Archive for July, 2008
July 9, 2008 @ 11:57 am | Filed under: Jorge,Motherhood
Jorge came home from Victoria a few days ago with the biggest box of all kinds of wonderfully delicious cookies. All especially packaged by Elizabeth.
Nestled among the chocolate-chip cookies, the lemon cookies, the oatmeal cookies – was this beautifully decorated strawberry one. With an equally beautiful note attached to it.
I had to stare at the card for a few seconds before I realized that the “Mrs. Wilder” on the front of the card was…ME!
Thank you, Elizabeth, for the beautiful words, the beautiful gift, and for always being so thoughtful!
July 6, 2008 @ 10:49 am | Filed under: he said she said
Independence Day may very well be one of my favorite holidays, second only to Thanksgiving.
There is just something about our country’s colors – red, white, & blue – flying with pride and joy everywhere you look that fills me with excitement.
Our church hosts an annual Celebrate Freedom day that is always a great time for families.
Mike and I spent a good part of the afternoon in lawn chairs next to one another, watching a half-dozen teams battle it out for first place on the sand volleyball courts.
Poor Mike.
I think it may have been the heat that somehow tricked his tongue into saying the. most. WRONG. thing. EVER!
MIKE: “Hey, you want to trade chairs?”
ME: “That’s okay. I’m good.”
MIKE: “Really? ‘Cause this one’s bigger. And sturdier.”
I pushed my sunglasses to the top of my head and turned to him, slowly and deliberately. I promise, folks, you could literally see the inner conversation going on inside of him. I watched it play out in his brown eyes, doing my best to keep my smile hidden, and to put on the most hurt face I could muster up.
I’m pretty sure he was doing some fast praying and I think it may have gone something like this:
Dear GOD! What have I done? Rescue me now from the wrath that is my wife who is sitting a mere six inches from me and from the look on her face she could very well inflict considerable damage to this shell of a man. (Me. I’m talking about me, God.) If you see fit, Lord, please just open up this here ground beneath me and swallow me up, offensive bigger, sturdier lawn chair and all.
And then I had to spoil this reverent moment between him and God by busting out in laughter. Ladies, we know that no husband in their right mind would dare to even think these words, let alone voice them out loud!
Plus, it helped a lot knowing that I’m a tiny woman up next to my husband and – at twelve inches shorter and a good 130 pounds lighter – I’m fairly confident his mouth somehow mixed up what his brain meant to say.
At least that’s his story and he’s sticking to it.
July 5, 2008 @ 1:25 pm | Filed under: It's funny!,The Writing Life
I LOVE writing. And there’s really nothing I’d like to do with my life more than hone this skill and keep writing for as long as God sees fit.
But for all the folks out there who think this life is one of ease and tranquility, let me give you more correct information.
Many days it can be torture. Sweet torture, but torture nonetheless. Even as I struggle to tap into the right vein, to prayerfully and carefully endeavor to write my heart, I’m sometimes distracted by all the stuff going on outside my upstairs office window.
Who’d have ever thought that mowing a lawn or observing trash retrieval would ever sound so appealing to me?
This is just one of the many hazards of the writing life…
authors, cartoons, writing life
July 4, 2008 @ 11:13 am | Filed under: Friends,Summer at the ballpark
We met Mandy and David at the game tonight. Since it was the July 4th game, the entire ballpark was a sea of red, white, and blue. It was absolutely breathtaking.
Each of the armed forces was recognized and properly commended. It was touching to see the amount of game attendees that had either served our country in the past, or are serving now.
Hearing the national anthem always gets to me, but on this night – as thousands of fellow Americans joined in together – it was a moment I’ll remember for quite a while.
This is a photo of the guys posing with The New Andrews Sisters. They were the night’s entertainment. An acapella group, they were AMAZING! They were dressed in wartime 1940s dress and were absolutely beautiful. It was a great night!
