Last Day of May

I'm ready for a new month.

I Hope the House Isn't Haunted

If the house a few doors down is haunted, and word gets out, it's going to affect our property value. Whether for good or bad depends on the coverage we get from the cable TV stations. They can bill it as a good thing and the tourist interest will make this an intriguing place to move. Or they can spook everyone and we'll all have to skedaddle.

I'm thinking it's for sure haunted because the first residents left so quietly. Then, in a flourish, the nice little family from Montana settled in with their daughter and son and we all helped haul in furniture. Then, thirty days later, mysteriously they were GONE. Sure the guy mumbled something about a "family emergency" and a "job in Utah", but I've seen just enough sci-fi thrillers to know that is code for: "we had a metaphysical disturbance and the appearance of unfriendly apparitions so we're outta here!"

Today, another nice little family, this time from Kansas, are settling in with their daughter and son. We're already excited because the son and daughter are Joe and Cayna's ages AND because the guy is a new coach for the UNLV football team. (He had several linebackers helping him unload the U-Haul so furniture-lifting was a breeze.) Maybe linebackers scare ghosts away?

I probably shouldn't tell them about my suspicions.

I Have An Irish Face

I met an Irish Priest tonight. On looking at me, he asked if I was Irish and what my maiden name was. I said yes, and Helfrich, which is obviously German. To explain, I threw in the two-second "I'm adopted" line complete with the info about my birth father being 100% Irish.

He said, "I can tell. You have an Irish face."

I've never been told this. It was kind of cool. Normally, the face I have is out of nowhere. I think Father McShane is my new buddy.

Field Trip Review

Who knew Las Vegas had a nature sanctuary? Not me. I was impressed. I've been to the Las Vegas zoo and it's downright depressing, what with the heat, the desert habitats for non-desert animals, and the location on a busy street. But this place was clean, (I mean aside from the inherent animal odors that greatly displeased my daughters) well-situated, and professionally managed. Visit it yourself at their website.

I promised pictures and then forgot my camera, darnit! Thanks to Google Images, I can share with you my favorite sight of the day, other than my children feeding the fish:

There were LOTS of gorgeous white peacocks, and the colorful ones, too. Also emus, ostriches, llamas, tortoises, goats, swans, ducks, donkeys, horses, and fish. Zillions of birds. Heavy lectures on responsible pet ownership since this is a place that becomes foster home to abused or neglected animals. Their swan collection is a result of a local golf course owner turning them over once they started biting the golfers.

They have donkeys that were found wandering the streets of Las Vegas --- I bet there's a good story there. And lots of birds given up by pet owners who didn't know they had hundred-year life expectancies and needed more attention than dogs or cats. Egad.

Don't know what my kids learned today but I gleaned lots of facts from our tour. I was told you can own chickens in the city but not roosters. AND, you can also legally keep a tiger as a pet in Las Vegas. (I'm guessing we owe that little privilege to our famous residents Siegfried and Roy.) And furthermore, our guide revealed that ostriches don't ever bury their heads in the sand... it's just one of those crazy bird urban legends.

Really, though - you didn't come here for a zoo review. I just had more to say about it than I thought. Regarding the homeschool group, it was nice. The moms (and one dad on his day off) were nice, the kids were nice, the thought of us being a part of it all was nice. All these thoughts against the backdrop of a bunch of birds. Give me a few days to find some symbolism in that...

Field Trip!

Tomorrow me and the fantastic four are going on a field trip. We're meeting up with some other members of the homeschool group we found and spending a morning out.

I promise pictures, and I promise to disclose what I discover in reply to all my curiosities about hanging out with homeschool mamas. As a wise friend and I realized today, becoming a homeschool mom is a whole new identity and new identities are scary. I've watched with fascination as women I know who are physicians, Cirque du Soleil dancers, receptionists, and missionaries quit their work to stay at home full time with kids. That's plenty crazy. Now I'm stepping into this world of even more extreme mothering and wondering how it's gonna go.

I Need A Corridor!

Visited a favorite store for home decor the other night, and you'll never believe what they had for sale - a full suit of armor!!! For the low, low price of $99.99. A bargain! A steal!

Since my discovery, I have lost sleep imagining where in my home I would put such an object. Naturally, it would go best at the bottom of the stairs. That spot needs something with height, and suddenly I'm not limited to a potted ficus.

I was ready to route money from our grocery and household budget to buy the armor, and laughed out loud at my mental image of bungee-cording the suit to the top of my mini-van to bring it home. But then I shared the find with the man I'll call "Mr.-Doesn't-Know-A-Good Decorating-Idea-Even-If-It-Bites-Him-In-The-Butt". His response, when I told him about the "Really cool suit of armor for LESS than a hundred dollars?"

"No way." And then he murmured something about how don't you have to have a corridor to use a suit of armor in your decorating? At that remark, I remembered why I fell in love with this guy. First of all, how many guys think of the word "corridor" in conversation? Second of all, he may be right! Maybe only people who live in castles can decorate with suits of armor. (It occurs to me that an Applebee's restaurant might also try to get away with it.)

Hm. I want people who visit my home (and therefore my suit of armor) to point out how brilliant and avant-garde I must be to choose a suit of armor rather than a ficus since it's unique and symbolizes history and chivalry...and whereas a ficus attracts mealy bugs, the only annoyance with a suit of armor is that a small child might perhaps sever a finger on one of the razor-sharp steel edges.

But since I'm hesitant to model my decorating after a chain restaurant, and since the grocery money has to last another six days, and since, tragically, I live in a house noticeably void of corridors, verandas, sky parlors, and other such romantic features --- I guess I'll price a ficus. Damn.

I Never Met A Pastor's Wife I Didn't Like

And, now that I'm Catholic, I never will! (Aren't I funny?)

Really. Over the course of my Protestant life, I knew and loved Dottie, Dianna, Connie, Pat, Betty, Magan, Sheri, Jacquelyn, and Aldeana. From Griffith United Methodist, Calvary Chapel, Warm Springs Baptist, Lake Havasu Baptist, First Presbyterian, Rancho Baptist, and Yucaipa Christian Church.

Each of these women are wonderful women that have noteworthy character traits, individual callings, interesting perspectives on church and ministry, and cool husbands.

Two days ago, Aldeana Hinkle passed away. Aldeana was a woman of prayer, love, service, and a sharp, sweet sense of humor that made me want to follow her around and listen. Before I knew she was my pastor's wife, in 2004, I remember her eyes as she looked at me in my enormous pregnancy with Bethanie and told me she'd pray for me. Lots of people say that from time to time - I could tell by her eyes and her voice and her posture that she really meant it. I think the Holy Spirit was oozing out of that woman's skin. Later, a while after Bethanie was born and toddling around, we'd hang out in the courtyard of YCC after MOPS with Aldeana and her dog. My kids are TERRIFIED of dogs. But owing to Aldeana's "way", and to the non-threatening size of that puppy - Joseph, Cayna, and Bethanie all looked forward to being around her (Aldeana and the dog!)


Aldeana said once that getting to love so many people was the best and worst part of being in ministry---worst because loving people hurts when they suffer. Now Aldeana is done suffering. I think I'll go on loving her. And sincerely praying, as she did for me, for all those who loved her the most and are suffering now in her absence.