cindy & colby

i took these pictures back in january. i love colby and cindy so much, that kind of love that just fills you up and can't be explained. they're both so successful, grounded, solid and kind - i look up to them a lot. and thank God for their great sense of humor. i'm excited to gain such a classy sister. i've more than loved having colby for my big brother for 22 (and counting!) years of fights, baseball, forts, never getting to watch what i want on TV (thanks for that though, now i don't have that habit), getting toughened up, being protected, adventures (a lot of those), making fun of people, and laughing - mostly at our parents, and me. not so much at colby, mr. cool ... which is why i took the little sister liberty to include a few shots of his hilarious expressions ... i'll let you guess which ones crack me up.

SURPRISE!

"chelsea you're a prayer warrior." "who said that dad?" (i knew he wouldn't have told me that off the cuff - not his lingo at all.) "ohh that's a secret ..." "DAD! WHO?"
and so goes a typical conversation with my dad.
"chelsea i saw your friends today ..." "who?" "ohh just guess ..." "MOM! WHO?"
and so goes a typical conversation with my mom.

my parents are both all about the little secrets and the surprises. and i absolutely LOVE surprises. it's not like they ever threw me a huge surprise party or bought me a legendary surprise gift or anything like that. but they work suspense into the day to day of life in such a way that i think it was inevitable for me to wind up this way. i used to think everyone loved surprises as much as me, but i don't think so anymore.

one time a guy who was in love with my friend told her that he had a surprise for us. (sometimes i get dragged into random events? haha) she couldn't have cared less about him or the surprise. naturally, all day i could only think about the surprise. "chelsea, who freaking cares? it's going to be so lame anyway! who does that? how old does he think we are?! this guy is weird." "maybe. but what do you think it is?! i mean, it could be anything!"

i think the suspense is what makes surprises good, even if the surprise itself isn't that extraordinary. same with life: suspense = fun. why would you want to know everything that's going to happen? it's so much more fun to be surprised. and don't even get me started on surprising others. sometimes i like to do it intentionally but i think i've created a habit of it without realizing it. last week my friends and i were talking about the future and someone said that it would be just like me to not tell anyone that i was pregnant until i started showing. i couldn't stop laughing when she said that, because that idea never occurred to me, but it definitely inspired me. they said they'd be mad, but i'm not sure why? (okay maybe i see why. just a little bit.)

i'm also not sure why everyone wants to live life the same way? let's all force ourselves to go to wedding showers and baby showers, tradition, tradition. and if i'm the only one who hates them, it shouldn't bother anyone that i don't go because they'll be having the time of their life without me. there's got to be an alternative ... pending on money, blasted money ... when i'm engaged maybe i'll have a pre-wedding yacht excursion. tanning, fishing, no group games, floating on the water past sunset with lots of twinkly lights and laughter. or a backyard concert. or a private dolphin show where everyone gets a chance to swim with the dolphins. or be kissed by the sea lions, i've always wanted to do that but so far i've never been chosen from the audience.

and for a baby shower? rent out a spa or something. and i will be the one full of surprises. "oh wow thank you for this diaper genie, instead of a thank you card i got you a diamond necklace. yes, tiffany's. they gave me a discount for buying in such a mass quantity. what's that? you're feeling bad that all you got me was a freaking diaper genie that i don't really know what to do with? sure you can make it up to me by babysitting every friday night for free, absolutely ..." and the food at this shenanigan will be incredible, because by that time i will have invented desserts that are delicious, full of essential vitamins and antioxidants, and produce negative calories. like you chew celery and burn calories, only you will be eating this cheesecake or triple chocolate something but it will make your skin radiant, your hair shine and your muscles defined. (come to think of it, this invention alone will probably provide more than enough funds for ALL of these joyful events ...)

but that's just off the top of my head ... i wouldn't want to have it all figured out now.

catholics

"I think the essence of Catholicism is beautiful. . . . What I would love to see is for Catholicism to survive this, so that true Catholicism can shine." [sinead o'connor]

i found this article about sinead o'connor and her ever evolving relationship with the catholic church to be very interesting ... http://http//www.politicsdaily.com/2010/06/01/sinead-oconnor-pop-star-mom-is-an-unlikely-prophet-for-a-scand/?hpid=artslot&sms_ss=facebook. i don't really listen to sinead now, but i remember taking her CD into elementary school music class because when i was growing up i was always determined to be different in my music taste, cooler than everyone else bringing in their nsync, backstreet boys and britney spears. of course my music teacher loved me for it, so maybe i was just a suckup? even in high school i was weird about making sure i liked "cool" music, but by then it backfired because one of my teachers got into an ongoing music discussion with me that always seemed to be more about hitting on me than it was about music, but who knows ... i'm just thankful i grew out of that phase and listen to whatever i want now.

what i also found interesting ... and was intending to write about before my mind wandered down musical memory lane, oops ... was that after reading the article i naturally ended up working with a bunch of people tonight who "randomly" started talking about growing up catholic. they all hated it and agreed that they were going to hell now. it's in a half joking half serious kind of way, and with a totally different view of hell than me. to them hell is almost a better option, because it allows them to do whatever they want now. plus church is so miserable that they won't be missing anything in hell anyway. to me ... hell is the complete absence of the presence of God. i know God and love His presence. i never want to be someplace that He is not. let alone be trapped there for eternity. such a daunting thought.

my heart is heavy for people who haven't experienced the presence of God, or aren't aware of it ... who don't understand that He is a good God ... who have only experienced religion and equated that with who the Lord is. i'm glad He put this on my heart and i'm encouraged by sinead o'connor's boldness. obviously i'm not catholic or endorsing catholicism, but God is our redeemer and i'm excited to see Him redeem all of His people.