this gives new meaning to black friday

This morning I picked up the paper to read a story about investment fraud (nope, not kidding) and my eyes caught a headline reading...

Shoppers trample worker to death

I was immediately curious, so I began reading. Here's a little of what the article said.

New York - A Wal-Mart worker was killed Friday when "out of control" shoppers desperate for bargains broke down the doors at a 5 am sale. Other workers were trampled as they tried to rescue the man...

Honestly, I have absolutely no words. I am shocked. I am angered. I think its UNACCEPTABLE and unbelievable that people can have such a lust in their hearts for material possessions that the life of another person would come second. The article goes on the say...

"...and customers shouted angrily and kept shopping when store officials said they were closing because of the death, police and witnesses said...Shoppers stepped over the man on the ground and streamed into the store. When told to leave, they complained that they had been in line since Thursday morning."


Here are just a handful of the great deals that shoppers were waiting for:

Samsung 50-inch Plasma HDTV - $798
Bissel Compact Upright Vacuum - $28
Samsun 10.2 megapixel digital camera - $69
Various DVD's - $9

I hope they enjoy the great deal on these items, because it cost them someone's (priceless) life to get them.

jack-in-the-belly

While our family was together for Thanksgiving, we told the redhead about "Baby Jack" being in Aunt Sarah's belly (my sister is 5 months pregnant) and not only was he interested, but he went as far as to plant a sweet little kiss on her baby bump. (can you hear the collective "Awwwww, how cute..."?)

Later in the day, my entire family is sitting, deliriously stuffed, in the living room following our eat-a-thon and we ask the redhead who is in Aunt Sarah's belly.

He promptly responds in his cute as pie two-year-old voice, "Jaaacckk" and proceeds to lift Aunt Sarah's shirt to see her belly. We watch as he plants yet another kiss on Baby Jack and exclaim our oohs and aahs at how cute he is.

The redhead then climbs off the couch, goes straight to my mom, his "Nano", lifts her shirt and inquires in the same cute as pie two-year-old voice..."Jack?"

We peed our pants laughing - well maybe just Sarah since she's the only one with a "Baby Jack" in the belly.

i wanted music, but got cheese instead

Mr. Baseball and I bought tickets to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) several weeks ago and this past Thursday was the big night.

I must say that I was looking forward to the concert. I have really liked all the TSO songs that I've heard on the radio at Christmas time and this gave Mr. Baseball and I a good excuse for a date night/late birthday celebration for him.

The concert was half an hour late getting started which wasn't really a big deal since we weren't paying for babysitting. The people watching was really good, so I didn't have much to complain about...yet.

Our row quickly filled up and I was astonished that the couple several seats down from us had brought their 6 month old baby, complete with his very own set of (big) headphones to drown out the eardrum-shattering decibels that we were certain to encounter. I guess they weren't completely clueless to the fact that TSO is not your run-of-the-mill orchestra. Take an 80's big hair rock band with their flashy guitars, add 4 scantily clad females who can actually sing (but not dance - we'll discuss this later), lots of lasers and lights, and then throw in a small, yet highly talented section of violinists and cellists and there you have it.

Here's my summation:

The music - Excellent, however it DID start to all sound the same after a while.
The show - well, let me break it down like this...

• If we're talking about lighting/lasers/technical elements then it was good albeit for the lights that were so bright and strobing that I seriously thought I was going to seize. There were moments where I had to look away.
• If we're talking about the dancing (if you want to call it that) - I felt like I was watching an advertisement for Velveeta. See for yourself (you only need to watch about 30 seconds to see what I mean)...
  
  

See what I mean? Yep...total cheese.

I also felt uncomfortable with all the head banging/hair slinging escapades that were happening onstage. I really thought someone might snap a vertebrae - and seriously...head banging to Christmas music really doesn't look all that cool. I mean, I know their serious musicians and stuff, but it was a little over the top.

Mr. Baseball and I decided that it wasn't worth the money we paid (over $100 for tickets, gas, and parking) and that we wouldn't be seeing TSO anywhere live again. Amen.

the 8:50 showing

Saturday night, my friend Emily (Chatting at the Sky) and my new "bloggy friend who is now my friend in real life" Sissy (Out on a Limb) went out to dinner and then went to see..........you guessed it, Twilight.

Dinner was great. The movie...notsomuch.

Now I'm no movie critic and movies that the critics pan I sometimes like and vice versa. I had heard mixed reviews about Twilight, but I have to admit, after reading the book, I had high expectations for the onscreen love affair between Bella and Edward.

All my glittering expectations of Twilight greatness were dimmed as soon as I saw Edward as "a killing-machine" shimmering in the sunlight, his body sparkling as if he had doused himself in gold glitter from the craft section at Hobby Lobby. I almost laughed out loud at that one. PITIFUL. What happened to the million sparkling diamonds? Anyone?

Let's talk Bella for a moment. Even though she said that she wasn't scared of who Edward was (once she discovered his little secret), she looked TERRIFIED throughout the entire movie. She totally made me tense.

Now Rob Pattinson on the other hand, he was good, intense, but good. Once he got over all the "I look like I'm gonna blow chunks all over the biology desk" scene where Bella walks into Biology class.

While the movie wasn't a total bust, it definitely WASN'T the best part of the evening. After the movie was over, we were headed to our cars when we realized that we hadn't gotten a picture together. After all, I had to prove I was actually with the girls. We sat in Emily's van and took several timed pictures. We tried brooding faces, we tried normal smiles, I attempted a vampire crouch and spring, but we just ended up laughing hysterically so all the pictures are of us laughing.

The plan was for us to look brooding in this picture - you know, like Edward. Emily and Sissy look the part, but I got cracked up about something and ended up looking like I was about to throw up!

Emily, it was good to see you again and Sissy, I'm so glad I got to meet you! I feel like we've been friends for a long time! We definitely must get together again!

for discretion's sake

The following story is true. Names have been changed to protect the innocent guilty.


I may have mentioned before that Mr. Baseball is the manager of a bank that happens to be inside a certain infamous super center that shall remain nameless. (Let me just say it's not even close to his dream job, but it pays the bills for now.) Fortunately the job is not without its - how shall I say this politely - "perks".

A woman (we'll call her "Miss Show-em-off") came into the bank yesterday with her 2 year-old daughter to open an account. One of Mr. Baseball's associates sat down at the desk and proceeded to help her. Since the bank is not large, Mr. Baseball could overhear the conversation and see exactly what was going on the whole time. He said that while Miss Show-em-off was seated, her little girl kept saying "Boob" and was attempting to get under her mother's shirt. Miss Show-em-off laughed it off and prevented her shirt from coming up over "the girls". Then, Miss Show-em-off told the bank associate, "She really wants the boob."

At this point, it is getting a little awkward, but you know toddlers, they'll do and say just about anything. Mr. Baseball is still watching from the sidelines, saying nothing. Then, Miss Show-em-off is finished at the desk and approaches the counter where Mr. Baseball is ready to cash her check and send her on her way with her money.

As he is counting out her bills, she (along with her daughter and the shopping cart) steps away from the counter. Mr. Baseball finishes counting the money and says, "Miss Show-em-off", you're all set."

Her response, "Oh, can you just bring it over here please?"

Mr. Baseball thought that was an odd request, but he obliged. As he gets over to Miss Show-em-off and her cart, he realizes a moment too late what she is doing. She totally has her shirt pulled up and is proceeding to lean forward and NURSE HER LITTLE GIRL WHILE THE CHILD IS SEATED IN THE SHOPPING CART!!!!

Yes, Mr. Baseball saw the boob and I am totally not happy about it.

According to another client of the bank, this is not an uncommon sight in this "super center".

Um.................I have never seen this with my own eyes and I'm there (*cough*) like every other day!

So, in efforts to avoid therapy and keep my marriage intact, I have decided to write Miss Show-em-off a letter to express my feelings about "the girls" showing up before my husband's very eyes.

Dear Miss Show-em-off,

First of all, let me say thank you for giving me some great blog fodder. You probably don't even know what that is, and will probably never read this post, but please know that I and my readers are grateful!

Now that that's out of the way, I have a few things thing to "get off my chest" (pun intended).

I totally didn't realize "the mart" had another eatery - a mobile breastaurant!

I am TOTAL proponent of nursing your children. I understand some women can't and/or don't want to, but I'm all for it. I for one, nursed my son for a year and had a wonderful experience.

HOWEVER, if I was ever in a public place when my child needed to nurse, I always did so with discretion (i.e. in a fitting room, restroom, or in a corner while covered with a blanket). Allow my friend, Mr. Webster to define the word "discretion" for you.

discretion - "The quality of showing good judgement; prudence (sensible in judgement)

So, as you can see, this definition is the exact opposite of what you did by raising your shirt in a public place and allowing everyone in "the mart of wall" to see your ta-tas, especially my husband, who unbeknownst to him, entered your personal space while the girls were just hangin' out.

Do you not see anything wrong with this picture?

Please, for the sake of your dignity/reputation and for the sake of the public at large, please save the ta-tas for a more discreet location. Its not like your daughter would starve if she didn't get "boob" right at that moment. The worst she might do is throw a temper tantrum and none of us have EVER been witness to one of those while in "the store" before.

And besides, the only breasts I want to see in "the store" are those of the chicken I'll be eating for dinner tonight.

Signed,

A Protective Wife

P.S. Pictured below is what you should wear the next time you go out in public and need to nurse your child.

one nation under God

I am a person who tends to shy away from political issues. I simply haven't taken the time to learn about political happenings in the world today. Obviously I wasn't in the dark about the election on Nov. 4 and I did a little homework so I could make an informed choice while exercising my right to vote.

And vote I did.

I have to say I have had a really hard time with the election results. The Presidential Election results, that is. Now before anyone decides to write comments about me being a racist, please know that my unsettledness is not about that. Caucasian, African American, Asian American, whatever race the President is - that doesn't determine how qualified he/she is and how good of a job they'll do while in office.

I think for me, the real issue is this...

That so many people are looking to him and holding out hope that he will be their all in all.

But the truth is that he's just one person. And he makes mistakes like all the rest of us.

Can he bring change? I'm sure that he will in some form or fashion because the one thing that never changes is change. And change is not always a bad thing.

But we can't put our hopes and dreams on one person's shoulders because we WILL be disappointed at some point. That is for sure.

During these times of great economic instability, moral crises, and political change, our hope as a nation should rest on this...

The Lord (not a candidate or his promises) is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, O Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Psalm 9:9-10

I pray that our new President will seek the Lord and that our nation will place its hope in God and not in man.

his treasured possession

The other day I wrote this post on being chosen by God. I spoke of "knowing" God's truth and His promises, but not always believing that they apply to me. When I hear a truth, sometimes I feel as if it lands on the surface of my heart (so to speak), but doesn't make its way to the depths.

Wednesday night I had a breakthrough - and it was awesome!

I mentioned that I am a part of a Thursday morning Bible Study and we are currently doing a study called Anointed, Transformed, and Redeemed by Priscilla Shirer, Beth Moore, and Kaye Arthur and it is beyond good!.

As I was completing the last day of "homework" for this week, my eyes ran across a verse from Deuteronomy 7:6

"You are My treasure."

Something about the verse beckoned me to look it up in the translation that I enjoy (New International Version), so I did and here's what it said...

"For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession."

Now I love some deep thinking, so I took it a step further and thought about the characteristics of people's treasured possessions whether or not those treasures would be people or material/sentimental items. I (well, really the Lord) came up with six characteristics of treasured possessions:

1. Treasured possessions are a priority to their owner/master, etc.
2. Treasured possessions are tenderly and meticulously looked after and cared for.
3. Treasures are fiercely protected and guarded.
4. Treasures are highly esteemed and loved by their owners/masters, etc.
5. Treasures hold immeasurable worth(great value) and are irreplaceable.
6. Treasured possessions are often sought after and pursued in quests that sometimes take years.

After listing the characteristics of treasured possessions, I took it even one step further and compared those characteristics to myself and God - with me being the treasured possession.

Because I am God's treasured possession (according to His Word):

1. I am His priority - (John 3:16)

"For God so loved the world (insert your name where "world" is for a more personal truth) that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him."

2. I am tenderly and meticulously looked after and cared for - (Matthew 6:25-33)

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

3. I am fiercely guarded and protected by God - (Psalm 18:1-19) This passage is a little long, so I couldn't put the whole thing on here, but here's an excerpt:

"He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from my foes who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me."

4. I am highly esteemed and loved by God - (1 Peter 2:9-10)

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

5. I hold immeasurable worth/value and am irreplaceable in God's eyes - (Isaiah 49:15-16, 64:8)

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you? See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me."

"Yet, O Lord you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand."

6. I have been and still am being pursued and sought after by God - (Titus 3:3-7, Psalm 139)

"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified (freed from all blame and guilt) by his grace , we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."


This post is long, so if you're still with me, I believe that God is speaking to you. The truth is that you are His treasure, whether you feel like it's true or not. If there is something (anger, fear, etc.) keeping you from knowing God or talking to Him, please, be honest with Him about what's hurting you. He's big enough to hear our biggest mess and He can handle the hurts of our hearts. He wants you to move forward out of your hurt and become better, healed, and whole. God has good things for you - not painless things for you (because the reality is that life is just painful), but good things for you.

If you have further questions or want to talk more about some of the things I've written, please email me at cowengilmore@yahoo.com.

Be blessed my friends!

hear ye, hear ye...

On this, the thirteenth day of November in the two-thousand and eighth year of our Lord, I have-est two proclamations to shout from thine rooftops.

Proclamation Numero Uno:

My sister (Sarah) is great with child and the child is a............BOY!!!!! Her little sprout shall be called Jack Owen(our name that was maiden) Iseley. Goest thou forth and bid her congratulatory remarks if thou so desireth.

This is how my dearest sister and husband shall appear upon the arrival of their bundle sometime near the ninth day of the month of April in the two-thousand and ninth year of our Lord. (Only they shall look much more tired when tis their own child
and they are partaking in no respite)

Proclamation Numero Dos:

Following much prodding, it appeareth that my dearest friend, Mrs. Noonzie has indeed proceeded henceforth into the blogosphere. I almost partooketh in a massive coronary upon hearing the news of this greatness. Please go out from this place and bid her a warmer than warm welcome - but only after thou leavest me a comment. You may find her at the following address...

Love Me Through It

Now go thou forth into the blogosphere.

wordless wednesday

being chosen

As humans, one of our basic desires is to be wanted - to be chosen. We may have encountered rejection early on in our lives by a mother or a father. Maybe our friends or a significant other turned their backs on us at the time when we needed them most, or maybe we just weren't picked to be on the "cool people's" dodgeball team in 5th grade. Whatever the situation, each of us has experienced rejection in our lives.

I have been attending a Thursday morning bible study for almost a year and a half and have received such a blessing being a part of it. We have done several studies during my time there, including two by Beth Moore, and two by Priscilla Shirer. Both ladies are amazing Bible teachers and have a gift for illuminating the Scriptures in ways that normal people like me can understand.

The study we're going through right now is called Anointed, Transformed, Redeemed:A Study of David and has opened my eyes to a certain truth about myself.


God chose me.


This may seem strange or even elementary to some, but this is something that while I might have known it in my head, is finally beginning to break through to my heart.

I have been chosen [handpicked, singled out] to accomplish His purposes in this generation.

Of course I'm not the only one. Anyone who believes and trusts their life with the truth that God tore Himself away from heaven to come and be with us (in the flesh as Jesus Christ) has been chosen by God.

"You did not choose me, but I chose you." (John 15:16)

To get into a debate about predestination vs. free will is not my intent here so please don't misunderstand. I'm simply sharing something that God is showing me.

Priscilla states that, "Being chosen simply designates the glorious fact that God chooses us, so our confidence rests not in our faithfulness but in His.

Not only have we been chosen, but we are established [to bring something into being with the consequence that its existence is a certainty] - meaning that God sets things securely in order and prepares them for the specified purpose.

I have discovered that God wants to use me to begin a MOPS program in my city.

I tried to send several Newsflashes to God that I really wasn't the right person to do this for this reason or that reason, but He keeps being persistent and is using this Bible Study to show me that yes, I am the one He wants to use.

Direct quote from the study: "He didn't select us to lead the study, mother the children, marry the man, lead the meeting, run the office, evangelize the tribe, or start the ministry (Holla!) because he knew we were already capable. Rather, He picked us up, dusted off our incapability, replaced it with His ability, and secured our success when we chose to rest and trust in Him to work supernaturally in us."

So, I feel completely inadequate for this task, but I am determined to press on. Sure, I'll make lots of mistakes along the way, but I am more than excited to see the impact this ministry will have in our community.

After all, I've been chosen by God and established for this task at hand - to bring Him glory.

I know that this post has a more serious tone than some of the others, and I am grateful, if in fact you are still reading. So, in the spirit of all things Caroline, I had to throw in some humor, cause that's how I roll.

I have to be honest and tell you that when I first opened the study and read "You have been chosen", my first thought wasn't, "Wow, that's amazing spiritual truth that is now penetrating my heart to the core!" I thought of this...

finally, music kids and adults can agree on

This past weekend, my sister-in-law introduced me to Tim Hawkins, a Christian comedian and singer who is stinkin' hilarious. He has several videos on YouTube, all of which are worth watching, but the videos where he parodies mainstream songs are the best. The following video was my favorite, particularly song No. 2 (now we finally know what the lyrics are!)

I know the video is kind of long, so if you don't watch the entire thing, at least watch the first few songs.

(Tim Hawkins does the music - the video/drawings are done by someone just for YouTube)

Enjoy!

the better late than never birthday party

This past Saturday, we had a family birthday party for the redhead (whose real birthday was Oct. 3). Mr. Baseball's mother, sister and her 2 kids, my parents, and my sister and b-i-l were all there. The weather was great so we decided to grill out and eat outside.

After dinner, we decided to let the redhead open a present before we
presented him with his "special cake". Look at this face as he checked out his "BIG TRUCK"!

The truck didn't leave his sight, even when the cake made an appearance. This (photo below) was his actual face when he saw the cake. And since this reaction wasn't acceptable to me for all the hours and hours I spent on "The Cake" to make up for my Worst Mother of the Year Moments, we finagled it so that I could get a picture and use it as his real reaction to the cake.





Oh what's that? You wanna see the confectionery wonder I slaved and sweated over for hours?


Wait for it...



Wait for it...




Here she is...

Yes, I did all those little starry bits of icing...over the entire cake top.
I've never had hand cramps so bad in my life, but it was all worth it.

Anything for this bit of preciousness-

and a blue tongue.

proof that I am quite possibly the world's worst mother...and that the redhead needs protective headgear

Throughout history there have been a slew of terrible mothers...

Cinderella's Wicked Stepmother ~ The Mom in Pink Floyd's "The Wall" ~ Mrs. Robinson from "The Graduate" ~ Margaret White in "Carrie" ~ Joan Crawford in "Mommy Dearest"

I think however, that this week, I take the cake.

I actually Googled "World's Worst Mother Award" to see if I could find a picture of an actual award. I found no such picture, but if you will, allow me to make my case for worst mother of the week or maybe year, or even maybe millennium.

Tuesday evening, the redhead was playing in a kitchen chair. This is something fairly new that he has discovered and he loves climbing up in them - sometimes standing, sometimes sitting. This particular time he was sitting, I believe. Of course I had turned around for something else in the kitchen (and normally I don't have to watch him like a hawk when he's in the chair). I wheeled back around just in time to see him falling flat on his back on the kitchen floor, banging his head HARD in the process. I immediately picked him up, holding him close and whispering soothing sounds in his ear. He grabbed for "bear-bear" (his little silky blanket) and said in a pathetic voice, "dot-dot", which meant he wanted to rock-rock (in the rocking chair).

I did call the doctor (who happened to be out of town) and checked on Web MD for signs of a concussion. Turns out, the redhead was fine, thank God.

My second worst mom of the week moment happened just a little while ago whilst we were playing at the playground across the street. There is a HUGE slide that we love to go down. When Mr. Baseball goes to the park with us, one of us always climbs the ladder with the redhead and the other catches the redhead at the bottom.

Mr. Baseball wasn't with us today.

In my humble "mother of a 2 year old" opinion, I thought he would be fine if I sent him down the slide by himself. All the other times he'd been down, the slide had not been slick and he'd stuttered his way down to the bottom.

Take cooler temperatures and slick athletic pants and combine that with the cool metal of the slide. The moment I let him go, I knew I had a made a terrible mistake. With lightning speed, he whizzed down the slide, flying off the end and landing on his back in the dust. After he recovered the breath that had been stolen from him on his way down, he totally started to cry. I quickly slid down the slide and picked him up, brushed the dust off of him, and apologized profusely for letting him go down himself. He only cried for a moment and then ran off to some other toddler torture device also known as playground equipment.

He did end up going down the slide again, only this time I had little Caroline hold him at the top for me while I ran back down the stairs to catch him at the bottom.

With any luck, I haven't damaged him for life. Hopefully he'll extend forgiveness my way for being a terrible mother.

I'll be lucky if he makes it to 3 in one piece - and it is my fervent prayer that I'll never be like her...

Lula, go ahead and send a helmet.