Saturday-Universal Pancake Day

Saturday here at the Buckland house is Pancake Day. It's the one day of the week that we don't have to rush out of the house. No one's working or going to school. So we can relax, have a leisurely morning, and spend some time doing breakfast right.

I pretty much love all breakfast foods, but my daughters, particularly the oldest, request pancakes every Saturday. No waffles, or biscuits and gravy, or Eggs Benedict. Just pancakes. And bacon. With real maple syrup. They will not be fooled, and they will settle for no substitutes.

Then I read that my friend, Elaine, does pancake day on Saturday. And I also believe that the Hippses are Saturday Pancake People. What say you? Is Saturday Universal Pancake Day? If not, what do you do for breakfast on Saturday?

Financial Peace Is An Oxymoron

But we're hoping that one day it won't be. You see, Ren and I are on the Dave Ramsey train. We've been following his stuff for quite a while, listening to his radio show, reading his books, attending Financial Peace University, etc. We've actually been hosting a FPU group at our church on Monday nights for the past couple of months. This is the second time we've taken the class, and honestly, I get a little dismayed when I think about how long we've been applying some of these principals in relation to how much further we still have to go. Now, granted, we haven't always had gazelle intensity, but we haven't given up yet, and we're not going to!

The past couple of classes have been a little overwhelming for me, I must admit. At our last class, Dave taught (via video, of course) about saving for your retirement and your children's college funds. The week before that was all about wise investing. Now, Ren and I are still on Baby Step #1, which is kind of discouraging. So, the idea of investing and saving for college is a bit far off into the future for us. Truth is, we've actually completed Baby Step #1 like 10 times, but we somehow end up needing the money for some type of "emergency" or another. So we're actually kind of in limbo somewhere between Baby Steps #1 and #2.

All that to say, it looks like we're going to be cutting everything to the bone. And when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. Anyone looking for a couple of great house cats? We're even discussing cutting our Dish Network subscription, which isn't totally crazy because we, including the kids, never watch it. We just don't have time, and the kids would rather watch their DVDs. Ren is even in Ebay mode. And I've got a sweet Taylor acoustic 814CE that I'm looking to sell as well. Sad but true, but honestly the thing is just sitting collecting dust right now and has been for the past couple of years. And, let's face it, I probably won't be touring the country with my hit record any time in the near future.

There's just no stress like financial stress. It will literally choke the life out of you. It also seems to magnify every other minor problem you have in your life. Anyways, we're committed to doing whatever it takes to get out of debt and have some sort of future planned for my children. That's worth some gazelle intensity, I do believe.

We just started a financial series at Fusion Church called "Night of the Living Debt." Last week, Pastor Tony talked a little bit about how using credit is like "borrowing from the future." Basically, you're saying, "I don't have it today, but I am CERTAIN that I'll have it tomorrow!" Or next month. Or whenever. Anyway, I thought that was a very strong point, and very often a lie that we're tempted to believe. It could also apply to our time management (e.g., "I'm too busy now, but in the future maybe thing's will slow down, and I'll have more time"). I used to think that I could make a mess of things (to a certain degree, of course), and that God would somehow sweep in and fix things for me, as long as my intentions were good. I think He does that for us when we're young, but then there's just a point where you grow up and have to take some responsibility for your actions. I'm also learning that even though I am a child of God, things are not always easy, and I don't always get my way!

With all that said, I am really looking forward to this Sunday's message. Author and speaker Joe Sangl is coming to give his testimony. He has written a book called, I Was Broke, Now I'm Not. I can't wait to hear what he has to say.

P.S. Could you all be praying for us? Once again, we've found ourselves strapped with paying two mortgages. Technically, a mortgage and a half since, thankfully, we're in this one with a partner. As if one mortgage wasn't enough, right? It comes at a rough time for us, considering we're about to add another to our ever-expanding brood. And also considering that the housing market is at the lowest point it's been in years, we're definitely feeling it. Pray that we could sell or rent this house ASAP!

Dear Pastor Too Important to Hold the Door

You probably don't remember me. I attended your church several years ago. My husband and I were members, regular attenders, tithers, and we served faithfully while we were there. I always speak very highly of your church, and know many people that currently attend. I have even led worship at your church before. Now, granted, we were never best buds or anything, and I can probably count on one hand all the interactions we've ever had with one another. And this was all before we had any children, so you probably didn't recognize me yesterday when we saw each other at Barnes & Noble. Yes, that was me. You intercepted me as I was walking into the establishment, 7 months pregnant and holding my 3 year old's hand, while balancing my 16 month old on my very pregnant hip. I was about to smile and say, "Hello, Pastor Blahbiddy Blah, remember me?" as you did the gentlemanly thing (heck, neighborly thing) and held the door open for me as I walked past you. But...that...didn't...happen. Now, I know we've all been in those awkward situations where you find yourself walking into a building and you happen to glance back and see someone approaching, but are SEVERAL paces behind you. Do you hold the door or not? That's a tough one. And had I been SEVERAL paces behind you, I probably wouldn't be blogging about this little incident. However, considering the fact that I was only 3-5 paces behind you...Yes you...I saw you glance at me...I have to ask the question: Would it have killed ya to hold the door and extra 3.7 seconds for me and my children?

Now, as a pastor, I would be willing to bet that you've probably run across this little teaching of Christ's once or twice in your career. And I know nowadays, what with women's lib (thanks, Gloria) and all, maybe you've held a door or two open for a lady in the past and had your head chewed off. But I'm gonna go ahead and take a wild stab here and say that the next time you (or anyone else for that matter-pastor, male, or female) see someone toting three, two, heck, even one child approaching, HOLD THE FREAKING DOOR!!!!


Sincerely,

Angela Buckland

(photo courtesy of Isabel Buckland)

Rain, Rain, Don't Go Away

I love it when it rains. I think I get this from my mom. She loves the rain. I probably wouldn't feel this way if I lived in Seattle. But I do love the occasional rainstorm. Time seems to stop. Or at the very least, slow down. The pressure to perform and produce is off. I can relax a little. I don't have to feel bad for not taking my kids outside to the play. We can watch hours of television and stay in our pj's till noon and not feel guilty about all the things we're not doing.

This Sunday at Fusion, Pastor Tony is going to be talking about slowing down. I am really looking forward to this message. I really need to hear it. Since having children, I've really tried to not let that "slow me down." In fact, in a lot of ways, I've become even busier, even more "productive", even more ambitious than I ever was before I even had kids. Before children, I was more than happy to kick back, stay in my sweats til noon, and just enjoy life a little.

Now, I'm not saying that one's life goal should be all about dropping out of life, never leaving the house, never getting dressed, and becoming a slug. But for some time now, I've just been feeling slap worn out. I know for sure that some things in my life are going to have to go. I may not feel as "productive" or useful as I have in the past, but maybe, just maybe, I'll make it through this crazy life with my sanity intact. And according to this guy, that's what's most important.

Aunt Sharla Rocks

I have a child surplus. Most of you already know that. Thankfully, though, with that surplus God has also graciously provided us with lots of help. I honestly don't know what I would do without my precious mom. She's a lifeline and partly responsible for helping me raise these kids o' mine. I am also blessed with lots of friends and other family nearby. We definitely have a great community of loving, supportive people surrounding us. It really does take a village. Or in our case, a couple of counties.

Yesterday, my lovely sister, Sharla, came and picked up Isabel and Josephine for a sleepover at her house. In a 24 hour period, she made them tacos for dinner, watched Enchanted, made them waffles for breakfast, took them swimming at the YMCA, saw Horton Hears a Who at the movie theater, took naps, and were brought promptly home to us by dinner time this evening. That's more than I do with them on any given lunar phase. Needless to say, they had a great time, and Aunt Sharla was exhausted.

Ren and I had a very relaxing, event-free Saturday. Relaxing, because we had two fewer children than we normally do. We still had Oliver around with us, and he was more than happy to be the center of our attention for a day. I can't remember the last time we had such a relaxing, quiet, and peaceful day. Thanks, Aunt Sharla!!! Same time, next weekend, right???

About a Boy

I was sorting through all my posts, and I can't believe that I've never posted Oliver's birth story on my blog. It's a story worthy of a retelling. And maybe even a dramatic reenactment. Trust me.

It was December 2006. 5 days before Christmas. First off, let me just say for the record that having a baby that close to a major holiday kind of sucks. It's a crazy, hectic, busy, stressful, and expensive time of year as it is. Then throw in a baby, and a new minivan. You get the picture. For more of my real feelings on Christmas, read this.

I typically go overdue with my pregnancies. Oliver's was the closest, and by closest I mean that he was born in the wee hours of the morning on the 20th (his due date was the 19th), and by closest, I also mean that we almost didn't make it to the hospital in time to have him. With all my pregnancies I get to 4 cm dilated without even going into labor. Yeah, I know, I'm lucky. But see, there's a problem that we deal with that most women don't have to even think about. As the due date fast approaches, my poor husband and I worry almost daily about the very real possibility that we may not make it to the hospital, and he'll have to play the role of the midwife and catch the baby. Now, as a young couple with no kids, that was at one time kind of exciting. But as we get older, the reflexes slower, our brood of children more numerous, and our drive to the hospital a little bit further, that isn't so much fun.

Once I get to 4 cm, I am like a ticking time bomb. As I was with Oliver, that cold winter's night.

I had an appointment the morning of his due date with the midwives. They checked me and sure enough, I was 4 cm. So we scheduled an induction a couple of days later. But we never got to that. I started to feel yucky that evening. I thought it was just my dinner not sitting well with me. So we went to bed that night. It was late, about 11:00 PM. I started to drift off to sleep.

I woke up suddenly at around 1:11 AM with a contraction that made me sit up and take notice. See, I am the Queen of Braxton-Hicks contractions. I have like 80 or so a day, but they're irregular, and considered pre-labor contractions. They're doing the work of getting me to 4 cm, I guess. This one particular contraction just felt different. I timed it, and the next one came 5 minutes later. I timed the third one and same thing. At that point, I woke up Ren, and told him that we should call the midwife. So we did, and she told us to come on in to the hospital.

We call my mom, who lives 20 minutes from us, and tell her to come over so we don't have to wake the girls. In the meantime, Ren decided to take a shower, while we waited for my mom, and while I packed some last minute stuff.

That's when things took an even more dramatic turn.

I was still timing contractions, when all of a sudden they went from 5 minutes to 2 minutes apart. Yeah. Ren gets out of the shower and inform him of what's happened. We call my mom to check on her status, and learn that she hasn't even left her house yet!!! Ren then moves into high gear, throws our bags in the car, rips the girls out of their beds from a deep sleep, buckles them into their car seats and we head for the hospital at 1:52 AM.

The girls were so disoriented with all the commotion. Ren is doing 80 MPH to the hospital. 2 year old Josephine starts crying saying that she needs a wipe. I asked her if she was poopy, and she said yes. We tell her we'll change her when we get to the hospital. Then, I smell something. It's dark so I can't see what is the cause of the smell. We turn on the light, take a look back at Jo and discover...it's not poopy. Our poor little girl is covered in vomit. All the excitement and Ren's Mario Andretti impersonation behind the wheel was just a little too much for her. Are you getting this picture??? I am in hard, heavy labor at this point. My child is screaming and covered in vomit. The smell is nauseating. Ren's still doing 80. We're not even sure what we're going to do once we get to the hospital. But getting there is all we can think about.

We reach the hospital, and Ren literally dumps me off at the ER at 2:10 AM, tells me to check myself in while he parks and cleans up our Vomit Girl. I walk in, check in and they get me to the delivery room in what feels like an eternity. Ren was still not there. They check me, and sure enough, I am 10 cm dilated, and that Oliver's head is right about to come down. You've never seen people fly into action as quickly as you do at the hospital when a women is about to have a baby! Ren makes it to the delivery room with the girls in the double stroller. Josephine is in her underwear and wrapped in a blanket. We totally did not intend for them to be in the room with us when Oliver was born. It just happened that way.

Remember I said we reached the hospital at 2:10 AM??? Oliver was born at 3:01. A mere 51 minutes later.

His birth story suits his personality perfectly. Our life with him has been a non-stop ball of action ever since. He is certainly the most energetic of all our children, and they'll all give you a run for your money. I've always said he has two personalities--Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Even as an infant, he was either the most agreeable happy baby, or baby Tasmanian Devil. He either has Ren and I laughing hysterically or ranting and yelling like maniacs. He brings us incredible joy and laughter, and also makes us more exhausted than we've ever been. He is a force to be reckoned with. He tears through the house at warp speed, often leaving a trail of demolition in his wake. I often wonder if the world will be ready for this young man when he comes of age. I'm not sure I will be!

Jesus is Coming Soon

That's right, folks. I'm calling it. Do you want to know how I know? Just go here and find out for yourselves. Make sure you're sitting down.

This from the man who has previously denounced blogs and all blog reading. I distinctly remember him saying something about how he didn't "get the whole online diary thing." This truly is a miracle of God. This should bring encouragement to you; that is, if the Good Lord can turn around a hardened, cynical, blog-hating man like Ren Buckland, He truly can do anything.

I am so excited that he FINALLY saw the light and joined the Blogosphere. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to reading future posts. If his first post is any indication, then you can be rest assured that his future posts will be just as excellent and classy. Just like he is.

I am so excited and so very pleased to welcome, Ren Buckland (aka, my better half), to the Blog World. It's been a long time a-coming.