It was bound to happen.

There are certain milestones that happen around the age of three. Potty training, learning to play with other children, passive aggressive response to anything mommy asks her to do, you know the drill. Well, this week Boogaloo fulfilled another one: she cut her hair irreparably. Sigh, good bye, golden curls. I think it happened like this: I knocked the haircutting scissors off the high shelf last Saturday morning as I was getting into the shower, but I didn't know the clatter I heard was scissors, (and I was kind of in a hurry), so I didn't investigate.

Ten minutes later, I pulled back the shower curtain, and I see Boogaloo standing on the toilet, and the bathroom floor covered in curls. She had taken about half of her hair off and had the beginnings of either a decent pixie cut or a stringy mullet going. So on Tuesday (because it was one of those weekends and we were already late), we went to Mastercuts and got the rest of the curls removed. I am willing to admit that it's a cute haircut. I am willing to admit that it suits her, that it's easier to deal with, and that she seems much happier without wisps of hair sliding into her eyes. I'm even willing to admit that after she got into the ziplock bag of of curls that I brought home from the hairdresser and scattered those curls all over her room, I didn't really regret throwing them away all that much. But I sure hope they grow back.

Quick bits.

1. Boogaloo turned three this past weekend. She hasn't processed that she's three yet (we didn't make a big deal out of it), but she sure knew that the cake and presents were for her.

2. HB 1366 failed in committee! This bill was an attempt to hamper pregnancy resource centers sponsored by pro-abortion lobbyists, but it never came up for a vote. Praise the Lord, and pray that it dies in committee next year too.

3. 40 Days for Life starts on Wednesday, and as noted earlier, God has been doing great things for us.

4. Boogaloo's latest craze is playing in water. She takes her little teaset and trucks water all over the house. We've taken to making her play in the bathtub just to spare the floors (and the mommy who has to step in the puddles), and she will play there for hours.

5. We are counting down to Seth's last deployment. Six more months, and we move on to other things.

6. I've added a couple of blogs from my friend Alicia's extensive list of fellow bloggers. They seem to have like interests, and goodness knows I could use the perspective.

Geeking Out on God.

Have you ever noticed that when God sets his mind to get something done, it gets done? Have you ever seen the guidance of God so clearly that it just takes your breath away?

This evening, just as I was getting ready to cook dinner, I got a phone call. After about fifteen minutes of conversation, I hung up my phone, came out of the kitchen, threw my hands into the air, and (my husband can testify to this) squealed like a twelve-year-old who has just won Justin Bieber tickets. Then I proceeded to giggle and titter all the way through dinner. I was that overcome.

The phone call was from a pastor who is interested in 40 Days for Life. Last week Thursday, while our planning committee was in the midst of our meeting, this man came into the diner to meet with some of his parishioners. He had never been to the diner before. The parishioners had suggested it. He just happened to show up while we were there. None of us knew who he was. He was just a man in a clerical collar. I don’t usually approach strangers, not even strange preachers, but I summoned the courage to interrupt their conversation and offer him one of our posters with a letter of explanation.

Tonight, he called me. He wanted to know what we are all about. He said that as a white pastor in a primarily black denomination, he has been facing an uphill struggle in convincing his congregation to go against the deeply ingrained position of abortion in their culture. He said that he had been receiving 40 Days emails from Shaun Carney for about a year, and he had been feeling God leading him to do something. "I'm definitely pro-life," he said, "and I'm non-violent too. I don't like the shouting that some people get up to. I prefer to tell people about adoption. I was adopted, and I am grateful to be alive."

I was so thrilled to hear from him. We are a great match to his situation, and he is a great match to our cause. It was a completely chance meeting (although, as he said to me, we don't believe in coincidences). I nearly didn't go up to him at all. Think what I would have missed out on.

When we began planning this year’s campaign, we were questioning whether or not we could do another 40 Days for Life. Last year was grueling and really left a mark on our souls. But this year, God seems determined to erase that mark. Our kickoff rally was standing room only. We have more leadership positions filled than any previous campaign. We have new people coming out of the woodwork. And everywhere we go, there is evidence that God is going in front of us. Praise the Lord.

Garbage soup, anyone?

Has anyone else tried Garbage Soup? I was flipping through my More with Less cookbook about a month ago, and I came upon this recipe. Actually, it's more of a concept or activity than a recipe. Garbage soup. We love it. It's a way to save money and improve your improvisational cooking skills all in one.

To make Garbage Soup, set aside one pot as your weekly soup pot. Put about six cups of water in it. Put it in the fridge. When you start making dinner, take the pot out of the fridge, put it on the burner, turn the burner on low, and then start throwing in all the leftovers that aren't worth saving into the pot. That's right, everything. When you're making dinner, throw in the parings, the clippings, the bones, the stems, the flour from the cutting board, everything animal, vegetable, or mineral. Let it simmer during dinner. Then after the meal, throw in all the bones, the leavings from the plates, the tiny bits and juices from the pan that aren't worth refrigerating, and the milk the baby didn't drink. Let it simmer until the dishes are done (simmering kills the germs.). Turn the heat off and let it cool until bedtime. Put it back in the fridge.

Do this every night for about a week. Then strain the solids out of the broth. Throw the solids into your compost pile. The broth should be flavorful and colorful by this point. Put in whatever you like. Tada! Soup.

We started making Garbage Soup because we were trying to save money. Seth says it's like a free meal every week. I say not quite, but I'll concede the point. It's an excellent way to get your money's worth out of your groceries. It also prevents finding scary things in the back of the fridge a month later.

But we've also noticed that it's just good soup. It's a nice, thick soup stock with a lot of flavor. Granted, every week is a little different, and you have to match your soup to your broth. We had chicken soup one week and purple cabbage turkey vegetable the next. Last week was beef vegetable. There are no standard ingredients or spices. You just have to follow your nose and figure out what would go well with the broth in front of you. Add some fresh bread or grilled cheese sandwiches, and you a have a cheap, nourishing tasty meal. You just can't lose.