I’m Not Wonder Woman

Serina asked in the comments, “you work, work some more, take care of the kids, take care of the house…when do you read?” Here’s my secret: I don’t take good care of the house, always, and sometimes I get behind on other things as well. In the midst of a busy and chaotic life, the things that make me feel accomplished, sane and fulfilled have to take precedence. For me, that’s reading, taking pictures and crafting/creating. I get creative and I find time, no matter what our family circumstances. Lately, I’ve been carving out time by making sure I go to the JCC once a week sometime between 4 and 6:30, putting the kids in the nursery, not to work out, but to get an hour and a half to read during an otherwise trying time of day.

I love my life, I have a remarkable husband and two delightful little girls. I am exceedingly thankful I get to spend so much time with them, but I am also thankful I have ten hours a week to work or clean or read while they are at nursery school. Unsurprisingly, I’m not a perfect parent, and they aren’t perfect children. We have moments of connectedness, love and joy I couldn’t begin to put into words. We also have moments where I wonder if I say “you get what you get and you don’t throw fits!” one more time, will I lose it? And I do lose it. And my children lose it. But there is grace, grace freely given for all of us.

Love keeps no record of wrong. This blog is a record of my life. Think of it as a highlight reel. It’s nothing but the truth, but it’s not the whole truth. Luckily, I have friends who do know the whole truth, who are walking through my life with its chaos with me. And they know I am not wonder woman, and they can advise me when I am lost or frustrated or hurt or I just don’t know what to do. The fact that I don’t often post about those things here doesn’t mean they don’t happen. I just like to remind my readers of that every year or so, of how blogging and real life intersect for our family.

Input

We have DVR with our rental, and the ability to record and watch multiple things on our many channels, without having to watch commercials, has led to some gratuitous television consumption. I am watching way more than I ever have. My excuse is that I cannot read while editing photos. In my head, I cancel this out by also listening to one extra sermon a week. Right now I am into Mark Driscoll’s Song of Solomon series, and I am enjoying it. At least my rationalizations have some fruit!

Books Read in September

The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton
Solid Chestertonian fun, with rich comedic value that reoccurs with cyclical hysteria. First anarchism, then fascism, communism, and now terrorism. 7.5/10

Surprised by Hope by N. T. Wright

This is an interesting look at the afterlife, and views on heaven by evangelical Christians. Bishop Wright does an excellent job pointing out incorrect theological views of the resurrection and what our hopes of the future ought to be. At the same time, some of these issues are just not clear and Bishop Wright’s answers may not be any better than some others. Still, a very solid read, though it took me months and months to finish. 9/10

The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis

This is one of my least favorite in the Chronicles, but it is still worth reading because it takes one back to Narnia. 6.5/10

The Faith of Barack Obama, Stephen Mansfield

I reviewed this here. 6/10

The The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers
I don’t know how I have missed this novel in the Southern Gothic tradition all of my life. It’s an interesting book and very well written considering the author’s youth. Weaving together people in a small Georgia town with the thread of one unusual resident who makes them all comfortable, this novel shows some of the universal aspects of the human condition. I enjoyed it. 8.5/10

Sinks & Soars

i love it when Mollie does these (various categories…)

soars
“everyday friendships” AKA community – neighborhood living

girls making friends, too

the first hints of fall

good books

fun shoots with fantastic clients

hippie preschool, where trees are climbed and barley snacks are consumed

homemade rice pudding

live music

community dinners at community group at our new place

the jcc which provides nursery care for the girls while I lounge and read on long days


sinks

tires going flat on the daily commute to Tuscaloosa

days where M is gone more than 12.5 hours

pain flare ups

traffic going to suburbia

bureaucracy

not having a good cell phone signal in the house

Something I Am Really Excited About (for Locals)

I am pleased to announce that I (as KSP) am offering a Christmas card package so that you can have lovely cards with little fuss. I am going to host three afternoons of “mini-sessions” at various locations (a farm! a beautiful greek revival home! ) where you can schedule a time to come and get your card photos taken. Your choice: just the kids, the whole family, the kids individually… whatever you want your cards to be this year. I am offering some really nice cards to choose from, at an affordable price. $75 gets you a session and 25 cards (on semi-gloss or linen cardstock) with envelopes. Order sets of 25 more for $30 each. You can find more details here, and see one of the designs below. Oh and if you refer a new customer, you both get $10 off.

card

The Faith of Barack Obama

The Faith of Barack Obama by Stephen Mansfield is one of a host of books that hit the market in this election season, capitalizing on this year’s fascinating candidates. Mansfield has been a prolific writer in the last decade, writing about history, politics and faith, and particularly their overlap. Having written The Faith of George W. Bush Mansfield has direct experience with this type of writing and analysis, and that is well demonstrated. The Faith of Barack Obama is well-written and provides a solid overview of Obama’s life and faith. Continue reading

Too Busy for My Own Good

I’m behind on housework, emails, photography stuff, etc. so I haven’t felt inspired to take time to blog here. But, I am behind enough in other venues that I have posted things elsewhere.

Here are:
Some photos taken by Kate and Lexi (and friends.)
Previews on my photography blog.
A wrap-up of Babypalooza on the MCS blog, complete with pictures from my iPhone.

Weekend Update

Highs:
My birthday was Friday! I got lots of love from friends near and far. Many facebook messages and phone calls were received. My sweet daughters woke me up with shouts of “Mom, it’s your birthday! Happy Birthday!,” they remembered and were excited. Then the girls and I met LL and Josiah for breakfast. Jennifer dropped off a cake and ice cream. Neighbor and “everyday friend” Lisa watched the girls so Michael and I could go out to dinner and celebrate (at Sol Y Luna!) Thanks everyone for making me feel very special.

I shot another wedding. They are super addictive. I am so looking forward to all the ones I have coming up with Camille.

Our book club met Sunday morning, we had a delicious brunch and it was fun. I like book club!

Low:
Killer, killer migraine last night. May never eat birthday cake again… :(

Doctrine, Population and Postmillenialism

I loved this article about Amish migration and population growth. I am a religious studies nerd, though. It’s interesting to think about the growth of religious movements like the Amish, LDS and even Islam as their views of children and contraception allow them to grow at a faster rate. As evangelicalism in general promotes couples waiting longer and having less children, conforming to national trends, we are loosing ground. Lest we forget, there is a middle ground between the societal status quo and being quiverfull.

Books Read in August

Your 4-Year-Old by Louise Ames & Frances Ilg
This series of child development books has comforted and amused me each year. Though some things are obviously dated, this series adequately provides parents with developmental expectations for their children at each age. 7.5/10

The Quiet American by Graham Greene
I enjoyed reading the Power and the Glory in college, but that was my limited experience with Greene. He is a powerful writer, and this short novel was certainly prophetic in it’s descriptions of American interventions in Vietnam in the 50s and our foreign policy botches in that region and period in general. I enjoyed how well he captured the male rivalry and those characters in general. Not perfect, but it’s a deserving classic and worth reading. 9/10.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Re-read for book club, yet again. I like Jane, I pity her and root for her, and I am glad that I have read this so many times. 9/10

The Chosen by Chaim Potok
Chaim Potok is one of my favorite authors, and this is his most popular book. If you have never read this coming of age story about friendship and fathers and sons set in the orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn, you are missing out. 10/10.

The Promise by Chaim Potok
In many ways, this book is satisfying, and ties up many loose ends from the Chosen. There are a lot of great issues raised as far as technical criticism, and belief and practice in a modern/post-modern context. I think it is not *quite* as good as the Chosen, but it’s certainly a good read nonetheless. 9/10

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry

Berry’s beautiful writing is always a treat to read, it is graceful and filled with life. I can’t give it any higher praise than to say that I wept when I finished, for Hannah and for myself, because it was over. 10/10.

Can’t Stop Crying

I am rejoicing for Jana and Michael tonight, as their long wait for a referral is finally over.

It is such a comfort to me that the goodness of the Lord is seen in the land of the living tonight, and that I can share in the joy of two people so many miles away, about a child half a world away. I do wonder when our time will come, something almost foolhardy to do at this point in our family adventure. Someday…

First Day of Preschool

Yesterday was the first day of preschool for both of our girls. They’ve gone two days now and I can honestly say that I am so glad for both of them that they are there. Lexi was reluctant en route the first day but turned the corner as soon as she saw all of the neat things in her class to play with. She didn’t fuss one bit today! They are both having a great time and I am able to run errands and schedule meetings a few days a week knowing they are safe and well cared for, with great spaces and materials for creative free play and opportunities to observe and participate in meaningful work. I almost feel like their time at preschool is better spent than their time with me! I did take some pictures, I haven’t gotten them off the cards, between the bad weather and the inclement inclinations of the children of photographers, they aren’t much to look at anyway. Life keeps marching forward. I am the only one not in school, but as Kate told a friend yesterday, “Mommy works hard at home.” It made me smile!