Thoughts on Halloween...

I've been thinking about Halloween today because of a discussion I read on another blog. As a child, I innocently participated in Halloween by dressing up in costume and collecting candy from our friends and neighbors. I allowed my children to do the same. We never focused on the "occult" issues or it's pagan origins. Just had some innocent fun. To this day, I don't focus on the "ghosts or monsters" stuff. But I sure do love the scarecrows and jack-o-lanterns! And who doesn't love "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown"? ; )

I know some Christians believe that we should have nothing to do with Halloween because of it's origins.

Personally, I see no harm in costumes, candy and carved pumpkins. I see this as innocent fun. And can't we as Christians be an example to the world by enjoying the fun parts of this holiday while shunning the "pagan" or "occult" aspects of it? I see it as a good opportunity to teach our children and others the difference between what is real and what is make-believe; what is true vs. what is false.

To quote someone from the other blog, "Can one really unwittingly celebrate evil and honor the devil if their motive is not evil?"

Interesting! What do you think?

On Birthdays, College and Football...

Today our oldest daughter turns 18 years old. The years have flown by, but it has been such a joy so far watching Ashley grow into the wonderful young lady she is. We cannot wait to see all the great achievements and experiences she has ahead of her. Happy Birthday, Ashley! We love you and are so proud of you. Have a wonderful day!

This past weekend, we traveled to Abilene, Texas to attend Preview Day and Homecoming at Abilene Christian University. It was a quick trip, but was so positive! We had a great time and both of our girls loved ACU. Ashley said that she wished we could just leave here there right now and Chelsea asked, "Can I just skip High School and go straight to ACU? It will be like church camp for four years!" : ) It actually eased some of my stress seeing how excited they were. Now, even though I'm still not excited about Ashley (or Chelsea) being 900 miles away from us, at least I can rest assured that she is comfortable, happy and in a great Christian environment for her college education. It's really a weight lifted off of my shoulders! And I think it's a weight lifted off Ashley's shoulders too. She seemed unsure of what she wanted to do, but this trip seemed to help her make up her mind.

I still ask all of you to keep us in your prayers as we go through this time of transition in our family. After years of enjoying our children, raising them and watching them grow, it's now time to begin watching them "leave the nest" and it's really tough!

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Now, on to football...

Yesterday, Stephen and I were out running errands and on our way home we caught up with the bus caravan bringing the Chicago Bears to town. It was cool to see, but it sure messed up the traffic! We came home all excited about Monday night football, even though no one seemed to be holding out much hope for the Cardinals.

Well, what a game it was!! This morning I'm still in shock over the Cardinals/Bears game last night! We got so excited at how well Matt Leinart and crew did in the first part of the game only to watch them let a 20 point lead slip away and lose in the last minute of the game. Talk about a let down! I even kept dreaming about it last night!

To me this feels like "deja vu all over again" because I'm a Houston Texans fan and they seem to have the same curse that the Arizona Cardinals do. They can start out so well, almost get there, but can never seem to make it all the way! Yikes!!! So frustrating!!!

Oh well, I have to admit it made for some exciting football. I'm gonna keep on hoping the Cardinals will get their act together. I'm not giving up on them yet! After all, I've had lots of practice rooting for the underdog. ; )

To Blog or Not To Blog? (Part 2)

In my very first post back in February, I talked about my reluctance to blog because I didn't want it to be just a "public diary". I also said I thought it might be a good way to keep in touch with family and friends. Well, it hasn't worked out that way for me! Most of my friends back in Texas are not into blogging so they never see or read the things I post here. I have a few friends here in Arizona that read (or at least let me know they read) my blog and I don't want to bore them with accounts of my mundane daily activities. Do they really want to hear about a stay at home mom and the joys/dramas of raising two teenage girls? Or how hard and depressing it is for me thinking of my oldest child graduating from high school in May and leaving for college next year? Because that's about all I can think about lately!

Sometimes I find myself thinking about religious topics that I'd like to write about, but I stop because I just feel they are too personal or perhaps controversial to put out there for just everyone and anyone to read and comment on. I've seen subjects discussed and debated on other blogs, but sometimes the discussion gets so rude and mean-spirited (none of my friends!) that it just depresses me! I sure don't need a dose of that every day! : ) Also, I'm not convinced it's a good forum for discussion/debate because tone of voice and expressions can't be seen so things like humor and sarcasm sometimes get misunderstood. I sure don't want that to happen. So, I usually just decide to keep my opinions and questions between myself and God. ; )

So, I'm kinda stuck! This week I've found myself thinking that I should probably just shut this ol' blogsite down, free up some space on the world wide web and just continue reading and enjoying the comments/discussions on other's blogs who are braver about sharing their thoughts and feelings than I am (or at least have more exciting daily activities to write about!)

Or, if you're REALLY lucky, maybe I'll keep this blog alive and post about my 3 hour dentist appointment that I have tomorrow! That would make for an exciting blog....NOT! ; ) Nah...I'll spare you that. However, this weekend our family will be taking a trip to Abilene, Texas to let our oldest daughter check out Abilene Christian University and decide if she wants to attend there next year. Please keep us in your prayers. Perhaps I'll write about that experience when we get back....

Stay tuned!