those people.

you know who I'm talking about.

the ones at the restaurant table next to yours who are perfectly capable of having a conversation, all the while, not noticing and/or caring that their child is screaming uncontrollably beside them; subsequently, ruining your dinner and the dinners of everyone else around them.

as of tonight, I am those people.

and even though I've already developed the "parental selective hearing" that enables me to drown out the random, pointless screams, I do care about your dinner.

and I'm sorry.

so that I can remember these things later...

There's lots of cuteness going on in my house right now.


When Brylie does the "sad face," she anticipates our laughter too quickly. So we end up getting 1/2 second of a sad face followed by clapping, and a huge, mischievous grin.

She's discovered the concept of putting on a hat, so now every new thing encountered must first go on the head.

We're watching Mrs. Doubtfire the other day, and "Dude Looks Like a Lady" came on. Brylie runs in the living room wearing mismatched pajamas and begins dancing around wildly to the song about a crossdressing man.

She's good at shaking her head "no," but if she tries to nod "yes," she loses her balance and falls over.

I asked her if she wanted to get out of the bathtub. She reached up toward me, but when I started reaching down, she pulled her hands down to her sides really fast. Then, she laughed hysterically as if she made up the idea of a "fake out."

I opened up the toilet seat lid the other day, and in the toilet I found a dvd and a stuffed dog...

I asked her if she wanted to brush her teeth. She ran to the bathroom, yelling, "Ahhhhhhh.....!"

I know. Cute.

just a hint.

if you're wanting to run a google image search to find pretty pictures, don't type in the words "pretty graphic."

just don't.

my bad.

maybe I should check to make sure the link works before I hit "submit."

Rest

I've got a new top 5 song. Maybe even top 3.

It's one of those "turn the lights off, light a candle, lay flat on your face and worship, lose track of time" kinda songs.

Click here to listen.

"Rest"

Still, soft quietly spoken voice
That persistenly calls my name
And quickens my heart to come
And I come

And I rest in the shelter of Your love
And I rest in the wonder of Your Grace
And I rest in the shelter of Your love
And I rest in the wonder of You

Embraced in the promise of You
Is rest for the weary soul
Releasing all that is mine I reach for You

Take all the old and You make it new
Everything I give to You
You're the hope that can pull me through
Hallelujah


mmm. So good.

slapped by the Spirit (in a nice way)

Alright, here's where I am now:

I have long since agreed with the Big Guy that my purpose is to be available for anything at anytime - Great Commission kinda stuff, right? I would be thrilled if I could just walk around campus all day long talking to random kids about the love of Christ. Unfortunately, very few people can support their families on the income that comes from that kind of a job. But, I know that whatever I'm doing, I'll have opportunities every day to talk to people about this - after all, this is what I'm called for.
So, I've come to the conclusion that God has given me these desires for a reason - and I should stay in school and not worry about future things. And if I make $30,000 for the rest of my life and never get my student loans payed off, whatever. Those things don't even matter. Salvations matter.

So that's where I'm at (that's right, I ended a sentence with "at").

Sorry for whining yesterday. Mostly I just wanted to get that post off my blog.

whine and cheese

Have you ever felt like everything you were working so hard for was, really, for nothing?

I have.

I've spent the last 10 years of my life knowing that I wanted to be a counselor, and in one week, my vocational counseling professor has me convinced that that's not at all what I want to do.

Basically, here's what I've found out:

Moderately Successful LPC Practice
Income:
$75,000

Expenses:
$7,000 - malpractice insurance
$6,300 - office rent
$3,000 - utilities
$26,000 - secretary
$2,000 - legal counsel
$2,200 - assessment fees

That leaves me with a grand total of $31,200.
To live on.
With a master's degree and licensure in professional counseling.
And student loans.
And bringing my clients' problems home with me.

Making $5,000 more than my secretary.

I know it's not all about the money, but it can be a little bit about the money...right?