Friday, July 27, 2007

Harry

So, I finally finished the final chapter of Harry Potter yesterday evening. As soon as I finished the last page I processed for about 3 minutes and then called my parents house hoping that either mom or Veeves would answer... you can always count on Valerie to follow through with your hopes and wishes. We discussed the book for about 15 minutes and then went our separate ways.

Around 11:30 am today I called my mom to process through the book with her. I know it may sound slightly tacky to use the word "process" with a children's fiction novel... but man, there is so much detail and 7 years worth of storyline to finally see how it all comes together.
My mom and I both shed tears over parts of the book that really broke our hearts and discussed topics that we found to be quite interesting.

I recognize that many Christians have very strong opinions against these novels and I recognize where most are coming from on the basis of witchcraft and wizardry. I humbly respect your decision not to read these books. However, I find these books to be so much for than just an enjoyable fiction novel. Throughout the 7 years these books take place there is a constant battle between good vs. evil, between dark and light.

As my mom and I discussed, once you get to the end of the book, though I would never compare Harry to Jesus in any sort of literal sense, you really do recognize that this book really does have some pretty heavy take-aways from it... I do not want to say too much because I know a certain sister of mine has still not had the chance to read it.

Moral of the story... I am so glad I have been able to be a part of the growth (mentally, emotionally and physically) of these characters... who they once where to who they have become.

That is really all I have to say on this topic at the moment... I am sure I will read it again within the next month to find more things I missed out on the first time.

Blessings to you and yours... I'm off to Las Vegas for the weekend to meet up with one of Brian's college buddy's and his wife. Yeah Pete & Nina!!

Love,
Cath

Monday, July 23, 2007

An update

I am very sorry it has been a while since I have updated my blog. I enjoy getting to keep everyone up to date but the days just get a way from me every once in a while. I have spent the last two weeks house sitting for a co-worker who lives about 30 minutes away, packing up my apartment, moving into the home I will begin living in within the month, continuing to work diligently on the Kenya Come before Winter video and now trying to read some Harry Potter. Work has been quite nice over the last week since my boss has been on vacation as well as the other two guys I work a lot with. I have been able to finish up with the morning show at 9 am every morning and just bang out all of my work without any interruptions! I have loved that!

Today I took my car into get my brakes checked... nearly $400 later all is good to go. They had been squealing for a while but this weekend they began to grind so I knew I needed to get them fixed. I decided to get a tune up as well since I hadn't done that since moving to Tucson over a year ago.

With the Monsoon beginning it has been overcast on and off over the past week. One of the things that I will miss about Tucson is being able to watch the storms come in. There are no large buildings blocking your view and you can see so far out. Storms move gracefully into town; clouds maneuvering around one another until the perfect lite storm hits. Since it doesn't rain but during the monsoon there is no efficient storm drainage or run offs so when it rains... everything floods... similar to what a lot of TX has been going through lately. It is quite amazing to see washes bone dry 10.5 to 11 months out of the year, in one day, become 1 to 8 feet high. Between the rain in town and all the run off from the mountains, water just pours into town... it's slightly dangerous but cool to watch happen. I am always reminded of God's glory during this time. You can't help but look up into the heavens, watch the clouds roll in and not be thankful for the beauty the power and the awe that He provided... man it's cool! :)

However, speaking of dangerous... Tucson has implemented a newer law in town... it's call the Stupid Driver law. It now holds (stupid) drivers liable for getting stuck in washes, washed up roads, under or over passes, etc. when driving in an unsafe area during monsoon. The driver will have to be pay charges that occur if a person has to be rescued... pretty interesting.

Here is a recent picture of Brian and I. We had a dinner party with some of my co-workers from Starbucks. It was so much fun!!
And for my little Veevesy...
Here are pictures from the house that I am moving into.
Obviously, this is the front of the house.
Here is the round about...
Another round about view... we have a front large entry way.
Here a two views from the front door...
This is the back porch. We have a big back yard... it would be perfect for a BBQ or for dogs... we have neither.

This is our pool. It needs a good cleaning job but it will be wonderful to have once it is all up and running!
This is Brian's storage spot for the hobbie cat. The house is on 2 and 1/2 acres so we have more than enough room to store the boat!
Here is the car port. Two cars can fit nicely in there. The door you see to the left is the entry into the tool shed, work space, laundry room. We have a washer and dryer already!! :) The door behind my car leads into the kitchen and living area.
The kitchen is still under construction but should hopefully be done this week...
And here is the living area... used also as storage until the kitchen is complete. Then we will begin making the living area a little more livable! :)
This is my bathroom and if we get a third roommate, hers as well.

So I apparently didn't take any pictures of my bedroom... however there is nothing in it right now so it doesn't really matter. I take more pictures once the house is put together.

And last but not least... for the mom... we have bunnies all over the place. Every day when I pull up to the front door they go scattering. Brian and I were over at the house last Saturday morning trying to get some handy work done and I glanced out to the back... there were 4 bunnies playing in the back yard and three very large hawks sitting on the ledge of the pool. It was so cool!
And for your enjoyment...