Chosen

Today, after leaving MOPS (mothers of pre-schoolers), I was filled with such a sense of awe. See, during our MOPS meeting, one of the other moms (Tina) was speaking about Mary being chosen to carry the Savior of the world. She was talking about how Mary didn't complain when she, a virgin, was told that she would become pregnant and carry the Christ child. She humbly replied, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word". How much did Mary understand? Did she truly understand the greatness her son was destined for? Did she understand what being the mother of Jesus would entail?

(insert you tube video here. i don't know how to upload it. but, i recommend watching it. here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1oHJR2g7Tw&feature=related)

As Tina spoke, her words hit me. She discussed how Mary was chosen to be Jesus' mother. And, she wondered out loud, at whether Jesus was a difficult toddler or whether she ever had to put Him in time-out. But, as she continued to speak, her words penetrated my mind. Mary was chosen to be Jesus' mother. And, each of the women in that room were chosen, purposefully picked out by God Himself, to be the mother of our own children.

At the playground, after MOPS, as Little Buddy played on the toys and I kept a watchful eye on him, I thought about this awesome reality. God chose me. He didn't pick anyone else to be the mother of my little boy. No other mother there was watching his every move the same way I was. No other mother there was reveling in the joy my son was experiencing. God specifically created me for this precious little boy...to love him, protect him, and to cherish him. Even as I drove home from MOPS, I was contemplating this whole concept. I was reminded of what Colleen said in a recent blog, about how she realized that "God sure knew what He was doing" when he paired her up with her husband....how nobody else would quite fit with her the way her hubby does. And, my mind wandered. It wandered through all of the amazing relationships I have. And, I just was awed by the fact that I have been chosen. God chose me to be my hubby's wife. He chose me to be Little Buddy's mom. Nobody else. Me. How amazing is that?! What an awesome responsibility it is to have been chosen for such a task.

I have a friend with whom, for years, we've marveled at the fact that "of all the millions of places and of all the billions of people...God chose us to be friends." How blessed I am to have been chosen, by God, to fulfill a specific purpose in certain people's lives. I pray I live that purpose well. I pray you do, too. Cuz, you know, you've been chosen, too. Be it as a mother, a friend, a spouse, a teacher, a sibling, etc. You've been intentionally chosen for the relationships you are in. I hope we all get that...and that we live like we get it.

Appearances

So, the other night, a friend told me that my life is the "appearance of perfection". At this notion, I think I actually laughed out loud. I thought that was absurd. By no means do I say that to minimize the amazing blessings I have in my life. As you know from the "blessings series" I posted, I definitely know I am blessed. I have an amazing family and I get along with them quite swimmingly. However, perfection? That's a whole different thing altogether. While my friend explained that she knows my life is not perfect, that many women would look at me and see the "appearance of perfection" in my life.
I pondered this idea for a bit. This whole concept was odd to me. I definitely don't want anyone to get the impression that my life is perfect. And, quite frankly, I find it rather hard to believe that people would really think that. My friend assured me that this statement was not a criticism. I didn't take it to be one, but I did find it to be an observation on which to reflect. While I don't go around airing my dirty laundry to every Joe Blow, I don't want to give off any unreaslistic picture of my life, either. Ironically, later in the evening, my hubby and I were reading The Shack. And, I found part of the chapter to tie in very nicely with this "appearance" discussion. Here is what we read:

"Being always transcends appearance--that which only seems to be. Once you begin to know the being behind the very pretty or very ugly face, as determined by your bias, the surface appearances fade away until they simply no longer matter. ...and any appearances that mask that reality will fall away."

Of course, I got all excited reading this, because it struck a chord with me. Isn't it amazing how people who only see you from a distance (meaning, they aren't part of your circle of "deep, authentic friends") see just the appearance of your life, rather than seeing your being, and in the process, often assume you have things together much moreso than they do? Yet, those who know you, don't even notice the appearances anymore because they see straight through to the heart of who you are. They are the ones who can say, "Cut the crap. Spill it. What's really going on?" because the surface appearance of your life has long since faded away and they see the "real you". I'm grateful for the friends in my life who see my being, rather than some unrealistic appearance. And, I'm grateful that my friend who sparked this whole idea is more and more becoming one of those "being" people in my life.

Winner!

Well, thanks to all who have attempted to help us with the couples' rotation schedule. While some people tried to help, and weren't correct with their answers, some people got it right! So, thanks to Cara, Sarah, Naomi, and Tony for sending me schedules that work! Yay! And, Cara was the first to respond, only beating Sarah by 1 minute 42 seconds. So, Cara is the winner and will receive a prize. Now, I just have to figure out what the prize will be. :)

Calling All Engineers! All Math Teachers! All Smarty Pants!!

Okay, so my hubby and I need some help with a brain teaser, of sorts. We are trying to create a rotation schedule. But, for the life of us (and some others, who's assistance we've summoned), we can't get it right. It seems like it should be fairly simple. But, it is not!
Here's the situation: We have 12 couples participating. Each couple is to meet with every other couple, once. This means that each month each couple will be meeting with a different couple (one with whom they have not yet met) to get to know them better. So, twelve couples=11 total meetings (because there are 11 couples besides yourself to meet with). We will meet January through November with a different couple.

We have assigned each couple a number and tried to pair up the numbers, so that each month, different "numbers" meet with different "numbers" than they have before. But, each time we get close, there is a duplicate. Some couple ends up being paired up to meet with a couple they've already met with previously in the year. Some people have tried to pair them up like the table I pasted at the bottom of this blog. But, this table doesn't work... because, as you can see, Couple #1 is paired with Couple #2 for January. But, Couple Number 2 is paired with Couple #3 for January. Couple #2 can't be paired with two different couples in one month. So, if anyone loves a challenge, I have one here for you. Figure out how to have all 12 couples meet with every other couple, but only once. The first person to provide an accurate answer or to provide a spreadsheet with a rotation that works will win a prize! I promise! We are that bewildered by this scheduling problem. :) Thanks!

The Way He Sees Things

This little guy loves to look through things, whether it be the screen door, rocking chair slats, glass door panes or the banister. Here is a smattering of recent pictures of him...the way he sees things.

Through the screen door

YIPPEE!!

So, I got so excited last night when my hubby and I saw gas for $1.99 a gallon. Seriously, I don't remember the last time I saw it in the $1.anything range. This is super exciting. It is amazing how thrilling getting gas can be now.

Trick or Treat

So, the hubby and I just couldn't come up with something from our closets to wear for a Halloween costume, so we skipped out on the Halloween party we had planned to go to and just took Little Buddy trick-or-treating instead. We were invited to a birthday party for a friend, last night, too. And, as much as we love all of our friends and would have loved to have celebrated with all of them, last night was just perfect for us. I didn't regret having a "just us" night at all. It was great. Little Buddy wore his puppy dog costume from last year. (Well, ONE of his costumes from last year). He was a little unsure about the whole idea of going up to strangers houses and holding out a little bag for them to drop goodies into, but he warmed up. He really had a good time, it seemed. He got so comfortable that when the people told him to pick his own candy out of their bowl, he wasn't shy about helping himself. How embarrassing. What a little mooch. But, he was a cute mooch, so it was okay. When we finished trick-or-treating, we ended back up at Grammie and Papa's house. But, Little Buddy was just getting warmed up. He didn't want to go inside, so he and Grammie just walked around the grass and greeted the trick-or-treaters that were coming to their door. He helped pass out candy, too. What a sweet boy. He even tried to give his own Hot Tamales to someone. But, fortunately, Grammie stopped him from being so giving. She knows that mommy and daddy like Hot Tamales, I guess. :)
Anyways, here are some pictures from last night: (The first one is from last year...for comparison.)

Last year...as Scooby Doo

This year: Just a sweet little puppy dog

Heading out

Safety in numbers

Trying to pose by the pumpkin

Saying "thank you" in sign language

Doing a victory dance for Papa about all the candy he collected

Showing Papa all his loot

The loot

Hey, What happened to all that candy?