Who Am I Kidding?

This past weekend, John and I took the kids to the Mizzou vs. Illinois State football game. I've been wanting to take Levi to a game, thinking that he would enjoy it, and I figured going to last weekend's game would be a good idea for a few reasons.
A.) John was in town to go with us
B.) it was the last non-conference game so...
a.) tickets were cheaper
and
b.) it wouldn't be such a crowded game
and
C.) the weather was beautiful

Sounds good, right? *pats self on back for having such a great idea*
I had been talking all the night before and all morning to Levi (excitedly, I might add) about how we were going to go watch the tigers play football. I was trying to get him psyched up for the game. I decked both kids out in Mizzou gear... including a little Mizzou cheerleader outfit on loan for Audrey from Mindi.

(not the greatest pic [taken with my camera phone]... but you get the idea)...


we get to the game and there are people EVERYWHERE. we had had a late lunch with John's sister and her husband driving through on their way to a wedding in Kansas City, so we were late getting to the game and there was absolutely no parking and we still hadn't stood in line and bought tickets yet. I mean... cars were parked all along stadium all the way from Providence to Old 63!!! (for those of you who live here... that means something!)
As we were driving around in circles looking for a place to park, Mindi calls and asks if we had tickets yet. I told her that we hadn't even parked yet and she told me that she had some extra tickets that she would leave under the front tire of her mom's Land Cruiser for us.

SCORE!!!!! (thanks again, Mindi!!!)

we FINALLY found a (not so horrible) parking spot (thanks to John's truck being able to jump curb's. LOL), got the tickets, and entered the game.

The sun was blazing heat. Levi kept asking me where the tigers were and I kept pointing out Truman the mascot to him... but he seemed to be searching for something else. I didn't get it.

It took about 2.3 seconds for both kids to be tired and cranky from the heat and confined space of football stadium seating...

So I offered to get up and get us all some drinks (and Tiger Tracks ice cream!!) while John stayed and watched the kids at the game.

when I got back with the drinks and cold treats, I was informed by the girl sitting in front of us that she was highly entertained by Levi while I was gone when he had loudly announced to everyone sitting around us that "Dose aren't tigers!! Dose are boys!!"

I hadn't thought when I was excitedly telling him that we were going to go watch the tigers play football that his little three year old brain would quite literally be expecting to see tigers... the ANIMAL... playing football. The thrill was gone when he found out that it was just a bunch of dirty, sweaty boys, throwing the ball around. Ya can't get anything past my Levi!!!!!

But, the cold drinks worked for a while anyway to get them to not go absolutely crazy.

We ended up leaving at the beginning of the fourth quarter... with half of our faces sunburnt... and it was another win for Mizzou.

Here's to hoping we can pull off our first conference game win on October 6th against Nebraska!!!

GO TIGERS!!!!

Invisible Women

Two blogs in one day?!? *gasp*
I come back with a vengeance!!! =D

tonight, I was reading my friend Sandi's blog and came across an entry she wrote about something she calls the "Stay At Mom Blues"... and it reminded me of an email I got from my dear friend Kimberly (Kim... you need to start a blog!!!)

the email was one of those heart touching stories that gets passed around, and I would like to share it here with you all in hopes that it speaks to you the same way it spoke to me. My friend Mindi refers to herself as the "Household Executive"... I shall from herefore be referred to as a "Cathedral Builder"

so, this goes out to all my fellow builders... SHINE ON!!



It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.



Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Pick me up right around 5:30, please."



I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude -- but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going . she's going ... she's gone!



One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."



It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."



In the days ahead I would read -- no, devour -- the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals -- we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.



A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."



And the workman replied, "Because God sees."



I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."



At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.



I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.



When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand-bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."



As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Shine On

Hello to all of my faithful blog readers who have diligently and patiently been waiting for the next installment of What's On Becky's Brain. Sorry I've taken such a long hiatus. Blogging seems to keep me sane, and hopefully I'll be back on more often. I've needed this.

Now, on with the show...

Just the other day I sat down to blogspot and did a bunch of catching up. Not only have I not been writing... but I haven't been reading either. *slaps hands* So, the other day when I logged on and read my friend Mindi's blog... I just had to do a blog of my own. Thank you Mindi for the awesome blog.

The following is a video that I stole from Mindi's blog. Watch it...



Something about this video touched me to the very core of my being. I want to be the type of person who, just being around others, makes them shine. It's a basic principle that we teach our children from infant-hood... remember the old song "This Little Light Of Mine" ?

This little light of mine
I'm going to let it shine
This little light of mine
I'm gonna let it shine
let it shine
let it shine
let it shine

Hide it under a bushel? NO!
I'm gonna let it shine
Hide it under a bushel? NO!
I'm gonna let it shine.
let it shine
let it shine
let it shine

Don't let the devil Pfft it out.
I'm gonna let it shine
Don't let the devil pfft it out
I'm gonna let it shine
let it shine
let it shine
let it shine

Recently, I've had my light hidden under a bushel. I had let the devil pfft my light out. But... i'm happy to report, that while it might not be shinging as brightly as I would like... I at least have found the source of light... and am working on getting plugged in.

To help me, I dug out a book that I've had forever called "The Power of a Positive Woman." I'm not sure how long I've had this book, but I bought it a few years ago at the Tulsa International Soul Winning Workshop and put it on a shelf without ever reading it. Fat lot of good it did me that way, huh? So, I've gotten it out, dusted off the cover... and I'm working on letting my light shine.

SHINE ON!!!!