First Date

Ok, so not really. But in a way it definitely was. Julie and I went to eat lunch and see the movie "Fireproof" starring Kirk Cameron this afternoon.

Who watched the kids? For the first time ever, someone not related to either one of us - a paid babysitter! Julie and I have made a covenant to "date" each other more often and since neither of us has an abundance of local family (nor do we want to impose on said family all the time), we hired a babysitter. As with so many things in our life, God provided the perfect solution just when we needed it. Lisa is a high school student who lives just down the street from us and is looking for babysitter jobs. Perfect!

Julie and I left to a somewhat reluctant Matthew and an over-joyed Kelley. Kelley LOVES Lisa, so much so that during about ten minutes when she was playing outside on the driveway last weekend, she decided to go pay her a visit. By herself. Lisa brought her back. Kelley and I had a little chat.

We went to lunch at our favorite restaurant, Boston's. I had a Caesar salad (REALLY big breakfast, different story) and Julie had the Salmon Salad. The only unwelcome distraction was the Purdue-Penn State game in the background. Just to make things worse, it appeared to be a 0-0 game in the third quarter which would have been an incredible upset for Purdue. Anyways, we had a very enjoyable lunch and then ran over to Wal-Mart to pick up GIRL STUFF (ribbons and bows, ugh) on our way to the movie.

I'd heard a fair bit about "Fireproof" before we went to see it but all I really knew was that Kirk Cameron played a firefighter embroiled in a bitter marriage dispute trying to save it from divorce. It was really a pleasant surprise. I expected it to be poignant, Godly and a touching story of reconciliation. What I did not expect was a movie that personally touched me, made me laugh, made me cry, held me in suspense, and excited me with great action and intensity. The movie doesn't pull cheap Hollywood punches and sticks to its story truly from one side to the other. It is an excellent movie, for Christians and non-believers alike.

When we came back, Lisa was entertaining the kids with Play Doh in the Dining Room. They had made a birthday cake and a big yellow ball. Apparently the play-doh cows Lisa made were lost in a savage incident that was cleaned up before we arrived.

After we paid Lisa and sent her on her way, we asked the kids to grade her and Kelley said "Ten Thumbs up!" Julie said, "Kelley, we only have eight thumbs." Kelley said, "Lisa has two thumbs too!"

Ugh, she's so cute it's sick.