Re-entry sure is hard

I mentioned that Jason and I went to a marriage conference last weekend. We drove down to Florida and had two nights in a beautiful St. Augustine resort while attending the conference. Saturday night is the scheduled date night. We drove into St. Augustine and walked around in the shops, had dinner at one of those really cool hole-in-the-wall but yummy restaurants, and just enjoyed being together.



The conference itself was wonderful. It was a Family Life Weekend to Remember event. We attended one about 8 years ago. Both times were good but this one was more intense for us. I won't share details here, but I'll just say it was needed and very valuable for us. I highly recommend it for ANY married couple, no matter how long you have been married and no matter the condition of your marriage. I have wanted to blog about it, but I have decided that it was just too personal and I want to keep it between my beloved and myself. Anything I would feel comfortable sharing can be found on the Family Life website...great speakers, names of sessions, etc.



We got home around 9:00PM on Sunday night. We came home to our sweet, sweet girls and were so happy to see them. But the older two had sunburns and Rachel was running a fever. She continued to be sick until Tuesday night. Betsie was clingy and whiney and needed a day or so to re-attach to us. Mary Evelyn was so sweet and gave us a welcome home picture she had made and some applejacks (she said she knew the drive would make us hungry...LOL!), but by Monday morning we were battling a bit. Mary Evelyn was not remembering what it means to honor us as her parents and I confess it was pretty hard to keep my cool a few times. By Tuesday night I decided she and I needed to do something fun together. So I took her to a movie and things have been a lot better since. (not perfect, but better) By the way, I loved Kung Fu Panda...and I am not always a kid movie fan!



Rachel is better but now I am sick. Jason was sweet enough to make sure everyone had breakfast and was settled before he went to work this morning. Plus he made me some hot tea to soothe my raw throat before he left. I do love that man! I think I just have a cold, but colds seem to feel worse the older I get so I am resting a lot...at least until we have to be at swimming lessons this afternoon.



So we are back in the trenches but trying to apply the lessons learned and the old reminders we were given this weekend. I am thankful for the time we had together, for a husband who initiated the whole trip because he is committed to our oneness, and for parents who are willing babysitters. And I am thankful that God is with us in real life.

Some Updates

There have been so many reasons to blog in the last week and a half. I wish I had not missed them all!

• House fever is not gone but it is not spiking either. We have decided to wait until after tax season next year before there is a "for sale" sign in our front yard. In the mean time, we have made an enormous to do list to get this house ready to sell. The previous owners put carpet over hardwood flooring down the hall and in the bedrooms. We have been rough on the carpet so it will need to be replaced. However, Jason is thinking of ripping up the carpet and refinishing the hardwoods instead. Crazy, crazy...but way nicer for showing the house.
• Mary Evelyn turned 8! Shame on me for not doing a birthday post for her. Sigh... We had a little mini celebration with my friend Hollie and her guys on her birthday. Then Hollie (being the servant kind of gal that she is) drove the big girls to the movie theater to meet my dad so they could see Prince Caspian. My dad says he still hasn't seen the movie because they sat on the front row and he kept his eyes closed. He says it sounded like a good movie though! Then the girls spent the night with my parents...including little Miss Betsie. The next night we celebrated with Jason's parents.
• The above mentioned night at Mom and Dad's was Betsie's first night away from us...she was not a good sleeper unfortunately. But she told my mom, "I yuv you, Mimi." so I think she was forgiven.
• While the girls were with my parents, Jason and I used a gift certificate to a lovely local Bed & Breakfast. So, so nice. Our 15th anniversary was the day before Mary Evelyn's birthday so it was a special getaway for us. Did I mention that about 2 months ago Jason surprised me with a new van (Odyssey...woo hoo!) for my early anniversary gift? Pretty cool. He got an ipod nano. So come the big day, we were broke and just had to be sweet and skip the gifts.
• I painted my master bathroom. It's lovely. I might have to start a new blog category showing before and after pictures with all the projects we have planned.
• I got excited when David Cook won American Idol.
• Then I was broken hearted just an hour later to learn that Maria Chapman, daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed in a terrible accident. I have been grieving for them since Wednesday night and praying for them constantly. I just received a prayer email asking for prayers for wisdom about when they should return home. They have been staying with friends since the accident. Please pray for the Chapmans.
• We are almost done with school for this year and excited about our short break until mid-July when we'll start back up.

A Few Concerns About High School Musical 2

It seems that girls Rachel's age are nuts over High School Musical, including Rachel. She is saving her money for a High School Musical doll. It also seems that girls everywhere are getting all excited about this weekend's premiere of High School Musical 2 on the Disney Channel.

Before I share my concerns, let me say that I liked High School Musical. It was cheesy of course, but there wasn't anything that really upset me in that movie. I'm not crazy about Rachel wanting to own anything with High School Musical all over it. Marketing to kids like that really gets on my nerves...it makes me the bad guy when I have to say that word that nobody seems to know anymore, "no."

Also, before I share my concerns let me share a little of what I want for my girls. I want them to be feminine in the Biblical sense, not in the worldly way. I want them to understand the masculine and feminine roles that God has shown us in His word. I want them to learn to wait on God and trust Him for his provision and His timing. Pretty tall order and something that does not come naturally...for them or their mother. I also want them to care about the boys and men around them and learn how to be beautiful and feminine without being a stumbling block.

That said, here are a few of my concerns from the sequel. First of all it is a summer movie and some of the characters are hanging out and working as lifeguards at the local country club. My guess is this means less than modest attire in many of the scenes. Yes, we swim. I am not anti-swimsuits or anything. But I do try not to put unreal images of beauty in front of my kids if I can help it...or myself for that matter!

Perhaps my bigger concern is the competition for the boy between two girls in this movie. The website says that Sharpay's number one rule is to "get Troy." She seems to do this by offering him opportunities that he otherwise might not have. This puts her and Gabriella in a little competition for Troy. Ick. Maybe the movie won't be so bad, but good grief, this sounds like nothing I want for my daughters. And I know Rachel, she will want to watch it again and again and again.

Because of my "gut feeling" and because my concerns are still there after some time in prayer, I am saying no to High School Musical 2. Or at least, not yet. The movie will still be there later if I find out I am totally wrong, but we can't un-watch it once we have seen it. I keep thinking of things from scripture like be transformed by the renewing of your mind and I will set before my eyes no vile thing and be not conformed to the patterns of this world. Even if this movie is "okay" and my concerns are invalid, will it do anything to draw my child into a closer walk with Christ?

I am not condemning anyone who chooses to watch this movie. We watch more than Veggietales here. Much of it has to do with my own child and her tendencies. I am attempting to explain our seemingly against-the-norm weird choice for our family, and my own blog seemed like the place to do it. Mary Evelyn does not like High School Musical...she says it's too teenagey and we tend to agree. Too teenagey for a 9 and a 7 year old.