Some Good Old Fashioned Earth Lovin'!!!

Sam and I (along with Russ & Michele) went to the Indiana Earth Day festival on Saturday at the American Legion Mall (the grassy stretch between the World War Memorial and the library) in downtown Indy. It was a beautiful day to visit the huge tents they had set up with all kinds of "Earth" information - booths and vendors with information on recycling and water conservation to organic gardening and eating locally (and EVERYTHING in between!)

Some helpful websites:

www.green.indy.com

www.indianalivinggreen.com

www.indy.gov/toxdrop (where you can drop off toxic materials like batteries, etc.)

www.greenpieceindy.com (provides twice weekly emails about living greener in Indy)


The kids were swimming and splashing around in the fountain!

The World War Memorial

An Earth Day Duck!

Polka Boy Is Still Rockin'!!!

We headed downtown last Friday for the opening night of the Rathskeller outdoor biergarten with none other than the always fabulous Polka Boy! It was such beautiful weather, that even though Sam and I got down there at 4:00 p.m. to save a table for the group, every single one of the tables was already taken - and Polka Boy didn't even start until 7:00 p.m.!!! Not to worry - we still managed to have a great time (although we missed the Elliotts and Gibbs!) Here are some pics from the night!

So in preparation for the night's festivities, I got Sam this little Saint Vivian figurine - the patron Saint of Hangovers!


We all thought it was a bit ironic that the Patron Saint of Hangovers is NOT suitable for children under 3 years!

Michele & Russ joined us for the night!

Along with Robyn!

The night is off to a good start!

Wow, a nice picture of Dan and Margie! I must have caught them off guard!

And the drinking has begun!

Sam "crosses" Dan with Saint Vivian to ward off evil hangovers!

Why do random people you don't know think it's funny to jump into your pictures???

Sam & Margie give the classic "happy" Aaron thumbs up sign.

Us dancing and standing on the biergarten tables!

Sam & Dan miss while trying to give each other a high five during the Hokey Pokey!

You know the beer's flowing like milk and honey when Sam and Dan start to dance!

Time to say goodbye! "I love you, man!" Jeez, I think Sam's hugging Dan harder than he hugs me...and his eyes are closed too...hmmmm???

The Birthday Celebrations Have Begun!

Last Wednesday we had our annual birthday lunch to celebrate my Aunt Karol, my Uncle Norm and my birthdays, which are all within a week of each other!

After lunch we went back to Grammy's where Grammy "pressured" Sam until he finally agreed to try a sup of her wine (Charles Shaw!) So here's Sam drinking his Two Buck Chuck out of a glass mug! Nice.

Me & Grammy!

Welcome To The World, Baby!

Welcome to the newest member of our Bible Study group! Last Thursday our friends, Jeff and Sarah Gibbs welcomed their second son, Graham Walker - 8 lbs. 13 oz. and 20 3/4 inches long. Here are some pics!

Look at all that hair!

Can't resist the baby feet!

Graham and Mommy!

I just finished the first two books in Anne Rice's Christ the Lord Series (I think there might be a third to come) and was very pleasantly surprised! Rice, famous for her vampire tales, has returned to her childhood Catholic faith and has written a very intriguing account of the life of Christ. The books themselves are great; interestingly written in the first-person voice of Christ. The first, Out of Egypt, begins when a seven year old Jesus and His family return to Nazareth after being in exile in Egypt since Jesus' birth. It follows young Jesus as He tries to understand the miraculous stories that surrounded His birth. The second, Christ The Lord: Road to Cana, begins in the year before Christ's 30th birthday, as He's about to enter the years of His ministry. In both books Rice does a wonderful job in imagining and creating a fictional story about what Christ's early life might have been like. Also, almost as interesting as the books themselves, is Rice's profession of faith, her own personal story about how she returned to her faith after 30 years as a hard core atheist, and how she came to write the books. She includes this story in an "About the Author" section at the end of the books. They are very interesting reads, and I highly recommend them both!

The Latest News From Narcissistic Hollywood!

So in the news this morning I read that Amy Winehouse is looking to adopt a baby from St. Lucia. Yep, that's right...crack smoking, alcoholic, mentally unstable Amy Winehouse is wanting to adopt. Apparently she's been living in St. Lucia for awhile, trying to recover from the emotional turmoil of her divorce from hubby Blake Fielder-Civil, and while there she has "fallen in love with the people" and is now wanting to adopt. And I'm sure it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that reports have just recently come out that her ex-husband and his new girlfriend are pregnant! I just have one thing to say if, in fact, Ms. Winehouse is allowed to adopt a child: there is something seriously wrong with the adoption system if a single person with a lot of money and the vast amount of problems Amy Winehouse has is able to adopt before a couple who have been married for 10 years and have waited 4 years for an adoption referral. Let's just hope for the baby's sake, the St. Lucian answer to Ms. Winehouse is a big, fat NO!

Miss USA Brouhaha

So by now I'm sure all of you have heard about the Miss USA brouhaha involving Miss California, Carrie Prejean, and Perez Hilton (a controversial celebrity blogger who is gay), one of the Miss USA judges. If not, here's the short story: during the interview portion, Miss CA drew Perez Hilton's name for her question, and he asked her if she thought that the other states should follow Vermont's lead and legalize same sex marriage. Her answer paraphrased: No, I think marriage should be between a man and a woman. Her answer was met with a combination of cheers and boos from the audience, and a very disgruntled look from Perez Hilton, who obviously wasn't expecting her answer. So ultimately, Miss CA came in second place, while Miss North Carolina took the Miss USA crown.

The aftermath is that Prejean is insisting that Perez cost her the title and that she would have won if not for the fact that she answered the question as she honestly felt (and actually Perez has admitted as much). And Perez is ranting on his blog, calling Prejean a "dumb b**ch" and other vulgar names. So here are a few of my humble thoughts on the situation:

1) First of all I think it's silly (and do feel bad for the winner Miss NC) that her win has been completely overshadowed by such a ridiculous political scandal. I mean, no one in the media is covering the actual winner, Miss NC, just the Prejean/Hilton situation. I feel sorry for Miss NC!

2) Second of all, when did they start asking the beauty pageant contestants controversial political/religious questions? Now, I'll admit that it's been years since I've watched a Miss "Anything" pageant, but I remember the questions always being things like "What character trait do you like most about yourself?" and "Who do you think is the most influential woman in the 20th century?" You know, things that there really isn't a right or wrong answer to. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying these girls are dumb or incapable of having an intelligent response to a tougher, political question, but - what's the purpose? Well, according to Perez, the panel decided to ask these tougher, hot topic questions this year to gauge how well the girls could articulate an intelligent response under pressure. Ok, I can buy that. I do think, however, that Miss CA got an unfair shake with her question, since it was really the only truly controversial question out of the bunch that people would truly be angered about however she responded. Just so you know, here were the final interview questions for the last 5 contestants:

Miss Utah's question: Hilary Clinton just proposed that the U.S. should spend 40 million dollars to help Afghanistan have fair elections. In this time of economic depression, should the U.S. spend this money? (Her short response: yes)

Miss North Carolina: Do you think that tax payer's money should be used to bailout companies? (Short response: no)

Miss Arizona: Should the U.S. have universal health care as a right of citizenship? (Short response: oh look a bird! Ok, maybe she didn't say that exactly, but she may as well have.)

Miss Kentucky: In light of the recent violence between Chris Brown and his girlfriend, Rihanna, would you have spoken out against such violence? (Short response: yes)

Miss California: Should the other states follow Vermont's lead and legalize gay marriage? (Short response: no)

3) You do have to give credit to Miss CA for answering honestly and not kowtowing to the mostly liberal pageant audience in an effort to simply win the title. In an interview right after the ceremony she said that she felt "God was testing her faith" by giving her that question.

4) Regardless of where you stand on the gay marriage issue, if in fact, the purpose of the questions were to gauge whether or not the girls could give an articulate answer under pressure, then, no - Miss CA did not give the best answer. She was obviously flustered (as would anyone I think presented that particular question in that situation) and really didn't articulate her point very well. At one point she referred to her state as her "country" and said that people in the U.S. can "choose between homosexual marriage and opposite marriage." So yes, she did not give the best answer, but I seriously doubt this big of a deal would have been made about it if not for the topic of her question. Click here to listen to Miss CA's answer: http://www.nbc.com/miss-usa-2009/video/clips/miss-california-interview-round/1088610/

5) Perez is obviously attacking her because of her stance on gay marriage, not because (as he said in an interview) she answered the question poorly. If that were the case, then he should be all over Miss Arizona, who gave the dumbest answer to a question I've ever heard. I bet Miss AZ is thanking her lucky stars right about now, that her answer has been overshadowed by Miss CA's question. She's one of the few contestants I've seen that was actually able to "answer" the question without making any kind of logical, sensible point whatsoever. It kind of reminds me of that scene in Billy Madison where he gives an answer to a question about the Industrial Revolution by using a metaphor of The Pokey Little Puppy. When Billy finishes his answer the judge says, "At no point in your ramblings did you even attempt to make a valid, coherent point. We are all now dumber for having listened to that. And may God have mercy on your soul." Click here to take a listen to Miss AZ's question and answer: http://www.nbc.com/miss-usa-2009/video/clips/miss-arizona-interview-round/1088658/

6) I personally think Miss CA and Perez Hilton have had more than their fair share of the 15 minutes of fame. Knock it off, give the winner Miss NC the coverage she deserves (really though in the grand scheme of things, how much coverage should a beauty pageant really receive?), and let's move on to more important things in the world!

Celebrate Earth: Part III

In "The Better World Handbook" Ellis Jones says that "making the world a better place is a lifelong journey." But like most things in life, it helps to have a road map, so to speak, to follow along. So, Jones outlines 7 essential foundations upon which we can build a better world. Here's an outline of the foundational challenges we face and the goals we should be working toward for each challenge:

The first foundation is ECONOMIC FAIRNESS, with the global challenges of economic inequality, debt crisis and unfair trade, and sweatshops. The goals: end of global poverty, fair trade, and ethical economics. The second foundation is COMPREHENSIVE PEACE, with the challenges of war and genocide, militarization, and a culture of violence. The goals: international cooperation and a nonviolent culture. The third foundation is ECOLOGICAL SUSTAINABILITY, with its challenges of resource over consumption, pollution, global warming, and overpopulation. The goals: clean energy sources, sustainable resource us, stable population growth, and global ecological cooperation. The fourth foundation is DEEP DEMOCRACY, with the challenges of a lack of democracy, money in politics, and media control. The goals: open and honest politics, democratic media, and civic participation. The fifth foundation (and the one closest to my heart) is SOCIAL JUSTICE, with the challenges of gender inequality, racism, inadequate health care, and poorly run prisons. The goals: equal rights for all and basic universal health care and education. The sixth foundation is SIMPLE LIVING with the challenges of advertising overload, commercialization of childhood, and hyper-consumption. The goals: reclaimed consciousness and a culture of simplicity. The seventh and final foundation is a REVITALIZED COMMUNITY, with the challenges of a loss of connection and a loss of compassion. The goals: a revolution of caring, smart growth, and strong local institutions.

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For more detailed information, I highly recommend reading the book! In my next "Earth" post I'll talk about some specific actions we can take in response to these foundational challenges the world faces. For now, I'll leave you with this quote:

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"Each time a [person] stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he [or she] sends forth a tiny ripple of hope. And crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance." Robert F. Kennedy

Celebrate Earth: Part II

So, here's the million dollar question then: How do we break the cycle of cynicism that the world finds itself caught in? According to Ellis Jones in The Better World Handbook, the first step is to stop blaming others for not doing anything and start taking personal responsibility for being good people in the world (pg. 2). Here's a quote from the book: "We must reconnect with a set of core values that every one of us can embrace despite our many differences - values like compassion, freedom, equality, justice, sustainability, democracy, community, and tolerance. No society - especially one as powerful and rapidly changing as ours - survives for very long without a moral compass to guide its evolution and progress. We have to deliberately build our society to increasingly reflect and nurture the growth of these values in the world" (pg. 4).

Jones next talks about "10 Thought Traps" we need to be aware of that can stop us from making a difference in the world:

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1. Trap #1 - That's just the way the way the world is.

2. Trap #2 - It's not my responsibility

3. Trap #3 - One person can't make a difference

4. Trap #4 - I can't make enough of a difference to matter

5. Trap #5 - This seems totally overwhelming

6. Trap #6 - I don't have the time or energy

7. Trap #7 - I'm not a saint

8. Trap #8 - I don't know enough about the issues

9. Trap #9 - I don't know where to begin

10. Trap #10 - I'm not an activist

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Now, I'm not going to go into the specifics of how each of the above 10 Thought Traps is a myth and rationalizes an easy "out" (you'll have to read the book for that!) but just suffice it to say that Jones doesn't see these as justifiable or logical reasons for inaction.

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I'll leave you with two of my all time favorite quotes:

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"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." M.K. Gandhi

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"Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed people to change the world. In fact, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

Celebrate Earth: Part I

In honor of Earth Day 2009, this Wednesday April 22nd, and a great new book that I'm reading, The Better World Handbook by Ellis Jones, I've decided to dedicate this week's postings to all things "Earth!" The Better World Handbook (BWH) is a great new find I came across a couple of months ago that's chocked full of great info and small changes we can all do that can make a big difference.

I especially like how Jones describes attitude of the world today; we are "a nation of sleepwalkers," he says. Here's a quote from the book: "We look around at the world's problems and wish they would go away, but they stubbornly persist despite our most heartfelt desires. So we end up living in a kind of ethical haze. It's not that we are bad or that evil is winning some kind of eternal battle. The vast majority of us have good intentions when we go about our daily lives. It's that we have been lulled into a sense of complacency about the world's problems... People starve, communities fall apart, violence thrives, families fade, and nature disappears, and we continue on with our lives as if nothing is wrong. We are stuck in our daily patterns, living on auto-pilot when it comes to the rest of the world" (pg. 1).

Even though in our hearts we have that feeling that something's gone awry, we've lost our faith in each other, Jones says. We see corrupt politicians and governments, starving children, generational poverty, war, violence and all of the world's other problems, and we feel hopeless. We feel that there's nothing we, as just one person, could possibly do that would make a difference in the world. And it's that feeling of hopelessness, Jones asserts, that breeds apathy and worse yet cynicism. Here's another great quote: "Cynicism fundamentally destroys hope. We begin to see the world as a place that will always be filled with social problems, because we are convinced that people look out for their own best interests above all else. The pursuit of happiness becomes little more than an attempt to accumulate material wealth, increase social status and indulge any desire. Helping others, giving something back, and making a difference in the world no longer show up in popular culture" (pg. 2). Below is an interesting chart by Jones on cynicism vs. hope:

"Cycle of Cynicism"
1. Finding out about a problem
2. Wanting to do something to help
3. Not seeing how you can help
4. Not doing anything about it
5. Feeling sad, powerless, angry
6. Deciding nothing can be done
7. Beginning to shut down
8. Wanting to know less about problems...
...REPEAT UNTIL APATHY RESULTS!

On the other hand: "Cycle of Hope"
1. Taking personal responsibility for being a good person
2. Creating a vision of a better world based on your values
3. Seeking out quality information about the world's problems
4. Discovering practical options for action
5. Acting in line with your values
6. Recognizing you can't do everything...
...REPEAT UNTIL A BETTER WORLD RESULTS!

Well, that's a good start for this post! More to come later, from the book!

If you're interested in celebrating Earth Day Indiana, join us at the festival on Saturday, April 25 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at the American Legion Mall and Veterans Plaza ! Hope to see you there! http://www.earthdayindiana.org/



http://www.earthday.net/

Really???

So Sam and I were leaving Marsh Friday night, when we passed by one of those kiddie crane arcade games. You know, where you use the joy stick to move and drop the crane hand down to grab a prize. So we're walking by and something grabs my eye. There, amidst the other kiddie toys...a Wall-E watch, Hannah Montana necklaces, play cell phones, stuffed animals, play make-up, etc...is a Miller Lite beer cozy. Really??? In the same game with a pink stuffed bunny...a beer cozy? And then, what do my wondering eyes see next? A World Series Poker shot glass! What I want to know is who on earth thought that these were appropriate items to put in a kids' game?

The Miller Lite cozy front and center, and down and to the left (next to the pink ball) is the World Series Poker shot glass!

This One Goes Out To The Big Guy Upstairs!

On Friday night Sam and I went to the ServLife International photography exhibit "Resurrecting Beauty." ServLife is a wonderful, Indy based Christian organization, that "seeks to build global community by creating multi-cultural teams among the most marginalized and oppressed regions of the world to rescue and care for at-risk children, end hunger, and train/multiply the indigenous church to advance the whole gospel to the whole person." www.servlife.org The photography exhibit, which displayed beautiful photographs from around the world, was a fundraiser and also an effort to raise awareness for the ServLife organization. They had beautiful framed photographs for sale, as well as unframed prints, one of which I absolutely fell in love with. It was a picture of a small African girl with a yawning baby on her shoulder. I just thought it was so sweet, and I wanted to buy the print so badly, but I wasn't sure where we would put it and we didn't really have the money anyway. So I just sighed and put it back. We were getting ready to leave when the lady who organized the event got up to say a few words. She also was ready to pull a winner out of the hat (we had put our names on little pieces of paper for the drawing when we arrived). So she reaches into the box and pulls out a name and says, "Our first winner is Emily Patterson-Jackson!" I was in shock! I never win anything! And then the lady says, "You have won your pick of any of the framed 8x10 photographs!" Well, I just couldn't believe it! I was SOOOO happy! As I walked around with Sam to pick out my photograph (of course I went straight for the one that I'd had my eye on!) I just kept saying to Sam over and over "I don't know when the last time was I was so happy" and "I just can't believe it" and "I'm so excited!" So I'd picked out my picture and we're heading out to the van, and all of a sudden I start thinking about the German birthday cake lady at Third Phase on Thursday [if you have no idea what I'm talking about, take a look at the Third Phase post from a couple of days ago.] After seeing the German woman's reaction to the birthday cake, that whole day I just kept thinking how sad it is that we (the rich) so rarely find that much joy and happiness in life's small, simple pleasures. And then it hit me: God was providing ME with a chance to experience this kind of simple joy! I was so grateful and amazed that God would give me such a wonderful gift!

Posing with my new picture!

This photograph was taken by Ira Lippke www.iralippke.com

Fun With Grammy!

It was such a beautiful day on Friday, that I decided to forgo our usual lunch at Bob Evans and take Grammy out for some fun! I wanted to take her to see the little shops in Zionsville, so I found a little Country Market & Lunch place for us to eat at first (best catfish she ever had! :-) As we were walking along the sidewalk, Grammy just couldn't get enough of these beautiful pansies! So, naturally I had to take a few pics!

First, a cute story: as we were leaving Zionsville to go to Noblesville for her hair appointment, I just took 116th Street all the way across town. If you're at all familiar with the Zionsville/Carmel stretch of 116th St., you'll know there's some VERY nice houses along the way (including the Hilbert mansion I think, that according to the sign out front, is now being offered for the low, low price of $15 million!) So we're driving along, and Grammy says, "This seems like a nice place to live. It seems very quiet and there are so many flowers in the yards!" I said, "Yeah, it is a very nice area. It's also a very expensive place to live." She said, "Oh really, the people here have really good jobs?" "Yes," I said, "The people who live here are very wealthy." Her response (whilst looking around), "Oh, is there a good factory around here where the people work?" My response (trying to hide my chuckle, "No Grammy, the people who live here are doctors, and lawyers, and big businessmen." I just thought it was so sweet, that the first thing that occured to her when I said the people had high-paying jobs were good ole factory workers! How cute is she?!? Ok ok, enough with the "How-cute-is-my-"kid" stories!

The pansies!

Third Phase Today

A couple little things happened today at Third Phase that I wanted to share. Nothing really remarkable, just a couple of things that have stayed with me, in my mind as I've gone about my day.

First off, a very sweet story: there's an elderly German woman that comes to the pantry regularly who came in today. We hadn't seen her in awhile and upon asking her about it, she told us that she had been unable to afford her heating bill and that they had turned off her heat. So, to make it through the winter, she'd had to move to Texas for five months and has just now come back. She also told us that it was her son's birthday today and that he was coming over for dinner, so she was hoping she got something "good" in her cart that he would like for dinner. Well, my friend, Barb (one of the Third Phase gals), went out to the bread barn and rustles up a frozen decorated birthday cake from Marsh. When she brought it back in and gave it to the woman, you would have thought we had just presented her with a new house! She threw her hands up in the air and thanked the Lord and immediately started laughing and crying all at once! She started shaking and hugged each one of us, thanking us over and over for the cake. She was truly in awe; she kept saying how beautiful it was and how her son would be so happy! I wish I had the words to describe it better; how sweet she was, how her eyes lit up like a little child's opening a present. I kept thinking about her after she left. On the one hand, I was really glad that we were able to make her so happy, but on the other hand, I thought, "I can't believe she got that worked up over a silly cake." It really made me stop and think about gratefulness. We buy things right and left, maybe almost everyday; and we give and get presents year round - Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine's day - but when was the last time, if ever, I was truly that excited, and grateful, and thankful for something? It was funny to think that this woman, who by all physical standards was very poor, was so joyful over such a simple gift. I couldn't help but to wonder, would those of us who are "rich" by the world's standards, find joy in such a simple pleasure? Or is it more difficult for the "rich" to be truly grateful, joyful, content?

The second story: A well dressed lady came in through the back door today and just kind of stood there unsure of what to do. I was wondering if she had something to donate or drop off because we get quite a few people throughout the day coming in through the back door to make donations. I asked her if she'd been helped and she said no. So I said, "What can I do for you?" She paused, and opened her mouth to say something but choked up and couldn't get it out, and then her eyes filled up with tears. "I'm sorry," she apologized. I knew instantly what was wrong. "Are you here for the food pantry," I asked, and she nodded yes. So I put my hand on her back (I always try to touch the people who come to the pantry, so they know they're loved) and explained how to fill out the forms. I noticed that she lived in Carmel. Now, I don't know this lady's situation, but I can venture a guess that she's probably never stepped foot inside a food pantry in her life. I could tell she was embarrassed and ashamed (not in a "oh, I'm way too good for this" snotty manner, but more of a "how in the world did we get here" kind of way); how humbling must it have been for her to come and ask for help. I've not fully processed yet what all I've learned, or am supposed to have learned, from this woman (I like to think that I should learn something from everyone). Maybe it's just that in it of itself, the simple reminder that I'm still learning; that even those who this world considers "the least of these" have so much they can teach us if only we're willing to learn. Or maybe it was to remind me of how fragile life can be and to not take anything for granted. Or perhaps it was to remind me that each one of can make a difference in someone's life. Yeah, I didn't buy or donate the food she received. And sure, I didn't collect it or pick it up in the truck - all I did was throw things into a cart. But maybe I helped her to feel not as embarrassed or ashamed, by assuring her that everybody goes through a rough patch now and then. All I know is that she dried her eyes, smiled and thanked me, and looked a lot more at peace leaving than she did coming in. And perhaps that was enough.

Words of Wisdom: By Grammy

After spending the day with Grammy, I have decided to add a new "feature" to the blog. Every Wednesday I go up to visit and almost every Wednesday I leave with some new sage, words of wisdom...a little gem of knowlege, if you will, that I didn't have before! So I dedicate this post to Grammy-isms.

Some background info: Grammy thinks the new digital signal that the TV's are converting to is evil. Well perhaps not actually demonic, but she definitely thinks it's the governments way of simply trying to get more money out of her. As you can imagine, this whole digital conversion situation has not been well received. So today...

Grammy: There's nuthin' but garbage on t.v. nowadays. And just when you find something that's worth watching, they [whoever "they" are] switch it off real quick. And I betcha when that digitum t.v. comes it'll only get worse! [digitum = digital. Kinda like how one time she was telling me the story about how her father got kicked by a mule and had to have one of his titicles removed...yep, titicles = testicles. Or how she asked me today if Lindsay had sold her condom yet...condom = condo. Or if I remembered that time we had dinner at the Texas Whorehouse...Whorehouse = Roadhouse].

Another provocative thoughtg (A.K.A. why there would be no criminals left if Grammy was in charge):

Grammy: Did you hear [on the news] about them heathens that beat up that little boy? If you ask me, they should tar 'em up and run 'em out with a pole.

Emily: What do you mean "tar 'em up?"

Grammy: You know, when you put hot tar on 'em and stick feathers on 'em and run 'em out over yonder.

Emily: Run them out "over yonder" where?

Grammy: You know, over yonder where they're shootin' people [Iraq].

Emily: Huh...yeah, I guess that'd do it.

Easter With Friends

After barely finding a seat at church (yeah, the 11:00 a.m. Sunday Easter service is never a good idea!) we were off to the Alt's for our traditional Easter "Thanksgiving" meal! A few years ago Dan and Margie started making a traditional Thanksgiving meal (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, the whole bit) on Easter since they don't like ham and since they didn't get together with any of their families for Easter. And so a tradition was born!

The kiddie table!


The many sweet faces of Sitota!

Parker tickling the ivories!

Time for the egg hunting to begin!

Sweet Syd shares an egg with Parker!

Syd wanted this egg so badly she braved a sticker bush branch to get to it! (who put an egg near a sticker branch anyway) Here Dan and Sarah are trying to extract her from her prickly situation!

Margie gets some Sitota time!

Margie, Zac & Dan

Wanna egg?

Fun at Birdy's

Although we were having a great time listening to my dad read aloud from the Constitution Saturday night (we went to visit them after Gwynne's birthday party earlier that day) we welcomed a text from Robyn that said she was at Birdy's with the Naptown Roller Girls for their after-party! So around 11:30 we headed over to Birdy's for some dancing...and an odd impromptu display of strength exercises! You just never know what you're gonna get when you mix a roller derby crowd with alcohol! We left around 1:30 a.m. when Sam started jonesing for a Grand Slam from Denny's. We didn't get home until 3:00 a.m. and briefly considered skipping church the next morning, but hey, it was Easter Sunday and it's gotta be extra "sinful" if you skip Easter church because you were out too late at a bar the night before! :-) hee hee

For some reason a group started trying to see who could hold core strength training positions the longest.

And don't forget the bicep curls whilst holding a female!

Getting our groove on!

Happy (Early) Birthday, Gwynne!

We celebrated Gwynne's 9th birthday on Saturday with a family get together! Her actual birthday is not until the 28th but we had to take advantage of getting everybody together when Elginia is actually in town! Gwynne was certainly surprised! Here are some pics from her big day!

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This year Gwynne asked for a half chocolate, half white with strawberry filling cake!


Time to open gifts!





Gwynne gets a bit of a scare when this card starts singing really loudly when opened!

Hanging around!

Sam shows off his new tattoo! This pic is right before his mom accidentally smacked it a little too hard!

The girls get some "swing" time with Uncle Russ!

Sandy and Gwynne

Rowan and her Sammy

Stacy and Rowan

Michele and Mom


Gwynne, Michele and Rowan

Sammy and his Mommy

Sam, Mom and Rowan

Getting Our Ink On!

Last Friday, in celebration of 10 years of wedded bliss :-), Sam and I went under the needle to get matching tattoos! I had wanted us to get the infinity symbol on our ring fingers, but Sam nixed that idea since his wedding band moves around too much, and he didn't want it to look unprofessional. So, we decided that I would get one on my ring finger and Sam would get his on his back! We headed down to Metamorphosis (where I get all of my work done :-) for Sam's 5:00 p.m. appointment and my 6:00 appointment. While we're sitting there waiting to be called back, I get a call from my mom...dum da dum dum! If you haven't guessed, I hadn't "quite" told my mom what we were planning. I mean come on, most of you know how she reacted to my nose ring last year! So when she asked what I was doing, I told her the truth - we were with some friends in Broad Ripple trying to decide where to go for dinner. Which was actually the truth, I just left out the part that we happened to be sitting in a tattoo parlor waiting to get inked! I was also a little embarrassed when I ran into one of my old Heritage students there! I didn't feel as bad though when she told me she was getting her 9th tattoo! :-)

So after about 15 minutes of trying to get the exact size and placement of Sam's tattoo stencil, Trevor begins. I asked Sam how it was, and he said, "Oh, it's not bad at all! I can hardly feel it." After Sam's tattoo was finished (about 15 minutes), my guy, Matt, takes me to his chair to start on mine! I was quite nervous, but Sam was just getting the post-procedure instructions and said he would be right there to be with me. So I sit down in Matt's chair (with Shelli by my side for moral support :-) and he says, "Ok, let's get started." I was a little surprised since the set up for Sam took so long. So I said, "Oh, so you're just going to start? Just like that?" "Yep," he says, and just like that "Zzzzzzzz zzzzzzzz zzzzzzz" (that's the sound of the tattoo torture device). Luckily for me, he was done in about 2 minutes! Unfortnately, Sam missed the whole thing! When Trevor finished with Sam's, he covered it all up with plastic wrap and tape - very gangsta! When Matt finished with mine, all I got was a lame band-aid. And come to find out, when I asked Sam "how it was" as he was getting his tattoo, he totally lied because he didn't want to scare me. He thought it actually hurt a lot more than he thought. I, on the other hand, was prepared for the most horrific pain imaginable - so I wasn't that surprised.

I can't wear my wedding ring over top of my tattoo for another couple of weeks, so I was a little scared when we went to my parents' house Saturday night for visit! Actually, it turned out much better than I expected! After getting into a rousing political discussion (at one point Daddy actually read aloud from one of his all time favorite documents, The Constitution) that lasted quite awhile, the conversation came around somehow to (as it always seems to) my nose ring, and more specifically Mom's complete and utter abhorrence thereof. I made an off hand comment like, "Well mom, if you're still that mad about the ring, what's it gonna be like when we get our tattoos?" Her response: "Well, I guess I'll have to be mad for about a year because that's how long it'll take the hepatitis to take effect!" My response: "Hey, well good news then, Mom! You've only got another 363 days left to be angry!" I think she was so worn down from the political debate, she actually didn't take it all that bad! She actually said it was kinda cute because it reminded her of when I used to draw on myself as a child.

Anyway, here's some pics from the night!

Signing our lives away! :-)


Waiting for the tattooing to begin!


Sam getting inked by Trevor.




Sam checks out his new inking in the mirror!

Waiting for my inking to begin! I'm a bit apprehensive, even after a Valium! :-)

The most painful two minutes of my life!

A celebratory dinner with the Elliotts afterwards at Thai Orchid! Yum!

Our new tattoos! We are so "street" now!

Battle of the Bands!

Last Thursday we headed downtown to the Hard Rock Cafe to watch our favorite local band, The Tyler Bender Band, duke it out in the Battle of the Bands! Unfortunately, they didn't win, but we had a great time hanging out and listening to their music! Here's some pics from the night!

The Tyler Bender Band!

Brian (the drummer) and Kristen

Kristen and sis, Shelli

I finished one WHOLE margarita! Granted it took two glasses to do so, after the first one "ran out" of salt on the rim!

Don't Cha Hate It When...

You're driving in the car and it starts to rain - but not a lot, just a sprinkle. And so you leave the car window cracked because the rain's not getting inside yet. And all of a sudden a renegade rain drop flies horizontally in through the small crack in the window and directly down into your eardrum.

Can An Inanimate Object Actually Try To Kill You?

The answer, as I have come to understand, is a resounding yes. The story: so as most of you know I had an unfortunate run-in with a broken glass bottle a couple of weeks ago, which resulted in a foot injury the likes of which I am still recovering from. It shall hence be known as the Unfortunate Broken Bottle Incident of '09 (or, because my catalog of "unfortunate events" is getting so long, UBBI '09). So after UBBI '09 Sam made sure that he swept my bathroom floor to make sure there weren't any remaining glass pieces upon which I could injure myself. (What a good Bubby!) Today, I am walking through our bedroom - in a pathway that we both commonly walk, I might add, when all of a sudden I feel this piercing, shooting pain in the heel of my non-injured left foot. I hobble over to the bed, on the tippy toes of both feet now, and sit down to take a look at my heel. Deeply embedded is a tiny little jagged shard of frosted glass. I gasped! The horror! Now, yes, the shard was very small and it wasn't a bad cut, but I still had to dig it out and then it started bleeding enough that I had to bandage up that heel as well (granted it only took a regular band-aid). As I sat on the bed pondering the situation, I began to wonder, "Could this organic witch hazel blemish stick bottle really be trying to kill me...slowly...piece by piece?" I mean seriously, two weeks later a tiny little shard shows up on a well worn pathway in our bedroom carpet and I'M the one who steps on it!!! That's a little too convenient if you ask me. So I texted Sam and told him that he would absolutely not believe what just happened to me. So I told him the story and then I asked, "Sam, what are the chances that I would be the one to step on that?" His response, "Well, between you and me? 100%." Humph.

Serving Sunday Supper!

This past Sunday Sam and I had a great opportunity to be a part of "Sunday Suppers" at the Neighborhood Fellowship Church in downtown Indy. The first Sunday of every month, several families from our church make a bunch of casseroles and travel down to Neighborhood Fellowship to serve supper to the congregation there, as well as some of the homeless people from the neighborhood. I was asked to go down to photograph the event for our church to use in its media, and Sam came along to help out! We had a wonderful time serving the people of their church and hope to do it again soon! If you're interested in helping out, here's the website: http://gracecc.org/sundaysuppers.html

Neighborhood Fellowship Church

Preparations!

Even the kiddies help here!

The people arrive! Mike passes out fair trade (yea!) bananas!

Serving up the lasagna!


Time for dessert!

After serving the people their supper, the grace families sit down and enjoy the meal with the congregation!

The cafeteria/gymnasium/auditorium!

Rock Band!

Some pics from our latest evening of Rock Band!

Fun With The Elliott Kiddos!

With Shelli working and Aaron quarantined (as to not infect the kids!) Sam and I took the morning shift watching the kiddos! It really does take a "village" to raise a child! The Gibbs took the afternoon shift and Margie took the evening shift! :-)

It's Arts & Crafts Time! When the girls decided they wanted to be artsy, I said to Sam, "You got art table and I got Sitota!" At one point, while Sam was sitting at the table with the girls making bead necklaces and I was playing with Sitota, Sam texted me "How did you get Sitota?" I texted back "Because I've already changed two of his poopy diapers, that's why!" He shrugged and said, "Oh well, it was worth it then."

Showing off their finished product!

Resurrecting Beauty: Photography Exhibit

ServLife International is a great organization based here in Indy that "seeks to build global community by creating multi-cultural teams among the most marginalized and oppressed regions of the world to rescue and care for at-risk children, end hunger, and train/multiply the indigenous church to advance the whole gospel to the whole person." www.servlife.org They will be hosting a FREE photography exhibit on April 17th from 7-9 p.m. at the Gene B. Glick Junior Achievement Center. The exhibit will feature images from around the world, "a window into a world of passion, pain, heartache, joy, injustice, and reclaimed beauty. Look into the eyes of orphans, across the villages of Africa, beyond the trafficked streets of India, and into your own soul as you witness resurrected beauty in the lives of human beings around the world."

Rush Limbaugh Speaks On Poverty...

Now, I know that there are some people who love Rush so much they think he'll be sitting up in heaven on the left hand of God, and, conversely, there are those who think he'll be simmering for an eternity in the lake of fire. I admit that I've never been a Rush Limbaugh fan, but I don't hate the guy either. This video though really caught my attention; especially in light of the whole "Rush Limbaugh is the new face of the Republican party" hoopla. (On a side note: I will say that in my own humble opinion, if Rush truly is the new face of the Republican party, his breeding of divisiveness, disunity, and fear will further divide America.) Anyway, I'll step down from my soap box, and just say that this video, which was produced by Sojourners (an absolutely wonderful website and magazine I get on faith, God, and politics www.sojo.net ) is well worth a watch! As you'll soon notice, the video splices together various things Rush has said, not with mean or ill intent (I think) but just to make a statement. But, wouldn't it be nice if it were this easy...