Carven Der Pumpkin

I found this yesterday, courtesy of one of my Facebook friends. I thought it was the perfect way to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! (Hopefully yours is bazooka-free.)

I also found these hilarious videos of the old guys from the Muppets. Enjoy!

Oh deer

This is a photo of Mike's car, which had the misfortune of colliding with an 8-point buck last Tuesday night.

We are thankful the deer did not come through the windshield and that Mike walked away with no injuries.

The car and the deer, however, are different stories. A hunter came along shortly after the accident and shot the deer to put it out of its misery. The hunter speculated that all four legs were broken, so there was no chance the poor thing was going to survive.

The car is totaled.

Which, in a way, is a blessing. We were hoping to replace the car in the next year or so. It had a bad oil leak and we hadn't put any major money into repairs for it, so it's a blessing that we are getting insurance money out of something that could have (very soon) been a liability for us.

On Saturday we got a new-to-us car. It cost more than what I wanted to spend on a car, but in looking at our options, it was the one that made the most sense and will be the best value for us in the long run.

The good news is that the week before, God blessed us and gave us the ability to completely pay off our minivan.

For a split-second after Mike's run-in with the deer I was a little frustrated - we finally had paid off both cars, but less than a week later we had to add a payment back. What kind of progress is that?

But then I realized that, while this isn't ideal, God had already provided. We hadn't yet reworked our monthly budget to account for not having a car payment (we had in our heads - but not on paper) so to take on another payment is effortless. What a blessing!

As we approach Thanksgiving day I am reminded of how much I have to be thankful for. The list is long.

I'm not sure what else to write here - there has been a long pause in my thinking, reflecting on all the reasons I have to give thanks. One of the verses from Psalm 16 comes to mind - it is the same Psalm the Holy Spirit brought to my mind when I went in for my biopsy last year. It seems quite appropriate as a Psalm of thanksgiving (and for what we've been through in the past week) as well.

Yes, surely I have a delightful inheritance!

Psalm 16
1 Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing." 3 As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight. 4 The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood or take up their names on my lips. 5 Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. 6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. 7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. 8 I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, 10 because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. 11 You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Everybody wants to be a cat

I have watched The Aristocats approximately 40 times in the past 10 days.

As far as children's movies go, this one isn't bad. It's one that I liked as a kid and it is definitely a Disney classic.

But I've watched it so much that I now over-analyze the plot.

I mean, really, doesn't Edgar know that even though the cats will inherit the money first, he will still have to be around to take care of them? While continuing to live in the mansion? While enjoying all the money left behind?

Doesn't he also know that cats don't really have nine lives, and that the cats (in all likelihood) wouldn't really outlive him?

Also, if kidnapping the cats was news enough to make the front page of the paper, don't you think the police would get involved? And don't you think they would question Edgar? And don't you think they would find some evidence that would indicate him?

I think the movie would have been greatly improved if they had taken care of some of these pesky details and made it a little more realistic. Because, obviously, the whole taking/singing animals part is totally realistic.

Yeah, it's been a long week.

Also, I went to Wal-Mart on Sunday to do some shopping and found myself humming this for an hour and a half:

Miracles

I was home again today with Kaitlyn. To make a long story short - she is recovering from pneumonia. It's been a long week.

The good thing about being home today is that I had a chance to participate in two miracles.

#1 - the Stuff Christians Like readers have raised almost $30,000 in the past 24 hours to build a school in Vietnam. It's been cool to refresh the donation page throughout the day and see the total grow. As of writing this, we only need $1,000 more to reach the goal!

UPDATE: The goal was met! So much for hoping to reach it by December 31 - how about 24 hours instead??

#2 - I've loosely been following Stellan's story over at MckMama's blog for the past year. He is a miracle baby who wasn't expected to live past delivery. He did survive (and thrive!) but then was diagnosed with some heart issues. He had surgery today in less-than-ideal conditions, and as of one point this morning his heart stopped.

However.

God worked a miracle and Stellan's surgery is a home run success!!!!!!

I have been praying for him all day long and have obsessively been refreshing MckMama's blog and her Twitter updates. As I sat here with my sick baby I couldn't help but think about how terrible it must be to see your baby hospitalized and going through surgery. I am so blessed that God cleared my schedule today so I could pray for little Stellan and be a witness to this miracle. God is good!

Happy Birthday, I think

This picture represents the last 48 hours at our house. (Not pictured: the humidifier, cough drops, Candy Land, and DVR'd episodes of Top Chef.)

Early Sunday morning (2am-ish) Kaitlyn woke up with a fever, we gave her some Tylenol, and she promptly gave it back to us - including some in our bed and in her hair. Awesome. Those are always the moments when I think, "Yep - I'm a mom."

The poor girl has had a fever of 102.5-103 ever since, and we all have terrible coughs. (Or "the coughs" as Kaitlyn says.)

On Sunday Mike went to Walmart because we were out of children's Tylenol and Motrin, and lo and behold, they were also out of it.

Well, let me ammend that statement slightly by saying that according to Mike, who called me while at Walmart and was very confused about what he was looking for, they were out of it. He did come home with some chewable Tylenol.

Anyway, my point is that it seems we aren't the only ones dealing with this sort of thing right now.

So, happy birthday to me. I stayed home with Kaitlyn yesterday and will stay home again this morning.

And really, what could be better than hanging out in your PJs with your favorite kid? I really want all of us to get better, but I'm also trying to count my blessings.


I'd say I'm pretty blessed. :-)

My Christmas gift to you

I recently received the ABC Distributing catalog in the mail, and it has inspired me. As my early Christmas gift to you, I will periodically share some wonderful gift ideas to aid you in your shopping this year.

Gift idea #1 - Knit Jean Lounge Pants


Who wouldn't love a pair of lounge pants that look like they stepped right out of the 80's? The perfect gift for your favorite brother-in-law! Click here to order.