Summertime and the living is Easy... NOT!

It used to seem like summer was never ending... it literally went on and on...

Now? It flies by... Can you all believe kids are going back to school?

I know part of it is due to school districts starting classes earlier than they used to... (remember when you started school after Labor Day?)

But, I also think this article by Mitch Albom in this week's Parade magazine may help explain how summer has become too busy and overscheduled that it literally flies by...

The Joys of Summer | Parade.com

It makes me want to buy a hammock and get me a big old pitcher of lemondade and a good book...and then go play in the water sprinkler.

The Waiting Room

DISCLAIMER: I am on a soap box. You are warned.

So, today, I visited my dentist for a regular cleaning. And as soon as I walked into the waiting room I was bombarded with CNN News set at a rather loud volume.

Now, I am not someone who lives under a rock. I am relatively "plugged in" to the outside world. I have the internet. I read the news updates online. I read the paper. So, I knew the stock market is not doing well this week.

However, I really don't want to be barraged with economic doom and gloom while waiting to have my teeth cleaned! Isn't a visit to the dentist disconcerting enough? (Sorry, Audrey!)

Which brings me to another thought. Why on earth do doctors offices feel the need to even put televisions in their waiting rooms? Can't we as American's sit patiently for a few minutes and wait for our appointments? And for that matter, what's up with fast food restaurants having televisions... and hotel breakfast rooms... And then on top of that, the televisions are always set to some news network! I guess our plugged in world just can't get enough news at home (or in their hotel room.) And, if you really can't wait to see what is going on in the world, all you have to do is whip out your iPhone and check the status of the world. Right?

Okay, so back to the doctor's office... If I were a doctor, and I had patients coming into my office, I don't think I would want them to be annoyed, worried, and anxious about the issues of this planet prior to our visit. (To be sure, this is just the prescription to raise blood pressure!)

It seems to me that if you feel you simply must have a television in your waiting room, make sure you have the channel set to something that will make your patients comfortable and at ease. Usually, waiting rooms are not the most fun places to be anyway. First you have the wait. Then the anxiety of whatever will happen at the visit. Then the knowledge that you will be paying for said procedure. Then all the many, many, many forms you have to fill out. And then the doctors add insult to injury (pun intended) by blaring the media's perception of our world.

Can't we just go back to quiet waiting rooms with magazines?

Reasons why I home school...

We have many reasons we home school our children... And some may even surprise you...

As the school year begins, I sometimes question this decision. Sometimes I want to live within a different reality. When my curriculum arrives, the panic sets in. I have to get through all of this and teach several different subjects to several grades all the while dealing with the shenanigans of a four year old?!?!?

But I believe I was called to home school. Why? I am not sure. I may never know this side of eternity... But nevertheless, this is where we live. This is where God has confirmed we need to be...

Today I was reading a blog. She beautifully describes many of my feelings about the whole issue. Give it a read... It spoke to my heart.

http://www.lifeingraceblog.com/2011/08/why-i-still-homeschool.html

As I think about how quickly my children are growing up... I am confident of this... I will not get to end of my life and wish I had spent less times with my kids. I know I will look back on all the hours I spent with them "home schooling" them with fond memories...thankful I was blessed with extra time with my kids... Blessings.

Drought!

Like most of the midwestern United States, it is HOT in Kansas. Triple digit temperatures for many days. And little rain. Which naturally leads to a drought. I know this. It is simple. And yet, today I internalized it when I saw first hand the effects.

I was driving downtown Wichita and I saw the Arkansas River. It was nothing more than a muddy stream. And seemingly overnight all the grass in our city is not green anymore. Instead, it is a lovely shade of light brown. The effects of our drought became blatantly obvious to me today -- although, for several days I knew it was hot and dry and we had not had rain.

Odd, I know, but seeing all the effects around our city of a literal, physical drought made me think of my spiritual life. So many times, I am in a drought spiritually but I don't really know it. I know I am dealing with junk (severe heat) and I know there is little water being poured into my parched soul. But usually, it sneaks up on me. And then I see something which makes me realize I am in a spiritual drought.

As I was out driving around today, I thought, "We need rain. Badly. Like now!" Spiritually, you get to that point to. "I need God. Now. Badly."

Why is it we sometimes have to experience a severe drought in our lives to realize our constant need and dependency on (living) water?

Jesus says, "Whoever believes in me...streams of living water will flow from within him." Sounds like the answer to the droughts in life!

A few more pics of New Orleans....

The Streetcar on St. Charles Street. Running through the Garden District.

We happened to turn down the street the wedding procession was coming down. Coincidentally, we had seen the wedding taking place in Jackson Square earlier. We should have gone to the reception and pretended we were long, lost cousins from Kansas.

Beignets and Cafe au lait.

I think this is the oldest restaurant I have ever eaten at... 151 years in business. That is a long time for a restaurant.

New Orleans

Thankfully, I have been to a lot of places throughout my life. But, I had never had the opportunity to visit New Orleans. So on our trip to the South, we made it a destination spot.

We had several reasons to see New Orleans. We studied American History this past year, and you cannot study US history without realizing the importance the city of New Orleans played in our country's history. (Above is Jackson Square named in honor of Andrew Jackson. If you don't remember, Jackson helped save the city of New Orleans during the War of 1812.)

A simple walk through the French Quarter and you can feel the history. I loved the old bricks and the gas lanterns and the old windows and doors. We ate beignets at Cafe du Monde. Yummy. We heard different musicians on the street. We heard jazz and saw people dancing with ease and abandon. We happened on a wedding procession being led by a jazz band. Classic.

After our tour of the French Quarter, we drove through the Garden District and watched the streetcar go up and down St. Charles Street. We were amazed by the beautiful homes in that area. They are quite simply beautiful. We saw Tulane and Loyola University.

Fast forward to more recent history. Katrina. We saw the Superdome. We were on the interstate where it showed a different kind of procession -- the people who had sought refuge on higher ground. And then we saw all the abandoned houses. Still boarded up. Hotels in ruins. Shopping centers that are now parking lots. A city that has not recovered...

New Orleans is a city of contrast. You have many cultural influences diverging. Religion and voo doo. French and American. The New Orleans of yesteryear with its strategic location on the Mississippi and the city of today devasted because of its location during a hurricane. A city with great wealth and affluence and a city with great poverty and need.

I am thankful we made it a destination point! It is good to see and experience the contrast and the tension of this city first hand. My daughter remarked, "this is the strangest city I have ever seen." I would agree.

Sunblock...or NOT

The Butler's were going on vacay. We were heading to the Sunshine State -- finally getting some beach time. Being the awesome, thoughtful, mom that I am... I bought the 50 SPF sunscreen. Surely, that would be the needed extra protection for my fair-skinned kiddos. Well, not exactly...

So, evidently, the spray on sunblock...Not the best sunblock. (Conveniently, I read a whole article about this in a magazine on MY WAY HOME.) For starters, applying the spray on stuff at the beach is not the best idea. Because, yeah, it is windy. And half of what you are spraying out blows away. Then, as you apply it, you can't really see it or feel where it has been applied (unlike the oily greasy feel of the white lotion.)

So, short story long... we all got burned real bad. No bueno. We spent the rest of our vacation walking funny, aching, itching, not hugging each other (not that we walk around hugging each other anyway, but you get my point) and looking blotchy. The kids think Mr. Man looks like he has a mask on...

So as you head out for summer fun, I would highly recommend you stick to the good old-fashioned lotion stuff. I put that kind on my face and it didn't burn at all!