Many Things

I have a list of things I would like to blog about and since this is the first time I've had time to sit down and do this for a while, I'm going to tackle all of them in one post. So bear with me.

First of all, just in case it hasn't been said or done before, I would like to pay tribute to Mr. C.S. Lewis. I have always known that Mr. Lewis was a great man, very intellectual, an incredible writer and very godly. I remember reading the Narnia Chronicles as a kid and really liking them. But I have never had so much joy reading as I have had over the last month or so since David & I starting reading the Chronicles to Samuel. Oh my goodness! We started with The Magician's Nephew. Samuel never wanted to stop. He wanted to read chapter after chapter. He was totally enthralled. When we finished that one, we went on to The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (which by the way, is much cooler when you know where the Wardrobe comes from -- if you don't, read The Magician's Nephew). I wish I had had a camera, or that I had words to describe to you the joy on Samuel's face when Aslan came back to life! Pure, unadulterated joy (that was me). David was reading and Samuel was completely transfixed on the story while I am sitting there bawling like a baby. Not just at how much Samuel was loving it, but at the beauty of the story of my Lord laying down his life for a traitor, like me, knowing that because of the "Deeper Magic from Before the Beginning of Time" He would defeat death and evil. Mr. Lewis, you were most definitely annointed by the Lord and I thank you for bringing such joy to my life. After that reading, I said to Samuel, "Isn't it cool that Aslan was dead and now he's alive." And Samuel said, "Just like Jesus!" Does it get any better than that?
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The Sense of Smell

On to more trivial things. I was eating breakfast this morning and as I brought the spoon to my mouth, I smelled my hand and it smelled like a dirty diaper. Now, in case you were wondering, that's gross. Problem was, I had not changed a dirty diaper. Here's what had happened. One of Jeremiah's favorite toys is a wet wipe. Nevermind the gazillion Elmo toys he got for Christmas, "I want to play with a wet wipe". And when he's done playing, he leaves them on the floor. Now I am cheap and buy Target brand wet wipes. And they have a certain smell to them (all wet wipes have their own smell I have learned). But your nose is a funny thing. Somehow my brain has linked the smell of wet wipes with the smell of dirty diapers (understandably so). So when I pick up a wet wipe off the floor that has been a toy for the last 15 minutes, my hands smell like wet wipes -- therefore, they also smell like dirty diapers.

Another example: It took me 10 years before I would purchase lemon scented dish soap. Because I used lemon scented dish soap to clean out a maggot infested microwave (my college roommate -- no, not Joyce -- forgot there was food in the microwave when we went home for Christmas). So it took 10 years to not equate the smell of of lemon soap with maggots. Gross!

Not all of these sensations are bad. For example, when one of these monster trucks drives by (yes, we have those in Aggieland -- good ol' cowboys wanting to prove that they are the coolest cowboy so they put 5 foot tall tires on their Ford extended cab pickup -- give me a break!) and lets out a good gust of diesel exhaust-- Man, I am right back in high school in the middle of Manila, Philippines, one of the 5 largest cities in the world. I am flooded of fond memories of walking down Edsa Blvd. headed to the mall to see a movie. It's greatness!

Do you have any wierd smell associations? Leave a comment, I'd love to hear it.
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Back in the Theater again

I went last night to the local community theatre with the intentions of auditioning for Aida -- which by the way is a FANTASTIC musical! Once I arrived, I looked at the rehearsal schedule and realized that it was a pipe dream for me. There is someone there rehearsing six days a week. No way, not with David's job and two small kids. Maybe someday. But I did get to stay and watch the auditions. I met the director, the producer, the set master and one of the board members. I gave them all my phone number and email address and told them I wanted to get involved. They all said they would call me. We'll see.

But it was so much fun to be back in the theater -- and not just for a show. But for the inner workings of it. I loved it! I realized how much I have missed it! The Director said that all the rehearsals are open so I may make my way up there a couple times over the next month or so just to watch and learn. David said I had a spring in my step last night that he hadn't seen in a long time. I'm excited!

That's all that's on my list for now. I was going to post some pics of my kids for you as a reward for making it this far, but I just looked and don't have any recent ones that haven't already been posted. So I'll take some this afternoon and put them up tonight or tomorrow. Sorry!