Best Dad Ever

At the breakfast table today I asked Jason if he had heard about the guy here in NC who won 29 million dollars in the multi-state powerball lottery. He laughed and said yes. Also that he had a dream just before he woke up that he won the lottery yesterday and because that guy had just cashed out, Jason only got 5 bucks.

This boy loves his binkies....I laugh every time I see this picture!

Free Willy

Yesterday after watching the movie Free Willy, Grace came downstairs and asked me how she could save the orcas. I talked with her a little about keeping the environment clean and being stewards of the earth but she just wouldn't let the idea go. She was really concerned. I let her and Sophie watch a show on Animal Planet earlier in the week and they saw a commercial of a reality show were activists confront whaling ships. I felt bad because she loves animals so much and was so worried about whales being captured and killed. We talked about if 2 or 3 more times and she just kept coming back and asking me how she could save the whales. I finally just did what I should have in the first place and asked her what she wanted to do to help. Grace promptly went and got the art box and started making signs to put up at the beach. She colored about 17 and asked me to add "No catching or killing Orcas!" Sophie joined in with 20 or so more and did her own writing with the slash symbol.

They were both so earnest. I was humbled and thought about how many times I am upset about a wrong in our world and do nothing but complain, judge or wish someone would do something. My daughters this week gave me a great example of the power of one. What would our world be like if we all took action more often?

Hardy Family Visit

As a family, we have officially declared that our favorite thing about living in North Carolina is being close to the beach. If you don't think 3 to 5 hours is close, then you definitely don't have a drop of Smith-road-trip-loving blood in you! The Hardy's all came out for our latest beach adventure & family fun.

 We started at Lazy 5 Ranch. It was a super hot day, of course, this is summer in the South. Kids had a blast though. So many animals to feed. I didn't get any pics on the hay ride where you feed the animals up close which is a bummer. Oh well.

 This picture captures these 2 boys. Oh my how I love them!

 Jayden is the king frog hunter. He always finds them! The other kids all following him around is so cute. They all adore him!

 

Myrtle  Beach

Jayden boogie boarded all day long, over and over. It is fun I admit - but it made me smile! These 3 girls playing together was so sweet. It really wasn't cold, I'm not sure at Grace's expression except maybe she could barely hold still for a picture!

 Mermaids!

 Noah and Luke being sand dragons. I am not sure how this started, but they had a great time burying each other and roaring!


The condo had a small waterpark with their pool, to be honest I think Grandma and Papa like it better, they are not really beach people.

 One of my favorite pictures of Grace ever - she really is a water baby!

 Grace and Sophie were so excited that we let them stay up and go mini golfing. They had a ton of fun and were better then me - of course I wasn't trying very hard.

We all have them

I have had some interesting experiences in these past few days facing up to my personal biases. The first happened when my in-laws came home telling me about a blue grass concert they saw advertised at the local hardware store. They know I love bluegrass and I was all in, until I looked closer and saw that it was being sponsored by a local "sportsman's wildlife" club. We live in rural North Carolina. I started worrying that our money would be supporting the local white supremacists militia or that we would get there and it would be an unspoken "locals only" thing. This has happened to me here, there is a certain restaurant and gas station I don't frequent because it feels so uncomfortable. We just don't fit in very well with the southern rural hunter types here.

As we were getting ready to go I told Jason that if we got there and it looked the least bit sketchy we wouldn't park, just turn around and leave. So we get there and it is this beautiful 40 acre park complete with private lake. The club is not a hunting club but actually a wildlife club. They do things like donate bluebird houses to local schools, funds scholarships and work to protect habitat for local wildlife. The music was GREAT and the people gracious and so kind. Mostly they were several decades older then us and my anti-sunscreen-wearing nephew was the darkest person there, but it was loads of fun.

My other experience happened last night. I was on the way to our church for a fireside sponsored by the multi-cultural committee in our stake. I have to admit that I was a bit worried I would be the only caucasian there and not feel comfortable. Brought back memories of what it felt like to walk into a large school of Black students and teachers for several months looking different than everyone else. The meeting was good and full of all colors of people. It got me thinking though about how it feels when you look different from the majority and how many members of our church are faithful in the face of prejudice and adversity, and how many have fallen by the wayside. What is my one little "uncomfortable" worry placed next to a lifetime of struggle to remain active and faithful in a church that is so different from your culture and language and what you know?

We all have a long way to go in this human journey to see everyone as the Lord does. This week I learned to not let my personal biases and stereotypes remain unchallenged. We are human and not perfect. Be brave and test yourself, you never know what you will find you are missing.

Favorite line from a book recently - "Everybody needs fudge Hildy. It's how God helps us to cope." p 169,Peeled by Joan Bauer

I am a huge Joan Bauer fan. Her teenage female characters are matched by no other author.

So much trouble

There is a billboard in Greensboro that went up sometime in February. It has a huge picture of red roses on a black background and the lettering says, "Alison, Happy Valentines, Birthday, and Mother's Day!"

Every time I see it I laugh. Some dude thought he was being so great, killing 3 huge birds with one stone. I think he thought he would score major points.Unfortunately, he most likely got the equivalent of a swift kick upside the head. Who wants a billboard? You can't wear it, eat it, keep it forever, etc. It's tacky and embarrassing. He probably thought that his better half would brag to all her friends, etc. Instead she has to endure his lameness that he couldn't think of 3 meaningful ( I don't mean expensive here!) things to do or give to his wife and the mother of his kids.

Here's a heads up to all men everywhere- Birthday, Mother's Day, Valentines, Christmas, St. Patrick's Day and 4th of July rolled together as one gift doesn't work, EVER!

Running Away

My last post was about a joyous running encounter with a few lovely animals. I know I have posted several times about running and animals but I just have to add another. Last week we were at the beach vacationing in South Carolina with Jason's family. It was a lot of fun, but of course,hectic and crazy. I brought my running gear hoping that I would be able to get out a few times and pound the pavement. (I have no idea how beach running works. How do you get out to the wet, hard sand without filling your shoes first with buckets of dry? If you know the secret, please pass it along.) So the first morning I went for a run hoping I could find somewhere to go other then on roads past lots of condos breathing the exhaust of caravans of cars on their way to Denny's. Low and behold at the end of the development there was an old, closed down golf course. Beautiful tall oaks draped with Spanish moss shading a few miles of paved path all to myself. Heaven. So there I was reveling in my aloneness and having a fabulous time when I clued in on the fact that I was running by several small ponds and old overgrown water features of the golf course. I also remembered that one of the differences between SC and NC is that they have large reptiles, very large reptiles that live in small ponds and lakes. Hmmm....my run did not seem so ideal anymore. I still finished and didn't see a single alligator. I don't think I have ever been so observant of my surroundings! I did figure out that the ponds with ducks and geese most likely didn't have a resident alligator, or if they did it was not hungry. I have to admit though if I was an alligator I would rather have a fat bum and thigh then a scrawny duck any day!