avocados, beware!

I had a gift card to Williams-Sonoma. Good thing! Among their highly specific kitchen tools, over priced everything (a pepper grinder for $70?!?!), and very enthusiastic staff, I found the answer to all my guacamole dreams. A beam of light shone from heaven upon this magical piece of human ingenuity. Behold-The Avocado Pitter/Slicer!

two wolves

My stepmom forwarded this to me...

Two wolves...

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two ' wolves ' inside us all.

One is Evil. - It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. - It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed".

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." Galatians 6:7-8

Father

"Dia, What are you doing? Dia! Look at me, look at me. What are you doing? You are Dia Vendy, of the proud Mende tribe. You are a good boy who loves soccer and school. Your mother loves you so much. She waits by the fire making plantains, and red palm oil stew with your sister N'Yanda and the new baby. The cows wait for you. And Babu, the wild dog who minds no one but you. I know they made you do bad things, but you are not a bad boy. I am your father who loves you. And you will come home with me and be my son again"

Isaiah 43: 1
But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.

Ezekial 36:26-28
²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. ²⁸ You will live in the land I gave your forefathers; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

Jeremiah 31:1,3 "At that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people."³ The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:"I have loved you with an everlasting love; have drawn you with loving-kindness."

First Softball Game

The two coolest coaches ever! Oh wait, that is Meg and I, and yes, we are cool! Especially with our new official coaches' shirts!

Who could not love coaching these beautiful, sweet, middle school girls? Even after a loss, they are still smiley and excited! Megs and I decided that our score (29-11) was really a sign from God. Jeremiah 29:11...For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Perhaps this applies to softball!!?!?!?

Moved in

I can't believe it has already been two weeks since I moved! There are still boxes to be unpacked and painting has not yet happened, but it is already beginning to feel like home.

Mia and Riley are getting along well. I was trying to get Mia to catch a frisbee....it worked...... until Riley charged Mia to steal the frisbee.

Hmmm...perhaps Riley does not realize that he is- a) a cat, b) a lot smaller than Mia, c) not the kind of animal that catches frisbees.

This is Mia's watchdog face to keep away all the neighborhood thugs.

The tail wag is an indicator that she is getting ready to attack. BEWARE!

Riley is helping pick out paint colors. He decided on "amaretto" (a burnt orange) for the kitchen and "sweet annie" (an olive green) for the master bedroom. Good choices! I couldn't have done it without him.