And we love Him, because He first loved us.

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining.
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Merry Christmas. :)

Christmas Eve Eve

I love Christmas Eve Eve.

Mostly because my favorite day of the year is Christmas Eve. By Christmas Day it already feels like its over to me - Christmas Eve sums up all the anticipation and joy of the season. It remains the most magical evening of the year. There's always some sort of family get together on Christmas Eve. The kids are bubbling with excitement. Santa will be here soon. All the decorations are finished, all the wrapping, all the buying. You can just sit down - for often the first time that December - and soak it all in.

Plus, Christmas Eve has more of a ring to it. :)

Though I usually quote Snoopy's Christmas during this time of year (#2 on Top 5 Favorite Secular Christmas Carols, only beat out by Carol of the Bells) I've recently gained a new appreciation for an old standard.

Thus, I give you It Came Upon a Midnight Clear performed by Sixpence None the Richer. I should return before Christmas, but in case I don't, know that this is my hope for you: that all of you have a very merry holiday, that your celebrations be filled with loved ones and that the birth and beauty of Christ be fresh your hearts. Love you all.

For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophets seen of old.
When with the ever-circling years
Shall come the time foretold.
When the new heaven and earth shall own
The Prince of Peace, their King,
And the whole world send back the song
Which now the angels sing.

Tis the Season...

I had (originally) planned on blogging for each day of Christmas Week. It's full of activity this year and I was hoping to respond to each night.
But since it is so full, I usually come home and crash afterward instead. With no days off this week at work, and with all the activity, I'm purposely trying to get extra rest (despite the fact that work has been, bizarrely, slow.) So. Recap.

Sunday: The Christmas Service
Sunday was nice. We've canceled drama rehearsals for the month (for which I'm grateful despite how much I enjoy them) and I spent the afternoon at home. Woot.
That evening was our Christmas service at church. All in all there were 22 of us - a small gathering, but there. When Gary asked for twelve volunteers we suddenly realized to our amusement we would have more onstage than in the audience. I love my little church.
The past few years we've always had a very serious candlelit service, which is beautiful and I always enjoy it, but this year was much more lighthearted and a nice change. There was one candle at the front, one that is there for every Christmas service and made me smile - one candle to remind us of Christ. We opened with requested favorites such as Jingle Bells, Have a Merry Little Christmas, Silver Bells, Rudolph... And then Pam spoke up that we had not sang Rudolph with the opening lines of the reindeer names, so we started the whole song over from the very beginning. :)
And Gary asked us for our favorite Christmas memories and after prayer he read the Christmas story, pulling from all the gospels to complete it. We sang a few more requested Christmas carols - this time ones from the hymnal - and Gary finished up by reading another story of the birth, this time by Max Lucado. The final piece of the evening was darkening the church and lighting our candles in the quiet. In the midst of the the flickering glow I marveled at the churches that met like this in the past and meet like this today - hidden away for their safety, with only candles. For a moment a palpable connection with believers already gone and others now tucked in pockets of the world. A reminder to remember my brothers and sisters in chains.

Monday: A Double Celebration with Friends
The annual Christmas party! Christmas Party Part 1 was held at the Nickersons house where feasting was commenced. Turkey, the garlic mashed potatoes, stuffing, cheddar biscuits...it was all deliiicious. Philip, Kelly, Eric, Cambria, Holly, Sam, Brad, Regina and myself all gathered around their table. And after cleaning up....
Christmas Party Part Deux! The Hinsons household. Old photos from college graced the television, we reminisced, unwrapped gifts and spent the rest of the evening relishing each others company. And there was an aaamazing double-layer dark chocolate cream-cheese icing cake with dark chocolate chips by Holly herself. Yum. Yum.

Tuesday: Bricktown Bonanaza
This evening after work I made a trip up to Bricktown - I had to leave a little late due to a very unexpected family piece right at ten till five. But Imy graciously finished it and I was able to leave and arrive just in time to see the kiddos getting their pics with Santa. Then it was off to Chelinos for the 12 of us to devour (in my case) delicious quesadillas.
During dinner a man making balloon art came up to the table and delighted all the girls with varying shapes. Anna & Amy received a ladybug and teddy bear respectively that could be worn on their wrist (this was very cool! I had never seen that before) while Ashia requested a motorcycle and a very eager Ashlyn loved her puppy dog. They were really well made and I thought it was wonderful how four balloons totally made their night. Balloon man was awesome.

Anna: Knock, knock!
Who's there?
Anna: Um...rock!
Rock who?
Anna: Rock-aren't-you-glad-I-didn't-say-banana!? Ahahahaa!Knock, knock!

Good times, good times. Finally soaking in the season, I'm ready for the rest of Christmas week.

Bonus feature! Christmas videos!
Every Christmas as a kid I watched the Sesame Street Christmas episode several times. And while I do remember them singing Feliz Navidad while ice skating, mostly I watched it for the Cookie Monster segment. That was my FAVORITE. And for a few years I could never find it on youtube, but you can noooow.... :)







Also awesome this week: the lunar eclipse happening on the winter solstice that hasn't happened in some odd 400 years. It was totally worth getting up for - but if you're like me and didn't - here's a time lapse video of it out of Florida. It's worth the watch clocking in at just over two minutes.

At least the rainbows were pretty.

I was in our back room this morning, cutting up and processing the new flowers. I'm mindlessly filling up buckets. And I can't explain why I walked away. I've never walked away. But I guess I wanted this morning to be exciting.
The water hose had been going slow and as I wandered a few steps off I had in a flash completely forgotten about the water hose as I was apparently in Sherri-happy-fun-time-land. There are rainbows.

But when I returned several minutes later I certainly remembered. Since there before me was a layer of water covering the entire back half of the room, flooding up underneath the cabinets, soaking the bottoms of several cardboard boxes, trying to crest our thick standing mat...

I dashed to turn the water off and tried to survey the leakage. It didn't look that bad. Not really. More like a thin layer of water. Just on the back half of the room. I ran up front to grab some newspapers for the small spills that occur. My boss called out that I should treat the amaryllis like callas, don't give them too much water or their tips curl.
I could feel the sheepish grin crawl all over me. Too much water? Sure. No problem.

I threw the newspapers out, grateful I actually had decided to wear my warm, thick boots that morning because otherwise I would have been soaked. And cold. And three layers of newspapers later I finally got the water down enough to where I could sweep the rest of it out the back door. A half hour process. My boss laughed.

Adventures. Adventures.

Help me out, yeah, you know you gotta help me out...

Confession. I started Christmas shopping last Thursday. Started.
...
This is actually very unlike me. Thankfully, the lovely Holly was willing to go along for the ride and we dashed from store to store. I can now safely say a mere few days later that half of my shopping is done. Yes.

But for most of the people I hadn't bought for I had hit a brick wall on ideas. This was...unfortunate. So tonight began Operation: Beg. Text messages went out. Pleading for ideas. And I'm grateful that all of you responded. :) You should have seen the happy dancing occurring with each message. It was gleeful. I'm sorry I had few ideas for you in the first place. I wish I had a good explanation. Next year I'll try to be more on game.

A summation of everything else:
* More poinsettias arrived in the shop today.
* We only have four grave blankets left and I am super pumped about that.
* A guy came in today just to let us know how thankful he was. Last Friday he bought a bouquet to take to his friend and he had never seen her light up like that. Aw.... that makes me smile.
* I'm about 100 or so pages into Game of Thrones.
* I've recently started listening to the Killers. Any suggestions? "Dustland Fairytale" is my favorite. (But "All The Things That I've Done" is on about its 20th play now.)
* I've attended both beautiful Amy's and snazzy Tate's birthday parties. Tate's party was Dr. Seuss. Look at this cutie. (I'm stealing the pic.)


* I listened to Amy's lovely piano recital in a room at the local library I never even knew existed. She did wonderful.
* I heard all about Carson's Santa visit.
* Phyllis, Amy & I went to see Little Women on at the local community theatre Saturday night. I approve of all of their renovations!
* But before that, Amy & I had a deliiicious dinner at Chilis.
* And at some point I went Christmas shopping.

C'mon Marianne... (Edited)

Man. Most of my friends have had a lousy week this week. Crossing my fingers things lift next week. I'm so sorry guys.

Dropping off a few links:
D'aaaaw.... I love these two. Check out this cake by Charm City Cakes.
Wall-e & Eve Cake

Great Big Sea is offering a free Christmas download from their website for the season. :)

An old classic video I felt the need to reshare for amusement:
My Name is Potato

And of course, Batman 3 interviews (spoilers):
Eckhart Interview on DKR Rumors

Mm... I'm not entirely sure why my blog earlier decided to smash two posts together. But I was rushing anyway and had no chance to fix it. Sorry for any confusion. It apparently was against my posting Batman news.

The Oregon Visit

May be edited later as I recall more details. I use a lot of 'amazing,' 'awesome' and 'wonderful' and that's only because, well, it was.

Tuesday
We flew out Tuesday evening and despite a delayed beginning we dashed to our Houston gate just as they began boarding. (Will, I waved to you from the plane.) We hurried around corner after corner, up and down escalators and through entire sections of the airport. There's a man out there that gave us a ride on a cart the last ten minutes walk. Man on the cart, I love you.

The flight to Oregon felt loooong. It was four and a half hours which, a few years ago, would have been nothing. But I haven't flown in so long it felt forever. The good news though is that I finished Wizard of Earthsea on the flight, and that was highly enjoyable, so it certainly helped me finish the flight (favorite character: Ogion).

Grandma and & I arrived in Portland around 11:35 that night to a balmy 19 degrees. After many hugs and while we were waiting on baggage Amanda informed us that the slider door on their van was stuck. Open. The door was not entirely closed, but the ice was holding the door together and they couldn't get the ice broken. It made me smile - you are never without an adventure when you visit the Wojahns. :)

"The other day I saw the sweetest turkey hat." - Amanda

Wednesday
I was so glad we had arrived on Tuesday night and had a nights sleep before diving into the the week. It really gave us a whole extra day there which was awesome. Wednesday we opened the day with eating at a fantastic local restaurant which only serves fresh fish (delicious). We followed it up with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (Snickers cheesecake) and then the play A Christmas Story that evening which had this amazing set.

Thursday
Thursday was Turkey day! Grandma and I joined the gold goblet club that evening as we dined on Diane's delicious meal. Amanda, Brian & I spent most of the day(s) playing Super Mario Bros. Wii (which is amaaaazing. all the nostalgia and fun of the old games all refreshed.) When I left Saturday we were at World 6.

We sat down that evening for the meal, listened to Christmas carols in the background and enjoyed each others company. Cell phones were off. Just each other and wonderful food. It was nice. They have a wonderful Thanksgiving tradition.

That evening Amanda was looking for more Wii games and noticed the local mall would be open (including Gamestop) so Brent, her and I went and got in line at 11:30 for the midnight opening. We arrived just in time before the huge rush of people hit, but unfortunately the deals there weren't as good as we were hoping. Nonetheless, I'm glad I went out with her.

Friday
Friday morning my Uncle Brent and I went wandering in flower wholesalers! I had looked for an open market (wanting to see the differences of flowers there), but was unable to locate one. Being a photographer he knows all these great places, so we went to a string of wholesalers he had previously been to. But you should really have a wholesale license, so I was a little timid at our first venture especially since it was such a small wholesaler and it was obvious we were new. While it was a no big deal if we weren't buying, I was just a little unsure. But the next one we went into was huge and people wandered freely so I enjoyed looking amongst all their fresh and silk. And as we were walking out I noticed the wholesaler next door was a company we order from in the city, so I happily perused through their store as well. I saw fresh fiddleleaf ferns (veeeery popular in wedding work right now and none of our wholesalers in the city had even heard of them), Sahara roses (which would have been all wrong in a wedding we had considered earlier), beautiful cosmos, peonies out-of-season, greenery that looked like crushed velvet in royal purple.... It was a lot of fun for me. And it was reassuring seeing the trends there for the holidays are ones we're using in our shop here. :)

Then we swung by with the whole family to rescue Diane from evil Black Friday retail work and celebrated with Baskin Robbins (it is not a trip to Oregon without Baskin Robbins). We watched football, booed the Oregon Ducks and eventually had to switch the game off the tv and onto the radio because WE WENT TO ZOOLIGHTS. ZOOLIGHTS, I LOVE YOU. ZOOLIGHTS YOU'RE AWESOME. ZOOLIGHTS. ZOOLIGHTS. (An actual rendition of my internal monologue the whole time I was there.)

Zoolights is held at the Oregon Zoo every year where the entire park is covered in thousands of Christmas lights. Christmas lights everywhere. Lights on trees, lights outlining the carousel, lights in animal shapes... You don't mind that all the animals are sleeping, because the lights are too beautiful.
Of course, not all the animals were sleeping.
We saw two exhibits. As we wandered into the polar bear exhibit suddenly we realized there were no polar bears. PENGUINS. We saw ELEPHANTS and PENGUINS. And LIGHTS. And LIVE BIG BAND JAZZ. At the ZOO. And I was in love. We rode the train. We shared holographic glasses amongst the group. One pair made all the lights look like snowflakes, the entire Santa heads.

We drove home trying to decide if we could eat or not. But we decided sure, we could and stopped at the Old Spaghetti Factory where I learned there are spinach pasta shells (Spinach Tortellini, deliiicious) and also had spumoni for the first time (pistachio/chocolate/strawberry, deliiiicious). And then utterly, utterly stuffed we drove on home for the night.

"Whoa! I gotta drive with these things! Look, blinking Santa heads! Santa heads everywhere!" - Brian


Saturday
Saturday was it. We were to fly home in the afternoon. :(

As a final lunch we ate at Five Guys, a hamburger chain that is apparently really, really well known for their hamburgers. And they were indeed really good, but man, they're fries were the best. And off to the airport... We arrived early, but it gave us time to roam the shops where a Powells was located. Grandma and I needed books for the flight home, so it worked out perfect. I glanced through the Science Fiction section, since they had obviously paired it with Fantasy. Nothing caught my eye until I saw Ender's Game, highly admired and discussed by my friends and one I knew I did need to read. I almost didn't - I was never a fan of reading sci fi, but wow I'm so glad I did. I had no idea what to expect but I was suddenly completely consumed by the story and actually concerned for the characters well-being throughout the whole flight. Due to lack of sleep, I was able to finish it last night. I'm so glad I read it. An immediate jump to top ten books ever and will probably edge out Perelandra.

"What do you mean, 'do I want to leave the beaver hat on'?!" - Amanda

And now we're home. Portland, honestly, feels like my second home. I love it there. There's mountains, ocean, forest, city...all within hours of each other. I love staying there. It's almost a refuge and its perfect.

So my Thanksgiving was wonderful. We had the opportunity to see family we don't often get to see, at a holiday we've never had a chance to celebrate with them before. We loved each others company and had the time to take in some awesome places and events. Indeed, it was perfect.

But I'll be back come around the way.

You disappeared.

Indeed, I did. I flew to Oregon this past week for Thanksgiving and it was really awesome. The trip was amazing and you'll hear all about it soon. Or at least, I'll record it for myself soon and you can decide if you're interested in reading it. :)

Why not tonight?

Mm... I think I'm still recovering from the trip, honestly. Also, while we were semi-slow at work today, we are stacked with orders for tomorrow. And I'm towards the end of reading Ender's Game for the first time and I'm pretty consumed. So nothing tonight.

But at least now you know I'm baaaaack. :)

Smock, smock, smock, smock, smock...

It was yesterday. And I missed it. But here it is anyway:

HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY CALVIN & HOBBES!!

C&H is my all-time favorite comic strip. There is no doubt. The great thing about it is that it can make you laugh when you're seven and it can still make you laugh - sometimes even for the same reason - much later. It's universal. It's ageless. The topics are always handled with care. The characters are all beautifully written. Did I mention it's hysterical? I love it. Everyone needs a Hobbes.

Bill Watterson, you are wonderful. You still make me smile.

Speaking of Bill Watterson, here's a rare interview he gave just this past February - believed to be his first interview since 1989.

Love. Love these two.



Psst... While you're here, you need to see this:
National Geographic Pictures of the Year

Absolutely breathtaking shots. You won't regret taking a few minutes to at least scroll through them. Personal favorites: 2, 12, 22, 15, 33, 34. And really, there's no way to pull any real favorite. They're incredible.

Back from the grave. (Angel, do not shun me!)

(I'm posting twice tonight! Please don't miss Tate's homecoming post underneath!)

...
I knoooooow. I knoooow it's been much longer than "a few days." But we're here now, right? Riiight? Okay, okay, here we go! Let's finish this up.

Note: This are all specifically from shows I've viewed, not counting shows I've participated in.

Top 5 Theatrical Moments

5) Snocones at HONK (Outdoor Rose Garden Theatre in Oregon, 2003)
This is right up there with eating ice cream in the theatres of London. The novelty, the fun, how laid back the whole experience was compared to sometimes the stiffness of watching a show. Sitting outside with my cousins in Oregon on a beautiful summer day watching a local production of Honk! and eating snocones.



4) Snow at KA (Vegas, 2009)
I love Cirque. Everyone loves Cirque. They're amazing. And while KA isn't actually my favorite (currently that falls to Mystere) it was at the time their most technically advanced show and incredible to watch. (Seriously, total knock down drag out did-they-really-just-make-the-whole-stage-go-vertical?! show.) Also, it's the only Cirque show where I've sat so closely (5th row?).
So while sitting that close cut out a lot of the big-picture stuff which is so beautiful in Cirque, this was the first time I got to experience the benefits of sitting up close. Such as theatrical snow. And as the performers flew right over my head and the snow fell thick and cold on my own body as they fought through a snowstorm, I now see why sitting up front has its advantages. The overall effect was worth it.



3) Christmas Eve Sarajevo by TSO (OKC, 2007)
Travis & I were at my first Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. I had loved the song Christmas Eve Sarajevo 24/7 since middle school. It's still my favorite version of my favorite Christmas song (Carol of the Bells). I was already way excited to see TSO in concert and very curious as to how they would handle this song, which was easily their biggest hit. I figured they would just rock it out and let everyone go crazy.
But if you've ever seen TSO's Christmas show you know their first "act" is a poem set to the music. And the poem is really long, and eventually you start waiting for it to finish, but in the middle the angel is sweeping over the earth looking for a gift to bring to his Lord. And the angel's eyes fall onto "the fires of Sarajevo as a lone cello starts to play" (which, of course, is how the song starts)

"And when he flew over Sarajevo there were scars upon the land,
their were scars upon the people and it was hard to understand.
And the deepest scars of all (which to humans are unseen
but the angel saw clearly) are the scars upon the dreams of
Belfast, Rwanada, Palestine, Sudan.
The only decorations here had been a war from their crimes.
And in the gardens where the children played, now the soldiers trod.
And stranger still he heard some say that they were killing for their God.
Now the angel had heard God speak many times and had always paid attention,
but this killing of one's neighbor was something the Lord had never mentioned.
But as he neared the earth of a recent battleground
from among the ruins he heard the sound of a simple cello
playing a forgotten Christmas song.
And even on that battlefield the song somehow belonged.
And as he flew the angel did take note that whenever he found this music playing
one always could find hope."

And then the opening cello starts up. Giving the song that much meaning on top of its passionate sound really made the whole thing stand out. I had chills.

(And in part two they end the show by completely rocking out to it. You got the best of both worlds.)

2) Rafiki's Intro in LK (London, 2006)
It was my first opportunity to see Lion King and I was very excited after hearing so much about it for years. I had just returned from Swaziland the summer before and I was still on cloud nine from the trip. So imagine my surprise when Rafiki came out and suddenly broke the fourth wall with "Sanibonani!" And as she continued to chatter away in Afrikaan (or whatever language she was in) I sat there in shock as I had just understood the word. Just one word! But instead of feeling hit with a language barrier I felt like a piece of the show, a part of something special. I felt assured they had really worked hard to incorporate the African influence.

1) "Wandering Child" Trio (London, 2006)

Holly & I were off to see Phantom of the Opera in its original home of Her Majesty's Theatre in London. Upon entering the lobby we saw Earl Carpenter's name up for the Phantom that night, someone I had heard such lovely things about but never even considered I would have an opportunity to see. Oh, and we had perfect seats. The theatre is built to accommodate all aspects of the house, which is really nice.
There's a part of me that really hopes they never update this particular production, at least until after it finally closes. I feel like it needs to be seen in this original incarnation, even if that includes now cheesy 80's lightning effects in the opening and other outdated technical elements. The original lyrics were still in place (some minor changes have been made in all US productions since then, and probably worldwide as well).
The saddest change for me, however, was to "Wandering Child" which is a beautiful song, but minor compared to all the other big numbers. On the Original London Cast recording you can hear it in its trio form with the Phantom, Christine & Raoul, but all US productions (and again, probably all the others) have since changed it to mostly a duet between the Phantom and Christine. But the trio is really gorgeous and I've never understood why they would lessen it.
I had seen Phantom before in the US and was always disappointed at this point. And I was preparing myself to be disappointed again. And then suddenly Raoul ran out early and I thought Could it be? Seriously? Don't tease me... And there they were, my (now) favorite Phantom, Christine and Raoul singing my favorite piece of music in the score, live onstage. Beautiful. I loved every minute of it.

The trio in its original form:
Once again she is his....once again she returns.

Meet Tate! :)

Note: I did not take all these photos. A very nice man from their church comes and takes photos at major life events for families as his ministry which is really awesome. Props to him! If need be though, I can immediately switch the photos out if it's outside his wishes.

Mostly a photo post, because I think the photos speak louder than words here. :)

Yesterday was a blur! After drama at 4 I flew to Amy's house where the Pucketts and I drove to Texas Roadhouse for a family dinner before going to the main attraction... watching my cousins walk in at the airport with our newest kiddo!

All six kiddos ready for their new cousin...


I love this pic of Ashlyn. ;) Can you tell we arrived at the airport an hour and a half early? With six kids? Ahahaha.... No, they were actually great. And we had that section of the airport completely to ourselves, which was awesome. They ran around to their hearts content.


Flight from Detroit, on time...


We were all wearing the shirts Brian & Shannon designed...


The plane has landed! Everyone get ready!


And then everything became very happy and very chaotic. We set the security check point alarm off twice. :)




















You may not can tell in the photos, but the front of his shirt reads "I'm finally home!" Indeed, Tate. And we're thrilled you're all finally home safe and sound. :)

Stand-in Post 2

*crickets chirping*

We see no top five post.

....
Indeed.
Actually, what was salvaged is still saved in my drafts. So you will see it eventually.

Partial Truth: I haven't had time to sit down and rewrite it these past few days.
Full Truth: After losing all that information to random happenstance, I haven't been willing to sit down and rewrite it.

But it hasn't flown off my radar. I do remember. I just also know there's a lot in store at work this week (open house/finishing Christmas/daily work) and I need sleep. So it won't be tonight. I'm sure you're brokenhearted over it. But don't worry, we'll get through this together.

In the meantime, sweet dreams. ;)

Stand-in Post

Gaaaaaaaaaah!

I really did write a top five tonight. And then blogger logged me out automatically and lost two and a half of my top five in the process (the auto save had not been updating).

I am too tired to finish it back up. Therefore, it'll be posted tomorrow. :)

Sweet dreams.

I got a brand new pair of rollar skates.

I'm stealing this from Will who stole it from someone else. Bwahaha.

Top 5 Movie Theater Experiences

5) Alvin & the Chipmunks 2
Ha! Did you expect this one? :) If I remember right it was very last minute. My family had discussed possibly seeing Alvin the next week. The girls had wanted to see it. And suddenly one day I received a call. We were going at 4:00. Could I make it?
I was off that day, and I have no idea why now. I remember being really excited that it worked out. And I think almost the entire Plumb/Puckett side of my family went. Spread out all across a row, my cousins, their kiddos, aunt and uncle... It was pretty awesome. :) The movie theater was filled with kids. Our kids loved it. It was great.
Hey guys, we should do that again. ;)

4) Phantom of the Opera
Oh, my masked men. Three of the movies on my top five contain you. Will, Holly, Brad & I drove to Wichita's Warren Theater to see this one in style. :) Lovell joined us along the way and we decided to stop off at the Wichita Zoo first. The reason we stopped at the Zoo first was because it was winter and since it was so cold out it was $1 for all visitors.
It. was. winter. It was around 30 degrees. We were beyond shivering. We were losing feeling in body parts. The indoor Rainforest exhibit saved us.
And then we saw the movie that was directed by a director I had a, um, distaste for because he had previously destroyed the Batman (and superhero) franchise with Batman & Robin. Oy.
But running around like crazy people at the Zoo with friends and topping it off with one of my favorite musicals makes the list. :)

3) Batman Returns
I was seven when this came out and my dad actually took me to see it in theaters. I watch the movie now and wonder if mom knew he was going to take me. ;) But all I really remember from being seven was that Catwoman knocked out her "Hello There" sign to read something entirely different and that Penguin ate a raw fish. And I was really disgusted by the eating of the raw fish at seven.
But my dad took me and he loved Batman. We had Batman posters up all over the garage (he even had one for the Animated Series). I loved Batman. I had all the toys. They were my favorites. In fact, in my room today, all my Batman Returns toys remain out on a shelf. His Batman & Joker from the 1989 movie sit on a shelf opposite of them. Brad & Regina last year bought the Joker from Dark Knight for my Christmas gift that hangs out with them.
So while I may not remember much about the actual viewing itself Batman Returns is on my list because I'll never forget how cool it was to go see it with him.

2) Chicago
I want to say it was May, but now that I see the release date was January, I'm not sure that's right. But whenever it was, I was really struggling. It was my first year of college, nothing was going right and I was nearing some major tests and had a paper to write. Stress. And then out of the blue Will & Holly kidnapped me. I had no idea where we were going.
They were kidnapping me to go see Chicago which at that point I still hadn't seen and was out of almost all the theatres. But they found it still playing a late showing at Quail Springs Mall. When we arrived, however, the showing time had been wrong. It wasn't starting for another 45 minutes. I still had a paper to write. Could we wait that long?
Absolutely. I was so overwhelmed with their kindness and so happy that they even considered this (plus, I had really been wanting to see the movie) that we stayed. We ate Sonic and listened to FIF while we waited. We got home late. It didn't matter- my paper was suddenly no big deal. Because my friends are awesome.


1) The Dark Knight
"And here we...go."
I know. You're shocked. But there's a reason it's so obvious, because this one takes the cake.

I have never, ever in my life been so excited about a movie or even a show. It was July 18th, 2008. I was useless at work. The hype had been building for months. Batman Begins had been awesome. The potential of having a wonderful Batman trilogy was within reach. But I knew it would all depend on the second one, because the second movie in a trilogy is usually the weakest. If this one could be good, then I knew we could make it.
Then there was Heath Ledger. Oscar talk had been rumored since even before his death and after his death things just exploded. No one knocked his performance an ounce. It was brilliance they said. And I was getting really worried that the hype had gotten so out of hand that he would never be able live up to it. I expected his performance to be good, but the expectation was now so huge, his performance would have to be mind blowing.
It was a constant topic among my friends. The lines from the trailer and viral marketing constantly ran through my head. Why so serious? Where is she? Here's my card.

And then finally the day came. And I was a basketcase at work. And five minutes till Bobby closed up early so I could take off. And I did too, because prior to going to the movie, I also needed to make Kelly's bridesmaid dinner at Zios.
And this is how awesome Kelly is: This was days before her wedding and I'm at her dinner for all her bridesmaids checking my watch. And she still loves me. :)The dinner was delicious, the company was wonderful and then I was on my way again to rest of the way to Quail Springs Mall. Shaking. And then suddenly it hit me: What if I don't like this? I actually hadn't considered that possibility before. What if I don't like this? What if this isn't that good? What if this fails miserably? I know it sounds overdramatic to describe "terror swept over me" about a movie, but really, I was almost sick.

I should insert here: Will had already seen the movie hours earlier at Disneyland. And what message does he send me?
"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!"
Twitch. "What does that mean?! Good, bad?!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!"
....
So not only was I waiting but now I had that in my head and I had no idea what it meant.

Quail Springs Mall parking was packed. I had to park way out in the middle of nowhere. All I could remember was it was near Sears, but it didn't matter, because the goal was just to get inside. Most of my friends in the area were there. I saw the same sick worry I had mirrored on Eric's face. Jesse let me play on his iPhone until the previews started.
And then...it began. And of course, if you've seen the movie, you know it never really stops until the end. Suddenly I realized why Will just sent me a screaming text message. Because your brain is constantly trying to work to process everything going on the first time you watch it.
One particular favorite memory is when Gordon goes into Dent's office for the first time and Dent asks him what the cops call him behind his back. And Eric & I suddenly jolted at the same time, realizing what was coming.
And then there's Ledger. Who is indeed truly mindblowing and probably the only performance I have seen that I can say has ever lived up to the massive hype.

The show finished and we sat frozen in our seats. Then I couldn't find my car. Jesse had to drive me around until we found it because it was late and I was tired and had no idea where my car was. And then I drove home, drained from the excitement and crashed. And I still get jittery when I talk about it because I know how incredibly hard it will be for anything to top it. It was such a wild ride from the beginning rumors to the final credits.

And now I'm just waiting until July 20th, 2012 for The Dark Knight Rises. ;)

Salvation full & free.

Today is special. It's my birthday!

You're crazy. Your birthday is in August.

True. But today is my second birthday. :) The day Will & I sat on the bench between Raley & the cross and I accepted Christ. The day that suddenly and unexpectedly changed everything. It all feels so far away and at the same time so short. Seven years.

Therefore I see this as a perfect day to list my top 5 hymns. :) I had been mentally trying to track my favorite hymns for awhile, but with the exception of a few, it was a lot harder to nail down than I anticipated it to be. Nonetheless...

Top 5 Traditional Hymns
5) Day by Day
He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

I admit, the fifth slot could be filled with several songs. My Lord is Near Me All the Time sometimes knocks it out of place. I still find Just As I Am absolutely beautiful. But the concept of Day by Day and its lyrics continually reminding you of God's hour-by-hour protection and guidance and care and the simplicity of the melody usually makes it an unexpected favorite of mine. The lyric "The protection of His child and treasure is a charge that on Himself He laid" originally warmed up my heart to the song and the rest has just followed suit.

4) When I Survey The Wonderous Cross
See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
sorrow and love flow mingled down.
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
or thorns compose so rich a crown.

I don't know anyone that doesn't love this song, actually... (if I'm wrong, let me know.) It's a knockout. I'm actually at a loss as to why I should explain why because it seems so self explanatory. It's just a gorgeous song, lyrically, musically and spiritually. It encompasses so much of the worth of Christ versus the rags we can offer.

3) This is My Father's World
This is my Father's world:
he shines in all that's fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world.
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.


Hilltop is probably convinced this is my favorite (its often very close). We don't sing it enough for my satisfaction so whenever Carolyn takes requests and I haven't spoken up in awhile I always suggest it. :) I had to pull two verses to show you why - it really sums up so much of my favorite aspects of God. His creation, His sovereignty, His justice & goodness & His presence. All wrapped up in three verses.
And in particular, I think it lyrically paints perfect images of His creation. ("All nature sings and round me rings the music of the spheres" never fails to win me over.) I love this because I've had more theological conversations while watching Animal Planet or Planet Earth or Blue Planet or visiting the zoo or.... My friends and I are often overwhelmed by God's abilities to design and sustain this world. That's just what really brings it out in us. And I love that. His world is beautiful.

2) Because He Lives
Because He lives I can face tomorrow,
because He lives all fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future
and life is worth the living just because He lives.

I just raved on Fathers World and somehow it sits at #3? That's because I actually lean on this song more. I've struggled a lot with fear over the years and this song can totally destroy that hold over me. All the reminders of His control in this song settle me.
And while in the middle of struggling with depression so long ago and wondering if things would ever get better, I can assure you that realizing the truth of the line "and life is worth the living just because He lives" takes on a much more profound meaning. If there is absolutely no other reason, if everything has shattered, somehow life is still worth living...just because He lives.

1) Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
I could post this whole song. In fact, I think I will. There's nothing in this song I can exempt. Lyrically & musically alone, it's lovely. Its imagery is beautiful. Its overwhelmingly honest ("prone to wander, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love"), reminds us of how far we continually fall ("O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be") and yet speaks volumes of Christ's love for us ("Jesus sought me when I stranger wandering from the fold of God...").
No. While others often come close, there is no doubt this one remains top of my list. :)

Come, thou Fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace;
streams of mercy, never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise.
Teach me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues above.
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it, mount of thy redeeming love.

Here I raise mine Ebenezer; hither by thy help I'm come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God;
He, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor daily I'm constrained to be!
Let thy goodness, like a fetter, bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love;
here's my heart, Lord take and seal it, seal it for thy courts above.

Sunny, thank you for that smile upon your face.

Let's try something this week. Let's try Top 5's.

I know I don't read a lot now but up through high school I was rarely seen without a book in hand. Dinner table, shopping, it mattered not. I could read. And then senior year it just came to a grinding halt and with the exception of a few books I've never really picked it back up since. Currently, I simply don't devote the time to it. While I enjoy it- if I'm not in a situation where I'm free from everything else- I feel guilty. There is always something else to do.
As I looked back on this list I suddenly thought to myself Oy, I need to get out more... There is a definite pattern. Fantasy, or at least the fantastical, is in the world of each book. And I do enjoy other genres. But as to my favorites, well, there is no doubt. :)

Also, any of my top 5's are always subject to change. Which is why half the time I hate playing that game. Ahem. :)

That being said, here are my top five books:

5) Till We Have Faces by C.S Lewis
"And if it was a dream, Sister, how do you think I came here? It's more likely everything that I knew before was a dream."

It's entirely possibly this book isn't higher on my list simply because I've only read it once. It's quite a beautiful reinterpretation of the Pysche/Cupid myth in Lewis fashion. The characters are so well-handled, the language is so beautiful and the story is so well developed, I can't imagine how many times he had to rewrite it to perfect it. Thanks Kelly! :)

4) Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
"It is not your world, Piebald," she replied.

This is actually the second book in Lewis' Space Trilogy. Why not the first or third? I have no idea, except the third book is such a complete roller coaster ride that I doubt I've ever really processed half of what occurs in that book. But I love the theological discussions in Perelandra and I love the Green Lady. Their world, unhindered by sin and yet still facing the temptation of it. Again, C.S. Lewis never fails to fascinate.

3) The Giver by Lois Lowry
"Who wants to be the first tonight, for feelings?"
This book hasn't left my top 5 list since I first read it in...middle school? High school? Does not matter. Since the first time I read it. It explores a world where color, feelings, weather, memories, people...everything is sterilized. Everything is the same. Memories of war, pain, love, holidays, etc. are all held by only one member of the community, the Receiver. And through this book you discover their life through Jonas who becomes selected to become the next Receiver of Memory.

2) A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
It was a dark and stormy night.

I had owned this book for months before actually reading it. Again. Guilt monkeys. No time. And I was struggling with falling back into a lot of depressing thoughts at the time. Does art matter? Not really. Does imagination matter? No. Kids should face reality. No unicorns. Bah.
Wow, so unlike me, it was kind of scary.
And in the midst of that I finally decided to read Wrinkle. I was so completely blown away by how it was so entwined with Christianity, and how the characters use language, art, math, all these different aspects to fight off the Thing, well... It not only pulled me out of my struggling thoughts but it threw me in the total opposite direction back to where I was before, but more solidified. Of course it matters.

1) Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
"You see, Wendy, when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies."

My favorite part about this book is simply how it's written. Barrie has such a lovely way of portraying the story and its characters. I love its whimsiness. I love that there are mermaids and pirates. I love the scene with Wendy & Peter's shadow. I love the imagery (Mrs. Darling first heard of Peter when she was tidying up her children's minds. It is the nightly custom of every good mother after her children are asleep to rummage in their minds and put things straight for the next morning...). It's simply perfect.

And I do believe in fairies. I do, do. :)

All Hallows Eve

I can assure you I felt much safer this past Saturday night (between, oh say, 5:30 and 8) as I watched numerous superheroes & Buzz Lightyears wander our streets. :) Grandma & I passed out candy for about two hours before running out. We saw baby Yoda, princesses, ghosts, scary costumes, Transformers, animals... And we had one little boy who arrived at our door in Batman's cape and mask, but with bloody fangs...and a sword? Hm. I never did quite figure that one out.

Also of note, my sales self is apparently now deeply embedded in me as I found myself automatically thanking the kiddos in this fashion:
"Trick or treat!"
"Hi kids! Here you go!"
"Thank you!"
"No, thank you!"

Really, Sherri? Really? Try you're welcome.

*knockknockknock*
"Trick or treat!"
"Hi kids! Here's some treats!"
"Thank you!"
"Thank you!"

*headdoor, headdoor*

I call it the have-a-nice-day syndrome. Not that it's a bad thing to wish someone a good day, but like the thank you situation, sometimes it just comes at the wrong time and you wonder what on earth you were thinking. Anyone else suffer? Anyone?

In the meantime some of my own kiddos came to trick or treat! So I can say we have indeed entertained Superman, Iron Man, Tinkerbell, a basketball player for the Thunder, a hippie and ladybug at our house. :) Or rather, Oreo, entertained them, much to his anxiety. He did really well though. I was proud of him.

But what is a Halloween post without pictures of awesome kids? Here are my favorite ghosts & goblins!







Thanks for the pictures, guys! Happy Halloween!

Where hydrants are open and cool breezes flow.

Here are some meandering discoveries around the net for you.

I was so sad to read first thing this morning that In the Heights was closing. What a beautiful show and even though it had a good run, I still feel like it's closing so soon. Miranda will be returning to the show to finish out its run. Wow.
Hey! Miranda, we want to see a new show in the works from you as well.
"I illuminate the stories of the people in the street. Some have happy endings, some are bittersweet, but I love them all and that's what makes my life complete."

Um...really? "Fermilab is Building a 'Holometer'"
Researchers at Fermilab are building a “holometer” so they can disprove everything you thought you knew about the universe. More specifically, they are trying to either prove or disprove the somewhat mind-bending notion that the third dimension doesn’t exist at all, and that the 3-D universe we think we live in is nothing more than a hologram. To do so, they are building the most precise clock ever created.

This is absolutely gorgeous. An astrophotographer calculated where and when the sky would be the very darkest (he chose Atacama desert, Chile) and went there to snap photos of what it would be like. The images are breathtaking.
The Darkest Sky: 360 panorama of the Milky Way
The rim of light surrounding the full-sky views isn’t sunlight or light form nearby cities, but actually the galaxy itself. Guisard also took measures to time the photo so as to minimize this light as well.

Apparently NASA & DARPA are planning a hundred year starship which would "send astronauts to Mars with the intention of staying for the rest of their lives, as trailblazers for a permanent Mars colony....they would get periodic supply missions, but they would be expected to fend for themselves for water, shelter, nutrients and mineral/chemical processing. They would be expected to develop some kind of homegrown Martian industry, which could ultimately serve as a hub for an expanded colonization program."

Whaaat? Paul the Octopus is dead?? I loved you Paul! Rest in peace my crazy octopus friend.

Thanks to Will I've discovered the word mamihlapinatapai! (mah-may-la-pin-ya-tah-pay, if I got it right, according to this song.) It's from the language Yaghan in Chile.
It is "listed in The Guinness Book of World Records as the 'most succinct word,' and is considered one of the hardest words to translate. It describes 'a look shared by two people with each wishing that the other will initiate something that they both desire but which neither one wants to start.'"
Supposedly, the Yaghan language is only spoken by one person left in the world, an elderly woman in Chile. Amy, I expect to see this in your homeschooling lessons this week.

Now the exciting part: BATMAN NEWS!
Honestly, this title kind of surprises me, but I'll warm up to it. Quite frankly, I'm so happy that I might finally have a complete, fantastic Batman trilogy that I could live with whatever the title may be. I'm also surprised he's revealing it so early. But there's some more exciting news revealed in the article as well. No spoilers here, click if you're interested. I'm so excited! The movie's not out until July 2012, so will someone have an early marathon with me?
Nolan Reveals Title of Third Batman

Update on Tate: My cousins are still in Ethiopia, but Sunday morning I had an opportunity to Skype with them! I had never Skyped before, so it was really interesting. It was also wonderful to meet Tate as well as see and hear Brian & Shannon and what they think of Ethiopia. They mentioned the marketplace and suddenly I was flooded with memories! :) Please keep them in your prayers as they wait for their embassy date.

For Princess Jessica

This came from hopping from one blog to another. We could really brighten one little girl's day.

Here's the background story:

My daughter Jessica has been the victim of teasing at school because of her facial difference. When we go out in public she is keenly aware of other children staring at her face.

Jessica is adopted from China and this summer had her first trip to Disneyland. Yesterday she asked if we could send a picture into the Disney memories website – we did and it was published this morning. Jess was thrilled beyond words that not only was her picture on the website but also that TWO whole people liked it – she thought that was the most amazing thing ever.

Last night she looked and 30 people liked it…”Mommy, THIRTY… thirty people like my picture” she was in happy tears. She asked yesterday if she could go to Disneyland on Christmas day…explaining that it could be her birthday AND her Christmas present…well that’s not possible… BUT seeing that so many people like her picture has brought her such joy.

This is not a contest, she doesn’t win a prize or a trip to Disneyland. She is just a little girl very conscious of her lip deformation (from a cleft) and the fact that people like her picture makes her heart sing. They only see the Princess not the broken lip.

Go here to "like" this sweet princess:

From an Orphan to a Princess

Here's the original story:
The Riggs Family

Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away....

In case you haven't seen this video, I must share. :) It's super cute and I love it. I've had it bouncing around in my head for days now (in a good what-a-very-happy-song way). It makes me smile! Sesame Street continues to prove it's awesomeness.



P.S. Listening to the Sesame Street opening song will cause a huge wave of nostalgia! Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?

Playday with the Plumbs & the Pucketts!

While we did have a playday already scheduled for this past Saturday, on a spur of the moment whim we were on our way to Sulphur! And after some scenic touring in Wanette ("Grandpa, why are we going backwards?!") we made it, scarfed down some Mazzios and spent the rest of the afternoon in the park.

Some shots:

Papa and his girls enjoying Little Niagara.


Exploring....


It was such a gorgeous day. It was absolutely perfect weather.


The pretty Puckett girls and my wonderful Uncle Phil.


One has to wonder why, if there are four girls, only three flip flops can be found? Indeed, a matching pair of flip flops went floating down the river...


Sulphur in fall is really, really pretty.


More of the lovely ladies! Amy & Anna rocking the Team Plumb tees.


The fantastic pair of aunt Phyllis and my cousin Amy.


Parting shot of Phyllis & I...


And now, with that, it is bedtime. (what? at 10:00?) Yeah. We also moved Brad & Regina in this week, had Sunday madness, played 'Splosion Man with Sam & Holly (which, for the record, is awesome) and had a day at the shop that has already stacked tomorrow through Thursdays orders.

But what a perfect weekend. :)

Yeah! I 'splode!

Update on Tate: He's officially theirs! I can't wait to show off pics. In the meantime, though, I'm holding off. There is so much legality involved that I don't understand I just want to wait until after their embassy date. But if you want to see pics, email is always an option! :) I can assure you, he is incredibly cute. All smiles! Brian & Shannon are doing well, but ready to be back in the states. Can't wait to see their family as a whole!

A Flowery Post: First Flower Show

I recently had the opportunity to attend my first flower show!

Flower show?

I've had a lot of questions on that. It was not a national show. It was held at one of our wholesalers in the city, so think of it as their holiday open house. A way of inspiring designers for the season and showing off "hey-look-at-our-cool-stuff-to-buy" opportunity. Considering I had never even been to our wholesalers, it was a really awesome chance to see what goes on on the other side of the phone when I'm making the morning order. And to see how their coolers are set up. And why they have us specify what kind of foam we like. Etc.

While that part fairly fascinates me, I'm unsure about whether it's as interesting to you.

So.... Look! Pictures!
(These designs were created by our showman for the evening.)

Oooo....aaaaah....I love this technique.


Can you see all the wirework on this piece? It's incredibly popular right now in floral design and a lot of fun to play with.


The technical term for the ball of flowers like this is a pomander. I love them.


A wide shot of the same arrangement. Love the tree fern topiary.


This piece is built on a new product called Stackables and I'm glad to see a holiday use for them. We do so much sympathy work at our shop that they're perfect for memorials (we're excited), but it was nice to be reminded of the possibility for daily work too.



I know this piece looks really simple compared to the others, but it was my favorite centerpiece. So sleek, so modern and I love the graceful movement of leaves with clusters of flowers. And, of course, all green will always catch my eye. Lovely.


Super cute! Pomanders! Yaay!


Any favorites? Photos interesting at all? :)

(Adoption update: They're in the air! They'll be in Ethopia tomorrow!)

A great gig, gig, gig.

We've been waiting for this!

MCC Theater to Produce 'Carrie'

This is a revised version of the infamous flop. Sadly, I noted this in the article:

"....lyricist Dean Pitchford and book writer Lawrence D. Cohen — are currently in the process of reworking the book and score. About half of the latter is expected to be different from the original Broadway mounting. In fact, many of the songs, including the second-act opening, "Out for Blood," have been discarded."


Let's admire those lyrics again:

"Just a simple little gig, you help me kill a pig,
and I've got some plans for the blood!
Kill the pig, pig, pig! Kill, kill!
Kill, kill! Make him bleed!
Get the blood, blood, blood!
Get the blood it's all we need!"

And does that mean no background oinking sounds either?

Everybody with me now: Aww....

Love. Love. To be in NY when it goes up!

And I've seen love make heaven ring.

Adoption Update:

My cousins leave this Friday for Ethopia and their final court date is the 12th! Ahhhh!

After that, they have to wait on their embassy date before they can come home. The embassy date, to my understanding, is final preparations for Tate to enter the US (passport, etc).

Here's the deal: My cousin Brian only has a few weeks of vacation. The embassy dates possible are either late October, early November or the middle of November. While early November would still be okay, if it's the middle of November he'll have to come back early. And leave his wife and new son in Ethopia until the embassy date.
So. Ideally here, the embassy date will be late October or possible early November. Either way, even if it ends up being in the middle of November, God is still in control. But if you would pray towards it being one of the earlier two dates, that would be lovely and very appreciated by all of us. :)

I was considering their trip this past Sunday during our church's invitation. The thought popped into my mind that I was jealous. Jealous? I thought. I considered. Jealous was the right word. But not the right context. Jealous of them? No. I kept internally poking around. That wasn't it. Then it dawned on me. Ahhhh....jealous for them?

Yes. Jealous for them. That was it.

Jealous for them, in the sense, that they have this unique opportunity and they're taking it and I am so very happy for them!
Jealous that they will be traveling to Africa, a land that holds a very special place in my heart. They will get to step into this beautiful country that not everyone has the opportunity to see. To spend time with their son's heritage and culture. That their son will soon be in their arms. :)

But what if Tate had never made it to the adoption center?

I spent some time on Gladney's site tonight and they had a video up specifically towards Ethopian adoption. The video opens with this statistic: 6,000,000 orphans in Ethopia alone. Can you envision that kind of number?
The statistics continued.
12% will die before the age of 5.
53% over 5 will have to work to support their family.
Less than 5% are adopted.

My heart sunk. This is not worldwide numbers- can you imagine how much larger they go? Millions of children with no home. If any, a few loved ones. No parents. Little stability. And this beautiful baby boy?

The video continued. It doesn't have to be this way it read.

It doesn't have to be this way. Indeed. This is not fair. This is not right. This is where "looking after the widows & the orphans" comes in. This is where we should be stepping in. This is where I should be stepping in.

Ah. Lots of Rich Mullins lately. Let mercy lead, God. Let love be the strength in our legs. And in every footprint that we leave, there'll be a drop of grace whether its here, Africa or beyond.