Sweetness

It's been a mild winter here in Texas.  And plenty of rain has fallen to help relieve some of the drought-like conditions.  So what do you get when you add rain and sunshine in the deep South.  Mosquitoes.  Yuck.

And this is what you get when you add one mosquito and Annie-cakes.

This picture was just too cute not to throw in here...

She got bitten right above her right eye.  She must taste real sweet to those pesky skeeters.  And I know what you're thinking.  You want a Baby Ruth.  And now I've found my segue.

Yesterday we solemnly celebrated Ash Wednesday.  Here's a little information on the holiday, if you will.  In the Old Testament, ashes were sprinkled on the head and over the whole body as a sign of mourning and penance.  Pope Urban II (c. 1035-1099) is credited with recommending that Catholics receive ashes on Ash Wednesday. During the Reformation, most Protestant Churches eliminated the use of ashes.  In recent years, however, many of these Churches have resumed the practice.*

And so, our little family received ashes yesterday.  Some of us for the first time.  During the service, we listened to "The Invitation to a Holy Lent".  You can read it here by clicking the Table of Contents and then clicking Ash Wednesday.  To sum it up, it's an invitation to observe a holy Lent through self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self denial.  You got it, we're giving up something for Lent.

And here's where the Baby Ruth fits right in.  I asked Orry what he might like to give up.  He had a really hard time coming up with something.  Partly because 40 days seems like a lifetime to a child.  Partly because the idea of sacrificing something is hard to wrap your head around at that age.  But never the less, we came to the consensus that we would give up sweets.  Cakes, cookies, and donuts.  But not ice cream.  Oh ho ho ho, no.  Not ice cream...

Annie is giving up painting her fingernails and toenails this Lenten season.  I told her that it's because she loves Jesus.  To which she replied, "Jesus!".  Troy is giving up lunch.  And I'm giving up cake, cookies, donuts, painting my fingernails and toenails, sleeping in past 6am, and movies.  Well, that last one is still up in the air.  Troy protested when I told him that idea because if I don't watch movies, he doesn't watch movies.  I know that one would be really hard for us, but isn't that the point?  Isaac hasn't chosen anything yet.  But he won't be eating any sweets (except ice cream) like the rest of us.

But this Lenten season we are going to try something new.  We are going to give up laziness.  We are going to finish all our projects that we start.  We are going to pick up after ourselves and not leave tasks for "later".  We are going to get through our chores in a timely fashion regardless of how much we don't want to do them.
And by we, I am mainly talking about myself, but I will do my best to see to it that everyone else participates.

Boy, after all this I think I will need a candy bar on top of a cookie on top of a cake, with a donut on the side. But I won't need the ice cream...

*Taken from The Little Black Book: Six Minute Meditations on the Sunday Gospels of Lent (Cycle B)

Black and Blue, and Bitten, Too...

Two of my three kids look a little monstrous on this Halloween day.  They are so timely...  It's just too bad that their costumes are already done. 

Otherwise, Orry could go as a boxer.

On Friday, Orry was running during recess and fell, face first, on the blacktop.  I got the dreaded call from the school nurse, who explained what had happened and told me that she gave him an ice pack.  I didn't have to go and get him, but I was warned that his face was already bruised and swollen.  

And Annie could go as a mild version of Sloth from The Goonies.

Our last significant rainfall here in Houston was on Oct. 9th.  And with that rainfall came the hatching of flood water mosquitoes.  Annie must be very sweet because she surely got bitten about 4 or 5 times all across her forehead.  One of the bites happens to be on her eyebrow.  She has a bad reaction to mosquito bites and swells a lot.  I think I'll have to douse her in bug repellent before we go out tonight.

Luckily, Isaac is still looking like Isaac.

This is about as close as he will get to looking like a monster this Halloween.  

I hope everyone has a Happy Halloween!  Be safe and be sure to brush and floss before going to bed.  And beware of large mosquitoes and menacing blacktop while you're out there!

Just My Imagination

The highlight of our day was the evening we spent in Brazos Bend State Park.  In typical Becker fashion, we decided to venture across (and out of) town to take advantage of a free observatory night at the George Observatory.  The observatory is part of the Houston Museum of Natural Science and is located inside the state park.  So while entry into the observatory was free, getting into the state park still had a minimal cost.  And again, in typical Becker fashion we decided to make the most of this "minimal cost" and get a pass to all the state parks in Texas.  This should make for plenty of things to blog about...

It is a nice state park, although I didn't quite feel comfortable the whole time I was there.  Allow me to explain.

Upon reading the literature that is provided for you at the entrance station, you realize that there is quite the alligator population in the park.  On the list of don'ts, twice it is mentioned that you should not feed the wildlife.  Other notable lines tell you things like, "If you come across an alligator laying in the middle of a hiking path, back away slowly" and "Don't ever think that an alligator is a slow animal" and, my favorite, "If an alligator wants the fish that you just caught, let him have it".  So you can see why I wasn't really digging the whole vibe the place puts out.  I could just imagine a big gator making off with one of my little ones or my leg, for that matter.  Choot 'em!  Maybe you still aren't following me.  Here, have a look for yourself.

Walking out on the fishing pier was one thing.  Hiking was another.  Walking down all the winding paths, I couldn't help but imagine an alligator laying across the path.  And if I wasn't dreaming up alligators, then I was hearing cicadas and thinking of rattlesnakes lying across the path.

Poor Troy had to put up with me.  I was worse than the kids.

But all this wasn't the reason for our trip.  We were there to see the stars.  And we were hoping to get a good look at Saturn, the only planet visible in the night sky for the rest of the summer.  So we braved the mosquitoes, armed to the teeth with Skeeter Screen and Badger Balm.  Turns out we got several good views of Saturn and some of its moons.  We also got up close and personal with our own moon.  We didn't stay long enough to see any stars.  During the summer it takes too long to get dark and our kids (or was it just me?) started to get cranky while waiting.  And I would say that we didn't get any bug bites, but silly me forgot to re-apply spray on my feet.  But now that I'm looking for the three bites I thought I had, they don't itch and I can't find them...

I'm glad I didn't let my imagination get the best of me.  It turned out to be a pretty good time.  Although, while walking back to the car, alone and in the dark, the image of a bobcat mauling me crept into my mind...