Cartersville Family

Wow.  I was up until 2 am that last two nights trying to finish the last in the Harry Potter series of books.  It was just as gripping and well-written as the previous six.  It really helped to tie up the loose ends in the story and explain a lot about why different events took place.  I had a theory about Snape and Dumbledore’s death and I found that I was right.  In all the previous books I didn’t like Snape, but deep down inside I wanted him to be good because Dumbledore did.  I am glad that the book had a “happily ever after” type ending.  After all the warring it was nice to finish on a positive note.  I applaud J.K. Rowling once again.

I am one of those kids that grew up during the era of peg-legged jeans, fluorescent colored clothing, big hair, dukes of hazards and the Cosby show. I grew up in the 80’s. I can vividly remember my brother, Josh, loving the Transformers. When it was his turn to choose the tv show to watch, he often chose that one. I remember him having a dozen or so Transformer toys and of course his favorite was Optimus Prime. Well, I went to the movie this weekend and it was excellent. I didn’t expect it to be as good and funny as it was. It is by far the best movie of the summer so far. Shia LeBouf did an excellent job and he was very funny. I would see the movie again just to hear his humor.

I am not a big time reader like my husband. He probably ready about 100 or so book a year. I’m lucky to fit in 5 whole books in a year. The exception is the Harry Potter series. I just love reading them. Michael introduced them to me years ago when only the first two were out. I was hooked immediately. You see, when I read a Harry Potter book, I can’t put it down until I’m finished. These books have created quite a controversy over the years. I for one, support the reading of these books. I believe that they are very well-written stories which encourage young readers to use their imagination. The underlying premise of good vs. evil is represented very well and I think that those who read them gain a greater understanding of what it means to be loyal, trustworthy, noble, and honest. The values of friendship, honor, family and teamwork are also displayed by the main characters. I have seen all the movies to date also. The books are without a doubt much better. I know that it is impossible to squeeze a 700 page book into a 2 hour movie so i recommend reading the book first so that you know what the movie doesn’t show. I just saw the latest movie last night. I actually went to the movie by myself. It was weird, but i wanted to see it and Michael already had. The movie was okay. I just feel like it didn’t really have the impact that the book did. I am about the start the final book. (I had to wait for Michael to read it and I also was finishing up book #6). I can’t wait to find out what happens in the end. I have my own theories, but I’ll let you know what I think.

I just love first birthday’s.  My nephew just turned one last week and celebrated with family and friends.  I heard that he was a little hesitant about the cake, but he loved the ice cream.  I remember my kid’s first birthdays and what a mess they made with the cake.  It is funny that we try so hard to teach our children table manners and not to make big messes when they eat; only to give it all up for the celebrated 1st birthday cake.  Where ever did this tradition come from?  We encourage them to dig in and make as big a mess as they want.  Do you know how hard buttercream icing is to clean off?  Whatever the mess though, we parents wouldn’t trade those pictures and memories for anything.

I just got home from our church’s volunteer hoe down party. Complete with a blue grass band, square dancers and BBQ. We had a blast. My kids chatted the whole way home about how much fun they had and that they loved the dancing. My 5-year-old daughter had a square dance partner, but she was the one taking the lead. That’s my Lauren. My 2-year-old did her own version of dancing and ended up falling into a mud puddle. Kids have the right idea when it comes to letting loose and enjoying themselves. I love to see the innocence and pure joy that comes from dancing around with friends and playing in mud puddles.

Yea!  My little boy, who is 10 months old, has finally figured out how to crawl.  What a frustrating journey for him.  He has been working on this for a while now and had finally figured out how to use his hands and feet together in sync to move forward.  He still gets confused sometimes and just rocks back and forth, but he is getting better at it.  He gets so proud of himself and just laughs. You know, our Heavenly Father must watch us the same way.  Being a mom really helps me understand more about the heart of God.  I know that when my children are learning something important or trying to figure out something new, that I try to help them, cheer them on and rescue them when they fail.  I celebrate with them and I cry with them.  I sometimes let them fail and get hurt, but pick them up and hug them afterwards.  I try to give them space, but keep them close in my thoughts and prayers.  It gives me great comfort and peace to know that my Heavenly Father does the same for me.  He is always teaching me to be more like Him.  When I fail, He comforts me.  When I mess up (which I do more often than I like to admit) He gently redirects me.  He celebrates with me and lets me cry on His ever sustaining shoulder.  He allows me to fail in order to learn a lesson.  He keeps me close, in fact, He holds me in His hands.  What a great Father.  If I used as much patience, long suffering, mercy, grace and love as He does, imagine what a great parent I could be.  He is the ultimate example of parenting.

Recently, here in Cartersville a new children’s consignment shop has opened. Boy’s N Berries. It is located next to my gym, so I was very curious to visit when I saw the sign appear. It is such a cute shop and it has lots of merchandise to choose from. I am a regular contributor. If you are looking for cute kid’s clothes, toys, baby equipment, specialty products or maternity clothes, check them out. The staff are friendly and helpful. Consigning clothes, toys and equipment is really a great way to recycle and reuse all of the stuff our kids are done with. It also is great way to earn some extra cash every now and then.

I have been using a computer for over 10 years now, but I am fairly new the the world of text messaging. I am one of those people who still type everything out with punctuation. I was recently interested in a magazine article that talked about all the acronyms and shorthand phrases that teenagers and others are using to communicate these days. The article suggested this website for people to visit this website in case they wanted to know more about “net lingo”. There are hundreds of them. I spent time looking up all my favorite phrases. If I could just remember all the letters and what they stand for….

I just love any show that has a before and an after. One of my favorites is TLC’s What Not to Wear where the “fashion victims” are subjected to constructive criticism of their entire wardrobe. The show’s hosts throw out all the offending clothes and the individual is left basically with the clothes on their back. New fashion rules and guidelines are created specifically for them and then they are given $5000 to shop for a new wardrobe; clothes, shoes, jewelry, accessories and I even saw a show where the girl bought a computer. There are stylist who of course give them new hair styles and makeup. The transformation is usually quite drastic. At the end of the show, the contestants confess that they didn’t really want to come on the show and they were very resistant to the changes. However, they find themselves happier and more confident because their outsides match their insides and wouldn’t change the experience. This reminds me of how Christ changes us when we choose to follow Him. In our sin nature we resemble everything that Christ died to set us free from. We are spiritually “wearing all the wrong things”. When Jesus sets us free and saves us by His grace He gives us a makeover. He throws out all of our old “clothes” and He gives us new rules to live by. The makeover process is not always fun or pain-free, but the after is always worth it. Jesus is in the business of changing the “before” to and “after”. 2nd Corinthians 5:17 says “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

My oldest daughter Lauren keeps us laughing in our family.  And she has made many quite humorous observations in her short 5 1/2 years.  She recently visited my parents down in Jax, FL and went to church with them.  They attend a very large church down there and Lauren loves to visit becuase the children’s facilities are awesome and they have a fountain in the middle of their campus.  Anyway, I was asking her about her experience going to “big church” and she was impressed that her Granddaddy was a “slusher”.  I asked her if she meant “usher” and she said yes.  She then asked me what an usher was and I explained to her that an usher helps people to find a seat in church. I made reference to the ushers and greeters at our church and that they are the ones who wear the glow in the dark lanyards.  She then said that her “Granddaddy didn’t have to wear a glow in the dark necklace because their church had lights on”.  In case you don’t know our church meets in movie theater. I laughed out loud at that comment.