Christmas in August: Pandora, Internet Radio

Bear with me. I am not one of those weird people that start listening to Christmas music in the middle of the summer and get happier and happier as the year progresses and fewer people give out startled/dismayed/disgusted looks.

Oh wait. Yes, I am.

But bear with me. I'm not normally this bad...it's just that I have a new friend this year: Pandora, Internet Radio. And so instead of having to lug out my hefty collection of Christmas cds, all I have to do is point and click. And when some heavy duty cleaning is necessary, you just can't ask for better accompaniment than Jazz Christmas, or maybe a little "Baby It's Cold Outside."

Speaking of which, I love babies. Especially baby boys. And one in particular that I like to pay homage to, no matter the time of year.

His name is Jesus. No, not that one up there. The one of which I speak. Maybe you know Him, maybe you don't. Maybe you believe in Him, maybe you don't. Come along with me whilst I muse over one of the things I find so touching about Jesus.

Before Jesus came to earth as an infant, He knew it would be hard. He'd never done it before, but He knows everything--He's God. Now what gets me is why Someone who is immortal, all-powerful, and all-knowing would choose to come be a person with bruisable, breakable skin and choose to subject Himself to humiliation, beatings, and ultimately, a hideous death on a cross. Even moreso, why God would choose to send his beloved Son to do this. If you are anything like me, you wince a little when your kid gets a papercut. And even beyond that, can you imagine turning away from your child when he's in pain?

But that's what God chose to do when Jesus died on the cross. Turned away so that death could momentarily overtake Him. And it's the why that gets me every time. Because He loved me. Because He wants us with Him so badly, but there was no way we could be close to Him, we being so ratty and nasty, chock full of mean and rotten thoughts and actions and motivations...and Him being so pure and perfect. So He made a way where there was no way, and sent His precious child to take on the challenge of living the way we live--but not sinning, of giving of Himself His entire life--even when it was hard, and ultimately, of accepting our punishment--which He did nothing to deserve. How sweet that not even death could crush Him, what a wondrous, light-filled, love-drenched moment that must have been for Father and Son when Jesus arose to life again.

It boggles my mind and tenders my heart. As I once asked one of my young friends, How could you not love someone who would do that for you?

John 1:1-5 & 9

The Word Became Flesh

¹In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was with God in the beginning.³Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴In him was life, and that life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, but the dark ness has not understood it. ⁹The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.

Light of the world,
You stepped down into darkness.
Opened my eyes, let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore you
Hope of a life spent with you
And here I am to worship,
here I am to bow down,

here I am to say that you're my God
You're altogether lovely,
altogether worthy,
altogether wonderful to me.

King of all days,
oh, so highly exalted.
Glorious in heaven above.
Humbly you came
to the earth you created
All for love's sake became poor.

And here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that you're my God
You're altogether lovely.
altogether worthy,
altogether wonderful to me.

I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
And I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
No, I'll never know how much it cost

Here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that you're my God
You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me

And the Grand Prize was...

To all of you who may or may not be dying to know what our Grand Prize was for our House Name winner, I present you with this:

It's not the real one. The real one is rust colored and even cooler than this one. But this is basically it. My fairy godmother picked it up for our winner and Miz Amber was pleased as punch about it.

Now you know.

To Feel like Lavender

When I was 16 years old, my family went on vacation to visit my aunt in Seattle. In her yard she grew lavender, and before we went home, she allowed me to pick as much as I wanted to take back with me. I couldn't take that much, since I'd have to find a way to carry it on board the airplane with me and get it home without crushing it too badly. But I had a small-but-sturdy paper bag from some store we had visited, topped with stiff handles. I cut off what lavender I could, and snuggled it securely down into this bag. Since I was intent on not smashing it, I refused to put it inside anything else, so the smell of it wafted around us--and probably the rest of the plane--and accompanied us on our homeward trip.

The trip to Seattle had been a wonderful, awe-inspiring, tantalizing time for me. We took all sorts of pictures, had all sorts of adventures, laughed and moaned and ate overly-expensive food, and I wrote and wrote and wrote. I really feel like this trip helped me to understand myself better, helped me to start coming into my own. I was without my friends, without a guy to hold my hand, and was able to think and write almost entirely without interruption, since there were few people to distract me. It was magical. To this day, the smell of real lavender does a number on me. It's magical. It somehow represents simultaneous feelings of enthrallment, security, hope, vision, freedom, beauty, and fun.

I have this friend. She makes me feel like lavender.



In the last couple of months, I have been learning a lot about God. I have been learning how much He loves me and that He has some really fun and amazing things that He's going to be calling on me to do. I don't really know what they are, but something amazing has been happening to me: I have started getting happy. A happy that doesn't rely a whole lot on what exactly is going on, a happy that is finally secure because of the love that God has been lavishing on me.

I feel like the last few years--and especially months-- have been this grueling upward climb and finally I've come out on a plateau where I can take a load off and lay in the sunlight and the dappled shade and the fresh breeze. My God has given me these friends that have instilled in me such a refreshment and enjoyment of life. They are very well suited to my personal style of friendship and I am continually amazed that anyone could like me so much.

Isaiah 40:31

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

That verse is such a well-known one, and yet, until recently, I wouldn't have been able to say that I've seen it in action in my own life. But now I've actually been able to watch my life change as God has given me back strength, joy, and vitality that I've been severely lacking. I feel like He's been giving me a boost, holding my hand, leading me on.



Your love is extravagant
Your friendship, it is intimate
I feel like moving to the rhythm of Your grace
Your fragrance is intoxicating in our secret place
Your love is extravagant

Chorus:
Spread wide in the arms of Christ is the love that covers sin
No greater love have I ever known You considered me a friend
Capture my heart again

Spread wide in the arms of Christ is the love that covers sin
No greater love have I ever known; You considered me a friend

Capture my heart again
Your love is extravagant
Your friendship, it is intimate

--Casting Crowns

The #1 Requirement of Being a Superfriend

The Superfriends possess many amazing qualities, but the overriding facet is their ability to love the Floyd children. It is so comforting and encouraging to be around them, because they like our kids as much as we do, and not just when the children are behaving.

If you too would like to join the ranks of Superfriends, you must first pass this test: You must love our children not only when they look like this:


...but also when they look like this:



Now in addition to the upset pictures, you have to imagine lots of whining and angry voices. Still love 'em? Yeah, me too.

Yes, this is a shameless excuse to show off my children.

What of it?

Don't you ever feel lazy on a Friday night?

That's what I thought.

And The Winners Are...

Edie and my mom win the giveaway prizes. I would say contact me to claim your stuff, but the chances that I'll need to be reminded are slim.

The winner of the House Naming Contest was...

Amber! (we had to slightly modify your name since we're not actually Spanish and don't speak it very well. We inserted "casa" for "camara")

The new name of the Floyd home is La Casa de Muchos Ninos (the House of Many Children).

The runner up was Sasha, with Castillo para el Amor Latino (Castle for Latin Love).

Thank you so much for playing our little contest/giveaway! We had great fun and I hope y'all did, too.

(No, Amber, I do not know what your special prize is yet. But I betcha it'll either be from Target or Treasure Mart. Please stand by.)

In case you're dying to know, my nail polish color is called Sunrise Sunset by Sally Hansen and I love it for both fingers and toes.

Carry on dear ones. I'll be back with a traditional post soon.

Winners Coming Soon

I'll be posting the winners of the contest later today. I've got something very important and fun to do this morning, and much as I love you all and recognize my blog-y duties towards you, sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.

I'm goin' to Menards.

(A quick aside)

As promised, the yellow park pictures:

I don't usually wear yellow, especially not bright yellow. I don't think it does good things for my complexion in most lighting.

But on this day, I threw caution to the wind. After all, it was supposed to be HOT and this is a very lightweight cotton shirt.
And once we were at the park, I noticed that I matched the jungle gym perfectly.

And how was I supposed to resist that? After 10 minutes of self-portraits, I was feeling a little silly and self conscious, especially since I was supposed to be helping watch 6 kids. But sweet Edie, she just said she assumed the camera was pointing the other way and I was taking pictures of the pretty tree just opposite the jungle gym.


And then there's this one. Nadia took this picture of Dawson. I had conceded to her demands to use the camera and zoomed it in reallllly close in hopes that she might get something good. Wowza! This is the one I've been trying to capture since I got the camera. I guess all that matters is that I have it now, right?

Showed up by a four year old.

*sigh*

But is that not the cutest picture you've ever seen?! My children are beautiful little geniuses.