Being a Voice

So I was talking to Laura today and she said I should put this on my blog- maybe encourage other people to do the same... Lately (now that I'm actually running my own errands more often) I've been becoming more frustrated with the magazines in the check out lane at the grocery store. I don't think my kids have really paid attention to all the cleavage and skin YET, but they have started reading the headlines now that they know how to read. Do I really want them to be reading "20 Ways to Great Sex"? Or even "Lose 10 lbs in 10 Days" or reading headlines about cheating celebrities? I don't think so. Anyway. I do most of my shopping at Fry's (Kroger). The last time I wrote them about their in-the-face Halloween display, they listened to me and moved it more out of the way, so I thought I'd give it another try. So I e-mailed their customer service, suggesting they either move those magazines to a different part of the store or have a family friendly aisle that doesn't include those kinds of magazines. A couple days later I received a phone call from customer service saying that they were sending my comments to the next level up. A few days after that, I received a phone call from the manager of our local store who said he thought that they probably couldn't completely move the magazines to a different part of the store, but that he would pursue being able to set up a family-friendly aisle. We'll see what happens! Hopefully it'll happen- maybe if more people spoke up they (and other stores) would be more willing to do something about it! Statistics show that 50% of even Christian men view porn on a regular basis, and a lot of those habits start by a "harmless" view as young boys. Let's not make things more difficult than they need to be for those guys.

Zion Family Vacation

We just got back yesterday from our mostly-annual family Zion trip. It was loads of fun, loads of work, and mostly just great to be with family!

 

Uncle Tim was able to keep the older kids spellbound for an entire hour straight telling them a story- an amazing ability that was very appreciated by us parents. :)

 

Tirzah's just waking up from a short nap in the bike trailer. We went on a 12-mile round trip bike ride one day. The 1st half was uphill so the kids and babies along with more much-appreciated relatives rode the tram, allowing Christian and I to join the "uphillers". It was probably the highlight of the trip for me, being able to concentrate on the beauty of the canyon walls while not having to worry about kids. On the downhill, when the whole family was riding down, I spent much of the time looking at the edge of the road determining whether or not Peter was likely to die or only get injured if he were to go over the edge. :) Eventually I ended up riding in front of him and was able to relax a little more. And Peter did just fine. :)

 

Don't let this squirrel fool you into trusting him. Behind those wee beady eyes is a greedy little brain that only wants food. :) These guys are so tenacious. I was scared they were going to jump on my kids to grab their snacks out of their hands (they came precariously close to doing it). I ended up hitting one on the head with a walking stick and it didn't really care. We captured it on video- it's slightly amusing. Anyway, it didn't help that on the trams they had a huge, blown-up picture of somebody's hand that had been bitten by a squirrel. Not cute.

 

This is how the twins went to sleep for almost every nap as well as well into the night, thanks to their Aunt Patricia who was willing to walk them. We got a talking-to from a ranger about how noise carries when we tried to just let them cry a little (like they do at home). Of course that ranger ignored the partyers at midnight...

 

Elijah was so wiped out he fell asleep like this one afternoon and slept through a massive downpour (we picked up his chair and moved him under an awning) that probably lasted over an hour. And he still slept great that night!
 

The babies all thought the water was too cold, but Ransom did end up braving it quite well. :)

  

One of My Life Songs

 

 Heb 12:1-2  "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Being human, I tend to fail a lot. Every day of my life. The verse above and this following song by Superchic[k] have helped me keep going. Also, a quote from a great book, One Tough Mother: "You only fail if you give up, like, forever." So I get up (eventually) and try again. :)

"Get Up"

I'm not afraid to fall
it means i climbed up high
to fall is not to fail
you fail when you don't try
not afraid to fall
i might just learn to fly and
i will spread these wings of mine

[Chorus:]
If i get up i might fall back down again
so let's get up come on
If i get up i might fall back down again
we get up anyway
If i get up i might fall back down again
so let's get up come on
If i get up i might fall back down again
I might fall back down again
We'll just jump and see, even if it's the 20th time
we'll just jump and see if we can fly

I'm not afraid to fall
and hear i told you so
don't want to rock the boat
but i just had to know
just a greener side
or can i touch the sky
but either way i will have tried

If i get up i might fall back down again
so let's get up come on
If i get up i might fall back down again
we get up anyway
If i get up i might fall back down again
so let's get up come on
If i get up i might fall back down again
I might fall back down again
We'll just jump and see, even if it's the 30th time
we'll just jump and see if we can fly

i'm not afraid to fall
I've fallen many times
they laughed when i fell down
but i have dared to climb
I'm not afraid to fall
i know i'll fall again
but i can win this in the end

If i get up i might fall back down again
so let's get up come on
If i get up i might fall back down again
we get up anyway
If i get up i might fall back down again
so let's get up come on
If i get up i might fall back down again
I might fall back down again
We'll just jump and see, even if it's the 40th time
we'll just jump and see if we can fly

If i get up i might fall back down again
so let's get up come on
If i get up i might fall back down again
we get up anyway
If i get up i might fall back down again
so let's get up come on
If i get up i might fall back down again
I might fall back down again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAhtLeP4rUk

Flood Update

Well, our area flooded again yesterday (and will probably continue to do so every rain- and this is only the beginning of monsoon season!), but we continue to be one of two houses not affected by it on our street. It was easier this time to go to sleep last night with sounds of heavy machinery and an occasional helicopter. This area has never flooded before in recorded history, so no one has flood insurance- it's pretty sad. We'll continue to stay here unless the flooding rises a lot. The neat thing about all this is how neighbors are out helping each other out, often meeting for the first time. Anyhoo, no new pictures.

Flood

Wow, this summer is full of adventures! We didn't think we were getting a beach front property when we bought our house almost 3 years ago! We have learned that land that has recently been burned does not absorb water. So the 2 inches of rain that the burn area got today made a mad rush and has taken out several houses, roads, and even one little 12 year old girl's life. We are about two houses down from the drainage stream right now. It seems to be drying up a bit right now, though more rain is predicted in the next few days. So we'll see what happens! Here are a couple pictures...