by jphilo | May 31, 2016 | Top Ten Tuesday
Since our daughter, son-in-law, grandson, and dog moved in a week or so ago, our house has been in a state of flux. Here are ten changes we’ve made, most of them to accommodate the most adorable 14-month-old baby in the house.
10. Though our fireplace is unused, it is irresistible to 1-year-olds. So the Man of Steel temporarily blocked it off with a cedar chest turned upside down and crowned with a wooden storage box built by the Man of Steel’s grandfather in the 1940s.
9. Other temporary baby-proofing efforts, which will eventually be replaced with proper gadgets, include wooden stools shoved against every bottom cupboard door, keeping closet and bathroom doors shut tight, and moving all live plants to the sun porch. Thank goodness it’s spring.
8. The refrigerator is fuller than normal and empties faster. More because of the baby’s parents than because of the baby. Except for humus, which the little one devours in copious amounts.
7. The laundry room is doing a brisk business. The baby wears cloth diapers. Need I say more?
6. Toys are everywhere. Some are the boy’s. Some are the dog’s. Some they share. Quite nicely, I might add.
5. Did you know red rocks red fit perfectly into tiny fists and are light-weight enough to be toddled from hither to yon? Which explains why the landscaping rocks outside the kitchen door are all over the sidewalk, in the grass, and on the cement ledge framing the herb garden.
4. Our home now suffers from a spoon shortage. Because when a certain child has to come inside without a lava rock in each fist, spoons are a good distraction. By mealtime, all the spoons are on the floor or where ever they have been deposited with logic that makes no sense to anyone over the age of 14 months.
3. A certain writer finds herself taking frequent breaks because her grandson insists she is the only adult in the house fit to play “I’m gonna get you” with him. While the writer’s novel is suffering, her grandson is not.
2. The house is full of baby squeals, especially during a game of “I’m gonna get you.”
1. Those squeals are accompanied by an infectious smile that sets both the Man of Steel and a certain writer to grinning so much their cheeks hurt.
How has your house been changing lately? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | May 17, 2016 | Top Ten Tuesday
Just in case you’re wondering why Gravel Road blog posts have been hit and miss lately, today’s top ten list explains why…starting from the event farthest in the past to the one farthest in the future.
10. Going to the Access Summit near Washington, DC.
9. Attending a Heartland AED class about how to teach adult learners, a requirement to be qualified to teach a teacher certification class to teachers, even though I’ve been teaching adult learners for over 10 years.
8. Totally blowing off a speaking engagement at our local hospital…the first time that’s happened in over 10 years.
7. Spending Mother’s Day weekend with my kids in Wisconsin while the Man of Steel was in Alaska…and who wants to spend Mother’s Day weekend alone?
6. Being awakened by my own snoring while falling asleep, putting in earplugs to solve that problem, and sleeping in an hour and a half because of the earplugs. (I am not making this up.)
5. Making a quick overnight trip to my hometown to present the first Roger Hallum Memorial Scholarship and meet his children.
4. The daughter and her family moving in with us at the end of next week.
3. Dancing at a family wedding in the Twin Cities on Saturday evening and flying to Michigan for the Summer Institute on Theology and Disability on Sunday morning.
2. Attending planning meetings, preparing to train volunteers for the Wonderfully Made Family Camp, and attending the camp June 10–12.
1. Wondering when there will be enough time to prepare for speaking at the Latvia special needs camp scheduled for the end of June.
What’s making your schedule crazy these days? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | May 3, 2016 | Top Ten Tuesday
Mother Day will be here in 5 short days. Here are 10 things I love about the holiday.
10. Mother’s Day is the one day of the year where moms get the pay off for losing their figures, years of sleep deprivation, and total lack of privacy: breakfast in bed that consists of burnt toast, rubbery eggs, and cold coffee served with a side dish of crumbs between the sheets.
9. Wannabe women actors improve their acting skills when their children ask them if they like the kittie earrings they picked out as a gift.
8. Mother’s Day and spring flowers appear in tandem. Perfect timing!
7. My early Mother’s Day present was an espresso maker and my daughter, the barista, who will give me lessons on its operation.
6. Mother’s Day means going out to eat, and thus avoiding the what-to-make-for-supper decision, not once but twice: once with my mom and once with my kids.
5. Spending a substantial amount of time selecting the perfect card for Mom. Not an easy task since so many cards don’t describe her style of mothering. At. All. But I enjoy the task and always manage to find one that makes her smile.
4. I appreciate spending Mother’s Day with Mom more as the opportunities to do so dwindle year by year.
3. May 11, 1929 was both Mother’s Day and Dad’s birthday.
2. My adorable grandkids: Sam, Molly, and Tad.
1. My children, Allen and Anne. Could I love you any more?
What do you love about Mother’s Day? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Apr 26, 2016 | Top Ten Tuesday
What might Iowans reflect upon after a few days in the DC area speaking at a special needs ministry conference? Here’s what I’ve been thinking about the trip.
10. The bushes around the Pentagon have been trimmed with military precision. Imagine the standard military haircut. On a bush.
9. Savoring a really good cup of decaf coffee during an airplane delay makes everything better.
8. The overwhelming number of people of color in service positions at airports, hotels, and restaurants waiting on an equally overwhelming number of Caucasians is troubling.
7. Sometimes, Iowans have to travel all the way to DC to meet people who live only 45 minutes from them to learn that exciting special needs ministry events are being planned in our home state.
6. A dawn trip to the airport on a route that go past the softly lit Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Memorials is a wonderous experience. Much prettier than the opening credits for House of Cards.
5. When Midwesterners shake hands with people of Asian, Indian, and African descent during the “say hi to your neighbor” portion of Sunday worship, they realize they’re not in Kansas anymore.
4. Anyone who presents a workshop at a conference really should bow down and kiss the feet of the tech people who make sure equipment runs properly. But they won’t let you. Don’t ask how I know this.
3. Rule of thumb for speaking at special needs conferences: The speaker will cry at least once. Possibly more.
2. When co-presenting a workshop with Katie Wetherbee, it’s like being at a party.
1. Going out to supper with friends only seen once a year, after 36 intense hours at a special needs ministry conference, is an amazing blessing from God.
Have you ever been to DC? What do you remember? Leave a comment.
by jphilo | Apr 22, 2016 | Top Ten Tuesday
It’s spring again and time to ensure the safety and well-being of my family on this Fantastic Friday. This post from April of 2014 does the trick with its list of the top ten food banned from my table. Can I hear an amen?
10. Oatmeal raisin cookies. They are nasty imposters cursed by chocolate chip lovers everywhere.
9. Any baked good with fruit that turns the bread part soggy. Think apple cake, rhubarb bars, and oatmeal raisin cookies. It’s a texture thing.
8. Rice pudding with raisins. See #9 for further clarification.
7. Salmon patties. I’m referring to the kind my mother used to make with canned salmon, bread crumbs, eggs, and who knows what else. They were a mushy mess, except for the bones that could lodge in the throat. No food should be both disgusting and dangerous!
6. Calamari. Like salmon patties, this food is a mix of disgusting and dangerous. The tentacles and suction cups are disgusting. And think about those suction cups attaching themselves to the inside of a person’s esophagus (it could happen). Dangerous!
5. Oysters. Slimy on the outside. Sandy on the inside. Add this one to the disgusting list.
4. Milk toast and poached eggs. Combine the soggy toast (see #9 for clarification) with the runny yolks of poached eggs, and you’ve got a food worthy of involuntary shudders. Why did my grandpa make this for us when we were already sick?
3. Canned vegetables with the life boiled out of them. Spinach and brussel sprouts are prime examples. Canned hominy is another.
2. Any animal organ or strange body part: tongue, heart, liver, gizzard, brain, or testicles. These foods are particularly objectionable to those with a keen visualization skills or active imaginations.
1. Asparagus in any form. Them’s fighting words for asparagus lovers, I know, but this is my list and asparagus tops it.
Add your objections to #1 and your additions to the list in the comment box below.
by jphilo | Apr 12, 2016 | Top Ten Tuesday
This weekend I’m traveling to a special needs ministry conference in the DC area. While packing my suitcase, I couldn’t help noticing how its contents have changed over the years. Way back when, it consisted mainly of clothes and shoes, as one would expect. Not so much anymore as this list reveals.
10. Gadget chargers. For Square chip reader, cell phone, computer, and the good camera. Along with the electronic equipment not packed in carry on luggage.
9. A small insulated cooler. With cold packs. Surrounding a tub of fake butter, a bottle of fake milk, and probiotic capsules. Because they must be kept cool at all times.
8. Work out clothes. Tennis shoes, yoga pants, sleeveless shirt, sweatshirt. You get the picture.
7. Exercise equipment. As in a flat bed sheet folded lengthwise over and over and over, secured with rubber bands at both ends and in the middle. For hooking around an ankle while lying on one’s stomach and pulling to stretch a leg toward head. Not a pretty picture, but effective.
6. Composition notebooks. Used for Bible study and prayer journals. With a favorite Zebra pen clipped to the cover.
5. Pillowcase and fitted sheet. As in the allergenic variety to keep the hotel dust mites and bed bugs at bay. (Even though that the 1960s era Weekly Readers or my childhood announced that bed bugs had been eradicated.)
4. A Felix Unger look alike pharmacy. Complete with allergy drops, vitamin and calcium pills, immune booster capsules, allergy pills, empty capsules, oregano oil, and dropper for putting oil in empty capsules. (Disclaimer: I do not yet clear my sinuses with loud “Mwa.” )
3. Paper copies. For hand outs and speaking notes. Along with corresponding electronic documents on a flash drive. Just in case. Because you never know.
2. Book table paraphernalia. Gold tablecloth (purchased for $5 in Walmart clearance aisle), business cards, teddy bear, book stand, newsletter sign up sheets, bookmarks, and lots and lots of books. Which make for a very heavy suitcase.
1. Clothes. A professional outfit or two, shoes and tights to match, along with comfy travel clothes. Minus the pantyhose and slips that thankfully have gone out of style, leaving room for at least a couple more books for the book table.
Any changes in your suitcase over the years? Leave a comment without giving TMI.
