Headline: Boys Caught Sharing in Photo

Newport, KY. A mother discovered her two young boys sharing a bag of cereal on her front porch this morning. She claims she did not tell the boys to share, but rather it was their idea. This act of sharing appears to be spontaneous and joyful.

"I had no idea this was going on." said Kelly Russell, the boys' mother. "I immediately grabbed my camera as I knew no one would believe me."

Russell claims the three year old, Bode, discovered a Ziploc bag of Raisin Bran left on the entry way table by her husband, the boys' father. Excited, Bode showed it to his brother, Mac, five years old. Bode then asked his mother if he could eat it on the porch, according to Russell.

"I simply said yes. When Mac decided to join him, frankly, I expected to hear arguing and whining about the cereal," Russell said. 

Russell says that while she has attempted to teach her boys to share, and even punished for not sharing, she has never witnessed anything like this.

"I could hardly believe my own eyes. I mean, I tend to be open-minded about stuff like this -- Bigfoot, Loch Ness and the like. But I never thought I would see it with my own eyes." 

Authorities say they have no reason to disbelieve Russell's story at this point. A statement released claims: "This appears to be an act of spontaneous, joyful sharing between two brothers. While the investigation continues, so far no evidence has been found to prove otherwise." Russell says she can wait. 

"I was a skeptic until today. I know what I saw."

Fans of the Game!

this was the photo on the jumbo-tron at the Reds game yesterday as David and Mac Russell were declared "Fans of the Game!" 

i've always wondered what the "Fan of the Game" wins. turns out nothing... except seeing yourself on the jumbo-tron which, as i consider it, is maybe a something. 

from the backseat...

mac: "bode, you're a big tree with bologna sandwiches hanging from it!"

bode: "oh yeah, mac? well, yer baptized! yer BAPTIZED, MAC!"

my dad

september 1978. i was 5 and my dad was 1 month away from his 30th birthday. snapping this shot is the fancy timer on my dad's new Nikon. photography was his newest hobby. i suspect he picked the Nikon brand b/c of paul simon.

this was a time when it was just me and my dad. i was living a tough life for a little kid, but i didn't know it. my dad made our life an adventure. he made simple things fun and i never for a single minute wondered if he loved me. we camped a lot, ate dinner out of cans and saw a lot of movies. he gave me a tambourine and played his guitar singing songs like "Sister Golden Hair" and "Margaritaville." he took me to see plays at Actor's Theater and we always arrived early enough to have a drink in the bar. i wore dresses and ordered Shirley Temples. 

since i became a parent, i have often reflected on my childhood, wondering how my dad did it -a 20-something bachelor with a little girl to raise. people looked at us and scratched their heads, asking "where is your mother?" i didn't know we weren't a "normal" family. 

i think we parents sometimes fear our kids are going to wake up one morning and say, "you don't know what you're doing, do you. i mean, it occurred to me this morning over my fruit loops that you are winging this whole deal and you haven't got a clue." 

i rest in the fact that this cereal moment never happened with me. my context was "dad's got this." i believe that's a gift from God - blind trust from our children. it's good. i don't always deserve it, but i will always receive it. 

he'll be 60 this year. wo. in the 35 years i've known him, i've never seen anything about him that says he's perfect. but he has been the perfect dad for me. and if you know me, you know how much i love talking about him. i've had my turn. now it's yours... 

what's so great about your dad?

a bittersweet farewell

our friends, kim and shane, are moving away today. they only moved to cincy from dallas a year ago. and now they're off oklahoma to work at a ranch for boys that need just the kind of love kim and shane are made to give. our time with them has been short, but our friendship will be eternal. sappy, but true. 

i'm excited for them, but sad to see them go. 

my feelings are best expressed through the one-hit wonder band Double You's all-time 90's classic...

making history

seriously, people. i don't care who you are, politically or otherwise... this is what we call "making history." 

my sons come from a bloodline that began through a "transaction" between a black slave that stole a ham from the master's smokehouse and an irish indentured servant that wanted the ham for her family. Gus Russell was the result of that "transaction."

i encourage you to put your political views aside today (or forever) and simply appreciate this historical moment. 

title: the big weekend was super fun! subtitle: i survived without krissy's shoes... barely

what a sweet anniversary surprise. 11 years... wo.

this is the sitting area of our room at 21C. just kidding. this is the lobby. 

the rooms include 42 inch flat screens and iPods. ours also had chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us with our turn-down service. the cocktails pictured were delicious shaken margaritas of which we had many in the Proof bar. 

the bathroom came with our very own attendant.

davidrussell bumped into some friends.

ABOTR

ok, so why in the world would i go to Abbey Road on the River, a 3-day Beatle tribute festival? well, i do love the beatles. and i do love to sit outside, drink beer and listen to live music. but mostly, i just love my dad... and hanging out with my dad.

the music is super, and also just being there is entertaining. there are lots of "normal" people, and also other "types" such as: 

a. people who want to be the beatles. these folks are dressed up like various beatles from various beatle seasons, i.e. i saw a few Sgt. Pepper Ringos and one Yoko. seriously, this chick was short and asian and had the whole "short-hair with sunglasses" Yoko look going. she even looked kind of mad. i felt as those if she suddenly demanded something of me, i would instinctively do it. 

b. people who decided at some point during the 60's, "i found my best life and i'm staying." these are the people that appear as though they have dressed "the part" for the festival, but... oh, wait a minute...  that's how they really dress. lots of tie dye and hair and i find myself wondering, where do you go when you're not here? like, do you where that to work? i like to refer to these people as "festival people." festival people are people who seem to be prepared at all times to attend a particular type of festival should one break out. there are many types, i.e. 60's music festival people, renaissance festival people, reggae, civil war reenactment, and so on. 

anyway, 5 stages spread out along the Belvedere featuring beatles tribute bands from all over the world. we watched bands from puerto rico, germany and canada.  my dad and i (and erin) have done this festival together before and it's sort of becoming a memorial day weekend tradition. this is the first year davidrussell and the boys came with us. here are some pics...

kids always find good seats.

of all the beatles albums, mac and bode prefer Abbey Road. saturday on the lawn stage, they had an album theme going. when we arrived and "set up camp," they announced the next band. "everyone welcome to the stage Savoy Truffle from cincinnati! we'll continue our beatle album tribute as they bring us Abbey Road." (what?!) accident? i think not.

so the boys got comfortable and listened to their favorites, "oh darlin'," "octopus's garden," and mac's song - "here comes the sun."

yep, that's my dad. i love that guy. 

"i'd like to be... under the sea..."

super weekend. here's some good news- sometimes weekend plans and family visits actually happen like you hope or even better. the weather is perfect, the marriage is loving, the kids behave, there's a little money around, and family relationships are working. sometimes it's easy and real. i not only appreciate when these instances happen, i receive them as promises of what's to come.

title: why i love "monsters" subtitle: authority

this little girl knows something about authority. she was "knit together in her mother's womb" (psalm 139) with this knowledge she did nothing to obtain.  

i was in a relationship with Jesus for 20 years before i ever learned that this meant i had been given authority. it starts with an understanding that Jesus said, "if i can do it, you can do it." read Matthew 10 (the whole chapter) and understand that you are no different than the disciples. this changes everything. for a decade i read that chapter like it was no more than the next chapter in a story. while sometimes it inspired me, it never occurred to me everything there was for me. it's the locker room talk before the big game. it's where Jesus says, "ok, here's what it means to be a disciple. this is the real deal. go."

so what's the first thing Jesus gives the team? authority to heal every disease and cast out demons. people, this is not figurative language. 

now let's switch gears for a minute and talk about spiritual gifts. (went 20 years before i knew anything about these either.) these are gifts you are given in the knitting process (and also you can ask for them). they are irrevocable (romans 11). no, being a good singer is not a spiritual gift. neither is being funny, which is slightly disappointing. anyway, along with these gifts, i believe when God is making us in our momma's belly, he's giving us "spiritual muscle tone" in various areas. in the same way my son, mac, was born with Lance Armstrong legs. i mean, literally, he came out with these meaty marathon legs. he did nothing to "earn" them. God does the knitting and he chose to bless mac with these legs. 

the first time i ever saw this youtube clip, sure i thought it was hilarious. but even more so i wanted to yell, "that's right! c'mon, little girl!" the world teaches our kids to hide under the covers or crawl in bed with mom and dad when they're afraid there's a monster in their room. parents encourage this behavior. someone with school-age children was telling me, "my kids sleep on the floor in my room b/c they're too scared to sleep in their own beds." wo. that's a situation where Fear is winning. and let's be clear - Fear is a dude. He works for the big Evil Dude. so Fear is just hanging out in our kids' bedrooms, running them out of their own spaces. NOT OKAY. once i realized and received my authority, i came to understand i can pray, not just for my kids, but on behalf of my kids. and i can teach my kids how to receive their authority, i.e. talk to that scary stuff and tell it to get lost. 

i love this book b/c it totally helps with this concept. we read this at bedtime and we talk about how at the end of the story, the boy no longer needs to "call the doctor." he tells the monsters himself, "no more jumping on the bed!" once we receive our authority in Jesus Christ (from the doctor, if you will), we can talk to that stuff just like He did. 

one night mac was having bad dreams. i went in his room and he was telling me about the dream- there were alligators chasing him. of course, i held him and comforted him. and of course, i was tempted to bring him in my bed or crawl into his. but i felt i first needed to try to teach him about fighting back. so i prayed for him and his room. and then i told him, "mac, if you see alligators again, you say 'Jesus says get away!'" (i know that might sound corny, but cut me some slack. i'm new at all this.) he said ok and we practiced a bit. he went back to sleep and i went back to bed. a few hours later i awoke to mac yelling very firmly, "NO!" and then again, "NO!" it sounded as if he was speaking to a dog misbehaving. i jumped out of bed and then i listened and waited. i didn't hear anything. i checked on him and he was sleeping peacefully. i thought, well alright. thanks, God. that's good stuff.

ok, now i'll try to bring all this home... so what took me 20 years to learn, this little girl was born understanding. that is, the knowledge and understanding of authority in Jesus Christ. when you watch the video, you can see her attitude says, "duh. this is a no-brainer. i'm gonna kick his ass before he kicks mine." i had my ass kicked all over the place by "monsters" before i really learned and received what having Christ means, including that i can fight back. 

my prayer is that this youtube sweetie pie is the iceberg's tip of what God is doing in the next generation - making little warrior love machines that have clear understanding of the Truth and are happy to share it with anyone who will listen, including their moms. 

oh and really... i think they should say "bottom" or maybe "bucket."