Do you have summer storms? I’ve found that they seem far worse in the southeast (and the Texas area) than anywhere else.

The best part is, you can shop from home. Just follow this link and click “Shop Now” to begin shopping (make sure you use this link so I get credit as your hostess ). That’s it!

Here are some pictures of my personal favorites:

There’s TONS more to choose from (and each of the ones I pictured have other designs available).

When you spend $50 or more, you get your item shipped FREE to your home.

Just place your order online by April 15th for it to count towards my party. If you’d like a print catalog to browse through, I have those, too! Just PM me and I’ll get one to you.

My goal is to have a $400 party to earn rewards and support my bud Jessica (the consultant and also a fellow blogger!). HAPPY SHOPPING and thanks for supporting my event and helping me reach my goal!

I love my Birkenstocks, but they are not brush-burning footwear. My feet are killing me.

Yard looks spectacular, though.

Well, for not spelling it out, anyway.

Late night posts are always dangerous territory, but it’s good to go there every once in awhile and purge. Keeps us honest.

“If I am ever going to be the me I want to be, I have to start by being honest about the me I am.” -John Ortberg

I will expound on the book that the above quote came from soon. It’s absolutely fabulous – one of those books that I want to wave around wildly whilst exclaiming to everyone who will listen, “You have to read this!”

I read a lot. I seldom exclaim – about anything, much less a book. This one’s an exception. It’s THAT good.

But I digress.

In unrelated news, we opened a savings account for Asher today. Such a big boy.

We also were able to upgrade our checkcards to ones that support the Humane Society, which made me quite happy. Animals have always had a unique place in my heart, one that I’m becoming more convinced that God placed there intentionally. I haven’t figured out why yet, or how it can possibly impact the Kingdom, but it’s definitely bigger than me.

One of my frustrations with the Christian community of late has been the notion of being “holier than thou.”

Now you see, I say that, and everyone automatically thinks that OF COURSE that’s a negative thing that we should eradicate from the body with a hefty dose of Sin Cleanse: Jesus Tested, Jesus Approved.

Okay. Stop. Right now. There is someone somewhere reading this thinking, “well that was a tacky and inappropriate comment.”

They are holier than thou.

They don’t think they’re holier than thou… not consciously, anyway… but what else is that? Righteously judgmental? Simply right? Or a stick in the mud that needs a good thwacking?

Okay. Stop. Right now. The above statement was holier than thou.

Yep. That’s right. I do it, too. Surprise!

It’s this cyclical thing that we can’t get away from. We’re constantly comparing ourselves to one another and puffing our rooster chests to see whose feathers stick out the farthest while convincing ourselves that we’re just accurately assessing our life compared to those around us.

People say:

“We don’t watch TV in our house. It’s just degrading filth anyway.”
“I get up every day at 4:30 to do my quiet time. I put God first every day.”
“People who wear Christian t-shirts and call that ‘witnessing’ are kidding themselves.”
“The modern church movement is flaky.”

And therefore they imply:

People who watch TV aren’t as disciplined as I am.
People who do quiet times at night have their priorities screwed up, unlike me.
The way I witness is the only valid way to share Christ.
There are no benefits to doing things differently – my church has it right.

But maybe the person who watches TV can have a culturally relevant conversation with someone that wanders down a spiritual path and leads to a much deeper, much more important conversation. Maybe the person who does a quiet time at night is able to reflect on their day in accordance with the Spirit and ask for redirection, waking the next day with that conviction fresh on their mind. Maybe the person wearing the Christian t-shirt is able to chat with the person in line behind them at Starbucks and share the gospel because their shirt prompted a question. Maybe that other church has a deeply enriching lesson about genuine fellowship to teach us.

Maybe?

We all think we have it right. If we don’t have it right quite yet, we definitely think we’re on the right path. We all think our way is the best way (or, even more dangerously, that our way is the only way). Don’t get me wrong – I am NOT suggesting that there is a way to God aside from Christ. But I AM suggesting – and oh boy am I about to sound new-agey – that the Spirit flows through us in different ways. There are different spiritual gifts spelled out in the Bible for a reason. We are described as being parts of a body that function differently yet work together for a reason. And that reason is that God knew we would screw it up.

Because we’re selfish.

Really, painfully, embarrassingly selfish. All of us. No exceptions.

We find what works for us, and we innately assume that THIS IS WHAT WORKS. Not what works for me – what works for everyone. And when someone comes along and says, “You know, I don’t really think this is working for me,” we think…

Excuse.
Lie.
Loser.

Because it works for me. If it isn’t working for them, they just aren’t trying hard enough.

Of course, this doesn’t apply to every single situation. Usually just the ones we’re passionate about. So we tear and divide, tear and divide, all the while considering it justified.

I just think it’s sad. I wish our glasses could be half full more often than they are. I wish we could seek to see the good in something, or someone, and love them for that. I wish we knew the difference between being the objective Watchman and the subjective Junior Holy Spirit.

I could go on, but I just got an e-mail from the CFC listserv about a death in another closely-related syndrome group. Now I’m sad for a whole other set of reasons.

Monday we saw Genetics, which was mostly a waste of time. We already knew Asher’s diagnosis and know way, WAY more about CFC than the geneticist or genetic counselors. Even they admitted this. We basically drove all the way down there for him to say, “So do you have any questions?” Um… no, not really. “Okay, see you in a year.”

Ha! We made the appointment but I have every intention of canceling it. If he had a clinic day that matched up with one of Asher’s other docs I would keep it, but we have to go down there just for that one appointment – not happening.

Then Wednesday we went the the NICU follow-up clinic and GI. The NICU clinic did a Bayley Scales assessment on Asher, and he is, of course, behind. No surprises there. They were pleased with the progress he’s made since last year, though. They gave us some tips on laundry detergent and cleansers for his skin, gave us our voucher (they reimburse you for travel – I love that part!), and sent us over to GI.

We saw Dr. A as well as our nutritionist, and we made a couple of changes. They weren’t super happy with his weight, so we’re keeping him on Peptamen, Jr. but going up to a 45 calorie per ounce formula. Dr. A also wrote us a script for the new button that I requested, the AMT Mini-One. It works just like the Mic-Key as far as being a balloon button, but it’s lower profile and made of silicone instead of hard plastic.

All in all, not too bad.