101 Progress

Quick progress report. 35.46% complete! I'm not sure there will be much more progress though since a lot of the initial home/garden projects we included aren't as important to us now... I'd love to get some epic raveling in but, alas $$/kiddo/time.. Fingers crossed! Less than half-way there.. December 23rd 2017, here we come!

#	Objective	Category	Completed
1	New car for Danica	Financial
2	Fully Fund our Emergency Fund (6 months!)	Financial	10/1/16
3	Sell the cello	Financial
4	Start a college fund for Lenora	Financial	12/1/2015
5	Resume 401k contributions	Financial	7/1/2015
6	Make monthly contributions to Lenora's College fund	Financial
7	Set up a will / Guardianship	Financial
8	Have a yard sale	Financial
9	Get Life Insurance for Danica	Financial	3/1/2016
10	Get hot dogs at Lowes	Food	6/6/2015
11	Make bread	Food
12	Go a month without eating out	Food
13	Make a Gingerbread House	Food
14	Get Lambruscos for Danica	Food	3/31/2015
15	Create a Tulsa Burger Matrix	Food
16	Eat at Lasalles	Food
17	Make pickles	Food	7/2/2015
18	Buy a blender and make smoothies	Food	5/1/2015
19	Make homemade Italian Cream cake	Food
20	make homemade red velvet cake	Food
21	Start Blackberries	Garden
22	Remove ugly bushes out front	Garden
23	Plant boxwoods	Garden
24	Put Topiary by the Garage	Garden
25	Harvest our pears	Garden
26	Plant a cactus	Garden
27	Make a Terrarium	Garden
28	Start a potted herb garden	Garden	5/1/2015
29	Plant a fall garden	Garden	7/1/16
30	Purchase and utilize a rain barrel	Garden
31	Do whole 30/Paleo for a month	Health
32	Make homemade cleaners	Health
33	Run a 5k together	Health
34	Get below pre-baby weight	Health
35	Drink only water for a week	Health
36	Go to the dentist	Health	1/1/2016
37	Get Danica new glasses	Health	1/1/2016
38	Transition to Cloth Diapers	Health	5/1/2015
39	Finish the 13th place sunroom	Home
40	Furnish the front room	Home	9/1/2015
41	Fix the fireplace	Home
42	get a new front door	Home
43	Remove fuses/Install breaker box	Home	9/1/2015
44	Create gallery wall in hallway	Home
45	Have guest bedroom door reversed	Home	7/1/2015
46	Print and frame wedding photos	Home
47	Buy a riddling Rack	Home
48	Buy a barrister bookcase	Home
49	Install new front porch light	Home
50	Buy a new mailbox	Home
51	Fix light over the garage	Home
52	Purchase a gun safe	Home	4/1/2016
53	Refinish piano	Home
54	Rehang Flag pole	Home	9/1/2015
55	Hang curtains in master bedroom	Home
56	Put a ceiling fan in the master bedroom	Home	6/1/16
57	Replace the hall light	Home	6/1/16
58	add a light to the den ceiling fan	Home
59	Replace kitchen light	Home
60	Cover the floor furnace	Home
61	Brick or tile the entryway	Home
62	Get a steam mop	Home	5/1/2015
63	Get an extra long shower curtain	Home	6/1/16
64	Put film in bathroom window	Home	4/1/2016
65	Put film in den door	Home	4/1/2016
66	Go to the zoo as a family	Kiddo	3/1/2016
67	Throw Lenora a 1st Birthday party	Kiddo	1/1/2016
68	Make baby food	Kiddo	7/7/2015
69	Compile an Easter Basket for Lenora	Kiddo	4/2/2015
70	Take Lenora Trick-or-Treating	Kiddo
71	Finish Lenora's Baby Book	Kiddo
72	Consider (start?) preschool/MDO	Kiddo	6/29/2015
73	Kill a Rio	Personal
74	Learn to Fly Fish	Personal
75	DiA	Personal
76	Remington Country	Personal
77	Do a skating marathon or half marathon (Danica)	Personal
78	Get an Address Stamp made	Personal	12/1/2015
79	Create a capsule wardrobe	Personal
80	Do the monthly clean-out challenge (465)	Personal
81	Send out Baby Announcements	Personal	12/1/2015
82	Do a beautiful mess project	Personal
83	Have a family portrait made	Personal
84	Have Danica's Wedding dress Preserved	Personal
85	Join a church	Personal	8/9/2015
86	Adopt Boomer/Tidbit/Lincoln	Personal
87	Find a favorite coffee shop in Tulsa	Personal
88	Replace or resole Danica's favorite boots	Personal	12/1/2016
89	Get into Garden and Gun for something	Personal
90	Mardi Gras with friends	Travel
91	Go to the beach	Travel	6/1/16
92	Go elk Hunting	Travel
93	Go on a girls trip	Travel
94	Visit Robert and Charissa	Travel
95	Take Lenora to her first Cubs game	Travel
96	Take Lenora to Austin	Travel	5/14/2015
97	Take an anniversary Trip	Travel
98	Go camping as a family	Travel
99	Go to the Tetons with Marc and Mindy	Travel
100	Take Lenora to Nashville	Travel	11/1/2015
101	Whitman Sibling NYC trip	Travel

Working through the Unimaginable.

It's been a rough week here in Tulsa.

The death of Terence Crutcher occurred 6 miles from my house, over in "North Tulsa."  For my Nashville friends, North Tulsa is the equivalent to East Nashville circa 2002. Also if you don't know about the racial history in Tulsa (something that to my knowledge was NEVER discussed in my Oklahoma History class...) you should definitely stop and take a look.

This past week I have been unable to shake the weight, unable to stop my thoughts at night. So many quality conversations in the midst of all the noise.  So much silence in the place where quality conversations are needed.

Honestly, I debated putting anything out into the ether. After all, we tend to seek out arguments and discourse that we already agree with. So what's the point? There's not much I can say that hasn't already been said (and better said!). Sometimes it feels as though the internet exists to steal the words right out of my mouth.

However, in the midst of all my thoughts.. thoughts on race, inequality, narrative and the power of  our imaginations. The power of pre-conceived ideas.  In between all the conversations, or lack thereof, I have come to this:

I don't have the answer (duh), but I know there is a problem. I admit that there is a problem and that I am complicit in it at both personal and systemic levels. I confess and repent that I don't always approach this tension in the way that I should. I confess that I often ignore it.. because it's hard.

But I want my daughter to know she can do hard things. And I want her to learn that from me.  So I won't stop listening. I won't stop speaking up when ignorance raises its ugly head, and I won't stop seeking out relationships that challenge and change the narratives I readily accept.  Most importantly, I won't stop seeing Jesus. Because the Jesus I know was not a part of a #silentwhitechurch (thankfully I am not part of one either) ..  the Jesus I know does justice, loves mercy, and walks humbly. As my friend and pastoral intern Caleb says  "... when I seek Love, I will love. When I seek the Just and the Justifier (Romans 3), I will seek out justice. When I seek God's heart for the oppressed and afflicted, I will find my heart changing for the oppressed and afflicted."

To my friends of color: I see you, I am FOR you, I need you, and I am sorry. Don't give up on us.

EDIT: Sunday was on point. If you want a real life example of someone sitting down and LISTENING to another person and allowing it to change their perspective, and if you are looking for a reason to have hope...Listen here.