My Love/Hate Relationship with Walmart

Today we went to Walmart. It seems that they just have what we need, for the right price, so we go there again and again. I've tried boycotting them in the past, mostly because I buy too much lip balm and things like that (who needs 30+ types), but it just never lasts. I'll try to find something somewhere else, support the local small business, etc., but I always end up going back to Walmart. My brother-in-law was visiting this spring, and a friend of his once noted that every time you go somewhere, it will require a "quick stop" at Walmart. No matter what friends you are with, or where you are going. I tend to agree. I've been trying very hard to boycott things made in China now, (which is even harder than boycotting Walmart, although they coincide quite often) but then something comes up, and there I go again...buying something made in China, sold at Walmart and I'm back to where I started. I do wonder, is it worth the effort? Are my motives pure? Are my small boycotts even a drop in the huge bucket of our nation that supports all things we don't. (mass marketing, impulse buying, etc.) I love garage saling, but most of it results from everyone having too much stuff. Why?? Because they buy too much stuff (me included). Maybe I should just stay home more...that would solve my dilemma...and save me money at the same time. But I just love Walmart. (I was hired on by Walmart on the spot in AK because I told them my friends referred to me as "the Walmart junkie"). Hmm. I can think of better titles to be known as. Maybe I'll work on them.

The Latest Book

Although you've seen in previous posts, that I don't have (or find, whichever it may be) much time for reading, I have taken up a book lately. When we were in Florida for Christmas, Greg and I went through his grandparents books that we wanted and then had them shipped up here, since his grandparents are trying to downsize. His "Papa" is a minister of the Gospel, thus has lots of theological books of interest. So, we've been checking them all out, and one that caught my eye, is called "Ashamed of the Gospel" by John MacArthur Jr. I am not through it yet, so can't recommend the whole book, but what I've read so far says over and over thoughts that I've had floating around in my head. It is full of information that needs to be upheld by the Christian church, as well as a new conviction to stand for Biblical truth. It seems we all get lazy in our beliefs, and that is where Satan sneaks in, causing divisions, dilution of doctrine, and general apathy. There is a million things I'd love to quote, but one stands out right now:

“For centuries the church stood solidly against every form of worldly entertainment, recognizing it for what it was — a device for wasting time, a refuge from the disturbing voice of conscience, a scheme to divert attention from moral accountability. For this she got herself abused roundly by the sons of this world.
“But of late she has become tired of the abuse and has given over the struggle. She appears to have decided that if she cannot conquer the great god Entertainment she may as well join forces with him and make what use she can of his powers. So today we have the astonishing spectacle of millions of dollars being poured into the unholy job of providing earthly entertainment for the so-called sons of heaven. And hardly a man dares raise his voice against it.”- A.W. Tozer

If you can get yourself a copy to read, I encourage you to do so to read and then share. I found cheap ones on half.com as well as Barnesandnoble.com in their used section. I'd love to study into the book more, and also get others thoughts after they've read it. Amazon also has the books, as well as quite a few reviews about it.

Today I caught a smile.

Freedom?

We happened upon another drive yesterday. Baby girl fussed all day, and hadn't slept much, and I was just worn out. Putting her in her car seat and going for a drive (as suggested by my husband) seemed a really good idea. So, we headed down the road a ways, she slept (as did the biggest boy) and we got a chance to visit. One topic that came up was "freedom in Christ". We discussed what it meant to us, but I'm wondering, is there more? We discussed freedom from the bondage of sin, freedom of a clean conscience, moral freedom (which may look like restrictions to the world, but actually ends you up with much more peace and happiness when you follow God's moral guidelines). But is there more?? I know we talked about more topics, but that's all I can think of at this time of day. Input welcome if you have any ideas.

Interestingly, the Reader's Digest had an article last fall about freedom (speech, religion, patriotism, etc) in general, and they concluded that all freedoms are good for a person, except "moral freedom". This brings unhappiness and negative consequences at every turn. If you get a chance to read the article, it's worth it. I just can't remember what issue it was, and I've given my copy away.

I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say

While putting the boys down for a nap the other day, I flipped to this hymn. It's one of my favorites, but I haven't sang it in a really long time. In singing it again to them, I was reminded what a blessing it is to be a child of God, and how Jesus loves us so very much. Then in church yesterday the organist picked it, so we sang it again. I'll type it out here to share with you, in case you haven't heard it in a while (or ever)

I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Come unto me and rest;
Lay down, thou weary one, lay down, Thy head upon my breast."
I came to Jesus as I was, Weary and worn and sad;
I found in Him a resting place, And He has made me glad.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, "Behold I freely give,
The living water, thirsty one, Stoop down and drink and live."
I came to Jesus and I drank, Of that life-giving stream;
My thirst was quenched my soul revived, And now I live in Him.

I heard the voice of Jesus say, "I am this dark world's Light,
Look unto Me, thy morn shall rise, And all thy day be bright."
I looked to Jesus and I found, in Him my Star, my Sun;
And in that Light of life I'll walk, Till travelling days are done.

No matter what kind of a day we're having, it will be better when Jesus is our all in all. We are all weak and helpless without Him, and yet He loves us all the same. He can be your friend, your confidante, your listening ear, but most of all wants to love you and be your Saviour to redeem from sins, failures and shortcomings.

Restored Faith in Mankind

My recurring nightmare (or daymare) occurred yesterday. That my kids meltdown will come in the checkout line, once I have everything on the conveyer belt, and there is nothing to do but wait it out. It likely happens to every parent, and they are just as humiliated every time. Yesterday I was doing my best to get my groceries as quickly as possible, and little E was sleeping soundly in her seat. The boys were behaving to the best of their ability, and we had one more item and out the store we'd go. Baby girl decides to wake up just now, and since there is no place to nurse her (and I'm not an expert yet nor is she at making do in odd situations), I make the plan to get checked out as quick as I can and feed her in the car. So, one handedly I put all 2 weeks worth of groceries on the conveyer and just then a little climbing boy (J) falls off the bagging stand and bumps his lip. Now I have two screaming kids, and a third one asking his million and one questions that I really can't hear or deal with right now. Since we're at Winco where you have to bag your own groceries, I proceed to work as fast as I can under the circumstances as not to halt progress. The sweet old lady behind me buys some Hotwheels cars for the boys to keep them happy as I finish up, and the lady behind her comes over and says "let me help you get those groceries bagged up. I was a young mom in your shoes once and know what it's like." Awesome!! She then helps me finish up, and says "no use me standing back there watching you struggle." Thank you, thank you!! That totally made my day. Sometimes it takes hard times to show peoples true character. If my kids were nicely behaving themselves and not bringing so much attention to us, those ladies wouldn't have had the opportunity they did. Not that I'd recommend the crying part.

Going for a Drive

One of our favorite things to do, is to go for a drive. It doesn't matter where, or if we even have a destination in mind. It's a cheap form of entertainment, that has endless possibilities. On Saturday we did our housework all morning, and then headed out around naptime. This is great, because all the kids fall asleep, and then Greg and I can visit about whatever we like without interruption. We ended up at the beach (which was too cold to get out, but we enjoyed the view), stopped at a few shops and then headed back to my sisters for a visit on the way home. We got home late, but always feel so refreshed, that it doesn't matter how tired we are. The kids were all asleep again, so we carried them one by one into their respective beds, clothes and all. If you haven't taken a drive lately, I'd really suggest one. It's one of the better things to clear your mind, if it needs clearing. Which mine seems to on a regular basis.

The pie truck

Since my last few blogs have been rather disheartening and depressing, I thought sharing a funny story might be in order. Last week Greg came home with a handful of Little Debbie pies, something he isn't known to do. I asked him what was up, and he proceeded with this:

His boss' cousin works for ODOT (Oregon dept of transport) and happened to be in charge of the cleanup of a Little Debbie truck that overturned on the freeway. Since everything was going to get thrown out, and he was in charge, he loaded his own truck with all the snacks he could fit and then called everyone he knew to come and get some. I guess the guy showed up at Greg's work with the truck full, so everyone came away with whatever they wanted. When I asked why he got so few, he smartly told me that we didn't really NEED an armload, although he could have gotten one if he wanted. Smart husband. Because we all know who would eat them because they would be sitting on the counter all day. Me. Thank you, sweetie, for looking out for your wife's well being.

When I told L how we got them, he has asked me to repeat the story many times, not believing such 'good' fortune. He even drew a picture of the truck with the pies falling out on his doodle pad this morning.

The Problem with Mondays

Today was one of those days that I wish I could erase and start over. I dislike Mondays for many reasons, but today just added another bad one to the stack. The kids slept decently last night, so I can't complain about that as I usually do, but as I was just waking up, baby girl decided to have a major spitup all over herself, me and the bed. Not fun. She is my spitting-up-est baby yet, so I usually am prepared, but this morning in the semidarkness of the room and my brain, I was floundering. That started the day. Then my boys fought all morning about something or another, mostly because I didn't have time to get them breakfast because a certain baby was crying too. That will fray anyone's nerves. (yes, even yours Grandma, but it might take longer) To top it off, I was too tired to deal with any of the nonsense. I just hate it when days start this way.

I guess my dislike for Mondays has nothing to do with any of the above happenings. It's because usually the house is a disaster from being gone alot, there is mountains of dishes to tackle, the food supply is low, we're all a bit (or alot) tired, the boys want too much attention from me since Daddy is back to work and it all indicates that the weekend fun is over. You'd think I'd be used to it by now, since it happens every week, but I'm not. I like my husband being home. I like to do fun stuff. I like to go to bed late sometimes. (meaning 10 rather than 9) I like it that my husband helps me carry a fussing baby around so my back and neck don't get so sore. But, I guess everyone else in the world has a Monday to deal with in their own way...so I really shouldn't complain.

I am reading (in small increments of time here and there) "The No-Cry Sleep Solution", and hoping that will shed some light on some areas. Baby does sleep well at night, it's the day time that I can't seem to figure out or improve.

So, now my challenge is nap time. We all need one, and hopefully I can get them synchronized so that we all get one. Until next time...when it's hopefully a better day.

A few picture updates (from Julie's photo shoot)

To sleep or not to sleep

Today I woke up early (or shall I say, was awakened early) in hopes of accomplishing something. The weekend always leaves the house in a cyclone, and the awesome weather didn't help, because we were only in the house to leave stuff, make messes and dirty dishes and get back outside to enjoy more sunshine. I had great intentions of getting everything back in order, once breakfast was done and baby was down for her morning nap. Not happening. Breakfast got done, I put her down for a nap and about 15 minutes later she woke up and cried off and on until lunch time. This happens pretty much every day, and has happened with every kid I've had. I have been trying the eat, play, sleep routine this time and with only marginal better luck. It seems all the kids wake up because of gas/burp and then they won't go back to sleep. With L we just called it colic and walked the floors with him for 3 months. With J we just thought that was normal and got up with him 15 times a night (no lie) until he was a year old. But, I know there has to be a better way. I'm not into "crying it out" because my kids just swallow gallons of air, and then I'm in the same boat as I was before. They sleep 15 minutes and then wake up in discomfort. I do swaddle her at night, but maybe I should try it in the daytime too. I don't know if that would reduce air in her system. Nursing before sleep makes it worse because then surely a burp will be lodged in there. And if I do burp her, she wakes up and then I'm back to where I started. So, if any of you have any solutions, please let me know.

Note to Readers

I changed the settings so that you don't have to be a member to leave comments now. Hopefully this works so that any of you can now leave comments. If you put a first name down, then I'll know who you are, or initials would be fine too. Thanks, R

Mowing the Lawn

We have a deal in our house, that Greg mows the lawn with the tractor, and I do all the push mowing. Sounds a little unpleasant for me, but I love it. There is nothing that clears your head like the loudness of a lawnmower. It overrides any kid yelling your name, any baby crying, and any other sounds you may desire to drown out for the time you are mowing. Greg dislikes push mowing, and I have not mastered our tractor so this is a perfect match. He also does the weed whacking, which I'm grateful for. I just finished mowing, and Greg asked me, "Was it as fulfilling as you recall from last time?" Yes, it was. A break from the Mommy routine, a bit of exercise and some sunshine exposure all mixed into one.