Chinese Toy Recall

You may have seen in the news recently that there have been a lot of recalls on toys made in China. Stay informed because some of these things for kids are really dangerous.

Quotes from home

Here are a few things heard in our household, related to Grace:

"What do you have in your mouth?"

"Where is she?"

"No, no." (to which she replies, "No, no.")

"We don't climb on the dishwasher."

"How did she get that?"

"Did she poop or was that you?"

"I know she chewed the corn. How do the kernels come out whole?!"

Happy 1st Birthday, Grace. Love, Mama

Dear Grace,

Today is a momentous day… not because we did anything super special, but because it monuments such a precious thing… your first year of life. With your first year of life came our first year as parents. Wow. When I reflect on our first year together, I think ‘isn’t it amazing how God can make things in life the very most challenging yet the very best experiences of our lives all at the same time!?’ That is how I feel about having you. You’re my sweet little pea and I love you to pieces. Even though much of this year has been a blur due to sleep deprivation and the adjustment to the biggest life change I have ever experienced, it has been the sweetest year of my life and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I cannot believe all the ways you have grown. When you were born it was all I could do to keep you awake long enough to eat. Now you have more energy than I can chase. You climb all over the furniture. You love playing “boo” on the couch. You dance to your dad’s beat boxing. You sing into your play microphone. You do funny things to make us laugh and you join in with your own laughter. You put random things on your head because you think it’s amusing. You love being in mama and dada’s arms, yet you also love to explore. You say “what’s that”, “dada”, “uh-oh” and “no”. You clap your hands. You assert your opinions. You bang on the office door when dada is working. And you give hugs… to any and everything you feel affection for… your stuffed animals, your mom and dad, your little friends and even your sippy cup sometimes. I thank God for you multiple times a day and I thank Him for the countless lessons I have learned and continue to learn through you. I have learned about dependence upon Him for strength, feeling utter helplessness, about my selfish heart and my tired body. I have learned about His love for me and about my own parents’ love for me. I have learned that I have more love in my heart than I ever could have imagined. So thank you, Gracie Grace, for teaching me these lessons and bringing me the purest joy I could ever fathom. I love you and am so happy to celebrate this day with you. Happy Birthday!

Love, Mama

T-shirts and Worldviews

T-shirts can reveal significant things about the people wearing them. Recently I've seen some t-shirts with statements that reveal particular worldviews--presumably those of the ones wearing the t-shirt. "Worldview" may not quite be accurate in all cases but it some cases it comes close. I am embarrassed for the people who wear t-shirts such as (btw, these are real, folks):

"It's All About Me"; "I Am Awesome"; "I'm Kind of a Big Deal"

That's egotism.

How about this one: "Whiskey and Women...Nothing Else Matters"

That's hedonism. I might add that this t-shirt has on it a huge bottle of Jack Daniel's and a scantily clad sexpot. The guy who wears this t-shirt leads a very empty and sad life. I truly feel sorry for him.

On another note--the picture below is of a fellow I saw at an ice cream parlor on the Oregon Coast. He had a sweet mullet so I took a picture of him, without him knowing, of course. I erased his eyes with iPhoto so that he wouldn't be easily identifiable, in case he's a friend or relative of anyone among my vast readership. Though with that distinctive of a hairdo his identity would probably not remain hidden to those who know him. Appropriately, his t-shirt (not visible in this picture) had cartoonish drawings and statements about being a redneck. Better to be a proud redneck than an unabashed hedonist, though they're not necessarily mutually exclusive. Anyway, I used to have a mullet.

(I know. The eyeless redneck is kind of scary.)