Today we get Fred from Impact VA. He has been building a ramp and repairing and painting a trailer in western Virginia. He says he's had a great time. He enjoys working, so I was excited for him to have this opportunity. It'll be good to see him again. Sam and Peter have been at Vacation Bible School all week, so Ben has been alone every morning. I've spent the week running errands and unpacking and packing.

Last night I sat down in the living room and saw that Michael Jackson had died. I was so shocked that I let out a suprised "noise." Ben tells me that he's never been so startled. To see that his life was over really hit me. Farrah Fawcett's death was expected. She'd battled cancer for 3+years, I believe. But Jackson's was sudden and unexpected. I haven't followed him since I was in jr. high/high school, but I had the Thriller album and spent much time listening to it and watching him on Friday Night Videos. People die every day, but for me, these celebrity deaths are so much more shocking for some reason. Perhaps it's because they seem bigger than life--their lives are separate from the rest of us. Plus, he was only 50! It made me think, once again, about the insecurity of life. We talked some about death at bedtime. Ben asked me if Jackson was a Christian. I have no idea, but his life certainly didn't reflect that. When I prayed with Sam and Peter, we talked about how for us the sting of death is gone. We don't have to be afraid of it anymore. We know that Jesus bought us. He loves us. We belong to him and so our eternity is secure. You just never know when that bus is going to come out of nowhere and take you out! I don't know where Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson are right now. But I'm sure that if they could come back, their message would be the same. Repent, turn to God, ask Jesus to save you and then live for Him every day. When it comes to death, nothing else really matters beyond that.

Guess where we've been?

We visited the Gulf of Mexico instead of going to the Atlantic. The water was so warm, which was a bummer since you really wanted a cool, refreshing bathe! Florida was pushing record highs while we were there.

We ate at Applebees, and a young man was making balloon animals and hats for the kids and using the tips he recieved to put himself through college. I'm sure that isn't his only source of income!

Sam and Chris ready for Buzz Lightyear's adventure.

Twins! This was while waiting for the Toy Story Mania ride at Hollywood studios. The waiting area was designed to keep your mind off of the wait.

This crane and his two friends were outside our windows each morning. We enjoyed watching them fish.

The boys had fun at the water park on our resort.

We had a fun, relaxing time, which is what vacation is supposed to be. The biggest adventure was getting there. We had been getting updates about time changes for take-off, but aparently someone just made those up. I thought our flight was leaving at 10:50, but actually it was 10:24. We were talking about how nice it will be to get there early and be ready to board and not have to run to the gate. NOT! We did have to run. We were the last ones on the plane and in the very last two rows no less. That, thankfully, was our biggest hassle.

We went to Hollywood Studios Monday, Blizzard Beach Tuesday, and Magic Kingdom Wednesday. How thankful I was that our kids didn't want to close the park down. I had no idea how our of shape I was until I walked three parks for three days in 95 degree weather! We spent Thursday in St. Petersburg on the gulf, and then Friday at Downtown Disney at the cool shops. Saturday was for rest and swimming. Florida is beautiful, but I'm very thankful to be home in the cool 80's!

Girls!

Braids for the tea party.

Moose ears for Fred!

I had the opportunity to be with girls last week! It was wonderful. Two of my wonderful nieces came to spend some time with us. Grandpa and Grandma were coming up for a car show on Saturday, so they hitched a ride with them. We shopped and played and did hair. (The boys aren't interested in French braids!) My friend Donna and her daughter Bekah invited us to a tea party. It was so much fun to do girl things for a few days. The boys loved having them here, too. I hope they'll come back again soon!

Computer-less

Last Wednesday Chris went on a golf trip with some men from our church. They were gone until Saturday night. Friday evening we had a storm, and when the power came on, no computer! I truly think God was sending us several messages. Our lives were on that computer. I didn't even have Sam's coach's information. It was all on the computer. Our budget--on the computer. The team roster so that I could order trophies--on the computer. Directions to the woman's house for our Bible study on Friday--on the computer. Yikes. How do we survive?? Amazingly, Chris was messing with the wires and all of a sudden it comes on. I hope I've learned something.

I went on a field trip with the 5th grade (and Sam) to Pamplin Park where the Battle of Petersburg took place. What a great place for a field trip. The original earth works are still there, and they have made it into an interactive museum about the Civil War. We were there all day, and the kids were fascinated. They learned how to prepare rifles to shoot, what a slave wedding was like, how they punished soldiers, what they wore, and on and on. The Confederates were trying to hold this position to keep the Union from taking the railroads in Petersburg. The sharp spikes are in front of a large trench and then a high wall to prevent them from coming over. It didn't work. Grant came through and marched on to Appomattox. The students learned so much about the war. I'm thankful for the people who work so hard to make history come alive for everyone.

Ben has one more track meet on Tuesday. He's been running the 400. He apparently removed himself from the 800. Hmmm. Soccer is winding down. We just have a couple more games. On Thursday, one week after baseball had concluded, Fred said he was getting bored being home every day, so he was going to football lifting. I guess it's good that he has so much to do. It was so nice just being home this week! I know there will come a time, very soon, when the boys will be clamoring for something to do, but it's so nice to enjoy the time now!

Identity

Some pictures of the fun.

There is a song by Switchfoot that goes, "This is your life. Are you who you want to be?" For a while, when I would hear that, I would answer, "NO". I'm just not. Yesterday I got to be the person I want to be, for just a time, and it was wonderful. Fred had his birthday party yesterday. He had some friends over, and we all played outside. I played volleyball, I shot hoops with Chris while the kids played badminton. I got to sit and enjoy our beautiful piece of property. I had good conversations with teens that I love. Everyone was included, even the brothers. I didn't allow my back, or the fact that the last two days had been overwhelming and not at all how I needed them to go to ruin the "now". I just did it. I just enjoyed it. I lived in the moment. After everyone left and we were de-briefing with Fred and getting ready for bed, it hit me.... I got to be who I want to be. I hope and pray that I can move on from there to become who I want to be rather than just glimpse it occasionally.

I praise God that Fred has good friends and who want to come to his home. The rain held off until just before the end. Everything was ready even though plans changed A LOT. God is good.

Happy Mother's Day!

My mom sent me this beautiful essay about moms. It's a little long, but worth it! Enjoy your day.

THE INVISIBLE MOTHER
It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?' Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.' I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England .. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.' In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.' I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my child to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'You're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women. Great Job, MOM!