Dog Day of Summer

According to the internet, today is National Dog Day.  I've seen unreliable and/or questionable information on the internet before (gasp!), which causes me to question the genuineness of National Dog Day.   The National Dog Day website promoting DogTV and calling National Dog Day a Fourth of July for Dogs doesn't exactly assuage my authenticity concerns.  Nonetheless, in honor of National Dog Day, I share with you Chris's sketch of Doug that exaggerates Doug's physical and behavioral characteristics.  Happy Dog Day, Dougie!

Oh Baby

A married, childless woman in her thirties feels a little societal pressure to procreate from time to time.  It's as if people don't appreciate my furry, four-legged dependent as a real addition to my family unit. Maybe this instruction card, which I secretly hope to use at a baby shower someday, will lighten the conversation.   The baby in the fish tank is my favorite, although the man nursing is a close second as it touches on the unknown purpose of man nipples.    

Power Outage

What's a girl to do when she has a hungry husband and no power at home?  Does she offer to make a lame peanut butter sandwich?  Maybe she does, but that's not the point.  The point is that a camp stove works just as well in a kitchen as it does in the woods.  In fact, unlike a camp site, the kitchen is ready to go with utensils, a clean workspace, and a sink, all of which make use of a camp stove so much easier.  This is significant because if you are anything like this girl, easier to cook = more enjoyable to eat.

Cena

What to do if you are planning a fancy Mexican food dinner:

(1) Drive to downtown McAllen to shop for the proper attire.  Pretend you belong there, even if you are the only tall, blonde person who prefers to do business in English.  Ask for prices in U.S. currency, not pesos.

Downtown McAllen

(2) Purchase the proper accessories, which will likely include cotton lace, images of Christ, or both.  Try not to laugh when you find these accessories, or when you try on pants that match the carpet.  

(3) Invite friends who like to cook yummy Mexican dishes while dressed in Mexican attire.  Don't forget to hang a Mexican flag around your dog's neck, or on a random window.  

(4) Stay in character, even if your stomach is so full of horchata, nachos, fideo, rice, beans, enchiladas, chili relleno, flan, and tres leches cake that you just want to curl up in a ball and go to sleep.  

Recent Events

Every now and then I feel compelled to compile a list of recent events.  Now is one of those times, so here they are in no particular order.

1.  Last month I went to Hondo, Texas, for what will likely be my last visit.  Hondo is the small town where my aunt and cousins lived for many years.  I have so many wonderful childhood memories of visiting the farm house in Hondo, and it was a real blessing to have family nearby in Hondo when Chris and I lived in San Antonio.  If you ever find yourself driving through Hondo, be sure to keep an eye out for the iconic welcome sign.   

My Beautiful Mom with the Welcome Sign in Hondo.

2. Last weekend, Chris and I hosted a whopping 49 people in our house (Chris counted).  It was by far the largest gathering of people our house has seen since our arrival last fall, and the largest gathering Chris and I have ever hosted (aside from our wedding).  While our one guest bathroom proved to be insufficient for a crowd of 49, our food miraculously multiplied to accommodate everyone.  Being blessed with a close community makes the isolation of living in south Texas easier to bear.

A Full House.

One of our guests of honor.  Good Luck Joneen!

3.  This week I've been enjoying lovely gladiola blooms.

I planted gladiola bulbs in my garden this spring, which required pulling countless weeds, aerating the soil, digging numerous little holes, and watering dirt for weeks.  Eventually, little green tips broke through the soil and grew into tall plants, many of which required staking to withstand the nonstop Valley "breeze."

Unfortunately, the tall plants did NOTHING but sway in the wind, which means those lovely blooms pictured above are not the product of my hard work.  Instead, I had to buy some cut gladiolas at the grocery store last week in order to enjoy these lovely flowers.  After all my hard work, I deserve some blooms, even if I have to buy them.

4.  Summer is here, and summer makes me want to travel.  Yesterday I started making a list of the top places I would like to visit.  So far I have Niagara Falls, Machu Pichu, Iguazu Falls, Mt. Fugi, Seychelles, the Netherlands, and Disney World.  I will soon be able to check one of those places off my list!

Getting Excited!

5.  The other day while working the yard, I reached for our catch-all bucket and screamed when I saw what I thought was an oversized rat sitting at the bottom.  The rat turned out to be a baby Opossum.  Chris spared the opossum's life and cautiously tossed him into the alley for me.  The bucket now stays inside when not in use.

Doug is never far from the action

6.  Chris modeled some glasses one recent Sabbath during lunch.

Okay, so Chris is not the only one who tried "the glasses look" recently.

Where's Wenda?

These nerdy pictures make me think of an old picture of Lubbock friends.  Here's proof that Chris and I are I not the only ones who look nerdy when wearing wide-rimmed glasses:

Ryan and Amber

7. I have been learning to study the bible in unexpected ways.   A few weeks ago while working with a group, the group was challenged to write a song about Joshua 1:9.  Joshua 1:9 states: "Have I not commanded you, be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you where ever you go."

My group wrote a catchy little song with the following lyrics:

Be strong,
For the Lord will be with you where ever you go.
Be courageous,
For the Lord will be with you where ever you go.
Do not be afraid, do not be dismayed,
For the Lord will be with you where ever you go.

It is now three weeks later and I still remember that silly little song.  More importantly, I remember the powerful text.

Last week, I attended a small bible study and was challenged with drawing a comic strip based on Jeremiah 29:13.  Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek for me with all your heart."  I drew a rather silly series of pictures depicting a visually impaired person searching for an object without his glasses.  This exercise taught me two things: (1) my people-drawingskills have evolved little since the fifth grade, and (2) I do not even begin to seek for the Lord until I seek with all my heart.

I love learning to study the bible in new ways!