So yesterday, me and the babies skipped church again. The Richys went. Turns out, it was a good think we skipped. Toby started throwing up in the afternoon and kept it up until just after 9. Poor little guy. Poor me. And my poor washing machine... seems like every sheet, towel and blanket in the house had to go through. Not to mention several costume changes for me and Boby. He would feel so much better after he chucked, he'd just go kinda nuts playing and jumping and ohhhhh nooooooo.... and we were trying to not let him eat but he kept stealing food. It was a funny horrible way to spend an evening. Today, he seems back to normal. Food poisoning, maybe? We ate at Cici's, which has to be a hot spot, bacterially speaking. But nobody else got sick... I was awfully queasy, but no action. So enough about that. Yuck.

So the MOG has been picked or whatever to come try playing backup guitar on this IHOP guy's worship team. If you get the webstream, you will see him, since he'll be playing 6 days a week if he takes the spot. The first day he played he played the way he plays. And that was a no go. So yesterday he played what he thought they wanted, which is not his style at all, and they liked it. It's definitely a new thing for him, not being the front man. I know he'll be thrilled when he finally gets to play with Radiant again in April.
(If you have the webstream, he'll be playing today from 2-4)

In other news, Viking Granny flies up here on Thursday for the weekend! R1 and I will be flying to Alabama for the Call while she's here, but we'll still have a couple of days to hang out with her. And a vacation of sorts in Alabama... no babies... that will be weird. And nice.

Talked to Leah on the phone this marnin... 32 minutes. It's like a world record, for me. Because, in case you've NEVER read my blog, I hate the phone. And that is why, despite being in Kansas City for 3 months today, this is my first extended phone call.

I blog here, tubside, with two blue-eyed babies jamming to some Radiant and drinking tub water. (shudder) Who'da thunk it? That I'd have two babies here, and that they'd be so cute? Of course, R2 is adorable too. But he's not in here. He prefers to bathe alone these days. Less splashing and chaos. Currently, he is being very quiet somewhere. Which makes me think he is just peacefully watching TV in my room. Because, unlike some other members of this family, silence does not always indicate perfidy with Richy.

Since I posted that video of Bean "crawling" a couple of days ago, she has mastered her craft. No, still not traditional crawling. But army crawling at great speed, with skill. I think it's very fun to go in another room and wait for her to slide in here. And she is always ecstatic to find us, even if she just found us a minute ago.

It's Friday, folks! Hows about you ask me something to inspire me to think deeply? Or even just inspire me to write creatively? And I'll do a deep thinking/creative writing day next week.

OH! And I should be a great-aunt again in a few hours!! Wahoo! Pictures, please!

I've basically got nothing to say today." So what," you say, "you never really have anything to say!"

Well.
Humph.
Sometimes, I have things to say. Now, maybe they aren't that interesting, I grant you. But still. It's something, you ungrateful little reader.

But today, legitimately. Nada.

For anybody who's following American Idol.... David Cook rocked it last night. It was one of those shows where you keep waiting for someone to be amazing, and then he was. I liked a few others too... some are adorable but certain members of my household don't want to hear about him that anymore, so that's all I'm sayin.

I'm in a cooking slump. I love food. A lot. And I love the finished product.. but the making of the food and the ghastly horrible washing of the dishes... they detract from the pure beauty of the foods themselves. That being said, I have potatoes that are going to start sprouting eyes soon, I need to cook them. And maybe you're all earthy and you don't mind. Just cut the sprouts off! you say. Uh. No. That's GROSS. I did find a trick for preserving potattie freshness. You put an apple in the bag. They last like 3 times as long. So now you see how long I have made these potatoes wait to be a tasty meal. Potato chowder. That's the plan. And pot roast, tomorrow maybe. Once it's made I will glory in the fact that it's good, and that I made it. But right now it just seems like a lot of work.

Tonight, as far as I know, Richy's small group is going back to the original host home. I'll miss seeing everyone, but I don't have to clean the bathroom. So that's a plus.

That's all I got today. Chat.

I linked in the comments from yesterday to the recording of You are Holy that Lee Campus Choir recorded. It's also been recorded in Brazilian Portugese by another group... Listen here. I think it's been recorded one other time, but I haven't heard that version yet.

Had my support group meeting last night. We were cancelled last week, so I missed everybody. And it was great, again. I have to leave right at 9 every time so it feels a little rushed to me, but it's still awesome to be able to meet these cool ladies and eat snacks and talk about our shared experiences and our journeys from here.... 

So Richy has 3 weeks or so left in his Intro to IHOP class (47+ hours a week) and then we will leave almost right away for Nashville to direct the Thunder School. I like Nashville. It will be a cool 3-4 week adventure... the MOG will be super busy kinda pastoring the students and handling a lot of the administration of the program, and I'll be involved where I can.

If you got a hankerin to see the cuteness of the clarklets, take a gander at yesterday's blog. And at clark family pix.

And that's your update for today.

WARNING: loud background music..

We had a great weekend... I wasn't going to do Easter baskets because everything is insanely overpriced... but on a trip to my favorite thrift store, I found all Easter merch half off. I got 3 baskets, easter grass, eggs and large stuffed bunnies. 4 bucks. Because I am awesome.

Then I skipped church. On Easter. I'm like the opposite of the holiday churchgoer. But, I went last night. See, here's the deal. No disrespect whatsoever to IHOP. But Sunday morning services around here are so white. Like Whitey McWhiterson and the Cracker Band. WHITE. No soul. So a couple of weeks ago, when I tuned into the Sunday evening webcast here (we'll see if that link works), I saw soul. Eddie James is an amazing worship leader... and they were having CHURCH, y'all. So finally last night we went and it was so refreshing. I probably woulda got my dance on if I wasn't holding babies and wearing cowboy boots. I'll know better next time. So that's my new church. I go to night church with all the college students. Because I need less white in my life.

New pix going up momentarily over at http://www.clarkfamilypix.blogspot.com


Oh, and Richy got his first real royalty check from a guy who recorded You are Holy... I'm so proud of him!

Late blogging because I was doing stuff... we had a guest for lunch and I made a pot o'chili... the MOG's wee little tummy is hurting now. He must be allergic to chili powder or some such.
We watched Martian Child last night... it was excellent, folks. As my good friend Simon Cowell would say, "Loved it. LOVED it."

It is so healing to have people around... ever since we got married, people would come over and God would just minister to them. People would talk about the atmosphere being peaceful. And I think we lost that for a while because I was just so sad. But lately I've been feeling it again. People come over here and meet with God. And we aren't even doing anything! HA!
A new development that's fun... we will be going to Nashville for a few weeks in March May, (thank you Nate) to help with this! I love going places... especially for a chunk of time like that... really get a vibe for the city and new places.
So yeah, I am feeling good and encouraged in general.

And now, Smartypants needs advice column fodder!

Submit your questions for Ms. Smartypants... need advice? You've come to the right place! Ask and you might receive.. Monday or next week sometime!

I have toyed with Craigslist and freecycle in the past... now, I employ them. I have been haunting Craigslist looking for a big dining table... I mean, there's 5 of us already. If we want to have a guest over, it gets complicated seeing as we have 4 folding chairs and a card table. So I have found a lot of good deals on Craigslist... many a time I have IMed the mister and he shuts it down... because the wood doesn't match our stuff or whatever. For $75 bucks... does it really matter? It's a table with 6 chairs! But noooooo, the MOG/Martha Stewart wants a table that's wood and white. Sheesh. So I haunt on.

And I want a bed for the guest room/R2's room. He was sleeping on the futon, and then we needed that, so now he sleepeth on a crib mattress on the floor. The empty crib is in Toby's room, as he has moved to the toddler bed. "I see multiple solutions to this!" you cry. We already thought of that, and no. So I am looking out for a bed. And on more than one occasion I have found a free mattress and boxspring. As in FREE. And I have been turned down for various reasons. Sheesh. What's 50 miles when it's free? And are you SURE we could not cram a mattress inside our van? Because I think we can. And I can't even rebel and go get it myself because I would have to take the kids, defeating the empty van necessity, AND I can't lift a mattress, that's crazy!

In his defense, he did drive and pick up my free boxspring for our bed. And load it and drive back and bring it inside.

So now I am waiting to hear if the free bed is still available. And where. If so, and depending on where, I will begin new negotiations. Sheesh.

American Idol last night... sheesh. Way to desecrate Beatle's songs. It's too bad, because they were great at Beatle's songs last week. That whole "too much of a good thing" dynamic, I guess. Ah well, Jason Castro is still dreamy in that whole Partridge/Brady kinda way.

Anyways. Last night the worship team Richy is on practiced in the basement. It was loud. And after a while, it was something of an unrestrained blues jam... I was not surprised. Tonight we are hosting the small group again, as the hosts are still sick. It is pretty fun now that we are having people over more regularly, although it is forcing the cleaning issue... luckily this is a tiny little house with beautiful floors, so I can make it look good pretty easily.

Nada mucho to say. Obama's campaign appears to be imploding under the weight of his pastor's racist remarks. That's the thing about politics.. it can turn on a dime. So will this help McCain? It already is. Fascinating stuff.

And now to make some snacky snack for the group... brownies and some salty something, methinks.

My support group was cancelled last night. It was okay, though, because I already had to cancel. The MOG had the plague. For about 2 hours, he was deathly ill. He made a miraculous recovery during his prayer set at the JHOP. Ah, the JHOP, is the backup house of prayer. Justice, that's the J. Anyways, himself is playing backup guitar for a new worship team. He's doing a good job not being the boss... pretty much.
So that means I did not get away last night. Well, I did go to Price Chopper. But that doesn't really count. And then I stayed up too late and woke up too early. Grumpy, thy name is woman.

Now this snarky Slim character has been asking this question...

I petition the great Smartypants for an answer to my question last week. This is a question that deserves an answer from a great thinker such as you:

Should a law be passed that bans women from being president, or at least a law that states that a male must take over for the week that the woman president is having her monthly?

My Dear Mr. Slim. How closely you walk on this precipice... unaware. Never mind. All my answers are too harsh. I need a nap.

Happy St. Pat's day, folks! Now, this is a holiday I always celebrate. And by celebrate, I mean I wear green. And I pinch non-green wearers. And now that I have chilluns, they are garbed in green. The MOG, affectionately known as Scrooge, does not celebrate holidays. (pretty much) And the fact is, few people really recognize today as a day worthy of note.
Until now.
Evidently, it is a BIG DEAL in Kansas City. 4th largest St Patty's parade in the US. And IHOP makes a giant parade float, and wins the float contest every year. There's an actor on top, doing St Patricks speech in a pretty good accent. And 1000+ IHOPpers march behind the float, and then disperse and do street preaching and great exploits and so on. WEARING GREEN. How cool is that?
Yeah, well, we didn't go. Himself has reinjured his ankle, and it was raining. A lot. So he did his hours in the House o' prayer and I cleaned the House O' Clarks. Maybe we can drive over later and see the end of the parade. Evidently, all the masses get their drink on, and there's free cab service from 3 till midnight or something. I don't drink, but a free cab ride might be cool. Just, uh, take me to Target!
So there you go, top of the marnin to ya and maybe tamarra I will summon Smartypants.

Today R2 has his first pediatrician appointment... we have to get his seizure meds refilled ASAP and the red tape has been obnoxious. So now we are all good to go, we think. I hate first appointments for him... I have a chart summary for his first 4 months of life, but I still have to say most of it... and he was SO sick... he had every preemie condition but a couple, and it's a lot to explain.

He doesn't mind... he thinks it's fun if I warn him ahead of time. "Oh boy, Richy! She's going to look inside your ears! Isn't that funny??" and he giggles his way through. It helps that I don't make him get shots. He has been hospitalized and IV'ed enough to be traumatized... I'm so glad he's not.

Anyway, that's today so I have to brush up on my medical terminology. I have doctors to impress. ;)

Smartypants! 

Submit your medical questions and I will answer them on Monday! Or another day ending with Y!

Disclaimer: I don't know beans. But ask away!

also, Richy is updating over here something like daily. Check Radiant Worship blog!

In a renewed effort to post a blog daily before 11 am, I have forsaken the breakfast dishes (who am I kidding... dinner dishes), and I sit here, for you, the people. The esteemed bloggerati. It doesn't hurt that my hatred for dishwashing burns with the fire of a thousand suns.

Grammar question;
If ye already did et yur dinner. Then whut do yu do affer that? I mean before go a pig-milkin' an a cow-sloppin.-G

Betwixt dinner and pig-milkin, you should let grammar take a nap. She's old, for pete's sake!

We hosted the group last night... it was great to have people in our house again. I made slice and bake cookies and got a lot of compliments on them... ethical question: is it unethical to not correct the compliment-er on their mistaken assumption that I cooked these from scratch? If so, mea culpa.
I also made salsa which hardly anyone ate. Cowards.

Another dilemma is, how much do I talk about our new friends and acquaintances? I imagine at some point we will share this blog link, and then what if they go surfing about and find references to our new friend with the weird teeth? See? Dilemma.
We don't really have any friends with weird teeth. I mean, at least here in KC.

Also, for those of you not too holy to join me, American Idol is excellent this season. Beatles songs last week and next week... I LURVE IT. And I have no hesitation whatsoever in saying my spiritual growth is unimpeded by my enjoyment of this show. Spiritual growth is happening! Wahoo! And American Idol is great this year! Try not to choke on your communion wafer!

The Mac vs. PC debate rages on in yesterday's comments... I really don't care to debate. It's kind of like I discovered brownies and almost everybody else is eating rice cakes. Uh, go on ahead. I'll just enjoy my brownies... :D

Spent too much time at Walmart today. But that's the only way to go to Walmart. So now I have the goods for approximately 2 weeks of eating... and goodies for a small group at our house tonight. We are the replacement host for the group since the host is sick... the MOG is licking his chops at the thought of turning a fellowship group into a revival service... I, on the other hand, am responsible for chips and salsa and cooooookies. Oh, and cleaning. I should probably get off the computer. Like, yesterday.

You're probably asking yourself, "Where is Jessica? Why don't she BLOG?" You can rest easy, folks. Here I am.

So I didn't update on the Mama visit yesterday because I wrote such a long blog about my journeys. But we had a great time. We ate out at restaurants, and we ate at my house. Pretty much, we just took it easy and visited. It was great... we were all so glad to see her and we had a lot of fun. I also got her hooked on the IHOP webstream, which I should advertise to all y'all.
So here's the whatsit. You can get the webstream, which is like a continuous internet video, of the happenings of the house of prayer here in Kansas City. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I live 6 minutes from the International House of Prayer. They have prayer and worship 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And for $10 a month, you can have the house of prayer in your house.
We didn't do it at first... we are wary of new bills... but after a few weeks of me wondering what the heck I was doing here, we subscribed. I now have it playing most of the time. It's amazing how the atmosphere changes with continual prayer and worship, even in the background. The boys fight less, and I don't get stressed as much. Well worth the 10 bucks. Plus, if Richy gets to lead worship up there someday, I'll be able to watch him. So there's your ad. Check it out. theprayerroom.tv.

I have to clean this house. I just don't wannnnnaaaa... but Richy's small group is coming over here tomorrow night. And miles to go before I sleep.

So, what's the point of blogging at this late of an hour? Well, if for no other reason, to entertain Nate, who is bored out of his mind at the rodeo. He's working there, y'all. Normal attendees would not be bored, and neither would bullriders. But Nate is neither of those. So here you go.

I began this morning by- well, Richy began by dropping himself off at his class, and then I took the wheel. Much like Jesus in the proverbial song. I then missed the freeway entrance and drove 30 minutes in the wrong direction before the ol' light came on. The brain light, that is... waaaaaaiiiittt.... this not 71 to airport... this 470 to Wichita... what I do now??? ...........

Call to the MOG, exit, u-turn... drive for one forever to the airport. Successfully drop Mama off and find the correct freeway, and spend the next 20 minutes on course. Then, I took a detour to some large water industry district in Kansas. Good times.
Another call to the MOG who had by this point spent a lot of class time out of class. He hung up to map my coordinates, and before he called me back I randomly chose the proper direction and found the correct road. Made it home, folks. HOURS later.

But we only had time to catch an episode of Barney and then we had to pick up Daddy and head to the DMV. Say it slow, because that is appropriate. Deee.........emmmmmmm.....veeeeee.....
We eventually got Missouri drivers licenses, and simultaneously got poorer. Highway robbery.

Then we went to the office of the party of the first part to get our van registered. And waited. Did I mention we have three children? And did I mention that Toby is TWO? He got our tax dollars worth of climbing chairs, over, under, around... meeting passersby and frightening strangers with a smile... anyway. We were number 7. I heard them call out 6, and then moments later, 8. Being a pretty Smart Egg, I reasoned something was amiss. I of the floating freeways, had been skipped. I rose and cried out for justice, and I was heard. Eventually. So the party of the first part said I needed documentation of such and such and wrote things down and sent me over to the party of the second part, who directed me to the back of the line. You won't believe this, but we were all getting a little tired of the ol DMV by this point. To cut a long, long story, shorter.... they couldn't make the computer work, the supervisor wasn't around, blah blah handwritten document, back to the P of the 1st P, who almost registered the van, but sent me out empty handed and said come back with a current Missouri inspection tag.

We did some other stuff. Now I'm home for one hour before my home group. If you want to talk to me, fill out these fourteen forms in triplicate and fax them to the Ukraine. I'll be right with you.

mama has landed safely and boy are her arms tired...

Today the MOG had to be a parking attendant for the Passion for Jesus conference. In a blizzard. Well, it was snowing, anyway. He is part of the IHOP slave labor force that are interns, and he does what he is told. :) I'm not too disappointed I did not make the cut. Well, the pintos are a'simmerin and in one hour or so, we feast. I know you're jealous.

And back by lack of popular demand : Ms. Smartypants!!

Submit your lonely heart or non-confrontational political or social etiquette question! I might answer it on Monday! Or not! Also, ask grammar questions! Because I'm obviously an expert!!

Today, we will pick up my mom from the airport and she will be here till Monday! Wahoo!

Now, off to kill the fatted calf and rinse the pintos.

So Huck is out. I was just waiting yesterday... knew it would be a miracle, but uh.... I believe in miracles. So now he's out and here we go. I don't see any way McCain is going to win this thing. So who would be worse, Clinton or Obama? Heck if I know.

Last week, Rush encouraged listeners in primary states to switch parties and vote Hillary in yesterday's primaries. His logic was to keep the chaos alive on the Democratic side for a few more months. And, whaddya know... Hillary comes out of her slump and wins big last night. Did Rush affect the process? Who knows... but I heard him say that in Texas, 35% of Republicans did not vote Republican. That is huge! And pretty funny to me. I mean, if I spoke to 22 million people a week, I'd be tempted to jack with the process myself.
funny stuff.

So we have our nominee, who I am not voting for, and the battle rages on the Left. The semi-feminist in me rebels against this thought, but... I don't know if I like the idea of a female president. Well... maybe Condi, or somebody who doesn't come across as emotional. But yer basic female ... makes me a little nervous. More on that after I think about it some more.

In other news, the onslaught continues. They have normal appetites and behaviors and diapers all day. But they wake up from naps and in the morning with the stench of hell and so on.

(Sigh)

Last night I went to a new home group... it's kind of an infant loss support group. But it ended up being at a house... with about 6 women and yummy snacks. All of us have had miscarriages and or/late losses. It was amazing. We were scheduled to meet from 7 to 9 and we didn't leave until 11:30.
It's crazy how the shared experience of losing children just knocks down walls and there's such a bond already.

It was so good... being able to verbalize things that most people just don't get, and hearing from the other women the same things. Like how I feel stalled, stuck in my relationship with God since losing the twins. Understand, I'm not stuck like a victim- just hearing the shared struggle was so healing.

All of them are around my age and it seems like they like me... I'm nervous but excited about making some potential good friends. Funny how my insecurity shows up, here. At home I had my comfortable friends and my family and Radiant and of course everybody loved me. But meeting strangers and really liking them and thinking they're cool is intimidating. I have to risk rejection. And that makes me pretty nervous.

So there you go.

Ah, and Texans... VOTE!!

Not a pleasant subject, folks.
I don't like bathroom humor, and I try not to talk bathroom subjects at all... but COME ON ENOUGH ALREADY.
The babies, to put it delicately, .... there is no way to put it delicately. Sick tummies and yucky diapers and soaked clothes and waking up to get thrown in the tub and all the clothes thrown in the washer... ugh. I hope we're through with this bug or virus or whatever, so I can bleach my arms and hands and get on with my life.
Anyways, I wish I had a more pithy or relevant blog subject. But this is what my life has been consisting of to a great extent.

Toby is keeping the scream alive. He accidentally locked himself in his room a minute ago... I just let it be for a couple of minutes before I rescued him.