Saturday, June 30, 2007

Conversation tonight

Charlie Brown [sincere, w/o the BS, accusatory tone]: "So, I'm sorry I'm such a dumbass..."

Me: "Oh yeah? regarding????" [pause, with my eyebrow cocked expectantly] "You do know I am trying to drag more out of you, right?"

Charlie Brown: "This whole deal...all of it."

It's a start....

Physical making up ensued, capped off with a rational, adult conversation about "this whole deal."

Note to self: I should just skip straight to sex and chew him out afterwards whence I am mad - he's much more open and sensible then, having spent all of the maddening testosterone...plus, uhm, sex...he is good at that.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree

My girl is so SMART!

Yesterday, her ITBS (Iowa Test of Basic Skills) scores came in.

And she scored in the 99th percentile for ALL areas, compared to all other kindergartners in the nation!

When I told her how smart she was and how proud she should be, she said, "So that means I really can be a teacher when I grow up then, right?"

Honey, you can be whatever you want.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Waxing Heretical

I'm having a serious love affair with the uber worldly lyrics of Maroon 5, particularly this hip, 70's-esque song.

She Will Be Loved, however, evokes mysterious thoughts and contemplations from me that are a most unseemly linkage. The song's obviously about a prostitute, but these lyrics make me think of how Jesus must have felt when He befriended Mary Magdalene:
I don't mind spending everyday
Out on your corner in the pouring rain
Look for the girl with the broken smile
Ask her if she wants to stay awhile
And she will be loved
She will be loved

Sure, this song is about an impossible love affair with a fallen woman - and it implies a sexual relationship, so some of you are thinking, "Heretic! How dare you color my Jesus that way!"

I'm in the camp that subscribes to the "Well, the Bible doesn't actually say He wasn't married, and if He had been, it would have been perfect and pure," theory - but barring the sex stuff of this song, I hear loud and clear a message of acceptance, and an overwhelming desire to make an incredibly broken person feel loved.

That's how I color my Jesus - what about you?

In the meantime, here is the video in all its splendor:

The kids these days

Tagging everyone...tsk, tsk.



Mama P - here goes nothin'



1. I don't have a lot of long term vis a vis friends. Part of this is attributable to living in a college town, making friends who then move away after they've ca$hed in on their school investment (read: got real jobs), and then me being a HORRIBLE correspondence bud. I do, however, have a slew of online gal-pals whom I've been ramblin' with for..............................................



Ready...........................



7 YEARS!



Yup, we all "met" on a pregnancy board while expecting babes in March, 2001 - Wait, 2001 - 2007 is only 6 years, Hammy. Uhm, yeah, but it took 9 months to get there, go back to 2000! Anyway, peeps can say all they want about the artificial, selective intimacy the web affords us, but I tell ya, these ladies are so much a part of my life they are SUPER friends.



2. I probably won't get braces. Ever. After a lifetime of loathing my chompers, in all their crookedness and overcrowding, I've embraced them. The imperfection of my teeth help me bridge deference and skepticism in the hearts of the poor people I have worked with. The story my teeth tell them is, "She's one of us." And I am. May I never forget that and always try to make things better for those less fortunate.

3. Recently, I made the observation that while I am not an outwardly patient person, I've been really loyal and more than long-suffering in light of certain trends and behaviors from loved ones. That's not meant as a pat on the back so much as it was a change of awareness for me.

4. I think I have the emotional/spiritual equivalent of Sensory Integration Dysfunction, on the hypersensitive side of the spectrum. My feelings are intense, ya'll. I love deeply, but also hurt with the same cavernous depths. I fly when I'm happy, and flounder when despaired.

5. My anality (I hereby decree that a "real" word if it isn't already so) with grammar and spelling peaked in the 4th grade, when I went on a 3 year winning streak for the school spelling bees. Spelling bees were only thru grade 6, but my love for proper linguistic form paid off in school, and countless Scrabble games. Re: vocabulary, I take creative license at all times - language is too fun to be all rules!

6. My siblings are all halfsies, but you'd never know. My brothers and my sister are as much brothers and sister to me as my mama is my mama. Some people with half-sibs always point that out: "My half-sister and I..." WTH? She is your SISTER.

7. I am still fighting with my husband over the same issue we've been arguing over recently. He doesn't get that the underlying theme has been problematic since the inception of our relationship. He, instead, sees me as merely an obstacle to what he wants.

8. I secretly fantasize about going on American Idol someday.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Heart to heart

Today in church, LMNOB initiated a deep pressure activity on her own.

This is exactly what BT the OT and I discussed (the self-initiating of activities, not necessarily this scenario about to be described) on Friday.

LMNOB climbed up into my lap (and yes, Mama P is right, my kids are huge - so this was quite a feat, and somewhat awkward having my 6 year old sprawled all over me) and straddled me so that she was hugging me heart to heart. I almost told her to get off of me, that big girls didn't sit all over their mamas - but I thought of her sensory needs, and also of this post about hugging. So I let her sit and hug away.

And boy did she squeeze.

I followed her lead, and began applying deep pressure to her back, shoulder joints, knees, and tailbone.

She moaned, almost inaudibly, that sound of pleasure when something just feels sooooooooooo good.

And I just knew.

Knew that some day she would remember all the things that her Mama did, with love pouring out to her, heart to heart, to keep her the happiest, healthiest little love-bug she could be.

Little Miss - I do love you. So. Much. I love the way you're telling me to roll the newly-purchased 8lb. medicine ball over "my feet, and...on...my B-U-T-T," :giggle:

How is it that you are old enough to spell things out to me? How are you smart enough to know that your B-U-T-T is different from B-U-T? When did you get old enough to know that your B-U-T-T is something rather intimate, hence the cutesy, pseudo-embarrrassed laghter after you say it?

It's coming up on the 7th anniversary of me finding out about your beginnings in my womb. God, but I was young - hell, I still am young! What was God thinking in giving you to me? Little Miss, you are so precious to me and I hope you know that, particularly when I am not showing it (often - bad Mama!). You are never far from my thoughts, and forever connected to me - heart to heart.

Love,
Mama

Pics

I thought these were nice summer pics that embodied the sweetness of the season:



1: LMNOB and Daddy shucking corn



2: Punkinhead, incredulous that there is indeed mustard all over his face


3: Little boys and mamas are special


4&5: Doin' what they know best - making a mess!

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Hammy, the "Rockstar" Mama

So peeps, check this out...these people I know, they are smoking crack.

Today, I got called a "rockstar," (yeah, I know, what were they thinking?) by two different people for two different things.

The first was from an online mama I've known since we had our first babes in 2001, and it was in reference to the new 'do.

The second one cracked me up. LMNOB and I were with BT the OT for our session, and BT the OT was piling up the potential activities we could add to LMNOB's sensory diet, when she chuckled, saying, "Not like you don't have anything else to do." I told her that I knew, adding that I'm frequently overheard, though by whom I am not quite sure, to be saying, "You are more than welcome to help me out any time." I added, "That is more directed to the hubs than to the daughter, but ya know..." and BT the OT cracked up, telling me, "You are such a rockstar like that - I love it!"

It can only mean one thing - I am a smoking hot babe with a kicka$$ sense of humor. I knew it all along.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Step-by-Step Instructions for Concept Application in a Time Crunch

I was so pressed last week - with E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. that the following regimen - AKA - How to Successfully B.S. Your Way through a Graduate Program - is what I ended up doing to solve my academic dilemma:

Participate in an online classroom, which operates like a message board where people post answers to questions asked by the instructor.

Do not read the material. Or, rather, start reading the material a bazillion different times and finally realize that the Shakespearean prose in which it is written, covering complex political theory, is not likely to be comprehended by yourself whilst there are kids running in every 5 seconds, intermittently proclaiming, "Mom we're cold," after having run thru the sprinkler a meager two times, and then begging, "Mom, it's SO hot, will you please turn the sprinkler back on?" Comprehension of said material proves to be even more elusive when your practical response of, "Absolutely not," is met with tantrums rivaling the fury of hell.

Freak out on Thursday night, because discussion posts analyzing the material, are to be up by midnight on Friday - and said material is still not read, let alone scrutinized.

Vaguely recall a professor's sage advice that book reviews are a quick and easy way to get the gist of materials in a pinch.

Browse the posts written by the other classmates, and treat as informal "book reviews." Get the gist of what the author of the not-read materialswas saying. Also, realize that this was hellacious reading - worse than the GRE! Send God a quick thank-you-note on your knees that you didn't spend time reading it!

Use the basic principles conveyed in the posts, and ask self, "Do I agree or disagree, and why/why not?" to develop your own original thoughts; add a further dimension of apparent intelligence by drawing upon the previous materials - with which you make some brilliant comparisons/contrasts and metaphors, thereby demonstrating not only comprehension but application of said principles in the not-read materials.

Post your thoughts, duly and apologetically noting that due to a lack of time your answers will not be as elaborate as you would normally prefer, along with some commentary about online classrooms and observations about the sheer volume of posts.

Hope for a B, at most.

Get the following, stunning, feedback from the professor:
Numeric grade: 38/40 pts. Letter Grade: A
Comments:Hi, Heather. Thanks for your feedback about the course. Yes, I'm new at online education and considered dividing students into discussion groups. When I looked into doing that, however, it seemed I would have to essentially run a separate class for each group. Still, your feedback is valuable and the next time I teach on line I will learn more about that option. If you are having trouble coming up with original ideas, maybe you could post your own response before reading the responses of others; that way, you will have to articulate your ideas in your own words. You do seem to be working your way through this material very well. Your answer to Q. #2 is especially thoughtful. Agreed . . . you seemed rushed on Q. #3.
Realize how pissed you would be if you were one of the students who read the material, and make a mental note to Keep.your.mouth.SHUT around them.

Planning

So, a couple of years ago, Charlie Brown got his ASE certification (think PhD for an Auto Mech), and with his Subaru specific certifications, the combination made him a bona fide "Senior Subaru Master Tech." The only one in our area.

He recently got invited, by Subaru, to participate in their biannual not so frequent (the Subaru America competition is actually in its first year as a US-Nationals competition - the international has been around awhile) skills competition. Only 43 people in the nation were invited to participate!

Requirements include the Sr. Master tech certification, and that techs must be recommended by the Subaru service reps that travel their Subaru dealers, providing tech assist to mechanics that are stumped. Charlie Brown's rep covers all of NE CO and Denver, and often calls CB saying he's stumped too, asking, WWCBD (what would Charlie Brown do)?

Charlie Brown will start out by doing an online test, then a phone interview - top performers for each region will go, all expenses paid, with spending allowances for family and all that, to Lafayette, Indiana and compete against each other to fix a mechanical mystery in the fastest amount of time - note the emphasis on actual FIXING in the fastest time. Charlie Brown is top notch in both diagnostics and performance time.

The national winner will go on to the international competition in JAPAN - same deal, all expenses paid, yada yada yada.

In addition to winners getting great travel packages, perks like free leases on new Subarus and the like abound.

Now - as blockhead/average Joe as Chuck can be about domestic disputes at casa del Meyer, he is a freaking GENIUS about his work...So I'm just left wondering where I can find a kimono in colors that suit my red hair and white skin and a size that fits my (disclaimer: "GENERALLY" speaking) so-not-trim-sleek-and-Asian figure?

Monday, June 18, 2007

Ooops, I did it again

As in gone all Britney Spears.

Sorta.

I hacked my hair off this weekend - or rather, some chica at Cost Cutters (:gasp: I know, I'm sooooo sorry J!) in a spur of the moment whim after the kids got trimmed. It was past my shoulders - it is now slightly shorter than chin length in a page boy/bob-ish cut.

Along with the haircut - I am feeling like reality has left the building. Yeah, Hammy is feeling a mite crazy again, like the walls are closing in on her.

And this time, I can't tell if it is due to insane levels of situational stress or if it is my chemical romance.

I did have a revelation today - though. I recalled a woman from a residential treatment center for really disturbed youth saying that these kids she treats have been so pyschologically traumatized that they operate in fight or flight (primitive brain stem) all the time. Ya know... I wonder if perhaps that fits me? I have to have stress/drama in my life - as much as I don't want it - to really function - sad, eh?

Charlie Brown behaved tonight, but I feel like the elephant in the room just gets bigger, even when we're trying to get rid of it.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

My letter to God

Father,

As I sit in my home that is from You, typing on my computer purchased with funds You've blessed us with, I already have so much more than most of the world. And I'm thankful.

Today, as I bask in the tiredness that is due in part to time spent last night with a loving community of parents, brought together by Your providential placement of our children in one Ms. S's kindergarten class, I'm thankful, grateful for still more blessings You've rained down in my life.

I love You for all that You have done for me, continue to do, and know that I am safe with You. I ask you to raise my weary spirit, because I'm tired. So very tired. I need an attitude adjustment - to be certain.

I feel stuck.

I feel overwhelmed by the disparity and unfairness of how the roles in my marriage have played out.

I feel like I've lapped my husband on this journey to maturity - wow, that sounds judgmental doesn't it? But that's how I feel as I many times act as a single mother who happens to be married to her roommate. The world tells me to make time for myself and rest - which seems to be godly advice, You did rest, after all, after creating us. But when I "rest," it just means that more work piles up and then it's worse that I rested in the first place. What is a girl to do?

I'm struggling here. Hard core.

I don't know what to do to get rid of the turmoil in my gut. Every time I try to speak to Charlie Brown about it, it becomes a fight, and I'm tired of that too.

We were in the most excellent place this time last year. And I know why: Charlie Brown was reading, daily, Your Word, and taking it to heart, living it out in his demeanor and actions with me. It lasted about 6 weeks, and we've steadily been getting worse.

Is it me? Are my expectations so high, that it is unreasonable to think some common courtesy and mutual respect is part of marriage? Is it unreasonable to want my husband to want to see me and be with me in some way more than a perfunctory kiss each morning? Unreasonable to expect him to be excited when I blatantly make myself available to him? Has my heart hardened so much over the years that I just don't see him trying?

How long can I question this and be ok to remain?

Oh, Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner. I'm not perfect. He isn't either. Help us to create a marriage that you would like to see.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Grace Under Fire

Have I ever said on here that I am fast on my feet?

I don't know how, but somehow this week I managed to:

  • Draft, and get approved, 2 Amended Promissory Notes (making over $300k in grants to the Housing Authority FORGIVEN, as was intended, in 20 years instead of PAYABLE in 20 years), 2 Releases of Restriction on Conveyance of Property, and 2 Corrected Deeds of Trust.
  • Get all of the Habitat for Humanity Fee Waiver calcs from the City's building dept together.
  • Do all of the party planning, advocating, and research needed for LMNOB's class/Ms. S situation with the school.
  • Avoid reading the 4 chapters of PAINFULLY ONEROUS material (Benjamin Barber, anyone?), instead using the existing discussion on the material in my online class, to glean understanding and craft my own responses to the ideology of this particular author - and come up with responses that were, actually, pretty damned good!

Actually, I know how. God's grace. Thank goodness it is heat-resistant from the flames of this life.

Now, I am off to LMNOB's OT appt. Then we are going to celebrate a great year.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Only when the Boss goes on Vacation

Does all hell seem to unleash...

Work has been a beast ah, hell, I'll come out and say it, bitch, this week. I've been on a crash course in paralegal/real estate title subjects this week with deeds of trust, restrictions, and releases the past three days. I knew it was coming, per the briefing with the Boss before she left last week, but a small pain in the butt has grown astronomically so - so much so even the Asst. City Attorney I was working with on it was cursing today. Damn, you know it's bad when lawyers (prim, letter of the law, paper pushing ones, that is) swear.

The school stuff is crappy... I wrote a letter of epic proportion. I thought it was fair and balanced. I based it on what I knew from direct experiences, not hearsay. I thought it asked good questions that deserved answering - but apparently they were deemed rhetorical as all I got was this response:

Ms. Meyer,

Thank you for your comments. It is unfortunate for all parties involved, that some are based on misinformation.

We wish LMNOB and your family the best in future academic endeavors.

I'm done with them...not done with wanting that school to succeed though. A few tricks are up my sleeve. Truth will prevail.

Kids were brats for the daycare provider today. Punkinhead, particularly. His note saying, "PH had a hard time listening today," made me think of the code. We are having trouble with sharing the spotlight with sister, me thinks. Still, knowing it is a transition doesn't make the actual incidents any easier to deal with. Listen up, Boy!

Charlie Brown...well, he's Charlie Brown. We're in a down spot, and after a fugly spat last week, we've been holding steady in the "eh, 's-ok," mode. He was back in top form tonight again, and I was not pleased. He hugged me and apologized, but truthfully, I think that is only because my bestest gal pal walked into tension you could cut with a knife, and he wanted to do damage control before I badmouthed him to her as we feigned exercise on a walk. Too late, oopsie! No, seriously, I love my hubs, I do - I just don't know why most of the time, it seems.

School? Don't ask. It's not pretty. I emailed the prof and thus far have not gotten response. I may call my advisor tomorrow, just to see what he thinks I need to do. Uggh, I hate how that sounds.

Uhm, Superwoman has left the building?

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

And it's back...

Word Verification that is.

Anonymous posters can still post - but hopefully the spam bots will GO.AWAY!!

I'm not interested in widgets, for the love of Pete!

Monday, June 11, 2007

This Angry Mob of Parents

Is doing the right thing, and albeit protesting the administrator's crappy behavior by yanking our kids out - saying that while we really don't want bullies on our playground, we don't want them in our school office either - we are turning all this angst into celebration by throwing a good, old-fashioned BBQ bash for Ms. S and the kids.

This Friday. And we're all excited. The community that has evolved around this injustice is inspiring. We have smart parents!

Ms. S will be ok - she has a job already lined up in the district, with none other than my most favoritest school of choice #1 that I looked at last year for LMNOB. She actually got in there, but only for 1/2 day kindy, and I wanted her in full-day, so we ended up doing the charter school - which was great, because we wouldn't have even met Ms. S if we didn't go there! After reviewing this school, again, and seeing that (emphases mine):


School Choice #1 Elementary is home to a Resource program and two Moderate Needs programs--one for primary students and one for intermediate
students.

The Resource teacher uses a pullout model for reading and writing for a large majority of the students. She also does math class and incorporates the district reading curriculum and writing skills.

The Moderate Needs program students are mostly served through inclusion. Program teachers use a pull-to-the-side or pullout model for reading and math.

The programs are supported by an Occupational Therapist, Speech/Language Therapist, and school Psychologist.

Ya'll, this is their blurb about what makes their school unique from the others in the district - it is not that "our core knowledge program rocks," or "technology is the future," but rather, "We care about ALL of our kids, special needs or "regular" needs, and this is how we do it!" All of these specialists are on the school's staff, too!

No crazy hopping around with a disorganized administration, trying to contract services out (not that we actually went there yet, but hey)... And, while I love, love, love BT the OT, perhaps we'll be able to eventually bridge from going exclusively to her to getting a mix of her and the school's services...which will give me more time to focus on the things that need done, in turn helping me be more focused on all things sensory at home, instead of trying to catch up on everything I missed while trekking to Ft. Collins to pick LMNOB up, driving back to Loveland, doing therapy, and then driving back home, in Ft. Collins. Now, however, I'm getting WAY ahead of myself, as the crazy part is figuring out whether we'll get in or not (This is not our neighborhood school - it is not even a school in our district, because of where we live).

And...while we are no longer with the daycare provider in the linked post, for irreconcilable differences, former daycare-provider's daughter is still attending school choice #1 and LMNOB loves her and would be able to see her more frequently again.

Please, oh please, oh please....

Edited to add:
I don't really want to send her to our designated school because of a few things:
1.) It's not the best
2.) It's overcrowded
3.) A new school is currently being built and when opened (08-09 year) will be her designated school, and if we go this route, then that means 3 schools in 3 years, and I'd rather not

Saturday, June 9, 2007

Beware the Wrath of Moi

I'm angry.

Angry at LMNOB's school administrators.

They are a charter, in its first year of operations. And, they are not governed by the district board. Instead it is run by a bunch of clueless, non-communicative, and nepotistic hotheads.

They, in essence, fired Ms. S. And three other teachers. While retaining a certain one teacher who is related to the administrator, despite the fact that numerous complaints have been launched about her, and she is grossly inqualified.

I know something is rotten in the state of denmark when Ms. S - the world's bestest kindergarten teacher of my firstborn child I could have ever hoped for, the teacher who took the remedial kids in my reading group from being so far behind their peers to right.there.with.them in reading this year, the teacher who listened, intently, to my every rambling about LMNOB, and on and on...has been let go, and then is so unjustly treated that she is CRYING this morning because of THEM.

Add to it, that these crapsters won't return my call. Instead, they send a chicken $H!t e-mail out under the guise of "Ask the Administrator" and all rumor-control-ish to the parents. Sorry but the crap has already hit the fan - can't exactly squeeze the truth toothpaste back in the tube and pretend that the real truth is what they're making it to be. Good grief - how dumb do they take us for??? I mean really?!?

LMNOB will be going elsewhere next year, that is for certain. Just where that is, is up in the air.

Father, please heal the wounds this brood of vipers have caused to these teachers. Father, please provide for them in this financial upset. Father, let the parents show how much they appreciate the love and care these teachers have put into our children this year. Father, help us find the right placement for LMNOB - a school that is well-run and able to help her successfully manage her SID issues, with teachers who will love her.

In Christ's name,
Amen

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Peachy Keen - I fixed it!!

Ya'll, I know nothing "official" about html, but by George, I've gotten rid of the pesky double title...

As a tradeoff, I had to return to the original hue of this template, which isn't my fave by a long shot - but by George (I don't know who George is, but 'tis fun to say), the double vision is corrected.

It's a little ray of sunshine in my craptastic day, carried over from last night. I can't elaborate, but suffice to say that I wish I could turn my brain off.

Well...I should say one of the little rays of sunshine in a crappy day, because I got LMNOB's kindergarten portfolio since I volunteered today, and ITISSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCUTE!!
And, it validated that I'm doing something right, for I found a writing assignment she'd done that said (and, note the comma usage, it must have been the concept of the day):

Dear Mommy,
Even when I'm bad,
push people,
or don't listen,
you still love me!!

Yes, sweetie, I do, and always will. No. Matter. What. I'm glad you get that.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

So not smart...

Yes, I've been playing with my template, the framework of which is so graciously offered by Zoot.

See, I'm thinking about getting more serious with this blogging thing - see if I can't make it look a little more polished since I took the plunge and registered with blogher, (which I've also put in my credits sidebox) hoping to hook up with some mad blogger-revenue-generating tips, and then become independently wealthy...or earn a little extra to pay some debts down and keep my student loans from ballooning more - whichever.

But, alas, I'm a techie retard.

I thought I was so smart by playing with the background graphic in Paint and thereby getting the text to STAY.PUT. and go in all the right places...and then deleting the tagline/description from the Settings on Blogger.

But nooooooooo, that won't work, because the friggin' title HAS to show. Why can't I just take that part out and have a homepage link in the sidebar? That would be a lot easier.

So for now, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. There really is a duplicate title in teensy-tiny print up there.

S-M-R-T = DUMB

Monday, June 4, 2007

Sunday Revelations

My pastor preached an unbelievable sermon yesterday.

So much so that I am still processing the complexities of it.

At first, I was squirming in my seat, with discomfort at the seemingly overbearing, narrow-focused, and plain legalistic approach of it.

See, it was aimed at a certain sin, homosexuality...for awhile.

Thoughts I had included:

Oh, dear, dear Lord - how many are smugly thinking, "Preach on" right about now, blind to their own sins?

Jesus, my Savior, have mercy on me, a sinner.

What if someone is stuggling with this particular issue and there on the Powerpoint is Leviticus, where it says that homosexuality is punishable by death? Would they not feel like the adulturous woman, about to be stoned by the Pharisees? What if they concluded that's all there was, before they happened to see Christ drawing the line in the sand, and saying to the 'upright,' "Show me your perfect life and then you can throw stones?"

Lord, please rain Your hope on such persons.

I ruminated on Romans 1:21, despite the whole passage with a litany of sins that followed, and recognized myself, shamefully. I talk of God, and strive to walk a godly life, but my talking to Him and walking with Him has been severely lacking for a long time. Father, please forgive me.

Turns out, that was exactly what preacher was hoping to hit the congregation with - because as much as we may want to single out this particular sin or that, as awesome as a Falwell-style fundamentalist thinks this passage is to counter gay pride with, God smacks us upside the head with context, for the very next breath in Romans says this:

You [the supposed righteous], therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

::gasp:: Can you say - "They're us and we're them??"

It's like He knows us completely and all-too intimately...or something like that. I promise I will call Home more often, Daddy. You're too important for me not to.

God's good.

So is my preacher - boy knows how to speak. Love you, Brother.