Put Up or Shut Up

So these are just my thoughts, not necessarily backed up by references but pretty much just pure emotion of the moment I'm in right now. I just feel like I need to get this out.

If I had a collective hand to slap the American public with, I would do so right now. After said slap I would get in their face and tell them to wake up and act like adults. Seriously people! What is up with this fatalistic view of reality we have come to develop in the last few years?! I don't know if it's because of the recession or the war or what it is but it has got to stop. This oil spill is just the icing on top of the cake, I guess. I hear more people bemoaning the end of the world because of this thing than I think I've ever heard.

Do we just lack perspective? Is that the problem? Are we all just so bad at history that we're unable to look at anything beyond the time frame of right now, this second? I think that might be the case but surely some of us are able to take the collective experiences & education of our lives and develop a rational thought about the situation. The Gulf of Mexico (GOM in interweb slang) is a big place. A HUGE place. It's no Atlantic or Pacific Ocean, but it's pretty doggone massive. The oil spill is big. It's huge. It's currently out of control. However, the GOM has seen something like this before. In the 70's. IXTOC I. Look it up. I suggest Wikipedia, though I'm sure there are better sites out there also. IXTOC I was bad. Real bad. It took a LONG time to stop. The Mexican government didn't pay many claims related to the spill. They didn't do near what BP is doing and is going to do to clean it up. However, the GOM survived. She recovered. She didn't die. In fact, I'll propose a really novel thought. We can't kill her! (Yes, she's a girl, same as a ship is a girl. Cause I said so.) How arrogant as human beings do we have to be to believe that we can possibly destroy a part of God's creation as big as the GOM?! Do we even understand what we are saying in a statement like that? (More on my thoughts on the environmental side of this later, if I have time)

I refuse to let this ruin my life, same as I refuse to let the recession dominate my thought processes. After a certain point, this will only be as bad as we make it in our reality. What I mean is, the economical & ecological effects of this will be, for the most part, measurable in terms of losses & costs. However, the emotional effects of this will be exactly what we make them. We're at a crossroads with this thing. We can choose to let it kill us or we can choose to use it to make us stronger and teach us a lesson. I personally choose the latter. I think the jury is still out on most people, but I'd say the vast majority will choose to sit at home and just cry about it, hoping somebody else fixes it so they don't have to feel guilty about buying gas from BP anymore. Let's face it, most people won't actually DO anything about it. It's the same as any other disaster. They'll sit at home, be angry, and hope somebody else fixes it so they don't have to get their hands dirty. Well America, now's another opportunity to get up off your lazy butt, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and be great. It's been a long time since we've been challenged to do that. For far too long now we've had leaders that have told us to just stay at home, they'll fix the problem, they'll make you comfortable. Well America, now you see where that has gotten you. You have a President who is so far detached from the situation that all he can do is give speeches about it saying the same thing over and over again. You have a regulatory agency that is so mired in red tape that they can't actually regulate anything. You have an oil company that's so pressured to produce products that they cut corners on safety so that you can live comfortably at home. So America, what's it gonna be? Put up or shut up? It's up to you, because like it or not, where we go from here is on our shoulders, not BP's. They just have to pay for it.

My apologies if that read a bit like a James Joyce novel. It was purely what came out of my head at the moment I typed it. I'm just tired of all the whining and crying. I'm about to have a baby girl. She'll give me all of that I need. I don't need to hear it from adults too.

A Life Beginning

Jason and I were talking about all the amazing things Baby Girl Baby has already gotten to do and I thought it would be fun to keep a record of these things to share with her one day. Since she has been hanging around waiting to arrive, BGB has gotten to:

1) Hear some pretty amazing music; she has attended a Roger Daltrey concert (of the Who), an Eric Clapton concert, a Toby Mac concert, and has gotten to worship with us at church every Sunday to some amazing music!

2) She has gotten to go to Dallas, Savannah, Providence RI (at the end of the month), Atlanta, Birmingham, Ft. Walton Beach FL, Columbus GA, Skipperville AL, Wetumpka, and of course Auburn!

3) She has been fishing, on a boat ride, running with her "brother" (Toby), 'played' in the snow, and flown on an airplane.

Oh the places you'll go Baby Girl...we can't wait to show you all this life has in store!

Amazing miracle!

So, in case somehow someone in blogging world missed it- Jason and I are going to be parents in September! Our baby girl (nicknamed 'Baby Girl Baby' for now since she doesn't have a name) is due September 19th! We are like kids at Christmas and can't wait to meet her! :-) Learning about the development of our child has really reminded me of just how amazing the Lord is! One interesting tidbit of information about how our very creative Creator makes our heart. People have 4 heart chambers, all separated, the upper chambers have a different job than the lower chambers. However, the two lower chambers are supposed to supply blood to the lungs- BUT- babies in the womb do not need this yet, so, there is an opening between two of the chambers. At birth the opening "miraculously" closes if all goes according to plan. The baby book uses the word "miraculously". I am amazed at all the intricate ways our God has chosen to form us. HE can think up things that no engineer could ever design. Our bodies are amazing creations and learning about the little one growing in me is just a great reminder of how amazing God is! When I learn about anatomy and physiology I fail to see how anyone can NOT believe in God. Our bodies are amazing! Praise God for the work that he is doing in our little girl!

Tis Springtime...

"'Tis springtime, 'tis springtime, cold winter has past.
Warm breezes are blowing and [March]'s here at last.
The birds are returning, their songs fill the air.
And meadows are smiling with blossoms so fair."

Jason and I planted our spring garden and it made me want to sing this song. Not sure what this song is, but my mom used to sing it to us each spring (and sometimes still does!). I love it! It just reminds me to celebrate all the goodness of the earth renewing itself. It is so fitting that Easter is in spring- a time of new life and rebirth. I hope anyone reading this is reminded each time they see a plant pushing out from the dirt or a flower opening for the first time that these are all little reminders of the amazing renewal and transformation that God is doing and can do in all of our lives!

Little things

Jason and I had the opportunity to stay at Ross Bridge Resort in Birmingham this weekend. I wanted a quick, fun, getaway for Jason’s birthday so this seemed like the ideal place. Jason and I lived in Birmingham the first year we were married, and while we can’t imagine another home for us right now other than Auburn, there are things we miss about Birmingham that Auburn will never have (read: food/shopping). While staying at this amazing resort I noticed some things about Ross Bridge that made it different from the usual hotel. Jason and I are blessed that when we stay in a hotel it is usually a nice one (i.e. no bedbugs) but I have compiled a list of ways that you can tell you are in a VERY nice hotel. Here goes:
1) There are soap dishes in the bathroom. Most hotels just expect you to put your soap on the counter which gets the counter all soapy and sticky and doesn’t seem like it makes for the cleanest soap.
2) The art is better. No crazy hotel prints- Ross Bridge has a beautiful print of Vulcan (classic Birmingham…maybe the words beautiful and Vulcan don’t go together, though….it’s nice at any rate) and a pretty painting of the Cahaba in the bathroom.
3) The coffee set comes with REAL packs of creamer- not powdered. As someone who brings her own tea bags when I travel, I detest (and usually refuse to use) the powdered creamer in my tea.
4) The staff is over the top helpful. And genuinely nice. It’s like these people got selected to work here from a reality show for super friendly people. I think Chick-fil-A might do the same thing. I love it! How can you not feel good when people are that caring.
5) Our room has a balcony! Other than at the beach, what hotels still have balconies? With REAL furniture, not plastic? Ours has a view of the golf course (be jealous Dad!).
6) Oatmeal costs $7.00. Not kidding. For a bowl. Seeing as how I am writing this before it has been delivered to the room, it better be a good bowl of oatmeal!

It's nice to just stop and appreciate the unnecessary (and maybe unimportant) things sometimes! And the big ones, too! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JASON! I am so glad you are in this world! :-)

Things I love- Fall 2009 Edition

So, lately I have been attempting to make more of an effort to appreciate daily the amazing creation that God has given to us. So with that new mission plus the fact that I had a lovely (literally) 5 hour drive from Nashville to Auburn to enjoy the creation and sit with my thoughts I thought I would include this post so everyone knows how amazing our world is!
Things I love:
1) Crunching in fallen leaves (when I am a REAL grownup with a house I want a yard full of hardwood trees so every fall I can go out in my own yard and crunch around in the leaves all I want- even if it means I have to rake 3 times a week!).
2) The first hints of fall (when the leaves are just about to change, when the wind blows and you can smell autumn around the corner, when the days are still warm but the nights are chilly)
3) When the trees explode into fireworks of fall colors (often I will make an explosion sound when I see an especially gorgeous tree).
4) Watching things grow...2 examples
(1) the maple tree planted in our yard (boy will I miss that tree when we move). It came to us after a hurricane which blew the seed into a potted plant on our apartment balcony in Birmingham and in just 4 years is now taller than Jason and turns the most gorgeous shades of red in the fall!
(2) my friend's daughter Meg- every time I see this adorable baby she has grown and changed in so many ways. Isn't it amazing how God makes us so that we are always growing and learning? I mean, we could have just come out knowing everything, but I love it that even in our final days we will still be learning! It is nice to have this reminder in a little baby. I wish as adults we could mature and learn as much in as short a time as children.
5) Football- I love going to the games, tailgating, watching great games on tv. I realized on my drive today, though, that what I enjoy most about football is enjoying this with OTHERS. I think it is just a great bonding experience to have a (hopefully) common goal to share!

Well, there are a few things I love about this time of year...and just in general! What do you appreciate? What parts of creation do you appreciate this time of year?

Bueler? Bueler?

I think our blog is sounding a lot like Ben Stein's character these days. Anyone? Anyone? (BTW- SUCH a great movie!) Wow have we been neglectful! Sorry dear bloggers...all two of you! Anyway, so an update on our life:
house- still for sale, but we are still okay with that (otherwise we'd be homeless!)
my new job- great!...many stories to tell (parents are a crazy group of people)
Jason's job- going well still- he has now learned how to use a tractor and has somehow incorporated his love of duck hunting into his job
Toby- compared to this time last year, a very calm dog! He is on his way to being a very good little (or big- he's almost 90 pounds!) duck hunter, Jason is a great dog trainer and all this duck training has helped Tob become a much calmer dog (when labs have a purpose or mission they are calmer because they know what their job is- kind of reminds you of people, doesn't it?)
life in Auburn- with the students back it takes longer to go everywhere now and WalMart is now a forbidden place considering how crazy it gets this time of year with all the students. Also, the grocery stores apparently don't plan ahead and are out of things I want/need because of the students (sadly, I yelled "stupid students" one night in the grocery store because I couldn't find my pasta...I am lame, I realize that). On the bonus side Jason and I know lots of cool freshman (or just new to Auburn) students this year and are looking forward to feeding and loving on them this year!
That's about it- we will do better with the updates (Jason is here and he says he HAS been blogging- but for his work blog!).