The question is, will Sting notice I'm not there?

It's no secret: I'm a Sting fan and always will be. I've seen him in concert eight times (two of those times were The Police reunion tour). So of course I was thrilled to find out he'd be going back on tour this fall to celebrate his 25-year solo career. The closest venues I could find are 8-10 hours away, but was that going to stop me? Please.

Tickets went on sale today. Unfortunately, after talking with Casey the other day, I knew it wasn't going to work out. The concert I'd most likely go to is on a Wednesday night -- the one before Thanksgiving break -- and for my campus minister husband, Wednesday night is pretty much his most important night of the week. If it was on a weekend, if Miles was not in school...it could probably work. I would have already printed out my tickets by now, would have found a special place to keep them safe.

A little while ago I checked the availability of the tickets, I suppose just to torture myself. It's a thing I do. Anyway, what I'm hoping might happen is that other venues will be announced next year. After all, The Police did the same thing...went on tour in the fall in North America, then came back the next summer with different venues. That's all I can hope for at this point. If I don't get to go, it will be the first tour I miss since 1996.

I can also hope Casey will decide that missing just one Wednesday won't hurt.

Spider and Spider Lightning

Yesterday was another tailgating day in The Grove, and our friend Meagan (who also happens to be the assistant in Miles' kindergarten class!) took him along with her two girls to listen to the band and then get their faces painted. Miles has never had his face painted, and until recently he really wasn't interested, but when he realized he could get a spider on there...well, that changed everything. He chose a spiderweb and spider, had that painted on in the morning, and didn't want it taken off until bath time. Actually, he would have left it on overnight, but that wasn't happening. So I made sure to take a photo as soon as we were home to keep it for always.

Speaking of spiders, did anyone here in Oxford see the awesome spider lightning tonight? I was driving Miles home, he playing a game on the iPod and missing it all, so when we got home I grabbed my camera and we stood out in the driveway watching the sky. Miles would tell me he was scared, but liked seeing the sky light up with different colors. I got a few decent shots, not what I really wanted, but still some cool stuff. I don't think watching a lightning storm will ever get old to me.

Sting First, Then Knitting

Last week I mentioned my nephew's 15th birthday. But just two days after that was another important anniversary -- 15 years since my first Sting concert. I joke that this date is how I remember Kaleb's birthday, and sometimes it is depending on how my memory is working at the time!

I still remember that concert well. It was a little more than two years into my Sting obsession, and I'd come to believe there was no way I'd ever see him in concert. Remember, this was before you could just grab your laptop/smartphone and Google ticket info. If you wanted a concert ticket, you had to either physically wait in line or call a box office phone number. So how did I find out about the concert? I saw a commercial on TV, and my eyes nearly popped out of their sockets!

So anyway...there's more to that story, but I won't go into it this time. The point is, Sting isn't touring constantly. It's about every four years or so, but it can vary. Last year Casey and I saw him in Houston with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for his 'Symphonicity' tour. Probably our favorite yet, and I remember wondering how long it would be before I'd see him live again. Fortunately for me Sting will be celebrating his 60th birthday and his 25-year solo career in less than a month. So, why not go on tour again? All I have to say about this is, yay for me!

Okay, now a totally unrelated note. I'm considering trying out a new knitting pattern, but I want to know if anyone else likes this as much as I do. Have you heard of arm warmers? I think I had before I saw this pattern, but forgot about them. But when I saw the photo I thought they were adorable. Would you wear them? I'm actually thinking about school color arm warmers, but also just fun color arm warmers. Let me know what you think, and please be honest! Click here for the link.

Five is Here. Heart, Don't Break.

Dear Miles,

Three days ago you turned five years old, something I have been slightly dreading for a while. Each birthday has gotten just a little more difficult for me, but five means more change than your mama is ready to embrace.

I begged you joked with you several times before the big day about remaining a four-year-old. Finally you got quite serious with me and said in a firm but kind voice, "I have to get bigger, you know that." You are so very ready to be taller and older, and yet you are still somehow sensitive to how I am dealing with it.

One of those changes I mentioned at the beginning is the fact that you will start attending school in the fall...no, not even the fall, because it begins on the fourth day of August! Can't I just have one more month with you? But no. And when we registered you for school recently I made myself swallow those feelings down, because this is a big deal for you and you need to know that I am going to be okay. Of course I'll have my little crying moments away from you, but I'm also going to be so proud to see my Miles head off on a new adventure.

Learning to write letters and to count

There have been so many more 'firsts' this past year. You played your first (and second) season of soccer and went from crying on the field to scoring your first goal! You really got into dressing up for Halloween, and sometimes when it wasn't Halloween you still wanted to be Batman. For Christmas you received your first 'big' bike...good thing too, that tricycle was getting a bit small for you. And even though we have had our cat Junebug since before you were born, the arrival of new kitty Oz has been a big first in your life. He just has no idea how much you adore him, and I think he's very lucky to have you for a friend.

Showing his soccer form

Enjoying Halloween treats at the library

Bike ride in the park

Miles and Oz: best buddies

This past winter, you made very clear something that has seemed clear for a good while now: you love the cold. In fact, you made that statement to me so much that I almost knew when you would say it. But even in that spirit you cannot ignore how much more you love each different season. It's as if it's in your blood, and must be, because your daddy is the same: loves the cold, but can't get enough of those changing seasons.

Looking cool while washing the car on a summer day

The perfect pumpkin

Snowball fight with Daddy in the nine-inch snowfall

Spring snails found on the porch

Miles and Daddy...what can I say? The blessings I receive from you both on a given day could keep my heart afloat for years to come. You are both more sweet to me than I deserve, and nothing makes me smile more than seeing you interact and share that daddy-son affection I know is so important. Miles, when you get older I hope to see you appreciate what an incredible man your daddy is. I know that right now he is your hero in that 'my daddy is the strongest man in the world' type of way...someday you'll learn that he is very strong, and giving his life in service to God shows that strength every day.

Daddy, Miles and Uncle Corey on the U of A campus

How tall are we, Mama?

 Falling asleep while waiting for Daddy to play

We've seen your sense of humor emerging more this past year. It's so much fun seeing you understand more subtle humor, but you're still mostly about the physical comedy. Nothing wrong with that! Some of the greats have been revered for their slapstick. I'm just glad you still think I'm funny, and hopefully our dinnertime giggles will last a long time.

I learn so much from you, Miles. You already see beauty in the small things, you take joy from the simple things, and you charge ahead with the tough things. Life is still so new and amazing for you, but you are teaching me. I have a feeling it will always be that way.

That purity, that innocence about you, I am holding on to that for as long as I can. When I write your next birthday letter, you will almost be through with your first year of school. How much will you have grown? How much will you have changed? I want you to grow in love and goodness always, and keep that joy in your heart as you go on your way. But I am here whenever you need me to lean on.

Love,

Mama

Watch my brother get his Red Nail Certification!

For those of you you might remember, I posted back in July '09 about my (haha) nail-bending abilities. The coolest part of the post was getting to talk about my brother Trevor and his red nail bending abilities.

There exists a 'Red Nail Roster' on which Trevor's name will appear in the next few days. He certified this past Saturday at 10 a.m. in Fort Worth, TX on his first attempt in less than 30 seconds. The person attempting is given one minute and up to three attempts. Nope, first time and in half the time for Trev.

Here is a picture of a Red Nail (piece of Cold Rolled Steel which measures 5/16" in diameter and is 7" long. It takes 500 lbs. of force to bend this piece of steel (this is not the nail Trev used):

Trevor is the 65th person in the world to certify in this feat of strength.

Here is the official video that his friend Malachi made:

I also wanted to share something that Trev emailed to me just three days before his certification. It will give you an insight into what he does...more than just a 'feat of strength' but something related to his faith in God:

There are many things that have inspired me to bend the Red Nail.  One of those reasons are all those people in the world who would never even have the opportunity.  So many people suffer from physical pain, injury, disease, sickness – even if they wanted to make that roster with all their might, they would have no chance.  And here I am, healthy and able to push myself with no restraint…I’ve often reminded myself that I am partly doing this for them.  Why should I sit on my couch and waste the opportunity? Many of those people would at least be happy to see someone rise up to the challenge out of the masses and conquer the impossible.  I want to give them something to celebrate.  I have endured many aches and pains and am actually in tremendous pain...I remember teaching the college class about claiming things in faith and how you cannot speak against what you claim by faith, no matter how long or difficult the path may seem.  Many if not all of them have now long forgotten what I claimed about the Red Nail.  But I haven’t and God hasn’t.  And when I certify, I will remind them that mountains can indeed be moved.  I never gave up.  And I had many odds stacked against me.  But my God is bigger than any mountain.  We have to learn to stop telling God how big our mountains are and start telling our mountains how big or God is!  I actually speak to each Red Nail now, I say, “Red Nail, you will bend to under 2 inches in under 30 seconds in Jesus’ name.”  And they do.  That’s bending by faith.  Jesus said, “If you say to this mountain, ‘move’, and believe with all your heart and do not doubt, then what you say will happen and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Awesome Time Lapse Video of our Snowfall!

I wish I'd done something like this, but it's awesome to see that someone else did it! Great job, Scott Burton -- thanks for sharing a fun and unique view of our square!

Here's the video...

Zero to 10...... inches of snow on the Oxford square from scottburtonphotography on Vimeo.

Cafe Press

I created my own shop at Cafe Press. There is only one design in there for now, but I was pretty proud of it. I guess you have to know the original song to totally get it, but it's fun anyway! The shop is called Good Day for a Day, which is taken from something Miles said over a year ago ("It's a good day for a day!"). It's just a fun thing I stumbled upon...maybe I'll come up with some more designs that include my photography but for now there's just the one!

Birthday Sweetness

I'm embarrassingly overdue in updating this blog, but I do have my reasons. Promise. I plan on sharing them later, but for now it's going to be all about the cuteness of Miles.

Casey and I have the blessing of having our birthdays one day apart, his on October 11 and mine on the 12th. I think this is still a bit confusing for Miles, who gets caught up in us receiving so many cards in the mail and starts wondering, 'What about me?' That's where the grandmothers have thankfully stepped in and sent him little things as well.

Still, Miles is sweet enough to want to wish each of us a happy birthday, and on Monday night (Casey's birthday) he decided that he wanted to sing for each of us as well! And since I wasn't yet one year older, my memory was intact enough so that I thought to grab the video camera.

I'll be watching these videos every single birthday from now on.

'Happy Birthday to Daddy'

'Happy Birthday to Mama'

Connect 2010 | breathe (But More Importantly, Dan Kimball Sent Me a Tweet!)

In case you missed it, I had a link on Facebook to our 2010 Connect Conference's YouTube video, which you can see here. I didn't get to be as involved as I would have liked, seeing as I was running back and forth getting the photos and putting the video together. But I do have to say how proud I am of Casey, first of all, and then of all the countless others who made this possible. What a great conference!

And it is pretty cool, but Dan Kimball, who was our awesome keynote speaker, messaged me back on Twitter today to let me know he saw the video: "It was a joy to serve with you! And thanks for showing me the video! Very fun!"

I would still really like to see what he looks like before that morning hair regimen begins.

That's him on the right, with Milton Jones, president of Christian Relief Fund.

Somebody I Know Must Work at This Place

Cafe Press, you know me all too well...

"Pivot!!!"

It's 'Move-In Day' on campus today. What does that mean for me? Not much, really, seeing as I would have hard time maneuvering all those freshmen boxes up and down stairs with a four-year-old at my heels saying, "Mama, I see a spider!" or asking to go home or be picked up or to help with a 100-pound box. Okay, that last one would have been sweet...but not possible.

No, Move-In Day for me means meeting Casey and the rest of the crew at some point near lunch to hopefully capture some of them on my trusty camera. I'm sure they'll love that. But hey, it's my job. They do things, I document, we all watch the show later and laugh at ourselves. Or rather, we all laugh at them. You didn't think I'd end up in any of my shows, did you? We'll see on Monday night...on the schedule is pizza and Rock Band.

I'm hoping that another thing that Move-In Day means for me is a new t-shirt. I saw them yesterday and they are rad.

P.S. If you don't get the title's Friends reference, I'm very sad for you. That scene is one of THE BEST.

The Life That I Have by Leo Marks

I am a sentimental fool. There, I said it. I have been writing poetry since I was eight years old, although I haven't written too many poems. I probably enjoy writing prose-type things more, or just on the blog, but lyrics and poetry can touch me deeply.

I found this poem yesterday and wanted to share it. Maybe it's very well-known, I'm not sure, but in my opinion it is breathtaking. It shares what I feel about Casey, but at the same time I feel it is very much a praise or renewing of that sacred covenant with God. Everyone will take something a little different from it, that's just mine.

_______________________________________

 

The Life That I Have by Leo Marks

The life that I have

Is all that I have

And the life that I have

Is yours

The love that I have

Of the life that I have

Is yours and yours and yours.

A sleep I shall have

A rest I shall have

Yet death will be but a pause

For the peace of my years

In the long green grass

Will be yours and yours and yours.

 _______________________________________

Fireflies Dance

Whether or not you like the song or the dancing, it's going to be hard not to be inspired by Brian Gaynor, a 23-year-old with scoliosis who doesn't seem to let anything stop him from doing what he loves most. I agree with Adam Shankman: I want to be like this guy when I grow up. Click here for the video.

John Shore Talks 24

If you love 24 but haven't seen the finale (and why not?!?) that aired last night, don't click on the link. If you have watched it, click here. If you don't watch 24, I would say still read the post. John Shore does an awesome job of showing comparisons between Jack's life and our own Christian walk.

I already told John, but his post left me with chills.

What's That? Hugs For Free?!?

Last night I uploaded our campus ministry's newest free hugs video. I'm so proud of the students who get out there and do this, because it's not the easiest or most comfortable thing to stand there with a sign. There is possible rejection, you might look silly, you might feel silly...but the best part is that you get to share God's love with strangers walking by, and you never know what any of them are truly going through. Sure, a hug doesn't solve our problems, but just that one small act of kindness can go much further than you think.

Click here to see the YouTube video!

Blessed By a Song

My brother Trevor has always been a very gifted musician, something he most definitely inherited from our dad. Both of them like to record and mix and all of that stuff I don't even come close to understanding.

I wanted to share Trevor's (the name on his music is Laing, which is also his last name) latest song that can be found at CDBaby as well as in the iTunes store. It's called, "May His Mercy Fall on You" and is something you've got to hear. I know I may be a bit biased, but tons of people know Trev's music and will tell you the same thing: he is truly talented. I'm always impressed by both his musical knowledge and his ability to make what he's doing sound so easy, but I know he puts so much work and passion into all that he does. What's best is that he uses his gifts to God's glory.

If you want to be encouraged and blessed today, go and listen to this song!

Thanks a Latte!

I realize I haven't been posting all that much lately. I would love to post every day, but right now it's just not going to happen. I'm on meds that do all sorts of crazy things to me, physically and emotionally. But even with all of that going on, I'm having a wonderful birthday! It started off with Casey and Miles going to the coffee place to pick up a birthday latte for me...and that's a big deal for Casey, who usually would not drive just to the coffee place. It's better if he can combine it with another errand.

That's how I knew it was extra special.

Strawberry Kisses

I'm not sure how long it's been going on, but I use a lot of chapstick. Either my lips dry out too fast or I make them dry by licking them too much, especially when I'm talking. Whatever the case, it has me convinced that I need chapstick. If I find myself without it, a small amount of panic may set in, and of course my lips immediately feel like they will crack under the pressure. Get it? Crack under pressure? Okay, moving on...

Miles has dry lips almost all the time, and it's that vicious circle of him messing with them so that they become worse, but the worse they get the more he messes with them. I think I did that as a kid as well. When he was smaller, Miles always wanted to put on my chapstick when he saw me using it. Sometimes I would let him, sometimes I wouldn't. But that was back when he didn't need it. Now that he does, he doesn't want it.

The other day I was in Wal-Mart and saw that Carmex had made a strawberry-flavored version of their tube chapstick. By the way, I'm not a big fan of the Carmex that you have to dip your finger into -- who wants to have to deal with that when you can just apply it like a lipstick? Anyway, back to the story. Since the strawberry Carmex was so cheap, about a dollar, I was excited to find something that Miles would possibly not be opposed to.

I think he's still about 50/50 on the idea, but he is definitely more willing to try this than the regular stuff. And yeah, the regular Carmex is not so great, but as an adult you realize you have to take your medicine in order to get better. Three-year-olds don't reason that way.

I have to preface this last part with telling you that lately, I'm not always guaranteed a willing kiss from my boy. He goes through little phases of being so independent he refuses or even wipes off my kisses, and then at other times he's grabbing my face and planting a kiss on each cheek.

So I had put the new chapstick on Miles' lips before bedtime the other night, and I was giving him hugs and telling him goodnight when he reached out to me and said, "Strawberry kisses. Strawberry kisses for you."

I don't even know what I was thinking when I hesitated to spend that dollar, because the return on it will last my heart a lifetime.

Not a Product Review

I promise I don't own any of this jewelry, nor am I getting any of it for free to plug the site. I just had to share it because I think it's genius and if I have another baby it is something I want to get for sure! Just another one of those 'why didn't I think of that?' products. Check it out!