Clear this up for me please

I can not believe that I am going to do another post about Tom Cruise. Really, I am shocking myself. But, read this article and see if you see the hypocrisy. Actually, this one is regarding his organization and what it said. Another head thumper this one is. (BOLD is from me for emphasis)

CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY SLAMS PLOT TO EXTORT CRUISE
Hollywood – Leaders of the Church of Scientology have issued a strongly worded statement condemning the two men who tried to extort over $1 million from Tom Cruise. “It’s despicable that anyone would try to use private information about Mr. Cruise to try to control him and take his money,” they said. The two men, David Schmidt and Marc Gittleman, are accused of illegally obtaining photographs of Cruise and Katie Holmes’ wedding and trying to extort $1 million from the superstar actor to return them.
While Cruise has remained silent on the issue, the Church of Scientology, of which he is a leading member, has spoken out on his behalf.

“Mr. Cruise is deeply offended at the idea that he would cooperate with any person or group of people who possess allegedly valuable information that they will only release via secret dealings and outrageous amounts of money,” a Church spokesperson told Dateline Hollywood. “Tom Cruise is not the kind of man who would turn over money based on a pledge that somebody would end his problems.”
The spokesman added that Cruise would never allow himself to be extorted for information about his personal life.
“Sure, like any American, he would like to keep his wedding photos out of the tabloids if possible,” the spokesman explained. “But Tom Cruise has nothing to hide from the world. Any individual or organization that thinks it can profit by controlling and manipulating him, or his wife Katie for that matter, is sorely mistaken.”

Ok, here I go...... WWWWWhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaat? I might be completely off of my rocker on this one but I thought that "church" that TomKat belongs to is all about extortion, taking control of other's money, and manipulation. And if I remember correctly, isn't the reason why he joined the "church" years ago because it promised to cure his dyslexia??

Sure you can call the situation with the photographs extortion and label the perps as criminals because it fits nicely within the realm of the law. But what about what this so called church does? Doesn't it too extort for high profit from otherwise innocent individuals? Doesn't it promise out-of-this-world results for a better life....all for a pretty penny to get the mind analysis? I call that criminal in the worst way.

If only this photograph fiasco were his only problem, he would be so lucky.

Oh yeah, I don't think I am "like any other American" because I think it might be kind of cool so see my wedding pics in the National Enquirer. Unless it said that I was an alien bride or test tube wife or something weird like that.

Gettin' in Shape

A few minutes ago, Sarah said that she would like for me to write down all of the things that she was going to say. She was making a list of exercises that she wants to do. Here is her list:

1. lift heavy things
2. run 20 times
3. jump 100 times
4. rollerskate to move my body knind of
5. eat good food
6. run for 20 hours every day
7. ride bike without sitting down
8. do math everyday
9. not sit on my booty all day and just watch TV
10. run to the (a neighbor's house on our street) car and back

"I can do everything everyday on this list if I remember."

Good for you Sarah. Keep on making good choices. Maybe you can teach your mother something :)

Another Funny Email

The Man Rules for Women

These are our rules! Please note.. these are all numbered '1 ' ON PURPOSE!

1. Men are NOT mind readers.

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put itdown. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us complaining about you leaving it down.

1. Sunday sports It's like the full moon or the changing of the tides.Let it be.

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail.

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just sayit!

1. Yes and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact,all comments become Null and void after 7 Days.

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us.

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, Please say whatever you have to say during commercials..

1. Christopher Columbus did NOT need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that.

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say 'nothing,' We will act likenothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine...Really .

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared todiscuss such topics as baseball or golf.

1. You have enough clothes. 1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round IS a shape!

1. Thank you for reading this. Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the couchtonight; But did you know men really don't mind that? It's like camping.

Kid's Camp 2007 recap

Yes, I know I look awful here (think sweat and loud noise and hunger).

Here we are on the way to Kids Camp. Notice the smiles and the seemingly gleeful expressions on our faces????? Well, let me tell you something.... those expressions pretty much stayed that way all week. Yep, I am here to tell you that Kids Camp was awesome. It was soooooo much fun. And, to be honest with you, I was absolutely grateful and glad that I was able to go.

The following pics are all fun things that we got to do. Really, though the whole week was truly about meeting Jesus. I have lots of pics to show that but there are several different kids in all of them. I do not want to post pics of other people's kids. So, trust me that although all you see here is fun, really we were with God the whole week.

I saw kids running to the altars to pray, I saw hands shoot up in the air when Robin asked if anyone wanted to ask Jesus into their hearts, I saw kids praying and lifting their voices to Heaven asking to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Kids were worshipping, praising God, and drawing nearer and nearer to him. It was something else. It was like Heaven. I would not have wanted to be anywhere else.

Last week changed me. I don't want to give many details - mostly because of pride and shame - but God spoke to me in a way that stunned me. You see, all week I had been praying for my own children. I had prayed that they would hear from God, that they would learn more about him and grow closer to him. But I would see Jacob each time in chapel. And while he was listening when he should have been, and he was praising and singing and clapping and doing whatever he should have been doing, he seemed to be mildly indifferent. Not rebellious or disruptive, but just kind of there.

I can't explain it properly without making him sound bad and that is not what I am trying to convey.

So on Thursday morning, Robin told the kids about the power of the holy spirit. How he is our helper, our power source, our boldness. She laid it all out there. She captivated the kids, she had their attention, and all the while, I was watching Jacob. I was praying that he would want it. That his heart would be aching for more of Jesus.

Imagine my disappointment when he just sat there. When most of the kids ran toward the altar, he just stayed where he was and watched. He was polite and quiet, but unmoving. Oooohhhhh how that hurt.

I was up there BEGGING God to move him. To stir something inside of him. And then it happened. No, not with Jacob but in me. I could have been smacked with a plank of wood that is how it felt. Right then and there I heard (ok not in words but in thought and revelation) "You want him to hunger for something that you don't hunger for. You want him to run to me but you yourself usually choose to sit and watch. You are being quite hypocritical."

WWWWWhhhhhaaaaaaatttt?

I could have been knocked over and not even felt the pain. I realized that I am trying to pass on to him something that I don't even have. Even now as I type this, the ache in my heart is coming back.

I looked over at him, he I caught his eye and I asked him to come with me. I told him I wanted to pray with him for me. And would he please hold my hand while I prayed? He agreed and then we prayed. I was falling apart asking for God's forgiveness of me having a lazy heart for him. For being lukewarm instead of hot. I asked for him to complete me as a parent. And I asked Jacob to forgive me for all of the mistakes I make and will make.

It was really powerful.

I went to kids camp thinkin' "Yeah, I am gonna be a great example to these kids. I am gonna sing with them and lead the bible study." I am such a good person. Well,

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18

Ok, onto pics. Sarah got to ride a horse for the first time. She loved it and did very well. I thought it was kind of funny that we are at a Christian camp and the horse company (I don't know what else they are called) are Christian but the horse's name is Whiskey. Hmmmmm??

Let me tell you....Archery is NOT EASY. No sirrreeee it is hard and painful. My arms were aching by the time I had shot two arrows. And, by the way, my arrows did major nose dives into the dirt. I was seriously begging Lorraine to please let me finish but she said "No way. If you don't do it, your kids can't do it."Jacob, on the other hand, did quite well. It seems that all those times aiming his fake weapon at his friends all summer long paid off. His aim was taken, he took the stance, pulled back the arrow and string....

And let it go. On this one, he was one line away from a bull's eye. Quite impressive, I might say. Way to go lil man.

Sarah, on the other hand, was not soooo impressed with the bows and arrows. Too big and too much for her. She did manage to hit hay stack 2 times. Not bad!

While the bows and arrows were fun, Jacob spent most of his time at the skate park. That is more is style. He is pretty good too.

On Wednesday, our group went on this hike. Now it wasn't too bad. It was something that our family would have done in Big Sur. But it was hard for a lot of the littler kids. One of my girls was not happy about it and would not budge any more than she had to. We held up the entire group. She was aching, tired, hot and just miserable. Everyone was getting quite irritated with her. Me too I might add. So her and I were dead last in the line marching down the trail.

About halfway down, Jacob comes running up to me to show me an acorn that he had found. He is about 10 feet from me when we heard this rustling sound in the bushes next to us. We both look over just in time to see a BUCK leap over a tree stump, then take this huuuuuggge leap over the trail RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES. No joking - we could hear his hooves hit the ground, we saw a few leaves move because of the wind his jump generated. It was stunning...absolutely amazing. If Jacob had been even a second or two quicker in getting to me, or if my miserable little camper had budged slightly more than she was willing to, we would have been pummelled (how do you spell that?)

Guess what, little unhappy camper suddenly got a spring in her step and was quite willing to put a move on it. When we got back to camp, she smiled and said that she was glad her feet and legs were hurting because she would have missed that sight.

This is Jacob and Sarah and I at the top of the hike.

Sarah loved the pull string shower. I kind of did too. I wonder how we could get one of these at our house?

Last morning. All of our things ready to go home.

Bye Bye kids' camp. It was fun. See ya next year.

Kids' Camp 2007

Oh the things swirling in my head right now.

I am off to kids camp this week. Both of our kids are going for the first time and I will be a counselor. Everyone is excited and ready to go - except for me. I want to go and I am looking forward to it, but there is something that is causing a bit of hesistation inside. Maybe it is the unknown. Maybe it is the fact that I will have 6 campers (instead of the normal 2 at Royal Family Kids Camp), or maybe, just maybe, it is because I think I am too old to be a counselor.

I have visions of 6 giddy girls being crazy all night, not wanting to get into their beds, screaming, wanting their mommies, hungry, half want to do this activity and the other half wanting nothing to do with that. You know, all of the normal things that kids are when they are in a new place and ready to experience it all.

I hear it is going to be HOT. I don't do well in the heat. Think wilting flower!

I slept for a total of 10 minutes last night. I was packing all day, not just for me but for Jacob and Sarah. Then two of my campers came over last night to sleep over because their parents are going to HAWAII. So, Ben and Sharon take of for the islands and I get their girls. I got a taste last night of what it is gonna be like. Ooooohhhhhh God help me.

So the picture is of all of our luggage. Ok, I exaggerate. The luggage is what has already been packed. There is more than that. Then last night, Lenny called me from work. We were talking about unloading at camp, where everything is, etc. He told me that we all have to lug our luggage from the parking lot to the lodges. WHAT????? I know that I will barely get my own suitcase and sleeping bag uphill. What in the world is my 6 year old girl and, well, all of my other girls gonna do? I know, ask me to carry it for them. Oh my, it is gonna be a long week.

Jacob is PUMPED to do the BB guns. Lenny is totally fine with it now. You see Lenny had big plans for Jacob. He had planned for almost a year now that on Jacob's 10th birthday (he just turned 9) he would get him a BB gun, take him on a man weekend and shoot BB's all weekend. He would show him how it is done, kind of a rite of passsage Wild At Heart time together. So we get the application for kid's camp about a month ago. One of the activities offered is BB gun shooting.

Lenny flipped out. Ok, another exaggeration. He didn't like that. His whole idea of a man time together was thwarted. What should we do? Not go to camp? No. So, in an effort to be the one to show him how it is done. To not be upstaged and to let this be all about dad and son, he borrowed two guns from a friend. He was gonna make a shooting range in the backyard.

Sarah and I made the targets for the men. By the way, notice Jacob's name on his. Sarah made that one.

So Sarah is not as prissy and she might seem. She wanted in on the action.....
By the way, I know that backyard is a mess. It is from our party on the 4th of July. Well, actually it is always a mess but this time I have a reason.

Ok, so the point to all of this is not to entertain you. Although I know of some of my friends that are chuckling over what they anticipate on hearing at the end of the week. No, I want to tell you that the verse below has screamed out at me louder than what I expect the girls to do this week. I am giving up the comforts of home so that my kids, so that other kids can go to camp. I am so great, right? No, but this verse tells me that I can show the love of Christ to people, in this case, some kids, by simply going to camp and being their counselor. I am gonna miss the AC and ice maker this week, but, hopefully I won't wilt like I thought I might.

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

So it is now 8am. All four kids are up and need to get dressed. I need to dry my hair, enjoy my coffeee, pack lunch for 5 of us, get our suitcases and gear into the car, get cash, make the bed, feed the dog, make the beds (scratch that one), pay a few bills, and get to the church on time...by 10am. Think I can do it?

PS.... Ben and Sharon - next year you be the counselor and Lenny and I will get lei'd in Hawaii. Deal ???

France

Ok, so my sister in law came over tonight to brag about her trip to France. Check out this picture of her. Need I say more???? I will post more later when she is not sitting right here next to me watching me.

Here she is with Lenny's French Family. Whhhhaaaa I wish it were me there.

Kids Say the Funniest Things

This morning, the kids and were sitting at the table eating a late breakfast. We had just come from Sam's Club where I had bought a calcium supplement. I was opening the bottle of the calcium when Jacob asked,

"Do you have liver problems?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Because you shouldn't take that if you have liver problems, are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant."

"What did you just say?" I ask. He repeats what he had just said.

"Do you know what any of those things mean?"

"Well yes. Liver problems means, uh, something is wrong with your liver. Nursing means that you have a broken leg or your stomach hurts and you need a nurse. Pregnant means that you have a person in your belly. May become pregnant means that you might become pregnant."

I was howling at that one. I laughed so hard all the while he is looking at me like I am completely off my rocker. He always has a stomach ache. I just know that he is going to say that he is nursing.

So instead of correcting him, I ran over here to blog it.

A Day at the Beach

Lenny finally got home after being at work for three days. I asked him what he wanted to do and he said "let's go to the beach." So off we went.

We got there and pretty much had the whole beach to ourselves. There were a few people here and there but, when I was a teenager going to the beach, I remember it being packed every day of the summer. Where are all of the people? Probably at home on the computer checking out blogs I suppose. :) Where ever they were, they were not at the beach. The water was great, the weather was beautiful and the food was tasty. We even saw dolphins splashing around.

This girl is sooooo adventurous. She will try anything, taste anything and talk to anyone. She sees the water and immediately strips her shirt and shorts off and is ready to go. Me on the other hand, will take quite a while to test the waters (no pun intended). She let's go with all abandon and jumps right into life. I wish I wish I wish I had her carefree love of life. Maybe it is a kid thing, maybe it is a personality trait but gosh, she just loves life. I am skeptical of everything.

Look at the men in my family. Well, one man and one half of a man. But that lil man is growin' so stinkin' fast that I can hardly keep him in clothes that fit properly. I was excited to see that his wetsuit still fit. Look at his arm. He looks like ElasticBoy from the Incredibles.

No, Lenny is not lost in a moment of praising God, well maybe he is. Maybe he is thanking God that he got into his wetsuit.

I think Lenny is one of the strongest men in the world. Yet, when I see him helping the kids with something, or bending down on one knee to speak to them, or rubbing their back, or working the boy into his wetsuit, it melts me. You have no idea how grateful I am to have this man be the father of my kids. I happen to believe that it takes a very strong man to be tender. So while I was sitting on the beach listening to my iPod, I was watching the kids and their dad. I was listening to one of my all time favorite singers sing one of my most favorite songs. It was Rod Stewart belting out "You're In My Heart." The three of them were in the water splashing, swimming and goofing with each other. In this song, the chorus says

"you're in my heart, you're in my soul,

you'll be my breath when I grow old,

you are my lover, you're my best friend,

you're in my soul."

I see him out there with OUR children and I know that he is gonna be there when I am old. He is gonna be there for everything. God willing, we are going to have a LONG life together. And we are in each other. We are each other, we are not complete without the other. I could not imagine life without him.

I was sobbing uncontrollably as I watched Lenny in the water with Sarah. He was helping her on her board trying to catch a wave. After much success and smiles, she slipped off and fell into water over her head. She was scared and needed her dad. He immediately picked her up and held her until she was ok. I was overcome with gratitude for this man. He sees her need and instantly is there for her. No questions in her mind whether or not he would be there for her. She knew he would be. I could see with my eyes her security and comfort. You see, I didn't have that when I was her age. I didn't have that until I met Lenny. I was always in over my head in the water (both physically and metaphorically). To see him with her, protecting her, loving her, in a sense makes up for it all.

"you're the rhapsody, the comedy,

you are the symphony and a play.

you're every love song every written

but honey, what do you see in me?"

Rod is saying that this person he is singing about is all of these different things. That is what I think about Lenny. He is strong AND tender. He is serious AND comical. He is tough AND merciful. He is sooo perfect YET quite imperfect. He is all kinds of things. Not just one adjective could ever describe him. He is sooo much. Sometimes, I think that God mismatched us. Not because he is not right for me but that I could never be right for him. I do wonder OFTEN "but honey, what do you see in me?"

They are all completely unaware of this moment I am having in my head and heart. I am gushing with emotion. Crying out loud and thanking God for such an undeserved life. Then I hear "MMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM". I look up and Jacob is begging me to come in the water. So I did. I got rid of the iPod and ran out there after him.

I can not stand seaweed. I hate it not because it is sooooo gross but because really, I am afraid of it. I got tangled up in it at the beach when I was a kid and it FREAKED ME OUT. Eeeeeuuuuwwwww it is nasty. So Lenny knows this and he still dresses up like the creature from the black lagoon.

Sarah had just changed out of her bathing suit, we had just gotten all of the sand from all of the places it seems to find, and she finally got her clean and dry clothes on. Then she decides that she has not had enough of the water. She asked if she could get her feet wet. Then it was up to her knees, then well, all was lost and she jumped right in. Oh, well. She wound up wearing a tshirt of Lenny's home. She played hard. She was out in about 5 minutes onto PCH.

Firehouse

One of the curses of the fireman's schedule is the LONG shifts. 24 hours is long enough, but when those 24 hours stretch out to 48 or 72 or more, well, it can be tough. Lenny was on one of those 72 hour blitzes this past weekend. So on Sunday, the kids and I happily piled into the new van and made the trek to Corona to see Dad.

We managed to pull off a surprise visit. Usually doesn't happen because I don't like to take the chance of driving all the way out there and he not be there. Timing was on our side as he and his crew were getting ready for lunch. But as soon as we got in the door, they got a call. No biggie as we settled into the cozy recliners and watch Sponge Bob while they were out.

Got a few pics. They aren't fabulous but I love them because I see how the kids grow. I have a pic of Jacob when he was teeny little guy with his dad at work. Now he is 9 years old and still finding the fire engine fascinating.

So I am not sure I like this one. I mean, come on, look at where she is. Scary. I am sure that some of the chiefs wouldn't like to know that this was happening.

Makeshift Fire Engine

Ok, now this joke is a little on the, well, it might cross the line. Not with me but with some of you. I happen to think it is hilarious, especially because of my absolute disdain of cats.


A firefighter was working on the engine outside the station when he noticed a little girl nearby in a little red wagon with little ladders hung off the sides and a garden hose tightly coiled in the middle.

The girl was wearing a firefighter's helmet. The wagon was being pulled by her dog and her cat.

The firefighter walked over to take a closer look. "That sure is a nice fire truck," the firefighter said with admiration.

"Thanks," the girl replied. The firefighter looked a little closer the fireman noticed the girl had tied the wagon to her dog's collar & to the cat's testicles.

"Little partner," the firefighter said, "I don't want to tell you how to run your rig, but if you were to tie that rope around the cat's collar, I think you could go faster."

The little girl replied thoughtfully, "You're probably right, but then I wouldn't have a siren."

Ok, since we are on the topic of cats and firemen, I thought you might shake your head at this one.

« Trip to the Vet Long Beach Haute Dog Easter Parade »

Man shoots at fireman for not getting cat from a tree.

Some guy in Arizona yesterday called the fire department reporting a fire at his house. Turns out there was no fire, but he wanted the fire department to get his cat down out of a tree. They got there and refused to rescue the cat, telling the owner to “wait until the cat gets hungry and comes down”. The man then went into his house and came out with a gun, shooting at the firemen. When later sentenced to five months in jail, the owner admitted to the judge that he (not the cat) “might have been drinking” at the time of the incident.

No kidding? Why do they think the cat went up the tree in the first place? He was trying to get away from this nut!

Fete Nationale

Hey Julie and Sheri....see the Arc in the background. Yep, that was what I was looking at when I called the church office from Paris, France just to say "Bon Jour."


This is a pic of the Champs Elysees in Paris, France. Did you hear that? PARIS, FRANCE!! Today is July 14, Bastille Day. The details would probably bore you but it is close to our Independance Day. Lots of national celebration, lots of fireworks, parades, lots and lots and lots of French National Pride. I have been to France on Bastille Day and it is quite exciting.

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Yep, that's the beloved Eiffel Tower all sparkly and festive. Arrrghghhhh I would love to be there.

Here is the kicker. My sister in law is there right now. Right now as I type this I bet Jacqueline is enjoying a loaf of french bread, some great smelly cheese and of course, a glass of...well, I am not sure what it would be but I am darn sure she is enjoying herself immensely today. And, she gets to be with Lenny's side of the family today.

Wwwhhhhhaaaaaa I am sooooo jealous.

You Will Not Believe This

So let me tell you about my day yesterday.

I had been waiting for Tuesday for a while now. There was going to be a big curriculum sale at the kids new school. Lots of items red tagged, 10-25% off of all purchases, and free shipping on all things ordered. That is a huge savings considering we have two kids and want to buy everything for the next school year. Plus, Lenny was going to be home, I didn't have to drag the kids with me, and I would have several hours of alone time to just peruse and select - all with a fresh Starbucks in hand.

Lenny calls me after 9am yesterday telling me that he got a very late shift release and that he was still in Corona. And, he still needed to take all of his gear back to his normal station. Arrrrghhhh. Ok, late start, no problem. An hour later he calls me and tells me he is going to AAA to fix a mixup that they made on our auto insurance. He should be home in plenty of time. Aaarrrrghhh again. I just want him home so I could escape for a while. Haven't done that for a few weeks. I was itching to leave.

11:30 and he is still not home. Jacob calls him to find out that he is on his way and should be here in about 5 minutes. Ok. He pulls up in front of the house looking happy to see us but with an underlying face of dismay. Hmmmm?? Wonder what's up with him. He whispers in my ear that in the parking lot after he left AAA, he got into a fender bender. The driver's side of his little red truck (the one that he LOVES and adores, the one that he cherried out several years ago, the one that belonged to his father that we got on the day he died) door is smashed in.

Here is what I do. Giggle. Yep that's right. I giggle. Not hysterically or disrespectfully, but giggle and a little smirk, nonetheless. Now it is smashed, but it isn't horrible. It will need repair work and it will probably be a headache, but ok, it can be done. So I am just not sympathizing with him. Mostly because I just want to get out of the house and be by myself for a while.

Oh yeah, the other thing that I did when I saw it was ....ok, brace yourself because this is bad. I said, "well thankfully it wasn't in my beautiful new van." Really, I said that . Maybe on the outside it doesn't sound too bad but on the inside I was all about the attitude that he better thank his lucky stars that it was his truck and not my van because boy he would be in more trouble if he drove the Black Pearl home with a smashed in door.

So I go off on my self-serving, self righteous way to buy homeschooling material for our kids because we want to be great and Godly examples to them. Yeah, right.

I go spend a few hours and had a very nice afternoon. I call Lenny when I get on the freeway to tell him that I am on my way home. Traffic slows, I slow too, hating traffic. Then according to Lenny this is what he hears from me on the phone :

"please don't hit me, please don't hit me, good, he didn't hit me..... BAM. Lenny, I just got hit, I will call you back."

I slowed, the guy behind me slowed, but the guy behind him slammed right into him, sending him right into me. Aaarrrghhhhh.

I call CHiPs and ask them to please send Ponch and Jon to the freeway because someone hit my new van. Weird thing was, the dispatcher kept asking if anyone was hurt. "No. Nobody is hurt. But MY NEW VAN IS." She didn't seem to get my urgency.

We get over to the side, assess the damage and then I remember how incredibly smirky I was this morning. I said a very sincere prayer of thanks for my safety and asked God to forgive me for being such a butt to my husband.

The guy behind me comes over ranting about the guy that hit him. He doesn't have ID, no insurance and the car is registered to someone other than him. "Call INS" he says to Ponch. Jon tries to tell him that INS will not come to pick up one guy. The guy is sitting over on the side of the freeway knowing that he is busted and this overweight middleaged bozo is screaming at him for being illegal and wasting our tax dollars. It was quite a scene.

Then he tells me that I have minimal damage. Ok, maybe I do, but "this is a new car and I have never bought one from a dealer, never financed a car, and it is a big deal for me. And you were following too close." And, I told Ponch to put in the report that I gave up a trip to Hawaii for a new car. Jon said, "you should have taken Hawaii."

So the damage is this. Most cosmetic. And to be honest, you probably wouldn't even notice it if I hadn't said anything. But, mechanically, the rear hatch won't latch properly, making locking the vehicle impossible. And, since I have recently had a vehicle stolen, I would really like to lock my car.

Ok, so wadda ya think about my day? Snotty? Yes, I was. But I chalk it up to just another day in the life of the Gisberts. And, believe me, as the events unfolded, I kept thinking "this is gonna be a great blog post."

4th of July

Warning: I am having a bit of technical trouble with this post right now. The pics are not in order, and when I try to edit the post, the pics come up as a message and not as an image. And, when I try to add something like text, I get an error message. So, it is a bit unfinished but I will try again later.



One of my favorite days of the year is 4th of July. Independance Day is really the appropriate name but you all know what I mean.

I took lots of pics but after looking at them, none of them really are that great. Very disappointing as this was my favorite 4th in a long time.

Three years ago, Lenny and I decided that we would try to do an outreach with our neighborhood. We wanted to do something like a dessert night or movie night but never got the gumption to put it together. I know, how hard could it be? you ask. Then June came around and while chatting with a neighbor across the street, we thought "Hey let's have a block party."

We get to have the street blocked off for the entire day and just have fun. We pull out the bike ramps, skateboard pipes and all kinds of bikes, wagons and scooters. The kids up and down the street with no regard to traffic.

Some of our friends and their families came to celebrate the day with us. Lots of people, lots of kids and lots of food. Then later, lots of fireworks, and lots of kids screaming "can I light one now?" I have to wonder about Lenny and I. I think we are pretty cautious parents. We always stress the importance of fire safety (duh), bicycle helmets and other life saving tips. But on this day, we let our kids out in the street with no helmet and apparently, we let them play with fire....



At least they have the good sense to run out of the way.....

For this......


Last year, Lenny and some other guys got this crazy idea to tape sparklers on the end of each of the rake prongs and then light them. Then Lenny gets up on his unicycle and rides around with it, parading up and down the street as if he is carrying the Olympic Torch into Athens, Greece. This year was no different, except that he got a Dr. Suess style American flag hat from the dollar aisle at Target and wore it. (Yes, Platt's I saw yours too!) The picture is awful...but it will have to do.


While we had a wonderful time with our neighbors and friends, we are really truly grateful for WHAT we celebrated. I am very aware of the blessings of this country, but I would be remiss if I did not thank God first and foremost for being the ruler and the supplier of this land. "If we enjoy a great economy, personal freedom and a high tide of justice, we don't limit our thanks to politicans. No, we thank God: "He makes the nations great, and destroys them; he enlarges nations, and disperses them" (Job 12:23). Tally this up. God sets national boundries. He determines leaders. He dispenses blessings. And we are the priviledged recipients of each and every on of his blessings. Can we afford to forget this? Only at a terrible risk!" (taken from the "Word for Today".)

I hope you all had a fabulous 4th of July. I can not wait for next year.

Joke of the Day

I somehow got to the google homepage and saw "Joke of the Day." I read this joke and chuckled. Especially because I am terrified of bears.....


An Atheist and a Bear


An atheist was taking a walk through the woods, admiring all that evolution had created.

"What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!", he said to himself. As he was walking along the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. When he turned to see what the casue was, he saw a 7-foot grizzly charging right towards him. He ran as fast as he could. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing, He ran even faster, crying in fear. He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer. His heart was pounding and he tried to run even faster. He tripped and fell on the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up, but saw the bear right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw and raising his right paw to strike him.

At that moment, the Atheist cried out "Oh my God!...." Time stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent. Even the river stopped moving.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky, "You deny my existence for all of these years; teach others I don''t exist; and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?"

The atheist looked directly into the light "It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask You to treat me as Christian now, but perhaps could you make the bear a Christian?" "Very well," said the voice.

The light went out. The river ran again. And the sounds of the forest resumed.

And then the bear dropped his right paw ..... brought both paws together...bowed his head and spoke: "Lord, for this food which I am about to receive, I am truly thankful."