I have to post this photo because it is my favorite photo that I have taken of my two children together. It captures the essence of our two precious children and how they convey their individual personalities at this point in their life.
13
May
My favorite photo
07
May
The God Particle
I love to ask questions. I am a science teacher. Often, I think scientists get a bad rap for asking all the questions that people aren’t willing to admit that they actually have. Being a person who believes in Jesus and the miracles that come with an all-powerful God, people often have questions for me about how I can teach science and rely on this faith that I cling to. Well, I can’t give you a detailed report about how science and faith are complementary at this moment… but hear me out. Scientists are searching. I am a scientist. I am searching. Different people are searching for the answers to different questions. Scientists just tend to get more down to business than the average person. So, I want to make sure you know, that all scientists have not resolved themselves to believing that God does not exist. (Now I’m not an idiot… that doesn’t necessarily translate to Christianity… but it translates to something.) Back to my original purpose for posting. Being a person who is passionate about asking questions and seeking truth, I just want to show you that others are passionate about the same. This is news in the science world at the moment. I always try to stay current on scientific thought/discoveries because it is so incredible what we (scientists) are learning about the universe and the origins of the universe. It is amazing to me, that there is a group of scientists out there searching for the answer to the origins of the universe. These scientists have built the apparatus above… called the Large Hadron Particle Collider. I may lose some of you now… that is ok. But these physicists are searching for what they call the “God Particle.” It’s like the glue that holds everything (as in, the universe) together. Of course, the scientists themselves despise the fact that this is what the particle is called by the media, but I find it pleasantly refreshing. I love that these men and women are seeking truth… and I love that in the article recently written on “The God Particle,” that they all acknowledge that on some they level they expect not to discover the answer. But basically, what they are going to do is (in a shortened and layman’s terms version) bash particles (hadrons) together to see if matter can actually be created by accelerating particles to speeds that surpass the speed of light. Possible? I’m not sure… they haven’t tried… they are still building the ginormous apparatus above. We’ll see… but it is important to realize that we all have questions and even the best are still human. We are limited. We are imperfect. We are searching. If anyone wants to discuss the role of faith and science… just give me a shout… I love this stuff.
And here is the link to one of the articles: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2008/03/god-particle/achenbach-text/1
I hope that on this blog I can occasionally redeem the relationships between all things created by God, and for Him.
Ben has been singing his ABC’s for a while now and it doesn’t get much cuter than this…
Also please notice how he will not give me five at the end. Single-mindedness is obviously part of being two years old.
And Summer, sweet Summer is already so fast. I took this video a couple of days ago and I am worried about this girl’s curiosity factor. She is already into everything!
23
Apr
It’s that time of year…
Yes, it is that time of year. All of you teachers out there know that April and May are months filled to the brim with impatience and excitement. There is the impatience that speaks, “Get me away from these immature thirteen year old crazies before we hurt each other.” And then there is the excitement that says, “This is the home stretch… this is when you see your efforts come to fruition.” Either way, the truth is, Davy and I both are ready to bid farewell to this group of students and in a short time (only August) welcome another group of shining faces. Honestly, I have never been more ready for summer vacation in all my years of teaching. It seems that as I get older, the students get younger. (I think this is actually not the case… but rather that I am just aging.) However, there seems to be an ocean of difference between teaching middle schoolers now that I am a mother of two than back in the days when I was childless. Age and motherhood have made me more aware of who I am in the classroom. I am to be a teacher and role model first. I am no longer the “cool” teacher. Sure, my students enjoy coming to class and having me as a teacher, but down the hall there is a younger, hipper, more sought after teacher. It’s been a relief to me to have this experience. I now better understand the role of teacher. Teachers exist to teach students to think. Most (not all, but most) students have meaningful friendships with their peers (8th grade friendships, none the less, but they are meaningful.) I am no longer seen as available for that kind of relationship with my students. They used to try to go there, making the boundaries blurry at times. Now, being older (and hopefully a tad wiser) they see me as the person to look to for knowledge and guidance. I can now discipline these students with respect (don’t worry, corporal punishment is out these days…ha). But the experience this year has been stupendous. I feel like a “teacher” and not just some glorified “youth director.” I have never felt as fulfilled teaching my students the wonders of science, that it is ok to doubt, and that they are all capable of success. And to tell the truth, I have never been more ready for a nice long break.
If you are a teacher, what have you learned about your role as “teacher” over the years?
17
Apr
Cheesus
Ok, you have to watch this. This is my youth pastor from all my years growing up. He has had this Cheeto for ages… but just recently… the media found out about it (right around Easter) and they had a heyday with it. You can watch the video link…
It wasn’t just given local attention… but there were clips on Letterman, the BBC, and even CNN about “Cheesus.” I saw Steve (my youth pastor) the other day and he just looked at me and shook his head… he’s even got a someone who wants to but “Cheesus.”
Some of you may be offended that this whole thing is just really rooted in satire… but it is… Steve explains it well on the video.
I just think it’s hilarious that we’re talking about a Cheeto.
14
Apr
The six word memoir
Honestly, this is very difficult for me. I tend to be a person of often too many words and thoughts that jumble my mind… so this was quite the challenge. I purposely omitted the words wife, mother, friend, and daughter because those words are who I am… they describe me, yes, but they are me… so I thought they were too easy…
I also included the piece of Kandinsky artwork because I always feel like this expresses my personhood. The same but different, different but the same. Always changing… but forever the same. (Ok… enough Ellen.)
The music is a pretty good fit for me too…
My friend Kristyn tagged me to write a 6 word memoir and here it is:
Curious
Purposeful
Quirky
Confident
Independent
Thinker
It’s harder than you think to write 6 words about yourself.
I am supposed to tag five people, but honestly, I think I only have a few people on my blogroll… we’ll see if these people are reading my blog.
Bonnie, Kim, Mandy, Cheryl
Yes, it was. It was absolutely beautiful…I thought about having the kids nap outside because on days like today it just feels obscene to waste a single moment. It was pretty much the perfect day in Houston (and my life, for that matter). Let’s see…Ben sleeps until 7 and Summer, well that kid is so crazy that she will stay in her crib until I go and get her. I think I went in there at 8:30. And then after the Saturday morning bagel run…we laid back and enjoyed each other and the creation that is in this tiny speck of the universe.
A view of the glorious sky this april morn. Laying like this as often as possible is a therapeutic remedy of mine.
Picasso. For those of you who know this blessed creature…you know he is AMAZING. He is my favorite animal ever… and I am usually more of a dog person. My good friends know Casso and know that he is probably the coolest mammal to ever live… he ate a bird earlier this morning. Way to go, old man. He enjoyed every moment of this day with us. I will post about him more later… he deserves his own post.
The street. I love this street. I will probably grow older here (duh.) Here it is in all it’s glory. Suburban Houston… a gift from God (seriously).
My radiant progeny (I mean elfin…) Here he is… we had all sorts of precious family moments today like wrestling, icees, sand in the diaper, and yes, of course, the sweet whisperings of “family secrets.” (I will explain later…
Honestly, I struggle posting one elfin without a moment from the other. Here is the tiniest elfin… and can life get much better than this?
This is one afternoon moment that I feel expresses my satisfaction well… happy, industrious child, my feet up, and a nice cold beer. Oh yeah, and my amazing partner in the chair next to me. Love you, d.
Happy Saturday, April, Life. Life is good. I know that sounds cliche… but it really is. Enjoy it. It isn’t always going to be the same… but you can always find beauty in moments and pleasure in the small things.
11
Apr
Welcome friends…
Yes, I have begun the madness! I decided to start a blog after six months of visiting the blogs of friends. I found (and still find) myself absorbed in the details of their daily life despite the fact that we might live thousands of miles away from each other (or simply a few miles). That, I found, is the beauty of blogging. I hope that you will feel more a part of my life, and a part of my family through this blog. I am going to post some recent photos of things that are going on…a sort of pictoral introduction to life as we know it in the moment. However, it is told as we experienced it. (I couldn’t resist…)
These are the two elfins that live in our house… they pretty much have their keepers at their beck and call.
One day, the larger of the two elfins, the one with the strange smile, made some elfin eggs for his keepers to sample…the keepers were skeptical of the eggs, were elfin eggs really ok for eating?
The tiniest elfin thought the elfin keepers were crazy! She laughed and scoffed, “Everyone knows elfin eggs make you funny, smart, and gorgeous…ha,ha,ha.” (Elfins sure are confident of what they think to be true…)
Meanwhile the friendly giant keeper approached the egg-making elfin. He smiled and appeared as if the eggs were not baffling…and then he did the strangest thing…he ran and hid all the eggs in the bushes…giants do sometimes have the strangest issues.
Meanwhile, the other giant approached the tiny elfin, believing in her confident spirit, and knowing she had eaten her fair share of elfin eggs already, snatched up that elfin and held her close, drawing close her humor, smarts, and beauty. Little elfin, you know it all…
Read the book before you watch the movie! The book raises some interesting questions.
I am inspired…
Tags: Inspiration, Ramblings
There are those moments in life when things magically congeal in your heart and mind to make perfect sense. I am having one of those moments right now. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that I am feeling fragile and sensitive, or if it is the song that I can hear in my heart that is harmonizing with the one my brain recognizes, or if it is the indigo in the sky or the green of the fluttering leaves, or the smiles in the faces of youth so hopeful, or the feeling that I am entering something new… but I am inspired.
My inspirations:
People (there are way too many to name…)
Music (Explosions in the Sky, Death Cab, Lupe Fiasco, Jason Mraz, Coldplay)
Books and Mags (National Geographic, Discover, and whatever my book of the week is…)
My running shoes (just looking at them inspires me)
Professional athletes (is this bad? Their grace and ability makes me dream…)
The sun (a glowing ball of energy that keeps our planet alive… what more can be said?)
Making mistakes (they always remind me what a fool I am… and strangely, I love coming back to my imperfections… they give me a need for salvation… without mistakes… God would not be God)
A crowd of faces (think of how much complexity lies in a crowd of 70 or 7,000 or a world of 7 billion; what are we all thinking? what are we all experiencing? what are we feeling?… to dwell on that is incredible and impossible…)
The universe (or the thought of what it is… we see only a sliver of creation…)
The natural world (plants, animals, even viruses… are amazing.)
I know some of these things seems strange… but I am writing out of inspiration. Thanks for listening and being patient with my ramblings…