the grass is always greener…

last night, we took a few of our youth to the winter jam concert.  I haven’t gone for a couple of years, and it’s gotten right much bigger since then.  there were a little over 20,000 people there last night, they turned people away because they didn’t know just how many seats were left until later.

Family Force 5 was very frenetic and bass heavy.  those boys jumped around on the stage like mexican jumpin beans, and the screams from the crowd were deafening.  I felt like my mama, when she used to ask me why I was listening to ‘that’ music (ozzy, ac/dc) when she couldn’t understand the words.  I could, and that’s what mattered.  well, I apparently can’t anymore.

I enjoyed Brandon Heath muchly, there were a few other artists, and then THE MAN, Toby Mac, performed a handful of songs.  I’ve never been much of a fan of his, but last night he was awesome.  Tony enjoyed the concert, but loved Toby Mac.

right before the intermission, the tour pastor spoke~what a powerful speaker!~and urged people to become ‘bridges of hope’ for orphans thru Holt International.  these children are waiting to be adopted, but in the meantime, they need financial assistance, $30 a month.   so, we discussed  with the youth, the option of sponsoring a child as a group.  if everyone were to contribute $3 a month, we’d have it covered.  don’t you know, those girls weren’t sure they could come up with $3 every month!

so, laura, our oldest ~and way mature~ youth, jessica, and I decided to do it between the 3 of us.  so we went to the booth, accompanied by tony, and picked out a 5 year old chinese girl with down’s syndrome.  then we realized that neither laura or I had any cash and jessica didn’t have enough.  we would have to sign up online.  so, that was that.

until back at our seats, tony started asking questions about the girl, like ‘what are verbal commands?’ ~the paper said she understands them~ and ‘why can she only bounce when held in a standing position?’  and ‘what if nobody else picks her because of how she looks, mama?  what if she doesn’t find someone to take care of her?’  and finally, ‘what if someone does pick her and she’s not available when we sign up online?’  his eyes grew wetter with each question.

my heart broke, thinking that she may not get picked, and that this boy, flesh of my flesh, was so worried about her.  so, I told my skinflint husband that I needed his debit card.  and tony and I went back downstairs and filled out the paper work.  he was over the moon, and carried yue yun’s picture back upstairs and showed his daddy and laura.  then he held onto that picture until the end of the concert.  when jessica woke up this morning, he told her all about yue yun, glowing all the time.  now he’s wondering if there’s a way that we could adopt her ourselves.

I happened upon this post, over here, and decided to try my hand at it:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland (does Disney World count?  when I was 12, so long ago, I can’t remember it!)
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors -if I had one wish, it would be to go to Scotland and trace my heritage
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason -early in our marriage, not anymore!
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial -Tony & I will in April, on his class field trip, I can’t wait!
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car -well, Rich did a couple of years ago…
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House -Tony & I will in April
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club -I just started one in January, with my 2 best friends
93. Got a tattoo -sadly, just one so far…
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

notice none of the ones which require travel to exotic locales are in bold 😥  maybe someday…

please forgive the gaps in the middle, wordpress has acquired a new format, which I find very user un-friendly, and I haven’t figured out just how to use it right.  so…

I’d love to see this posted by the few people who read here, so I can peep into your lives!

I got this video from helen, who got it from pris, and they’re asking for everyone who stands in agreement to post it one their blogs.  I think it’s phenomenal that people all around the world can share one voice, and one heartfelt message:

this is one of the gifts I made her. she asked for a couple of movies, and I got them, but I couldn’t let the occasion go by without a handmade gift. the bag body is made from a thrifted and felted sweater, and the strap is a thrifted belt. the owls are cut from a thrifted, then felted sweater. (funny story~or not, depending on who you ask~I felted 3 different sweaters in my washer over the space of a week, and suddenly the washer wouldn’t drain. turns out the little motor thing has a tiny water-wheel lookin thing, and it was FULL of wool. rich, daddy and my brother took the thing apart and cussed me the whole while. so when my brother saw jess’ bag he told her she better appreciate it, cause she wasn’t gonna get another one!)

the branch is made from the same sweater that agatha grace’s features came from, and the buttons came from my ginormous stash.
aww, isn’t she precious?!