The Samaritan Woman - And a Tale of a Funeral Home

It became a small obsession today. The Samaritan woman at the well, and why we should all have a "Samaritan Woman" in our lives. (Jessie, did an angel tell Mary she was going to have a Samaritan? She must have been very scared. Oh, you made me laugh.) Anyway, what the heck did a used car salesman have to do with it? But I'm good now.

However, one discussion lead to another . . .

Bible Dictionary: Good Samaritan

(suh-mar-uh-tuhn)

In one of the parables of Jesus, the only one of several passersby to come to the aid of a Jew who had been robbed, beaten, and left to die on the roadside. The kindness of the Samaritan was particularly admirable because Jews and Samaritans (i.e., people of Samaria) were generally enemies. Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan to answer a man who had asked him, “Who is my neighbor?” He forced his questioner to admit that the Samaritan was the true neighbor of the man who had been robbed.

Figuratively, “Good Samaritans” are persons who go out of their way to perform acts of kindness to others, especially strangers.

Eddie, Baby, you nailed it.

But in theme for the weekend, Gracie gave Missy and I some probing questions. Why can't we eat meat on Fridays? (And why does Mark get to?) Didn't God kill himself on Christmas? Or was that Easter? But my favorite . . .why are there funeral homes?

I did what I thought was a bang-up job discussing Lent and the meaning of Christmas and Easter, but I must have failed at the funeral home question. (Which was brought up, by the way, due to a morbid story Missy told of a month-old body and an open window.)

Grace - Why are there dead people in a funeral house?

Me - It's called a funeral home. That's where they keep people who have died.

Grace - I thought dead people were buried in the ground.

Me - They are. But for a few day between when they die and the funeral, they are kept in the funeral home.

Grace - Oh!!! So they can make sure they are really dead before they get put into the ground!

Me - Right.

Seriously. Too many mistakes happened before the funeral home concept.

I So Got My Groove Back.

Lions

To see a lion in your dream, symbolizes great strength, aggression and power. You will overcome your emotions and/or difficulties. As king of the jungle, the lion also represents royalty, leadership, pride and dominion. You have much influence over others. You may also need to exercise restraint in your own personal and social life.

Jessie, you got to hear the whole story. And it makes scary, freaky sense doesn't it? The cell phone, the massive explosion . . . .the lion. I'm like psychic. (The Spanish guy just had to spell that out loud for me.)

What Changed Your Life Today?

Mark: Sitting there after everyone else took off.

Missy: Grandma doing shots of wine.

Grace: Dad got a trophy for us.

Faith: Jumping on the trampoline.

Jessie: Discovering Faith likes the Cyclones, not the "Hot Guys."

Shane: I "might" have gotten overall B, which might mean that I'm a fast guy.

Eddie: Putting Jennie to sleep.

Ann: Black guys in Harlan - or whatever you call them.

My Baby is an ER B.A.!!

Gracie by the fateful corner.
Six stitches. No tears.
The destroyed toy. I promised her Shane would buy her a new one.



Perhaps the most noteworthy event of the night was when Shane picked up the toy and tore it to pieces.

She was headed toward the fridge, slipped on the mirophone they'd been playing with earlier, and bashed her head on the corner of the counter. We were all in the kitchen. I was at the table, talking to Mom on the phone, and Shane was right beside Grace. And down she goes.

What always impresses me in events such as these is that I'm the calm one. Shane picked her up off the floor, thinking her eye had been poked out, and carried her to me. And as the blood was dripping down her face, onto me, onto the floor . . . he picks up the mirophone and . . . well, it's not usable, anymore. And THEN he gets us a rag.

We were in the ER at Mercy forever. The baby girl did not flinch the whole time. She's steal. She's unbreakable. She's just like me. Six stitches. And she talked to the doctor during the entire procedure, like she was getting her nails done or something. She is like no one I've ever seen.

It's late and I've still got to router all the sharp edges in the house tonight. In the morning, off to buy helmets for the crews.

But first I'd better see if Shane has calmed down any . . . .



PS - Thank you to Joni and the good doctor for coming over and watching the kids. And for the text messages.

Oh, Crap.

They are out of control. And I'm not just taking about their hair.

Joey no longer dominates in the crawling department. In fact, they race now. They find motivation in cords, dirty diapers and plastics cups. And now the stairs. They pull up to the bottom step, and scream with delight - they know the prize is next.

My Jennie is making me laugh, talking about "Bob" all the time. I remember Faith did the same thing. "Bob, Bob, Bob." And she waves, "Bye, bye Bob." She takes her little hand and open and closes it.

Joey is into throwing her arms up into the air . . . frustrated by her sister? She and Grandpa threw their arms up forever the other night.

I'll get video on my camera of them both. So cute.

Speaking of video, Shane is driving me crazy with his new phone. God help me. Sorry, Jessie, that you had to be subjected to that.

Happy Love Day

I let the girls play with the roses their Daddy got them. But Jennie wasn't satisfied with hers. She wanted Josie's too. And Josie didn't like that idea at all. This scene is all too common. One twin picking on the other. But what's funny is that they don't just sit there and cry. In one second, Josie was leaning back over and taking back what was hers.
Seriously, could it get any better?
Missy, who is concerned that I will be dying soon, insisted on coming down to watch the girls so we could go out. And they came with loot. Lots of it. We have more candy than I can even tell you. :) Shane and I went to Rubes and had an awesome time. Been too long without a grill and a margarita.

They Just Make Me Happy

Cats vs. Dogs

Unless you were one of the participants, that title won't make a lot of sense. But if you're Mark, you know which one is the "dream team." The pillow fight dream team, that is.

In a room that Eddie can't even stand up straight in, I find it amazing he was able to render up enough furry to swing that pillow like he did. Take picture A, for example. Do you see the intensity in his eyes? And if you take a close look, that's Grace trying to protect her frail little body from his forceful blow.

And in picture B, poor little Mark is getting beat up by a bunch of girls. Sad to note, Mark was the first one out because he cried. But in what is a moment of pride, Faith had Eddie right where she wants him . . .

Our Little Man . . .

. . . is totally out numbered.

Faith, 4; Jennie, 8 months; Josh, 5; Emma, 7; Josie, 8 months; Grace, 7

All the kids stayed overnight at Billy's. They had the best time ever!

Shameful, Justin

Joni had to pitch in and do double duty on the twin scene.

Hey Justin, Joni and I are like twins, too, aren't we? That excuse will only work once, you know. Then we get wise . . .

Eddie Takes the Wheel

Congratulations to Eddie!!! He passed! If you seen Eddie or Jessie, you should ask them about their experiences with the DMV. It's a pretty funny story about a little known county of Espana.

What I really wanted is a picture of Dad and Eddie together with their new credentials. My Dad is now a truck driver who hugs the middle line. We are so proud, Daddy!

Way to go, Boys!

Jennie Will Not Be Overlooked

Jennie may not be as skilled at crawling as her sister, but she can totally stand by herself. I knew better than turning the camera, but I did it anyway. Sorry.

Joey on the Move

Snow Day, Baby!

We got about 10 inches of snow, and the girl's didn't have school Wednesday . . . they even closed down my work. So the girls were out all day playing.

Certain Inevitable Truths

Facts: I am surely messing my children up in ways I can't even begin to understand. I am quite confident the irrational, over-dramatic, passionate gene is being passed on through nature AND nurture - the same way it was passed on to me.

However, there are times when I know I'm doing something right.

Last night I took Grace and Faith to the over-hyped Hannah Montana movie. Each ticket was $15, but you got a cool pair of 3-D glasses!

*They woke up yesterday high-fiving each other and singing.
*On the way to the movie they were having a conversation about best friends, and each declared the other her "best, best, best friend."
*We all hold hands and walk into the mall. Faith says, "We don't want you to get lost, Mommy."
*At Panera, Faith ordered a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without the peanut butter.
*We toasted each other's chocolate milk in honor of the "girl's night." We decide it's going to be even more awesome when the twins are old enough to come along.
*The girls ordered plain ice cream at Cold Stone.
*During the previews they kept asking if "it's time yet?"
*Que the music. Grace sang the whole time. Not moving from her seat.
*Faith climbed up into my lap ten minutes into the movie. And as the place was shaking with over-amplified, little girl, rock music . . . she fell asleep. Hard and deep. Grace looks over and says . . ."Oh, the music must have lulled her to sleep . . . "
* Movie over, we try to wake Faith up. To no avail. I pick up this child and it takes all my strength to carry her out.
*Get into the car. I tell the girls I love them. "We love you, too, Mommy," Grace answers. "Don't feel bad because I'm speaking for Faith, too. She's delirious. She doesn't know she loves you right now."
*We pull into the driveway and Grace leans over Faith, "Wake up, Lover Butt."

So, okay, you had to be there, but the night was just awesome. And I'm so in love with my girls. They are a complete delight.

God gave me girls for a reason. And sisters for a reason. And now my kids will have what I got to have. And I can't imagine being more thankful.

Moving Cows

We moved cows from the home place to Larry's. We saw several people taking pictures as they waited behind the cows. The girls love to do this. I love to do this.

My Mom is the Best

My great-grandfather Frank Clinton bought this cupboard at a sell. He took it home and carried it upstairs to the bedroom. My Grandpa Clinton inherited it. My father had it in his childhood bedroom as a closet. When Dad was in high school, they carried it down the same steps his Grandfather carried it up . . .and they took it out to the garage. Dad said it was painted like pink and blue and white. Dad hauled it up to his shed at his house to use it to store tools. The tornado came, blew the shed away and hurled the cupboard - and all the tools - around. However, besides the glass being broken out, the cupboard made it through intact. The story goes that Dad wanted to throw it away, but Mom salvaged it, and hauled it to Evie's. It's been sitting down there ever since. I've had my eye on it for forever. This winter, I made the boys haul it up to Billy's. I didn't think it was even going to fit in the kitchen. Last week, mom finished it. Took her all week. I'm so in love with it! It's amazing. And beautifully done. So this would be the girls' great-great grandfather's. That's just really cool.

And to top it off, we had found three crocks in the basement of Billy's when we started the renovation. They are now on the cupboard. Along with some items we inherited from Shane's grandmother. One of the pitchers (the brown one) belonged to HER grandmother. Now, that's old.

LOVE IT!!!!!