Facebook on my Face

Ok So last night I got an email from my friend Nicole. She was inviting me to be one of her friends on Facebook. Hmmm.. Ok. I don't know what facebook is, but you have to sign up to see her page, so I did. (I know I'm probably one of the only people you know who has never heard of Facebook, but I haven't.) All of a sudden these people started popping up that I know and thier pictures and I'm wondering how the internet can hear me. It was freaking me out. Like aquaintences and people I see every 6 months were in a column called "friends". How did it know that I even know these people. It showed someone who invited me to facebook 3 weeks ago and was still waiting for my response.. So I started "wandering around the site and clicking on people's profiles and thinking wow..I had no idea my "friends" were so cool. All of my "friends" have lots of other "friends" and I only have 4. Then some comments popped up on my "wall". 2 people wrote Brouwer Power. What? How did they know I was online? Is it like IM where there is a little balloon that says so and so is facebooking? I began wanting my profile to be cooler than it was. I started trying to think of all the cool bands that I like and all I could come up with was Marvyn Gaye and U2. Not really the coolest. I started wanting to know how to put the picture of the cover of the book I'm reading on there and remembered that the book I'm reading is about baby sleep patterns and that that is not really cool. I started listing my favorite tv shows and when it became the longest list I had to go back and add more music and books so I didn't look like a total couch potato. It seems like facebook is the myspace for grown ups. High schoolers like myspace, and grownups like facebook. They both seem like you have to spend a lot of time online to have them look cool. I have a hard enough time writing on this stupid blog. People come up to me and are like, " You havent' updated your blog in a while. I keep checking and there's nothing new!" Dude, I have enough in my life that makes me feel inferior and inadequate. I don't need a blog buster. I just made that up. It is someone who busts you for not blogging.

So I'm taking this class at Cross Sound called Sonship. I took it at Grace the first year we were married and it was the first time I think I understood the gospel. It is all about believing that God has adopted you as a child and that you are no longer an orphan who has to fend for yourself, but you can relax and believe that someone is on your side. I find myself as an orphan most of the time trying to prove things to people and being much more concerned with what they think, than what is true. Facebook kindof hit me in the face with that last night. I went to bed after being online for 40 minutes thinking "What could I add to my profile to make me look better? How could I word that to make it sound more important?" And then I remembered. I spend a lot of time doing this every day. My whole life is spent making a personal profile that looks really good. What has it done for me? Has it made me better? No. I haven't really come full circle with it yet and I'll have to leave it here for now. Nothing witty, not great insight, just something I should probably put under my "favorite quotes" column on my profile. "The means by which we reach the goal is actually the goal itself."-Oswald Chambers

A New Red Wagon!

So as of Friday I am now the mother of a 1 year old. Eli's first birthday was a success and a lot of fun. First thing he did Friday morning was do a somersault off the end of the bed, which was not so good, but things could only get better after that. We had a party for some friends on Friday with alphabet soup and cookie decorating and then on Saturday we had all the family over. Grandma Elaine brought a new red wagon and it was a hit! Cousin Luke enjoyed the wagon as much if not more than Eli and was great at pulling him around the yard.

Josh made 2 cakes: the first with out baking soda, and the second with an insufficiently greased pan. So it looks a bit dilapidated, but I tried to remedy that with my super cake decorating skills. Eli didn't do a face plant, but did wipe a grimy hand across the middle of it to gather as much frosting possible in one sweep.

Tomorrow we have a one year check up and our first swimming lesson! Things have been busy getting ready for the 2 parties, and hopefully I will have a bit more time to write some new posts as the fall progresses.

Birthday Pumpkins

Tomorrow is my Grandpa's 80th birthday and so instead of buying him something that he doesn't need I decided to carve him a birthday pumpkin. He loves dogs and so his is the one with the dog and I made one for Eli too. His has the elephant and the 1 on it. I haven't ever carved a relief pumpkin and it was fun using my wood block tools again. I also grew both of these pumpkins in my garden this year. Happy Fall and Happy Birthday Grandpa.

No Harm No Fowl

So last week I was walking with a friend at Battle Point park and we stopped with our strollers to feed the ducks at the pond some bread and popcorn. We are sitting there throwing the bread and these ducks are obviously familiar with the routine and are coming right up to us. This pleases and yet somewhat unsettles Macrina, the 2 year old in our company. So I see if the ducks will come and eat out of my hand. One brave fellow, (we named him, but I forget what) came right up and gently gobbled down some bread. Macrina tried it and giggled at the tickle of the duck's bill on her palm. Our friend is getting pretty brave and I decide it would be fun for the younger kids still in the strollers ( Sage and Eli) to get a closer look at this fine water fowl. So I tell Sarah, "Ok I'm going to get him to eat out of my hand and you grab him."
"No way, I'm not grabbing a duck." she says.
"Ok then you feed him and I'll grab."
"Ok."

So I seize the greedy duck as he is gobbling out of Sarah's hand and he feels soft and puffy just like you imagine them feeling. Very happy with myself I turn and show Eli and Sage the flapping duck in my hands. They are kicking and waving and Eli squeals cause he knows his momma will catch a duck for him. So said duck is getting anxious and trying desperately to fly away so I throw him out over all the other snacking ducks. As he flaps to the freedom of the center of the pond, all the other ducks take flight with him with a sudden commotion that makes Macrina run and the babies wave with delight.
I guess that was my high last week, catching a duck. He was totally asking for it and I think if you could ask him he wouldn't regret it, cause I kind of was like a theme park ride. Honestly what duck could say it has been launched into flight by a woman wearing a hot pink down vest. (It is actually polyfill. Otherwise I would never have attempted. How rude.)
In the same week however I did receive a nasty note on my car calling me a stupid b---h (I quote.. she didn't actually write it out...) cause I let Gertie off the leash and she was chasing the wild rabbits. She is way too clumsy to catch them. I on the other hand am not too clumsy to catch the duck and I wonder what my name calling adversary would say to that.