At Diane's request...

Thank you, my friend, for reminding me that it has now been officially over a month since I posted!

Yesterday was my birthday. Yes, indeed, I am 27...officially in my Upper Twenties. (Or, as Sera Kitty would say, Halfway To Fifty Four.) Lovely gifts, lovely cake, lovely burritos, lovely in-laws to celebrate with. I got two (2) pairs of Halloween socks. Josh and I are going to Traverse City this weekend to a) celebrate birthday; and b) commemorate engagement which happened this time last year. We'll go to my old church on Sunday and hopefully I can introduce him to my kindergarten teacher. Mrs. Good will just love him, I am sure!

Today I taught. Yes, that's right, got up in front of kids and fed their minds. Who'da thunk? I actually enjoyed it! (And so did they!) The teachers were very complimentary and said I did a great job - a much-needed professional ego boost. We made collages about ourselves and shared them with the class in the hopes that these kids will learn to appreciate each other's differences and quit throwing racial slurs at each other. This poor school needs so much love and understanding. It's amazing how nasty trailer park culture can be and how it affects these poor kids. There's one girl I see who has turbulent friendships with several of the other kids. Why? Because her mother gets in fights with THEIR parents, they all call the cops on each other, etc. Poor things. I wish they could understand how much better it could be.

I've decided that I need to lay off the news for awhile. The world is so unbelievably depressing to me right now. Madonna infuriates me with her adoption. (Why couldn't she financially sponsor the family so this boy could return to his father? Why leave him alone with her staff his FIRST NIGHT at her home?) I am still grieving the recent school shootings (especially the Amish one). I am utterly and thoroughly convinced that video games are one of the main causes of the recent surge of violence in adolescents (don't ever buy them for your kids). Josh suggested we join the Amish. I pointed out that neither of us would adjust well, what with our overeducated worldviews and propensity to drop four-letter words. He agreed. But it WOULD be nice. These people know what they're doing. They get it. There's something to be said for a simpler way of life. A communal way of life. A life of quiet joys. A life of utter dependence on God and your community. A life free of garbage, clutter, and overstimulation.

In short - no news. No Madonna. No staying up too late playing with my gadgets. More time sharing time with others. For awhile.

In other, unrelated news, I got two new pairs of jeans tonight. They fit me. They were only $30 apiece. (I wish I were in Britain so that I could say they cost me 30 quid.) I bought them with a gift card I got for my birthday. My jeans situation was, until today, quite hopeless...the one pair I had that fit JUST TODAY got a hole in a very unflattering region. So for all my talk of living a simpler, less commercialized life, thank you, God, for your divine hand of good fit and price during my JC Penney experience this evening.

I have a final request...Josh should be getting his LSAT score sometime in the next four days. We are not worried about him getting into law school...what hangs in the balance is how much scholarship money he'll get. His practice test scores very consistently put him in the range for a 75% scholarship, and one score was very close to what he would need for a 100% scholarship. I'm asking you all to pray for blessings on this score...that it will serve Josh well and help meet our financial needs. That would be fantastic, friends. Thank you.

Tomorrow...college trip to Ferris with the high schoolers! YESSSSSS! Free lunch! School bus ride! Maybe I can get them all to sing 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' with me...