If You Give A Mouse a Christmas Tree

A few days ago, Devon wrote this book based on the "If You Give a Mouse" series. Here is her story.


It was dedicated to Matthew, her little brother.


Chapter 1
If you give a mouse a Christmas tree, he'll probably ask for some ornaments to hang on the tree.

He will ask to help you put the star on top.

The star will remind him of the bible, so you will have to read him your bible.

He'll see a sign that says, a movie is showing called "Alvin and the Chipmunks Chip-wrecked."

So you will have to take him to the movies.

When he gets there he will see a Christmas tree, so he will want to go home.

Chapter 2
When he gets home, he will want to listen to carols, you will have to find some on the radio.

After he did that he ate a big, big dinner.

This was what he had; turkey, dressing, potatoes, and raspberry dressing.

Chapter 3
After dinner he went to bed. It was very, very, big, big day.

The End.

Roald Dahl, Imagination and Maybe a Little Philosophy

Recently, Devon read the Roald Dahl book “Witches” and ever since she finished it she has told me she’s not so sure witches aren’t real, and then told me various reasons why. Now when I say witches, I am referring to blatant fictional characters who, like in Dahl’s book, seek out to rid the earth of all children.

Today, while we were having lunch, she brought up that she thought witches could be real again and this time I decided to have a little fun. Here is how our conversation went.

Devon: Mom, I really think there are real witches, because sometimes I see people wearing gloves and it’s not even cold outside. (A situation from the book.)

Me: Well, first you should think about what makes something real.

Blank stare.

Me: How do you know this table is real?

Devon: Because it is right here.

Me: But how do you know it is right here?

Devon: Because my lunch it on it.

Me: Oh, so it’s real because you can touch it.

Devon: (light bulb!) Yea! And because I can see it.

Me: Oh well, is air real?

Devon: Yes.

Me: But you can’t touch it or see it.

Devon: Well, I can feel it.

Me: (smiling) What about God? Is he real like the table and air?

Devon: Yes.

Me: Can you touch God?

Devon: No. (small concern on face)

Me: Can you feel God?

Devon: No.

Now at this point, Devon seemed slightly concerned about these questions or maybe even the answers. But I could definitely see some serious thinking going on. And what she said next blew me away. It was the kind of answer you wouldn’t expect from a 7 year old, at least I didn’t. I had no idea where this conversation would go or if I was about to dig myself into a really big hole.

Me: Can you see God?

Devon: Yes.

Me: You can?

Devon: Yes. Whenever we sing “Open the Eyes of My Heart” then I can feel God open the eyes of my heart so I can see Him.

All I could do is smile and hug her. I didn’t dare push this silly philosophy experiment any further. She was so confident in her answer, well it was more of an assurance about her, but at that moment she looked like the “eyes of her heart” were open. And so were mine.

Rubbing Off

Watching the kids grow into their own little personalities is very fascinating. They are their own self, but at the same time we can see a little bit of me and Chris in them too.

I'm a photography junky, well, a "wanna-be" photography junky. I love, love, love, love taking pictures of my kids. I don't always know what I'm doing, but I have fun doing it anyway. So they are quite used to seeing me behind a camera, and more recently my phone camera. Today Devon wanted to take pictures of her "families" as she called them. They are her toy cars, from the movie Cars, that she has turned into families, some because they look alike and some spawned from her imagination.

I was very lucky to get a digital SLR for mother's day a few years ago, so of course I was hesitant about letting her use my very expensive "baby." But I let go of anxiety and let her give it a try. It was incredible seeing her instantly mimicking me. She was standing on her knees, her belly and just moving around to "get the right picture."


It's fun to see her loving what I love, not because I make her but because most kids have a desire to be like their parents in some form. It's just another reminder that more of me rubs off on the kids then I might be aware of.

Here is the best picture of her Cars family. Not bad for her first try. :)

Summer

Well, it's mid July, we are on day number 30 for temperature over 100 and summer is just dragging along for us. Chris and I are trying our best to conserve money in an effort to eliminate our debt soon, so we haven't been doing summer attraction type activities like the zoo, Dino park, museums, water parks or amusement parks.

We have managed to go on our first family camping trip. In June we packed up the car and headed to Galveston Island State Park and did a one night stay at a bay side camp sight. We were able to play on the beach, check out the strand and we stopped by the Battleship Texas and the San Jacinto Monument. Our Texas Parks Pass made the trip a bit more affordable because we didn't even have to pay the entry fee at the Battleship Texas. Cool huh?

About four days of our week are spent in a mundane way. We get up and play, clean or go to church where I work two days a week. Then we have lunch, nap or quiet time and then Devon spends two hours doing her eye patch (pirate) therapy. By the time she is done, it is time to cook dinner. And that's our day, exhilarating right?

Now that I think about it, we do go to the library once a week and load up with about 40 books a trip. And we have made a few trips to our neighborhood pool so far this summer. I suppose we could be considerably worse off. So I think I will find a way to refresh our days by refreshing my attitude.

Boy, I just got told........ by myself. Nice.

First Sermon

Well, I've written my first sermon for worship. I finished it Monday, let it rest yesterday and practiced it a few times today. It's not the most profound message that's ever been said. It's not the most theologically stimulating message either. What it is, is God inspired and from my heart. It's far from perfect, but it's what I felt called to say.

And now I'm just waiting, a bit anxiously of course, but I'm still just waiting until Sunday. I've had just enough encouragement from friends and family to know that I can do it and be proud of it. I've even had reassurance that if I screw up majorly I'll still get another chance to preach again. That was truly refreshing and nearly eliminated all my fear.

So here's to Sunday!

Good Friday

Today is Good Friday, Earth Day and for the Cato House it is also grocery day. Being at the store by 8am means minimal people in the store, and minimal anxiety for me. It also means that the checkout people are more willing to chat because they are bored.

The checkout lady was talking to Devon while I was putting the groceries on the conveyor belt and she asked Devon what she was doing today and Devon told her we were going to church and the lady said, "On Friday?" Devon was quick to point out, "Well it is Good Friday." (Such a sassy little bugger.) So, surprise, surprise the cashier says, "Oh, you're Catholic." I get to jump in now and say a friendly "Nope."

She was pretty confused and said, "Well then what are you?" My internal response was, "an alien," (and here my sass shows) but of course I didn't say it, only because she was truly curious. I told her Methodist because that's what she was wanting, a denomination . So she felt the need to tell me, "Well, we don't celebrate Good Friday. We celebrate Easter and the resurrection of Jesus."

I politely said, "Oh." and that was that. I didn't know how to tell her as she was handing me my receipt that she just doesn't attend a Good Friday service, you can't celebrate the Resurrection without the death.

And this is why I need Church, to help me understand the why's of my faith. My sunday school sidekick gave me a couple of books to read, because he seems to really get my inner nerd and seemed to think I was ready for the material. One is The Cambridge Companion to Christian Doctrine, and even though it's a bit academic for me (he had to read it in seminary), I'm learning quite a bit. Isn't it great to have friends who give you homework. :)

"Preach Retreat 2011"

You know, I really wish I would blog more. I really, really do. And I'm pretty sure this should be my last blog to whine. Pretty sure.

So much is going on. I went to "preacher camp" as a friend so lovingly put it. Really, it was a lay speaker event at Mt Wesley in Kerrville. And I had a blast. Sure, I was the youngest person there, but that won't ever stop me from having fun! I learned about writing a sermon, duh, that was the whole point of the weekend. I heard many awesome sermons, some people brought sermons to the event knowing they were good. Others wrote on Saturday night and delivered Sunday morning. I was one of those people.

I spent an hour on it. One hour. That's all. So of course I was a nervous frenzy Sunday morning, and immediately started trying to talk myself out of getting up in front of a group of lay speakers, who had already delivered some impressive sermons. I was not able to get off the hook that easily.

First, my dorm mates started on me. All three of them had convinced me when I left for breakfast that I should go for it. Their main persuasion was, "What better chance do you get to deliver your first sermon other than giving it to a group who want to help you grow." Good point. But I still wasn't 100% convinced.

I get into the dinning hall and before I grab a tray someone comes up to me, someone who hasn't said a word to me the whole weekend, and he says, "So are you going first this morning?" What? Then I sit down with the group of Pflugerville lay speakers I had been eating with all weekend, "I can't wait to hear you preach this morning Michelle." I look at Gary, from my church, "Thanks, Gary. No pressure right?" He had planted the idea in my head Saturday before we ended class to write something or at least try.

So I did it. I gave my message. It was a testimonial sermon, based around my story, so it wasn't hard to tell. I didn't have to write it out, like everyone else did. I just had my bullet points. And now this Sunday, I get to give my message again at a youth fellowship. It's going to be strange going to a new church to "preach," but it's a good strange, an exciting strange. It's the best kind of strange you can happen upon. And hopefully I get to feel this strange again, and again, and again.....

Marriage

To me, marriage is a verb. It's not just two people dressed nice saying "I do" and signing a piece of paper. That's just the oh so misleading, easy first step into a new way of living.

American's have this tiresome problem with control. There are always a few groups of people, some large, some not, who get bombarded with a ridiculous amount of hate/turmoil. I'm not even going to list the groups who have suffered (and pretty much still do) the past ignorance of America.

Gay marriage. This label needs to go. Marriage is marriage, genders have no changing force in the matter. Marriage is loving when society tells you "you're too good for them." Marriage is loving when you are suffering. Marriage is what I believe to be the big word that makes you keep going when you would other wise walk away feeling guilt free. Marriage is Commitment with a capital C. Marriage is perseverance. Marriage is only sacred between the two people who choose it's course in life. Marriage is more than words will ever describe.

Marriage is tied with Parent as the two toughest roles you can choose to take, because you are choosing to love harder (yes, you can love harder) than the disappointments, trials, and sufferings that come with the human condition.

America may think we are keeping it away from gay people, but we're really not. What we are keeping away from them is the "official" ceremony, a piece of paper, and a box to check on forms. Eventually, they will get this right. They will. And marriage will continue to be what is has always been, a verb.

*I know many disagree with me, but I feel the disagreements get the spotlight. This is my tiny space to disagree.

ESL

I really, really, really, really love my job. Twice a week I get to love on some amazing kids. Kids who don't speak English, but understand love.

After a few weeks, they start to understand some words or phrases, mainly dealing with food or potty. But then after a few months, they start talking to you and sometimes its a mix of their native language and English and then I get to learn too. It's amazing how much they can communicate without having to say a word and while all kids do this, it just seems extra spectacular to me when there is no verbal understanding to begin with. Through the bond we share with them, they feel confident that we will understand or at least do everything we can to understand.

Some of the kids get real attached to me and will seek me out in the room for comfort or just to sit with. I love it when this happens.

When a new kid arrives there is almost always hard times for the next few days or weeks. I started to notice that the new moms who bring the new kids seem to feel bad if their child isn't happily playing the first day, so I have prioritized talking with them as soon as I see them and am constantly reassuring them to keep coming back, that their child will get comfortable. It just takes time.

Today I had to bring a little boy back to his mother, it was his second day and he still cried constantly. When I walked past classrooms looking for his mother I noticed that most of the ESL students are women, probably 80%. That is remarkable. I've known this is the back of my mind for a long time, but today it stuck out in a different way. These women are going to be able to teach their children english, understand their childrens teachers when they start school, interact in society easier and generally lead a better life because they are able to receive this service from the church. I was filled with a cheesy girl power sensation, and this has given me even more motivation to interact with the moms more. To talk to them more. To comfort them more.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that generally I feel important now. :)

Karate Fever

Well, Devon has been to three karate lessons now and she is really enjoying it. Dad is also enjoying helping her practice. It is causing him to reminiscence about his Taekwondo and Jujitsu days. Today he took the kids out so I could rest and he came home with a 80 lb punching bag with a stand. So our loft has turned into a karate zone.

At first I thought it was a silly use of money but watching the kids and even Chris enjoy made it worth the money. She is starting to get pretty good. Chris also got her a pair of sparring gloves too. Matthew now likes to come up to you and show you his "fighting stance." He's going to start karate in a couple of years and already know everything. ;) Here are a few shots of the kids "practicing."

Preach Retreat

So most of you know that last fall I decided to plunge down the path of Lay Speaking. I took the first of two classes to be certified in the fall and then in May I will take the other class. But before then, I am 90% certain that I will be going to a Lay Speaking Event. I'll be gone from home for three days and the only reason I'm not 100% sure that I will go is because Chris has to get March 4 off from work. If he can't I have a few back up ideas, but hopefully he can just get the day off.

What is kinda cool is Wednesday night after I finished getting the media ready for Selah (the worship service I attend) I went and talked with one of the new pastors about me becoming a Lay Speaker. They've known I'm perusing it, but I felt like I wanted them to be apart of the process. So we had a good little chat and it just got me even more excited about wanting to preach and then I came home and saw on my Facebook page the information on this event.

I'm a little nervous about going because I'm pretty sure I will know nobody there, and that always brings up a little anxiety in me. But I'll be hanging out with lots of Methodists and will probably meet a ton of interesting people. I'm not sure if I will be required to prepare a sermon to get credit for the course. We shall see.

It will be in Kerrville, and the bonus to that is I will get to drive through Fredericksburg I haven't been there yet. I know shame on me. We've lived in Austin for almost 6 years now, probably should have ventured there by now. But hopefully in a month I will get to do that. :)

Camera Wish List

Yesterday when I was at Wolf Camera picking up my square pictures, I noticed a camera in a display case that caused me to stop in my tracks. It's called a fisheye camera.

Isn't it cute! Scroll to the bottom of the link to see what kind of photo's it takes. You'll be amazed.

Super cool huh!! So of course I later came home and googled it and found lomography.com and saw more super awesome cameras.

The other camera I would actually buy is called a Action Sampler. It has four lens's and take four pictures on the same slide of film. Just click on the link to see how cool it is, again scroll down to see sample photos.

So yeah, I spent an hour online last night looking at all the fun cameras that are apart of the world of lomography.

HOLGA Love

My greatest art inspiration ever (Suzanne) got me a HOLGA for my birthday last year. And me being the dork that I am had to first research what in the world a HOLGA was. A little google time will tell you that it is a toy camera that uses 120 film. Also, it takes square pictures. Let this fact soak in a moment and the awesomeness will arise.

Did you notice a little word in the previous paragraph that seems a bit 1999? Film. Yep film. Not digital. In general, I take lots of pictures when ever I take pictures, whether it's of the kids, with family, or trying to be artsy. I do this because I'm not a trained photography and by taking many pictures it means there could be a handful of really good ones. But with film you don't get this luxury. Unless you want to spend a lot of money on film, you have to learn to think ahead and just think in general of what you want a picture of.

So with my first roll of film I was a bit cautious, not wanting to "waste" the film, but I also kept a fun spirit. I tried to take some double exposures (which is another key feature of the HOLGA), but none of them came out. I mean the film was develop-able, but it looks like blurry blobs. So First lesson learned, only take pictures in super sunny light. Sadly enough, all the double exposures but one were taken at night. Super lame. But it won't happen again.

What I didn't expect when the pictures came back was this antique look to the pictures. They look a decade or so old. It's really cool. Here is one of Matthew in the backyard.

But my favorite picture was a bit posed. The kids were playing at the Capitol and at one point sat together on a bench. Once I saw them from behind I was like, "Awesome picture moment," but by the time I pulled the camera out Matthew was already on the move. So made him sit back down so I could take the picture. So yeah, it's a fake moment. (But still cute!)


I'm sure you noticed some odd features on the sides of the photo. Well, I wasn't paying attention when winding the film. I actually thought I had figured out just how much to wind it without lifting the flap over the space that shows the film number. Amateur move. Won't happen again. So what you see on the sides are parts of the previous and next photo. But when you think about it, it's actually pretty neat looking.

I've loaded up roll number two in the HOLGA and I've already had a photo shoot, but I'm going to wait until they are developed to tell you what dorky idea I had.

Curses Facebook

I have let another large gaping hole emerge between blogs. For this I blame Facebook. Why? Well, I check it often to see what friends and family are up to, and then I end up condensing any real thoughts into a few short sentences instead of taking the time to write them out. This could be bad news all around. Less people write. I mean really write. So, I need to put my fingers (for typing) where my mouth is and sit down and blog.
But maybe later. I have to go grab the kiddo from school, and go to the library, and go to the camera shop and go to the grocery store. But surely there will be time in there later. Right?

A Childs Confidence

For most of Devon's life she has been a bit timid, shy, and at times afraid to try something that seems risky. The last couple of weeks she has been riding her bike without training wheels. Something we have tried a few other times in the past but we ended up putting the training wheels back on because she was too scared.

This time though was quite different, because she fell often and this usually leads to a sense of "I can't do it." However, it didn't stop her this time. If anything, it made her more determined to succeed, which was also something new for us to see. The only other thing she has persisted at has been reading (remember the 90 books this summer?).

Actually, now that I think about it, this has been Devon's summer of confidence. She showed zero fear about being in the big pool, putting her head under water, and learning to swim (with arm floaties). She has conquered riding a two-wheeler. And yesterday when we were exploring the UT campus, she decided she was going to climb high into a tree. And this was an awesome tree, it had a very long branch that reached the ground. She took her shoes off and I showed her how to hug the branch with her legs. After this, she was skooting her way up the tree, until she got to a point where a couldn't reach her any more.

So far, one of my favorite things about being a parent has been showing my kids the things I love; dinosaurs, nature walks, hiking, biking, reading, classic childrens novels, showing acts of kindness to strangers (which can ONLY be taught by modeling, saying be kind to strangers doesn't do the act justice. Do you know how many women I have helped push their cars off the street into parking lots? I've lost count.) and having them soak it up like the little sponges they are.

Seeing Devon suddenly become this confident, adventure seeking kid is bringing more joy than I could have ever imagined. This seems to be just a peek at the person she will become some day, and that is pretty amazing.