Grace Abounds at the Water Park

My family and I visited an indoor water park for spring break this year. It turned out to be a momentous experience for us. We conquered fears—Lucy: hydrotachophobia (fear of water at an amusement park…I just made that up) and Me: leukodermatophobia (fear of wearing a bathing suit in the middle of March in front of hundreds of strangers…also made up).

We rode enough water slides to give us wedgies for a year. We ate at our kids’ favorite kind of restaurant—the all-you-can-eat buffet. Brent and I hit a parenting milestone in that we felt comfortable having our kids look out for each other at a public place where there’s a risk of drowning. (I should say that there are TONS of lifeguards.) Another thing that made it an important trip was because I made a realization about myself and about God.

It’s so tempting to look at the wide variety of people who come to places like amusement parks and question their choices. Whether it’s parenting techniques or bathing suit designs, you sometimes have to scratch your head and wonder. (Side note: I am never comfortable wearing a bathing suit, and I wear the belly-covering and skirted mom-suit, a.k.a. the Tankini. If you take a step back and think about it—maybe from the perspective of the family we saw that dressed their daughters in the modesty swimwear worn by TLC’s Duggar family or the Muslim women who rode the tide in the wave pool in their heavy, black hijabs—we’re really standing in lines, carrying cumbersome inner tubes, and plunging down dark, slippery tunnels in our underwear.)

It’s also hard to miss the tattoos. I started feeling like I’m the only person age 18-45 without one. I saw a dad with his daughter’s baby footprint, name, weight, length and birth date tattooed across his back. There was a guy with the Chanel logo on his elbow. (ouch) We saw a twenty-something guy with the word LEPRECHAUN inked across his chest in tight, bold letters. In fact, it seems like font style is a big deal for the tattooee. One man had a really pretty script on his arm that said: “For all your advice I am forever grateful. I will never be able to repay you.” I’m not joking. That would be a little wordy on a greeting card, buddy, so how about written with a NEEDLE ON YOUR SKIN?! In some cases, I wouldn’t be surprised if people look to bumper stickers for inspiration at the tattoo parlor. I found myself searching for “Honk if you like ice cream” in a fancy Old English font. It’s just a matter of time.

I have to confess when I see these people I want to judge. I want to shake my head, tsk, tsk-ing their clothes and behavior and general demeanor. I hate this compulsion I have. What a jerk! Because…light bulb…Jesus died for each and every one of them. It’s so Sunday school basic but it’s something I have to remind myself of everyday. No matter if they live in a mansion or a trailer, have straight white teeth or a mouth full of gold caps, wear a Miller Time t-shirt or shop at Talbots—they’re wanted and loved and important to Christ.

If I can learn to love my fellow man—tattoos, obnoxious behavior and all—standing in a line in my (gulp) underwear at a water park, I step a little closer into the light of my Savior. Maybe I conquered another fear last week: Jerkanthropophobia. (Fear of being a jerk to people) Well, I suppose I may not have conquered it yet but admitting I have a problem is the first step.

Craft Ideas, Part 5: Chemo Countdown

One of my very best friends was diagnosed with colon cancer last summer. She's been amazing! She has so many people who love her and want to help her so I came up with the Chemo Countdown Calendar. It's like an advent calendar but instead of counting the days until Christmas, it counts off her yucky chemo treatments. Every time she has a treatment, she pulls the ribbon loop of a numbered box. Inside each box is a little gift from a friend with a note of encouragement. It may be a gift card, earrings, a Christmas ornament...

After she retrieves her gift, she turns the box around and places it back with the others. Now a portion of a Bible verse is revealed. (Spoiler alert: If you're reading this, Jill, stop now! You've still got a couple of weeks to go!)

Craft Ideas, Part 4: Cloth-Covered Notebooks

I'm always looking for gift ideas that can be homemade and not expensive. These notebooks are the answer. I cut a piece of fusible webbing the size of the notebook cover. Then I cut diagonal pieces of fun fabrics. I sew them together to make the shape of a rectangle and I iron this patchwork to the fusible. I sew this directly onto the plastic notebook cover. (Use a denim needle.)

I sew along the diagonal seams and hot glue ribbon and trim. Throw a pen on the spiral and you're good to go!

Polka Dot

Owls

Dora the Explorer

Craft Ideas, Part 3: Bed Curtains

Ella asked for curtains in her bedroom. A reasonable request except for the fact that her room is in the basement where there are no windows. Here's what I came up with instead:


I used two duvet covers (along with the accompanying pillow shams) I found on clearance at Target. I cut one of the duvet covers long-ways to make the sides of the curtain. I kept the other one intact to make the top and back.


The shorter sides and front (kind of like a valance) were made from the dismembered shams.



I made a frame from 1x4 boards and mounted it with L brackets. I also used the tiled ceiling gridwork (sometimes a basement ceiling can be a beautiful thing) to add extra hanging.

Craft Ideas, Part 2: Super Hero Muscle Shirt

Here's a picture of my extremely muscular son Knox. (He takes after his father in this way.) Actually he's wearing a shirt a made him a couple of years ago.

I took two Old Navy long-sleeved shirts--a size 5 and a size 6. I put the smaller size inside the larger one and strategically placed cottom batting in between the shirts.

Then I hand-stitched contour lines for his abs, pecs, biceps and any other muscular formations I figured a little Super Hero needs. I stitched the cuffs and bottom together so it would be eaiser to put on.

When I made the same shirts for two of my nephews, I added a band of fabric at the bottom to look like a belt. Then I made a "belt buckle" out of a round iron-on patch with an iron-on letter on top. (B for SUPER BRODY!) It's totally washable and fun for any kid. (I may have to make a version for myself when I need a little more va-va-voom in the chest department!)

Craft Ideas, Part 1: sandwich bags

From time to time, I'll get ambitious and "get my craft on" and I've decided to use my next several posts to chronicle those random spurts of creativity. This one describes my latest project: reusable sandwich bags.

My friend Lori bought some of these bags at the Container Store and brought them to me to see if I could make them. The trickiest part was coming up with the right fabric for the inside. It needed to be washable and able to keep the sandwich fresh. (Think insulated lunch bags.) I bought a fabric shower curtain liner to cut up for the inside and various cotton fabrics for the outside.

I cut each piece in an identical 15" X 6" rectangle with one end rounded. I asked my sister to serge around the fabrics to keep them together and keep them from fraying. (You could use the zigzag stitch on a regular sewing machine, if needed.)

Then I folded the serged piece with about 3 inches of the rounded end sticking up and sewed the sides. I added about 2 inches of velcro so that the bag can stay closed and Voila! I was done.


It was super simple and cheap to make. We just turn them inside-out if they're crummy and throw them in the washing machine (eventually). They stack so much easier than Tupperware and are pretty darn adorable.

Next up: Super Hero Muscle Shirt...

My Funny Valentine

I'm trying to decide how to properly cherish my husband for Valentine's Day. It seems like the holiday is more geared to shower gifts on women than men. Brent could give me a number of things: jewelry, flowers, candy. What to give to him? I could cook a nice meal but how's that much different than what I (attempt) to do most every night of the week? Picking out a Valentine's greeting card is as much fun as going to the dentist, especially if I have my kids with me. "Why's that man only wearing tiny undies and why's he so greasy and why does the card come with paper one dollar bills?" are not a questions I want to answer when they check out a birthday card for a woman celebrating her fortieth.

Brent and I are both painfully practical most of the time. You're never going to see a picture of us hugging in front of a Lexus trimmed with a giant bow posted on facebook. We don't live extravagantly so we don't gift extravagantly either--at least not to each other. It may be a popular notion that women are focused on diamonds and roses and we'll pout if we don't get them but that stereotype isn't very flattering.

Brent will recognize Valentine's Day with something special because he's thoughtful of my feelings and his mission is to build me up but it's not necessarily going to be a balloon ride or a trip to Venice. The thing about Brent is he spends the other 364 days of the year bestowing small gifts on me. When we're watching TV at night, he'll ask if I need something to drink and get it for me. On Monday nights, he helps me sort the dirty clothes and on Tuesdays, he helps fold them. He always leaves me with the understanding that he is here to serve and care for me. That's better than a million diamond tennis bracelets. When he listens to my tediously detailed stories about that day's grocery shopping or my frustrations with the most recent episode of a Sister vs. Sister Cage Match, he's giving me the most amazing gift of all--his attention.

It reminds me of the 90's movie Singles. Bridget Fonda's character is just looking for a boyfriend who says "Gesundheit" when she sneezes. (Although she prefers "bless you." It's nicer.) She realizes that good looks, lots of money, and charm is nice but it's the little consistencies and considerations that make a difference.

So here's my gift to Brent: Gesundheit, Baby and Happy Valentine's Day!