February 29th: Something I'm Listening To...

Life is funny stuff.

I woke up this morning with my day all planned out, including what I was going to do for my final February Photo-a-Day Challenge blog post.

Sometimes I crack me up!

Because instead of listening to the cacophony of school noise this morning, I spent a lot of time listening to news reports about the tornadoes that went through southern Missouri and Illinois early this morning.

This afternoon, when I had expected to be listening to the steady hum of the washing machine and the delighted laughter of children, happily cleaning their rooms, instead I found myself listening to myself barking orders and making phone calls.

And later, I spent a lot of time listening to kids who only really whine to this degree when their daddy has left the premises for an indefinite number of days...because in the course of just a couple hours today, we got SJB and our 13-year old son Jamie packed up to go help with relief efforts in Harrisburg, Illinois.

This is well-traveled territory for us.  Jim has gone on at least one mission trip every year since 2003.  And this mission to Harrisburg marks his third relief trip since last spring.  So in the sense that we all know what to expect when he's gone, I guess each trip gets a little easier.

However, in the sense that knowing in advance that the root canal is going to hurt doesn't make it hurt any less, it still stinks when he's gone.

And now that Jamie is old enough to go along and be Dad's right-hand man, that also leaves me without one of my most reliable and cheerful assistants...and one of my loudest sources of happy noise.

In fact, right about now, in that patch of time when Grace and Jamie are the only kids who have yet to toddle off to bed, I am used to hearing the sounds of the nightly father-son Call-of-Duty smack down.  Tonight, I'm listening to Grace yammer about her upcoming birthday plans while she watches 101 Dalmatians.

And here in a bit, once I kick her down the stairs to her bedroom, I'll be missing what I'm accustomed to listening to during the hour of the grown-up:  a gripping movie, a mindless sit-com, an end-of-the-day catch-up talk, deliberations over the perfect evening snack...

And tonight, instead, I'll be listening to this:

This is not my favorite song.

But if history is any indication--and I have no reason to believe this time should be any different than all the other times we've had to be apart--this sacrifice just makes the time sweeter when we are back together.  I always love hearing about all the ways SJB got to see God at work on the mission field!  And I love feeling like I contributed in my own ways even though I never left home.  Those are couch-talks worth listening to!  I'll make popcorn!

Blessings!  (And thanks for going on this wild ride with me!  Whew!)

Missy

If I had gone ahead and blogged February 29th as I had planned, 

this song would have definitely made an appearance somewhere.  

And I'm pleased to polish off the month with it...

February 28th: Money...

What can I say about money that hasn't already been said to death?  Not much!  So I decided to share some random money funnies!

Perhaps you remember Tevye, one of the great thinkers of all time, and his future son-in-law Perchik.  Embroiled in a discussion about money, Perchik declares, "Money is the world's curse."

Tevye's response:  "May the Lord smite me with it. And may I never recover."

That Tevye!  He's got it going on!

And speaking of great thinkers, my daughter Mary has tried her best to contribute something to every day of this photo challenge!  She has talked about the subject of the day, offered me helpful suggestions, posed for pictures, and drawn a lot of original artwork.  But when she saw that today's topic was Money...well, that was the high-water mark for Mary!

For reasons which I do not understand, based on a discussion I do not remember, Mary (who is only 7 years old) has been obsessed for years about one day going to the Mint in Washington DC so she can watch money being made...and so she can buy a sheet of un-cut money.  I have no explanation other than to suggest that perhaps she and Alex P. Keaton may have a thing or two in common.

At any rate, here is the picture she drew today.  It requires no description.

Finally, I leave you on a serious note.  This musical video clip pretty much sums up financial life at Stately Bennett Manor.  ;-)

Blessings!

Missy

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap 

and into many foolish and harmful desires 

that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. 

Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith 

and pierced themselves with many griefs. 

1 Timothy 6:9-10

(Or...as my favorite preacher said recently, it's not a sin to have money.  It's not even a sin to enjoy the money God has chosen to share with you.  But to love it and allow it to rule you?  There's your sin problem!)

February 27th: Something I Ate...

Seriously?  Something I ate?

My first thought was that it would probably be a more visually pleasant photo assignment if it was phrased, "Something I'm about to eat."  But sometimes the old English teacher in me can't seem to help the way words paint pictures in my mind.

I digress.

This picture contains products I have eaten...though I actually only ate one of them today.  That Chobani passion-fruit yogurt!  Gad zooks!  I love that stuff!

 Yep...that cereal (and the wonderful bread made by the same company)

is a recipe from the Bible!

The reason these items have posed for a still-life together is that they were all purchased from my food co-op, and today was co-op day! 

For the uninitiated, a food co-op is a group of people who get together to order, distribute, and share healthy foods--often in bulk.  Truthfully, some of the items available through the co-op are much cheaper at Sam's Club or WalMart...or on Amazon.  Where the co-op is really worth its weight in gold is when I order 50 pounds of organic rolled oats or 25 pounds of white popcorn.  The shipping on that stuff is a real killer!

I realize that not everyone has a 5-gallon bucket of brown rice in her pantry, but for those of us who cook for a crowd, buying in bulk can be a real money- and energy-saver.

Of course, there's also the health aspect of buying whole foods...and this is where I chase my own tail a lot!  In a perfect world, where I had unlimited funds, I would probably buy more organic and natural foods for my family...but as much as I would like to be able to feed them the very best food, they also seem to like wearing clothes and having a functioning van to haul them around to their various activities.  Where do I draw the line?

Plus, I don't know how much time you have spent researching nutrition, but the sheer magnitude of information out there is horrifyingly daunting!  And the theories seem to change from one day to the next.  Should I go whole wheat or gluten-free?  Low-carb or vegetarian?  All raw foods?  A focus on the fermented and cultured?  And how am I supposed to bank-roll the dietary wisdom du jour?

I know some people who seem so anxious about doing every little thing right nutritionally-speaking that food (or at least the paranoia about it) appears to be all they think about.  Is that as far over the line in one direction as other moms go in the opposite direction...you know, the ones who feed their kids lots of processed convenience foods without a second thought.

Talk about walking a tight-rope!

It reminds me of a Beth Moore Bible study I took once.  Possibly Breaking Free...but I don't remember for sure.  Beth told a story about a woman who confessed to having had a struggle with her weight.  Here is the story as I remember her telling it:

I have been everything from a size 6 to a size 16, and what I've learned is that around a size 12 is where I'm not sinning.  Yes, I can become very thin, but in order to maintain it, I have to think constantly about every bite I put into my mouth and every minute I spend in exercise...to the point that it becomes idolatry.  If I'm a size 16, I'm not concerning myself whatsoever with how I treat my body--which is also sin.  Somewhere in the middle, I can be rightly concerned with respecting the temple without worshiping it.

I really like that.

And that's sort of the position I have taken with planning the meals I serve my family.  I want to make wise (but not anxious) decisions, while also being a good steward of every month's grocery money.  I want to do a good job of feeding all the little (and big) bodies God has entrusted to my care, but I also want to confidently trust Him to fill in the gaps where I'm not perfect.

Practically speaking, that means I'll still be dividing my money between Sam's Club, an assortment of grocery stores, and my trusty Rainbow Food Co-op.  It also means that I'm trying to make more things from scratch using whole-food ingredients.  And I'm going to give myself a little grace (and a lot of Greek yogurt) in the process.

Blessings!

Missy

Man shall not live on bread alone, 

but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Matthew 4:4b

February 26th: Night...

Piece.

Of.

Cake!

It's 10:00 at night.  What does that mean? 

It's the hour of the grown-up!  Hope you're enjoying yours as much as we are enjoying ours!  

(By the way, I would like to say that we look all blurry and out-of-focus because Jamie took this picture.  The truth of the matter is that this is just how we look by the end of the day...especially on a Sunday night!)

Blessings!

Missy

Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest
   is my beloved among the young men.
I delight to sit in his shade,
   and his fruit is sweet to my taste.
 Let him lead me to the banquet hall,
   and let his banner over me be love.
 Strengthen me with raisins,
   refresh me with apples,
   for I am faint with love.
 His left arm is under my head,
   and his right arm embraces me. 

Song of Solomon 2:3-6

February 25th: Green...

I couldn't believe my luck when I saw that Green was the photo challenge for today!  You see...green is my favorite color...and today is my 18th wedding anniversary.  So, how absolutely perfect to be able to show you a picture from my wedding today!

Randi Latzke, Kim Dutton, me, Krystal Carlson, Mary Korte, and Monica Stone.
And I know the dresses look black, but you'll just have to trust me...they're deep green velvet.

There is a widely-held belief that bridesmaids must fight to the death over the dresses they want to wear in a wedding...and that brides are pretty much expected to micro-manage every single detail.  

However, so euphoric was I at the prospect of marrying my best good buddy--the man I knew God had chosen for me--that I didn't really even care what dresses my bridesmaids picked as long as they were dark green.  Beyond that, whatever they liked was fine with me!

Now, maybe I'm mis-remembering the whole experience through the lovely haze of time and happiness (and if that is the case, I hope no one tells me so!), but my wedding party must have won the prize for fastest and easiest dress-selection of all time!  Almost immediately, they had narrowed the field to their two favorites:  both of them beautiful emerald green velvet dresses.  They chose, they ordered...we were done in time to go out to lunch!

The only real glitch was that bridal-wear associates clutch their hearts when you tell them that the wedding is less than two months away!  

Oh...and there was the blizzard.  Turns out that seventeen inches of blowing snow on your wedding day will throw a wrench in the works!  But, hey...when almost no one can make it to the church without firing up the tractor, you don't need that third usher...or the cake!

And, in retrospect, I wish we had planned in advance to spend our wedding night in our own house, eating carry-out bacon-cheeseburger pizza...because leaving for our honeymoon (and I use the word sorta loosely) a day late was just one more snag in our planning that turned out not to be a snag at all.  As my dear friend (and brave wedding piano-player) Leo said of our modified arrangements for the evening, "Oh, honey...the best things start at home!"

Much to the chagrin of the naysayers who were convinced we'd never make it over the long haul--or even over the short haul--this whole post pretty much sums up the sweeping majority of our marriage.  It has been beautiful, nearly-effortless...and most of the glitches haven't proven to be all that snaggy.  (And, now that I think about it, the snags haven't been all that glitchy either!)

It's probably not cool to admit that publicly.  I might get hate mail.  (But that would be OK, because when you write a blog, any comment feels a good comment!)

Even the other crazies I know who got married very quickly and then proceeded to stay happily married for a lifetime confess to having had a rough year or two of adjustment to married life.  I'm sorry (not!), but we didn't have any of that.  We went from blind date 

...to inseparable 

...to engaged 

...to married 

in just shy of three months, and have mostly proceeded to behave like newlyweds to this day.  Believe me when I say that two generations of teenaged children have loved this!  (No, they haven't!)

I don't say this to make anyone green with envy.  (Sorry...I couldn't resist!)  I claim absolutely no responsibility for being half of one of the great marriages of my time.  I don't know why God chose to bless me so abundantly...so far above what I deserve.  And, knowing how I have been blessed, I feel all the more foolish and unappreciative when I'm not the wife I want to be...the wife my Sweet Jimmy B deserves.

But all regrets and hate mail aside, this blog post (and all the rest of 'em!) is dedicated to my husband.  I'm crazy about you, SJB!  You're the one!

Blessings!

Missy

 Two are better than one,
   because they have a good return for their labor:

If either of them falls down,
   one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
   and has no one to help them up.

Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
   But how can one keep warm alone?
 Though one may be overpowered,
   two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

18 years ago today

One year ago today!  Perhaps you will recall that I had surgery to put a titanium screw into my busted foot bone that day.  NOT the best anniversary gift I ever received.

February 24th: Inside My Bathroom Cabinet...a Contest!

I'm sorry.  

I truly, honestly wish that I was a better housekeeper.  I really try to keep house like Martha Stewart, but it always ends up looking more like Tony Stewart drove through.  I would love to be more Felix and less Oscar!  But when it comes to being Alice the Maid, I'm closer to Alice Cooper.

Humbly, I will concede that I am not utterly without some domestic expertise: 

• I can create several days' worth of meals out of a three-legged chicken and a few cans of soup.
• I can soothe a baby while giving a spelling test, folding laundry, and performing triage on a toddler-dog accident victim.
• I can plan an out-of-state vacation for nineteen people without breaking a sweat or going over-budget.

With that being said, I still wish I could be one of those people whose every drawer and cupboard could be scrutinized at any given moment...but, frankly, I'm doing all I can just to keep the living room clear of contaminants and tripping-hazards. 

So when I saw that I had been challenged to show you the inside of my bathroom cabinet today, my first thought was that February 24th is the anniversary of the day we adopted Mercy and Sam and no mom worth her salt would blog on such an important day as that!

Then I thought I should just clean the thing out, thereby not having to worry about what you might see in there!  But that seemed a little dishonest...so I thought I might brave a before-and-after pictorial blog post...

But I just wasn't feeling that either.  Have you seen what's in there?!  No...you haven't!  And for good reason!  Sheesh!

What I decided to do was grant myself a little creative license and show you the most interesting item in my bathroom cabinet:

"What in tarnation is that?!"  you may ask.  "And WHY is it in your bathroom cabinet?!"

That, my friend, is a story all unto itself...and the topic of a fun little contest!  I will reveal the significance of this item during the first week of March.  Until then, I would love to hear your guesses!  I might even offer a prize!  Why not?!

One hint:  There is no indication that it would go on a chain or any other form of jewelry.

One rule:  If your last name is--or has ever been--Dutton or Bennett, you are ineligible to play.

One secret wish:  I hope one of my readers really knows what this is!

Happy guessing!

Blessings!

Missy

See that you do not despise one of these little ones. 

 For I tell you that their angels in heaven 

always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Matthew 18:10

February 23rd: Shoes...

Sad, but true...I have big, freaky clown feet.

Also true:  My friends and fellow bloggers keep stealing my ideas because I wait too late in the day (or the next day) to post!  Today, it was my oldest daughter Krystal, whose big, freaky clown feet didn't fall far from the tree!

So...go ahead and read what Krystal has to say about the horrors of shoe-shopping, then come on back and I will verify that she is telling the truth, however sad and fictitious it will sound to those of you who are normal.

One of these statements is not true:

1. I wore size 9 shoes when I was 9, 10's when I was 10, and 11's when I was 11.
2. I wept uncontrollably in the days leading up to my 12th birthday.
3. I have often wondered (and been ever so thankful!) how someone with size 13 feet would have ever found shoes before the internet age.
4. When you look on the internet for women's size 13 shoes, the search engine truly assumes you are a man who has a big pageant coming up.

Let's check the scoreboard...

#2 is the falsehood.  It was the six pregnancies that took me from the point where the shoe salesman raises one eyebrow when you ask if he carries your size to the place where you have to suppress the desire to don a disguise when you log onto BigFatFeet.com.

And if the poor selection and the therapy bills weren't bad enough, it evidently costs much, much more to produce footwear of this caliber!  (Probably all the extra yardage of materials, I'm guessing.)

That's not to say I haven't cashed in some stocks or mortgaged my firstborn a time or two to get a cute pair of shoes that I needed.  These shoes actually weren't very expensive (a rarity!), however it did take me untold hours of internet time to find them!  But I was fashionable and comfortable slogging through the rain at my daughter Kayla's wedding in these:

And I think I was in junior high when I last owned a pair of nice boots, but I spent my kids' inheritance to buy these last winter:

But here's the thing:  Even when I manage to find a style of shoe I love...even when I can rationalize the expenditure...even when a pair of shoes turns out to be as comfortable as the day is long...

No size 13 shoe is ever cute.

So what's a girl to do?

Turn to purses, of course!  Big, preferably colorful, high-impact, beautiful purses!  Bring 'em on!

Here's my most recent acquisition, purchased second-hand on facebook after Krystal saw it and tagged me because she KNEW it was destined to be mine!

My daughter Lyndsay was in Chicago, and she texted me just to say that she had passed the Coach store and thought of me...probably thanks to this little number she remembered from my repertoire:

Do I have a point here?  Golly...probably not a very good one.  A spiritual allegory?  Very, very doubtful.   Is this just about the most shallow blog post I've ever churned out?  Quite likely.  

Well, sometimes there are just days like this!  But hey, I always have plenty of room in my bag to carry around...well...everything:  snacks, my Kindle, various medications.  And in the grand scheme of things, a cute pair of pumps really can't hold a candle to being well fed, well medicated, and entertained!

Blessings!

Missy

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, 

where moths and vermin destroy, 

and where thieves break in and steal.  

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, 

where moths and vermin do not destroy, 

and where thieves do not break in and steal.  

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

February 22nd: Where I Work...

I snickered when I saw that today I had been challenged to share a picture of where I work.  After all, as one of my children (who shall remain nameless...but it rhymes with "Grace") said this morning, I don't work!

She has been dealt with appropriately.

In the Marine Corps, as the recruits are being run into the dust, they are sometimes led in a chorus of "This is what we asked for!"

As Hyman Roth says in The Godfather II, "This is the business we've chosen."

And what was that one about sleeping in the bed you made?

At any rate, I can't in good conscience complain about my career when it was so fully prayed over and confirmed to be my calling.

However, sometimes I think my workplace could stand a review by OSHA...or the Better Business Bureau!

I mean, look what I'm working with here:

 

 

 

Confession time:  There may have been times when I might have complained--or at least whined internally--that my job is somewhat repetitive.  But, in all fairness, I have a pretty sweet deal when it comes to variety.  After all, some of the things I do are reliably predictable parts of every day...like feeding the hungry bears and dueling with the laundry monster.  But I can never be absolutely certain where any given day is going to take me--and that's what keeps me on my toes!

Here are just a few of the things I did at work today:

 

 

 

Blessings!

Missy

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, 

as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 

since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. 

It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 

Colossians 3:23-24

February 21st: A Favorite Picture of Me...

I love it when my homework assignment is a piece of cake!  Today's photo-a-day challenge was just such a no-brainer!

As soon as I saw that, on the 21st, I would need to produce a favorite picture of myself, I knew exactly which one it was going to be!  Of course, it helps that I try to avoid finding myself on the business end of a camera whenever possible...so it's not like I had a large pool of possibilities.

However, perhaps I have mentioned before that whether we're talking about a recipe that was already good to begin with or a school schedule that was working just fine, I seem have an irritating compulsion to try to meddle with stuff that doesn't really require my help.  I really have no explanation...no good excuse...it's just kinda how I roll.

So, even though I had the perfect picture in mind, I decided I might as well look through my iPhoto and see if there was anything else in there I liked better...and since I just dumped 764 pictures into there from my phone, there was no shortage of potential nominees!

As a general rule, I really, really hate looking at pictures of myself.  This was a problem of nearly neurotic proportions before I had my gastric bypass surgery.  But a lifetime of shying away from looking at myself is a pretty strong habit!

Be that as it may, I did find a couple pictures of me that I actually liked:

 

To the casual observer, these two pictures appear to be very different.  In the top pic I'm wearing my old Bible Boot Camp t-shirt, my big ol' orange watch, and no discernible attempt at a hairdo whatsoever.  In the bottom picture, I'm dressed up, wearing jewelry, and have as my background the walls of the Russian Tea Room--one of our favorite haunts in Chicago!  Top picture--I'm driving the Big Red Bus of Love in beautiful no-town Rozetta.

So what do these two pictures have in common?  Isn't it obvious?  In both pictures, I look genuinely happy...not just take-my-picture-already happy.  That's because in both pictures, I'm looking at this guy:

Even as we speak, Sweet Jimmy B and I are just four days away from celebrating our 18th wedding anniversary.  If our marriage were a person, he would be able to vote in the upcoming election!  That's a pretty long time!

Now, I'm not saying I have never taken my husband for granted...and I'm most certainly not saying that I have always treated him as the gift he is.  Quite the contrary!

However, I have seen enough and I have learned enough that I don't have to be reminded what a blessing I have been given here. 

And that's why, in my opinion, any good picture of me has to have SJB in it too.

Blessings!

Missy

I am my beloved’s 

and my beloved is mine...

Song of Solomon 6:3a

February 20th: Handwriting...

 

 

He actually was awake for handwriting class.

Obviously delighted with the whole thing.

Guess who didn't realize we were getting that close to the end of the book!

No problem...they'll be here Wednesday!  Gotta love Amazon!

But on the plus-side, check out the big bottle of vitamin water I'm drinking!

 

This is what Daniel put on the back of his "handwriting paper" today.  This is utterly typical around our house.