Logan

Logan's form of worship:

"I love God more than rocks. And bugs. I love God more than bugs."

Intelligent Design

Regarding intelligent design, have you ever looked at a skeletal chart of the human body? Even just the foot and ankle - the way that the bones and muscles allow such a range of motion? For the past several weeks I've gone and done some physical therapy and have had ample time to study said chart. It's crazy - absolutely crazy, insano - to think that could happen by itself. Not to mention the way a caterpillar can curl up, spin stuff around itself and turn into a butterfly.

Fall

This year's autumn is killer. For some reason the leaves are more colorful than usual here, and it's really making me homesick. Driving along, all of a sudden it almost chokes me up, it's so reminiscent of New England.

Hopkins speaks it well in "Spring and Fall" addressing the feelings fall evokes of our own mortality. Seasonal melancholy is the plight of a yankee in the south, I suppose. Or the plight of anyone who stops to think beyond the moment at what the moment really means.

wooden toys

I think my kids will look back on this period of our lives and say, "Remember when mom totally freaked out and shopped at Wild Oats and bought us wooden toys and drank carrot juice every day?" In the days of the i-pod, blackberry, and x-box, I am really into well-made wooden toys for my children. Why? Well, they aren't usually ugly, they don't fall apart in ten minutes, and they're classic.

I also like modern design-type toys. Like the Museum of Modern Art's store. It's got really fun-looking yet not walmarty toys, puzzles, games, etc. The question is, will the little imps like this stuff or hate it - and look back at this time and mock me for it when they are twenty-somethings?

holidays a-comin

In the words of that great songstress Amy Grant (obvious tongue in cheek here), "life is hard, and it might not get easier." Jeff and I mock seriously quote that phrase often to each other. When I started this blog it was with great intentions to think deeply, or at least think about something every day and have a place to write it out (since my kids tune me out with eyes glazed over when I start raving about some abstract concept.) Well, that hasn't happened. Life is busy.

How about this though. Buy Nothing Christmas. Sounds a little freakish, maybe, but I like it on several levels. One, anti-materialism. Two, I really don't want to go in the hole anymore over brightly colored plastic non-real-meaning-of-christmas-walmart-junk. Three, it sounds like it would help facilitate a simple, meaningful time of enjoying family, remembering the birth of our Lord and all that means, and feasting with friends.

My realistic side knows that this means of observing Christmas might really tick my kids off, as well as my far-flung fam, spread to the four corners. Kids would feel ripped off royally.

I think I'm going to aim for some version of scaled-back gifts though - and it's not like I spend the national average already. It just seems like the holiday binge needs to cease.

Know what I mean?