H.R. 4040 & Call To Action

Now I must admit, I'm not a huge political person. I do watch the news each morning and I try to stay informed, but I'm not one who goes from political site to political site looking to see what new laws are on the books. However, maybe I should be.



One of my friends' blogs (thanks Mitzi) made a reference to a new law that will go into effect on February 20, 2009. HR.404 states that buying or selling or even handing down children's clothes or toys--new or used, that have not been tested for lead will be ILLEGAL. The cost for testing clothes for lead is hundreds (or in excess of a thousand) dollars per item. This successfully puts Ebay sellers and small boutiques or sellers of handmade items out of business. It also means no more saving money by buying clothes for your children on Ebay, garage sales or consignment sales.



After doing a little bit of research, it seems that this law was constructed after the huge influx of toys contaminated with lead-paint came in from China. However, this knee-jerk reaction seems just a bit much. Having to test EVERYTHING that isn't brand new? This website is a great article outlining the new law. At the bottom is also a list of things that we can do to be involved. Take a moment to contribute to making a difference by contacting your representatives, congressperson and the people who need to know that this is a bit out of hand.

Just in case you don't want to hop over to the other site, here is the call to action directly from the Eleanor Duckwall site:

1. E-mail your representative and remind him or her that we don't vote for people who bankrupt our nation. If words fail you, here's a sample letter you can follow.
2. Call your senators. Naturally, you won't get to talk directly with them, but an assistant will answer the phone. If you're nervous, prepare a script in advance and always be polite. But these idiots … er, elected officials will only understand the depth of our anger if we flood the phone lines.
3. Send a letter to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Be polite (cuss words aren't polite, tempting as they may be), but pin their ears back by informing them what compliance with this law will do to the economy. Like they care.
4. Sign the petition. Pass it on to friends.
5. Spread the word. Only by passing the word can we multiply the strength of our protests.

What I am is a huge fan of consignment sales. Most of my kids' clothing comes from hand-me-downs and various consignment sales. Do I think that the HR 4040 police are going to start storming homes wanting to know when and where I got all my kids' toys, clothes, books and other accouterments? No, but that's still not an excuse not to act. So, I'm hoping to get you on the bandwagon with me. Remember - if you shop or sell at consignment sales, this affects you. If you buy or sell thing for kids on Ebay or Esty, this impacts you. I'm just trying to spread the word, because obviously this new law has gotten very little press (hopefully up until now).

Dave

For a number of years, I have heard my mom speak highly of Dave Ramsey. He has a radio show based out of Nashville (where they live) and she often gets to listen to it. If you haven't heard him, he is quite the financial guru. He loves to help people get out of debt and apply Biblical principles when it comes to finances. Most of the things I have heard are pretty basic, often falling under that heading of common sense. However, that common sense is become more and more uncommon. A number of years ago, they even gave us a copy of Dave's main program - Financial Peace University. Well, we just never had (okay, correction, made) the time to sit down and do it. Plus, I think we kind of thought that we were doing okay. I mean, I'm not saying we're wealthy at all (financially speaking). We have a little bit of debt (most of it in our house and Craig's truck), but we also have retirement plans and college savings plans in place for our kids. We didn't have huge credit cards debts. So, like I said, we felt like we were doing okay.

Skip ahead a few years. A few weeks ago, our church began advertising for their winter discipleship classes. Usually, Craig and I don't pay too much attention because they conflict with our ministry opportunities and commitment to the youth ministry. But, this winter they are doing the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University. Knowing that we already had the needed book, I talked it over with Craig - what if I took a slight break from the youth ministry on Sunday nights to attend the class? He thought that would be a good idea.

So, Sunday night was our first preview session. I am really excited about starting it up in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to getting a new view of how we can use our money more wisely and in turn become more giving with what we have. I'll let you know how it goes as we proceed in the class. It's a thirteen week class, so it's nothing short and sweet. Looks like my body and my wallet will be getting some workouts this year!

Trinity's Teeth

So, I'm still in the process of filling the blog with various events of December and this one deserved it's own special blog. There was no way that this could have been as a piece of another entry.

We had been watching Trinity's bottom tooth get looser and looser over the past month or so. It was just a matter of time before it came out. Even before the first two teeth came out, the next teeth could be clearly seen pushing through. On December 9, Craig and I decided to try and talk her into letting Craig pull it out, so it wouldn't come out at school or elsewhere. (Plus I really wanted to be there when it came out and with my crazy December calendar, I was afraid I'd miss that special moment.) It took a little bit of talking her into it and there were a few nervous tears shed, but she allowed Craig to get her tooth.

After it was all over, she was given her special tooth pillow. This was truly a joint effort - our friend, Jennifer, did the embroidery, Craig's mom actually sewed on the pocket and I simply put it all together. Trinity was quite surprised and was so excited to have a special place to put her tooth.

Now, you may remember from earlier blogs that Trinity had two teeth start to loosen within a couple of weeks of each other. Well, on December 22, she lost her second tooth. And when we say lost, we really mean lost. That afternoon, as I was brushing her hair, she was showing me just how loose it was. I thought, "We really need to go on and pull that out." However, I was on my way to the final handbell concert and we didn't get to it. After dinner, Craig said, "Well, the tooth was there when she began to eat, but not there when she finished." Yummy.

So now, Trinity has officially lost two teeth and her top two are now loose. We have dentist appointments for the girls this month, so we'll see how her tooth health is coming!

During Our Christmas Vacation, We . . .

. . . were very busy. We were so busy doing things, that I didn't have a good time set aside to actually blog about what we were doing. Today, I'll try to give a slightly abbreviated version of what we did.

MOPS Steering & Discussion Group Leaders Dinner (Dec. 9)

What a great evening of fellowship and fun ornament exchange at Ippolito's - Yummy. It was a wonderful chance to get to meet some of the other leaders that I had not had a chance to meet before that dinner.

Walk Through Bethlehem (Dec. 12)
Last year we had the opportunity to experience an event called Walk Through Bethlehem and we were looking forward to finding another one (a little closer) this year. This year, we joined up with our friends, Teri, Marc and Sam and headed to a nearby church for their presentation of what Bethlehem was like at Jesus's birth. It was amazing! The girls got to sign in for the census, try dried fruit, play musical instruments and even push their own way around a grape press. There were Roman soldiers, tons of little shops, musicians, a storyteller sharing stories from the Old Testament, hot cider and a wonderful manger scene depicting Jesus's birth. It was a wonderful night. The biggest problem was the weather - it was SO COLD!!!! Everyone was shivering. When we got back in the car, the thermometer read 31 degrees. BRRRRRRRRRR. But we got to come home, but the kids in beds and hang out with Marc and Teri in our hot tub. It was a great night with friends.


































Children's Christmas Musical Performance (Dec. 14)
This year, Trinity was selected to be an angel in the children's Christmas musical. She did a wonderful job learning the words to all the songs during the fall rehearsals and learning her angel lines. She is quite the music-loving child!

Kalyn's Preschool Christmas Program (Dec. 17)
I always love the preschool programs because they always make me laugh, and my children are usually a cause of my laughter. I realized a few years ago, that I couldn't truly correct them during the performance, so I'd just have to enjoy them. Kalyn spent the first song facing the wrong way, part of the second song with her hands inside her sleeves (as in the left hand in the right sleeve and the right hand in the left sleeve), then she actually began singing some. The funniest thing was one child from one of the 4-year old classes. He sang a little bit of the first song and then when they starting mentioning Jesus (imagine that - from a Baptist church preschool), he put his hands over his ears and began yelling out something. Craig was able to pick out "Santa, Santa" after the second song of chanting. After the third song, Mom came up and retrieved him from the stage. All in all, it was a very fun and enjoyable performance.

Xander - Craig's personal video roadie!

Craig & Shannon Went Carolling with the Youth (Dec. 17)

This was an amazing night. Partly due to the fact that I really wasn't looking forward to going just a few hours beforehand. However, I was so glad that I did!! We had a huge student turnout and the people I met were so special. I met one couple who had been married 40 years and she was suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. She had the sweetest smile and they didn't let go of each other the entire time we were there.

Our Youth Sunday School Class Party (Dec. 13)
We decided to do a joint party and dinner with the senior high class and we are kind of glad we did - we had a great time hanging out with the one student who attended from our class (giving a shout-out to Josh right now!!) and all the other seniors. We had some absolutely delicious food - Craig made a roast - and had a great white elephant gift exchange. We ended up with a book of Mad Libs (brings back the memories) and a noisy ornament that sings.

Josh and his white elephant gift - a tattoo sleeve

Numerous Golden Bells of Atlanta Performances (Dec. 1, 5, 6, 8 & 22)
I am part of a community handbell group called the Golden Bells of Atlanta. It is a great opportunity to challenge myself musically and meet some interesting and great people. Since people often associate bells with Christmastime, December has become our main concert season. Our performance schedule has been scaled down since a few years ago, which makes it easier to enjoy.

Our Other Sunday School Class Party (Dec. 20)
We love the class that we were in before we decided to teach the junior class. Some of our dearest friends are there and we do miss our fellowship time with them. So, when our friends asked if we would host the Sunday school party at our house, we were glad to oblige. We had yummy food and a great game of Catch Phrase. The funniest moment for me was as I got the girl team to guess my word, I turned to pass the word-giving gadget to our teacher Charlie (a very sweet and gentle man). However, he could tell that time would be out in just a second, so he just looked at me, not taking it and therefore gaining a point for the guy team. Very un-Charlie-istic of him, but a source of much laughter.

I think that covers all that we did in leading up to Christmas.

I'll do a separate blog just for our Christmas celebrations.

Fitness Updates

This week, Craig and I were able to have our fitness evaluation with LifeTime. It was pretty interesting to see where we stood as we begin this journey into a slightly healthier lifestyle. We completed a number of evaluations on our cardiovascular, flexibility, bicep strength, BMI, body composition and our overall fitness level. It also gave us our "body age". Now for people who haven't been on a regular workout regimen (who am I kidding? ANY workout regimen), we didn't do too badly. We need to work on our flexibility and on our cardiovascular levels. On the overall fitness result, I scored at the top of the "average" range, one point away from good and my body age is 36-one year older than I actually am. Craig also scored in the average range on his overall fitness result with a body age of 38-two years older than he is. The nice thing is it points out what we need to work on to get those ages down. Now, it's time to really get to work.

Well, it's official. Yesterday, I sent off my registration for my first 5K. My goal is simply to do as best as I can. I am not at all above walking some of it, but I want to try and run as much as I can. There's only eight weeks until the race and I am working on getting in shape for it. I was at the gym three days this week working out. It's excruciating, but I know it will be worth it. I am really excited about doing my first run and am also looking forward to the next on in April. I am already grateful to my great "trainer", Jennifer. She's even volunteering to run the race with me as well as helping me get ready for it.

Today in our workout at the gym, I decided to see if I could even complete 3.1 miles on the treadmill. I wasn't too concerned with time, I just wanted to see how I would feel at the end and if I could get to the end. I'm happy to say that I did make it. I choose to alternate between walking and running, 5 minutes each. As I progressed, I was even able to raise my speeds and do most of it running on a slight (1) incline. I was so glad to know that I go simply do the 3.1 miles and still be able to walk when it was all over. I know how long that took me (49:30 minutes), so now I'm working on dropping that number by upping my running time and lowering my walking time in my cardio days.

This weekend, we have Corduroy visiting with us. Corduroy is the bear mascot of Kalyn's preschool class. Starting this week, he heads home with a student each weekend. Kalyn's was the first one to bring him home. We get to document what he does with our family over the weekend and add it to his notebook that he travels with. It was fun to look back and see him with Trinity three years ago. It's funny to try and plan things to do with a stuffed bear that will make it exciting for the book!

Cubbie Verses

Tonight was our first night back into our Wednesday night routine, which means our first night back at Awana. We had been working on Trinity's and Kalyn's verses during yesterday afternoon and quite a bit before we headed to church today. Kalyn was having a bit of trouble remembering one word of her verse. Her verse was, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart" (and we had her finish it out with "and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength"). However, after a number of repetitions, she finally managed to remember it a couple of times at home.

As we were on our way to church, we took some time to review. Trinity got her verse without any hesitation. YA Trinity!!!! Kalyn, however, dropped back into her earlier habit of skipping the "heart" word of the verse. The first time I said, "heart, heart, heart, heart, Kalyn. You have to remember the heart." Well, she got it the next time and we asked her to say it 5 times right in row before we reached church. She did great until she got to the 4 reciting. She said, "Love the Lord your God with . . . all . . . your . . . . . "

Xander then yelled out "Heart, Heart."

I guess we all need a help every now and then.

Back into A Routine

After two weeks of semi-vacation, I was ready to get a new routine established for the new year. I am interested to see how I am going to my workouts and new accountability group into my schedule without sacrificing anything else, but I think I'll just need to work on tightening up my plans during the day. Say good-bye to a bit of the down-time.

Today I kicked off my day with my second workout class at Lifetime. To say that I was a tad sore after this hour-long class would be a bit of an understatement. It was a great class though. It was one of those good pains when it was all over. It's also really good to have a couple of friends in the class to give me just the push and encouragement when I need it!

Tonight was our first family game night of 2009. We are really going to try and have at least 2 a month. With kids at 2, 4 and 6 (almost 7), we have quite an age to span, but Xander usually teams up with either Craig or I. We brought out one of our Christmas gifts, Hisssss. It was a fun snake-making, color-matching game. Then, we sent the younger two to bed and go to enjoy a game of Yatzee with Trinity.




















Tuesday morning, Trinity heads back to school. Then Wednesday brings school for Kalyn. I know they miss their friends and all he activities that take place in their classes. Ya for routine!!!

Happy New Year's

No, we haven't forgone the blog. We've simply been crazy busy doing the things we would blog about over the past three weeks. I'm hoping to backtrack and blog a little bit over the next few days, but let's kick off the new year's with a new posting.

We had a great time ringing in 2009 a few hours early with some friends. It was a very last minute gathering, so it was a small group, but we had a blast with some yummy food, some fun games and then some perfect-for-the-occasion sparklers, silly string and poppers.

I'm not a big one for resolutions. However, this year I do have some exciting things to look forward to and work toward in 2009. I'm very excited about joining a new accountability group. I haven't have an accountability partner in a few years and I can't wait to get back into the groove of it. I've also decided to make running a 5K a goal of mine. My favorite gift that our family got for Christmas was joining Lifetime Fitness. I'm hoping to use those workout to train for a 5K. We'll see how I do in that goal. I'm excited about teaching Trinity about daily devotionals. We gave her a child's devotional Bible for Christmas and we read our first lesson together today (actually Craig was the one who read with her). She hasn't made a decision to follow Christ yet, but we can still teach her what that looks like. I'm looking forward to enjoying more game nights with my family. Both girls got a game that we can play as a family. It may be interesting to try to get Xander involved, but we'll see how it goes.

I love the chance to look at my life and evaluate how I spend my days, what I pour my energies into, what I need to change.

Let's dive into 2009!!

Kid Trees

Last year, my parents gave a great gift to the kids. She cross-stitched many ornaments each symbolizing a part of Christmas. These ornaments were given to us when I was a kid when we participated in our church's Walk Through Bethehelem "performances". She worked all year long during 2007 to finish them just in time for last year's Christmas season. My dad put them together in ornament hangers and personalized each back with the child's name, the year 2007 and that is was from "Poppa and Mimi". The kids loved decorating their own trees and having their own decorations in their rooms.

This weekend, we finally had a chance to sit down with the kids and let them decorate their trees. They had a blast!!! We had fun talking about the different designs, words and how special these trees were. Each child was very careful and they placed the ornaments on their tree. Even Xander did it without too many problems - the biggest problem was that the cross-stitched side occasionally faced the inside (not the outside) of the tree.

Thanks again, Poppa and Mimi.

Date Night

Now we have quite a crazy schedule, especially when it comes to the month of December. However, last night, we got to plan in a very special date night. We have some great friends who gave us a wonderful gift . . . last Christmas. It was the gift of a certificate to Stoney River coupled with babysitting during our dinner out. What better thing could we ask for?

Well, after at least four months of saying, "We'll do it sometime this month", and never actually getting to it, we finally simply set a date and made it work. As an added bonus, we came across a coupon for $20 off any purchase of two adult entrees!! We were so excited.

It was just a great opportunity to simply get a "free" night out. We both enjoyed delicious steaks, wonderful bread and an amazing dessert. We actually couldn't even eat all of the huge Triple-layer Chocolate Ganache Cake, so we got to bring the rest home so share with our wonderful friends!

Thank you so much Llew and Lisa for a wonderful gift!! We truly treasured it and we treasure your friendship!!

O Christmas Tree (you know the tune)

We love getting our Christmas tree. We know of a few families that actually go out and cut down their own tree, but that's not us. In the past we've purchased our tree from a church where the proceeds went to the youth's mission trip. We'll be glad to pay a bit extra for missions, but when the prices started being $20 above other places, we had to resort to other avenues of tree furnishing. So, over the past few years, we have been flip-flopping between the grand tree providers of Home Depot and Wal-Mart, depending on their shipments and prices at the time of our shopping. This year, Wal-Mart was the big winner.

I have visions of one day, our tree decorating including stories of each ornament, who it belongs to and why it was given or bought. But, this is not the year for that to happen.

We have lots of fun ornaments that have some type of music or song or saying when you push a button. The kids love these. (By the end of December we are so over the Oscar Myer wiener song, you have not idea.) Usually, the goal is to have one adult (usually me) manning the unpacking of the ornaments and the other adult (therefore Craig) manning the tree - to make sure that ornaments are hung well and spread out. This year, Kalyn really wanted to unpack the ornaments so that added a special brand of chaos to the decorating. We did have fun looking at some of our past ornaments and how our family has grown over the years - we have managed to get a family ornament for most years (and at least every year since 2001 - when we were expecting Trinity).

In the end, our tree looks pretty good. I love driving home at night and seeing our tree lighting up our front window!

Our Annual Lights Trip

For the past few years, we have joined our friends for a trip up to Lake Lanier for their Magical Nights of Lights. It is an amazing Christmas light drive through display and we always have a great time. Our tradition is to caravan up there, grab some fast food dinner then drive down to about a mile outside of the park. Then we pile everyone into one vehicle and head through the show together. It saves a bit on the entrance fee and it just more fun doing it together.

Right after dinner, we exchanged gifts at Wendy's. The gifts were great for everyone!!

Anli, Virginia, Trinity and Kalyn all piled into the back of the van

while Xander sat up front with Craig and Jay.

The lights were great!!

We all had a great time!!

Unfortunately, we went a bit earlier in December than we have in the past, which meant that we missed the Live Nativity. That truly is the highlight of the trip and we were very sad to miss it. But, we know that we'll have more nativity opportunities this year and we'll be a bit more diligent about checking when it starts next year.

Catching Up

The last few weeks have been absolutely crazy - as you can probably tell by my lack of posting. I'll be backdating my next few blogs, just to keep our events straight for my own sanity. Enjoy reading about what we've been up to.