One of the Best Movies EVER!!

I watched A&E's "Pride and Prejudice" for the umpteenth time this week. And, yes, I say "this week" because the thing is 5 hours long!! Five lovely, hilarious, heart-warming, enjoyable hours. I would love to sit down and watch the whole thing at once, but a home, family and too many projects keep me from it. One day, though, I'll do it.

If you have never seen this movie, RUN, don't walk to the nearest video rental place (or put in your request at Netflix) and get it. A word of warning - it is a 2 DVD set. Do not start watching it until you have both DVDs in your possession. When I watched it the first time, I only had the first DVD from Netflix. When it ended I almost died! (Okay, an exaggeration.) I called my sister and said, "Don't tell me what happens, but I assume Mr. Darcy redeems himself." She said, "You don't have the second DVD?! Oh, no! Oh, no!" I had to wait 3 days for the 2nd DVD to arrive. Don't do that to yourself! I no longer have this problem because I went out and bought it for myself to have for always.

Watch it and let me know what you think.

What's On Our DVR

We have had a DVR for almost a year now. We absolutely love it! It's not only great being able to record shows easily, but skipping through commercials, or rewinding a bit when we miss what someone said, is awesome. It has revolutionized how we watch TV.

Griff and I have discussed whether we're watching more TV since we got the DVR. I think we've come to the conclusion that we are watching more shows, but, by skipping commercials, we are probably spending just a bit more time actually in front of the television.

Anyway, I thought I'd give a snapshot of our lives by showing what's currently on our DVR.

Alias - 13 episodes from last season
Ask This Old House
Biography - 8 episodes
Blueprint for Homebuilding
Divine Design - an episode I'm saving because it's my dream kitchen
Divine Design Behind the Scenes - I've watched it, but Griff still want to see it
Inside This Old House
King of the Hill - 11 episodes
Light Classical - 8 hours (a music channel we sometimes play when something else is recording)
Lost - the first episode - I recorded it to see what I missed the first time around
Monk - 2 episodes
Power Rangers S.P.D. - 2 episodes
Room by Room - 4 episodes
Sherlock Holmes Mysteries - 2 episodes
Mellow Rock Music - 8 hours - another music channel
The Little Mermaid - 2 episodes (not the movie)
The Tick - 19 episodes - if you haven't ever seen this, YOU NEED TO!
This Old House - 2 episodes
This Old House Classics - 25 episodes

I wonder what this says about us. :)

First Day of School

School has officially started. Summer is over. I can feel my stress level rising already.

Robert did not want school to start. He never does. We were waiting in the cafeteria with all the other kids, when he walked up to Griff and buried his head in his side. I could see the tension in him. School is so hard for him! The expectations (of us and the school), the noise, the social interaction... the whole day. I am hoping and praying that this is a good year. I had forgotten how much of my day is spent wondering how he is doing. Will his teacher understand him? Will the other kids be tolerant? Will he know that we love him, no matter what? Will he try his best to handle his frustrations, or at least find an appropriate way to communicate them before they reach the boil-over point? The report today was okay. I think his teacher was pretty satisfied with how it went, considering it was the first day.

Ruthie, of course, was raring to go! That girl loves, loves school. She did have a bit of nerves and complained of an upset stomach, but as soon as she saw a friend, she was fine. She was excited to tell me at the end of the day that their class already has 3 compliments. She was also enthusiastic about her Spanish homework. She is such a joy, and I'm afraid her good behavior and enthusiasm often get overlooked because of our attention on Robert. Definitely something to work on...

I pray that this is a wonderful, positive year for both of my children.

These Old Eyes Ain't What They Used to Be

Back before I discovered the wonderful world of scrapbooking, I used to cross-stitch. I had this wonderful cross-stitch stand and made some pretty elaborate pieces. This, of course, was all pre-kids. I did birth samplers for both Robert and Ruth, but I haven't done anything else in the past 9 years. However, in the back of my mind, I've wanted to make cross-stitch stockings for all four of us. I've even been saving the patterns.

Somewhere along the way, my cross-stitch stand broke, but Griff was able to fix it a few weeks ago. So, now was the time to start. I got the fabric, pattern, and thread all set to go. I sat down last week to start, only to find that those holes are a lot harder to see than I remember! I've had to get a bit creative to see them. I think I need (oh, I hate to say this!) a magnifying glass. I really don't think I'm ready for reading glasses yet (I'm only 38!!), but for this project I may indeed need a bit of help.

Getting older stinks at times.

My Achilles Heel

Housework is a big challenge for me. It always has been. I can remember my dad threatening to nail my shoes to the floor until my room was clean when I was a kid. My first roommate in college and I had battles over it. We had been friends since elementary school and had never had a fight until then. I have read books on decluttering, schedules, and being a good wife/mother. I think I could write a book myself, except it would be completely hypocritical. :)

My favorite system so far has been Flylady. She's been where I am and has overcome it. She has a "one day at a time" approach that has worked for thousands. However, her e-mail system is totalling overwhelming to me. I have "quit" her more times than I can count.

Today, I discovered a new system. (I can see my husband rolling his eyes) It is Motivated Moms. I signed up for their yahoo group, which has 2 (and only 2!) e-mail reminders each day. I purchased their "chore book" and I'm set to go. I'll keep you posted occasionally on how it goes. I'm sure you're waiting with baited breath to see if I can actually overcome this problem in my life. :) (Don't you love how I assume somebody's actually reading this?)

My Blog Name

While trying to decide on a blog name, I checked out a link a friend of mine suggested. I saw that someone recommended song lyrics. So, what type of music do I immediately think of? Contemporary Christian (it's just about all I listen to these days). What group did I think of? Mercyme. Why Mercyme? They have two songs that have meant a lot to me in the past year - "I Can Only Imagine" and "Homesick".

My mom had cancer and had been battling it for several years. This time, she had been in the hospital almost 3 weeks. I was staying at the hospital with her (relieving my dad). Her condition had really deteriorated, but I still believed that she could recover. The tv was on while I was feeding her dinner. A Billy Graham crusade came on. Now, I don't typically watch Billy Graham, and if I hadn't been in the middle of feeding Mom, I would have changed the channel. But I was, so I didn't. A group was performing at the beginning and that group was MercyMe. The song they sang was "I Can Only Imagine". Here are some of the lyrics.

Surrounded by Your glory, what will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of you be still
Will I stand in your presence or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine

This song had moved me before, but this night, I started crying. I didn't want to cry in front of my mom, but it was several minutes before I could stop. I knew there was a chance Mom would be seeing Jesus before too much longer and it didn't really hit me until I heard that song. I was right. Mom fell asleep that night and never woke again. She fell into a coma and went to be with Jesus four days later. That was December 11, 2004.

So, while the word "imagine" can bring so many things to mind, to me it is the thought of Jesus, Heaven, and seeing my mom again.