Exchanging Gift Cards

I'm not a Scrooge, I promise. I love gift cards as much as the next person, but I just can't get over the silliness of exchanging gift cards at Christmas. What is the point of giving my brother in law a $50 gift card to Harkins and then opening his gift to me: a $50 gift card to Target? Why are we going through the motions of pretending we are 'gifting' one another? It's different with actual gifts. I might get my sister a pair of earrings, and she might get me a pair, but at least thought went into the purchase and there is a surprise when opening the gift. How can one be surprised by a gift card when they asked the purchaser to get them one? I love the attempt of family members to ACT surprised! My response usually goes something like this, "Wowwwww...a GIFT CARD to TARGET!!" Admittedly, I still love receiving them, but deep down inside I yearn for the days when gifts were gifts and you bought them for the people you wanted to buy them for...not the people whose name you picked. One of my greatest joys this season was buying a small gift for someone who wasn't on my list because I found something that reminded me of them. That, to me, is a Christmas gift.

Baby Calvin

Ahhhhhhhh. A couple of weeks ago I met baby Calvin. Finally. I was waiting until I got over my Kansas sickness because I didn't want to be around a newborn and take a chance of passing along some gunk. He was certainly worth the wait.

Analicia, Calvin's mom, came in to With Child in October and told me that she wanted to make a plan for adoption. She thought she had several months to go in her pregnancy, but one turn of my pregnancy "wheel of fortune" told a different story. I let her know that she was actually 36 weeks pregnant and then took her for a free ultrasound to confirm it.

That same day she chose a potential adoptive couple from my book, that evening we all met together at The Islands, two weeks later Calvin was born and three days after that he went home with his new mommy and daddy.

I never, ever tire of this process. The unselfish love shown by the birth families, the love poured out by the adoptive families and the new life that reaps the benefit of so much sacrifice and love. It's beautiful. It's God-ordained. It's my life.

Keep Your Mucus to Yourself

I have a problem with mucus. I admit it. I don't like to eat off people's plates or drink out of people's cups. This goes for the people I love as well. When my kids were little, people always said to me, "Oh, you'll end up sharing your water with your child." To which I would say, "No. Never." To my recollection I held firm to this because I knew...deep down in my being...that I was not one who could drink a glass of water with chewed up goldfish floating in it. I'd rather die a painful, thirsty death than drink a sip of liquid from a cup that had my sweet child's backwash in it (no matter how much I loved them). As my kids have gotten older, and I realize they can actually sip something without backwashing, I can stomach through the occasional sip (opposite side, rim wiped). If it involves a straw...i'm out. If it involves the sharing of a utensil, and I'm second in line, I'm out. When my friends and I go to lunch and someone orders a 'community dessert', I politely tell the waitress that she need not bring me a fork. I know people think this is weird. Oh well.

With my issues in mind, imagine my disgust when twice (twice!) in the last week I've witnessed a Starbuck's employee licking his fingers before dispensing my change. I was so COMPLETELY GROSSED OUT the first time that I called the corporate number and said, "GROSS!!! Do something!" The customer service rep took my info and assured me that the problem would be addressed immediately. In light of this I happily skippity do dawed my way back to Starbucks a few days later to give it another go. Same employee. Same mucus. Same finger. GAG ME. I called again and told the CSR that this time he has lost me as a customer on the days this guy is working. I don't want the poor guy fired, I just don't want his spit on my money. C'mon...it's flu season. Has he heard of the swine flu? He needs to stop his piggy ways.

I think he should get a job at 31 Flavors since he likes to lick things.

Anonymously Yours

Reading Marie's blog has reminded me (again) how much I despise "anonymous" posts. Honestly, isn't the internet/blogging anonymous enough without calling oneself "Anonymous"? Invariably, anonymous posters post negative comments. This results in something much like a hit and run accident. They do damage and then high tail it away from the scene of the crime, leaving the poor victim to wonder what in the heck just hit them. How spineless does an individual have to be to hide behind the cloak of "anonymous"? Perhaps I don't understand it because I tend to own my comments - positive and negative. Really, their self esteem must be even lower than mine is because I like attaching my name to my dumb comments.

So...to all you Debbie Downers of the world (waa waaaah)...who get your kicks posting ugly and hateful things anonymously...stand up and let yourself be seen! The gig is up and your true colors (as Cindy Lauper, non-anonymously, once said) are shining through.

Television

Lord help me. The new tv season has started and I find myself waking up and thinking, "What show is on tonight?" I don't know when my addiction to tv started, but I can remember excitedly watching it as young as 5 or 6 years old and I've never stopped. The earliest show I remember was called Romper Room. I also watched a local show called The Wallace and Ladmo Show at a pretty young age. Does anyone remember Captain Kangaroo (and his friend Mr. Greenjeans)? Then there were the wonderful cartoons like The Flinstones and the Jetsons. I loved the campy show Lost in Space (danger, danger, Will Robinson) and classic shows like The Brady Bunch, Bonanza, Bewitched, The Big Valley, The Partridge Family....ohhhh, the list goes on and on. I have a vivid memory of going to bed when I was in about 5th grade to the opening of The Perry Mason Show (duhhhh duhhhh duh duh. duhhhh duhhhh duh duh duh. do do do do do do do do do...) Speaking of theme songs I still get a warm, fuzzy feeling that comes over me when I see the opening sequence to The Brady Bunch where they show a far away shot of the front of the Brady house and play cool intro music. We all know that song meant happy things were happening inside the house (except when Marsha got hit with the football before the big dance!) I think one of my favorite theme songs was to a show called Growing Pains ("show me that smile again; don't waste another minute on your crying...") I was a little taken aback the other day when my dear, sweet niece couldn't readily identify Mackenzie Phillips because *I* was quite grown up when I was watching One Day at a Time. (I've noticed that as I age I am occasionally slapped up side of the head with these types of reminders that my tree stump has really acquired some rings). Anyway, fast forwarding to present day I watched one of the funniest sitcoms I have seen in ages (at the recommendation of the previously mentioned dear, sweet niece) called Modern Family. It is funny (with a capital 'f') so that would make it Funny! It is a bit off color so don't tune in if you would be offended by a grampa's reference to his new Vietnamese granddaughter as a 'pot sticker'. I wasn't, because he clearly adored her. The best line of the whole show was when this new baby girl's uncle asked, "Her name is Lily? Won't she have a hard time pronouncing that?" (am I the only one laughing here?) Okay, so now I will be hooked on that this season. Add it to the following list of shows I record on a regular basis:

Project Runway

Amazing Race

Survivor

Top Chef

Flipping Out

Rachel Zoe

America's Next Top Model

American Idol

The View

The Dave Ramsey Show

(what did I watch before reality tv?)

and...

The Office

I could feel guilty right now for all that wasted time, but I know how the rest of my life is and I think it all balances out just fine. Besides, with DVR I can zip through commercials at lightning speed, reducing my viewing time to practically nothing.

At least that's what I tell myself. ;)

This was good for a laugh...

If you follow Dave Ramsey (heretofore referred to as DR) you know that he is big on the envelope system for some areas of spending. I have taken this DR concept to heart. At the beginning of every month, I trot myself down to my bank and hand the teller a piece of paper that allocates precisely how many $50's, $20's, $10's, $5's and $1's I will need for my envelopes. The process is simple, since I have everything multiplied out for her. In fact, the hardest part for me is handing her the paper. The thought crosses my mind, "What if they think this is a stick-up?" Anyway, on this particular day, the brain-iac behind the counter took my piece of paper, saw the total amount, and started counting out her own version of what I needed. I kindly explained to her that I actually needed it in the denominations I laid out (uh, this is why I actually did that part before I got to the bank), prompting her to start over. When she got to the tens the following conversation took place (are you ready?)

Teller: "I only have four $10's."
Me: "What?"
Teller: "I only have four $10's."
Me: "In the whole bank?" (I know it was wrong to mock her)
Teller: "No, here."
Me: "Well, I feel certain that there must be more somewhere in this bank."
Teller (pondering this for far too long): "Yeah, but I'd have to cash some money out."
Me: "Okay."

She did figure out how to walk to another teller and get me some more tens. It was rather frightening, but good for a laugh. Poor thing.

She's probably blogging about her own version of the same story. Talking about how "this old lady walked in and just HAD to HAVE her money in certain DENOMINATIONS!!! Like, whatever, you would have thought her world was going to stop turning if she didn't have just the right number of TENS!!!"

Like Dr. Phil says, "Even a flat pancake has two sides to it."

P.S. The DR envelope system works.

The Loss of a Friend

On August 2nd, my WithChild mentor and friend, was killed in a head on collision. This abrupt news came as such a shock to me that it took me quite some time to really absorb the reality of it. Kim was the kind of person who filled whatever room she was in with her zest for life and her passion for people. She directed the WithChild center for the last 11 or so years and had her hands in every part of it. She ran pregnancy tests, counseled families, met with abortion-minded women when emergencies arose, birthed babies and placed them in the arms of loving families, did home visits with adoptive couples, facilitated adoptions, helped single moms find housing, gave pro-life speeches, ordered supplies and did a multitude of other things which are too numerous to mention. Oh...and she did it all as a volunteer. It's a staggering thought, isn't it? She so loved the Lord that she devoted her life to serving Him. She didn't need a paycheck, because her payoff came when she met God face to face on August 2nd. Matthew 25:21 says, "His master replied, well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!"

I miss Kim. I miss her presence in the office and the life that she brought to so much that we do here. God's hand is on WithChild, evidenced by the miracles that we witness. I have never been in an environment where I saw God move so beautifully, so often.

I would encourage everyone who is reading this to make sure that your relationships are right with the ones you love and cherish. Whether it is in your comfort zone, or out of your comfort zone...just say it, because life is fleeting. Kim didn't know when she wrote on the office calendar for August 4th, "Kim back" that she wouldn't be back, and neither did we. I am happy that the last conversation I had was to call her on vacation with the good news that we had received two donations and could pay our rent for August. Then, on the way home from that vacation, she was gone.

I know I will see her again, which is the assurance I have because of our mutual faith in Jesus Christ. Without that knowledge, these days would surely be even more difficult than they are. If you are a praying person I would ask that you remember WithChild, the volunteers who are carrying on through this painful process and Kim's husband and kids.

Leave no words unspoken with the ones you love.

(The posted picture was sent to Kim by a young woman who made a decision not to abort after counseling with her. I once asked Kim if any babies had ever been named after her and she very casually said, "Oh, I think there are 11 or 12 now". To my recollection, this little one was one of those Kimberlys).