Gift #246- Lily Lou

Happy Birthday to my beautiful niece Lily.  You are the gift!

Gift #245- A Crowded Nest

SAM IS GOING TO BE A BIG BROTHER!

BABY THOMAS DUE TO ARRIVE SEPTEMBER 2013!

Gift #244- A Battle with Corn on the Cob

I sat at the table last night and watched Macy as she tried to eat her corn on the cob.  She had such determination.  She is a winner.  She does not give up.  She gets that from her dad.  She tried different angles and positions.  After a few minutes, I could see the frustration mounting.  She tossed the corn on to her plate and said "Stupid corn!  It won't let me eat it!".  The boys cracked up laughing.  I did too.  I don't usually love the word "stupid", but in this case, it seemed very appropriate.  :0)  You never know what you are going to get at the Thomas family dinner table.  It is usually a good laugh and that is always a gift.

Gift #233- Jelly Belly Chocolate Covered Very Cherry Jelly Beans

My new-found love.  Thank you Jelly Belly.

Gift #232- Valentines's Day

Valentine's Day was always a fun day in the Randall house.  My mom would make a spaghetti dinner and we would eat by candlelight.  She used her red tablecloth and her best dishes.  We always looked forward to it.  She also made each one of us a heart-shaped Rice Krispie treat with our name written in pink or red icing.  When Jack came along, we started the same traditions.   Each year we make rice krispie treats and have a candlelight spaghetti dinner.  This year we changed it up a little.  We had breakfast for dinner, but we used our fancy tea glasses and ate by candlelight.  The kids loved holding the tea glasses just right.  Sam demonstrated "pinkies out".  Josh demonstrated the Redneck way of holding a wine glass, and Macy demonstrated a princess way.  Josh has been watching a little too much Duck Dynasty, but I love that he is getting in touch with his roots.  :0)  I gave the kids pencils and markers to draw on the paper tablecloth.  I knew that the party was getting a little out of hand when Macy caught her pencil on fire.  It was bound to happen.  It's just not a real party until something catches on fire.  Aside from that, a lovely time was had by all.

Macy chose to write this on her side of the table.  "Girls go to college to get more knowledge.  Boys go to Jupiter to get more stupider."  The spelling of this wonderful little rhyme was  so ironic that I just had to share it.

This was Macy's Valentines Day card to me-  "What are we having for dinner?"  Too funny!

But she totally redeemed herself with this creation that she made out of Legos!  I LOVED it!

Josh made me this medallion in art class.  I told him that it was very unique and beautiful.  He then proceeded to tell me that he actually didn't make it specifically for me.  He just made it in art class and had it lying around.  He did the same thing at Christmas when he gave me my egg-shaped salt and pepper shakers.  He said that he got them at the thrift store a few days prior for 2 bucks.  I thought that last night might be a good teachable moment for Josh.  I told him how grateful I was, but shared with him that if he ever started dating or got married, that he should just say "Here.  I got this for you."  

And just leave it at that.  :0)   Gotta love Josh!

I probably should have set some rules on the amount of icing allowed.  Next year.

Hank.  Sorry you couldn't be here.  You will always be our Valentine.

Gift #231- Having all of the Ingredients

I am thankful today that I had all of the ingredients on hand to make my mom's Valentine's Day Strawberry Crunch for a wives meeting this evening.  That rarely happens.  I am usually short an item or two.   I am thankful for the memories of past Valentines Days sharing this delicious dessert with my family.  Thankful for the many years to come.

Gift #230- Dinner at Chilis!

We had to drive 4 hours away to Sasebo to eat at Chili's, but it was worth it!  We actually didn't just go for the food.  Although that was a big part of it.  We went to check out the base and to see the surrounding sights.  We took a leisure boat cruise to see the Kujuku Islands up close.  It was a lot of fun and it felt good being out on a boat and seeing beautiful crystal clear water.  Hank is pretty sure that he would like to finish his time in the Marine Corps in Pensacola.  The boat tour yesterday helped cement that in his mind even more.  I am ok with that too!  :0)  We, of course, had breakfast at Dunkin Donuts on base and then lunch at McDonalds.  So we got our American Fast food fix.   It was a nice little overnight trip.  We hope to return during the summer to enjoy the beaches!

Gift #229- Superbowl Commercials and Subtle Reminders

It was strange watching the Superbowl at 6am on Monday morning in Japan.  I had cinnamon toast during the game rather than nachos and wings.  But it was fun nevertheless.  The one thing that we did miss was the commercials.  Our television station can not air them.  But I saw some of them on youtube minutes after they were aired in the US.  Like so many other people, I loved the "So God Made a Farmer" commercial.  After living in Fallon, Hank and I said that we would love to own a little farm someday.  And with the state of the world, we look at each other often and just say "Farm".  :0)

A few days after the super bowl, inspired by the farmer commercial, one of my favorite authors wrote a blog post titled "So God Made a Mother".  It really spoke to me.  I often feel as though I need to do something BIG with this one life that I have.  Sadly, I fail to see the "big" in the tucking-ins and the elbow bandaging and the shoe tying lessons.  This post was a reminder that these small things are the biggest things that I can be doing for the Lord during this season of my life.  Today I am thankful for Super Bowl commercials and for subtle reminders that "raising generations matter and weaving families matters and tying heart strings matters and these people here matter."  And this is BIG!


Blog Excerpt from A Holy Experience with God Feb. 4 2013:

I need someone to get up at midnight and scoop the most fragile of humanity close to her warmth and rock though she can hardly stand and nourish though she’s mostly sleep-starved and change the diaper and the sheets and the leaked on, leaked through, and leaked down clothes though she’ll have to change them in the morning and next week and that won’t change for years.

So God made a Mother. 

Then God had said I need somebody with a strong heart.  Strong enough for toddler tantrums and teenage testing, yet broken enough to fall on her knees and pray, pray, pray.  Someone who knows that in every hard place is exactly where you extend grace, who looks a hopeful child in the eye and says yes, even though she knows every yes means a mess but this is how you bless, who has the courage to keep letting go because she’s holding on to Me.

So God made a mother.

God said I need somebody who can shape a soul and find shoes on Sunday mornings and get grass stains out of Levis. And make dinner out of nothing and do it again 79,678 times, and keep kids off the road and out of the toilet and in clean underwear and mainly alive though she’s mainly losing her mind and will put in an 80 hour week by Wednesday night and just do one more load of laundry. And one more sink of crusted burnt pots.  And keep on going another eighty hours because raising generations matters and weaving families matters and tying heart strings matters and these people here matter.

So God made a mother…

It had to be somebody who could comb back pigtails and tie up skates just-right tight.  Who could pretend she remembered algebra and how to get home from here and that really, she was just fine, that it must just be the silly onions.  Somebody who would run for the catch, jump on a trampoline and play one fierce game of soccer and not give a thought to all those labors and her weak pelvic floor. Somebody who’d stay up late with a science project that never ends, who’d get up early for the game in the rain, somebody who’d wave at the door until the taillights were out of sight and still be smiling brave.

So God made a mother.

It had to be somebody willing to keep loving when it made no sense because that’s what love does.  Somebody who knew that patience is a willingness to suffer. That joy is always possible because there is always, always something to be thankful for.

And that life is not an emergency but a gift — so just. slow. down. There are children at play here and we don’t want anyone to get hurt and the hurry makes us hurt.  Somebody willing to feed and lead, lay down her life and pick up her cross, give of her time because they have her heart. Someone who knows that we all blow it — and what matters is what we then do after. Someone who could humble herself into the tender sorry that covers a multitude of sins.  And who’d bow her head at night over the girl asleep with the doll in the crook of her arm — and thank her Father for this hidden life that’s the turning gear for the a whole spinning world.

So God made a mother.

Gift #228- Josh Calling His Mom!

Josh doesn't get too excited about much of anything.  So when he called me today and asked me to come to the skate park right away to watch him do a new trick, I couldn't pass up the opportunity.  I hope that he always remembers to call his mom!

Gift #227- Shrimp Gumbo

 I have my moms recipe for gumbo and it is by far the greatest in all of the world.  But I was hungry for gumbo the other day and did not have all of the necessary ingredients nor the level of commitment that it took to make a roux and so on.  I searched online for a quick and easy gumbo recipe.  I found one, made it, and it was actually very good!  Not as good as moms.  But perfect in a pinch.  Shrimp Gumbo with Tabasco Sauce is most definitely a gift from the Lord.

PS- Here is a link to the recipe.  I left out the green onions and added 2 cans of lump crab meat.  Yum!
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Quick-Shrimp-Gumbo

Gift #226- The Lord's Supper with our children

We always participate in the Lord's supper on the first Sunday of each month at our base chapel.  I can not tell you what a blessing it is to see all of my children holding the bread and the cup.  I am not sure if there is a bigger blessing than knowing that your children believe!