Confessions of a Jonas Stalker

Confessions of a Jonas Stalker, as told by a mother that enables them. The following, I am embarrassed to say is a true story. .. a sad true story! You may at the end of this choose to question the wisdom of my being a mom. (Something that I do often).

So a daily fight between my girls is… what one is going to marry Nick Jonas. I knew I was in trouble when the brothers Jonas went on tour. I went to the concert oh so willingly. --- If oh so willingly means kicking and screaming about entering the Seventh Circle of Hell.

The day after the show is where the real story begins. We were on our way home from the Windy City when Ken received a tweet from a JB band member that they were getting ready for a softball game in the city. - I looked at Mark, I looked down at me in my pajamas, we looked at the girls and decided – FINE… It was only a short detour to turn around on the toll road and scour Grant Park for the boys playing softball… shoot, it was a beautiful day and we’ve been known to travel to the city for popcorn…and I had met Shawn Cassidy when I was 13 perhaps …. Thus began the embarrassing stalking of the JON- I.

We traveled through Grant Park - Yes Maddie was sporting binoculars. …but no luck, the best we found was a kickball tournament. A quick drive around area 4 -5 star hotels, then up to Lincoln Park to check the diamonds out up there. As we were getting ready to head back toward home thinking we gave it the ‘old college try’, Kennedy sent an email to the Twitter of the band manager asking where they were… 3 minutes later, he posted the address, and said ‘come and find us.’

…At that point, we were really beyond the point of no return. Who cares that the address was 35 minutes away… who cares that I hadn’t showered… We were now on a mission. Our eyes glazed over. Off we went. The girl’s excitement growing with each mile. We watched the miles go down on the navigator as we neared the softball field… almost there… less than 300 yards away… victory is ours…

and all of a sudden, their tour bus goes whizzing by us in the opposite direction. The girls screamed, I cringed, Mark, dug in deep, quick did a U Turn, and the chase was on - As they stopped for the toll booth, I laughingly told Ken to get out and go knock on the bus door. (The reason I didn’t tell Maddie is that she would have)… We were in pursuit, following the bus - those boys had to get off the bus somewhere! Then the unthinkable happened… The gas light came on… the buzzer went off…we were in deep need of petro.

Mark didn’t flinch… he confidently said – I CAN DO THIS. GOOD LORD! SEROUSLY, how old am I? About 10 miles later we raced ahead and got $5.00 gas at an oasis the girls cheering him on … GO GO GO. Off we went to look for the bus... binoculars or no binoculars… it was gone.

Deflated, we started toward home. As we neared O’Hare, I was looking out the window, and exclaimed, “Mark – there are tour busses by the Hotel Intercontinental“ For the umpteenth time of the day, turned around, paid more tolls and raced to the Hotel….10 Jonas brothers busses in total. – I’m convinced I could be in the CIA. So we pull up the camera to look at pictures of license plates (At this point we are much beyond over the edge). …The bus we followed not there. Grrrr… I hate defeat! We decided to take one last look at the venue before leaving town.

As we turn the corner, there it is… in its glory the tour bus we were searching for. Mark and the girls, struck up a conversation with the driver to learn the following: when we saw the bus and did the U turn at the ball fields, he didn’t have the band with him…. Nope… He had just dropped them off. They had been playing softball the entire time… Oh so close… Sorry Ken and Maddie… I’m not sure if I’m sorry we turned around and chased a tour bus across Chicago in vain, or if I’m sorry, you got stuck with us as parents!WHAT DORKS WE ARE!

The Power of Prayer

I had a difficult day today. I was grumpy. Really grumpy. So grumpy that at one point I let out the F BOMB several times. The last thing I wanted to do after work was go to a meeting with a committee... but a commitment is a commitment, so off I went grumbling all the way. I sat around a table with some of the remarkable women I have ever meant. Women that it is a true honor to be in their presence. It wasn't long before I felt the grumpy pass away. Then one of the women told a story... at the end of the story I was filled with incredible shame that I let the moments of my day have such a huge affect on me. There is so much more out there... If we will only reach out and embrace it. Here's what she read.

From the book, If You Want to Walk on Water You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat.

It is striking to me how—both in Scripture and in present-day examples—stories of water-walking are almost always stories about prayer. There is something about getting out of the boat that turns people into intense pray-ers, because they are aware that they cannot accomplish things without God’s help. One of my favorite adventures in prayer involves Doug Coe, who has a ministry in Washington, D.C., that mostly involves people in politics and statecraft. Doug because acquainted with Bob, an insurance salesman who was completely unconnected with any government circles. Bob became a Christian and began to meet with Doug to learn about his new faith. One day, Bob came in all excited about a statement in the Bible where Jesus says, “Ask whatever you will in my name, and you shall receive it.”

Is that really true?” Bob demanded.

Doug explained, “Well, it’s not a blank check. You have to take it in context of the teachings of the whole Scripture on prayer. But yes—it really is true. Jesus really does answer prayer.”

“Great!” Bob said. “Then I gotta start praying for something. I think I’ll pray for Africa.”

“That’s kind of a broad target. Why don’t you narrow it down to one country?” Doug advised.

“All right. I’ll pray for Kenya.”

“Do you know anyone in Kenya?” Doug asked.

“No.”

“Ever been to Kenya?”

“No.” Bob just wanted to pray for Kenya.

So Doug made an unusual arrangement. He challenged Bob to pray every day for six months for Kenya. If Bob would do that and nothing extraordinary happened, Doug would pay his five hundred dollars. But if something remarkable did happen, Bob would pay Doug five hundred dollars. And if Bob did not pray every day, the whole deal was off. It was a pretty unusual prayer program, but the Doug is a creative guy.

Bob began to pray, and for a long while nothing happened. Then one night he was at a dinner in Washington. The people around the table explained what they did for a living. One woman said she helped run an orphanage in Kenya—the largest of its kind.

Bob saw five hundred dollars suddenly sprout wings and begin to fly away. But he could not keep quiet. Bob roared to life. He had not said much up to this point, and now he pounded her relentlessly with question after question.

“You’re obviously very interested in my country,” the woman said to bob, overwhelmed by his sudden barrage of questions. “You’ve been to Kenya before?”

“No,”

“You know someone in Kenya?”

“No.”

“Then how do you happen to be so curious?”

“Well, someone is kind of paying me five hundred dollars to pray…”

She asked Bob if he would like to come visit Kenya and tour the orphanage. Bob was so eager to go, he would have left that very night if he could.

When Bob arrived in Kenya, he was appalled by the poverty and the lack of basic health care. Upon returning to Washington, he couldn’t get this place out of his mind. He began to write to large pharmaceutical companies, describing to them the vast need he had seen. He reminded them that every year they would throw away large amounts of medical supplies that went unsold. “Why not send them to this place in Kenya?” he asked.

And some of them did. This orphanage received more than a million dollars’ worth of medical supplies.

The woman called Bob up and said, “Bob, this is amazing! We’ve had the most phenomenal gifts because of the letters you wrote. We would like to fly you back over and have a big party. Will you come?”

So Bob flew back to Kenya. While he was there, the president of Kenya came to the celebration, because it was the largest orphanage in the country, and offered to take Bob on a tour of Nairobi, the Capital city. In the course of the tour they saw a prison. Bob asked about a group of prisoners there.

“They’re political prisoners,” he was told.

“That’s a bad idea,” Bob said brightly. “You should let them out.”

Bob finished the tour and flew back home. Sometime later, Bob received a phone call from the State Department of the United States government:

“Is this Bob?”

“Yes.”

“Were you recently in Kenya?”

“Yes.”

“Did you make any statements to the president about political prisoners?” “Yes.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him he should let them out.”

The State Department official explained that the department had been working for years to get the release of these prisoners, to no avail. Normal diplomatic channels and political maneuverings had led to a dead end. But now the prisoners had been released, and the State Department was told it had been largely because of…Bob. So the government was calling to say thanks.

Several months later, the president of Kenya made a phone call to Bob. He was going to rearrange his government and select a new cabinet. Would Bob be willing to fly over and pray for him for three days while he worked on this very important task?

So Bob—who was not politically connected at all—boarded a plane once more and flew back to Kenya, where he prayed and asked God to give wisdom for the leader of the nation as he selected his government. All this happened because one man got out of the boat.

How about you? What are you praying for? Give it six months. I’ll make you a deal—I’ll give you the Bob Challenge. If you pray every day for six months and nothing extraordinary happens, write me. I won’t promise you five hundred dollars, but I will give you a refund on the cost of this book. To the contrary, if something extraordinary does happen, you have to write and tell me about it.

Walking on the water is not about some great thing you will do. In fact, by yourself you can do nothing of lasting value. It is about what God longs to do with you by his power and grace.

But first you have to get your feet wet.

New Moon

We switched our clocks back this weekend. Which means that when Ken and I leave the house in the morning it is pitch black outside. Today, as I pulled onto the street there in my window was this incredible gigantic completely round moon. It was so big and bright against the black backdrop of the sky. It completely took my breath away. Immediately I stopped the car. It was like I was slapped in the face with this incredible awe. (Which is a pretty good feat for me at 7 am.) Simple astounding beauty. For a moment everything slipped away and I just enjoyed what was directly in front of me. It was difficult to take my eyes away from it as we began driving. As is common with me, it didn’t take long for me to become distracted with the radio station and Ken and me talking about our day. It wasn’t for a few more miles that I remembered the moment I just had, the beauty of the moon and wanted to glimpse at it again. I turned my head and it was gone. The sky was completely black. Like an idiot I turned my head the other way trying to find it …as if the moon had magically moved across the sky! I turned back around and squinted at where I knew it should be. Barely I could make out the shape behind some pretty thick clouds. In that moment, I thought about how typical that was of my life. There are moments that I bask in complete awe at the awesomeness of God. I truly see his hand in works every day. And yet, I am so easily distracted with day to day things, that so often I lose sight of His awesomeness. I have to intentionally remind myself to look at him. Remember he is there - He is beautiful and astounding and ready to light my every day… I am the one that puts the clouds in his way. Yet he remains… behind it all ready and waiting for me to look.

Mr. President....

Of the many crazy wonderful things I have done in my life, one of the biggest honors that I have had was to see President Obama speak in his first public appearance outside of the White House. The feeling that overwhelmed me was honor. For a short period of time I - Me - I - sat in a room with the President of the United States. The whole situation was incredibly surreal. It almost felt like a West Wing episode.

I spent a lot of time trying to put words to my assessment of President Obama. I'm not quite sure I have yet succeeded. Here is what I was impressed with. He came out without a shred of pomp and circumstance. He just showed up... no band... no big announcements. The forum was that of a town hall meeting. I expected the questions to be pre-screened or planted. They weren't. Funny - but as I realized that I squirmed when each question was asked. I worried each time that the question would make us as a city look bad. There wasn't much substance... but there was an honest exchange of ideas.

As I walked into the house later and my children were still talking about what they experienced, I realized what I took away from the day was being a part of history. I was there. My kids were there. My husband was there... which for me - normal, everyday me... is pretty cool.

If at first you don't succeed...

Ok... so maybe I am not the most consistent. But I miss writing so I am going to give this blog thing another try.

F is for Fredricksburg, and Fantastic Friends, and Forty Thousand Bottles of Wine!

I'm fresh back from my Fredricksburg Getaway with my dear friend Amber. For the record, it is fabulous to get away with a dear friend and just talk without interruption. It feels incredibly indulgent to do what you want to do when you want to do it - laugh loud, and talk deep. - good times! I had no idea how much I needed a special time to slow down and appreciate a rare friendship that I'm dreading letting go of the day to day. Saying goodbye is the painful part of moving. I am so very grateful for my friend Amber. -- She sees me so clearly, and likes me anyway. Wow... how humbling.

I will miss raiding your pantry while you're not home, our meals, and TV show marathons together, your pragmatic outlook on life, and complete honesty with me. You are an incredibly suprising special gift to me. I am very thankful for you and I love you dearly!

Now I turn to intense packing and to what lies ahead as we are on our final sprint toward South Bend - with lots of yuck stuff in between here and there... boxes, packing, cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning, driving and driving, then unpacking... wake me up when it's over.

Quote of the Day - Super Fantastic

'True fasion is found on on the border between the classic and the trashy"
Manalo - The Shoe Blog

Coach Gods

.... and yes, we would like to take a moment to pause and thank the COACH gods who have smiled down on me this week!

A is for Alamo

A is for Alamo -- (and of couse also for my dear friend Amber)
Last week was Alamo week at school. -- GO TEXAS!! I tell ya, it's times like these that I can't wait to move back to Indiana where they dont care about their state! This week Maddie and I had to make a model of the Alamo, and memorize Travis' letter at the Alamo.

The model was much easier than the memorization... I can't remember where I put my keys let alone anything else... Why should my child be any different... she takes after her mother.

The model could be made out of anything... so in true family fashion, we made the alamo out of a cake. The finished product took:

• 5 cake mixes
• 8 cups of water
  
• 15 eggs
• LOTS OF POWDER SUGAR.

We baked and stacked and we cut and we formed... Let me just say if Travis had this Alamo as his fort, he woudn't have needed to send a letter for help, he could have killed off the enemy with cavaties! No word on the grade yet, but I have a happy kid that loved her model... that's all that matters anyway.

Hey -- are you out there?

The Procrastinator's New Years Resolution

Just now, I found my New Years Resolution. Wanna know your's? Click the box below!

In the year 2006 I resolve to: Forget my New Year's Resolution. Get your resolution here

The Time of Your LIfe

It’s amazing how certain songs just grab hold of you. Every time I have ever heard the song ‘good riddance’ from a little group called Green day I have this overwhelming feeling they looked into my heart. This song is me. Our ventures thus far throughout our lives have taken us from one end of the country to the other. Into different lives, jobs, and situations. It has been good, and bad. It has been happy and sad. ….and it has been ever so tiring. But through it all --- through every single moment I can Cleary and wholeheartedly day – for what it’s worth, it’s been worth all the while – I have had the time of my life! To this day this song remains one of my very favorites.

Another turning point;
a fork stuck in the road.

Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.

So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.

It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

So take the photographs
and still frames in your mind.

Hang it on a shelf
In good health and good time.

Tattoos of memories
and dead skin on trial.

For what it's worth,
it was worth all the while.

It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

I love this quote

Some of us have great runways already built for us. If you have one, take off! But if you don't have one, realize it's your responsibility to grab a shovel and build one for yourself and for those who will follow after you. -Amelia Earhart

The Chicks Playing in the Blue Bonnets! 

And so it begins...

Wow -- here I am, with my first post. It really is kind of scary. I created the blog site a while back. But then... to actually do it... to actually sit and put your thoughts down. It's a little scary. I mean these are 'my' thoughts -- as wacky and wicked as they are. To put them out there for the world to see is kind of like bearing your soul. It leaves me feeling a little vulnerable and uncomfortable. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is suppose to be a good thing! Let's keep our fingers crossed!!
TMG