Wii can't get enough

I have recently developed the ability to play the banjo, flute, and tuba all within a matter of minutes. Now, before you start thinking I am a musical protege' (like you even would), I'll share a little "ancient Chinese secret" (remember that commercial from the 70's??) with you. The girls got Wii Music this past weekend from their grandparents for Christmas, and we have been playing it ever since. I am moved to tears as I listen to them play "Please Mr. Postman," "Locomotion," and "Wake me up before you go-go." (That song is the one that produces the tears...yuck..yuck..and triple yuck!!) Not only that, but I have conducted my own orchestra (what an arm workout!) and played the hand bells with Hopie (more of a wrist workout here). This is just so much fun!!!

The girls have recorded their own CDs and created their own CD jackets. They are so adorable!!! Watching our large collection of Miis participating in various forms throughout the game is absolutely hilarious!!! I never knew our Miis had so much talent!!!

So, if you are looking for a last minute Christmas gift for the kids, you really should try Wii Music. I have been pleasantly surprised with the reaction the girls have had over this latest game in our collection. (BTW, our Wii collection is very limited. Donations can be made right here on the blogspot. :))

Smile and say "Cheese"

You must know that I am behind in everything I am compelled to get done before next Thursday. There is no reason on earth I should be sitting with my laptop except for the sheer excuse of procrastination. I have a "to do" list a mile long, and just when I cross something off of it, another task mysteriously tacks itself to the bottom. It will not stop growing!!

I haven't sent a single Christmas card yet. Not even sure where they are right now. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME?????!!!! I used to be so dedicated to this. I would spend hours formulating the right words and message to send in our annual Christmas letter. I would buy the girls matching Christmas outfits....make an appointment at a nice professional studio and have the Hesterfamily Christmas picture taken. Now, I find my mind drifting to questions of "Is it worth the headache? Can I really tolerate arguing with my girls over what they are going to wear...how I want their hair to look...if one has food in their braces in the picture...if they have both showered recently, etc." One of my girls nearly refuses to have her picture taken. Oh where, oh where did their "complacent" toddler years go??

I feel a self-induced pressure to get these Christmas cards out. Because we don't have the time nor energy nor patience nor unanimous desire to get our family's picture professionally taken, I had to search through the pictures we have recently taken on our own. Certainly, there would be something there we could use. Nothing...nada...zero...zilch...zippo...naught...that is, except for the one picture we had taken together on the BIG GAME DAY. (The Ohio State/Michigan game, if you don't live here) That is all we have!! And in that picture, Hopie is wearing a hat on her head!!!! Hardly anything comparable to what we used to send. Maybe people will get a chuckle out of the picture. Maybe people will take pity on me as a mom and realize I try...but I just can't win all my battles when it comes to daughter-rearing. Maybe they'll read my blog and this will be a head's up to them on the "less than quality" photo they will be receiving in their Christmas card this year. But, maybe, just maybe they have their priorities in line with that of our Father, and realize that it just doesn't matter what photo you stick in the card. They just want to see how much your kids have grown...and not so much how you have. :)

As much as I feel inadequate about my own portrait pickle, I must share how much I have enjoyed the pictures we have received in the mail thus far. They are beautiful and I marvel at the ways in which you were able to pull this off, fellow mothers. Maybe after all the craziness of the season is over, (that craziness is a topic for another post, I fear) we can schedule a breakfast or lunch together and you can tell me how best to accomplish this huge feat for next year. But whatever you do...please do not use the words "smile" or "say cheese," when we get together. I would so appreciate it.

Raking up the Leaves

I've been going through a little bit of a book rut lately. It has been a while since I have enjoyed the pleasures of reading a book I just cannot put down. And when I say "awhile," most of you might define awhile as one or two years. I define it as one or two months. I have a love/hate relationship with "can't put them down" books. I love to read them, start "sneaking" around for opportunities to digest them, and then I hate when I finish them. It's kind of like the anticipation of going on a date with your husband, and then feeling depressed when the date is over. The analogy may be a stretch...but it fits for me.

Last week, while searching the shelves of our library for a good book, I stumbled upon a "debut author" by the name of Nicole Baart. Without knowing a thing about her, I thought I would take a chance (I can be somewhat close-minded when it comes to an author I have never heard of) on the book and at least read the first couple of chapters. Before I knew it, not only had I read the first couple of chapters, but I finished the whole book. I LOVED IT!!!! I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!

After the Leaves Fall strangely took me back to my college days at Western Illinois University and the dating years of my husband who was going to Iowa State at the time. Nicole does such a wonderful job of capturing the thought processes of a 19 yr. old college student. Her writing made me visualize my dorm room once again....living on campus...struggling through certain classes....the unknown of your future...the mystery of men....giving your heart away, etc. And she doesn't stop there!!! Thankfully, I just got my hands on Book 2 entitled "Summer Snow," which is a continuation of the first. I cannot wait to dig in!!!!

I have read offerings from debut authors before, and I have to say I couldn't find a single clue that indicated Nicole had never published before. After the Leaves Fall flowed very nicely from chapter to chapter and had just the right amount of "unknown and suspense." This book would gladly receive my "no money back" guarantee. :)

**PS- I just want you to know I am aware this post is not quality writing by the Hesterwoman. In the midst of trying to write this, I have had to break up an argument between my girls and answer my youngest's many questions about kitty liter. I hope you can accept my apologies. :)

Jon and Kate plus 8= Nagging Wife

Maybe it's just me. But I cannot watch Jon and Kate plus 8. I cannot handle how demeaning Kate is to her husband. Am I alone in my observations?? I gave the show a shot a few years ago before it became the "sensation" it is today. I think it was coming on after one of the Hesterfamily's favorites, "Little People, Big World", so we just continued watching. I felt increasingly uncomfortable and uneasy in the ways I saw Kate interact with Jon. She seemed so hard on him...so belittling. I know it must be incredibly difficult to raise 8 kids. I mean, I only have two, and there are days when I just feel so very inept. But I couldn't bring myself to watch it again, because as a woman, I have to keep myself in check in the Respect, Honor, and Value Department of my marriage. Authentically speaking, viewing a relationship like Jon and Kate's isn't healthy for me. I was Kate (minus 8) in the formative years of our marriage and I caused a lot of damage. Being around that behavior is just too much of a temptation, and my husband doesn't deserve it. We both thrive in our relationship together when Proverbs 27:15 is not present. Been there...caused destruction with that.

I noticed recently that Zondervan just published an autobiography of sorts from the famous 10 pack. I have to admit I was surprised at this. Not that Zondervan would promote such a book, but that Kate would want them to. As much as this pains me to say...and I will appear very judgmental for doing so (I hate this, I am so sorry!!)...but I had no idea that Kate was a Christian. I didn't see anything resembling Christ in her relationship with Jon. Yes...I know it is TV....I know that I haven't followed it at all, so I should be keeping these thoughts to myself, even dismissing them, if you will. Yet, it seems like there should just be some hint of Christ between the two of them. Maybe TLC cuts out all the positive things Kate says about Jon. Maybe their relationship is a lot more interesting when there is disrespect and negative comments made. And I must admit that I don't know much about Jon. Maybe he is equally at fault. Maybe he is exactly that way to her and they both need to work on it. Since it has been so long since I have watched it, maybe her attitude toward him has improved. Maybe she is learning to love and respect him as the head of her incredibly large household. And just maybe I am looking at this too literally. After all, it is simply just a television show, right?? Or is it??

I think as women, this is an area in our lives that is soooooo weak. For some sinful reason, we can be naturally contentious, inherently belligerent when it comes to interacting with husbands. We can be so devoid of love and honor. We have no idea what it is like to listen to us day after day, week after week, year after year if we speak disparaging words consistently to our men. Then we wonder why they don't receive us like we want to be received...we question why they aren't "Knight in Shining Armor-like"....we demand better treatment all the while reciprocating their attempts with more combative and hostile words.

Do I get this right all the time?? Absolutely not. Do I let Gregg and God down by reverting back to my old ways? Sometimes, yes. But I will tell you that my relationship with Gregg is more spiritually intense (good thing), my love for him is deeper, and my heart for him is more grace-filled, since I got the message that God was so desperately trying to communicate to me in 1 Corinthians 13:4. And as a result, Gregg's love for me is completely different as well. I am telling you with all sincerity, if you are struggling with this in your marriage, God wants to help. He wants to teach you what it means to be your husband's cheerleader, his encourager, his Number #1 fan, his safe place of refuge after a really hard day. You cannot imagine the difference it will make in your life. Your marriage will not look the same. It will change so much for the better, it will be hard for you to remember what it was like before. You, your husband, and God will rejoice in the newness!!! It feels wonderful!! Just try it!!

Maybe, I need to give Kate another chance. Maybe I have been too hard on her. Maybe you can relate just a little of what I have talked about today. If so, know that I have been there, and I am cheering you on as you reevaluate how you love your husband. Think of it like this, "You and Hubby plus God= Great Marriage." Now that is a show I would love to see on TLC!!!

We interrupt this program to let you know that......

The Hesterwoman has parked herself firmly on "Writer's Block." Please send a tow truck, a policeman, a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, or something!!!! Let's move her on out of there!!! She's taking up too much space!!

It's a beaut, Clark!!!"

Gregg and I have very limited experience when it comes to cooking a turkey, but this Thanksgiving we were able to pull it off quite nicely, I think. But I must admit I had visions of this scene from Christmas Vacation, before we pulled the turkey out of the oven.

By the way, my sister and I were just talking the other day about this movie and how funny it still is, even after seeing it, oh say, 57 times. It has become a contemporary Christmas classic....maybe not the same caliber as "It's a Wonderful life"...but pretty darn close.

A hunger for the "Old America"

With the recent soundtrack of "hope" and "change" in our country and the quest for a "New America," I must be among the minority who would prefer a restoration of the "Old America"- a time of drug store soda fountains, fishing in the old watering hole, barber shops, playing baseball in the street, riding your bike without a helmet, Boy Scouts, family picnics, and playing checkers with your next door neighbor. My heart longs for a simpler time of life, the one in which my parents and grandparents unknowingly enjoyed. But I know that will never be. My girls will never know what it is like to ride your bike to the local grocery store without fear of being abducted. They won't know the joys their daddy had as a child when he was gone for hours upon hours, just fishing by himself at the village pond. But they did get a sampling of life in the "good old days," when we visited the Ohio Historical Society's traveling exhibit of "Norman Rockwell's America" this past weekend.

We had the unique pleasure of walking through 15 life-like re-creations of some of Rockwell's most famous paintings from the Saturday Evening Post. In amongst the displays, the Society had people dressed up in period costumes to help enhance the exhibit's "realness," and add life to the ongoing story in which Rockwell is so famous for communicating through his art work.

At the end of the exhibit, we were lead to a room with framed replicas of all the covers Rockwell did for the Post. This was incredibly moving. I gazed at the pictures, while standing near my Dad, step-mom Linda, and my Grandma. I knew they were able to identify with the images they were seeing. Those images were taking them back to a place in time which was very familiar to them. My eyes filled with tears at a couple of the paintings. I wondered if they prompted emotion out of others as they did with me.

I'm curious if Norman Rockwell ever realized the contribution he was making to our culture with each painting he created. Did he know that his work would be used as evidence that our lives as Americans were once simplified and somewhat effortless? I am grateful for the opportunity to expose the girls to such a country as this once was....even if they find it difficult to find traces of unpretentious living in the Twenty-First Century.