Chase...errrrrr

okay, so yesterday i got a notice in the mail that my chase credit card is going to raise my APR from 11.99% to 15.24%. gee thanks, chase! that was the bad news. the good news is that i got them before they got me and cut up my pretty little chase card last october. sadly, for chase...but happily for me i am paying it off next month a full month before they decided to stick it to me. despite my good fortune with my chase account it makes me so mad that these companies are feeding off the responsible people that are continuing to pay their bills. errrrrrrrrrr. one of my friends told me today that she got a notice from her bank that her APR was going to be raised 12 points!! these two aren't the only ones. when i called to ask target to lower the APR on that card they flat out told me, "not only are we not going to lower it for you...we are actually going to be raising it." hey, thanks for the notice!! it is now next in line to be cut, which i will do as soon as i get the official word.

i reiterate again how grateful i am that marie (and devin) shared their enthusiasm about dave ramsey's principles, that i cut cards last year, that i read his book, that i am using CASH and that because of these things i am one step ahead of these banks and credit card companies.

whew.

kansas

I'm home now and going through the usual, 'I miss Kansas-family' letdown that occurs everytime I leave. Of course coming home to my own family is wonderful, but I just wish I didn't have to leave my extended family who live so far away. I think the people in the 'old days' had it right when they had communities made up of families...sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc. There are very few people in my family that I wouldn't enjoy having around all of the time. Don't worry...if you're reading this blog you aren't one of them! ;)

This picture (above) is Addison sitting on a pretend bench at the park. She got such a kick out of pretending to sit on it.

Addison was probably watching Barney or Dora, two shows that she loves.

While in Kansas I stayed with Marie and Devin, but saw my sister every day. Yeah! I loved meeting my brand new grandniece, Ainsley, who was only 2 weeks old, and catching up with 2 1/2 year old, Addison. Ainsley is precious, especially when she sleeps and 'squeaks'. We thought it would be cute to nickname her 'Squeaky', but for people my age that brings up the inevitable comparison to the Manson co-hort Squeaky Fromme...so we don't want that.

Addison is a bright active little munchkin who is incredibly verbal and articulate for someone so young. She sings all the time, much like my Mariah. I was blown away when I heard her singing, Angels We Have Heard on High...including the 'in excelsis deo' part. Gee, I just learned that last year. Addison is precious with her sister and helps out all the time with diapers, wipes, binkies, etc. She also loved helping me bake cookies...and eating them!

Marie and Devin are an awesome team and welcomed me with open arms. Marie is one of the only people I know who likes to sit around and relax as much as I do. It must be in the Maszk gene pool...although my sister surely didn't receive the gene! Marie and I enjoyed our time watching American Idol and The Biggest Loser together. She and Cheryl were privileged to see me do my 'happy dance' with my sweat pants hitched up to my sagging boobs while I danced to one of my favorite contestants singing one of my favorite songs during the AI culling process. HEY...not many people have seen my happy dance show...and it WAS special. Marie threatened to take a video and post it to youtube. (It would be embarrassing, but frankly once you've walked through Mervyns with your dress tucked into your thong, doing a happy dance is mild.)

I shot these pictures while Marie was sleeping with Ainsley. They were both so tuckered out that they never even stirred despite the camera flash and multiple pictures.

Thanks for the memories Riley's and Teetsel's!

How is it...

How is it that I can feel such overwhelming sadness for a life that I may have never known? Today the manager of our state run homeless shelter was shot 9 times by a homeless man. Reports say that the homeless man was angry about being kicked out of the shelter, so he shot someone dead.

~My heart feels cracked over the senselessness of this act.
~My brain feels frightened for Thursday night when I will, once again, enter this shelter looking for homeless youth.
~My hands feel tired of wiping tears.

I suppose this sadness stems not just from the loss of life, but the realization of what I have always known to be true: these shelters are often a haven for the hopeless. Sometimes it seems I can taste the hopelessness in the air. I can certainly see it in the etched and worn faces of the men and women who have (sometimes) spent a lifetime with a cot for a bed, their entire room 'decor' consisting of a state fair stuffed animal propped next to a dirty wall.

These are the people that society has forgotten, or want to forget. But they are there...and sometimes they kill the messenger.

Pure Love is This

I was just so overwhelmed today. I went to the doctor with one of my WithChild clients, who is a birthmother planning to place her child for adoption. We were all there: the birthmother, her teenage daughter, the adoptive parents and me. The love...the pure, unselfish love...that this woman is showing her unborn child by placing her for adoption is unbelievable. I have so much respect for her, because she is doing what she feels is best for her unborn daughter, at great cost to herself. Every time I am around her I am struck by her grace in the midst of this difficult circumstance. Of course, I am also very happy for the adoptive family...knowing the blessing that will soon penetrate every nook and cranny of their lives and their hearts.

Afghanistan's Child

oh, how i fell in love with this little cutie. when bob sent this picture, early in his tour in afghanistan, i asked him if she was "adoptable". i did this, mind you, without even discussing it with my husband. i can't get over the sheer joy in her sparkling eyes. nor can i get over the dirt on her small hands. she's just precious.

The Stream

It is a place of quiet solitude. Water skimming over rocks, leaves getting swept away into a pool of calm. It is worth the work. It is peace.

Sophia

I babysat Sophia for the first time last week. She is one of the best babies I have ever been around. She just has a fantastically calm disposition. I told Doug and Tiff that they hit the motherload. They definitely need to know that all babies aren't so wonderfully quiet! Her hair is hysterical, isn't it? It sticks straight up in the air and is as soft as her little behind. Baby love, indeed!