A serious DUH moment!

I was sitting here writing calmly in my blog about nothing and wondering what I could do to add more to it. I mean, after a year of writing (year, really 1 year this month - WOW!) I should have something NEW to add in here. And, I had the quintessential DUH moment (picture me in Homer drag smacking my forehead...).

Please note a few things and I'm sure you'll see where I'm heading here...

• My user moniker is "christian mom"
• The name of this blog is "Reason and Light" with light referring to God.
• I have biblical quotes assaulting you as soon as you hit the site.
• I try to post uplifting, positive posts and requests for comments/help when I am out of my own happiness.
• Swearing is definitely not allowed in here, with the worst thing I've really said being "butt".
• Moments for Myself quotes that are usually about God or the peace of spirituality.

And, with all this in mind, you will not see a single REAL Prayer Request in this blog. WHAT?? Seriously? I do have some posts for "power of prayer" but no real, outright requests. For me, for family, for close friends, for world leaders - for anything or anyone. Really? goofy girl...

So, for my initial prayer request, I'm going to point you to my young friend Katlyn....

*******************
Katlyn has been ill for sometime (several YEARS in fact) and will be going to the Mayo Clinic this Saturday with her mom, Tina. [Background: Tina and I worked together just before the boys were born. She and her family, especially her daughters, brought me back to God and to Cedar Ridge Christian Church, so this whole family is very important to me and my family!]

Please pray for Katlyn and Tina as they travel to Minnesota for an undetermined period of time to hopefully get answers and healing. May God bless their time together as mother and daughter as well. Also, please pray for Bil and their other children as they remain in KC and await answers from here (which might be even harder). Please pray for the doctors and nurses as well as the testing technicians - anyone who will come into contact with this amazing young woman and have a hand in her diagnosis - and pray that y at least find a REASON for her illness, if not an outright cure.

You can check out more of Katlyn's story at her Caring Bridge site. You might sign her guest log and let her know you are praying as well - even if you don't know her!

Where they come from...

So, after I posted my inspiration thoughts, I had to look up where I might have gotten some of you faithful readers. Although the referral sites were fairly common (Google, Yahoo!, etc.) I found a few of the search terms amusing. And the locations of readers is just WILD in consideration of how far-reaching they are!

==================================
TOP SEARCH TERMS

"handbags + hygiene" - probably looking for the same original I was for my post. Hopefully you found what you needed!

"i lost my leg" - which they probably got sent to the post on my mom (which made her cry BTW, but in a good way!). I hope you found inspiration and hope!

"olivia sharma" - if you're looking for info on my boss' kid, you're in the wrong place - go here www.celebratingolivia.com for more recent updates on the cutie-patootie (and she IS adorable!)

"the red ball" + "kimmy" - HUH? well, hopefully you got to the Red Ball site and were able to attend by going from my site on to that one!

"kidstuf songs" - I can't direct you any where specific for that one, but there will be lots of posts where I mention KidStuf! I lead worship for this children's church service at Cedar Ridge (www.cedarridge.cc) and I LOVE IT!

and my absolute favorite search terms...

"RICE KRISPIE TREATS" (and variations on that theme). OH My Goodness - I'm SO sorry if you were looking for good, HELPFUL information on those cuz I have nothing but DISDAIN for making those goofy things! :) But, they are SERIOUSLY yummy!

==================================
WHERE YOU COME FROM

From my Clustermaps overlay, I see I have readers mostly from the KC area - duh! But, there are a good number in Ohio (thanks family & extended family) as well as all around the US. Weird, but it gets weirder in that there are some from South America, Europe (including who I'm guessing is Heidi in the UK) and even AUSTRALIA. Seriously? WOW!

My Google analytics says there's only those in the US, some in Canada and 1 each in France, Germany and South Korea (really - Korea?? WOW!). However, I did start my Google stuff long after my cluster maps, which might account for the varying locations?

==================================
Regardless, wherever you are and however you got here - WELCOME! It might be a bit messy at times and I may not always be 100% happy and positive, but I am glad you're here! Come in, sit a spell, have a read and a good laugh. Then return to your day a mite happier - that's all I ask in return. Have a WONDERFUL day!

FOOTBALL...in MARCH???

As of this evening, my boys are now enrolled to participate their 5th sport. We've done wrestling (one season and they don't show any interest in returning now), baseball (will reprise this summer we hope), basketball (just finished first season), karate (in second season now) and, for the fall...

FOOTBALL

I'm not sure why, but the Kaw Valley football league out here in KS has sign ups for fall ball in March. Yeah, crazy, but there you go. We had to convince the boys that they weren't PLAYING football yet, just that if they want to in 1st grade they had to sign up now. It took a good 30 minutes of explaining and cajoling to convince them to go sign up. *Sigh*

For those of you who don't know, my husband is a Texan - born and bred. That's football country folks. And he was born in DALLAS - THE Football town. And he of course cheers on God's team - the 'Boys (at least he's religious about SOMETHING!!!) For 14 years he coached these little league football teams and he only gave it up when his job required work on Saturdays. However, he has volunteered to be a coach should they need one. Whoa. I know the boys will be taught right, but not sure how his patience will work with them long-term like that. But, if it works and brings them closer, well...can I get a HALLELUJAH??

Anyway, I'll post more about football in the fall. I'm not ready for that insanity yet!

Inspiring others leaves me inspired

I started a blog after reading my coworker Ramsey's blog (www.acrosstheboardblog.com) and wanting do something a little more "positive". [No offense meant Ramz! I love your blog, there's just some 'controversial' items on there that got me wanting to throw out something more positive to counter-balance occasionally!]

I currently get further inspiration from Amanda for my health and mental state (runtothefinish.blogspot.com - look for her 'attitude of gratitude' thoughts!), from Cara for looking at kids and life in a POSITIVE light (allaboutthelittlethings.blogspot.com - I love the little "What Tassie ate today" bits) as well as well as from the insanely up-to-date world of Heidi (www.heidichronicles.com - be sure to read backwards sometimes as she WILL back-blog to keep things up to date!). I also just found a bevy of blogs from the moms at my church that I am finding SOO informative, enlightening and just down-right funny (look on my blog for the list of "mommy blogs I read" if you want all their links).

Now, originally, my blog was just going to be my world and a private "journal" type thing. I honestly didn't think I'd ever really share it or have *gasp* followers. But, I DO! 17 at least, according to my feedburner thingy. WOW - who ARE you people?? :)

And, because of my accountability blog (2008accountability.blogspot.com) I have apparently inspired two close friends of mine to blog as well! Not just as team members on the accountability blog, but also on their own, about their kids, hubbies, job and lives. WOW! So, I gotta give call-outs to them here:

Teri (theknedlerclan.blogspot.com) is my oldest friend. I don't mean she's old (she's my age, sheesh!) but that we've known each other for a VERY long time - since 2nd grade (that's 26 years for those who want to know). We've been through SO MUCH in those years, and I'm sure you'll hear more about them here and there through these blogs and posts from both of us. We did lose contact for a good 10 years between high school and growing up (that's an even LONGER story) but she found me and we've been close again ever since! It only bums me out that she lives all the way in Ohio and we NEVER get to see each other!

Kim (berlygirl.blogspot.com) is one of my dearest friends - one of those friends you may not talk to for long periods of time, but as soon as either of you really need someone, they're there. We've been friends since we worked at Mac Tools in '94, so 14 years. (just did that math for the first time and WOW!). She was my maid-of-honor and was stunning in black and I got to wear a yellow dress down the aisle for her (SOOOOOO not my color, but anything for the bride). I will state that I taught her all she knows about customer service and phone support. (j/k) and she taught me how to eat pretzels and people watch at the mall. (that one's true!) That Ohio living thing gets in the way with this friendship as well. :(

[OH - BY THE WAY GIRLS - I'M COMING HOME IN JUNE FOR MY COUSIN'S WEDDING - WE NEED TO PLAN SOMETHING!!!]

Now that I have these gals blogging I feel like I have to keep up and keep writing about my mundane life. I have no fascinating journey as Kim will hopefully be sharing with everyone nor do I possess a truly graceful wit like Teri. Yet I have followers and friends. So, for those who are living vicariously through me, I truly wonder about you, but I will try to keep you entertained. Please LEAVE A COMMENT and tell me who you are and WHY you read this blog, so that I can continue to feel inspired! Know that I appreciate each and every one of you and I'll try to be more fun from now on! ;)

duck, duck, GOOSE

Yesterday was an amazing day at the Babcock household - and in Kansas in general. Somehow, for the first weekend in March, we had beautiful 75 degree weather. Yes, 75. That's not a typo or written in some weird non-Fahrenheit degree or anything. 75 degrees! As Jim Carey said "b-e-a-uuuu-tiful!"

To truly enjoy this weather, we all had to get our butts dressed and out the door. Not so hard for yours truly, as I had already been up at 7, up to the church by 8:45 (late again!), singing and shaking my booty at 10:15 for KidStuf and through a great church service at 11:15. I picked up lunch on the way home (sometimes I feel like a bad mom for this one, but it makes everyone happy when I do it, so maybe it's not that bad!) and back home 1pm. After we ate I told Joe - "we need to get outside and moving before the rain hits or I'm taking a nap." - knowing that this would leave him in full stead of the insane tornadoes, he got everyone dressed and out the door by 2pm!

We went to SMP (Shawnee Mission Park) and tootled around there until we found the geese. There's always some there, we just had to find the right little pond. With a bag of stale hamburger buns (why do we buys these? we never eat them!) we headed in for the boys' first (memorable) endeavor with these goofy geese.

I showed them how to tear up the buns and throw them out into the pond. It went on as expected - geese fighting over the pieces,pieces not quite making it to the pond, etc. Then, the geese got bold...

Em & Joe were at one side of me and the boys to the other. The geese came up by Joe and walked around behind me to the boys. I was trapped - and laughing hysterically. Thomas kept backing up, saying "I don't have anymore bread gooses. Go away. Don't eat ME!" and Travis just had big "deer-in-the-headlight" eyes. We convinced the boys not to run away, the geese don't eat little boys and just to keep throwing the bread. Travis tried to recover a piece from the ground a goose let him know it was HIS by throwing out his wings and squawking. Travis just stared at him and backed up. Joe & I were still laughing. Emily was flashing back to her own first time and getting chased by a goose - who was trying to get her butt.

Eventually of course, we ran out of bread and the boys were a little worried. Once the geese saw we were done however, they started back into the water. We wandered off, the boys taking a big lead, butting lots of ground between them and the geese. Joe snuck up on them and pinched a fanny - I've never seen Travis jump so high! For the rest of the day, we kept trying to see who could "goose" each other.

After the geese, we wandered over to the "beach" and threw rocks into the water- I think Emily actually held the distance record and I threw out my LEFT arm since I couldn't grip with my right hand. [I hate getting old!]

We got back in the car to go home just as the rain started. We drove around in the rain, just enjoying the semi-quiet and non-fighting that was occurring. We drove to McDonald's and got shakes for the kids and cones for the parents - I forgot just how yummy Mickey D's ice cream is! Also, it was much cheaper than Sonic, Dairy Queen or Sheridan's!

When we got back home, Travis decided he HAD to take a nap and wanted me to lay down with him. Since Em & Joe were watching another of her CSI: Miami Season 4 DVDs, we laid down on the family room floor with pillows and blankets. Tom joined us and was the only one to actually take a nap [after insisting he didn't need one!].

We topped it off with a dinner of hot dogs and mac & cheese (seriously, sometimes the easiest things really ARE the best!) and some serious snuggling/reading before bedtime.

All in all - it was a good day to be us. And now, it's back to winter with 35 degree weather. (sigh...)