so I don't have time to wax poetical

I have/had 2 lovely, flowy, flowery posts floating in my head, but it just ain't gonna happen.

So on with my normal rambling style, I guess.

Sunday we were privileged to receive hospitality from a lady at church. We followed them home after church. The husband grilled meat while the wife got the other things together with the girls' help. Their 16 yr old son played with our boys, and the little ones had a box of toys to dig through (and a dog to run away from). We stayed all afternoon, talking, playing Wii, admiring the garden, etc. The food was great and nothing too weird. It was the first time we'd been invited over for a meal (other than relatives and a birthday party) since Riah was a baby, 5 years ago.

Also Sunday in meeting I had a lovely thought about God as lover. No offense, but when people love each other it's always "in spite of" some character flaw. When we are brave enough to give ourselves completely to another person, there is bound to be some hurt or disappointment along the way. But God is not disappointing. He's perfect in everything so we don't have to hold back for fear of being hurt. And not only that, but if you are redeemed, God isn't disappointed in you, either. He doesn't look at us and see all these things that He loves us "in spite of." His love is unconditional, not in that He loves us anyway, but that there is no "anyway."

Okay, back to dirt. It has been pretty warm lately, with official temps just over 80*. No A/C, no shade trees around the house, and windows that don't open properly make for some long afternoons. But I can still joke about it because I'm from Oklahoma and Texas, where it's been over 100* for a week or two now. So an 80* day in context of 'home' would be nice and refreshing. Right now (at 7:30 am) it's 66*. Nice.

Yesterday I forced the children into hard labor. hehe. I poured hot soapy water on the kitchen floor and they put on socks and skated around for 15 minutes or so. They had a blast, and the floor is clean now. Thanks to a blogger (In a Shoe, on my side bar) for the idea.

Yesterday I tried to make some Jello with fruit in it (Jello being the brand name of packaged gelatin mix), but it didn't gel. So after an hour of wondering what to do with it, I figured out to make it into popsicles (I have Tupperware molds). Today we will see what the children think of them.

Oh, the Wii. Bob has been sort of wanting a Nintendo Wii since they came out, however many years ago (2 or 3). Every time the BX gets a shipment in, he'll look at them and check the prices and talk about it. Then Sunday Taryn got to play one at the people's house, and that was the decision maker. Monday after work Bob stopped and bought one. We have Sports (came with the console), with tennis, bowling, boxing, golf, and baseball. He also bought Fit, but we haven't tried that yet, and an extra controller that came with Play (basically training exercises for using the remote, but it's fun, like target practice and ping-pong). Last night we connected to the internet with it so we can get updates and watch the news. So far it has proved a great incentive. "Can I play the Wii?" "First you have to put your clothes away." Taryn says it is easier to work when you are working towards something.

And I think that's all for now.