Good Medicine

Wildlife in Suburbia

2011-07-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

Written by Janna Phelps

I have always been an animal lover! North Dakota is still unspoiled in many ways and wildlife abounds here. Just yesterday there were half a dozen wild turkeys strolling through our church’s parking lot!

One of my most memorable experiences with a wild animal happened one warm, sunny, summer day soon after our youngest son was born.

On this luscious summer day I decided to set up the kiddie pool for our oldest son to splash and play in. Our youngest son was about a month old and sleeping peacefully in his carrier nearby. I set Nick’s pool up in shade of the side yard between two trees. Sam was in his carrier on the grass and I was lounging comfortably in a lawn chair, while our dog, Maisy sprawled next to me.
It was a beautiful day, and it felt nice to take a break from mothering and housekeeping. Nick was playing happily in the pool, and I began to really relax. Well…. as much as one can relax while dealing with an adventurous child in a pool of water!

From one of the trees overhead, I saw a tiny squirrel tentatively creep down the tree and watch us. Being the polite person I try to be, I bid the squirrel “good day” and told him how cute I thought he was. He must have been a young squirrel from his size, and so curious. He bravely inched himself down a little closer. Maisy, as any dog would, hopped up and headed for the tree. The squirrel quickly ran back up the tree. How cute this was, I thought! This little game went on for the next 15 minutes – the squirrel would come down just out of reach of the dog, the dog would jump up and try to reach it, and the squirrel would retreat back up his tree. It was as if this little squirrel was deliberately tempting our dog! I was enjoying it, while at the same time, trying desperately to keep my attention focused on an energetic 4 year old in a pool of water.
As I was instructing Nick for the one millionth time to “ please not bring the sticks and grass into the pool, so we could keep the water clean”, the little squirrel, with a burst of courage much too big for one so small, came rushing down out of the tree, ran past the dog and around and around the sleeping baby! This was wild kingdom in action!

Of course, the dog did what dogs were created to do! She chased the little squirrel around and around the sleeping baby too! I yelled so loudly the whole neighborhood was certain to have heard me and proceeded to grab Sammy and the carrier out of the path of the chase. As you have probably already guessed, my baby was no longer sleeping!

The little squirrel ran up the other tree and out of the reach of our dog! I took Sammy out of his carrier and comforted him, while mumbling under my breath about the crazy, rabid squirrel attacking my child!

That energetic 4 year old is now 18 and ready to graduate, and my precious sleeping baby is 14, and just shaved for the first time last week! Time goes by so quickly and I hold close to my heart all of the precious memories that I have, from those fleeting years!

This memory always makes me smile, and seems like it happened just last week! I always think of it when I see the squirrels chasing each other in the Spring, or when I surprise one of the little critters and hear it scolding me high from a tree. Squirrels remind me of the wonderful sense of humor my Creator has, in giving these furry little creatures their engaging personalities and quirky characteristics!

It also taught me that you are never completely safe from wildlife – even while living in suburbia!

You Said What?!?!

2011-06-01T18:30:00.000-07:00

submitted by Rachael Coe

We have a great church with some very intelligent “little” people in it. They are real thinkers and some of what we as parents are trying to instill in them can come out just a little … can I say….twisted?

Here is just a little taste of the “wisdom” that some of our parents hear from time to time from their offspring:

Kami, age 3 – “Mommy, do you know why we have ears?” Mommy asks “Why?”, Kami replies, “So
we can hear. Do you know why we have eyes”? Mommy asks “Why?” Kami replies “So we can see.”
Mommy looks at her, thinks for a moment, and says, “Why do you have a nose”? Kami pauses, thinks,
and then says “Boogers!”

Tasha, age 8 – “Wait is a virtue.”

Tanna, age 10 – “How much does elbow grease cost?”

Gracie, age 3 – “Look, mommy! I’m a basket case!”

On the way to town one day, one of our moms had this conversation with her 4 year old:

Vince: Mommy, have you ever been eaten by a dinosaur?
Mommy: NO, can't say that I have.
Vince: Have you ever been eaten by a whale?
Mommy: NO, not a whale either.
Vince: Do you know anyone that has ever been eaten by a whale?
Mommy: Yes, Jonah was eaten by a whale
Vince: No, I mean a real person!

Ariana, age 3 - "Is this me size?"

Tanna, age 10 - "You can't separate us because ‘a brother is born for
adversity' and if you separate us, I can't be her adversity!"

"I'm always thinking about something. I'm just not always paying attention to it."

One Mom has learned to compromise: “When Coleman was very little, he fell down and hurt his bottom. He came to me crying and looking for some Mommy lovin' to make it all better. He toddled up to me holding his hand on his bottom and said..."Kiss it, Mommy". (This is when I discovered that kissing my finger and touching the hurt area with my finger works too sometimes.)

For her 3rd birthday, one of our little girls received matching dresses for herself and her dolly. She was all dressed up in her new Sunday dress and holding her dolly when this conversation happened:

Gracie: “Mommy can take my dolly to church?”
Mommy: “Yes, but she can not go to Sunday School with you. She must sit in Sunday School with mommy and daddy like a good dolly.”
Gracie: “Mommy, she is just little like me. God is leading me to take her to Sunday School.”

Oh my! What wisdom out of the mouth of babes!

On the way home from church one day, Vince (age 3) was telling us all about Joseph from the Bible. He was very excited to show his mommy the craft he made of Joseph and his coat of many colors. He did a very good job coloring it. His mommy asked him, "Where did Joseph get his coat of many colors?" His reply: "From Miss Michele." (His Sunday School teacher at the time.)

Listening to the chatter of these little ones is indeed… GOOD MEDICINE!

Be Careful What Books You Read To Your Children!

2011-05-02T14:00:00.000-07:00

Written by Rachael Coe

We love to read books in our home and one of my children’s favorite books is, “If You Give A Pig A Pancake”. This book is funny because, as the pig eats his pancake, he also wants syrup. Naturally! After he has his syrup, he gets sticky so then he decides that he needs a bath. In the bath, he then decided that he needed bubbles, and… well…. you get the picture. My children love to laugh when I read this book and I always thought it was a great book until…. a particular Tuesday in March came along. It was a day when we had a missionary family scheduled for lunch at our house.

My menu was planned for the day and I really thought I was doing quite well. I wanted everything to be planned well and organized ahead of time, in the same way our Pastor’s wife would do it. Our Pastor and his wife were in Africa during this time and my husband, the assistant pastor, was trying his best to fill Pastor’s shoes.

As I was straightening up the house for company, I heard a noise of delight coming from my kitchen. I had given my children and the one little girl that I babysit, a snack. I didn’t think anything of this noise at the time, but a minute later, I heard a “sticky” noise and more squeals of delight. Up to this point I wasn’t too worried but decided to check out the noise anyway.

As I walked into the kitchen, there was this overwhelming, sweet smell and my children were in the middle of a large, brown puddle on the floor! My 19 month old son had found a gallon jug of syrup and decided to pour it on the floor and on his sister, along with the other little girl that I was babysitting! The other two children thought this was a great idea so they were all happily playing in this sticky mess of syrup. Normally, I would have just cleaned up the mess and instructed them that this was not wise; however, the family that we were entertaining was scheduled to arrive in 30 minutes and I was facing a demolition scene that would have sent IHOP into damage control! With my company arriving in minutes, (and they always arrive 15 minutes early!), I made a frantic call to my husband to do his best to delay them. I flew into overdrive and stripped all three children from their sticky clothes and threw them in the bathtub. Gracie, my 3 year old, cheerfully said, “Look, mommy, I’m like the pig in our book… but you forgot the pancakes.”

After a quick scrub down, new clothes, and my floor mopped for the 2nd time that day - we were ready for guests. There was still a sickening, overwhelming sweet smell in our house and we could have put a sign outside that said, “Welcome to the International House of Pancakes” and I think it would have been okay.

I have learned a lesson from this escapade…

From now on, I have decided to put my children in play pens whenever it looks like someone might be stopping by for dinner and I have hidden the book “If You Give A Pig A Pancake”. They still have the book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” and “If You Give A Moose A Muffin” but I assure you that I will be carefully screening those. “If You Take a Mouse to School” might be great for Gracie to reenact when
she goes to kindergarten.

Oh, and to top it all off…. we decided to have pancakes for dinner that night!

I’m Normal… Really I am!

2011-04-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

Written by Aubrie Williams

They say that every young girl will go through an awkward stage at some time in her life; usually around the time she becomes a teenager. But “stages” by their very definition are just supposed to be a short period of time, right? Honestly, when I was in high school, I wondered if I would ever graduate from the seemingly never ending “awkward stage.” It was during this unfortunate time of my young life that my story takes place.

I must give you a little background on my family for you to properly understand my situation. In short, they are crazy… yup, that about sums it up. My parents consistently embarrassed me with their outgoing antics and unchecked humor. Of course, everyone else thought they were just fun-loving and friendly… but I knew the truth… they had lost their minds somehow. I didn’t know if it was age or something else, but as a young teenage girl, I was certain it was true. How many other girl’s mothers do you know that have the reputation as “the one that put the rubber-ducky in the church baptistery”?

Do you know of any normal brothers that juggle toilet paper rolls in the middle of the grocery store? Any fathers that will run down the aisle and do a heel kick at Family Camp… in front of everybody!?! See my point?

Anyway, I had determined that I would not conform to their crazy ways. Whether it was their age or a disease of some sort, I wasn’t taking any chances. I purposed in my heart that I was not going to be defiled by the insanity… I was going to be normal! Only in front of my closest friends would I allow myself to let go and really be myself, but in the company of normal, everyday folks, I was bound and determined to “fit in” and be respectable.

Well, it just so happened that shortly after my devout resolution, my parents invited our neighbors over for a fun time of singing and fellowship. It also just so happened that these neighbors (whom shall remain nameless) were also affected with the same malady as my parents (which is what led me to think that their bizarre behavior was some sort of contagious disease). In short, we had a house filled with crazy people… and then there was me, of course.

Mr. Nameless Neighbor Dude had also brought along his mother who was visiting with them for the week. In my “normal” state of mind, I knew that a stranger equals reserved behavior. So there I sat, quietly acting “normal” while my crazy family did their thing. They sang weird songs quite loudly, told their funny stories, and overall embarrassed me in front of this stranger. At the end of the evening, I was quite proud of my behavior and knew that in spite of my environment, I was sure to become a normal, well-rounded individual. My awkward stage was soon to be a thing of the past.

Alas, I found out later that Mr. Nameless Neighbor Dude’s mother asked her son after leaving our home, “That little girl, was she ok?... I mean… was she… mentally handicapped?”

What! She thought I was the crazy one!?!? Was she totally oblivious to the rest of the family’s bizarre behavior? Was she blind?

It was then I realized two things: One, my awkward stage was far from being over… I had a long way to go before I would become who I was truly meant to be: another crazy member of my crazy family. Two, this “craziness” wasn’t a disease… alas… it is unavoidably genetic!

Help! I Need a Laugh!

2011-03-01T04:00:00.000-08:00

An Indian was telling his doctor about his chronic insomnia. To the doctor’s amazement, the Indian added that 499 fellow tribesmen also had the problem. They’re known as the Indianapolis 500.

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While riding a bus and reading a newspaper article on life expectancy, a man said to a lady seated beside him, “Did you know that every time I breathe, someone dies?” She replied, “That’s too bad. Have you ever tried a good mouthwash?”

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Teacher: “Johnny, give me a sentence containing the words, deduct, defeat, defense and detail.” Johnny, after some thought said: Defeat of deduct gets over defense before detail.”

Proverbs 17:22 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.”

Some Things Only Seem Impossible!

2011-02-01T17:01:00.000-08:00

By Janna Phelps

I hesitated in sharing this true story with you as it is very personal. Perhaps it will be just the thing to bring a smile to some forlorn face today!

Our oldest son got married in October and as I began to look for a dress, suitable for the mother of the groom, I quickly realized that there has been a change in fashion trends. Dressing up is not en vogue anymore. But, the Lord was so good and led me to a beautiful dress, at a deep discount! It was fun to watch the Lord provide my need! As beautiful as the dress was, it was a style that required a little…should we say…. help? It needed help in the foundation undergarment department. I believe the old fashioned term is "girdle."

Shopping for the foundational undergarment (girdle) was an adventure in itself! My husband of 25 years sent me over on my own to the “foundation” department (for which I was very thankful), and with fear and trepidation, I girded up the loins of my courage and entered the racks and displays that literally made my face turn red. "Please Lord, " I whispered in my heart, "don't let anyone I know see me in here!" I covertly found the item I was looking for, and tried to nonchalantly read the tag. A very bubbly, older saleslady came over and was a great help. We chose this odd looking...thing (remember the old corseted type of girdle...well they no longer look anything like that, my friends!) and she asked me if I wanted to try it on. I must have had a look of sheer terror on my face, and whispered fiercely, "No thank you!!!" I could just imagine me trying to put this scuba suit replica on in a public dressing room!! The noises that anyone would make as they struggled into this garment would warrant a call to 911! No. Thank You!!! I purchased the item as quickly as possible, asked for it to be double bagged (you can't be too careful you know) and fled the land of foundational undergarments!

The day of the wedding dawned and it was time for me to get dressed. I pulled the garment out of its double bagged hiding place, and my wonderful husband looked at me skeptically and asked, “Do you need any help?” That should have been my first clue. I smiled and said I could get it myself. After he left the room, I locked the door and so began one of the greatest adventures in my career as a female! I got the item up easily as far as my waist. "Piece of cake," I thought to myself with great satisfaction. The satisfaction died quickly as I began "stage 2" of my little adventure. No matter how hard I tried, I could not get the stretchy, tight material to budge. I stretched, and pulled and yanked, but to no avail. By now, I have begun to breathe hard. Maybe I should have let my husband help, but my pride took over as I could see him laughing hysterically at the picture I must make right now. No matter how hard I tried, it would go nowhere! So, I began to make noises like they do in sports, to encourage myself that I could do this. I even began to speak to myself in a low voice, "Come on Janna!" and "you can't let this thing beat you!" Nothing worked! So I figured I would try a law of physics...motion! I begin to jump up and down! My faithful dog, who was snoozing at the end of the bed, looked up in alarm as I bounded up and down, struggling to get the top half of this thing in place.

All of a sudden, I heard a knock at the bedroom door. It was our son Sam. "Mom, are you OK?" he asked with concern in his voice. I stopped my jumping long enough to answer, "I'm fine, buddy!"

"Are you sure?" he asked. Oh, brother!

"I'm OK! I'll be out in a minute!" With relief I heard him walk away from the door. OK, my patience is at an end, and so prayerfully, with all of my strength, I pulled and the reluctant fabric slowly slid into place.

By now, I am breathing like I have just run a marathon and I am sweating!! After all this effort, this thing better make me look like a size five! I had to lay down on the bed for 5 minutes just to recover!

The wedding was lovely and now I have a daughter in law that I love and am very proud of! I have worn this piece of clothing since then, and have learned a few secrets to help the process along. The Lord has even used this to teach me a few things about life. First, what we do for others is worth it, even if it is a struggle. And God has a sense of humor that we can find even in the most mundane tasks! Life is already too hard to take such things too seriously. As I lay on the bed recovering from the struggle that day, a thought ran across my mind...and so I ask...does anyone have the number to Weight Watchers?

The Lipstick Caper

2011-01-07T20:00:00.000-08:00

Author Unknown

According to a news report, a certain private school in Washington was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12 year old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.

Every night the maintenance man would remove them and the next day the girls would put them back. Finally the principal decided that something had to be done!

She called all the girls into the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night (you can just imagine the yawns from the little princesses).

To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required.

He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it.

Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

Sacrifice Can Be Funny!

2010-12-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

written by Janna Phelps

Every year our church puts on a Cantata for Christmas and we invite the surrounding communities to attend. It is always a lot of work, but always worth every bit of effort!

Involvement in this Christmas producion has become a Christmas tradition for my husband and I, and we have tried to pass that thought on to our children. Each year we find ourselves making props and because of the amount of time we spend on them, our home becomes the staging area for the projects.

There have been some years when my home has looked like bombed out Beirut because of all of the work we have going on. I know many people couldn’t handle that, and that is all right. This is what the Lord has asked of us and we do it happily!

This year is no exception. Right now I have 5 paper mache rocks in my living room. It is difficult to walk in there, but it won’t be for much longer. We are so excited to see how they turn out and to make them a part of the drama backdrop! The other thing we needed to get for the props was different grasses. What North Dakota lacks in trees, it makes up for in different prairie and wetland grasses. So, equipped with scissors, a small saw, and pruning shears, my husband and I set out to get some of the local flora.

It was in November, November 15 to be exact, and there was no snow on the ground. We figured we better not procrastinate anymore on the job at hand because the Lord wasn’t going to hold the snow back much longer.

It was a beautiful, grey day with a bite in the air; the kind of day that makes you anticipate a snowfall. Scott and I went out in the country about 2 miles from our home and began to cut off grasses, cattails, small bushes, berries and other interesting twigs and sticks. We loaded them into the trunk and brought them back to the house to sort through them and bind them together so they could dry. Now….if any of you have ever spent time in the country, you KNOW what cattails do when it turns cold, right? The tops that are brown in the summertime, turn fuzzy in the fall and winter, and those fuzzy things are little dandelion like parachutes.

My husband said we would take all of this in the house to sort and bundle, but I had a sneaking suspicion that this would best be done outside. I tested the cattails, and found them to be pretty well intact, so I didn’t say a word. We got everything inside and quickly set to the task of sorting and bundling them. Perhaps it was the warm air, but before we knew it…the cattails began to….molt! I tried to carefully, and gently to move the mass of weeds, but it was no use. The harder I tried to keep the fluff contained and to a minimum, the more fluff was in the air! The air was literally filled with cattail fluff! By the time I was done, I was covered from head to toe with it and so was all of my furniture! It felt like an invasion….of fluff busters! I quickly got my vacuum out and tried to get as much as possible up. I got most of it and then I had to run one of those lint rollers over my clothes to get the rest.

Later that day, as I was sitting at the table minding my own business I glanced up in time to notice…you guessed it! It was FLUFF floating by! By this point I had had about all the “fluff” I could handle. A couple of days later, as I was dusting, I found quite a bit on my wooden furniture. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry! I decided to laugh! After all….it was all for the cause!

Now, if you are in the area on December 12, please feel free to come to the cantata. It is always a great evening of song and drama, and our ladies always make a wonderful luncheon buffet to be enjoyed after the cantata.
Oh… Don’t worry ….You’ll find no fluff. I did not cook anything for it so you don’t have to worry about finding stray cattail fluff in your cheese ball!

Gotta run….my “fluffy” dust bunnies are calling me….

A Merry Heart = A Continual Feast

2010-11-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

Face powder may help catch a man, but it’s the baking powder that holds him!

Adam and Eve had an ideal marriage: he didn’t have to hear about all the men she could have married: she didn’t have to hear about the ways his mother cooked.

It’s a funny thing but true,

The folks you don’t like…don’t like you.

I don’t know why this should be so,

But just the same I always know

that when I’m sour, friends are too.

I sometimes get up in the morn

a-wishin’ I was never born,

And then I make cross remarks, a few,

And then my family wishes, too,

That I had gone some other place;

But then I change my little tune,

And sing and smile,

And then the folks around me sing and smile.

I guess it was catching all the while.

It’s a funny thing but true,

The folks you like….sure like you.

CELL PHONE DILEMMA

2010-10-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Written by Sharry Kennedy

It was just another busy day for me at the office. I had my cell phone on the desk next to me in case my husband called and needed to speak with me. I glanced up at the clock and realized I was late for my typing class, so I grabbed my books and quickly headed down the hall. As I picked up the books, I remember hearing a sound like something falling off the desk into the trash, but I thought it was probably just my phone and I felt I could get it when I got back from class.

What I didn’t know was that the girl cleaning the offices would come while I was gone and empty the trash for the day. When I got back, my cell phone was nowhere to be seen. In my mind I could hear that noise from before, of “something” falling off the desk and into the trash. My heart sank into my stomach. I was now sure it had to have been my cell phone that had made that "sploosh" sound in the trash can, and I knew I had a dilemma on my hands. I had thrown my cell phone away and now, how was I going to get it back?

My only choice was to try and retrieve it from the trash which was already in the dumpster, with the rest of the trash bags from the building. How was I (a very middle aged woman) going to get into the dumpster gracefully to look through the trash bags? I could see the headlines now..."Baptist church secretary seen scrounging for food in the church's big green dumpster!" What a rumor that would be! Being the resourceful secretary that I am, I pulled my Blazer (car) up to the side of the dumpster and stood on the running board. This allowed me to be high enough so that I could lean over into the dumpster to look through the bags.

What was going through my mind at this time you ask? I had reasoned that school was out for the day so I knew none of the teachers would be by to see me. However, my thoughts at that time were... ”What if Pastor or Bro. Coe came by the office and they saw me like this... standing on the running board of my vehicle, leaning over into the dumpster!" I was very thankful that not one person happened by the church at that time. Blessing upon blessing...I was able to find the garbage bag from my office and retrieve my cell phone out of the garbage. Lesson learned by me? I now keep my cell phone safely in my purse where it cannot be misplaced again. But...now I have another dilemma... the whole world now knows my well kept secret!

Beauty Tip for the Tomboy!

2010-09-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

written by Janna Phelps

Just when I think that I am all out of humorous material for this blog, God hands me another funny story on a silver platter!

I must confess, that I am a tomboy at heart. I always have been! I see “girly-girls”, with their painted nails and perfectly coiffed hair and lipstick smiles and say to myself….“That’s just not me!” I don’t begrudge them their phoofy habits. I just don’t understand them! I find that if I attempt to paint my nails, I can’t sit still long enough for the polish to dry and harden. To top that off… within 24 hours of meticulously applying the nail polish, the carefully painted polish is chipped and damaged and all of that time I spent on my nails was in vain!

I explain all of this so you will understand my humorous little tale.

Life’s calendar tells me that I am nearing the end of my 40th decade. There are some “girly” things that I have never done! Two weeks ago I had a first! I had never waxed my eyebrows – never! I’ve never had it done professionally, nor had I ever tried to do it to myself. (Why inflict purposeful pain on one’s own body!)

One of my friends recently asked me if I had ever waxed my eyebrows, (surely she could tell I hadn’t! They looked like a wheat field that had run amuck!). I took it that she was kindly telling me that I needed to pay a little closer attention to my appearance. I wasn’t at all angry, in fact I was touched that she would care enough to give me a hint.

So, I went to the store, alone, and bought my first jar of hair removal wax. That was an adventure in itself!
At home, I carefully read the directions, which, when you are dealing with hot, sticky substances that go on the skin, it is a really good idea to carefully read the directions! It called for microwave time in 30 second increments…. which, I’m sorry to say, took forever! Finally I just left it in the microwave for a full minute and as the French would say, ‘voila’, it was ready! I carefully, and with fear and trepidation (this is where a daughter would have come in handy!), I put the hot wax under the eyebrow of my right eye. “Piece of cake”, I thought! It went right where I wanted it, and after it cooled, I carefully peeled the wax off and the results were great! I began to wonder why I hadn’t done this before!

Now, to do the left eyebrow. I put some of the wax on my spatula, lifted it to my left brow and… “bloop”, it dropped from the spatula on to my eyelid and into my lashes! Great! My first thought was, “I am going to rip my eyelid off and have to spend 6 months in eyelid rehab learning how to blink again!” I spent the next half hour carefully removing the cooled, hardened wax from my eyelid and lashes. When I looked in the mirror, I could see that I was lopsided! One brow was perfect and the other eyebrow was a train wreck! I did go back and finish the second eyebrow, but I needed a few days to work up the courage to attempt it again!

Now I look in the mirror at my “tomboy” face and see that I have lovely arched eyebrows that look like I went to a salon!

My big attempt at being a “girly-girl” left me with great story that still makes me smile. Why would anyone in their right mind purposefully put hot wax on their face and rip out little hairs?! What fun life can be sometimes! Don’t look for this tomboyish, “girly-girl” wanna be in the beauty section of Walmart any time soon… I think my solo eyebrow waxing days are through!

It’s Not for Sale!

2010-08-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

The month of August crept up quickly on me this year! During the month of July, I was gone for three weeks in a row attending camps. When the editor of Beautiful for Thee sent out “heads up, the next month is upon us” e-mail, I found I had nothing funny to share. That is pretty unusual for me, because I find humor in almost every day I live!

Not wanting to let my good friend or the Lord down, I prayed for guidance. (What a novel idea!)
On Saturday, my oldest son, Nick and Kayla, his bride to be, were going to spend time searching out garage sales for a table for their new home. I love to go to garage sales, so I asked if I could tag along. Saturday morning, I got up early, made my way to Grand Forks, met up with my children, and off we went to find those great bargains! The first garage sale we went to was full of things from the 70’. I saw an IBM Selectric typewriter, which I learned to type on when I was in high school. That was a nostalgic moment! It was a cool red color, unlike the drab gray, asylum typewriters that the school purchased. This particular garage sale also had some vintage looking linens, but nothing we needed.

As I wandered through the sea of tables and “organized” piles of used goods for sale, a cool purse caught my eye. It was a muted moss green, and it screamed, “Buy me!!!!” It was LOVE at first sight for that purse! I was about to call out to Kayla to show her the purse, but decided to check out the inside first to see if the lining was clean or worn and dirty.

The first thing I see when I opened the purse was a wallet, car keys and sunglasses. Oh dear…., this was someone’s purse! I stepped back, mortified, and concerned how this might look to others and said, “This isn’t for sale is it?” The man laughed and said, “No I think that someone left their purse on the table.” Now, my mama taught me never to invade another ladies purse unless you have permission so this incident left me feeling like a naughty child! I quickly walked away praying that nothing was missing so I wouldn’t be accused of taking what belonged to someone else! Everyone around us was getting a chuckle out of my blunder, except for my son, who was shaking his head with a, “that’s my crazy Mom” look on his face. Bless his heart!
Here is a good rule for all of us who love to frequent garage sales – Be sure to never leave any personal items on the tables as some crazy, bargain hunting woman might try to buy them!

We didn’t find a table on Saturday nor did I get my green purse, for that matter. But, I had a wonderful and memorable day with my son and his fiancé and that is something you can’t buy at any kind of sale!

Summer Fun

2010-06-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

written by Janna Phelps

Summer is finally here! Warm temperatures, longer days, and thunder storms, are just some of the things that I love about Summer!

Since I started to work in the Christian school, it also means – no school! I know I am like a kid again, but I can’t help it! Now I have time to get all of those unfinished jobs and projects done and I love it!

I was reminiscing about summer the other day, and a fond memory came to mind. This happened several years ago, when some of my friends and I got together to fellowship.

It was a beautiful day, and a nice time to sit and talk for a while. Some of the more “mentally creative” members of our party decided that we needed to go check on Pastor. His wife was out of town, which rarely happens, and we were “worried” about him. So, we loaded ourselves into the car, armed with large power squirt guns filled with water “ammo” until they could hold no more, and drove over to Pastor’s house.

As we pulled up, Pastor was outside and had just finished washing his car. One of the ladies hoisted her water gun up to the window and took aim – About that time, our dignified, gracious Pastor picked up the hose he had just been spraying the car down with…. and…the war was on! Can you guess who won?

I learned a few things that day. One, Pastor Shaffer thinks fast on his feet, and is not afraid to fight back when it comes to water fights! Second, a car full of bored ladies, with loaded squirt guns can be a dangerous thing. But last and more importantly, God is good to give us our Christian friends, and there is a season for making such fun memories!

Have a great summer and don’t forget to take the opportunity to make some memories of your own!

(Please don’t go to Pastor’s house with a loaded squirt gun.)

Oh No! Help! I Need Some Help in Here!

2010-05-01T18:46:00.000-07:00

written by Anna Hansen

My friend Rob (not his real name) told me this story of his one and only experience changing a diaper.

Rob, is a guy in his late twenties, who is around 6 foot three and…well lets just say…he is not skinny. He's pretty much a big rough and tumble guy with a heart of gold. Rob's best friend has a baby girl and at the time this story took place, this little darling was five months old. I will let him tell you his story in his own words.

“Okay… so I was visiting my buddy. He and his wife told me that they just needed to go to a nearby town for some groceries and shouldn't be gone long . 'Would I mind watching the baby for a few minutes?' 'Sure, no problem' I told them. The kid was happy and we would just play while they were gone I thought.

She was sitting in this round bouncy chair thing with toys. (play exerciser) All of a sudden I heard this loud horrible sound… 'Oh no, it can't be' I thought to myself. Then I took a whiff. 'Really, you didn't.' Well, I couldn't just leave her sitting in the mess, so I picked her up.

I'd seen my buddy change her diaper a few times, and he told me how to do it. How hard can it be?

I walked her to the changing thing (changing table), and after wrestling with her snappy shirt thing (this is funny, Rob works on cars, and can't figure out a onesie) I finally got the bottom part of it undone.

My buddy said to just put the new one under her, unstick the gross one and slide it off her. But, it wasn't that way at all. I unstuck the gross one, and…she was sick! It wasn't normal poop it was runny…it was all over, up her back..it was…IT WAS IN HER HAIR!!!!” (Rob's look of sheer horror as he was telling me this part of the story had me laughing so hard I was almost falling off the chair.) “I was trying hard not to get sick the whole time. How could something so little smell that awful?

I just… I just stood there. I didn't know what to do…. 'Why couldn't you have just peed?' I told her. Them tiny wipey things weren't going to do much I thought. I'd have to use a hundred. Thankfully I heard my buddy arriving home, so I started screaming “HELP!!! HELP!!! I NEED SOME HELP IN HERE! Baby's mom and dad came running in like there was some terrible emergency and when they arrive and see the situation…. they just burst out laughing.

Baby's mom just whisked her away to the shower, and in a few minutes everything was fine. They told me later that, that was the worst blowout they'd ever seen.”

I love this story shared by Rob. Sometimes in life we think we are ready for things, and really we should be but often aren't.

When the time comes however and we find ourselves in a situation that we can't handle, God whisks in after hearing our frantic calling, and cleans up our messes without any kind of condemnation. Isn't it good to know that when we call upon Him in our time of need…that He will be there to help us! God is so good!

Our Mall Attack!

2010-04-02T18:00:00.000-07:00

Written by Janna Phelps

Have you ever had a friend that you could just " click" with? I've had a few like that in my life, but just recently the Lord has given me an unlikely younger friend.

I am in the middle of my life, but this young lady is just beginning her young adulthood years. Yet, when we get together, we can talk for hours without having to "come up with something to talk about". When I was an unsaved girl in my early twenties, someone told me that you'll do good if 'you can count your true friends of a lifetime-- on one hand'. As an unsaved person, that may be true…but as a Christian, I have a whole church full of true friends! I think what she meant was that in a person's lifetime, there will be just a few people that are kindred spirits (to borrow a phrase from Anne of Green Gables), who you don't have to pretend with. If you called them after 20 years of no contact, you would be able to pick right up where you had left off.
I've had a few such friends, but God has granted me the gift of yet…another!

My unlikely friend, Rachel, is a college student who I've known since she was a little girl. She is going to school right now to be a nurse and that may have been the jumping off point for this friendship because I too, used to be a nurse. As she graduated from High school and then went to college, our relationship became one more of equality.
My adventures with my unlikely friend are numerous and I find a smile creeping into my face and a slow giggle churning up inside of me when I remember them. Once upon a time, and not too very long ago, I was able to be a chaperone at one of our school's Spring Flings, when Rachel was a student in our Christian school. As is our usual custom with the teens, we went out to a restaurant at 4:00 a.m. and Rachel and I sat at the same table.
As we waited for our food to come, Rachel began to create mischief and made an elaborate catapult out of her spoon, fork and knife. She then proceeded to launch a piece of ice into the air. It was so good that, the lone piece of ice sailed effortlessly through the air and hit one of the young men of our church in the back! Now, remember… it is 4:00 in the morning, (everything is funnier then) and Rachel and I dissolved into laughter! So much so, that it didn't take long until we were crying! What a bonding moment!
It was my oldest son's very first Spring Fling, and as he watched this unusual behavior coming from his mother, he replied to my husband, "Dad, I think Mom needs a chaperone!"

One day a few years ago, right before Christmas, Rachel and I decided to "do lunch." After lunch, we decided to go walk the mall. As we were strolling down the halls, chatting and looking in the windows, one of the mall vendors that is usually set up in the middle of the mall hall, approached us. Not wanting to be rude, we stopped and the lady grabbed Rachel's hand and began buffing one of her fingernails while all the time, she kept up a steady verbal stream of her sales pitch. Then she proceeded to bring out a tube of lotion, unscrewed the cap, and asked Rachel to smell how nice the fragrance was. As she put the tube under Rachel's nose, she squeezed just a little. Instead of perfumed air--- out jumped a blob of lotion that landed right on Rachel's nose! The lady profusely apologized while keeping up her feverish sales pitch! The first chance we found to escape, we bolted down the mall hallway and fell into another fit of
laughter until we almost had to sit down!
There were two positives that came out of this crazy experience with my unlikely friend… Rachel was quick to say that the lotion did have a nice fragrance to it and I was cheered in the knowlegde that the world smelled a little better for her that day too! We still laugh about it occasionally, and it will be a memory that brings a smile to my heart until the day I die!

I thank God for my kindred spirit friend, and I look forward to many more times of friendship and laughter with my dear Rachel.
Someday the Lord may call my friend to a distant land, to be a missionary's wife, or a preacher's wife in another state. If He does, I have the consolation that I will spend eternity in Heaven with Rachel, as we sing eternal praises to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!
As my Pastor would say… "What a deal!"

Daddy’s Tea Party

2010-03-03T07:11:00.001-08:00

One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge of me. I was maybe 2½ years old and had just recovered from an accident. Someone had given me a little tea set as a get-well gift and it was one of my favorite toys.

Daddy was in the living room engrossed in the evening news when I brought him a little cup of 'tea', which actually was just water. After drinking several
cups and giving me lots of praise for such yummy tea, my Mom came home.

My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because he thought it was "just the cutest thing"! My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I came down the hall with a cup of tea for my Daddy.

After she watched him drink it up she said the one thing that only a mother would know about her two year old daughter…

"Did it ever occur to you that the only place she can reach to get water is the toilet?"

Have a wonderful day Ladies!

WALMART FROM THE EYES OF A SINGLE GIRL

2010-02-01T18:12:00.000-08:00

Walmart! Just the name of this shopping Mecca arouses certain feelings and thoughts in our mind, doesn't it? I don't have a husband or children yet, but every day I do travel to the closest town that has a Walmart, when I go to college. Inevitably, the shopping list for last minute or emergency items, becomes my responsibility. I don't mind at all, helping my family out in this way, but I have noticed that there seems to be some kind of magnet that always draws me to Walmart! No matter how hard I try to avoid it, I always end up at that store! Since I am there so much, I have come to observe a few things.

One of my observations? Shopping carts! It seems like everyone goes to Walmart, so most of the time, I end up parking way out in "Wazoo". Sometimes, I may get "lucky" and find a parking spot close to the door. Just as I am about to pull into the spot, I see a shopping cart parked in the middle of my desired spot, making parking impossible. Today I saw a spot that had two abandoned carts! So…with much disappointment, I ended up parking in "Wazoo" again.

When I finally made it inside the warm store, all of the carts were gone… they were probably outside in the best parking spots! When I finally did find a cart, it either had really squeaky wheel, or the cart was constantly veering to the left or to the right. During these times, it almost becomes a wrestling match to keep the cart going straight up and down the narrow aisles! Fortunately, I'm usually getting just one or two items, so I can carry them in my arms or just grab a basket. When I was a little girl, I always thought it was funny that people used a basket and not a cart. Now I understand!

Another of my observations? People! To me, people are fun to watch, especially at Walmart! You have the ladies who are 60 years and older who use their shopping carts as a walker. Mind you, I'm not making fun of them - for that will be me in a few years...OK, more like 50 years! Next I take note of the small children that are totally enthralled with something they see on the shelf and don't see you coming. The mother always grabs the child out of the way and looks at me apologetically. I always smile and say, "that's OK!" That child was me just a few years ago, and the mother could be me in a few more years. I would want people to be kind and understanding to me.

Then… you have the label readers! Those astute people who take the time to comparison shop or check out the ingredients, parking themselves right in front of the very item you need! I find patience and graciousness work best in this situation! You also have the bored, over anxious cashiers that always ask if you found everything OK. I always say, "yes", but often wonder what would happen if I told them no! Hmmm, I might have to try that someday just to see their reaction! Hope you enjoyed a single girl's excursion to Walmart!

OK… I have to go now and find my car in the land of "Wazoo". Have you ever forgotten where you parked your car in a very full parking lot.....? Ahh….Walmart.

Going With The Flow

2010-01-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

It has been delightful reading the many humorous antics of Janna and her family. The mouse adventure of Anna and her sister had me in tears! I think the funniest times are when we can laugh at ourselves. I do that quite often, but there is one time in particular that I would like to share, that may seem to be a bit too personal. I'll let you read past the title and judge for yourself….

I title this: "The time my husband and I got stuck in bed."

It all started with our move to North Dakota in the winter of 1992. By the time we got our house on the Air Base, the temperatures were below the freezing point. The Air Force moved us, so needless to say, some of our belongings were not in the most pristine condition. I was pleased to see that our King-sized waterbed was not too banged up. The woodwork was fine, and the mattress was neatly folded… but wait… let me stop a moment to explain an important part of this story.

When folding a waterbed bladder, one must ensure that the water is drained thoroughly. This one was indeed drained…. however, how thoroughly--- is still up for debate. The problem here is not so much that all of the water was not out, nor that it was folded, but that it had been stored in below freezing temperatures!

All was well until a bright young man from the moving company thought he'd be helpful and unfold that carefully frozen mattress.

Yeah, you guessed correctly! That plastic, or rubber… or whatever a bladder is made out of, will indeed crack under those conditions. A benefit to this saga is that at least the water remained inside the mattress--- since it was SOLID!

Ok, so this is where the fun began! After obtaining a new King size waterbed mattress ---since the old one was obviously out of commission, we were most eager to get our warm comfy bed set up. It was late in the evening, and we had just gotten all of the children (ages 6, 7 and 9) to bed.

My hubby had a hose connected to the new waterbed spout and had been filling the bed for quite some time so we were certain that we could use it that night. We went to check on the already half full bed when we realized that he had failed to place the heater pad under the mattress. NO ONE sleeps on a waterbed that does not have a good running heater under the mattress!

Well, I am not sure how much a half filled waterbed bladder weighs, but it was much more than we could lift in order to get a 2x4 foot pad in place correctly.

My husband actually thought we should wait a night and correct the error, but I am not one to willingly sleep on a cold water balloon in the winter! Reason won over and we began the painful step of draining the bed.

My dear husband had to siphon the water from the bedroom, down the hallway and up into the bathtub – a good 15 feet away. It was slow going, because we really didn't have gravity or force on our side.

Not being the most patient people in the world, we tried pushing on the mattress, sitting on it, and of course every ten minutes, we attempted to pull and wrestle with the corner to get that-- now much hated heating pad underneath that huge, partially filled water balloon! But all this effort was to no avail. This was going to take time!

Thinking we were now more than patient, not having checked the bed in at least 15 minutes, we decided that unless we did something as a team effort, we would never get to bed, so one of us came up with a brilliant idea! (I say that because the idea was mine!)

Here was the plan…

We climbed into the bed, placed our backsides against the headboard, and plotted that at the count of three, we could wedge our feet on the edge of the mattress, and push out long enough, for me to use my agile skills and slip the pad in perfectly where it needed to be. We talked it through and finally carried out the plan.

On the count of number "three", and with both of us perhaps a bit too eager… we started pushing our legs straight forward--- only to experience the largest, Hawaii Five O wave in North Dakota history!

It brought so much shock and awe, that the pad was completely forgotten and the only thing in our minds was a slow-motioned response of, "OOOOHHHH NOOOOO!", as we feared that our man-made wave would go right over the edge of the bed and blop on to the floor!

We were instantly relieved to see that the huge water blob hesitated just a moment and then changed direction, before it immediately returned. Our relief was short lived! We not only forgot to put the pad back in; we also forgot to retract our legs! All of the weight of that man made tsunami, was now firmly trapping us BOTH -- from the waist down. We were indeed stuck. No hope of bending our knees to even wriggle out.

Dumbfounded, we looked at each other as if to gain some wisdom, for a new plan. After all of that, we knew we were out of luck. Now we were faced with some new choices… We could sit there until the water drained or call 911.

Neither of us thought the 911 idea was palatable, so we opted to wait. We waited…. and after a while, the thought occurred to us that we could possibly have ruined our siphoning system when we created the tsunami. We again tried with all of our strength to get free, but couldn't. So, we began to beckon our oldest and most responsible child, Chad, from his bed. It took a few minutes to resurrect the boy, but finally our rescuer came.

We asked him to check the hose in the tub to see if water was still coming out of it. He padded down the hall to check. After a pause, I hollered.. "Don't pick up the hose!" We heard a clank… it was too late, he had already lifted the end to check it.

Somewhere deep inside of my husband and myself, laughter began! We wondered if we would end up on one of those TV shows about stupid things people do, or a funniest video program. Chad ensured us that he thought there was water still coming out, but a 9 year old is difficult to trust in moments like that, so after much laughter, and devout determination not to be on one of those shows, I began to inch my skinny self over to the side of the bed frame. I figured that perhaps I could wedge myself along the edge and get to freedom. Mark helped by pulling my edge toward him… and finally I was free--- which enabled me to free him!

The waterbed has now been replaced by a traditional bed and we have never--- since that time, found ourselves in such a predicament! However, it was a moment of humor that we often laugh about. I learned that my ideas are not always the best, but what a dear husband I have to think they are and to help me with my plans! We are still a team, and we are both thankful for the fun times we have shared.

Best of all, we are both a bit more patient and much wiser now in our older years…and my…oh so thankful that we still have our legs!

There is humor to be found in many of life's hardest moments!

Hope you too, can find them.

Always Keep One Foot On The Ground

2009-12-01T19:40:00.001-08:00

Siblings can be a source of laughter and frustration while you are growing up, and my sisters were no exception. I am the oldest of three girls and there are many stories that we tell when we get together, that bring smiles and laughter! I'm sure that there were some, not-so-good-times, but the ones that are most memorable, are the ones that still make us smile when we think about them again. You know it will be a funny story when it starts out with… "Janna, do you remember when we were eating lunch, and you made me laugh and green Koolaid came out of my nose..." Yup, those were good times!

One story that always makes an appearance when we get together involves my middle sister, Jeri. Jeri was born about five years after I was, and was always, what our Pastor would call, "a goodie-two-shoes-with-a-pair-to-spare". She was smart, athletic, and always fun to be around. She also had a quality that all we "Long" girls possessed, and that was, when we were challenged, especially by a male, well...let's just say we probably won't be inheriting the earth!

The incident I'd like to share with you, happened while I was in nursing school and engaged to my husband. I lived with my family in Kalamazoo, MI and Scott was stationed at F.E. Warren AFB in Cheyenne, WY. Scott would come and visit me as often as he could, and it was during a summer visit that our story took place. Jeri was taking Karate classes from the Pastor of the church we were attending, who just happened to be a black belt. She would practice kicking over our heads all of the time, and would jokingly threaten to kick someone if she felt feisty enough. It would drive us all nuts just wondering if she'd really do it, but it was also fun to see her so interested in Karate.

My husband loved to tease my sisters, and they would tease him right back. He was the big brother that they never had. This particular day, my husband to be was picking on Jeri, and she retaliated by trying to kick him…. Karate-style. As she kicked him, my future husband grabbed her foot and would not let go. So, Jeri, who was standing in our very narrow hallway, and of course would not be outdone, placed each of her hands on either wall to support her weight and then proceeded to try to kick my husband with her other foot! Unfortunately, this was not a good ninja move, and Jeri's hands slid down the wall and…. Bam!.... she ended up flat on her back looking up at Scott-- who was still holding on to both of her feet!

Everyone, including Jeri, laughed and laughed over this, and of course the jokes about a "new Karate move" were plentiful! If my memory serves me correctly, Jeri was a little less anxious to use her ninja moves on anyone else after this incident! Everyone was relieved!

We three "Long" girls are married and have children of our own now. Just today I was telling my students in seventh and eighth grades, to cherish the times that they have with family right now. These students are all anxious to get on with their lives, as many are at that age, but for me the sweet times of growing up, that I often took for granted, are now my precious memories. So, we can learn two things from this story: First, cherish your life and the people that God has put into it and most important...Always try to keep one foot on the ground at all times, when practicing those Karate moves! Hi-yah!

It Pays to Pay Attention!

2009-11-02T15:08:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love hearing about someone else's most embarrassing moment? As humiliating as they can be at the time, they often cause us to laugh and smile over it later! I remember just such an incident that happened during a church service in our old church building. It always makes me smile when I remember it! I would like to share it with you now.

As our church grew, and space became more precious, the ever faithful members of our church would generally choose to sit in the same places. It was just easier that way, because finding a place for your whole family to sit was often like trying to put a puzzle together and finding the right fit. My family sat in the back, behind another family who we have always loved. The man, who we will call "Fred", and my husband, are often confused for one another. His wife who we will call "Freida" and myself, are often mistakenly called by each other's names as well. None of us understand why this happens. It just does!

This particular Sunday, I had gone to the altar to take care of some business with my Lord. Our altar call is usually a very somber and serious time, with a hymn of invitation played softly by our pianist. As I began to walk back to my pew, and as I always do, I kept my eyes down in respect of other people's privacy who were also dealing with their heart before the Lord. When I got to what I thought was my husband Scott, I pushed on his back, as I always do to let him know I was back, and he needed to move forward so I could slip behind him and back to my seat. This time he didn't move. I thought to myself, "What is the matter with this man? Why won't he move?" I frustratedly looked up in to the face of...Fred! Fred hissed under his breath, "Mrs. Phelps!!"

Oh….dear!! Horror washed over me as I understood the reality of what I had just done! My sweet husband heard the quiet commotion taking place in front of him and immediately realized I needed his aid right away! He grabbed me and gently pulled me into our pew. We stood there holding on to each other, shaking in silent laughter. I was laughing so hard I was afraid I would snort out loud! Now, Freida, standing in the back of our sanctuary was watching the whole thing with quiet amusement. She told me later that she wondered if her husband was actually going to move and let me slip behind!

We all had a great laugh after the service that day, and many times since then when the story happens to be retold. I am very, very careful now when I take that return trek back to my pew after a trip to the altar to get things right with God. I have learned to pay attention to who I am trying to sit with, all the while, still careful to be respectful of other's privacy.

Over the years, this precious family has become like our own family, and we grow to love them more and more each day! Now that we have a larger sanctuary to worship in, "Fred and Freida" now sit on the opposite side of the building as we do. I wonder why......

A Special Visitor

2009-10-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love God’s sense of humor! It seems that when life gets a little routine, God sends a little surprise or an adventure to “spice” things up for us! My friend, Debbie, had one of those exact kind of experiences! Her husband is an over-the-road truck driver, and their two sons are out of the home, so Debbie spends a lot of time on her own. She deals with these “alone times” very well, but every once in a while, she needs a helping hand.

Every morning, as is her routine, Debbie goes into her basement to let the dog out. Her basement is finished and quite beautiful and since the bathroom is not used very often, it is her habit to flush the toilet to keep it fresh. On this particular morning, Debbie went to do her morning chore of toilet flushing and saw something quite unusual waiting to greet her. A large frog had made himself at home in her toilet!

Now, everyone has something that gives them the creepy crawlies, and frogs of all sizes and colors do just that for Debbie! In the shock of the moment and with that first glance at her intruder, she slammed the toilet lid down and flushed vigorously… all in one very fast move! Then, with the determination of a drill sergeant, she hurried to the laundry room and grabbed a long mop handle. This, she carefully used to lift the toilet lid from a safe distance, in order to check and see if Mr. Froggy actually flushed! As she gingerly peeked into the bowl from afar, she breathed a sigh of relief, as the only thing she saw was gleaming white porcelain and sparkling, clear water. Content that she had handled this daunting task quite capably, Debbie went about the rest of her daily chores.

Just before she left for school, our thorough little Debbie couldn’t resist another quick peek into the basement potty to be sure Mr. Froggy was gone for good. Again, with the mop handle carefully in hand, Debbie once again lifted the lid. Imagine her shock and dismay as she spied TWO FROGGY LEGS sticking straight out of the exit hole in the bottom of the toilet!

Not wanting to overflow the toilet by flushing the frog already plugging the toilet, and thinking Mr. Froggy quite dead at this point, Debbie resigned herself to dealing with “the rest of the matter” later, so she went to her job as a Christian School teacher! All morning long her mind was heavy with the knowledge that Mr. Froggy wasn’t all the way gone! Part of him was STILL in her porcelain throne in the basement!

That evening at church, Cindy, one of her co-workers, asked her if Mr. Froggy was taken care of. “Sorta” was Debbie’s weak reply and she proceeded to tell her what she had found.

What to do now? Cindy suggested that her son, Erich, a tall, brave, strapping young man, come over and see if he could get rid of Mr. Froggy once and for all! Erich came to Debbie’s house and as he headed for the basement, this was the conversation that took place:

In apprehension Debbie asked her rescuer… “Erich, you’re not going to catch that frog barehanded, are you?”

With a questioning look Erich replied, “How else am I gonna get it?”

In disgust Debbie quipped, “Oh, yuck, yuck! Here! At least take this plastic bag to catch it in!”

So our big, brave Erich, armed with his plastic grocery bag, descended the basement stairs to take care of the frog problem! Debbie waited at the top of the steps, (keeping a safe distance you know) and listening intently for any sound (or a scream?)… but all was quiet.

Meanwhile, our brave Erich approached the potty, lifted the lid, and found no frog and no froggy legs. Wanting to be thorough, he lifted the seat. What to his wondering eyes should appear-- was Mr. Froggy! As big as life and smiling up at Erich as if to say, “Hey, where ya been?”

Big, brave Erich opened the bag in front of the frog, who then obligingly hopped right into the bag! Debbie’s hero, Erich, then let Mr. Froggy go free outside and as far away from Debbie’s house as he could get him.
(Thank you Erich for sparing his poor little life!)

Now Debbie is a little more watchful and careful, as she flushes her basement potty, for thoughts of Mr. Froggy are still fresh on her mind. She is also counting her blessings for how thankful she is that she was never a part of the plagues in Egypt when God sent all of those frogs!

A Smelly Situation

2009-09-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

When I was five years old, my parents moved into the house that they still live in today. The place where I grew up, was a little three street neighborhood, surrounded by trees and fields of grass. My friends and I played in those fields and forests; riding bikes, playing hide and seek, and sledding in the winter. As I grew into adulthood, businesses grew up around our little hamlet. A two story mall went in, and then a huge movie theater, new roads and more and more businesses began to spring up.

With all of this "progress", came a problem that many areas in America have also experienced. The wildlife that lived in those empty fields and forests, began to move into the backyards of the houses in my parent's neighborhood. They have had ducks nesting in their garden (they actually had eggs in the nest), and have had lots of trouble with squirrels, raccoons, and even deer that damaged the buildings and birdfeeders.

My dad is a practical man, and would put up with none of this. So he began to set traps for the animals. When he caught them, he would take them to a friend’s home in the country and set them free. He has caught ten squirrels, one raccoon and one bunny rabbit so far this year.

Since men and hunting go together, this provided a little adventure in my Dad's life! It also provided no end of frustration for my mom! (Why do men have to catch these critters?) That was, until one morning when my mom looked out and saw another animal in the trap.

This time-- a black animal with a white stripe! When my dad went out to check the trap, he found what my mother was dreading - a skunk! This was the first time any such animal had found its way into my dad's trap, and they were at a loss as to how to deal with it.

They called an organization called Wildlife Wranglers, who told them how to deal with the animal, with safety to the handler and for the animal. So my parents headed out to find a large plastic container and my dad got to the task of removing the offending animal from their property. He instructed my mom that it all would have to be handled very quickly! Yup - that's a good bit of advice! So, my mom, the true helpmeet that she has always been (and she has been!), supported my dad as he completed this unpleasant task, and of course… from inside the house, watching diligently from the window, cheering him on. Mom said she has never seen my dad move so fast before in her life! My 78 year old father saved my mom from the skunk, and was her hero once again! As my mom told me this story over the phone, I laughed myself silly!

Their success was short lived, because two days later, my dad found another skunk in the trap! This one was agitated and would not settle down. My dad lost patience waiting for it to calm down and began to pick up the cage to put it into the container. This time, the skunk, who wasn't very happy about being caught in the cage, took a notion to do what skunks like to do…and sprayed my dad! My mom said that he was covered with little yellow dots of strong, pungent skunk spray. He reeked!

Praise the Lord for the Internet! Mom found information on a website on how to bathe my dad in tomato juice and Simple Green. It did the trick! Dad was once again his sweet smelling self! They also found out on that website, that a skunk can spray accurately up to 15 feet. That's good to know!

Dad – 1 …….Skunks - 1

Another two days went by, and sure enough, just like clockwork, another skunk was found trapped in the critter trap. This is not a joke! My dad, being a whole lot wiser after his smelly brush with an angry skunk, decided this skunk wouldn't get the best of him!

He prepared thoroughly for this escapade! He carefully donned his rain suit, a pair of plastic gloves and a protective face shield! He also fashioned a pole with a groove on the end so he could take care of the trap from a safer distance.

They say that necessity is the mother of invention, but my father was the inventor of this idea! Skunk number three was safely stowed in the plastic container, without any incident to it...or to my dad!

As I received each installment of this tale, I shared a good laugh with my Mom! I could see it all as if I were there watching it unfold, and I thought it was all such a hoot! I also realized what a heritage I have been given! I have come to realize that through my whole life, I have seen these little bumps in life’s road, with a sense of humor! My parents taught me that life is an adventure, and humor can be found in almost everything.

Both of my parents will celebrate their birthdays this month. Mom's day is September 22 and she will be 74 and Dad's birthday is September 13 and he will be 79! Happy birthday to you both! I love you more than you can know, and I am so thankful for your care, love, testimony and the heritage you have left behind. I’m also thankful for the “good medicine” that the funny things in life have provided for all of us. Dad, I think I must agree with Mom, that it is wise to leave the skunk handling, to the men folk!

The Case of the Missing Shoes

2009-08-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

(For those who love a good mystery!)

Our oldest son graduated this year! It was a joy to see him complete such a big milestone in his life, but we had lots of work to do on our home in preparation for all of our visiting family. One of the things my husband did was to carpet the porch that sits on the front of our house, as well as to add a nice bench to sit on for taking our shoes on and off. What a nice addition it turned out to be and we now use it to store our shoes.

One gray, rainy morning as I was leaving that front porch, I happened to look down through the window on to the lawn. There, half buried in the dirt was one of my tennis shoes! It was surreal - I wondered if I was seeing things! Nope, there, partially covered in the black North Dakota dirt, was my beat up tennis shoe! I must not fail to mention, that we let our dog out that front door, and the outside door is old and doesn't always catch. So…it seems our dog, Hailey, had snatched one of my tennis shoes and proceeded to dig a small hole in an attempt to bury it!

Over the next few weeks, I would go to put on a pair of sandals that I had left on the porch only to find one of them was missing. I would search the small area that Hailey's chain allowed her to move in and sure enough - that missing sandal was half buried in the dirt! The funny thing was, she only buried my shoes. My husband's and both sons’ shoes were on that porch, but she seemed to only be interested in my shoes. She never chewed them, just carefully buried them. When I found the hidden shoe, Hailey would act in such a way as if to say, "Hey, leave that alone, I buried that!"

Yesterday, I went out to put on my sandals, and once again I found one missing! I searched Hailey's area, but found no sandal. I searched the house thinking maybe I accidentally brought it in, but no sandal was to be found. My husband searched the bushes by the house…..no sandal. Weird! Later in the day, the Skis’ came over to help us cut up a large limb that had fallen from a neighbor’s tree, and was taking up a large area of our front yard. As Bro. Ski was busy with his chain saw, Mrs. Ski, along with my family, were hauling the branches to the trailer. All of a sudden, something near the front steps caught my eye! I spied the top part of my sandal! It hadn't been there earlier in the day, and yet, there it was now! After a quick laugh over this little mystery and once again wondering how our little shoe thief managed all these antics, I rejoiced over getting my sandal back!

We're not quite sure how to break Hailey of this bad habit of shoe-napping! If I'm not in a hurry, it can be kind of an adventure trying to play her game of “Hide Mama’s Shoe”, but then again this mischievous dog can add extra stress in an already rushed moment in trying to get out of the house. The right pet can be a blessing to a family! Hailey kept me company many weekends when my husband and boys were away at basketball games, and when my husband went to Spain for his job. It was a comfort to have her there as our watchdog! For the blessing she is to our family, I guess we can put up with a little "hide the shoe", don't you think?!

What A Day!

2009-07-01T17:20:00.000-07:00

There are some things in life that are just plain funny! While there are other things that seem funny at first…. until you put yourself into the situation and then they seem crazy and even a bit outrageous!

That is exactly what I experienced today. It’s July 1st. Posting day for our ladies blog. Now, you need to know that I do not personally post the blog on the Internet. I write, but I do none of the mechanics on our ladies blog. I leave that to the capable hands of our blog administrator, Rachael. Today we were both up bright and early to get this all day job done, when the unexpected happened.

In the ten months that we have been involved with this ministry to women, Rachael and I have seen how Satan loves to interfere with the process. We know he doesn’t like the content because it’s Biblical and he hates our God! We have also seen how God has paved the way, interceded on our behalf and has more than blessed this endeavor done for His glory alone.

We have learned to keep a “merry heart” in the midst of the difficulties because it’s God’s business anyway and He has always seen us through. We’ve faced some pretty intense situations in trying to post a new month, but today took the prize for sure!

We had barely gotten started when I received a call from my right arm, Rachael. “I’m having some pain and I think I might have a bladder infection”, she relates to me. “My husband is taking me in to the hospital and I’ll take my laptop with me and continue to post the blog while I’m gone.” I’m thinking, “How does one do that?” Well, you just have to know Rachael.

Forty-five minutes later she calls me back with, “I don’t have a bladder infection after all. I’m definitely in labor!” WHAAAAT? Oh my, does this ever change the landscape! At first I wanted to laugh. How hilarious is this? It’s the very scenario that we both talked about, that would be the absolute WORST thing that could happen to both of us! No more laughing for us now! Now we pray!

The Doctor then encourages Rachael not to go home, but to start walking. Walk at the mall, walk outside….just walk. What does our Rachael do? She (with her faithful, patient husband Dylan), heads to Caribou Coffee to plug into the Internet, because she has work to do!! You just have to know our Rachael.

She begins to post once again and continues to send a quick email my way that says, “This column is up!” I’m sitting here at my computer at home thinking, “Is she all right?” I’m picturing her doubled over one of the tables at Caribou coffee, hanging on to the sides of the table for dear life, while enduring every contraction (they were two minutes apart), with people watching this crazy woman work as she is going through labor!! Now, I don’t know about you, but this almost sounds like slapstick comedy to me! Craziness for sure! You just have to know our Rachael.

By this point, I’m thinking…she’s a better woman than I am. How many women would have said, “Phooey on the blog! It will have to wait. I’m going to have a baby!”

About two hours later (without having done any walking by the way), she emails this note to me. “We are headed to the mall to walk now…I honestly have to start moving. We’ll head to Aurora (the hospital) in about an hour or hour and a half.”

Well, duh!!!!

The little baby boy about to be born, has no idea what a strong and focused mommy he has! She is strong about doing the right things and focused on the eternal. Just every once in a while she loses it all and does something ridiculous like posting the ladies blog while trying to have a baby. But…you just have to know our dear Rachael.

A Stinky Situation

2009-06-01T10:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my sister Sarah and I decided to tackle the task of cleaning up our yard. I am an amateur plant enthusiast that decided to try my hand at organic gardening last year, due to the fact that I am allergic to so many chemicals.

Spring thaw this year hit our town a little hard, and for a while, our duplex was sitting in a huge puddle, very reminiscent of a small lake. During the worst of it, water was up to less than a foot below the floor, in our crawl space under our house. Consequently, we had blamed the foul odor emanating from the back of our house, on the flood we had experienced; never thinking that the real culprit for the, “oh man, something must have died” type of smell, was our own negligence.

I almost threw up when I came around the corner to get the garden stuff that the wind had scattered around. The smell was so bad that I was fully expecting to see bodies of dead animals back there. But as I came closer, I realized the true culprit. There it was…. our specially mixed fertilizer in baggies, in a plastic container that was partially open and filled with a little water.

After hollering, “Sarah, get out here and help me,” and running around the house quickly before I actually did lose the contents of my stomach, I heard my sister say, “Anna, if you puke on the driveway, you’re cleaning it up”! I then began to explain to her that it was not the flood that had caused our unusual aroma, but it was actually ANIMAL MANURE that caused the stench.

After a few rounds on the crazy cycle of “whose bright idea was it to stack it against the house,” and “you’re the one that always talks about wasting money” and “why throw it away when you can use it again next year”, we finally got down to the nasty business of cleanup.

After vigorously hosing everything down with a lot of soap and bleach, our yard no longer smelled like a herd of buffalo had visited and left their mark behind. The buckets we used are in the sun to dry, and my sister is quite emphatic about not using them inside the house….. I don’t know why!

We have laughed about this until our sides hurt, but we have learned quite a few lessons from this as well. Number one and most important – ALWAYS GET RID OF MANURE AT THE END OF SEASON!!!!! Number two, standing around blaming each other for what happened just means you have to smell the stink longer. It’s better to just get at the business of cleanup and chalk it up as lessons learned. Number three, no matter how nice you make it look – putting manure in plastic and making it look neat and organized, doesn’t change the fact that manure is still manure, and you can’t keep it covered for long! Putting off taking care of the problem, or pretending it doesn’t exist, just means you put up with the stink longer.

I am glad for the funny times in life. Our gardening escapades didn’t hurt anything but our own noses, and I am glad that God uses even manure to teach us life lessons.

Wildlife in Suburbia

2009-05-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

One of my most memorable experiences with a wild animal happened one warm, sunny, summer day soon after our youngest son was born.

It also taught me that you are never completely safe from wildlife – even while living in suburbia!

The Case of Mistaken Identity

2009-04-01T10:39:00.000-07:00

I always tried to be a good girl growing up, but I remember the day that I began and finished my career, as a thief! A few years back, we had an older, burgundy colored Mercury, as our main car. One day, I drove the car to our little hamlet of Larimore. I needed to get the mail, stop off at our grocery store to buy some apples that were on sale, and then make a quick stop at the hardware store for my husband. I quickly finished the first two stops on my list and then pulled in front of our hardware store to pick up the item for my husband.

As I entered the store, I was happy to see a man who I went to church with. He also worked for a local farmer who was a member of my church as well. Bro. John, the farmer, had an older version of the same burgundy Mercury that we owned, but at a glance one couldn’t tell the difference.
I got the part my husband needed, quickly paid for it and got into my car to head for home. As I began to drive away, I realized that the car was running a little rougher than usual. “I’ll have to tell my husband about this,” I thought, as I pulled up in front of our house. I got out of the car, and reached for my bag of apples. No apples….someone stole my apples!! In Larimore? How absurd! That never happens here!

Upon closer perusal, I realized - I didn’t have my car! Thinking it was my car… I had taken Bro. John’s car which was parked in front of the hardware store ! Now, I must explain that we live in a small town and most times when we make a quick run into a local store, we just leave our keys in the car. That’s just normal here….

With this realization, I rushed into the house in a panic, and explained to my husband what had happened. My husband called Bro. John to let him know that I had gotten into his car thinking it was my car and drove away.

Bro. John told my husband that the man who worked for him, came out of the hardware store, found Bro. John’s car gone, and promptly called the police! The police?! Great! I was in real trouble now! At this point I hadn’t even had my first speeding ticket!

My husband called the hardware store, and explained his wife’s horrible mistake. To protect me, my good husband drove the car back to the “scene of the crime”, to switch the burgundy Mercurys back to their rightful owners. From that day forward I have always checked to make sure I was in the right car!

And so began…. and ended… my career as a car thief! John and Eleanor, along with my family, have had a chuckle or two over this crazy car heist for many years!

Bro. John, I wish to dedicate this dose of good medicine to you. May your health continue to improve, and may the Lord bless you and Eleanor. Thanks for being so understanding and not believing those nasty rumors about me being a thief!

The MOUSE in our HOUSE!!

2009-02-02T08:59:00.000-08:00

Just last week we had a MOUSE in our HOUSE!!! I had thought I heard one earlier but chalked it up to the noise the blinds make on the windows when they are open, but when I saw it run across my foot, I knew he was real and I had a problem. He ran into my sister’s room, and I shut the door and went to work; all the while dreading her return home from out of town that Monday. I bought traps, and then let him out the next day – I have a friend that put a guilt trip on me for leaving the mouse in there. (Oddly enough, I wasn’t as concerned as long as I knew he was confined to HER room, and not my own. How selfish can I be!)

After a couple of false alarms Monday night, Sarah wakes me up at 4:00 A.M. with “Anna, I heard the mouse, and this time I SAW HIM!!!!” Sure enough, he had his tail and two feet stuck on the trap and was frantically trying to disappear under the fridge. She wailed “Kill it, JUST KILL IT!!!!!” I tried to bring the shovel down but couldn’t bring myself to do it, and said “It’s too cute.” She screamed back at me “It’s not cute, IT’S A MOUSE!!” I replied in Christ like fashion J “SHUT UP OR YOU’LL WAKE THE NEIGHBORS!!!!” I put another sticky trap on top so I couldn’t see it, and while she reached from behind with the shovel to hold the moving trap still, I whomped it one with a garden rake. It took three or four whomps before it finally died; after each time, it would let out a loud SQUEAK, we would scream, and Sarah would yell “KILL it just KILL IT!!!” We took it outside and put him in the trash can and the Garbage man blissfully took him away the next day.

After a week of scrubbing, our house was finally clean. We could now walk on our floors barefoot – mice don’t have bladders so everywhere they run....well.... they..... you get the picture. Oddly enough that mouse was a blessing to me. I had been going through some health problems and while thinking about the mouse, I wasn’t worrying at all about what I was going to do about my physical problems. God used that mouse to tell me that He isn’t finished with me yet. For God to still be preparing me to serve Him, encourages me to keep working at God’s will now.

So, Lord, thank you for that mouse, but please, oh please, let our new kitty be enough deterrent to prevent future lessons along those lines.

Good Intentions

2009-01-01T17:06:00.000-08:00

When my friend, Ginger T. turned 40, I wanted to make sure that her special milestone didn’t go by unnoticed. At a loss for what to do, and lack of time and funds, I decided that while she and her husband were out celebrating, my little boys and I would take a few rolls of our precious toilet paper and “decorate” her yard.

It was a warm evening and when it was dark we walked over to her house just a few blocks away. Since there were no lights on in the house, we got to the business of draping toilet paper around, over and through everything that didn’t move!

I was trying to get the toilet paper high into the tree that sits in their front yard when I turned around and there stood her son, Jay! He scared me to death! After I recovered, I explained what we were doing and he offered to help us get the toilet paper roll high into the tree. I begged him to secrecy, and we finished and hurried home.

Several days went by and I didn’t hear a word from Ginger. Hmm....that was different. Never would she let a moment like this go by without some sort of response. I could stand it no longer and I finally asked her how she liked her birthday decorations in the front of her yard? The blank look on her face told me that she didn’t understand at all, what I was saying, and so ....I said it again-- but slower this time. She replied that she had no clue what decorations I was talking about. I then described how Nick, Sam and I toilet papered her front yard on the evening of her birthday and how her son Jay had helped us. She then explained that when she and Mark came home, there was no toilet paper anywhere except in the toilet paper holder in the bathroom. Hmmmm…. This plot doth thicken!

A few days later she came back to me with this story:

Her oldest son Chad had come home and had seen the toilet paper floating in the breeze in the front yard, so he decided to clean it up. I asked why Jay hadn’t said anything to him, and she told me that he had promised that he wouldn’t say anything, so he didn’t. Aubrie, their daughter, was over at a neighbor’s house, and thought she saw someone toilet papering her front yard, but by the time she came home, there was no toilet paper anywhere! She wondered if she was going crazy!

All this confusion provided a good laugh over this birthday incident, and to this day we still chuckle when we remember this botched birthday surprise. Ginger has been a great friend to me over the years and to many ladies and teen girls in our church. Ginger, I’m sorry you missed your special 40th birthday gift from me! But never fear my dear..... your 50th is coming up and my boys are much bigger helpers now!

Special Christmas Memories

2008-12-01T09:34:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up, my family traveled 200 miles over the river and through the woods each Christmas, to go to my Grandma and Grandpa’s house. This is how I remember celebrating Christmas, until I got married.

I vividly remember not being able to sleep each Christmas Eve! The anticipation of opening Christmas gifts and all of our family traditions, would cause me to lay awake while my sisters slept peacefully. Even after my parents went to bed, I would lay in my bed agonizing over how slowly time was passing. But this particular Christmas, I was to join the ranks of my older cousins—I was to pass out the gifts—a huge honor in the scope of our Christmases. I was nervous—I wanted to do well. I was very excited!

As soon as I heard my Aunt Angie yell up the stairs that it was time to get up along with her reminder, “Are you going to waste this day?” , I shot out of bed, relieved that the night was FINALLY over. I gobbled down breakfast and prayed that the others would also hurry because we never opened presents until we had all eaten breakfast.

When I was 7 or 8 years old, it was my turn to pass out the gifts. If I had my druthers, I would have passed everything out as fast as possible, ripped my own gifts open and ignored everyone else. But…. our tradition was to pass out one gift at a time and wait for that person to open the gift, talk about it, and then we moved on to the next person. Usually, one of the children got to pass out the gifts (probably because we were closer to the floor – I figured that out as I got older!), and this year, it was my turn!

I carefully passed out all of the gifts and each person went through the ritual of opening them. It was a great time of family fellowship, but there was one package left. I picked up the package and read the card – To: Snick From: Shikepoke

WHAT WAS THIS?! When I looked up in confusion, Gram and Grandpa looked at each other with that special look. Then it hit me – Santa had delivered this gift to the wrong home! I knew I didn’t know how to get in touch with Santa, to right this wrong, and I didn’t think the adults knew how to either. Then Grandpa said that the gift was for Gram from him. It was a book that Gram seemed genuinely excited about. This was so confusing to me as a young girl. First, it was because she was excited about a book and second, that they actually called each other by different names.

As my little girl brain developed, I began to understand that these were pet names that Gram and Grandpa had for each other. Now, my big girl brain realizes the heritage that I was given. Gram and Grandpa loved each other deeply, and before Gram died she gave each of her grandchildren a little book where she told about Gram and Grandpa’s growing up years, about their courting, about their married life and it also holds lots of pictures of them both. Grandpa was sickly and died when I was 11 years old. I was fortunate enough to have Gram until 1996.
After Grandpa died, Gram never remarried. When asked why she never remarried, she replied that she was content with her life and didn’t want another man. Gram traveled the world, and spent time and energy on her family during the years following Grandpa’s death, and I believe she was content.

I know in my own life, I have not always been thankful or content with what God has given me. I have missed many a blessing that can accompany a trial of life. Praise the Lord for a Grandma and Grandpa who personified thankfulness and contentment in each other!

I now find that remembering these special moments of the past is very good medicine for the present. Create some "special moments" for your family this Christmas.

Love, Janna

Midnight Surprises

2008-11-01T18:08:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Jan, my mother’s sister, married a man in the United States Air Force. He was stationed all over the country, and as I was growing up, we would visit them in whatever part of the country Uncle Sam sent them. I visited Hawaii, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York and California as a result of my Aunt Jan and Uncle Joe. They were the best tour guides anyone could ask for! Many of my favorite memories come from the adventures we had visiting them.

One such adventure was when I was 9 years old. My mom was expecting my youngest sister and we went to Colorado to meet Aunt Jan, Uncle Joe and my cousins Kassie and Janell. My parents borrowed a pop-out camper from some friends. The top part of the camper was made of canvas and was attached to the base at certain intervals with snaps. My cousin Linda, who was 16 at the time, came with us to help with my middle sister Jeri, who was around 2.

As we traveled to Colorado (from Michigan) we stopped at night and set up the camper, my mom would fix dinner, and then we would go to sleep. I slept on one end, next to the canvas wall, with Linda. We had been traveling for about a week and set the camper up as usual, in a KOA on a hill. Remember, I was 9 years old, and not only have I always been short in stature, but at the time I was just a little thing.

We went to bed, and somehow during the course of the night, I rolled up in a ball, and slipped between the snaps holding the canvas to the base of the camper. I woke up sitting on the ground, outside the camper in the dark. I didn’t make a peep, but got up, went to open the camper door, which was locked, so I knocked on the door.

In a fearful voice, my mom said, "Who’s there?"

I mournfully called out, "It’s me!"

"Janna? What are you doing outside?"

"I fell out of the camper", I cried.

Thankfully, she unlocked the door and let me in. As I got back into bed, she asked me where my sleeping bag was, and I told her that it was outside. She went and got it for me and off to sleep I went.

The next day, the sleeping arrangements were definitely changed around. My cousin slept next to the canvas wall.

This humorous story has become a family favorite, but I can see God’s protection for a little girl who was at the mercy of gravity on that fateful night. That same protection is still available for this big girl today! And now, even like the past, I am not always aware of God's care and protection over the "little girl" who lives in me. After all, I am a child of God! He watches over His own.

Campers have changed since then, and when my parents bought a new camper, it came with sturdy fiberglass walls ----- no more midnight surprises!

2008-10-03T12:36:00.001-07:00

I remember as a teen, how my mother would come home from shopping with a new outfit for me, and I would be horrified! It was not my style, color etc. I've seen the same look in my son Nick's eyes, when in the store, I hold up a prospective shirt for him to try on. I realize that it is normal for teens to develop different tastes in clothing from their parents. It's all part of becoming the unique person God made him/her to be.

Once again, this all became evident to me this summer.

My parents come out for a visit once a year, and they always come bearing gifts. It is a sweet time of fellowship with them, but some of the things they bring, are...interesting. This year, my parents came for their yearly visit, and my mom brought me two solar-powered lights with a light sensor (so they come on automatically when it becomes dark), a frog whose tummy lights up and a large clear plastic stick that changes color. That horrified feeling from my teens came over me again. Mom bought one of each for my two sisters as well. These were things I planned on leaving in their boxes in the basement, but Mom and Sam got right to putting them together and sticking them in the lawn. Great! Now we will become known as, "the green house on the corner of Wolcott and 3rd with the tacky lawn ornaments."

We visited my youngest sister and her family this summer for the first time in their new home in Chippewa Falls, WI. She told us they wouldn't be home and to just go right in and make ourselves at home. Then she proceeded to give us sketchy directions on how to get there. It was dark by the time we arrived, and so were most of the houses in the neighborhood. I could just see us making ourselves at home in someone's house, thinking it was my sister's and having the family get out of bed and ask us what we were doing in their living room!

And then I saw them! The same frog with his tummy lit and the color changing stick!

"This is it!" I told my husband.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Oh yeah." I confidently replied. "What are the odds that someone else in this town has the same two tacky light-up lawn lights as I do!"

Now I proudly display my "tacky" lawn ornaments. As I walk up to the house in the evening, I admire my, not-so-one-of-a-kind lawn lights and remember what a blessing the family God gave to me really is. If you get bored, take some time to drive by my house in the evening and admire them. You never know.. they could become a Larimore landmark!

Smiling on 3rd Street,

Janna