Gregory and all the boys and I had the privilege of helping to kick off a new church plant in Tacoma, Washington, January 19th.  What an honor!  The place was packed and and the meeting was filled with the life of God from beginning to end.  Wow, a new baby church to grow and love and…can’t wait to watch it explode with new life in Christ!  You know how much I love the local church (see post on The Power of the Local Church January 13 2008) and here comes another one….here is our fearless (and fearsome to the enemy) leader, Mike, and a few photos of other enthusiastic world-changers, about to let ‘er rip!   Of course, my camera couldn’t begin to capture the joy, God-life and anticipation of all that is to come in the days ahead…..

How many boring, painful, missionary biography books have you made your kids read?!  Me, too.  The lives and adventures these heroes of the faith lived were anything but dull, however, the ‘reporting’ of their life stories is often dreary and lifeless.  Well, this is one book that you and your kids are gonna find to be a real page-turner, not to mention, life-changing!  It’s relevant, recent history and will capture your attention.

  Everyone in the Mira house has or will be reading this and fyi, Daddy couldn’t put it down!  (Let me know how you like it.  I’d love to hear from you!)

How many times do our kids come to us and say, “Mom, I need a button sewed on!”…or, “Mom, the seam in my pants split!”…etc., etc.  Well, just to let you know, our boys sew on their own buttons and repair their own seams by hand and you only have to teach them ‘how-to’ once and after that - they’re on their own and you have equipped them with a very valuable life skill.  I’ve had 16 year-old girl babysitters who couldn’t sew a button on.  Will they hire this work done for themselves when you’re no longer there to do it for them?  Hmm.  Here you see Levi Aaron, working away.  I think he kind of enjoys it now!

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING AT OUR HOUSE  This is the latest offering directed and produced by the brilliant, creative, historian-reporter Ken Burns and his associate, Lynn Novick.  Runs about $70.00 at Costco and is one powerful investment - I mean investment.  Every American should have to see this, but most will want to see this dvd series.  Loaded with first-person interviews, real footage, photos and all the rest of what Ken Burns ‘magically’ pulls out of his hat…my kids (ages 13 and 15-NOTE: there is some graphic war footage) were on the edge of their seats watching this true story unfold.  Ken Burns doesn’t ‘rewrite’ history, but creatively brings it to life on the screen.  I highly, like 5 star, recommend this for everyone mature enough to handle it.  Take it with you on vacation - we did - far more valuable than ‘just another movie’ and your kids won’t have a clue that you’re helping them form a right and Godly worldview.

  Celebrating 27 years at Bodega Bay with Gregory, the love of my life. (technical difficulties on yesterday’s post, so here’s the photo I referred to.)

BLONDE WARNING:  This little catching-you-up-diary makes the most sense if you scroll down to FEBRUARY 1 and read bottom to top, which brings you to today!  I KNOW…all my organized, techie friends out there are shaking their heads and groaning right now.  Sorry!

FEBRUARY 13

Back to the airport to pick up our friend, Matt, from Seattle who’s visiting for the next 2 weeks.  I took a wrong turn while chatting it up with my kids and their buddy and……almost ended up L.O.S.T…thank God for cell phones!  P.S.  Daddy is feeling better every day, but what a tough bug this flu is!

FEBRUARY 11-12

Back to the homefront where Daddy has been holding the fort, (well, actually more like ‘running a tight ship’) as he is one amazing leader and like I always say, “he can run this house with his eyes closed better than I could any day”.  The gift of administration goes a long way at home and I learn from him every single day.  Sidenote: This is a

great example of how he operates.  See Exhibit A above.  I returned home from errands one Saturday afternoon and my son had a friend over.  They were at opposite ends of the dining room table, playing ‘football’ with these little paper doo-dads they’d created because Daddy had said, “No electronics”.  They were having a blast, pulling this game of paper football out of ancient history (I remember my brothers playing this 40 years ago!)

Okay, back to my post-Boise trip: My homecoming meal was rosemary-lemon chicken breasts by Seth Daniel, Mashed potatoes, Corn-on-the-cob and lots of love!  But, unfortunately, Daddy has come down with the bad flu - so I simmered a big, fat, free-range chicken, chopped a pile of vegies and the house smelled almost heavenly as a big pot of homemade soup sat bubbling on the stove.  Exactly the medicine he was needing. 

FEBRUARY 8-11

Out the door at 4:30 am…Didn’t get lost going to the airport, but did park in the wrong lot (oh, well.  I’m blonde and some days - all the way to the roots.  Come to think of it, I hadn’t had my coffee yet.)  Boise, here we come!  Church of the Harvest (these guys are serious about evangelism and discipleship!), where Mark and Dee Dee Bryan lead, really came out to meet us.  My second-born, Benjamin, met me there, which was the icing on the cake since he now lives 12 hours north of me, in Seattle, WA. (here’s Ben chatting with Mark Bryan after the Parenting Seminar Friday night).

The Friday-Saturday Parenting Seminar was nothing short of an absolute blast - an audience of hungry hearts, ready for anything…and the two morning meetings on Sunday were wrapped in God’s grace.  The photo below perfectly sums up my long weekend in Boise-an absolute BLAST!

I luuuuvvv the local church!!!  I love seeing parents passionate about their kids’ destinies!  I love watching God work!  And I must say, I fell in love with Boise, a place I’d never had the pleasure of visiting.  Get this, Boise is crowned:

• #1 Most secure places to live with 500,00 or more residents by Farmers Insurance 2006
• #8 Best places to live by Money Magazine 2006
• #3 Best places for business and careers by Forbes Magazine 2007
• #9 Hottest cities for entrepreneurs by Inc.com 2007
• #6 Urban environment report card by Earth Day Network 2007

• Not to mention, beautiful, charming and surrounded by snow-covered mountains the weekend we were there - Boise rocks!

FEBRUARY 6-7

…catching up on laundry, home-cooked food and lovin’ my boys.  Then it was ‘unpack, pack and prepare’ for a big weekend comin’ up.  You can see my fashion prowess above as I work in the kitchen in my latest eclectic loungewear set (bottoms by Cosctco/top by Goodwill :)  Yep, this is how my dining room looks just before I come talk to you (see below).  I clean it all up before I leave for the airport, though, I promise.

FEBRUARY 2-5

After taking a wrong turn and going 40 minutes out of my way to the airport - how do these things happen to me when I’ve been to that airport more times than I can recall? - I took off for Hobbs, New Mexico, to speak to folks about the dynamic potential of their amazing children at Cowboy Junction Church where Ty and Heather Bean lead.

  It was a planes, trains and automobiles day as I departed Sacramento, landed in Phoenix, once more to Albuquerque and finally to Lubbock, Texas - careful on the loop -  one more wrong turn!  Then my friend Cindy and I drove the last 2 hours to Hobbs - the oil capital of New Mexico and home to lots of gifted rodeo professionals.  Well, let me tell you, it was worth every mile and minute it took to get there.  We were overwhelmed by the warm Southwest welcome, hospitality (great Superbowl party Sunday night!) and generosity, but especially by the hungry hearts of men, women and children, longing for all God has for them.  CJ all the way!

Well, February 1st was my birthday and my fabulous 50s smoking-hot friend Kathy and I went shopping because I do not shop, do not like to shop, cannot figure out the ‘fashion thing’ (see eclectic loungewear above) and do not have the time or energy to do so.  Well, she is extremely gifted in all these areas.  It seems that if I’m supposed to go talk to people about kids, especially people I have never met -  my clothes have got to match.  So she bravely ventured out with me for a few hours and helped me get  coordinated, God bless her.  Shopping with me is nothing short of hard labor!

Here’s Kathy  with her hubby and best friend forever, Rick, in San Francisco recently.

Okay, I’m coming up for air!  I know, I know, take me to the blogger woodshed, deprive me of my morning Starbucks, pour apple juice concentrate on my kitchen floor while I’m sleeping, hide my Cover Girl under-eye concealer…I REPENT! ‘Momming’, studying, creating, loving,  planning, teaching, writing, travelling…not to mention - TAXES! - got the best of my blogging this month.

But I’m back and it’s one of Hallmark’s favorite days of the year-the 14th of February - Valentine’s Day and this is the

love of my life, Gregory, as we drink in the beauty of Bodega Bay while celebrating our 27th wedding anniversary back in late November 07. (note: technical difficulties on the photo-see tomorrow’s post!) But today you won’t find us opening Valentine’s Day cards, eating chocolates, going out for a special dinner (guaranteed worst night of the year to eat out along with Mother’s Day-bad service-too many people) or ordering flowers.  We aren’t really too driven about most of Hallmark’s happy days (I do love Christmas, but then Jesus started that!) because in God, every single day is a day to celebrate!  Happy days are a regular occasion.  I came home from a ministry trip February 5th and found a big, fat, supportive (am I getting old?!), cozy, first-ever-brand-new better-than-the-rest office chair sitting in my work spot- Happy Day to me from hubby!!!  Then we went out for Mongolian Barbecue…talk about spoiled rotten.  So…while everyone else is caught up in the frenzy of pleasing people, buying last-minute gifts and feeling guilty - I’m free!

I’m gonna catch you up on all the fun I’ve been having for the past 15 days….stay tuned.