One night over the summer, our family went to swim at a nearby gym that has an Olympic-sized pool. We like going after supper because there’s hardly anyone there and nobody seems to mind a 3-year-old who speaks in ALL CAPS. It’s gotten to be a tradition for us all to go.

This particular night, I even had time to soak in the hot tub a while, so I was feeling particularly refreshed, maybe even a little zany. We left right before closing time, and when we walked out into the parking, we saw …

Elvis.

Yeah … a guy who looked just like Elvis! Sideburns and all.

Normally, I would have walked on by with a sideways glance, but I was feeling mighty fine, so I blurted out, “Hey, I think I’m seeing Elvis around here.”

Well, whad d’ya know? It turns out this guy really IS a professional Elvis impersonator, even though he was dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants after a workout.

“I just moved down here from Nashville, ” he said to us, in his rich baritone voice, certainly meant for greater things than a fitness center parking lot. “You know, Nashville is God’s country.”

I told him we’d been to Nashville back in January, for the Christian Bookseller Association Expo. He nodded his head, his midnight pompadeau staying in perfect place. “People think Nashville is all about music,” he said. “It’s not. The #1 industry is publishing. There are more Bibles printed in Nashville than anywhere in the world. Like I said. It’s God’s country.”

As we chatted, our kids seemed to be in awe of his voice. “I just got finished doing a commercial that’s going nationwide,” he told us. “It’s for Planet Fitness. The Judgement-Free Zone.”

He ended up giving us one of his CDs and a nice professional photo of himself drinking a Coke. He signed it to our family using a gold paint pen.

When we got in the car, we played his CD right away. It was one of those moments you just want to freeze in time. The kids were all quiet — they’d never heard Elvis before. “Love me tender, Love me sweet, Never let me go. You have made my life complete, And I love you so. ” were the first words we heard.

After that, my son wanted to skip ahead to the last one, the 15th. “This is the one he told us was his favorite. I want to hear which one.”

We continued driving home, under the starry night, in our SUV. But we had to have been a little closer to heaven, hearing the voice of Elvis sing this:

It was just one of those nights I had to come home and write it down.

[Edit]:
Thanks, Barb of Tidbits and Treasures blog, for alerting me to the fact that the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death is coming up this week, August 16, 1977. Perhaps this post may be seen as a tribute to the King of Rock & Roll — a singer who also had an awesome talent for Gospel.

Several people have called or emailed me and asked how our new school is going — so I thought I’d multitask and post my thoughts here. School is going great — except for one problem.

Handwriting.

Ugh! Can any of you relate? I regret that over the summer I didn’t take things more seriously and get my kids working on cursive handwriting. Most Christian schools in my area use the A Beka curriculum, which teaches cursive handwriting from the beginning. Even the 5-year-olds in kindergarten learn to write only in cursive.

Just to give you some background, we homeschooled the first three years using Handwriting Without Tears curriculum, which taught ball-and-stick print. Then my oldest started public school in 3rd grade and learned to write in cursive. But he prefers print, and he wrote in print most of the time in 4th grade and did well in school.

My 3rd grade daughter has never had ANY cursive handwriting before. So she was in tears the second night, while I tried to teach her how to write her name.

“I can’t do it! I’ll never be able to write an ‘a.’ I’ll never be able to write an ‘s.’ It doesn’t make any sense to me. I just can’t do it!” is what I heard over and over again.

I went to a local teacher supply store and tried to buy some supplementary workbooks, but they don’t match with the A Beka handwriting. Thankfully, their teachers have sent home some practice sheets and some handwriting paper, and we’ll be working through these.

So, in addition to all the other things I do every day, I’m now a cursive handwriting coach/cheerleader. And you know what? It’s kind of fun. And it brings back memories.

When I was 8 years old, my family moved to a new school system. It was in March of my third grade year. In my old school, we hadn’t even started cursive yet, but in my new school, everyone wrote in cursive. I came home in tears, and I remember my Dad sitting down patiently with me helping me learn to write cursive. He said, “You can do it. It’s just a different kind of handwriting, but you’re smart. You’ll pick it up fine.” Well, I got the hang of it in less than a week.

The choices of handwriting curriculum can be completely overwhelming these days. Here’s a site that gives you an overview, including samples of all the fonts. When I was homeschooling, I remember going to curriculum fairs and feeling seized with panic that I might ruin my children forever if they learned the wrong way!

Many of my homeschooling friends taught their children italic handwriting, which combines print and cursive in one style. Others used traditional print methods, then later cursive. It’s hard to know what to do. My advice to homeschooling moms would be to teach your kids what you both feel most comfortable with, but keep an eye on what your local school system teaches, as well as the private schools — just in case. We have a great teacher supply store in town, and the owner knows all that.

We’re all hitting the books here — dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s. With plenty of loops and swirls.

Every morning in our new school, our children are required to hold their right hand over their heart and say these three pledges:

PLEDGE TO THE BIBLE
I pledge allegiance to the Bible, God’s Holy Word. I will make it a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. I will hide its word in my heart that I might not sin against God.

PLEDGE TO THE CHRISTIAN FLAG
I pledge allegiance to the Christian flag and to the Savior for whose Kingdom it stands. One Savior, crucified, risen, and coming again, with life and liberty for all who believe.

PLEDGE TO THE AMERICAN FLAG
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

If you live in a different country, do your children say a pledge every morning in your school? Can you translate it into English for me, or send me a link to it? I’m very curious. I didn’t grow up saying the first two pledges, and even our national pledge has taken some heat because of the word “God” in it.

Does anyone know the name of that video series that talks about the faith of our founding fathers? I saw part of it a long time ago, and I’d like to watch it again and show it to our kids.

Yesterday was our first day of school here. What a change! I’d read in magazines how moms are supposed to help kids ease back into the school routine by spending a few days going to bed earlier and getting up earlier.

We didn’t do that. Oops.

So Monday morning came as a shock to us. But last night — WHEW! At 9 pm, we had lights out in our entire house. Everybody was exhausted. That’s what happens when you get up at 6:30 a.m. and go non-stop all day. (Actually, I was up much earlier than that. )

I love it. I love order and routine. In contrast, our kids had plenty of free time this summer to relax, sleep in, and do whatever they wanted. They each attended a couple of short day camps and Vacation Bible School — and that was it. I didn’t overschedule them this summer — so I don’t feel one iota of guilt now that they’re back on a routine. This is life. This is discipline. Our God created order — our universe is organized and orderly. So our lives should be as well.

I read FlyLady all summer — and she’s finally got me wrapped around her little pinkie finger. OK, OK! We’re doing it. We’re doing the evening and morning routines. No more excuses. No more whining. Our clothes are laid out the night before. We’re working on the hot spots — we have a lot of those.

My new rule this year is that all the kids have to be dressed — in uniform, including socks and shoes — at the breakfast table by 7 am. We’ve done it two days now — can we keep it up the rest of the year? This is why I’m blogging about it — if I write about it, you people mysteriously hold me accountable. We WILL be up and dressed and to the breakfast table by 7 am.

This morning, I made buckwheat pancakes with whipped cream and blueberries — and bacon. That got everyone up and at ’em. I can’t eat the pancakes. Have y’all been reading about my major diet change? I’m blogging about it over at Lively Women. The South Beach Diet is working for me. I lost another pound over the weekend — and I had so much energy last night, I swept the entire garage and played baseball and football in the yard. After cooking a huge supper with lots of vegetables and cleaning the kitchen.

Me … yeah me. Y’all just do not KNOW how different I’ve felt the past several years compared to now. I’m getting my life back. I’ll spare you the tears. My life requires a huge push of energy to get anything done around here — and I just haven’t had it because I’ve been too busy stuffing my face with the wrong kinds of food.

It started with me … now this is flowing to my family. Has anyone else noticed that getting in shape physically has a major effect on your emotional, spiritual, and mental health as well? More on this later.

Oh, and I have a new blogging schedule. My schedule is — no schedule! If I have something rambling around in my mind that’s worth writing here, I’ll spill it. But if not, I’ll be out throwing a football in the yard or walking my dog down to the creek. So I may blog often, or I may not. I think this article got to me: Why Blog Post Frequency Does Not Matter Anymore. Read it — you’ll be surprised. It’s by Eric Kintz.

I saw my first glimpse today of this new book! Isn’t the cover gorgeous? I’m so excited — I actually have a story in this book. It’s going to be released in October from Adams Media.

My story is called “The Great Rabbit Chase” and is about the time I was 8 or 9 months pregnant chasing our pet rabbits around the backyard. They’d somehow tunneled through their hutch and gotten loose. I knew my oldest daughter would be devastated if her favorite white bunny, “Frosting,” was gone forever. What happened was so funny, it’s now going to be recorded forever in this book!

I can’t remember where I heard about the deadline, but I submitted the story last summer. I worked with editor Colleen Sell, who did an awesome job of cleaning up and tightening my words. She made me sound so much better.

Now I’m getting emails from the publicist hired by Adams Media. He wants all of the contributors to set up book signings. Once again, this makes me feel like a nervous wreck. How can I ask people to come buy a book?

But wait! It’s actually the PERFECT gift for expectant moms. For all those long hours sitting in the doctor’s office or waiting around during the last trimester or prelabor. It’s hard to think about anything besides impending labor, yet expectant moms need something fun and encouraging to read. This is the book — a companion guide to the bible of childbirth, What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Wow — just typing that title into the computer makes me feel a wave of nausea, since I read it during my first trimester.

So I’ve got to get on this book signing. Who should I bug? Anyone want to host me? I can do more than sign books. I’ll bring chocolate. I can tell funny pregnancy and labor stories. I can show you my “medals of motherhood” (if you’re a mom, you know what those are — they’re there forever.) I can’t sing, but I can do party games. My stomach gets tense just thinking about calling Barnes & Noble. But hey, I gotta do it.

Here’s a description of the book from Amazon:

“A Cup of Comfort for Mothers to Be is a celebration of a very extraordinary time in your life — the nine months that make you into a mother. From joy to fear, from morning sickness to the first kicks, moms to be just like you tell their stories in this new addition to the beloved Cup of Comfort series … These touching accounts of the most exciting months of a new mother’s life are sure to warm your heart — and those of the loved ones who surround you during this emotional and amazing period of your life.”

We had school orientation tonight — at the private Christian school where our kids will attend this year. Interesting. A very new experience for me. I actually opened the student handbook and browsed through the rules. We have a dress code of course, since all the kids wear uniforms, but how about this? We also have a strict “hair code.”

Fad hairstyles are not acceptable. Any applied color that is not normal … is NOT acceptable for girls or boys. Hair is to be cleaned and groomed. Hair length for boys should not touch the collar of a standard dress shirt or cover any portion of the ears. “Rat tails” are not acceptable.

Rat tails? I had to think about that one. Oh yeah. Those things.

But the real music to my ears was this: Piano lessons during the school day. The piano teacher actually comes to the school, and if your kids are signed up, they’ll slip out of the classroom for a half-hour lesson, then go back to class. DURING SCHOOL HOURS. I don’t have to haul five kids to somebody’s house and keep up with energetic toddlers during lessons. All I have to do is become a kyoiku mama and tell them to practice at home.

Now THAT’S what I call an unexpected blessing.

Have you heard of Stone Mountain? We’re quite proud of it here in the South. If you ever get a chance to come to Atlanta, you should add a visit here to your agenda. I hadn’t been in years, but Mom and I got the great idea that it would be fun to take the kids there for a day-trip, and end our summer with a picnic while watching the laser show.

Well, God had other plans for our day.

First of all, we did have a wonderful time at the park. And this place is a true bargain. For around $20 each, we enjoyed guided tours by riverboat, cable car, and train. There’s an extraordinary new treehouse exhibit that has two 3-story treehouses, and it’s a boys against girls game that requires kids to think and work together. My oldest wanted to spend all day there because he figured out how to get points, and the boys were way ahead.

We also watched a couple of shows — the 7th Generation Flying Wallendas about gave me a heart attack. Watching two people hang upside down on 50-foot poles, with no safety net, was too much for me. And when “The Amazing Henry, Master of the Sky” missed a step while jump-roping on the wheel of death, I thought I would throw up from fear. I don’t know why in the world people do things like that — I had to look up the Wallendas to figure it out. (It’s in their genes, I guess.)

We had a much better time watching the Schmacko Dog Show, where we saw “Flying Fiesta,” the fastest frisbee dog in the world. Now we’re all full of ideas of tricks to teach our poor unsuspecting dog, Jasper. (Good thing they gave us a free sample of Schmacko Dog Treats.)

But the highlight of our day, the grand finale, was the build-up of the laser show. It’s held every night at 9:30 p.m., and I couldn’t wait to see my kids’ faces as we listened to Dixie and watched Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and Jefferson Davis come to life and gallop across the mountain by laser.

We were all prepared, picnic basket and blanket spread on the lawn, along with hundreds of other people when … BOOM. Thunder.

“Mom, do you think it’s going to rain?”

“Nah. I think it will just blow over.” CRACK! A lightning bolt lit up the sky over the mountain followed by shrieks from the crowd.

We still thought we’d sit it out. Only one more hour until the show! But then we felt a raindrop. And another. Followed by BOOM! CRACK! More shrieks. And the masses began running toward cover, as the sky fell out.

So, here we were — two adults and four kids on a granite mountain. In a rainstorm. Soon, the power went out. The music stopped — and we were all crammed in under the overhang of the Skylift. Then the most amazing thing happened.

We all stood there in awe as we watched God’s Laser Show. Every time lightning hit the mountain, you could see giant rivers of rainwater streaking down the granite. People were ooahing and aahing and taking pictures. Everyone was happy. A crippled man next to us leaned on his two canes and laughed. An elderly white man pushed an elderly black man in a wheelchair through the crowd — both smiling. Kids stomped in puddles. None of us could go anywhere, with no power to see, and the torrents of rain hitting the earth — but we all had a great time.

Without power, the laser show was out of the question, but the park staff gave us the fireworks show anyway — to the cheers of everyone. When it was time to go, Mom reached in her pocket — and oh no! Her cell phone was gone. We searched everywhere, then realized it must have slipped out during our mad dash up the hill. But a few seconds later, my cell phone rang, and a voice said, “Hey, my name is Scott, and I’m here at Stone Mountain, and I’ve found this phone …” Can you believe it? He and Mom walked toward each other, strangers in a crowd. “I’m wearing pink,” she said. “I’m tall and talking on a phone,” he said. And they found each other. Amazing.

All that to say, it was an exciting end to our summer. A laser show we’ll never forget.

Another great issue of Christian Women Online is hot off the press. Pour yourself a mug of coffee or tea, and get ready to be inspired.

CWO is really starting to gain attention in the blogosphere. It was recently mentioned on the mega-site, msnbc.com, and Jan White featured CWO in her MarketLines column for Cross & Quill Magazine as a hip new publication for Christian writers to submit articles. I’m working on my September Book Buzz column and would love your thoughts on any great new books you’ve read recently. I’m in the middle of a hilarious novel by Diann Hunt called RV There Yet? I can’t wait to review it for CWO because it’s a hoot. Diann Hunt is one of those funny people I’d love to meet someday.

Fortunately, she also blogs for Girls Write Out, along with Kristin Billerbeck, Colleen Coble, and Denise Hunter. Those ladies know how to have a good time — and it definitely shows up in their writing. I interviewed Colleen here a few months ago, and I saw her from a distance at the Women of Faith conference. My brush with fame!

I’m trying to find out a few things about sugar substitutes. Are they safe? As I’ve been cutting sugar out of my diet, I’m also wondering about this same thing for my children. Just from making a few diet changes, I’ve lost ten pounds and have seen a surge in my energy level. Now, I’m not having a problem with letting sugar go — but what about for my kids?

Take these Capri Sun drinks, for example. Everybody uses them — when you’ve got a bunch of thirsty kids outside, it’s a pain having to dole out cups, ice, and pour drinks. Juice boxes and pouches simplify this task enormously. But when I checked the sugar content recently, they have 26 grams of sugar for a 6-ounce pouch. This is more than a Coke, which has 39 grams of sugar for 12 ounces.

My problem — I needed to plan a super simple menu for my son’s birthday party, which was held yesterday at a pool. Since most of my friends have 3 or more kids of all ages — you get a few of us together, and you have a ton of kids. We had over 30, ranging in age from one-year-old to college student. And everybody needed a drink of course.

So I brought some water bottles for the parents and older kids — but for the younger ones, I bought the Capri Sun Roarin’ Waters drink, which tasted good and had only 9 grams of sugar. Then I noticed that it was sweetened with Splenda. Hmmm …. maybe it wasn’t such a great idea. Is Splenda safe for adults? Safe for kids? What is that stuff?

I’m just beginning to explore all of this. If any of you are further along in living healthy, please enlighten me. How do I get my kids to cut down on sugar? I know it’s addictive, and it’s leading our country to an epidemic of obesity and diabetes. It’s easy for me to drink water or Diet Coke, but what about kids? Have you read the sugar content on the side of an apple juice container lately?

I dropped off my second grader at Sunday School a couple days ago, and it was their end-of-summer party. The kids were being served chocolate iced doughnuts and red fruit juice in pouches. I’m thankful for her generous teachers, but I’m sure the sugar content was astronomical.

Where do we start to improve?