My boy was sitting in his highchair the other day with a sippy cup of milk and one of water. The cups happen to stack on top of each other if you position them just right so he was trying to get them the way he wanted them...I look over to him and he's got them all balanced, he takes his hand away and says, "Cool!"

Placing the blame

...So the other day my boy & I are looking at his toddler Bible that has the major stories in it, Moses, Joseph, Jonah, Zacchaeus, Easter, etc. My boy has been working on a piece of apple in his mouth for about half an hour when all of a sudden he decides to spit it out down the front of his (nice) shirt. I'm cleaning it up and saying, "I've got to clean up apple pieces that somebody has spit all over himself. You don't happen to know who that would be, would you?" He thought about it a second...then looked down at the picture in his Bible, looked at me, and said, "Jesus?"

I found this article on the ABC News website...my first thought was, 'Sounds like Chapel Hill to me!'

BLUFFTON, S.C. Aug 10, 2006 (AP)— Customers in a bakery for a Bible study saw a different kind of buns Wednesday morning. A drunken teen came into the Atlanta Bread Co. shortly after it opened, used the bathroom in a storage closet, then walked out of the bakery naked, Bluffton Police Department spokesman Mike Creason said.
"He was sitting on the curb with no clothes on when the police showed up," Creason said.
Julius Daukus, 17, of Columbia, was charged with indecent exposure, police said.
The teen had apparently been drinking while visiting some friends at a nearby home and wandered off, Creason said.
Daukus was confused when police arrived. "He was calm, just sitting on the curb," Creason said. "He didn't know where he was."
Employees at the store said the Bible study regulars just shook their heads at what happened.
Information from: Bluffton Today, http://www.blufftontoday.com

New words

My boy has learned how to say Coach K...so I had to balance yin and yang and teach him how to say "Roy."

Life Lessons

...that I am learning from "Lord of the Rings." Hubs thinks it's a little silly that I find it so fascinating but I just can't help it. I think Tolkien, although he himself said it was not an allegory of anything, did an excellent job of making a commentary on human nature, as well numerous allegories that I as a Christ-follower can learn from.

When I first read the books several years ago, I thought Gandalf was the principal Christ figure, always showing up at the right time with just what is necessary. Now I realize that he is one of several, and not the main one. Aragorn, Frodo, and Sam are Christ figures too. I love it when Sam tells Frodo, "I can't carry the ring for you, but I can carry you." That is what Christ does for us, when we see only one set of footprints in the sand. And though I am late in seeing the last 2 movies (the first I saw in the theater) I am no less appreciative of them. They follow the books quite exactly, and the cinematography is amazing. The casting was awesome too; each of the characters was like I pictured them in the movies.

Some life lessons I've learned from LOTR (though more will surely be forthcoming):
1) Choose your traveling companions very carefully.
2) We all really, really need our friends.
3) Even when you're in a crisis, you still need to have fun (Legolas & Gimli seeing who could get more Orcs at Helm's Deep)
4) Also from Legolas & Gimli....When you get to know someone different from yourself, you just might make a new friend.
5) Sometimes you need a lady to do what no man can. (Eowyn & the Witch-king of Angmar)
6) Behind every Gollum there is a Smeagol with a story.
7) No matter what, keep trying.
8) People whom we do not always agree with still have a reason for being in our lives.

I'm sure the list will grow longer as I keep reading the books and re-watching the movies. I'm only beginning rereading "The Two Towers".

My boy's new words: "tata" (pata, Spanish for paw or foot), pretty, play, home, coming, me, orange, blue, goodbye, goodnight, bravo, Debbie (our neighbor).

Disturbing statistic

While reading an article on the ABC news website, I read a statistic that really bugs me. In 2005, Americans spent $2.5 billion on grooming and boarding for their pets. $2.5 billion!! Could you imagine what good could be done for people with that money?? How many people could be fed, how many kids could be vaccinated, how many months' worth of vitamins could that get, how many Bibles could be sent to Asia, the list goes on and on. We as a nation will spend this much on our pets but when it comes to tithing at church or supporting missionaries, or other forms of generosity, we tend to get all hot and bothered. I realize this is not everyone but I think folks in India or Cambodia or Honduras (or pick any developing country) would be amazed at that statistic, if not a little upset by it.

News

There is a lot of news to write about...less from our home and more from around the world. We are all fine. At Hubs' request, I'm trying my hand at sun-drying our peppers from the garden; we'll see what turns out. I've also yet to can the tomatoes, although I have the recipe from an expert canner. In other news...

1. Mel Gibson's DUI.
I don't have a problem with alcohol per se, but I do have a problem with it being abused. And it's illegal to drive drunk. You'd think that with all Mr. Gibson's millions, he could afford a designated driver. Having said that, I respect the way he has stood up and taken responsibility for his actions. He has not made excuses and has admitted that he has a problem and is seeking help. And although I am not Jewish, it seems to me that he is truly sorry for saying what he said about Jews and is seeking a path to healing wounds caused by those remarks. I'm sure his words fell harder on Jewish ears than on mine, but the words in his statement leave (in my mind) a lot of room for healing on both sides. To read the statement he released, go to http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=2260807.

2. Fidel Castro's surgery
Again, this is a subject in which I personally have no vested interest, but I do try to follow affairs in Latin America so as to be at least semi- well-rounded. For one, I think it's high time that Cubans from top to bottom in Cuba realize that "el viejo" will not be around forever. He is a mortal just like the rest of us, although he has in his tenure made himself seem larger-than-life. Second, it seems to me that once something does happen to him, the Cubans in Miami who are so happy that he's ill will probably not go back to Cuba. Anyway, I truly think that Cuba will be best run by Cubans in Cuba, not Cubans who've lived in Miami for 40 years, nor their children. I'm not saying that you can't have pride in your roots and want the best for the land of your ancestry. That would be like asking my husband to deny Mexico. Not going to happen. I'm just saying that things that work in America may not work in a country ruled by a Communist dictator for 47 years.

3. Heat Wave
I don't know about where you are, but it is HOT here in our corner!!! My boy and I went out this AM for a walk just before 9am and we could only last 15min. We normally last at least twice or thrice that, walking at a pretty good pace. Well, me walking. Daniel's being chauffered in the stroller. It is s'posed to get up to about 100 degrees today with a heat index of 105-110. I am praying all day for my husband's safety as well as that of those who are constructing, paving, picking, roofing, or otherwise doing outside things.