Murderer

Today I killed a firefly. It was an accident. I thought it was a mosquito, and as I crushed it's poor little body between my bare hands it sent out one final spark as if to say, "Goodbye cruel world!" In that instant I would not have felt more guilty if I was Lord Voldermort himself drinking precious unicorn blood, for there are few animals I love more than fireflies.
It reminded me of another time that I accidentally killed an animal. I was in the middle of heavy traffic a few years ago when out darted a kitten onto the freeway. A kitten! How did it get there?!? I watched in horror as he helplessly dodged cars, and then stopped frozen in front of me. In a split second I had to decide who deserved to live more: the kitten or the drivers on either side of me. Then a thump. I killed the kitten. And then I cried all the way home.
Sorry, this post turned out to be a real downer.

We just won't mention humidity and arctic winters.

Either it's the sleep deprivation or I am officially a converted Midwesterner, because hearing this song on the radio made me cry like a little girl.

Finding favor

Lately I have been overwhelmed by the negativity I find every time I go online. It seems that every news article and blog is determined to defame, attack, or hurt somebody. Compile that with the ever-increasing reports of mass shootings, and I could sure use a spoonful of sugar every once in a while to help swallow all the nasty reminders that humans can sometimes be terrible to each other. I'm not for censorship, but my heavens, is it necessary to destroy any person or organization that holds unpopular beliefs or mishandles a situation or even just says some dumb things? So instead of finding fault today my blog will be finding favor with some people and groups that deserve some positive recognition.

Here's to my neighborhood grocery store bakery that passes out a free cookie to my kids every time we go. It's a great incentive for Alaina to obey.

And let's hear it for Shane from the water company for being so accommodating with all the pipe problems we've had in the front yard.

Wanna know what else I love? Libraries. We frequent three libraries in our area, and I just love taking my kids there. Hooray for their summer reading programs too.

I love that the IU Health organization provides so many delivery options for pregnant women.

Chase Bank gives Alaina a sucker every time we use their drive-thru banking. And they always address me by my name. It's simple, but that extra customer service really impresses me.

I am a huge supporter of my husband, who works his tail off in grad school, and still finds time and energy to be a great spouse and father. Moms tend to get lots of recognition for their service and sacrifice, but let's not forget dads. They have hard jobs too.

Lastly, I just love the leaders of my church. Whenever I hear a prophet or apostle speak I feel like I get to know them better. I can tell they love the Lord. Their words uplift me and make me want to be better. I believe the Lord speaks to them, and I sustain and support them.

Life's better when we lift others up rather than tear them down.
With whom do you find favor?

Photogenic

On Facebook I am always impressed by the quality of so many selfies that I see. It almost convinces me that I would look equally as glamorous in my own self-taken portrait. So I will take one, and the same thing inevitably happens: I stare into the face of some jaundiced, lazy-eyed, double-chinned stranger, and I decide to spare the world. I'll stick to copious posts and photos of my children.