I hadn’t thought of this before, but Leap Day is the perfect day to celebrate Rare Rocks. This whole year is really a celebration of the Uncommon. Every other year is just a common year, but Leap Year is called the Uncommon Year.

Fortunately, Leap Years are actually more of a Common Uncommon. I mean, they roll around every four years, making them special but not freakishly strange. I think Rare Rocks are like that. We are trying to live a life that stands above the frey, believing in a Spirit world and the God who made it. We are striving for virtue and living in a way that tries to make a difference at least in our own respective corners of the world. We may be few, but we are mighty.

When I was 11, Halley’s Comet came through our part of the Universe. This is a once in a lifetime event (basically – someone could catch it twice, but since it appears every 75 years, one of those times they probably won’t remember it). We prepared for it in school for weeks, reading all about comets and stars. Halley’s Comet is Uncommon.

But, like Leap Day, a Rare Rock is more of a Common Uncommon.  We are rare enough to be exceedingly valuable, but common enough to wear everyday. We are royalty, but we live among the people. The Common Uncommon.

So, today we celebrate the Common Uncommon. How should we do it? Good question.  I had breakfast with my sister, one of the first Rare Rocks I ever knew. It isn’t something we get to do as often as we would like and there was no special occasion (except Leap Day, now that I think about it). And we ate and talked too much and laughed. By our presence, we celebrated each other, which is, in a way, celebrating the Common Uncommon.

You’ll love Serenity’s post about the Oscar party her friend Michelle threw for her. Red carpet and everything!

I wasn’t home and I don’t get ABC anyway, but I did catch some clips on YouTube, especially those mentioned by Seren. I loved the winning song from Once. That was beautiful. Almost as lovely were the acceptance speeches of the writers (who were also the actors in the movie). They were all about believing in your dreams and not giving up. (In really cute accents, which only serves to reinforce the magic!)

But my favorite part came when Jon Stewart brought the girl back out after the commercial break. She had been cut off and didn’t get a chance to give her acceptance. Stewart ushered her toward the microphone and said, “Enjoy your moment!”

How insightful of him. That was her moment and if he hadn’t stepped in, it would have been robbed from her. How gallant.  I teared up a little after he said that. He is Hollywood, afterall, and sometimes we imagine that they have no idea what matters to people in the real world. But in that gesture, he knew.

I loved it. It was my favorite part.

I just spent the morning with my sister. We weren’t in the same town, but we hung out together while we fed our children and surfed the Internet. It was awesome. Thank you, MacBook camera!

Sometimes I worry that the conveniences of the digital age are more trouble than they are worth, but when I can spend a quiet morning with my 8 month-old AND my sister – while we are both in the warm comfort of our own homes – this is SWEET!

Here we are video chatting with Aunt Serenity:

It is good to be loved! Here is the valentine I got from my oldest son yesterday:

Isn’t he dreamy?

Cleaning up around the house on Saturday night I came across all the various remnants of a relaxing “Stay-Home Day.” Crumbs in the carpet, sippy cups under the coffee table, and crayons in the sofa cushions were just a few of the offenders. The most telling find was a pile beside the bathroom door; it included a satin Cinderella gown, a tube of lip-gloss, and a blue light saber.

I’m not sure which girl dropped all of this at the last moment before she jumped into the bathtub, but it is indeed a fair reflection of the day. My son, Jesse, is in full-on Star Wars mode. His little sisters are doing their best to be right in the mix.

It is a balancing act, this job of being a woman-warrior, but with the right ratio of strength and glam, it is also a lot of fun.

This is Macy’s favorite thing to do: smile at the baby in the mirror. After all, she’s so cute and always laughs at the same jokes! At her daycare, a huge mirror is screwed into the wall right at floor level. Macy loves to crawl over there and talk to her little friend.

I think we could learn something from this. How many of us are comfortable with ourselves? Do you like you? It might be a good place to start when we’re looking at remodeling our character. Would you want to be your friend?

A Rare Rock should have this kind of confidence, not a shallow persona that actually disguises insecurity, but a genuine sense of acceptance. This week my Teaching class learned that the basic theme of the Bible is reconciliation – it begins with God and humankind in perfect harmony, follows with the story of our separation from Him and His eventual incarnation for our rescue, and concludes with the promise of an eventual eternity together. For us to grasp this concept of reconciliation at all, we have to begin with the simple truth that God made us and has a plan for us to be in perfect relationship with Him, despite our failures.

So test yourself today. Look at yourself in the mirror and say, “Hello, Pretty Baby!” And smile. If you don’t like what you see, remember that God is in the business of beautifying us. Just ask for His help: 1) to see you as He sees you and 2) to embrace the changes He wants to help you make.

This story is hilarious! Here is my favorite ornament (for this game today anyway – I actually have a tree full of paper gingerbread men and popsicle-stick Christmas trees from my kids this year and those HAVE to be my real favorites):

Since I can’t seem to get that image to flip, it says: “First Born (Mom’s Favorite).” AND, my mom gave it to me so you KNOW it is true. Here’s the funny part: my little sister Charity has one that says “Youngest (Mom’s Favorite).” Of course, there was a “Middle Child (Mom’s Favorite)” that my mom tried to order for Serenity, but, guess what? It was BACK-ORDERED indefinitely! True story.