Easter

the bunnies are multiplying! don't be surprised if one pops up in your Easter basket...

today has turned out to be a beautiful day. i opted for a long walk around greenlake this morning. it was a bit cold but the sun was pouring down and it felt good. i brought along my trusty ipod and listened to Erwin speak on his book Soul Cravings.
it was super great. he spoke of love. i've been hearing a lot about this lately. that God has asked us to love Him and to love our neighbors. not just the people i like, but everyone. i could use a little reminder to love people. the bag i've been carrying around lately says clearly, "I HATE PEOPLE". i started carrying it because, for the most part, it's true. i expect the worst from people. i've gotta work on this. as i listened to him speak i was reminded of a verse i memorized as a child, 1 John 4: 7, 8 "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God because God is love."
clear.
as.
a.
bell.
it doesn't say that if we know God we will judge and hate and exclude people. it says if we do not love people than we do not know God.
i'm constantly depressed and embarrassed by the actions of people who call themselves Christians. i've struggled for years to forge my own way within Christianity. i've even gone so far was distancing myself from those who call themselves Christians.
i'm a long way from figuring it out but i think i'm making baby steps towards how i believe God wants me to be.

an open letter

Dear woman on the treadmill next to me this morning,

i see you at the gym every day. you are very committed to health and fitness. you are also very committed to everyone else following the rules as established by the gym. i heard you complain to one of the personal trainers when you noticed that a member forgot to wipe down the equipment when they were done. i also saw you peek into my shower stall to inform me that i was taking a bit too long, thank you for informing me that you were waiting. i found it very helpful.
today i was lucky enough to walk next to you for 20 minutes. i'll be honest with you, i was a bit worried that i'd do something not quite right. but that was the last available treadmill in the gym so i grabbed it. i was sandwiched between you and an elderly gentleman. you were watching The View and he was watching CNN, i opted for switching between The View and Martha. everything was going well until you let one slip. it was indeed both silent AND deadly. when the scent crept into my nose i thought i was going to dry heave. i quickly put my hand up to my nose so i could smell the hand soap from the gym. you slyly glanced my way and i thought that maybe the gent on my left would think that i was the deliverer of that smell of death. i was not pleased. the smell subsided and we all continued our walk enjoying the TV in silence.
i want to thank you for holding the next one in for a good 10 minutes. it was a nice chance for me to clear my nose from the memory of your anal cavity.
when you did let the final blow go i believe i couldn't hold in my unhappy surprise and actually made a sound as my hand raced to my nose yet again. i'm sorry to be so rude yet i must thank you for taking your leave. i suppose i could have simply looked you in the eye and asked if you needed to see a doctor, but i thought it would be a bit more polite of me to air my disgust to anyone who could hear me through their ear buds.
when you left the air seemed a bit cleaner and everyone took a visible sigh of relief.
i am hoping you made it to the locker room and that you will be better tomorrow. please do not take it personally when i decide to work the stair master if there is only one treadmill available and it is positioned next to you.

signed,
jennifer

simile

a conversation over dinner tonight:

trey: hazel, your hair cut looks so nice!

hazel: thank you daddy.

me: we might have to go back and have it fixed in a few days because i think the ends might be a bit crooked.

hazel: (looks confused) hey! what's crooked mean?

me: oh, you know, not straight.

hazel: (a light bulb goes off in her head) oh, you mean like your teeth?

good morning sunshine!

it's going to be a beautiful day today. i'm keeping the kids home because august was sick last night but seems to be just fine this morning. hazel is getting her hair cut after lunch, then off to ballet. august has baseball practice this afternoon but i'm not sure if he'll make it.
the temps are supposed to be in the 60's today...i can hardly wait.
i turned the TV on for the kids so i could make my morning coffee. my friend rachel is the queen at making a mean cup of coffee and has inspired me to start perfecting my own cup'o joe. it's been a good challenge and really is saving me money. today i used vanilla soy milk and some white chocolate sauce. it's really good. i still need to work on my foaming technique. not sure how rachel does it, but her foam is just about perfect.

drum roll please...

the puppy has been named.
we are calling him TANK.
rhymes with HANK (thank you zane).
we bought the crate today as well as some puppy food. he'll come live with us the week after easter. we're all very excited.

Name that Dog!!!

we had the dog for about 8 hours today. i think he did pretty well, even peed outside 3 times!! we won't get him until he's 8 weeks old which will be right after our trip to California to see Zane and Audrey.
none of us can agree on a name. any help in naming this sweet boy would be very welcomed. the breeders named him valentine because he was born on the 13th of feb., hazel originally thought we should name him gnarly but has since changed her mind. trey likes gnarly but i think he should be called blueberry because of his nose. august likes "the day before valentine's day" but i'm working on convincing him that that's way too long of a name.
what do you think?
let the naming begin...

pudgy

we looked at some puppies today. the one above is the runt of the litter, they call him vito, he's very feisty.
they call this one valentine. he's the biggest one out of the litter. he's very sweet and playful.
we're probably going to go for him. he's coming for a home visit on friday. we're very excited for this next step with our family.
i know the kids are going to love this dog and as you can see, trey is already partial to the pup. hazel wants to re-name him "gnarly"...not a bad name...we'll see.