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.