Table Talk #2 (or the things you learn from VBS these days!)

Ok, so we're now sitting around the supper table, the kids and I. The boys are going to a Vacation Bible School every night this week with a friend from school who goes to a Lutheran church downtown. Here's a snippet of our conversation:

Me: "Did you have fun at Bible School last night?"

Boys (together): "Yes, ma'am."

Me: "What did you do?"

Elijah: "Well, they're doing this Jerusalem Marketplace thing."

Reese: "Yeah, and everyone dresses up like Bible characters....even the grown-ups."

Me: "Well, that sounds really cool."

Elijah: "And for rec time we all went out dressed up like that and played soccer."

Reese: "Yeah, and Jesus? He had GAME!"

Well, alrighty then!

You Don't Say!

Here's a (scarily) typical around-the-table lunch conversation from today:

"That's not FAIR!" (Annie, 6)

"Uh-oh, Annie said the "F-word".........you know, "fair." (Elijah, 9)

"Well, at least it wasn't the 'bad' "F-word"..........you know, "fart." (Reese, 9)

"Oh yeah, well, I also know the "B-word".........it's "butt." (Annie)

"Well, just be sure you don't say that 'other' "B-word".......you know, "bored." 'Cause if you do you know what happens.......Mom will find you something to do that's NO FUN!" (Elijah)

"Please God, let them stay this innocent for a long, long time. Amen." (Mom, 43)

Singing Daddy's songs

We found out a few weeks ago that a church in our area was going to be offering a Summer Music Camp for children to learn and perform a musical. And that musical just happens to be one that Lee wrote the songs for!! How very cool is that? Of course, our children were SO excited to hear about it. We signed them up only to find out that the week would culminate with a Sunday-night performance of the musical. Lee and I were booked to fly to Estes Park that Saturday! But, as it turns out, Lee needed to be here through Sunday, so tonight, he re-scheduled our flights for the Monday following the performance. We (and the kids) are so glad that we'll be here to see the final product after a week's work. It was SO sweet tonight to hear the girls singing along with their CD's as they tried to decide which solo's they might want to audition for. All four of them have been singing the songs every time we've been in the van for the past couple of weeks. They're living proof that we all really are BORN TO WORSHIP.

Aaarrrrggggghhhhhh!

Apparently, there was some incorrect information given to Lee earlier today at the Apple Store. I'm taking slow, deep breaths..........

To be continued.

Mel

iUpdate

OK, I know, I know, enough with the "i" words. Lee just came in and said that the line at the Apple Store was about 75-deep! And they were already out of the newer model phones. BUT, he did schedule me an appointment with my very own "Geniousy"-type person for later this afternoon! He (or she!) will either revive or replace my very-dead phone. Whoo-hoo!!

Again, iLove my husband! (sorry)

Mel

iWant

A sad thing happened a little over a week ago. My beloved iPhone died an untimely (and ugly) death. Long story short, iPhones and saltwater DO NOT MIX!! But I think the saddest thing about the whole mess has been the realization of just how dependent I had become on a stupid phone! (I'm sorry, iPhone, for calling you stupid. You were SO much more than just a phone) But seriously, the first few days without it, I just felt completely lost. And very isolated. We were staying at a beach house for the week, and there was no land phone and no internet access. When Lee left every morning to commute to Fairhope for work, I felt like I had stepped into pioneer days. What if I needed to get in touch with him? What if we had car trouble driving over to the beach? What if we saw some amazing marine life that we needed to tell him about? What if one of the kids said something really funny that he should hear? What if.......? And the email, texts, camera, and applications? (or rather, the lack thereof) Don't even get me started. I somehow managed, though, to survive those hours during the day. Who knew you could have a really fun day just playing in the pool with your children? I joke. Of course I knew that. But don't think for a second that those children weren't missing my iPhone, too. No TapTap Revenge, no Match Game, no Bubble Wrap, no strobe lighty/flashlighty thing. But, we swam, we built sandcastles, we laughed, we worked puzzles, and they somehow survived, too. Poor Lee, though. He had to brace himself for the barrage of words that hit him full-force when he walked through the door each evening. We all had a LOT to say. But even he said just how strange it was to know that he couldn't reach me during the day. Awww, he missed talking to me, too!

So. Now I've gotten so used to the isolation that I will never have a phone again, right? Not so much. The trouble now is that Apple seriously underestimated the demand for the newest iPhone model. (Oh yeah, if you're going to drown your iPhone, it's really cool that the newer model is not only faster, but also cheaper!! Thank you, Lord.) Our Fairhope AT&T store was fresh out. Knowing that we would be spending this week in Nashville, we thought, "well, we'll just run over to the Apple Store and pick one up." Not quite as easy as it sounds here either. Apparently, most of the stores get daily shipments, but they are sold first-come/first-serve, so they are selling out again very quickly. My sweet Lee saw online last night that the Green Hills store would have a supply this morning, so he offered to head that way after his breakfast meeting.

iLove my husband!

Mel

17 Years and 7 Kids Later..........

I'm sitting here tonight with my favorite people in the world. Lee let the kids and me stow away on his Nashville writing trip this week and we've been staying with the Moffitt family. Lee and I first met David and Susan (who was not Moffitt, but Bryan, at the time) in 1990 when the three of them traveled in a group called "The Living Word Singers." None of us could have known, or even imagined, way back then that we were entering into a relationship that would be such an incredible journey. Heck, for that matter, Lee was still referring to me as his "friend girl" because  "girlfriend" was just WAY too much commitment. But when that summer ended, a new phase of our lives began: the road to (gulp) becoming Grown Ups..... and I'm so, so glad that we've shared so much of that road together! 

David and Susan got married and moved to Nashville. (well, a little north of.) Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Lee and I decided shortly thereafter to follow their example. When we moved to Tennessee, they were the ONLY people we knew. (As an aside, I highly recommend moving away from most everyone you know right after you get married!) In those early years, the four of us worked crazy jobs, shared many meals, and found a church that we all loved. We even formed a brand new Sunday School class for "Young Marrieds with NO KIDS!" (I'm sure God was smiling at that)

The children started coming in 1997 and that's pretty much all we did until 2002. Us, then them, then us (times 2), then them again, then them again, then finally us. Whew! That was a lot of months pregnant and nursing, wasn't it, Susan?? (and the labor room stories.... but that's for another blog!)

Somewhere in all of that baby-having fun, God decided to move Lee and me back to Alabama. While we hated leaving our Tennessee "family," we knew that we were supposed to go. And actually, just to get things chronologically accurate, those last two "us" and "them" babies were born after the move.

Thankfully, God blessed us with that special kind of friendship that can survive (and even thrive) across the miles. We've grown closer as we've realized just how precious those early years were. Now that Lee is traveling back to Nashville every other week for his songwriting, we've been so excited to get to spend a good bit of quality time together again. We laugh, tell old stories, laugh some more, share new stories, etc. But the biggest blessing, by far, is now watching our children fall in love with each other. I mean, they REALLY love each other and love getting to be together. Listening to them all laughing upstairs as I've been typing tonight has made my heart happy.

Thank you, Moffitt Family, for loving the Blacks! We love you all right back!! 

(OK, Lee and David have started making up (and singing) choral arrangements to current songs and I'm laughing too hard to write anymore.)

Mel