Miracles Do Happen

During bedtime prayers tonight, Abigail's prayer included the following:

Thank you for raining down food for the Haitians. And please help the people in Texas....that their homes would be fixed this instant!

You want me to explain?  Good, because I can hardly stand it.

Remember, this post?

Well, ever since the girls learned that not every family has a pantry, they have been praying for food for the hungry....specifically praying that God would "rain down food in Haiti."

This morning, we walked into The Academy where the girls take classes.  (It is run out of a very large church in our area.)  

You won't believe what we saw.  Tons and tons (and tons!) of grocery bags full of food.  Above the food was a sign that said:

THIS FOOD WILL BE SENT TO THE HAITIANS

Yes!  Yes!  And again, YES!  

I had Madeline read the sign and after a few puzzled looks and a quick explanation, the girls started squealing.  They couldn't get over it. Madeline said, "Mom, that kind of IS like God raining down food in Haiti, don't you think?"

Do I think?  Yes, I definitely do.

Is it a coincidence that one, very-random church in our city (where there are hundreds - and the one where we just happen to visit) just happened to have a food drive.....oh, and a food drive where they just happen to be sending the food to Haiti?  

I do not believe in coincidences.  

One thing I do believe - my girls will never forget this.

Check Yes or No

There was a handwritten message on my desk this morning.  It said,

Why do Moms have to do so much work?

Please answer here:  ___________

Can I have an extra sheet of paper?  I think this one might be an essay question.

-------

And since several of you have asked what I really replied, I wrote:

I wish I knew.

Throwback Friday

We are really throwingback this week.

Here's Ron and I at a Date Party at Miami University....15 years ago.

(Anybody else remember "Party Pics"?)

The Cookie Fatre (no pun intended)

Ron emailed me one of Madeline's art drawings that he had scanned a couple years ago.  I asked her if I could put it on my blog to which she replied, "As long as you let your readers know that I drew that two years ago.  And I didn't know how to spell very well."

Verbatim.

So, please note this was drawn at the tender age of 5 but none other than Madeline Thomas.

"This is you and me working at the Factory."

Random Thoughts

A few random things that happened today:

First off, can I give myself a tip and not wait an entire year next time to buy Thum??

Thum is the wickedly nasty lacquer you paint on if you want to break the thumb sucking/nail biting habit.  The main ingredient is cayenne pepper extract and let me tell you, its hot.....and nasty.  It instantly took me back to 1979.  Unfortunately, I was a bit more spirited (that's such a sweet way to describe myself at 5 yo) than Ellie and I would gnaw on my thumb until the lacquer wore off and then I was good-to-go.  Thumb sucking resumed.

Anyway, I finally picked some up last week and made a big deal of Lauren painting it on.  

Did it work?  Like. A. Charm.

She has not to much as put that thumb anywhere near her mouth. This, after 3 1/2 years of consistent thumb-in-the-mouth.  She is so proud of her paint job each day and refuses to "mess it up by getting it wet."

Are you kidding me?  I can't believe it is this easy.  I am still waiting for this to blow up in my face.  And for the bargain price of $2.79 and about 6 minutes of my time.

The other hilarious part of my day was when I came downstairs to find a sign on the front door. The girls love to make signs...especially when we are having company over.  Well, I went out to read it and here's what it said:

"Do to others as you would have them do to you!"

Our (former) Pastor is coming for dinner tonight.  

Brown-nose much?

Friendly Mom Tips

Occasionally, I like to give my tens of thousands (ok, its just tens) of readers a few helpful tips. These, said tips, have been passed along to me (I have no personal experience with them, nope. None.) and I - being the great friend that I am - would, of course, pass them along to you.

Wow.  That was the longest, run-on sentence with incomplete grammar and punctuation that I've ever written.

Ok, we're back.  Do you remember these tips?  A friendly Mom passed along some laundry tips - which of course I paid close attention to - and thus have not had any problems with laundry since.

But, in case you have:

Do Not... ask for a New-Mom-In-Town's phone number and then wash the paper with your dark load the next day.  That is the opposite of a friendly "Welcome to town!"  And, if you were to happen to do that, definitely do not call the horse farm you  just visited and appear to be stalking New Mom.  It does not go over well (or so I've heard.)

Do Not...  wash (sensing a theme here?) your $10 Born Free Sippee Cup in the washing machine and then spend the next 4 hours wondering if it is still BPA-free.  Even the FDA would agree that bisphenol-A does not enter the cup during the wash cycle.  They might wonder, however, why you aren't using the dishwasher.

Do Not... pretend that you are still the hip Mommy that knows how to ride horses (because you took one class in college, many moons ago) and offer to demonstrate trotting for other Mommies.  DO NOT DO THAT.  EVER.  Unless you like walking around looking extremely bow-legged and popping Advil.  For. Several. Days.

And Finally....Do Not.... put your children to bed absolutely filthy dirty, from an entire day of outside play, and complete with black feet from the trampoline, and expect the sheets to not have brown streaks on them the next morning.  

Bathe your children, that night, like any respectable parent would do.  

A final "thank you" to the gracious friend who passed these Friendly Tips along.

Stephanie - Our Missionary Friend

Madeline saw the post with her "missionary" picture and said, 

"Mom, you should have put Stephanie's picture with mine so they could see her too."

Here you go, Love.

Here's Steph in S. Afghan.  She is sitting on a Toshak (a form of mattress) - she rarely sits at a table or on a chair.

This is Stephanie near the Iranian border.  She is wearing a Chudar Namaz - all black. Sometimes she sends pictures of her with other women and makes us guess which one is her.  It's tough!