Live From New York It's.......

.....The Metropolitan Opera!

That’s right, Brian and I went to the opera this weekend. Unfortunately we were in Edwardsville, not NYC but it was still quite the experience. Kerasotes Theatres are showing live simulcasts of the opera performances. We saw “Manon Lescault” which is the story of a young French girl (of the same name) on her way to the convent when two men (a poor, young student and a rich, old bureaucrat) fall in love with her. She runs away to Paris with the poor, young student but after a few months finds out that being broke is no fun (surprise, surprise), so she decides to go with the old geezer after all. She is then pampered and spoiled and doted on by him for a while until she decides that all of that is pretty boring. She then decides to run away with the student guy again, but when he comes to get her she won’t leave without all her jewels and gowns and it takes her so long to pack that the bureaucrat finds out and sends the police in to arrest her (for what I’m not sure). Apparently in the late 1600’s when the French wanted to punish you, for running away with poor students and similar crimes, they just sent you to Louisiana, oh horror!!! So Manon is being loaded onto the prison ship bound for America when the poor young student arrives and begs to go with her. The captain is like, “Sure, if you want to be exiled to the vast unknown reaches be my guest”, or something like, I don’t speak opera. Anyway, to make a long, long, long story short: Manon dies of thirst in Louisiana (after singing for approx. 45 mins.) and the poor student falls unconscious onto her dead body.

So the questions that beg to be asked are, “Why were we at the opera?” and “Did we like it?”

We were there because some friends invited us. We never get to do anything as a couple with them (mostly I hang out with the wife) and they really wanted to go…so we went.

Did we like it? Well, ‘like’ is a relative term. We ‘liked’ it better than going to the dentist but not as much as chocolate cheesecake. Actually overall we enjoyed ourselves and decided we might go back again someday, like maybe a year from now. It turned out being better than we thought. For one, there were subtitles. Hallelujah! Italian (yes, all of the French people in Paris were speaking/singing Italian, go figure) is pretty similar to Spanish and I could understand several words, but not enough to figure out what was going on without those subtitles (or the Wikipedia synopsis I printed and read on the way over). Even understanding English opera (if there is such a thing) I think would be a challenge just because of all of the long, drawn out warbly notes, etc. Secondly, the story was pretty good and entertaining. Nothing beats the classic tragic love story, right? But the best part, in my opinion, were the intermissions. There were two, and during both they showed lots of backstage activity. We got to see impromptu interviews with the lead characters and the conductor (who by the way was one of the funniest looking guys we have ever seen, imagine Humpty Dumpty in a tux wearing an Einstein wig, no kidding). We watched them change the sets (which were 3 stories tall and motorized, etc) and fix broken props (a footstool lost a leg during a particularly raucous minuet). It was really interesting to see all of the backstage hub-bub.

It wasn’t all roses, however. It was listening to 4 hours of opera, after all. I’m sure that is more than I’ve ever listened to in my whole life up to this point. Brian did have trouble getting past the fact that the leading lady dies of thirst in an area primarily composed of swamps and neither one of us could quite come to grips with the fact that the 14 year old Manon was actually played by a 47 year old woman and the poor young student was even older than that. Both of them (and the old rich guy for that matter) had the typical opera physique too…obese. Since we were seeing close ups (on camera) and not sitting 50 rows away like the people at the Met that day, it was pretty obvious that none of them had been young and stupid for a very long time.

All in all, it was....good, despite the fact that Puccini thinks the whole world speaks Italian, Louisiana is a desert, and convents will accept middle-aged overweight women as novices (maybe they would, what do I know?). We chalk it all up to expanding our cultural horizons. How many of you have been to an opera? Huh? Huh?

Weeeeeeee!

We had our first Wii experience last week. A friend came over for the day and brought one with her. The kids had SO MUCH fun! They played tennis, baseball, and bowling for hours on end. I even gave it a try. Of course my 8 year old creamed me at tennis, but I did beat him in bowling (which would probably never happen outside of the virtual world, I’m a terrible bowler). Brian and I have always been sort of anti-video game. We do own a Super Nintendo and about 6 games, 3 of which actually do work if you blow into them enough times, but we’ve always just wanted our kids to play with real life toys instead (especially considering the fact that we are drowning in them around here)! But I’ve got to say, that really is a terrific device. It combines video games and physical activity…it’s genius. It also teaches all of the rules and intricacies of the different sporting events. I mean, how many 4 year olds know how to score a tennis match? I don’t even know how to score a tennis match! (I do know that “adv” stands for “advantage”, not “advanced” as Ryker claims. “Oh look, I’m advanced!”) The only drawback is that you end up using muscles that you haven’t used in a while. My shoulder and knees actually ached at the end of the day, and I wasn’t the only one. As Ryker told a friend, “I played tennis on a Wii. I played bowling on a Wii. I played baseball on a Wii. I destroyed my arm on a Wii.” Anyway, I don’t think we are going to rush out and buy one, but it sure was fun to have around on an unexpected snow day.

A Pathetic Plea for Needless Sympathy

Brian is a great dad. He loves the kids and enjoys spending time with them. He never hesitates to watch them, play with them, kiss them, etc. He, like most dads of our generation, has an equal hand in their care and upbringing. He is perfectly capable of taking care of them as well as I can, if not better. (Kinley's hair stlying is his only weakness.) So, it is no big deal for him to take all three kids with him to the grocery store to do the shopping once a month...at least no bigger deal than it would be for me to take all 3 kids to the grocery store. But apparently that is not how the rest of the world views it.

Brian has found the cash cow of fatherhood...take all three kids somewhere by yourself. He asks to go do the grocery shopping now with the kids because he gets all kinds of special treatment. People in Wal-Mart are letting him go in front of them in line (it probably helps that Kinley is almost always throwing a fit), the old women in Aldi are giving him free bags and shopping carts, people are carrying things for him and telling him what a great parent he is!!! Have any of these things ever happened to me when I've been out with all 3 kids? No, of course not! People assume a mother can deal with it all with no problem, but they spot a male buying a loaf of bread and package of string cheese with a baby in his cart and they're offering to run his car through the nearest wash while he checks out! It's crazy!

Of course Brian finds it hilarious. Just last weekend he came home with 2 free Aldi bags...the spoils of his most recent trip. I'm not complaining that he wants to take the kids and do the shopping, don't get me wrong. I'm just saying people have it all wrong if they think he is this poor pitiful man that can barely function in the real world and take care of his children at the same time. He has the world fooled...but it's working pretty well for him, and me too, for that matter.

Say Cheese!

Brian and I have almost no good pictures of us together, mainly because one of us is always holding the camera. Now that Ryker is old enough to take a decent picture we have tried to make a point of appearing together in the Kodak chronicle of our lives. Here is the best one to date.

Maple Cinnamon Rolls

I love cinnamon rolls.

Actually I love all forms of pastry.

So I was anxious to try this new cinnamon roll recipe from The Pioneer Woman.

There isn't anything dramatically different in the recipe itself, but there are two wonderful aspects to these rolls.

#1 They can be refrigerated overnight and finished in the morning so that they are warm and fresh for breakfast.

#2 The icing is amazing. It has maple flavoring and coffee in it. Very Yummy!

So I give you Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls

(Note: The recipe as written makes approx. 7 dozen rolls. Adjust as needed.)

For more great recipes check out Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays at Blessed With Grace.

All in a Day's Work

I’ve recently been feeling kind of overwhelmed. I’m not really sure why. A lot is going on…but that is nothing unusual. So I’ve decided to outline my daily/weekly/monthly duties and see just what it is that I do and what is keeping me so busy.

As a housewife I must: clean the house, including bathrooms (Ugh!), do the laundry, prepare two nutritious and delicious meals a day, pay the bills, balance the checkbook, keep a fire going in the wood stove, feed the dog and cat and keep them out from under car tires.

As a mother of pre-schoolers I must: teach them to brush, floss, wipe, and blow their noses, recognize all of the letters of the alphabet and how to count to at least 20. I need to keep them entertained all day, make sure they eat at least one vegetable per day and keep their sippy cups clean, full and out from under the couch. I have to change diapers, monitor the TV viewing, kiss scrapes, bruises and imaginary pains, read stories, say prayers and enforce naptimes. I must know what time each cartoon comes on TV and the names of all central characters. I have to be able to transform robots into vehicles and make pacifiers stick in dolls mouths that were made to hold such devices and make sure the blankies are out of the dryer in time for bedtime.

As a mother of a 2nd grader I must: check 2 pages of homework, listen to a reading assignment and monitor piano practice each night. I also have to provide, and document, additional reading time each evening so that he can earn a free ticket to Six Flags. I have to sign various forms, provide snacks for the class, volunteer at the school twice a month and make 27 valentines. I have to teach him how to dribble a basketball and run at the same time in addition to good table manners, phone etiquette and how to safely light a match. I need to drill him on his memory verses from church and the books of the Bible, the Lord’s Prayer and the 10 Commandments. On top of all of that I have to make sure that he has time to play with his brother and occasionally the neighbor girl.

At some point I have to talk to my husband and spend time with him too. But it doesn’t end there. In order to be a good friend, family member, and productive member of my church and community I also have to: read my Bible, pray, send e-mails and cards to keep in touch with others, visit my grandmas, parents, and in-laws on a regular basis, call my siblings, and remember birthdays. At church I run the power point for 3 services a month, work in the nursery, direct all dramatic performances, and serve on the Christian Education and Creative Worship Planning committees. I also organize the curriculum for the kids in my MOPS group and attend all of the meetings. I work with the community theatre group and reduce, reuse and recycle.

As a normal human being I would like to: read a book, scrapbook, shower and sit down on occasion too. I know this is all just a “season of life” as they say and soon it will pass. But, then it will be the season for lawn mowing, potty training, vegetable canning, garden weeding and all the while cheering the boys on at 3 baseball games a week. It never ends. No wonder I’m exhausted. The really amazing thing is that some people do all this and hold down a full time job. Could I cut some of it out? Maybe. (Actually, there are two that I don’t do now, even though I should: keep the kids entertained (they’re on their own for that) and balance the checkbook.) Do I want to? Not really. I enjoy almost all of these activities, and by themselves I would love to do each one nightly to the best of my ability (well not cleaning bathrooms), but when they are all piled on each other it gets to be a little too much. And I have a husband that is great and helps me out a lot! I don’t know what single parents do. In conclusion…what am I doing sitting here typing on the computer? I’ve got work to do!!

(Ironically, my body does not consider all of the above activities “strenuous exercise” so I still have to workout three times a week in order not to become a fat pig while running myself ragged.)

Lust of the Flesh 2

More scriptures on greed, materialism, idolatry, discontent, laziness and mediocrity.

Hebrews 10:39 "But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul."

Titus 2:11-14 "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and Godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Christ Jesus; who gave himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purfify for Himself a people fo His own possession, zealous for good deeds."

I Peter 4:1-2 "Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because He who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God."

Colossians 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men; knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve."

Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."

Hebrews 12:1-3 "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart."

I Corinthians 10:31 "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."

I Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord."

Disobedience

Here are a few scriptures on Envy and Jealousy.

1 Peter 2:1-3 "Therefore putting aside all malice and all guile and hyposcrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you my grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord."

Romans 12:10 & 17 "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men."

1 Corinthians 3:3 "For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?"

Galatians 5:14-15 "For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be consumed by one another."

Phillipians 2:3-4 "Do nothing from selfish or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others."

Phillipians 2:5-8 "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient ot the point of death, even death on a cross."

The Lust of the Flesh

Here are a few disciplinary scriptures on discontent, greed and laziness.

1 Timothy 6:6-11 "But Godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction."

Phillipians 3:8 "More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ..."

Ephesians 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jeses Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ..."

Proverbs 14:30 "A tranquil heart is life to the body, but passion is rottenness to the bones."

1 John 2:15-17 "Do not love the world, not the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world...is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever."

Proverbs 19:15 "Laziness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle man will suffer hunger."

Proverbs 6:6-11 " How long will you lie down, o sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? 'A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest'--and your poverty will come in like a vagabond, and your need like an armed man."

Hebrews 13:5-6 "Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have, for He Himself has said, 'I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,' so that we confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?"

What Do Prominent Christian Leaders Think About Creation Care?

Martin Luther

"God writes the Gospel, not in the Bible alone, but also on trees, and in the flowers and clouds and stars."

"Now if I believe in God's Son and remember that He became man, all creatures will appear a hundred times more beautiful to me than before. Then I will properly appreciate the sun, the moon,and stars, trees, apples, as I reflect that He is Lord over all things."

John Calvin

"The creation is quite like a spacious and splendid house, provided and filled with the most exquisite and the most abundant furnishings. Everything in it tells us of God."

Rick Warren

"We cannot be all that God wants us to be without caring about the earth."

Billy Graham

"The growing possibility of our destroying ourselves and the world with our own
neglect and excess is tragic and very real."

Pope John Paul II

"When concern for economic and technological progress is not accompanied by concern for the balance of the ecosystem, our earth is inevitably exposed to serious environmental damage, with subsequent harm to human beings. Blatant disrespect for the environment will continue as long as the earth and its potential are seen merely as objects for immediate use and consumption, to be manipulated by an unbridled desire for profit."