I know I seem to be posting mostly video links lately, but this one is not only adorable, it’s also USEFUL for teaching your children how to handle an emergency.

Here’s a little five-year-old girl who had to talk to a 911 dispatcher while her dad was having a possible heart attack. (Everything turned out OK, thank goodness.)

Could your child do this for you?

Click here to listen.

As I was leaving my aerobics class the other day, I overhead some mothers talking about how hard it is to stay out of their kids’ trick-or-treat bags while they’re at school. One mom said, “I get all the Reece’s and Snickers’ bars. My kids don’t like anything with peanut butter or nuts in it.”

I’m so jealous! I wish I could have dibs on the Reece’s, but they’re everybody’s favorite. Instead, my kids give me their Almond Joys.

We ended up with a huge stash of candy this year, after nearly a week’s worth of trick-or-treating. I think since Halloween officially fell on a Sunday, everyone decided to come up with alternative events. So we attended “Fall Festivals” at our church and school, which of course landed the kids huge bags full of sweets.

For a little extra fun, we also stopped at a “Trunk or Treat” at a friend’s church and got caught up with everyone. And then, on a whim, we decided to join another friend’s family trick-or-treating in her subdivision. “My neighbors really get into it,” she warned me. “You’ll see.”

Oh my.

I’ve never seen anything like this. We had such a blast. There must have been 300 kids out trick-or-treating. No cars. Everybody was driving around in golf carts or 4-wheelers pulling wagons full of kids in costume. It was hilarious. I kept wishing I had some Japanese friends visiting us so we could take them out and let them enjoy this weird, wild American custom.

We must have visited 30 or 40 houses, and every neighbor went all out, with huge baskets of candy on the front porch, fluffy small dogs sniffing at cowboy and astronaut boots, little white-haired ladies asking, “And what have we here? A little princess and a fairy! Oh, you look so lovely, dear.”

It was wonderful. Parents got to chat while kids compared their stashes. I saw two little boys dressed like a skeleton and a Storm Trooper sit side by side on a garden bench, saying, “I’ll trade you a Hershey’s for that Kit-Kat.” Two dads strolled by discussing the size of their lawn mower engines. “I’m saving about an hour every time I cut my grass with my new mower,” confided one dad to the other.

But the real treat for me came at the end of the evening, when my kids dumped their bags in the front hall and were sorting their loot. (Don’t you remember doing this same thing?)

Here’s the beautiful question they asked me. “Mama, do you want our Almond Joys?”

“What? You don’t like Almond Joys?”

“No,” they informed me. “The coconut is squishy and nasty. And we don’t like those kind of nuts. You can have ours.”

Isn’t coconut a fruit? And aren’t almonds one of the approved snacks on the South Beach Diet? I happily relieved them of those adult-friendly candy bars and put them in the refrigerator, where I can savor them … slowly.

Too bad there’s no such thing as a calorie-free Almond Joy. I guess that’s why us moms end up at aerobics — working off our kids’ leftover candy.

I confess. I’m excited Jeff Kinney’s latest installment to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series releases next week! November 9th to be exact. If you’re the parent of an elementary school-aged boy, you get it. Right?

These books are funny, and they’re delightfully inexpensive hardback, so they can handle the wear and tear of being passed around from kid to kid.

I didn’t realize how hugely popular these books were until we were visiting friends in Portland last fall. I rode in the back of a mini-van to the Oregon seacoast with my friend’s two young sons, along with two of my own children. We passed the time by reading Dog Days out loud and playing “Cheese Touch.” This was the first book my then six-year-old son read all by himself. They’re fun for kids to read — and they appeal to the parents on a different level. (I love the mom in this series. We think alike!)

Although I wasn’t too crazy about the movie, (I thought Roderick was way too scary and mean), the books are much better. I haven’t seen a copy of the new purple one, so I’m clueless about what’s inside. But I’m sure I’ll toss one into my cart when I’m rolling through Wal-Mart.

If you’d like to meet Jeff Kinney in person, check out his website for details of his Ugly Truth bus tour. Here are the cities where he’ll be stopping:

Monday November 8–Dallas, TX

Tuesday November 9–Austin, TX LAUNCH EVENT

Wednesday November 10–Little Rock, AR

Thursday November 11–Memphis, TN

Friday November 12–Nashville, TN

Saturday November 13–Birmingham, AL

Sunday November 14–San Diego, CA

I read that he doesn’t do school visits, so if your kids want to meet him, here’s your best chance!

My husband and I recently went to see The Social Network, and I’ve hesitated to review it because it’s rated PG-13 for a very good reason. There are some raunchy college party scenes that you don’t want your children to be exposed to — so please, don’t take your kids. As we say in our house, “It’s not appropriate.”

Aside from that warning, this is an amazing movie for parents, and it highlights a topic of extreme importance to writers, musicians, artists, and anyone with marketable ideas — that of intellectual property. Do you own your ideas? Every part of them? What if someone takes part of your idea, is a few steps ahead of you, and runs with it, becoming rich in the process? That’s what the plot of this movie centers around.

The film is based on Ben Mezrich’s book, The Accidental Billionaires, the story of how Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, became the world’s youngest billionaire at age 26. It’s directed and produced by David Fincher. When the movie begins in fall 2003, Mark (played by Jesse Eisenberg) is a sophomore at Harvard, out on a date with his girlfriend, who breaks up with him because he’s being a jerk. THE DIALOGUE IS MESMERIZING. I could watch this opening scene 50 times just because it’s so well written. (Thank you, Aaron Sorkin).

So, the dejected Mark goes back to his dorm room and starts creating a website called “FaceMash” using photos of girls from sorority houses, asking users which girl is more attractive. Within a few hours, the site gets 22,000 hits, and it gains the attention of the entire Harvard campus, including twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (played solely by the actor, Armie Hammer).

The Winkelvoss twins invite Mark to help them code a new website, Harvard Connection, that would take the prestige of the “harvard.edu” web address and combine it with the popularity of FaceMash. After their initial meeting and agreement, Mark sort of disappears and becomes consumed with creating his own website, which he calls “Thefacebook.” Eventually, the twins decide to sue Mark for stealing their intellectual property, and the hearing for this lawsuit becomes the modern day action of the movie. Everything else takes place in the form of flashbacks.

We sat on the edge of our seats the entire movie, not wanting to miss a word. I didn’t know anything about this lawsuit, so I didn’t know how it would turn out. Justin Timberlake, who plays Napster co-founder Sean Parker, does a great job. You really feel like Mark could have been any computer whiz kid, whose great idea exploded, got noticed by millionaire investors, and took off before he really knew what happened. It’s the American Dream, right?

If you watch this trailer, you’ll quickly grasp the film’s plot:

The whole phenomenon of Facebook is fascinating. As I write this, there are around 500 million people who have a profile on Facebook. Ironically, I’m not one of them.

Although I loved the movie, I left the theater even more thankful that I haven’t gotten involved with Facebook. It’s on my to-do list, but at the very bottom, to be honest. People ask me all the time, “How do you do all that you do and keep up with five kids?” and here’s one of my secrets: I don’t do much online social networking. At this point, most of my networking takes place at real-life school, church and sports events. Beyond that, people can find me here, if they’re really looking for me online.

But as far as the Facebook movie goes, it’s important, and I’m sure it will win awards. It says a lot about our culture today, and how the world has shrunk so that we can be in contact with anyone, anywhere in the world, at any time. I hope you’ll go see it and tell me what you think.

One of my occasional hobbies is watching youtube videos of children practicing piano. It helps my daughters when they’re stumbling through a section of a difficult piece to see another child perform it.

What never fails to amaze us is watching these teeny tiny kids who are absolute geniuses! They’re only 5 or 6 years old and can play like the young Mozart. We watched this particular video last night and were in AWE. This girl is unbelievable on the organ! Just watch her little fingers fly — and then at around a minute and a half, you have to watch what she does with her left hand. We laughed so hard we couldn’t breathe.

Whoever her mom is, KUDOS to you! This pint-sized musician has brought us joy, and it makes me not want to lose heart when we’re stuck on page 2 of Fur Elise for the sixth week in a row. I asked my daughters, “Now, do you think this little girl could play like this if she spent all her time camped out in front of the TV?” HA! (They hate that question.)

Enjoy!

Right now, all over the country — all over the world, I guess — parents are watching kids kick black and white soccer balls up and down grassy fields. I’ve been doing this off and on for the past ten years.

Today I was thinking how much the “soccer mom” thing has changed since I first started signing my kids up to play, back in 2000. Ten years ago, I had to drive to a certain building in my city, walk inside to a desk, and personally fill out some forms. Then I had to personally write a check or pay in cash for the season. I don’t think we could even use credit cards back then.

While signing up in person, I was given a handout that told me a date where I had to show up — in person — to receive the team roster and practice schedule. After that, the coaches contacted us parents by phone to let us know about team practices and games. Nobody used email for this sort of thing.

One mom usually became the designated “team mom,” and she acquired the time-consuming chore of calling all the parents to arrange who would bring snacks and where the end-of-the-season party would be held. Everything was accomplished by telephone or in person.

Now, ten years later, being a soccer mom in an internet world is completely different. A few weeks before the season begins, I sign up online. There’s a website for our rec department, and I type in our family code, click here and there, and pay by credit card. It takes less than five minutes, and I can do it in my pajamas.

Later, I receive a welcoming email sent from a secret place that says “DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL!” This message tells me when and where the soccer evaluations will be held. We show up. The kids run around for a while, and the coaches see who’s pretty good and who’s never played before, and they assign them to teams so their skill levels are evenly distributed.

Then I get an email with three attachments: team rosters, practice schedule, and game schedule. This year marks the first time I’ve ever had a coach coordinate our snack-drink schedule in advance so that each parent takes a turn. He arranged the schedule by email, of course. How nice!

I’m wondering if my experiences are similar to other soccer moms. What’s it like for parents in France or England or Japan? We have fall soccer and spring soccer, but now in our city, we also have an indoor winter league, so kids who are absolutely crazy about soccer can play year-round. In the summer, we have these British college guys who come over and swelter in our Georgia heat coaching hundreds of kids in soccer camps.

We’ve tried nearly every other sport, but I confess that soccer is the most fun for me to watch. Everybody is more relaxed and friendly. When I had a son in baseball last year, people were loud and vicious, yelling “COME ON JAKE! EYE ON THE BALL SON! FOCUS, SON! PAY ATTENTION JAKEY BOY!!!” It was intimidating for quiet people like me. My stomach was tied up in knots as I watched my son at bat, praying, “Please don’t strike out. Just hit it!” I didn’t like the pressure of baseball, and apparently my son didn’t either because we’re back to soccer where TEAM is the word.

Really, there’s nothing I would rather be doing at my age than watching kids run around in the afternoon sunshine on a green-clipped soccer field. It’s so fun! It also gives me an excuse to talk to all these interesting people, the other parents and grandparents, as we watch our kids kick their way through childhood, heading toward adolescence.

Sure, we’re better connected now behind the scenes than we were ten years ago. But not much else has changed. Soccer’s still all about getting kids together, away from the TV, out into the sun. We put them in different colored t-shirts on teams to make all this play more organized.

And like good soccer moms, we cheer them on.

I’m excited to welcome a brave and talented guest today whose writing has led her to read with the wolves! Robyn Hood Black is the author of two children’s books, Wolves (Dalmatian/Intervisual Books) and Sir Mike (Scholastic/Children’s Press). She’s had poetry published in Welcome Home and Hopscotch for Girls, and she also has poems slated to appear in Berry Blue Haiku and Ladybug. In addition, Highlights Magazine will publish Robyn’s short story in 2011. I met Robyn at an SCBWI conference, and I’m thrilled she’s come to share with us her expertise!

Hi Robyn. How did you get started writing books for children?

As soon as I was old enough to put crayons to paper, I was making up and illustrating stories. I’ve always wanted to write children’s books. I made a (not so good) one as an art project in high school, and I think my first submission to a publisher was while I was in college. That manuscript was not so good, either!

I sought out opportunities to write at every stage of life, from school newspapers to community newspapers to church newsletters and local magazines, and I’m grateful for what I learned with those bylines.

It sounds like you’ve experienced it all in the world of writing! Do you think it’s helpful to build up a variety of writing experiences before tackling books?

For me, it was. When writing for any kind of publication, you have to think about audience and deadlines and making every word count — and working with an editor. When I got the contract to write WOLVES, which was part of a series, it had a very tight deadline. A writer friend looked at what the publisher wanted and the time frame, and she shook her head, saying, “I would be so overwhelmed…!”

I laughed and said I would be drawing upon my inner newspaper reporter — I knew the person who could crank out eight or more feature stories in a week in her 20s was still inside somewhere. And she was.

Wow — writing eight stories a week is a lot to keep up with! Were you influenced by any particular authors of children’s books along your writing journey? Who were your favorite authors when you were a child?

I remember riding my bike to the library as a kid growing up in Florida, and it always seemed like a magical destination. When I was very little, I loved P.D. Eastman’s Are You My Mother? and The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey. I loved Jean de Brunhoff’s Babar books.

Oh, my kids love those same books too!

Also, I would play those Disney storybook albums (kids today might not even know what an LP looks like!) and act out the stories as I turned the pages and took in that wonderful art. I remember appreciating Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret when I was the right age for it, and Emily Neville’s It’s Like This, Cat.

I collected fiction and nonfiction books about animals, too, such as Walt Morley’s Kavik the Wolf Dog, all kinds of cat books, and Joy Adamson’s lion books. I still have most of those books, and the records!

What a wonderful collection you must have! OK. Let’s talk about WOLVES! Over the summer, I read Jean Craighead George’s 1973 Newbery winner, Julie of the Wolves. How did you begin working with wolves?

Jean Craighead George has always been one of my heroes. She turned 91 this summer, I believe. Getting the contract to write a book about wolves was a dream come true. I learned so much during the research (and I’m still learning!).

While writing the book, I wanted to observe/photograph/sketch real wolves. I discovered that the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve in Dahlonega, Georgia — not far from my home — had a couple of wolves at that time. I visited them, and the next spring (2008) met two female pups born there, Juno and Luna.

They were four weeks old, and I immediately filled out the paperwork to volunteer there. I’ve worked with animals my whole life — mostly my own and also as a volunteer — and I’ve been lucky to have friends who are professional trainers.

I see the cover of your book, which is WOW KINDA SCARY, and then I see pictures of you hanging out with wolves. Have you ever felt like you were in any danger?

That is a striking picture, huh?! Illustrator Colin Howard did a terrific job. To answer your question, No, BUT — I always stress to kids that wolves are not dogs! Our dogs came from wolf ancestors, but wolves are still wild, even those in captivity. I respect that about them and am conscious about things like body language, the tone of my voice, energy level, and personal space.

We used to have horses — one was particularly difficult; hence the relationship with one particular trainer friend! — and I find working with wolves is more like working with horses than with pet dogs. Instincts are always at the forefront. Dogs have been domesticated over thousands of years; wolves have not.

As an example, one of the worst things about tearing my Achilles this past spring was that I could only interact with Juno and Luna through a fence when I finally made it back out there. My dogs at home were happy to hang out with me on the couch and not count my weakness and vulnerability against me. But around predators, even socialized ones, you have to respect their natures.

I’m confident with the wolves at the preserve because I’ve volunteered with them since they were young pups, but I keep in mind that they are wolves. By the way, a male wolf pup came to the preserve this summer, and he’s been a joy to work with.

Can you tell us a few interesting facts you learned while writing your book on wolves?

Wolves and people have much in common. Both live in social groups with dominance hierarchies, and they work (hunt) cooperatively. They are fiercely loyal to their families. In a wolf pack, usually the top male and female are the only ones who breed, and their pack is really an extended family, usually including pups from previous litters who haven’t struck out on their own yet to form new packs, and sometime an outside member or two.

All the pack members help raise the litter of pups born in the spring. Wolves are wild about pups! The older pack members tolerate their antics and help discipline them when necessary. Another interesting fact — did you know most wolf hunts don’t result in a meal for the wolves? Wolves offer lessons in persistence, something very helpful for writers seeking publication!

Hey, that is so cool! I’m going to have you and your wolves to thank if I ever persist long enough to publish a children’s book! Robyn, I know your school visits are very popular. What’s it like for you to give a workshop at a school?

I LOVE school visits. They take a lot of preparation and energy, but something magical happens during that sharing time with young readers and writers. It’s always a privilege to explore stories and the creative process with kids.

Can you give us any tips on what makes a good school visit?

Starting small is a good way to get your feet wet — volunteering to lead a writing activity in your child’s classroom, for instance. Teachers usually love exposing their students to folks who are passionate about reading and writing and who have something to offer which reinforces what they are teaching.

Your first school visit doesn’t have to be a full-fledged paying author visit with 400 kids on a gym floor. Those are fun, too, but you can work up to that! I always enjoy tailoring programs to specific things the kids are learning. If I can present concepts in a fun and different way, everybody wins!

In a memorable school visit, the author’s passions — for writing and for subject matter — shine through, and he or she is comfortable leading a group of enthusiastic children. Kids, like wolves, thrive on leadership and mutual respect!

You make school visits sound like fun! Do you have any advice for moms who would love to write books for children, but need to carve out a little time and space to create?

First, don’t give up! When I was a stay-at-home mom with small children, sometimes the best I could do was keep my little toe in the waters of writing. But parenting is the most important job on the planet, and when kids are small, it doesn’t leave room for much else (unless maybe you have lots of family members around who love to babysit). Even though my kids are teenagers now, that family-work balance can still be a challenge.

That said, it’s important to take your talents/gifts/interests seriously, or nobody else will. (They still might not even if you do!) If you can leave Dad or Grandma or a trusted friend in charge for a weekend, a conference can be a wonderful break from your daily demands and source of inspiration, for now or for later.

Just think — 24 to 48 hours of adult conversation about children’s books? Ahhhhh. I’ve been a regular conference attendee since my kids were little, and the focused attention to craft not only helps my work, but the networking and friendships continue to enrich my life.

On the home front, even if you can eke out only a few minutes a day to write a paragraph or jot down project ideas or read an article on publishing, take that time. And know that some other “stuff” will not get done. But you’ll be modeling the nurturing of your own gifts for your children, and that’s valuable.

Your husband and children, wonderful as they are, are probably not going to tell you, “Honey/Mom — the world really needs your creative vision. Here, we’ll do all the laundry and grocery shopping and remain quietly in the background while you finish your story.” So you have to believe in yourself and claim a little territory!

Ha! You’re too funny! That does sound like a dream conversation! Can you tell us your number one secret for getting published?

Still working on that …. Actually, speaking of conferences, I have to say getting involved in SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) is my number one piece of advice to anyone who wants to jump into the world of writing and/or illustrating for children.

Our Southern Breeze region is very active with lots of dedicated, generous folks. Having said that, it’s important to remember that all the networking in the world — all the blogging, web-surfing, book reviewing — is not a substitute for actually writing.

The most important thing to do if you are serious about writing for children is to develop your craft by reading lots of books in the genres you want to write, and then to write, write, write.

Thanks for this great advice! Here’s one last question, and then I’ll let you get back to your own writing! What are you working on these days?

I recently finished my first novel (round one, anyway) and have sent it off to the first editor on my list. It’s historical fiction and required tons of research! I’ll keep you posted if it receives any interest.

I have a couple of picture book projects I’m hoping to find homes for, and I continue to write and submit poetry. I’m fortunate to have some great critique group partners, and my husband and kids are used to my shoving new works under their noses for feedback. My daughter just left for college, and I’ve already emailed her some works-in-progress!

Thank you SO much, Robyn! You’ve given all of us some wonderful, practical ideas on how to give our creative life the push it needs to meet the real world of publishing. We wish you the best with your future endeavors!

Thank you again for having me, and best wishes in your parenting and writing!

Please visit Robyn Hood Black’s website to keep up with her exciting world of writing. You can also hear Robyn speak IN PERSON at the upcoming SCBWI Southern Breeze Writing & Illustrating for Kids Conference! She’ll be co-presenting two workshops with writer and media specialist Sharon Wright Mitchell on breaking into magazines and how to create successful school visits that tie into curriculum.

We went and saw Eat Pray Love last weekend. I just had to see it, even though I haven’t read the book yet. (I’ve got it on hold at the library, so it should be coming soon.) I was so curious about this story — a woman’s year-long spiritual memoir, as she travels through Italy, India, and Indonesia. Eat Pray Love. What a great title.

The book, which came out four years ago, is a true phenomenon. It’s #1 on the New York Times bestseller list in paperback nonfiction, and it’s made the list for 180 consecutive weeks. The author, Elizabeth Gilbert, has appeared on Oprah Winfrey telling her story, and of course now it’s a blockbuster movie starring Julia Roberts.

But I went to the movie not knowing much about the book, so I confess it was a little messy and confusing for me — real life is never as neat and tidy as fiction. This movie is a woman’s true story — a very brave woman in my opinion, and I admire her for being a writer willing to share it.

The film opens showing us the glamorous life Julia Roberts/Liz Gilbert is leading: she’s a travel writer based in New York who seemingly has it all: a cute husband who’s crazy about her, a beautiful home, career success with travel assignments around the world. What more could she want?

Yet something is amiss — Liz is unhappy. Although it’s not clear in the movie, she apparently doesn’t want to have a baby. She holds her friend’s baby and asks her, “How did you know you wanted this?” and her friend shows her a box full of little baby clothes that she’s kept for years. Liz then discloses that she’s kept this same type of box … full of magazine clips about travel destinations she longs to visit. She’s confused, and so are we, the movie watchers.

Liz decides to divorce her husband, and this bothered me the whole movie. It was the first time I can remember not sympathizing with a main character. I kept wanting her to wake up and realize she’d made a mistake — but she leaves her old life behind to embark on new adventures. She has a fling with an actor, who’s not quite as tantalizing when they’re in the laundry mat, broke, folding clothes together.

So Liz decides to see the world — these three “I” countries, Italy, India, Indonesia, as she explores her inner “I” and tries to heal from the mess she’s made of her life. Here’s something else that confused me — the movie doesn’t make it clear where she gets the money to do this. There was no scene where Liz approaches her agent or editor and snags a six-figure advance (as she does in real life) to finance her travels. The whole movie I kept wondering, “How does she have enough money to do this?” But in reality, she’s been paid up front to write a book.

So it’s a little similar to the Julie and Julia story and movie, except Julie Powell wrote her year-long blog first, which got picked up by a publisher and turned into a book, then a movie. Gilbert’s book idea was sold before she left, then her travels became a book, which became a movie. OK. See, I’m making this easy for you, so you won’t be as confused as I was.

The film itself is gorgeous. I loved traveling right along with Liz/Julia as she experiences the world far from the madding crowd of New York. (And oh, you’ll want to dive head-first into that Italian pasta!) I looked around the packed theater at people of all sizes and ages, realizing most of us couldn’t afford to travel even for a week to one of these countries. Yet for less than 10 bucks, we’re getting to eat, pray, and love our way through three. Pizza and gelato in Italy, silence and prayer in India, and fresh air and romance in Bali. *sigh.*

There are many reasons for seeing a movie, and here’s one where you’ll spend your money to escape, and that’s OK. For all of us scribblers, the fun part is that Liz is writing the whole time — emails back home, journal entries, tap-tap-tap into her laptop, as she’s forming her thoughts into a book. We can relate to this.

One more confusing thing I’ll clear up: the actress Julia Roberts is 42, although the woman she’s playing was only 31 when she took off on her journey. I think that’s an important point. As I watched the film, I personally felt relieved that I’d gotten most of my traveling out of my system in my early to mid-20s before marriage.

So back to that point I made in the beginning — I couldn’t sympathize with Liz who left her husband because she was unhappy. I kept thinking — why didn’t she and her husband travel together? That seems like more fun to me. When I watched Sandra Bullock in The Blind Side, I sympathized with her the whole movie, as did everybody. Liz is a more complex character, that’s for sure.

If you want to find out more nitty-gritty details about the PG-13 rating, check out the Plugged-In review. I definitely wouldn’t take any of my kids to see it. This is a movie you go see on a girls-night-out, in my opinion. But be prepared — the ending is a surprise for those who haven’t read the book.

Which I plan to do very soon!

My children have been praying every day for the 33 miners who’ve been trapped inside a gold and copper mine in Chile since August 5. I can’t get this story out of my mind. We pray for them together every afternoon and every night, and their classmates are all praying for them every morning at school.

Romans 12:12 tells us to “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” How in the world can these 33 men hold on to hope when they’ve been stuck in a dark hole a half-mile beneath the earth’s surface for nearly three weeks?

I love this photo, showing the president of Chile holding a note that was scribbled by one of the miners, and sent up by a drill. It says
Estamos bien en el refugio los 33 which translates to “All 33 of us are fine in the shelter.” Oh wow. The note was sent up after they’d been missing for 17 days.

This story will continue, and we’ll continue to pray for their safe rescue. I don’t know how to answer all the questions my 7-year-old asks, but he’s completely in awe of these men’s struggle to survive. I think God speaks to the tender hearts of children to remind us busy adults what’s really important in life.

Engineers are estimating it may take four months to bring each man back to the surface safely. Until that moment, we’ll keep praying together.

*photo source: Hector Retamal, Associated Press

It’s taken me a while to write this post, as I’ve tried to process everything I learned and experienced at Hutchmoot a couple of weeks ago in Nashville. If you’re not familiar with The Rabbit Room, you’re probably wondering what in the world I’m talking about.

The Rabbit Room is a group blog founded by musician/writer Andrew Peterson, composed of like-minded souls who share a common interest in art, film, books, and music as expressions of the Christian faith. After three years of online fellowship, the group decided to congregate in the flesh in Nashville; hence the “hutch” of rabbit roomers holding a “moot” or meeting.

My husband and I decided to attend together, since his brother and a couple of old friends would also be there. And since the date coincided with our 16th wedding anniversary, we thought we’d spend a day at the conference, then a day hiking outdoors, celebrating our marriage.

I signed up quickly (with a little encouragement from Lanier), checking it off my to-do list back in early May, but then I began to feel guilty once I read the news that “the hutch was full” after only a few days. The conference organizers decided to limit the attendees to around 100 people, due to space limitations and to foster a more intimate fellowship. There were people from around the world writing in dismay that they’d wanted to come, but now couldn’t.

Why me? I wanted to know. Why did God open the door for me to go when others couldn’t?

As the date neared, I had major second thoughts. It was the weekend right after my son started a new high school — how could we just skip out of town during his major life transition? My other kids were in the midst of needing me to shop for new fall shoes and other last-minute supplies. Plus, we’d be missing their school orientation as well.

“Maybe we should stay home,” I told my husband at least 20 times.

“No, let’s go,” he said. “You need a break. The kids will be fine.” We’re surrounded by doting grandparents, so childcare wasn’t a problem.

So we went, with me agonizing the whole way there that I’d snagged someone else more worthy’s spot. A serious Rabbit Room contributor, instead of me, who skims posts while taking a break from washing dishes and folding clothes.

I thought maybe I could hide in the back shadows, scribbling a few notes, hoping no one would ask me any questions. There was a reading list, and I never got around to any of the books, save the few I’d read years ago. What if there’s a discussion session? I worried. I’m not in the same league with these people. I wore a black sweater and black skirt, all the better for disappearing into quiet corners.

But here came the surprise.

The Hutch was full of incredibly NICE people.

Everyone I talked to was so interesting, and some were like me, mostly lovers of great literature without any significant works of our own. I met a lady from Texas, who confessed she “blogged a little” now and then, while raising and schooling her children. I got to tell Father Thomas McKenzie how much I enjoy his One-Minute movie reviews, and how I took our kids to see three movies this summer based on his reviews.

I met both Peterson brothers: Andrew and Pete, who put this event together. Andrew kindly signed his two Wingfeather Saga books for my son, including North! Or Be Eaten, which won the Christy award back in June. That assuaged my mother-guilt, since I’d be bringing something home.

We attended sessions discussing the works of C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, Flannery O’Conner, and Annie Dillard. We listened to Walt Wangerin, Jr, author of The Book of the Dun Cow, give an awe-inspiring Saturday evening keynote address. The Church of the Redeemer, where the conference met, was a gorgeous building, with a sanctuary full of light streaming in through stained glass windows. Every wall displayed unique pieces of artwork. The quiet, candlelit rooms helped me feel less anxious.

I found myself having a great time! I shopped in the Rabbit Room store and picked up two handmade coffee mugs and a stack of beloved new and used books. And the food … the food was out of this world, catered by artist/chef Evie Coates, who made every dish both beautiful and tasty.

We missed a couple of the concerts, and instead of returning for more great teaching and fellowship on Sunday, we headed for the hills of Tennessee, hiking along the waterfalls of Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park. The sound of rushing water felt like God speaking to me, reminding me how awesome is His love for each of us. Even if we don’t consider ourselves worthy.

More than anything, Hutchmoot helped me have a greater definition of what it means to be a Christian Artist. Pastor Russ Ramsey shared with us a quote from Annie Dillard, who says in The Writing Life: “There is no shortage of good days. It is good lives that are hard to come by.”

I am living the Good Life now. My art may be nothing more than arranging blueberries on top of steaming oatmeal eaten by children who are dashing off to school … but for me, that’s a display of my love, and it’s what I’ve created. I can collect great works of literature and hand them to young growing minds who will outlive me, and will carry the words of these masters into the next century.

That’s what I brought home from the Hutchmoot fellowship.

If you’d like to read what others who were there have to say about it, check out the Hutchmoot Hub.