to the front and then off stage. The other favorite part was the Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey. Yes, they used a REAL donkey. I'm so glad we were close to the aisle so my daughter had a good look. Jesus rode down the aisle of my church, to the stage, on a real donkey, while the rest of the cast was there with palms.

What I loved about this play was that every scene was done so well and realistic. There was no "on stage" crucifixion. Lets face it. I've never seen a play that was able to pull off a "realistic" looking crucifixion scene. What they did tonight though was set the stage and leave the scene of Christ's death to the spectator's imagination. WOW! It was extremely powerful.

There are two more shows on Easter day. I hope each of those shows is just as packed as this one. Last year they had over 1500 in attendence between all three shows. Looks like it could be the same this year.

It was a great experience for my family to spend Easter Eve in church watching the last week of Jesus' life to the Resurrection. Sure we all know the story. When you see it played out so well in front of your eyes though, it's a gift.

Happy Easter!

I'm a FlyBaby!

I have always been challenged in the area of housekeeping. I am NOT Suzie Homemaker and would never pretend to be. I am honest. I tell people that although I consider myself a very good mother, I'm not great at cleaning.

Someone at The Homeschool Library recommended FlyLady to me. I had never heard of her. I looked her up, read her site and joined. It's been three days of my inbox being inundated with email reminders and testimonials and such. I thought I better get started. Today, I shined my sink.

I have an island in the middle of my kitchen with my sink located there. It has been a dumping ground for everything that I couldn't immediately find a home for. It didn't take long for my kitchen to look horrible. Stacks of papers, books, newspapers, magazines, craft items, baskets, single baby socks I couldn't find a mate to, Easter decorations (I found some Christmas decorations too!) were all items that I found today in my quest to "shine my sink" and the surrounding area.

Well I completed the project and it looks beautiful. My whole kitchen was transformed by that one task. The funny thing is I have been going into the kitchen all night and it's like I can't stop staring at my sink! Sometimes I walk into the kitchen and forget what I did today and am pleasantly surprised. This can't be my kitchen.

I'm very excited to continue with this program to see if it works for me. By the way, it's free. No joining fee and a ton of great organization, declutter, cleaning and health information! I have nothing to lose!

Wordless Wednesday 14

Little Piggies Showing Make Me a Bad Mother?

I am not a big fan of WalMart but I'm also not wealthy. I continue to go because I save money and I can shop for everything in one place. One stop shopping is priceless to a mother of three. I've had several bad experiences there. They range from standing in line for 45 minutes to being accused of shoplifting a piece of furniture because the receipt was MIA in my huge coat (snagged from my husband because I was 7 months pregnant), but that's a whole other story. There are many more stories in the WalMart Vault of Bad Experiences.

I went to WalMart today to pick up a few things (Easter goodies, eggs, ham for Easter dinner, popsicle sticks for daughters project.) I was in the craft aisle, minding my own business, when an employee came up and said how beautiful Lucianna is (of course) and all the cute baby conversation that goes with it. The woman then noticed that Luci didn't have any socks on her feet. She stated that her feet must be cold (actually they were warm, my daughter is a little hotbox always radiating heat.) I told her it was really warm out. I thought that the conversation would end there but that was not the case. The woman then said to me in a voice slathered with attitude, "It's not that warm out!" She then continued to stock and straighten shelves with her head held high in superiority.

I suppose I could have let this go. I could have walked away. No not me. I HATE it when people judge me and criticize how I mother my baby. Maybe this "all knowing" woman thought that I was a silly minded first time mother. Maybe she thought I was poor and illiterate because I couldn't decide which brand of popsicle stick was a better value. Maybe this woman thought less of me because I have an awful rash of dermatitis. I must be a horrible person because I'm not pleasant to look upon. Right? Well she had better set me straight from my wayward parenting path.

Although I owed this woman no explanation, I wouldn't leave the conversation at that. I proceeded to tell her that my daughter's left foot is dropped. She has never and will never be able to move her foot back without assistance due to an underdeveloped nerve. I have yet to find a shoe or bootie to stay on that foot. (One day she did have booties on in WalMart and I backtracked all over the store to find that left bootie.) Socks that do stay on are usually too tight on a foot that the circulation isn't all that great as it is. Also I don't believe in over bundling my child and while were at it I also don't believe in cleaning too much because immune systems can be lowered by killing all the bacteria in your house. This baby has never had to go to the doctors office for being ill. My three year old hasn't been to a doctor for illness for over a year and a half. I can't even remember the last time my 9 year old was so ill that a doctor's visit was required. So the next time you open your mouth to judge a mother on her parenting skills, think twice about it.

She apologized, over and over again. She then was so embarrassed and said "Well she LOOKS perfect." I said, "She IS perfect."

And just so you know, my girls do get the occasional runny nose and cold (although Monica never, ever gets sick). The flu actually hit us pretty hard around Christmas. I thought we might actually have to go to the doctor, but everything cleared up without the dreaded visit. It was the first time in a long time.

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz OUCH!

It's been years since the last time I was stung until today. The funny thing is that I was stung this year before I even saw a bee, any bee for that matter (actually it was a yellow jacket.) It wasn't even that warm today. The wind was downright chilly. I think I may have been stung by the only yellow jacket tough enough to stand the cool temperature.

I was getting out of my van. I put my hand on the door to shut it and I felt searing, hot pain on my thumb. I pulled my hand away as fast as I could and saw the little pest. It got me good. I muttered a few words under my breath and flicked it away so it wouldn't get in the van to sting Alex or Luci.

Happy Spring to me!

I Need a New Vacuum

If this is an April Fool's joke than it's a mean one. I would love to own a Dyson vacuum.

Contest here at 5 Minutes for Mom to win a Dyson Slim Vacuum Cleaner.

Curriculum Frenzy

I have been eating, sleeping and breathing school curriculum for Monica. I'm so afraid that I'm going to mess this up. She is so eager to learn. Her school is not doing the job right now. Then I say to myself, "What makes me better than the school? How can I possibly do the job better?" Someone told me two weeks ago that I am the mom and God gave me that job. I guess that if God appoints me to a job, I have it in me to do the job and I better do it. It's a lot of pressure to think that my daughter's education is in my hands. She is more brilliant than I ever thought of being.

Monica has never once had a teacher that was able to teach her to her level. Her third grade teacher came close. Her third grade teacher refused to use textbooks. I was very concerned about it at the time (Who does this teacher think she is that she can teach without the aid of textbooks?) Now that I've been doing major curriculum research and I see how dumbed down they are, I know why she refused to use textbooks. They are useless at their grade level. For Monica to have any challenge at all she is going to use some sixth grade texts.

I would love to find a Christian curriculum that I feel is "college prep," but I haven't found it yet. What a shame. They charge enough money for them. I'm not saying that children being taught with Christian curriculum don't have the opportunity to go to college, but do they have the opportunity to go to the college of their choice? This is a huge concern of mine. I don't want to deny my child the opportunity to go into the field of her choice because she can't get into the college that she chooses.

Yesterday when I was discussing some of Monica's classes with her, I stated that I wouldn't be testing her in the Bible class I've put together. I want her to focus on studying and learning the Bible and not worry about yet another test. She said that she would prefer it if I did test her. She craves structure in every area of her life. I don't think I've done a very good job of giving it to her.

Only time will tell if I'm up to the task.