« April 2007 | Main | June 2007 »

May 17, 2007

Mother's Day Number Two

Once again this year I was thinking about what I needed to get for all the mothers in my life when it dawned on me--"Hey, I'm a mommy!" :)

I had a fabulous Mommy's Day. Nat woke us up early, so we all feasted on my Mother's Day breakfast (which was originally to be an after-early-service brunch) of eggs, blueberry pancakes, BACON!, and strawberries...made by my master chef hubby of course. :)
After church Nat crashed for a 2 1/2 hour nap, and Peter and I did yard work together on what was a gorgeous day. Being outside communing with my plants and dirt totally recharges me, so this was awesome beyond words.

We then went across town to the in-laws for a "Beast feast" of steak, chicken and kielbasa on the grill, corn-on-the-cob, potatoes, and salad with cake for dessert. Yum! The men did all the work there too.

Peter did laundry and generally took the lead on Natcare all day long. What a man I married!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Nat and Peter presented me with a framed black and white photo of me and Nat as my mommy's day gift.

But my best gift that day and always is just having this amazing little family!

Happy late Mother's Day to all my out-of-state mommy friends and family out there. XOXO Shannon

Posted by Shannon at 08:06 PM | Comments (0)

Hoyts Stinks

So about that preview we saw before Spider Man 3...it was so awful there was a palpable awkward silence in the theater. It was for a movie called Good Luck Chuck about a guy who discovers that every woman he sleeps with finds the man of her dreams afterward. So his dilemma is how to actually find his own girl. The preview was full of sexually suggestive and explicit scenes, and I was mortified for the young families that had come to see Spider Man, a decent movie with great themes and morals. A family from our church had two young teenagers with them, a boy and girl. Now that I'm thinking as a parent, I imagined how outraged I would have been had my teenage son been subjected to that visual assault.

I don't consider myself a right-wing fanatic, and I understand that I can't expect the world to have my values, but I turned to Peter on the way home and told him I really wanted to write them a letter. He ended up doing it for me :) He's a better writer than me anyway.
Guess it just goes to show, if you really want to control what your kids see, bring the movie home. And I guess there's only so much we can control and then we've got to let them practice the skills we've hopefully taught them.

Anyhow, go to Spotlight! They're cheaper anyway, cleaner, and more comfy chairs.

Posted by Shannon at 07:55 PM | Comments (0)

Oh, Yeah!

As you can hear, the little girl likes her blueberries.

Shan - So like her mother when it comes to food! :)

Posted by Peter at 06:41 PM | Comments (0)

May 09, 2007

Why I Love Cinderella Man

So diverging from my usual cute baby picture and Nat update, thought I'd share why I think this movie is so awesome...a way higher caliber than one of the previews I was subjected to when we went to see Spider Man this last weekend. More on that in a later post...

For those of you who haven't seen the movie, Cinderella Man is the story of James Braddock, a boxer during the Great Depression who makes a comeback after years of injuries and lost fights. His integrity as a husband and father is so inspiring. A must see...I recently viewed it again, so it's fresh in my mind. Of course, it fits my favorite genre of underdog and redemption. I'm so predictable :)

So here goes, reasons why I love Cinderella Man and why James J. Braddock was a "real man."

1. He loved his wife. Through all their problems, they stuck together. They stayed playful and affectionate and didn't let trials put a wedge between them.

2. He loved his family. He took crappy jobs to keep them together. He went without food himself so his kids wouldn't go hungry. When the jobs ran out, he humbled himself and went on welfare...then later payed it all back!

3. He loved his country. It wasn't enough to fight his way through the Great Depression and poverty and get beat up for a living; he served bravely in WWII as well.

4. He didn't complain. He set himself and his own needs aside.

5. He was extremely tough but also extremely gentle. When his son steals food, he goes with him to return it and doesn't shame or berate him but reassures him of his love and speaks directly to the fear that drove him to steal in the first place.

6. He had class and confidence in who he was. When insulted by an arrogant boxer that he is to fight, Braddock doesn't take the bait. Instead he makes a good-natured retort that gives the other guy no satisfaction and says "I don't need to lower myself to your level."

7. He was humble, identifying with the common man and never forgetting his roots in his success.

Well, there's probably more, but that's enough. Put it on your Netflix queue!

Posted by Shannon at 10:15 AM | Comments (0)