This is a beautiful photo of my nieces and nephew. They take my breath away.

I was asked recently if I could tell the story of my accident for some ladies in town. Because it was such a life changing experience for me - I said yes. But moments ago, as I sat at my computer and tried to articulate it...I realized it's going to be a little harder than I thought. On one level, it is a pretty straight-forward story. Girl sees wind, wind blows deck through front door, deck hits girl, girl gets hurt, girl recovers.

But I want to make sure I tell of all the miracles that occured that day. I want to make sure to share about all the people who did simple things - that turned out to be miraculous in the moment. There are so many seemingly unrelated threads that when joined together create a beautiful woven masterpiece.

...and that really is the story. How God takes obscure, oddly coloured, weak threads and transforms them into something beautiful. He takes us, as we are - and creates a thing of joy and beauty.

A few more photos - including the girls with their new haircuts (okay so Phoebe had only about 14 strands cut!)

It's a glorious day...the girls were snapping pics in the yard while I toiled in the garden...*sigh*... a perfect way to spend our 16th wedding anniversary.

My friend La Vern sent me a great link.

www.storyofstuff.com -

go check out the video. It is 20 minutes long but so well worth the time. It's not designed to make you feel guilty - but to educate and to offer alternatives for our crazy and unsustainable lifestyle.

One of the most interesting bits of info I learned was in how we became such a consumer driven society in the first place. The host quotes Victor Lebow who was an economist after the war. His teaching changed everything...


Our enormously productive economy… demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption… We need things consumed, burned up, worn out, replaced, and discarded at an ever increasing rate.
- Victor Lebow, 1955

and didn't we all just buy into this philosophy hook, line and sinker.

And a Happy Mothers day to you all.

So, at the end of this month my friend Lisa will be 40.

To celebrate we had a variety show Sunday afternoon. It featured everything from touching solos to a magic show to a couple dance routines. It even featured an air band performance of Quiet Riot's "C'mon feel the noise". Doesn't get much better. It was a great gathering of friends and family to celebrate.

Lisa is quite remarkable. Her life is marked by generosity and it was such a pleasure to give back just a little.

Happy Birthday.