Change over Time

Husband and I have gotten carried away watching a free TV show on Netflix in our spare evenings. I will not disclose which show it is, because even though it has a interesting plot and is fairly well-written (let's say, way better than Heroes, but not near West Wing), there is simply too much sex in it for me to recommend it to anyone (which granted, is not a whole lot, but when the other show we watch is Little House on the Prairie, it sure feels like a lot).

That is a long introduction to say that the main character (who happens to be a main character from a show I watched as a preteen and of whom I had posters of on my wall, who I now realize looks rather a lot like my own husband - that's my only hint, oh, and that preteen show *might* have included a certain well-known California zip code) recently said something I found rather true.

He remarked to his partner something to this effect: "Have you ever been walking, and came to a fork in the road, and decided to go one way, only to retrace your steps later and find the other path is no longer there?"

We have recently spent some time with an old friend and found that the commonalities are no longer present. In fact, the person of the past seems missing as well. Perhaps that was felt on both sides, but perhaps not.

Years ago I could have chosen left or right. I chose left, but sometimes I go back to that crossroads and track down my friends from that era. Sometimes I find nothing has really changed but a few more wrinkles and a few new aha's as we have matured. Other times, as with this recent visit, I find myself grasping to find an inroad to the relationship that was there before and am left wondering if that path ever really existed at all.

Mi Casa Es Tu Casa

For our dear friends and family who will be unable to attend an open house...here are some pictures...

The living room that greets you as you walk in the front door:

The dining room that is also home to my office space and leads to the hall:

Next to the dining room is the kitchen (which is still a bit in process):

First door on the right, when coming down the hall is our wild main bathroom:

First door on the left is the boys play/school room:

Last door on the right leads to the master:

A view of some of our outdoor spaces, namely front, back, and side yards as well as a large covered porch (or "Søren's Office"):

Not yet pictured are the garage/laundry room, Husband's red office, and the boys' blue bedroom (it seems they are always sleeping when I would have time to document it). Hopefully more will come soon, but consider yourself visited and welcome anytime.

For The Love of Tuesday

This dear friend and her husband are taking "non-consumer Christmas" to a whole new level with "All you need is love: Tuesday" in honor of this little girl.


To help love Tuesday, simply visit this post by midnight tonight (or 12:01 am tomorrow, Tuesday), and leave a comment. Then, the "Radley's" (not their real name) will match a dollar each per comment to gift to Tuesday's family for Christmas.

Snowy Day!

We woke up with snow this morning!

The boys were in awe.

This picture makes me smile
(and would it be the right place to mention that I really think 40 looks good on my husband?)

He's just so cute!

Søren would not stop "making tracks" in order for me to get a good photo.

Elliot did not last long, but still enjoyed watching his brother play.

Resolved Without Tears

Shortly after posting about Elliot's mullet dilemma, I decided to break out the scissors and see what happened, trusting it could never be as bad as my first attempt cutting Søren's hair.

Here are the results:

The chopped locks

A look at the front and back

Suddenly he is older
and today at church a friend decided
he now resembles Macaulay Culkin as a kid.

Regardless of hairstyle, he's still up to the same antics,

Still winning momma's heart,

And to all his fans that love the longish curls...I have high hopes they will keep growing back and I will get better at cutting a style that can keep them prominent.

A current debate

This adorable head of hair: To cut, or not to cut?

When I look at it like this, I say no way...

But from this view, coming over his ears and onto his collar...well, it starts to whisper mullet, and I prefer to catch those whispers before they become more audible...

And when it's not curly...well, it's less cute (though still rather mad scientist adorable).

However, this is his current response when I mention scissors, along with "no", head shaking, or even a "not yet"...

Andrew tells me I just like it because it makes him look like a surfer,
but I think he's just being jealous...
Then again...maybe he has reason to be.

Winter Wonderland

We did a little Christmas decorating last weekend, and now I get to do a little tree decorating everyday as the boys like to take everything off the bottom 3-4 feet of the tree everyday (today, however, I barricaded it with a good measure of success and unsightliness - unless it looked like we were giving chairs as gifts this year). For example, from the looks of these pictures, I am missing a few poinsettias...hmm. Our living room does not have a great amount of light, so I either have to use the flash and remove all holiday glow from the photo, like this one:


Or settle for a blurry glow like so:
My biggest Christmas wish is to be completely done unpacking before Christmas dinner. We are close. Then I might post a photo tour.

Merry Christmas season! I think we are officially within the 12 days of Christmas after this weekend, which likely means this will mark year 5 of no Christmas cards from the Scrivners despite my love for stationary, cards taped to my walls, and Christmas postage. Please take no offense.....maybe next year? We'll try not to move between now and then.

How The Devil Wins

Several months ago, I had the most fascinating, short, conversation (in the midst of a much longer visit) with an atheist. At some point in our conversation, I inquired into his spiritual beliefs. He told me that he believed that "god" is a made-up concept that people have created to control other people and that is why all cultures have religions. He had no problem with this, as it seemed a good solution for the task of parenting and keeping societal order, but he could not believe there is actually a higher power/intelligence/being/etc.

So I, seemingly naturally, brought up Nietzsche suggesting that he agreed, in part, with his perspective on reality. He was completely unfamiliar with anything Nietzsche believed, and simply recognized the name as much as one might recognize any other familiar historical name.

Then I proceeded to explain - briefly - the world according to Nietzsche. I told him that I thought Nietzsche, and he by association, had the second most compelling world-view available. That second only to biblical Christianity, I think Nietzsche's perspective is the most rationally coherent philosophy a person can hold. Ultimately, one has to decide: Is there a God, or is there not a God? Once you have made that decision, I believe the rational trajectory will either take you to biblical Christianity or to the conclusions of Nietzsche. Obviously, there are many other options in between. We discussed those as well and I shared with him that I think the various other philosophies try to find satisfactory solutions that explain away or excuse human brokenness and sin (even those who revel in it, have really only found another way of asserting that it's not actually bad) while still trying to hold onto the various moral codes that nag at our hearts.

It felt a little strange to assert so matter-of-factually that I believed I have the most compelling world-view. However, that is exactly what I think, otherwise, why would I believe it? While it would certainly be foolish of me to assert that it is not rationally conceivable that I am wrong, would it not be equally foolish of me to say that I do not actually believe what I believe? Anyhow, he did not seem offended in the least. We simply disagreed about the existence of God.

What was striking to me about this conversation was how naturally he held his worldview. It was so inherited it seemed he had never stopped to think much about it. So many aspects of our world-view are inherited. I was constantly amazed, when studying western civilization, to realize where so many of my own inherited assumptions had come from (the realization providing an opportunity to better examine whether I wanted to keep them as primary assumptions - like when I realized my conception of "hell" came from Dante's inferno rather than the Bible).

What I realized through this conversation with our atheist friend, is that Nietzsche has won. Nietzsche's philosophical ideas are now so very normal and modern that the average person has inherited his perspective on the world without even knowing from where it came (obviously, there has always been atheism, as there is nothing new under the sun, but I trust you understand my case). That is what makes a great book a "Great Book". It is the influence, not the subjective greatness or rightness. Nietzsche was powerfully influential, and I think post-modernism and post-post-modernism are just beginning to show the impact of a generation growing up godless.

This reminded me of the saying that "the Devil's greatest deception is convincing people he does not exist".

In regard to much of what I see happening around us right now, I think this is the most fascinating and terrifying time in history to be alive. May we remain alert!

December Photo Update

This has been the easiest move of my life! We have settled in already and the boys are more at home than I have ever seen them. They are up to their usual, brotherly shenanigans, and I am just grateful I have kept the camera handy.

Before we got the boy clothes back in their drawers, Søren's drawers debuted as caps.

Elliot is not always sure he needs or wants his big brother's help.

But big brother is determined.

This lovely brown carpet makes me less fretful about them eating in the living room.

They love the new house (currently named "the little house on the prairie" by Søren, who is currently insisting on being called "Laura" and calling Elliot "Mary").