Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Just Get Over It
Hello everyone!! This'll be short... I've gotta go pick up Bee from Mr. and Mrs. Music's house where she is playing with Dora and then head home to put everyone in bed, do some laundry, and clean-up the house a little before my mom comes over tomorrow. The laundry is once again an issue. I feel like a broken record.... I gotta do laundry, skip, I gotta do laundry, skip, I gotta do laundry... I'm in a slump right now and can't get out. I don't want to clean my house. I don't want to do laundry. I don't want to pack lunches. I don't want to get out of bed. I need a long winter's nap, but don't have the time to have one. I can't seem to get the "gumption" up to get anything productive done though. Help.... what's wrong with me!! My hair needs cut really, really bad. I look like a slob right now no matter what I do with it. I finally made an appointment to get it cut on Friday afternoon a few hours ago. It's a new person... actually it's our children's minister. She's a licensed beautician and does hair on Friday's. My shoe has a rip and I can't afford to get new shoes and a haircut. And I havn't spoken to either of my best-friends or Cleanin' Cuz '75 for days now..... Okay, shutting up now!! I love you guys and I thank you for allowing me this safe place to vent and be annoyingly whiney!!
Bad Quote of the Day
"Some people are like slinkies... although they serve no real purpose.... they still bring a smile to your face when you push them down the stairs."
Isn't that horrible? I still laughed when I read it though!
Isn't that horrible? I still laughed when I read it though!
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Yes, I'm Still Here
Man I've missed everyone. My computer is officially dead so I'm having to do all my computer stuff at church right now. I've been trying to read everyone's posts, but just don't have time to post myself too. Hopefully we'll be getting our settlement money from the wreck soon and I can get a new one then.
Anyway, we're all better. Prophet and D.K. went back to school yesterday. Prophet and Bee are still coughing, but that'll probably last for awhile, especially Prophet's cough. He'll hack for a few more weeks yet. He's at basketball practice with Smart Guy right now, hopefully he's not hacking up a lung while he's running around.
It's freakin' cold here. The wind chill was around seven below when we got up this morning. It snowed during the night and has continued to flurry really hard, wierd I know, all day today. It so windy that walking outside is miserable. I just have to keep reminding myself that I love my mom dearly and I really do love living back in the midwest rather than the much more comfortable Alabama. Although I hear it's pretty durn cold down there for them right now too. It's supposed to snow more tonight and tomorrow night. It seems like it's snowed alot here, but we hardly have anything on the ground because the wind just keeps blowing it away. I'm gonna feel really cheated if I don't get a good snowstorm this first winter back in the midwest.
Last night we were in Toys R Us exchanging a toy that D.K. had gotten for Christmas because he already had it. We were the only ones there, I've never seen the place so quiet in my life. Anyway, we walked down the Disney princess aisle and Bee saw a package of princess makeup... ya know, the little nail polish's, lip glosses and such. She looked at it and said "Mommy, I soooo totally need that for my birthday." I about busted-a-gut laughin' at her. Then she turned around and there sat the Little Mermaid kitchen that she's been pleading for for months. I have told her no several times because she already has a little tikes kitchen in her room. When she looked at that, she said, "I sooo don't have room for that in my bedroom." I'm sooooo totally sure she's spending too much time with the teens. She's hilarious.
We spent an hour in there and D.K. didn't get anything with his money from the exchange. He's like his mother, he has to make sure it's just the right thing for the right money and he doesn't wanna have to regret spending his money. Prophet on the other hand, took his money in and spent it on some crazy spy-gadget thing that'll probably break in a week or so anyway. I tried to talk him out of it, but he went back to it 3 times, so I finally gave in. It's his money after all. Could be a tough lesson learned though.
I'm having a colonoscopy and a gastrocopy (sp) both next Monday. So basically, I'm having a tube stuck in both ends of my digestive tract. Sounds like fun doesn't it!! The best part is the sedation, it's very relaxing. The worst part is the prep the day before. The stuff you have to swallow is horrible tasting and I've never managed to keep it all down without throwing half of it up. Somehow though I always manage to get everything cleaned out of there so the doctor so can see what he needs to see. Oh yah, the other fun part about the colonoscopy is the air they pump into your colon so the tube can go in. Well, putting the air in isn't much fun I guess, but the ginormous release of air the first time you sit on the potty afterwards is hilarious and very relaxing. LOL!! I know I'm wierd.
Bee's MRI for yesterday has been rescheduled for Feb. 9. She's still coughing and they can't do it when your coughing because you'll just ruin the pictures. Hopefully the cough will be gone by then.
Well, Smart Guy and Prophet will be back soon and we're gonna go get pizza. It's family night at our Pizza Hut. The kids eat free, get free ice cream, they have a clown who makes balloon things. It's alot of fun in a mommy and daddy sort of way. Hopefully I can get back on here tomorrow some time, if not I'll catch up as soon as I can. 'Til then, I love y'all and miss chatting alot!!
Anyway, we're all better. Prophet and D.K. went back to school yesterday. Prophet and Bee are still coughing, but that'll probably last for awhile, especially Prophet's cough. He'll hack for a few more weeks yet. He's at basketball practice with Smart Guy right now, hopefully he's not hacking up a lung while he's running around.
It's freakin' cold here. The wind chill was around seven below when we got up this morning. It snowed during the night and has continued to flurry really hard, wierd I know, all day today. It so windy that walking outside is miserable. I just have to keep reminding myself that I love my mom dearly and I really do love living back in the midwest rather than the much more comfortable Alabama. Although I hear it's pretty durn cold down there for them right now too. It's supposed to snow more tonight and tomorrow night. It seems like it's snowed alot here, but we hardly have anything on the ground because the wind just keeps blowing it away. I'm gonna feel really cheated if I don't get a good snowstorm this first winter back in the midwest.
Last night we were in Toys R Us exchanging a toy that D.K. had gotten for Christmas because he already had it. We were the only ones there, I've never seen the place so quiet in my life. Anyway, we walked down the Disney princess aisle and Bee saw a package of princess makeup... ya know, the little nail polish's, lip glosses and such. She looked at it and said "Mommy, I soooo totally need that for my birthday." I about busted-a-gut laughin' at her. Then she turned around and there sat the Little Mermaid kitchen that she's been pleading for for months. I have told her no several times because she already has a little tikes kitchen in her room. When she looked at that, she said, "I sooo don't have room for that in my bedroom." I'm sooooo totally sure she's spending too much time with the teens. She's hilarious.
We spent an hour in there and D.K. didn't get anything with his money from the exchange. He's like his mother, he has to make sure it's just the right thing for the right money and he doesn't wanna have to regret spending his money. Prophet on the other hand, took his money in and spent it on some crazy spy-gadget thing that'll probably break in a week or so anyway. I tried to talk him out of it, but he went back to it 3 times, so I finally gave in. It's his money after all. Could be a tough lesson learned though.
I'm having a colonoscopy and a gastrocopy (sp) both next Monday. So basically, I'm having a tube stuck in both ends of my digestive tract. Sounds like fun doesn't it!! The best part is the sedation, it's very relaxing. The worst part is the prep the day before. The stuff you have to swallow is horrible tasting and I've never managed to keep it all down without throwing half of it up. Somehow though I always manage to get everything cleaned out of there so the doctor so can see what he needs to see. Oh yah, the other fun part about the colonoscopy is the air they pump into your colon so the tube can go in. Well, putting the air in isn't much fun I guess, but the ginormous release of air the first time you sit on the potty afterwards is hilarious and very relaxing. LOL!! I know I'm wierd.
Bee's MRI for yesterday has been rescheduled for Feb. 9. She's still coughing and they can't do it when your coughing because you'll just ruin the pictures. Hopefully the cough will be gone by then.
Well, Smart Guy and Prophet will be back soon and we're gonna go get pizza. It's family night at our Pizza Hut. The kids eat free, get free ice cream, they have a clown who makes balloon things. It's alot of fun in a mommy and daddy sort of way. Hopefully I can get back on here tomorrow some time, if not I'll catch up as soon as I can. 'Til then, I love y'all and miss chatting alot!!
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Have To Share
While I was browzing around the internet earlier, Bee was in and out of the room playing and talking up a storm. After awhile she said "Mommy look they all have blue eyes." I turned around not knowing what she was talking about. She had brought in 10 dolls and sat them all up in a straight row. She's right, every single one of her snow white dolls has got blue eyes... how observant of her... I had never thought about it before.
Friday, January 26, 2007
On the Mend, I Think
Hello!! Yes, I'm still alive, just fried!! D.K. seems to be on the mend. He hasn't had a fever since last night and his coughing has pretty much stopped. He says his throat hurts a little and he's still hoarse, but at least he's not hackin' up a lung. Bee hasn't had a fever since last night, but she's still coughing... some of it for the simple drama of it all. She's still a little hoarse. BTW did you know that it's really irritating to have an almost four year old with a hoarse voice when she thinks it sounds cool to talk with her hoarse voice. She was doing things like saying her abc's just so she could hear her weird sounding voice. Yep, she's officially strange, but then again she's my child so she doesn't stand much chance of being completely normal.
That leaves Prophet. I thought his fever was gone as he hadn't had one since last night even without motrin or tylenol. Then around 7:30, he curled up in a semicomatose ball wrapped in a blanket in one of the living room chairs and started hacking up his innards and gagging. I felt him and knew he was running a temp again, although he didn't feel as warm as before. It was 100.4, so it's not as high as before, but still there. His first basketball game is tomorrow morning. He's not going. Even if his temp does come down, all he'd do is cough as he runs around, so he's skipping his first game. I feel so bad for him. Grannie and Pa were even gonna come over and go to his game. The kids didn't want me to call and tell them he wasn't gonna play and just let them show up to spend the morning here at the house. I called anyway. They're still coming to see us and have lunch before they go home.
I have to say, the flexibility of my job at the church has been great this week while everyone's been sick. I can stay home with them all during the morning and early afternoon and then Smart Guy comes home and stays with them while I go to the church and clean for a few hours. It's really worked out pretty well.
Normally I work while the boys are in school during the day, so there's always other people in the building. At one point late this afternoon, I realized that I was alone in that huge building. I think I've mentioned before what a huge chicken-little I am... Yah, I got a little freaked out and convinced myself that if anyone came in and tried to get me that the Windex in my hand would be a great weapon if sprayed into someone's eyes. I know, I'm crazy, but in my defense I never claimed otherwise.
Growing up I attended two churches. One until I was in fifth grade and the other (where I met Inkling, Farmwife, Silver Belle, and Queen Mother) from then until I got married. Both of those buildings were broken into and robbed. The one that I went to after fifth grade actually wasn't broken into. If I remember correctly, (Queen Mother or Silver Belle can correct me if my kid memory is wrong) they believe that the person was in the building when everything was locked up for the day. The office area was always locked up separately from the rest of the building, but whoever broke-in went up thru the ceiling tiles to get in and take stuff. Creepy huh!!
When we lived in Winchester, KY I was the last one to leave the building on the Sunday afternoon before V.B.S. started the next day. I was directing that year and had a bunch of us up there decorating for the week. The office area in that building had a hallway that led to all the offices and it had a door that was always shut and locked when no one was there. I turned off the light to walk down the hallway, past the office hallway door, to go out to the parking lot and noticed that the office door was open, but not all the way. It was never left in this particular position as you couldn't get into the hallway unless it was pushed all the way open up against the hallway wall. I remember thinking it seemed odd and started to reach into the hallway to grab the door and shut it, but I got spooked and started running for the door just to get out of the empty building. The next morning when the administrative assistant got there to open up the building, all the offices in the hallway had been broken into with force. Whoever did it pried all the doors open and stole the petty cash, witch wasn't much. I always believed that whoever it was that did it was probably standing behind that half-open door already, having come in while the doors were unlocked, because there was no evidence of anyone breaking into the building. The thought that if I had stepped inside the hallway to grab that door and close it I might have spotted that person still haunts me to this day and that was five years ago.
So, anyway, my point is that I have reason to be somewhat skittish in a huge empty building all by myself. I'm not totally crazy.
I haven't said much about it, but I love the job. It's working out great for us. Bee has a toybox in her daddy's office now full of stuff just for when she's at the church with me. She likes to follow me around with her baby in her doll stroller. Sometimes she colors. Sometimes she uses a rag and "cleans" the walls in the room I'm working in. Sometimes she curls up in the chair in Smart Guy's office to watch a DVD on the portable player and falls asleep. And like I said, this week it's worked great. Of course Smart Guy's job is also flexible so that has helped this week too.
Bee has the MRI on her eyes next Wednesday. They have to knock her out so she won't move, which means an IV. That's not fun. She hates it and usually ends up climbing the walls for a few seconds while they put it in and then tells me about it 30 times before they put her to sleep. She can't have anything to eat when she wakes up that morning until after the test, which is always fun. At least she's a little older now and I can talk to her. When she was a baby, she just knew she was hungry and wanted to eat. Please pray that all goes smooth and that the tumors have either stayed the same size, shrunk, or even disappeared altogether. If they've grown, we'll have to start discussing what our options are for her in the future and I really don't wanna have to do that.
The temp outside was a little warmer today. I actually didn't even notice that the heat was still set at 62 until 7:00 this evening. We spent most of our day upstairs and it doesn't get as cool up here and the sun was shining in the kitchen keeping it warm during the day. But after the sun went down, it got cold down there.
Ruby emailed me pictures of Miss HDYST yesterday. She's gorgeous and looks like her daddy. I have to get out the baby pictures of Missy Moo Moo (trust me when I say I've got almost as many of her as I have of my own children), because Ruby says she looks like her as a baby. I need a reminder. I have a mental image of Missy Moo Moo as a three month old or so, but not newborn.
Well everyone, I've got to get to bed a little earlier than the last few nights. I hope I can fall asleep earlier tonight than the last few nights. Good night!! I love you all!!
That leaves Prophet. I thought his fever was gone as he hadn't had one since last night even without motrin or tylenol. Then around 7:30, he curled up in a semicomatose ball wrapped in a blanket in one of the living room chairs and started hacking up his innards and gagging. I felt him and knew he was running a temp again, although he didn't feel as warm as before. It was 100.4, so it's not as high as before, but still there. His first basketball game is tomorrow morning. He's not going. Even if his temp does come down, all he'd do is cough as he runs around, so he's skipping his first game. I feel so bad for him. Grannie and Pa were even gonna come over and go to his game. The kids didn't want me to call and tell them he wasn't gonna play and just let them show up to spend the morning here at the house. I called anyway. They're still coming to see us and have lunch before they go home.
I have to say, the flexibility of my job at the church has been great this week while everyone's been sick. I can stay home with them all during the morning and early afternoon and then Smart Guy comes home and stays with them while I go to the church and clean for a few hours. It's really worked out pretty well.
Normally I work while the boys are in school during the day, so there's always other people in the building. At one point late this afternoon, I realized that I was alone in that huge building. I think I've mentioned before what a huge chicken-little I am... Yah, I got a little freaked out and convinced myself that if anyone came in and tried to get me that the Windex in my hand would be a great weapon if sprayed into someone's eyes. I know, I'm crazy, but in my defense I never claimed otherwise.
Growing up I attended two churches. One until I was in fifth grade and the other (where I met Inkling, Farmwife, Silver Belle, and Queen Mother) from then until I got married. Both of those buildings were broken into and robbed. The one that I went to after fifth grade actually wasn't broken into. If I remember correctly, (Queen Mother or Silver Belle can correct me if my kid memory is wrong) they believe that the person was in the building when everything was locked up for the day. The office area was always locked up separately from the rest of the building, but whoever broke-in went up thru the ceiling tiles to get in and take stuff. Creepy huh!!
When we lived in Winchester, KY I was the last one to leave the building on the Sunday afternoon before V.B.S. started the next day. I was directing that year and had a bunch of us up there decorating for the week. The office area in that building had a hallway that led to all the offices and it had a door that was always shut and locked when no one was there. I turned off the light to walk down the hallway, past the office hallway door, to go out to the parking lot and noticed that the office door was open, but not all the way. It was never left in this particular position as you couldn't get into the hallway unless it was pushed all the way open up against the hallway wall. I remember thinking it seemed odd and started to reach into the hallway to grab the door and shut it, but I got spooked and started running for the door just to get out of the empty building. The next morning when the administrative assistant got there to open up the building, all the offices in the hallway had been broken into with force. Whoever did it pried all the doors open and stole the petty cash, witch wasn't much. I always believed that whoever it was that did it was probably standing behind that half-open door already, having come in while the doors were unlocked, because there was no evidence of anyone breaking into the building. The thought that if I had stepped inside the hallway to grab that door and close it I might have spotted that person still haunts me to this day and that was five years ago.
So, anyway, my point is that I have reason to be somewhat skittish in a huge empty building all by myself. I'm not totally crazy.
I haven't said much about it, but I love the job. It's working out great for us. Bee has a toybox in her daddy's office now full of stuff just for when she's at the church with me. She likes to follow me around with her baby in her doll stroller. Sometimes she colors. Sometimes she uses a rag and "cleans" the walls in the room I'm working in. Sometimes she curls up in the chair in Smart Guy's office to watch a DVD on the portable player and falls asleep. And like I said, this week it's worked great. Of course Smart Guy's job is also flexible so that has helped this week too.
Bee has the MRI on her eyes next Wednesday. They have to knock her out so she won't move, which means an IV. That's not fun. She hates it and usually ends up climbing the walls for a few seconds while they put it in and then tells me about it 30 times before they put her to sleep. She can't have anything to eat when she wakes up that morning until after the test, which is always fun. At least she's a little older now and I can talk to her. When she was a baby, she just knew she was hungry and wanted to eat. Please pray that all goes smooth and that the tumors have either stayed the same size, shrunk, or even disappeared altogether. If they've grown, we'll have to start discussing what our options are for her in the future and I really don't wanna have to do that.
The temp outside was a little warmer today. I actually didn't even notice that the heat was still set at 62 until 7:00 this evening. We spent most of our day upstairs and it doesn't get as cool up here and the sun was shining in the kitchen keeping it warm during the day. But after the sun went down, it got cold down there.
Ruby emailed me pictures of Miss HDYST yesterday. She's gorgeous and looks like her daddy. I have to get out the baby pictures of Missy Moo Moo (trust me when I say I've got almost as many of her as I have of my own children), because Ruby says she looks like her as a baby. I need a reminder. I have a mental image of Missy Moo Moo as a three month old or so, but not newborn.
Well everyone, I've got to get to bed a little earlier than the last few nights. I hope I can fall asleep earlier tonight than the last few nights. Good night!! I love you all!!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Another "Two" Bite the Dust
I went to the visitation for the gentleman who died over the weekend this evening. We stood in line for 45 minutes. He was a very loved man and there were many, many people who showed up for his wife and kids. When I hugged his wife I told her I was so sorry and her response was "It was fun... it was short, but it was fun." The strength she showed tonight amazed me. When I told her that Smart Guy wanted to be there but couldn't because all three kids were sick, her response was, "Everyone else's world doesn't come to a stop because my life has a blip in it." I love this woman. She's a wonderful example of a woman of integrity. I admire her strength and courage.
So yes you read that right... ALL THREE OF MY CHILDREN ARE NOW SICK!! Everyone is coughing and running fevers. D.K. joined Prophet this morning with a 100.4 temp and Bee joined them this evening just as I was leaving for the funeral home with a 101.6 temp. As I was walking out the door, I told Smart Guy to give her one teaspoon of nighttime cold and cough triaminic and one teaspoon of motrin. When I left for the funeral home, I left a very lethargic, hot, grumpy, and coughing Bee. When I came home however, she came bounding down the steps laughing her head off like a wild woman. I asked Smart Guy what he had given her and her said "Robitussin". NOOOOOOOO!! I told him to give her Triaminic nighttime, not Robitussin. That stuff makes my kids and myself bounce like Tigger. He gave it to her at 7:30, it lasts four hours. She just fell asleep since I started typing this. It lasted almost exactly four hours. I've got the alarm clock set for 1:30 so I can get up and give everyone another dose of medicine to keep their temps down and keep their coughs under control so they can sleep. I'm not worried about Bee and D.K., their little bodies get over things pretty easy. Prophet is another story. With his rough beginnings, he has always gotten sicker and stayed sicker longer than normal. Hopefully tomorrow will be the last day of being truly sick for him... we'll see. So, anyway, one more day of everyone home from school. Bee's gonna be ripped when she realizes that she's missed the pizza shop field trip that she's supposed to go on tomorrow. She so excited about it, but she has no concept of time yet and thinks it next week. I haven't wanted a meltdown, so I haven't told her any different as she talked about it this evening while high from her Robitussin. I'll break it to her gently next week sometime.... maybe she'll forget about it... hmmmm doubt it!!
Ruby and Miss HDYST are home from the hospital. The baby was sleeping while we talked and Missy Moo Moo was wanting to love on her. She's seriously intrigued with this new little person. I can't wait to see pictures of her. Ruby says she looks like Missy Moo Moo did when she was a baby. She was adorable. By the time she was about three months old, she had rolls on her rolls... all from momma's milk...nothing else. It was awesome!! Of course I was impressed, all of my babies have always been skinny things from birth on. They all eat like horses, they just stay skinny!! I'm trying to come up with a cheap and quick way to get out there to see them for a couple of days without any of my children. Wish me luck!! BTW, Mr. Debonair actually has six weeks of PAID paternity leave. Isn't that amazing? We certainly never had that. Smart Guy was back at work within a couple of days with each one. Churches just don't do the paid paternity leave thing!! I'm glad for Ruby, it'll be nice having him home for awhile!!
Well, it's late and I have to dose medicine in about an hour and a half, so now I must sleep!! Goodnight everyone!! Tomorrow!!
So yes you read that right... ALL THREE OF MY CHILDREN ARE NOW SICK!! Everyone is coughing and running fevers. D.K. joined Prophet this morning with a 100.4 temp and Bee joined them this evening just as I was leaving for the funeral home with a 101.6 temp. As I was walking out the door, I told Smart Guy to give her one teaspoon of nighttime cold and cough triaminic and one teaspoon of motrin. When I left for the funeral home, I left a very lethargic, hot, grumpy, and coughing Bee. When I came home however, she came bounding down the steps laughing her head off like a wild woman. I asked Smart Guy what he had given her and her said "Robitussin". NOOOOOOOO!! I told him to give her Triaminic nighttime, not Robitussin. That stuff makes my kids and myself bounce like Tigger. He gave it to her at 7:30, it lasts four hours. She just fell asleep since I started typing this. It lasted almost exactly four hours. I've got the alarm clock set for 1:30 so I can get up and give everyone another dose of medicine to keep their temps down and keep their coughs under control so they can sleep. I'm not worried about Bee and D.K., their little bodies get over things pretty easy. Prophet is another story. With his rough beginnings, he has always gotten sicker and stayed sicker longer than normal. Hopefully tomorrow will be the last day of being truly sick for him... we'll see. So, anyway, one more day of everyone home from school. Bee's gonna be ripped when she realizes that she's missed the pizza shop field trip that she's supposed to go on tomorrow. She so excited about it, but she has no concept of time yet and thinks it next week. I haven't wanted a meltdown, so I haven't told her any different as she talked about it this evening while high from her Robitussin. I'll break it to her gently next week sometime.... maybe she'll forget about it... hmmmm doubt it!!
Ruby and Miss HDYST are home from the hospital. The baby was sleeping while we talked and Missy Moo Moo was wanting to love on her. She's seriously intrigued with this new little person. I can't wait to see pictures of her. Ruby says she looks like Missy Moo Moo did when she was a baby. She was adorable. By the time she was about three months old, she had rolls on her rolls... all from momma's milk...nothing else. It was awesome!! Of course I was impressed, all of my babies have always been skinny things from birth on. They all eat like horses, they just stay skinny!! I'm trying to come up with a cheap and quick way to get out there to see them for a couple of days without any of my children. Wish me luck!! BTW, Mr. Debonair actually has six weeks of PAID paternity leave. Isn't that amazing? We certainly never had that. Smart Guy was back at work within a couple of days with each one. Churches just don't do the paid paternity leave thing!! I'm glad for Ruby, it'll be nice having him home for awhile!!
Well, it's late and I have to dose medicine in about an hour and a half, so now I must sleep!! Goodnight everyone!! Tomorrow!!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
We Are Bad Parents
Well, we broke a major parenting law tonight... at least one in our house. If you are too sick to go to school, if you live in our house that means you are too sick to do anything in the evening. Unfortunately this evening was Prophet's first basketball practice of the "season" (6 games). I told him this morning that if he stayed in bed all day under the vaporizer and if he was feeling better, that we'd let him go to practice. So he did, and we did. We all went along to cheer him on.
He's actually playing in the 6, 7, and 8 year old league. The next league up goes from 9-12. He's actually 9, but he's only in second grade and he's the size of most first graders, so they're letting him play with kids in his grade. I'm glad they let us do it. He at least has a chance with these kids. Not only would he have not been able to keep up with the older group, he also would have gotten seriously hurt. Even in this younger group, there's still bigger kids out there playing.
He's such a fun and happy kid. It's very hard to get him down. He got hit in the head with a stray ball three times tonight and then hit the gym floor at least three times and always smiled afterwards. He's a tough little turkey. I guess if your brain can take a grade 3 hemorrhage and hydrocephalus, heal itself with no intervention other than therapy, and still come out relatively okay, a simple knock to the skull with a basketball is nothing.
Anyway, he played his bahooney off and didn't really cough all that much, which really shocked me. He started dragging the last 10 minutes, but never came off the floor. I had told him that if he got too tired, he could come sit with us for awhile. He never did. He was too excited. It's been a long time since last years season ended.
We ate a late dinner at 7:00 or so. Then everyone headed upstairs to get on jammies, read books, pray, get doped up with nighttime cough meds, and go to sleep. Hopefully he doesn't cough all night. Last night, D.K. ended up on our floor because Prophet was keeping him awake coughing. Sometime during the night Bee also joined the party in our bedroom. Poor Prophet was the only one of the six of us, not in our bedroom by this morning. Anyway, Smart Guy is downstairs watching the State of the Union. Or to be more exact, rolling his eyes at most everything that comes out of the man's mouth. I was watching it, but after the third time I was about to hurl all over myself, I decided to come upstairs. I'll watch the stuff afterwards to hear what he said. Even if I don't agree with it, I can handle it better from someone else's mouth. Just looking at Bush is too much!!
Well, goodnight everyone!! Love to you all and lots of cyber hugs!!
He's actually playing in the 6, 7, and 8 year old league. The next league up goes from 9-12. He's actually 9, but he's only in second grade and he's the size of most first graders, so they're letting him play with kids in his grade. I'm glad they let us do it. He at least has a chance with these kids. Not only would he have not been able to keep up with the older group, he also would have gotten seriously hurt. Even in this younger group, there's still bigger kids out there playing.
He's such a fun and happy kid. It's very hard to get him down. He got hit in the head with a stray ball three times tonight and then hit the gym floor at least three times and always smiled afterwards. He's a tough little turkey. I guess if your brain can take a grade 3 hemorrhage and hydrocephalus, heal itself with no intervention other than therapy, and still come out relatively okay, a simple knock to the skull with a basketball is nothing.
Anyway, he played his bahooney off and didn't really cough all that much, which really shocked me. He started dragging the last 10 minutes, but never came off the floor. I had told him that if he got too tired, he could come sit with us for awhile. He never did. He was too excited. It's been a long time since last years season ended.
We ate a late dinner at 7:00 or so. Then everyone headed upstairs to get on jammies, read books, pray, get doped up with nighttime cough meds, and go to sleep. Hopefully he doesn't cough all night. Last night, D.K. ended up on our floor because Prophet was keeping him awake coughing. Sometime during the night Bee also joined the party in our bedroom. Poor Prophet was the only one of the six of us, not in our bedroom by this morning. Anyway, Smart Guy is downstairs watching the State of the Union. Or to be more exact, rolling his eyes at most everything that comes out of the man's mouth. I was watching it, but after the third time I was about to hurl all over myself, I decided to come upstairs. I'll watch the stuff afterwards to hear what he said. Even if I don't agree with it, I can handle it better from someone else's mouth. Just looking at Bush is too much!!
Well, goodnight everyone!! Love to you all and lots of cyber hugs!!
Why Not?
| You Are a Chocolate Chip Cookie |
 Traditional and conservative, most people find you comforting. You're friendly and easy to get to know. This makes you very popular - without even trying! |
Sick Kid
Okay, so I haven't posted more than a few words for days now, I know. Been busy, been thinkin' about some things, and gotta sick kid. I put in almost eight hours of my 15 hours for the week just yesterday. I wanted to get almost done with it today, but I'm unfortunately at home with a sick Prophet. Temp of almost 103 this morning and hacking up a lung, but the temps down with a dose of Motrin and his cough seems to have stalled for the moment. He seems to be feeling pretty good right now, so we'll see what happens as night comes. He's camped out on our bed watching Toon Disney, coated with Vaporub, and breathing in the humidifier.
Last night when we got into bed, I told Smart Guy that it's "life moments" like yesterday that I wish I lived closer to my best friends. I probably won't get to see the new little one until at least the end of March and by then she'll be two months old... which is much smaller than the first time I saw Missy Moo Moo... she was over 3 1/2 YEARS old, just last spring. Of course, if we did live closer I wouldn't get to see her right now anyway since I've got a sick child. Anyway, I keep thinking about Ruby and the emotions one goes thru after giving birth to a new life. At first I was a little jealous, thinking back on those first moments with my own, but then I realized that I've had that three times and I'm ready for the next stages of my kids' lives. And i have to say that I'm enjoying the freedom of having no babies!! I'll just have to love little Miss HDYST (new baby - it's means "how do you say that?" or "how do you spell that?"... they and she will be asked that every day of her life) and enjoy watching Ruby mother another baby. Hopefully Miss HDYST doesn't have the colic that plagued her poor big sister and mommy and daddy the first couple months of her life.
As of Sunday morning around 11:00, Heaven is one more good and faithful servant's soul fuller. A very loved member of our congregation unexpectedly died from a tragic accident on Saturday. He went to the YMCA and spent time in the sauna weekly. This past Saturday he fell asleep while he was in there and by the time someone found him, his temp was already 107 and he had shut down. He never woke-up. His wife is an amazing woman. She teaches the Sunday School class I attend and I love to hear her opinions about things. She's in her late 50's and just married her beloved eight years ago. She was never married before that time. I am so heart-broken for her. I spent most of yesterday wandering around feeling strangely lost. Please pray for his wife, family, and our church community. Everyone is feeling the loss deeply.
Well, chat later, gotta go make a late lunch for Prophet and Bee!!
Last night when we got into bed, I told Smart Guy that it's "life moments" like yesterday that I wish I lived closer to my best friends. I probably won't get to see the new little one until at least the end of March and by then she'll be two months old... which is much smaller than the first time I saw Missy Moo Moo... she was over 3 1/2 YEARS old, just last spring. Of course, if we did live closer I wouldn't get to see her right now anyway since I've got a sick child. Anyway, I keep thinking about Ruby and the emotions one goes thru after giving birth to a new life. At first I was a little jealous, thinking back on those first moments with my own, but then I realized that I've had that three times and I'm ready for the next stages of my kids' lives. And i have to say that I'm enjoying the freedom of having no babies!! I'll just have to love little Miss HDYST (new baby - it's means "how do you say that?" or "how do you spell that?"... they and she will be asked that every day of her life) and enjoy watching Ruby mother another baby. Hopefully Miss HDYST doesn't have the colic that plagued her poor big sister and mommy and daddy the first couple months of her life.
As of Sunday morning around 11:00, Heaven is one more good and faithful servant's soul fuller. A very loved member of our congregation unexpectedly died from a tragic accident on Saturday. He went to the YMCA and spent time in the sauna weekly. This past Saturday he fell asleep while he was in there and by the time someone found him, his temp was already 107 and he had shut down. He never woke-up. His wife is an amazing woman. She teaches the Sunday School class I attend and I love to hear her opinions about things. She's in her late 50's and just married her beloved eight years ago. She was never married before that time. I am so heart-broken for her. I spent most of yesterday wandering around feeling strangely lost. Please pray for his wife, family, and our church community. Everyone is feeling the loss deeply.
Well, chat later, gotta go make a late lunch for Prophet and Bee!!
Monday, January 22, 2007
She's Here, She's Here
As of 1:58 pm (cst) this afternoon there is another little soul to love and adore on our planet. She weighed in at 8 lbs. 6 oz. and is 19 inches long. Ruby says she's a little chuncker already. She's got big, round cheeks and a double chin!! Missy Moo Moo is a proud, big sister and was ready to take her home when she left the hospital this afternoon!!
The labor was short and sweet. They started the pitocin and broke her water at 7:30 am and she was born 6 1/2 hours later. We didn't get to talk details yet, too many people in the room... I'll get that info later!!
Congratulations guys!! May your days be filled with happiness, laughter, sleep, pink bows, and sore boobs!!! Here's hoping this babyhood is colic-free!! I love you!!
The labor was short and sweet. They started the pitocin and broke her water at 7:30 am and she was born 6 1/2 hours later. We didn't get to talk details yet, too many people in the room... I'll get that info later!!
Congratulations guys!! May your days be filled with happiness, laughter, sleep, pink bows, and sore boobs!!! Here's hoping this babyhood is colic-free!! I love you!!
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Prayers Please
I just wanted to asked everyone to pray for Ruby, Mr. Debonair, and their new baby. They're going in tomorrow (Monday) morning to be induced. Please pray that everything is safe and smooth!! Hopefully by this time tomorrow night, I'll be posting about a new baby girl!! Thanks!!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Boys' Time and Girls' Time
We just got in from overnight at Mom and Dad's house. The Harlem Globe Trotters were over in Champaign, IL, so Dad, Smart Guy, Prophet, and D.K. went over to watch them for the evening. This left Mom, Bee, and myself for a girls night. We went to Red Lobster and all three of us got shrimp... our favorite. Bee ate almost everything on her plate plus some of my salad. She looked like she was gonna explode. We asked her if she wanted dessert, and at first she said yes, but really didn't act interested. So we left instead, went to the grocery store, got brownie mix and stuff for brownie sundaes when the guys got home from the game and went home.
Bee was funny while we ate, she kept saying "we're having girl time aren't we?". She was so proud to be included. We've always tried to do girls time with her, but apparently she's just now old enough to realize what's going on. It's really fun and makes me feel good knowing that she'll hopefully grow-up with these memories. Of course in a couple years, she may be wanting to go to the games with the guys... who knows!!
I just have to say again how cool it is to live so close to Mom and Dad now. The fact that we were able to leave after school was out yesterday, spend the evening and morning with them and already be back home at 1:00 in the afternoon the next day is like a dream. I love that I don't have to think about when our next visit is gonna be when I pull out of their driveway, because I know it'll probably be sometime in the next two weeks... whether we go there or they come here!!!
Well, I need to get some stuff done, just thought I'd check in with y'all!! Chat later!!
Bee was funny while we ate, she kept saying "we're having girl time aren't we?". She was so proud to be included. We've always tried to do girls time with her, but apparently she's just now old enough to realize what's going on. It's really fun and makes me feel good knowing that she'll hopefully grow-up with these memories. Of course in a couple years, she may be wanting to go to the games with the guys... who knows!!
I just have to say again how cool it is to live so close to Mom and Dad now. The fact that we were able to leave after school was out yesterday, spend the evening and morning with them and already be back home at 1:00 in the afternoon the next day is like a dream. I love that I don't have to think about when our next visit is gonna be when I pull out of their driveway, because I know it'll probably be sometime in the next two weeks... whether we go there or they come here!!!
Well, I need to get some stuff done, just thought I'd check in with y'all!! Chat later!!
Let Them Be Little
Over the years as I've watched my little ones grow-up, I've often looked at them and wondered to myself, "Will they ever stop doing that", or "Will they ever grow-up?". Some of their little quirks drive me bonkers at times and I just can't wait for them to be more independent.
But more often than that, I'll look at them and wonder what I'll do when someday they're all gone and out of our house and I no longer have all the noise, the chaos, the messes, the hugs, the drawings on the fridge, the wet bathroom floors, the dishes, the wonderful clean head smells after a bath, the guitar playing notes that just won't come off right, the snuggles at night, the sleepless nights, the worries that someone's gonna take off with one of them when I've finally decided to let them have 20 minutes of independence and let them ride down the street alone, the laughter when someone's told a really weird joke, the reminders to feed the dog (again), the endless laundry, the fun of picking out little clothes, the joy of watching them decorate the Christmas tree, the pride of hearing yet again how wonderful my children are from their teachers, the help whenever I go near the kitchen to make anything, the footprints across the kitchen floor after it's rained, the smell of sunscreen and chlorine on a summer day, the phone calls to recall something funny or sweet one of them did, the basketball games when hardly a ball hits the rim, the struggles of drying hair on a little one who hates it, the screaming when Daddy or Mommy leaves the house, the securing of everyone in their carseats and booster seats, the sippy cups under the back seat of the car with sour milk in them, the hard, cold french fries in every nook and cranny of the car, the relaying of their days in the van after school in the afternoon, the night time prayers, the bedtime books, the feeling that I'm important to someone small, and the constant forgiveness when I've screwed up with these most precious gifts from God.
They are gonna grow-up. There are times I look at them and wish they'd be small forever. But I know if they were, that I'd miss out on so much more that they have yet to offer myself, the world, and God's kingdom. So, right now, I have to live in the present and not worry about those days ahead when they'll be gone from our home. I have to let them be little while they are little and not push them to grow-up like so many people seem to do in today's world. For us that means letting them play instead of having their entire world structured with extra curricular stuff. It means sitting down to dinner together several nights a week and listening to their minds, hearts, and world. It means letting them get into a hot bath with all their toys even when it seems they are big enough for a much quicker shower. It means that during the summer they sleep in and stay up late. It means that I as their momma, I have to make a point to remember to let them stay little as long as I can, 'cause they're gonna want to "be big" soon enough on their own.
Listen to this song. You'll probably cry, if you're not already thinking of your own children. I know I am. I've loved my children at every stage and always said that I can't imagine the next stage, and then it comes and I say the same thing all over again. I need to let them grow at their pace and love them thru it all. I don't want to look back and think "I missed it, where'd it all go, their gone and it's too late." What a struggle for us moms to balance being organized and having a clean home with the needs of our children. Wow!! God help me to do right by my growing children!!
But more often than that, I'll look at them and wonder what I'll do when someday they're all gone and out of our house and I no longer have all the noise, the chaos, the messes, the hugs, the drawings on the fridge, the wet bathroom floors, the dishes, the wonderful clean head smells after a bath, the guitar playing notes that just won't come off right, the snuggles at night, the sleepless nights, the worries that someone's gonna take off with one of them when I've finally decided to let them have 20 minutes of independence and let them ride down the street alone, the laughter when someone's told a really weird joke, the reminders to feed the dog (again), the endless laundry, the fun of picking out little clothes, the joy of watching them decorate the Christmas tree, the pride of hearing yet again how wonderful my children are from their teachers, the help whenever I go near the kitchen to make anything, the footprints across the kitchen floor after it's rained, the smell of sunscreen and chlorine on a summer day, the phone calls to recall something funny or sweet one of them did, the basketball games when hardly a ball hits the rim, the struggles of drying hair on a little one who hates it, the screaming when Daddy or Mommy leaves the house, the securing of everyone in their carseats and booster seats, the sippy cups under the back seat of the car with sour milk in them, the hard, cold french fries in every nook and cranny of the car, the relaying of their days in the van after school in the afternoon, the night time prayers, the bedtime books, the feeling that I'm important to someone small, and the constant forgiveness when I've screwed up with these most precious gifts from God.
They are gonna grow-up. There are times I look at them and wish they'd be small forever. But I know if they were, that I'd miss out on so much more that they have yet to offer myself, the world, and God's kingdom. So, right now, I have to live in the present and not worry about those days ahead when they'll be gone from our home. I have to let them be little while they are little and not push them to grow-up like so many people seem to do in today's world. For us that means letting them play instead of having their entire world structured with extra curricular stuff. It means sitting down to dinner together several nights a week and listening to their minds, hearts, and world. It means letting them get into a hot bath with all their toys even when it seems they are big enough for a much quicker shower. It means that during the summer they sleep in and stay up late. It means that I as their momma, I have to make a point to remember to let them stay little as long as I can, 'cause they're gonna want to "be big" soon enough on their own.
Listen to this song. You'll probably cry, if you're not already thinking of your own children. I know I am. I've loved my children at every stage and always said that I can't imagine the next stage, and then it comes and I say the same thing all over again. I need to let them grow at their pace and love them thru it all. I don't want to look back and think "I missed it, where'd it all go, their gone and it's too late." What a struggle for us moms to balance being organized and having a clean home with the needs of our children. Wow!! God help me to do right by my growing children!!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
I Just Remembered This
While we were at the dr. today she was asking me the list of questions about things that Bee can and cannot do. Bee was sitting on the floor drawing on her little magna doodle when the dr. asked me if she could draw a circle. I said "yes" and asked Bee to draw one for her. Instead of a circle, Bee drew an almost perfect rectangle and said "see, I can draw a triangle".
Okay, so maybe this isn't funny to anyone other than her mother, but it cracked me up!!
Okay, so maybe this isn't funny to anyone other than her mother, but it cracked me up!!
My Little Social Butterfly
Bowz went out without trying to rip apart the deck this morning!! Apparently the rabbits have moved on... I hope they never come back again, but I know they will!! All of my tries to get him a good home have been in vain... as no one apparently wants a moose in their house. I guess we'll just have to continue loving him and putting up with his little quirks and annoyances. Oh well, we'd have missed him anyway!!
Bee had her 4-year-old check-up this morning. It's about a month early, but we needed to get an apointment made with a specialist at Riley Children's hospital in Indi (she has optic glioma, which in a nutshell means she has tumors growing around both of her optic nerves) soon and they wouldn't let me make the first appointment... her pediatrician has to do it... even though she's got a diagnosis and records to prove it from AL. So we made the 4 year check up a little early so we could talk to her new IN pediatrician. We've been lucky, we've been here since last June and this was the first time she's been to see the DR. and she's not even sick. The boys have seen her because of their wreck injuries, but that's all.
Bee is 40 1/2 inches tall (75 %) and 33.8 pounds (50%). I've always made little "wagers" with my kids as they're about to be weighed at the dr.'s office. I guessed she weighed 33.8 pounds, but the nurse said 29 pounds. I was right on the dot!! I was very impressed with myself. At this weight rate she's gonna be six before she weighs 40 pounds and can move out of a five-point-harness and into a booster seat. Oh well, whatever it takes to be safe, huh!!
She was a little chatter box to everyone in the office. Her pediatrician said "Well, I see she talks very well for her age." Uh, yah, no problem there!! She's not shy at all either. While I was filling out some new patient papers, the nurse took her, by herself, down the hall to check her hearing. She went without a problem, yacking up a storm all the way down the hall and all the way back.
She's very ticklish, so everytime the dr. touched her anywhere she'd laugh and squirm. It's a wonder she actually got to do the entire check-up!! The only time Bee cried was when she found out she was getting her flu vaccination!! I had to momentarily talk her down off the ceiling, but then she calmly waited for the nurse to come in. We decided that she was lucky because she's small and so is the needle they use on her and that since Bowzer is so big, that he probably has to have a very big needle when he has a shot... whatever works huh. So, at this point, she has informed every person she has come into contact with since we walked out of the office, including those in the waiting room, that she had a shot, and that they gave her a book, a sticker, a lollipop, and a cool band-aid. That's more than I ever got at the dr.'s office that's for sure.
Well, that's my day so far... chat later everyone!!
Bee had her 4-year-old check-up this morning. It's about a month early, but we needed to get an apointment made with a specialist at Riley Children's hospital in Indi (she has optic glioma, which in a nutshell means she has tumors growing around both of her optic nerves) soon and they wouldn't let me make the first appointment... her pediatrician has to do it... even though she's got a diagnosis and records to prove it from AL. So we made the 4 year check up a little early so we could talk to her new IN pediatrician. We've been lucky, we've been here since last June and this was the first time she's been to see the DR. and she's not even sick. The boys have seen her because of their wreck injuries, but that's all.
Bee is 40 1/2 inches tall (75 %) and 33.8 pounds (50%). I've always made little "wagers" with my kids as they're about to be weighed at the dr.'s office. I guessed she weighed 33.8 pounds, but the nurse said 29 pounds. I was right on the dot!! I was very impressed with myself. At this weight rate she's gonna be six before she weighs 40 pounds and can move out of a five-point-harness and into a booster seat. Oh well, whatever it takes to be safe, huh!!
She was a little chatter box to everyone in the office. Her pediatrician said "Well, I see she talks very well for her age." Uh, yah, no problem there!! She's not shy at all either. While I was filling out some new patient papers, the nurse took her, by herself, down the hall to check her hearing. She went without a problem, yacking up a storm all the way down the hall and all the way back.
She's very ticklish, so everytime the dr. touched her anywhere she'd laugh and squirm. It's a wonder she actually got to do the entire check-up!! The only time Bee cried was when she found out she was getting her flu vaccination!! I had to momentarily talk her down off the ceiling, but then she calmly waited for the nurse to come in. We decided that she was lucky because she's small and so is the needle they use on her and that since Bowzer is so big, that he probably has to have a very big needle when he has a shot... whatever works huh. So, at this point, she has informed every person she has come into contact with since we walked out of the office, including those in the waiting room, that she had a shot, and that they gave her a book, a sticker, a lollipop, and a cool band-aid. That's more than I ever got at the dr.'s office that's for sure.
Well, that's my day so far... chat later everyone!!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Can't Think of a Title to Save My Life
It is sooooo cold. It's only 11 degrees. The good news is that there is no precipitation and it's not windy at all. It's after ten 'o clock and the frost still hasn't melted away.
The saga of the rabbit continues. Bowzer is obsessed with getting under the deck to get them. He has scratched up the deck and dug up the yard. He's so anxious to get the thing that he actually drools the entire time he's out there. Ang, if you would be in the market for a moose, I'd almost be willing to send him to you with 500 lbs of dog food free of charge. Because he's digging, his paws are muddy and he tracked it all over my house!! We have toyed with the idea of getting a kitten, but I'm not sure that he wouldn't try to kill it after watching him!!
I talked to Cleanin'Cuz '75 yesterday. She lives in the Greater Nashville area. She said last week they were at the park without jackets and this week it freezing cold... crazy weather. Smart Guy and I are trying to plan a trip down there in the next month or two. When we lived in AL, I would drive up there or she'd drive down to me every couple months, so we saw each other often. I miss our visits. With Smart Guy's weekend schedule, it can be hard to do weekend trips, so we'll see!!
Cleanin' Cuz, you'll love this.... Bee woke up (kinda) at about 10:30 last night, three hours after she went to bed, crying and rolling around in her bed saying "ouchie, ouchie". I couldn't figure out what was wrong because she wasn't really coherent enough to tell me. She finally grabbed her feet and pulled on them. When I looked at then with her blanket sleeper on, it looked like she had her toes all curled up. When I felt them, I knew what the problem was immediately. I picked her up and carried her to our bed, unzipped her jammies, pulled her feet out and sure enough.... she had ballet slippers on with her sleeper. Real ones that Cleanin' Cuz '75's daughter June (D.K picked this name for some reason) passed on to her last fall. Smart Guy helped her put her jammies on and when she said she wanted to wear the ballet slippers with her jammies, he saw no problem with it. By the time she woke up crying, her toes had been scrunched up for three hours and she couldn't stretch them out. When I took them off and her toes relaxed, she started screaming in pain. Now, you would think she'd have learned her lesson, but just now when I went to put on her jammies tonight, she wanted to put them back on... I didn't let her!!
Bee and I went to McD's with Mrs. Music and her little girl Dora this afternoon. We then went over and played at their house for awhile. It was fun having girl time with someone here. I've never been one to find close friends in any of the churches we've been in!! I usually stick to my far away best-friends. It's too hard when you leave a church or when something happens in the church and people start choosing up sides on something to have a close relationship with someone. It happened in one of the churches we were in and it hurt when I felt that she betrayed me. Mrs. Music is also a staff wife, which makes it seem safer to befriend her. Maybe it is, maybe it's not.
There's only been one friend in any of the churches we've been in that I could count as a good friend that never did anything to hurt the trust I had in her. She and her hubby were always there to stand in the gap for Smart Guy if the need arose and was always honest when the occasion called for it, instead of being sweet one minute and then turning into someone else and being horrible the next. If he did something stupid, she told him right then, instead of pulling it out of nowhere to use against him at a later time like most people would do. We did things together on occasion, and she chastized me on a regular basis about not giving it all up to God and know that I could trust her completely. I miss her. We certainly don't have a youth sponsor like her up here yet.
I'm watching the new season of American Idol and typing during commercials. They're in Seattle tonight. They keep talking about the rain... fathom that!! I actually feel like I have a connection with that area now that I have friends up there... cool!!
Well, I need to go talk with my hubby, he just got home from his evening meetings and it's now 8:38 pm. Yes, the time on this post is probably gonna be sometime this morning when I started posting. I ran out of time. We went for a girls day, picked up the boys from school, went to the church to get three hours of work in, came home around 7:00, ate dinner, and then put the kids to bed by myself, which is a very rare thing for us!! So, goodnight dear friends and family!! I love you all and send cyber hugs your way!!
The saga of the rabbit continues. Bowzer is obsessed with getting under the deck to get them. He has scratched up the deck and dug up the yard. He's so anxious to get the thing that he actually drools the entire time he's out there. Ang, if you would be in the market for a moose, I'd almost be willing to send him to you with 500 lbs of dog food free of charge. Because he's digging, his paws are muddy and he tracked it all over my house!! We have toyed with the idea of getting a kitten, but I'm not sure that he wouldn't try to kill it after watching him!!
I talked to Cleanin'Cuz '75 yesterday. She lives in the Greater Nashville area. She said last week they were at the park without jackets and this week it freezing cold... crazy weather. Smart Guy and I are trying to plan a trip down there in the next month or two. When we lived in AL, I would drive up there or she'd drive down to me every couple months, so we saw each other often. I miss our visits. With Smart Guy's weekend schedule, it can be hard to do weekend trips, so we'll see!!
Cleanin' Cuz, you'll love this.... Bee woke up (kinda) at about 10:30 last night, three hours after she went to bed, crying and rolling around in her bed saying "ouchie, ouchie". I couldn't figure out what was wrong because she wasn't really coherent enough to tell me. She finally grabbed her feet and pulled on them. When I looked at then with her blanket sleeper on, it looked like she had her toes all curled up. When I felt them, I knew what the problem was immediately. I picked her up and carried her to our bed, unzipped her jammies, pulled her feet out and sure enough.... she had ballet slippers on with her sleeper. Real ones that Cleanin' Cuz '75's daughter June (D.K picked this name for some reason) passed on to her last fall. Smart Guy helped her put her jammies on and when she said she wanted to wear the ballet slippers with her jammies, he saw no problem with it. By the time she woke up crying, her toes had been scrunched up for three hours and she couldn't stretch them out. When I took them off and her toes relaxed, she started screaming in pain. Now, you would think she'd have learned her lesson, but just now when I went to put on her jammies tonight, she wanted to put them back on... I didn't let her!!
Bee and I went to McD's with Mrs. Music and her little girl Dora this afternoon. We then went over and played at their house for awhile. It was fun having girl time with someone here. I've never been one to find close friends in any of the churches we've been in!! I usually stick to my far away best-friends. It's too hard when you leave a church or when something happens in the church and people start choosing up sides on something to have a close relationship with someone. It happened in one of the churches we were in and it hurt when I felt that she betrayed me. Mrs. Music is also a staff wife, which makes it seem safer to befriend her. Maybe it is, maybe it's not.
There's only been one friend in any of the churches we've been in that I could count as a good friend that never did anything to hurt the trust I had in her. She and her hubby were always there to stand in the gap for Smart Guy if the need arose and was always honest when the occasion called for it, instead of being sweet one minute and then turning into someone else and being horrible the next. If he did something stupid, she told him right then, instead of pulling it out of nowhere to use against him at a later time like most people would do. We did things together on occasion, and she chastized me on a regular basis about not giving it all up to God and know that I could trust her completely. I miss her. We certainly don't have a youth sponsor like her up here yet.
I'm watching the new season of American Idol and typing during commercials. They're in Seattle tonight. They keep talking about the rain... fathom that!! I actually feel like I have a connection with that area now that I have friends up there... cool!!
Well, I need to go talk with my hubby, he just got home from his evening meetings and it's now 8:38 pm. Yes, the time on this post is probably gonna be sometime this morning when I started posting. I ran out of time. We went for a girls day, picked up the boys from school, went to the church to get three hours of work in, came home around 7:00, ate dinner, and then put the kids to bed by myself, which is a very rare thing for us!! So, goodnight dear friends and family!! I love you all and send cyber hugs your way!!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Snow
It snowed the rest of the night. We've got about three inches or so. Just enough to put the county schools on a delay. Billy Boy's mom works for the city schools, so he's here and so are my very wound up boys...... it's nuts here right now. They're all runnin' around and yellin'. They're so excited that we actually got a real snow.
The bunnies are apparently under the back deck because Bowz is going crazy trying to get under there. He was pushing his nose into the snow on the deck, but for now has settled on one spot about 3 inches out from the house. The poor little rabbit's probably close to the house trying to stay warm. Bowzer is going nuts... he's chewing on the deck and keeps digging up the satellite wire trying to get under there. He's being very loud during all this with his wining, barking, and howling. That poor little rabbit's gonna have a heart attack. I'm gonna let him back in the house.....
....okay now he's back in the house. I had go out and grab his collar to get him in. Normally I'd have to chase him down, but he's so fixated on that one spot on the deck that he didn't budge as I walked toward him. Now he's in the kitchen wining (very loudly) and sniffin' and scratchin' around the door and under my kitchen cabinets like there's something under there. He's crazy!! Just one more thing to add to nutsyness of our house this morning.
Smart Guy just called to tell me that he slid into the church parking lot, but he's there safe and sound. He said our subdivision streets are horrible, especially the hill that leads to the entrance. I think maybe I'll go out the back entrance so I don't have to do the hill. Unfortunately we live just outside the city limits so they don't touch our streets with the plows, thus the reason city schools are in and county schools are out. When Billy Boys mom was driving over here to drop him off, she hit a slick spot and spun around to face the opposite direction she was intending. She was still shaking when she got here. Bee school is canceled today... I think... Our church, where the school is, is technically inside city school limits, but is literally within a 20 second drive from the city/county line so most of the teachers, the director, and many of the students (with older siblings on the two hour delay) live in the county school district. It's a little hard to have school when all your teachers have their children with them because they haven't gone to school yet.
Well, dear friends, stay warm and safe. I'm gonna leave at 10:00 Eastern time to be sure to get the boys to school on time on these roads. If you happen to read this by that time, say a little prayer that we get there safe!!
The bunnies are apparently under the back deck because Bowz is going crazy trying to get under there. He was pushing his nose into the snow on the deck, but for now has settled on one spot about 3 inches out from the house. The poor little rabbit's probably close to the house trying to stay warm. Bowzer is going nuts... he's chewing on the deck and keeps digging up the satellite wire trying to get under there. He's being very loud during all this with his wining, barking, and howling. That poor little rabbit's gonna have a heart attack. I'm gonna let him back in the house.....
....okay now he's back in the house. I had go out and grab his collar to get him in. Normally I'd have to chase him down, but he's so fixated on that one spot on the deck that he didn't budge as I walked toward him. Now he's in the kitchen wining (very loudly) and sniffin' and scratchin' around the door and under my kitchen cabinets like there's something under there. He's crazy!! Just one more thing to add to nutsyness of our house this morning.
Smart Guy just called to tell me that he slid into the church parking lot, but he's there safe and sound. He said our subdivision streets are horrible, especially the hill that leads to the entrance. I think maybe I'll go out the back entrance so I don't have to do the hill. Unfortunately we live just outside the city limits so they don't touch our streets with the plows, thus the reason city schools are in and county schools are out. When Billy Boys mom was driving over here to drop him off, she hit a slick spot and spun around to face the opposite direction she was intending. She was still shaking when she got here. Bee school is canceled today... I think... Our church, where the school is, is technically inside city school limits, but is literally within a 20 second drive from the city/county line so most of the teachers, the director, and many of the students (with older siblings on the two hour delay) live in the county school district. It's a little hard to have school when all your teachers have their children with them because they haven't gone to school yet.
Well, dear friends, stay warm and safe. I'm gonna leave at 10:00 Eastern time to be sure to get the boys to school on time on these roads. If you happen to read this by that time, say a little prayer that we get there safe!!
Monday, January 15, 2007
You're Bananas D.K.
I keep meaning to tell you guys this and I keep forgetting. Last Tuesday when we were in Walmart they were out of bananas. We got the last bunch. There was a handwritten sign on the banana display that said something about being sorry for the inconvenience. So three days later when we were in there, they had them again. As we walked up to get some, the official produce guy with the long, white coat was arranging them. My kids of course had to tell him that we had got the last bunch a couple days before. He told me that the Walmart warehouse had gotten alot of grief about the fact that they didn't ship them any 'nanas that day. Well, the guy asked all three kids if they wanted a free banana. They all said "yes" and took it. Prophet and Bee ate theirs immediately. D.K. on the other hand carried his all over the store. He was afraid they would see him eating his in the cameras and think he had stolen it and then put him in jail. I have to admit, that's how his mother thinks too. I brought up the fact that his brother and sister had eaten their's and they were still with us and he didn't care. He was just convinced he'd get caught. He cracks me up!!
It's Snowing, It's Snowing
Well, let's see, Prophet lost a tooth while he was eating his breakfast this morning. At least he didn't swallow this one. I think the child has swallowed at least 3 of his teeth. I didn't even know the tooth was loose until he came downstairs for breakfast this morning and then out it came. I usually know for days before they finally come out, but not this time.
Bee ate a square of blue, billiard chalk this afternoon. She walked up to me with a blue chin, blue hands, and a big, blue circle on her pink shirt. I asked her what it was and she said "It's that stuff, Mommy". Well, gee, thanks Bee for that answer... I appreciate it. She looked like she was morphing into a smurf. Of course if you say that to one of my kids, they look at you like you have turtles coming out your ears. Wrong generation I guess. I told her that her poop was gonna be blue now, so she promptly went downstairs at church and broadcast the fact to everyone within earshot. I think she must be cutting teeth or something, because she's putting alot in her mouth right now. She never even did that as a baby. I caught her licking a piece of cardboard the other day... what's that all about!! She's apparently got some wierd oral issues going on right now!! Ya gotta love her.
Well, Billy Boy finally comes back to us tomorrow morning. Bee is gonna flip. She has missed him horribly. I'm sure his adjustment back is gonna be rough, but we'll get him through it!!
BTW, it's finally snowing here!! Smart Guy and I were watching Supernanny (he only watched it with me because Monday Night Football is over) and when we got up to go to bed, he looked out on the deck and said "When did it start snowing?" The deck was already covered. Looking at the radar we could actually get a couple more hours of the white stuff!! I'm sooooooooo excited!!
BTW # 2... There's a very strong possibility that the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears could end up at the Super Bowl together. That would be the biggest game to hit the midwest in decades. Everyone here are Colts fans, but I grew up in Bears country. The news was covered with pictures of everyone downtown at the RCA dome buying up the tickets for the game between the Colts and the Patriots. There were only 1000 tickets up for grabs, so there were ALOT of people who were really ticked and yelling in the camera for the entire country to see what morons they are!! People around her are starting to get a little giddy at the idea of their Colts going to the Super Bowl. The guy from across the street has one of those obnoxious blow-up things that you see all over the place at Christmas, except this one is a gigantic Colts football player. I'm sure that's somehow completely against the subdivision by-laws, everything else is!!
Anyway, gotta a big day tomorrow, gotta get to bed!! Goodnight!!
Bee ate a square of blue, billiard chalk this afternoon. She walked up to me with a blue chin, blue hands, and a big, blue circle on her pink shirt. I asked her what it was and she said "It's that stuff, Mommy". Well, gee, thanks Bee for that answer... I appreciate it. She looked like she was morphing into a smurf. Of course if you say that to one of my kids, they look at you like you have turtles coming out your ears. Wrong generation I guess. I told her that her poop was gonna be blue now, so she promptly went downstairs at church and broadcast the fact to everyone within earshot. I think she must be cutting teeth or something, because she's putting alot in her mouth right now. She never even did that as a baby. I caught her licking a piece of cardboard the other day... what's that all about!! She's apparently got some wierd oral issues going on right now!! Ya gotta love her.
Well, Billy Boy finally comes back to us tomorrow morning. Bee is gonna flip. She has missed him horribly. I'm sure his adjustment back is gonna be rough, but we'll get him through it!!
BTW, it's finally snowing here!! Smart Guy and I were watching Supernanny (he only watched it with me because Monday Night Football is over) and when we got up to go to bed, he looked out on the deck and said "When did it start snowing?" The deck was already covered. Looking at the radar we could actually get a couple more hours of the white stuff!! I'm sooooooooo excited!!
BTW # 2... There's a very strong possibility that the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears could end up at the Super Bowl together. That would be the biggest game to hit the midwest in decades. Everyone here are Colts fans, but I grew up in Bears country. The news was covered with pictures of everyone downtown at the RCA dome buying up the tickets for the game between the Colts and the Patriots. There were only 1000 tickets up for grabs, so there were ALOT of people who were really ticked and yelling in the camera for the entire country to see what morons they are!! People around her are starting to get a little giddy at the idea of their Colts going to the Super Bowl. The guy from across the street has one of those obnoxious blow-up things that you see all over the place at Christmas, except this one is a gigantic Colts football player. I'm sure that's somehow completely against the subdivision by-laws, everything else is!!
Anyway, gotta a big day tomorrow, gotta get to bed!! Goodnight!!
Good Morning
Good morning girls!! We had a busy weekend. I made dinner for the teens last night with the help of two moms. We had sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits, hashbrowns, apples, bananas, juice, milk, and cinnamon rolls for dessert.
My computer is moving so slow this morning that it's making me crazy!! (not that's it got to work to hard on that)
Will it ever stop raining? That's the question of the week!! It looks like a big lake around here and once again the chairs have been blown off the deck. Maybe we should just give in and put them into the garage until summer. I know the boys would appreciate it since they're the ones that are always having to put them back. It's about 34 degrees this morning. Feels cold with the rain and the 30 degree windchill, but not cold enough to get any snow or ice. We keep having these big snow spots showing up on the radar, but when they get into IL they hit the warm air and turn to rain. They're saying that we should get a rain and snow mix this afternoon and tonight and snow during the night and tomorrow. I'll believe it when I see it.
Ruby called at 9:00 last night! We never talk at 9:00 unless something's going on, especially on a Sunday. But with the baby due soon, I grabbed it fast. Still, no baby girl. She just wanted to tell me that they're power was out. They've got alot of ice, no snow, just ice and rain. She said that as of then, the house was staying around 65 degrees so hopefully they managed to stay somewhat warm during the night and the power's back on this morning!!
Well, I must get to work to put in a few hours today. Chat later!!
My computer is moving so slow this morning that it's making me crazy!! (not that's it got to work to hard on that)
Will it ever stop raining? That's the question of the week!! It looks like a big lake around here and once again the chairs have been blown off the deck. Maybe we should just give in and put them into the garage until summer. I know the boys would appreciate it since they're the ones that are always having to put them back. It's about 34 degrees this morning. Feels cold with the rain and the 30 degree windchill, but not cold enough to get any snow or ice. We keep having these big snow spots showing up on the radar, but when they get into IL they hit the warm air and turn to rain. They're saying that we should get a rain and snow mix this afternoon and tonight and snow during the night and tomorrow. I'll believe it when I see it.
Ruby called at 9:00 last night! We never talk at 9:00 unless something's going on, especially on a Sunday. But with the baby due soon, I grabbed it fast. Still, no baby girl. She just wanted to tell me that they're power was out. They've got alot of ice, no snow, just ice and rain. She said that as of then, the house was staying around 65 degrees so hopefully they managed to stay somewhat warm during the night and the power's back on this morning!!
Well, I must get to work to put in a few hours today. Chat later!!
Sunday, January 14, 2007
It Wasn't My Kid
We made it to Sunday School this morning and we made it on time. Actually I even had enough time to go get a cup of hot tea before I went to class. I felt like I had a bunch of friends and sisters holding me accountable since I'd written about it last night!! Thanks!! Yeah, Mommy!!
We had some excitement at church this morning. All the children had just gone to the front of the worship space for children's time on the stage steps, before they then leave to go to children's worship in the education wing, when the fire alarms all over the building started blaring. Everyone calmly sat there and waited while we looked around for an answer to the noise. About the time the associate pastor announced for everyone to get out of the building, the children's pastor came down the hall and said it was a false alarm. One of the children (under three years old) who was in the nursery had pulled the switch down the hall!! Hey, all three of my children were within eye shot of Smart Guy and myself...
Of course this prompted a couple of annoying comments about having the "fire of the Holy Spirit" and such... oh brother!!
We had some excitement at church this morning. All the children had just gone to the front of the worship space for children's time on the stage steps, before they then leave to go to children's worship in the education wing, when the fire alarms all over the building started blaring. Everyone calmly sat there and waited while we looked around for an answer to the noise. About the time the associate pastor announced for everyone to get out of the building, the children's pastor came down the hall and said it was a false alarm. One of the children (under three years old) who was in the nursery had pulled the switch down the hall!! Hey, all three of my children were within eye shot of Smart Guy and myself...
Of course this prompted a couple of annoying comments about having the "fire of the Holy Spirit" and such... oh brother!!
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Another Invention
The boys have come up with a new invention to make their jobs of protecting the girls from the other boys at recess just a little easier. They have decided that they need a contraption that flies around the playground. It will hang over the front of their chests with a pair of night vision goggles (just in case the sun is badly blocked while they're at school) and the back originally was supposed to contain a jet pack. After much discussion between the two of them, they decided it would be better to use a helicopter blade up above them so they wouldn't catch the playground mulch on fire with the jet pack flame. From the sides will come pinchers to reach out and grab the boys that are chasing the girls and keep them away.
Sounds great huh!! I wish I'd had a couple boys that were so dedicated to the cause of protecting the girls when I was in 2nd grade!!
Sounds great huh!! I wish I'd had a couple boys that were so dedicated to the cause of protecting the girls when I was in 2nd grade!!
I Can Do It
I WILL MAKE IT TO SUNDAY SCHOOL TOMORROW AND I WILL BE ON TIME... I WILL MAKE IT TO SUNDAY SCHOOL TOMORROW AND I WILL BE ON TIME... I WILL MAKE IT TO SUNDAY SCHOOL TOMORROW AND I WILL BE ON TIME...
That's What Girlfriends Are For
We had company tonight!! The menu was pizza pork chops, tortellini, salad, and four-grain, Italian bread with apple crisp and ice cream for dessert. Mr. and Mrs. Music and their 2 1/2 year little girl Dora came over for the evening. I wish I could use Dora's real name here because it's so different and cool, but sorry!! Bee started asking me at 9 am if they were gonna be here "in two minutes", and she continued to ask all day long. Bee and Dora had fun playing together and the rest of us enjoyed the company. It was a slightly shorter visit than we had planned, but it couldn't be helped. Mrs. Music has a friend who is a youth minister (female) about 2 hours away and she got in the car and headed for our area and called Mrs. Music saying "I'm on my way, I need you." Mrs. Music was on the phone with her when they walked in our door. She told me what was up and said that her friend was gonna call when she got into town. We actually got our dinner and dessert eaten and had sat at the table and talked for quite awhile before she called. Mrs. Music apologized several times and I kept telling her it was okay. I reassured her that I had friends that I'd do the same thing for. I mean how can a girlfriend not respond when her friend calls and says "I need you"? Personally it's unthinkable!! That's what girlfriends are for... to be there no matter what!!
Pray that whatever it is, Mrs. Music has the words to help her friend!!
Pray that whatever it is, Mrs. Music has the words to help her friend!!
Public School is Not Where I Want My Son To Learn About Love
Yesterday on the way home from school, D.K. informed me that Taylor told Kiera that she liked him, but not to tell him. So being the good friend that Kiera is, she turned around and told D.K. that Taylor liked him and told him that Taylor had told her not to tell him. So now, D.K. says that on Monday he's gonna tell Taylor that Kiera told him that she likes him just to cause trouble. Oh brother! I thought I had a few years left before this kinda crap started. Just another point on the homeschool side of the homeschool vs. public school check sheet.
Nevermind
Forget it, I found her... she thought she could get away from all of us wacko bloggers, but we have found her. Haha!! I was momentarily fearful that my new sister had decided to go private and not tell any of us, but alas she's just having an identity crisis!!
Where is Ang?
Is anyone else getting the page that says something like "the url you've requested cannot be found."? Just wondering!!
Is It Really This Simple?
This is another quote from one of my favorite authors, Janette Oke. She's daughter of a farmer and was born in Canada during the depression years. She married a pastor and pastored churches in the states and Canada along side him. She is a Christian novelist who writes romance novels. This quote is from her book "The Measure of a Heart". To set it up a little... this conversation takes place between the handsome and highly educated, 26 year old, interim pastor named Austin Barker and the pretty, but doesn't know it, 16 year old Anna, whom just recieved her eighth grade certificate a few weeks before. Seeing much potential in her, Austin has been loaning Anna books from his vast collection that he brought with him for the summer. Anna has stayed after the Sunday meeting, while her mother has gone home to prepare dinner for their family of eight alone, to return the loaned book and hopefully exchange it for another.........
Finally the last family took departure, and the young man turned from the steps of the little church and moved toward the front of the small sanctuary. He did not see Anna waiting until she cleared her throat.
"Anna. I didn't realize you wished to speak with me," he said quickly.
"Not speak," faltered Anna. "I... I just need to... to exchange these books - with your permission, please."
He eyed the books she held out to him.
"You didn't like it?" He asked, indicating the second volume, the thicker of the two he had given her.
"Oh, I did - very much. I would have read it over and over again - if I'd had the time. But I would like to get on to the others and - and -"
"You did read it?"
Anna nodded.
"All of it?" His eyebrows raised in surprise.
She nodded again.
For a moment he seemed to question if the young girl was telling the truth, but her eyes returned his gaze, honest and open.
"You are a remarkable youngster," he said with admiration and then continued. "Did you understand it?"
"I... I think I did. At least most of it. I... I wasn't sure when I came to the part about... about the Incarnation. About the way they explained it. I mean, I know Mary was Jesus' mother, and God, by His Spirit, was His father, but I couldn't understand some of the words they used. I mean - well - I guess I find it hard to understand - but - easy to believe."
He smiled. One of his full, approving smiles. "That is faith," he said to her. "Sometimes it is much easier to just believe without trying too hard to understand - at least all at once. God's ways are so far above man's ways that we can't always understand them with our finite minds. We need to just accept things as He gives them to us."
Wow, I needed to read that right now. It's sounds so simple!!
Finally the last family took departure, and the young man turned from the steps of the little church and moved toward the front of the small sanctuary. He did not see Anna waiting until she cleared her throat.
"Anna. I didn't realize you wished to speak with me," he said quickly.
"Not speak," faltered Anna. "I... I just need to... to exchange these books - with your permission, please."
He eyed the books she held out to him.
"You didn't like it?" He asked, indicating the second volume, the thicker of the two he had given her.
"Oh, I did - very much. I would have read it over and over again - if I'd had the time. But I would like to get on to the others and - and -"
"You did read it?"
Anna nodded.
"All of it?" His eyebrows raised in surprise.
She nodded again.
For a moment he seemed to question if the young girl was telling the truth, but her eyes returned his gaze, honest and open.
"You are a remarkable youngster," he said with admiration and then continued. "Did you understand it?"
"I... I think I did. At least most of it. I... I wasn't sure when I came to the part about... about the Incarnation. About the way they explained it. I mean, I know Mary was Jesus' mother, and God, by His Spirit, was His father, but I couldn't understand some of the words they used. I mean - well - I guess I find it hard to understand - but - easy to believe."
He smiled. One of his full, approving smiles. "That is faith," he said to her. "Sometimes it is much easier to just believe without trying too hard to understand - at least all at once. God's ways are so far above man's ways that we can't always understand them with our finite minds. We need to just accept things as He gives them to us."
Wow, I needed to read that right now. It's sounds so simple!!
Friday, January 12, 2007
Ruby
Please pray that Ruby and Mr. Debonair's baby girl doesn't decide to make her appearance in the world during the next few day while this winter storm blows thru there!! They live somewhat in the country and the roads won't be great!!
Question of the Week...
Does anyone still have their Christmas tree up?
Oh, oh, oh, (picture a know-it-all third grader with her hand shot up in the air)... I do, I do, I do!! BUT, in my defense I did start a new job the week after Christmas. I at least have all the ornaments off of it, which Bee took three days to notice. One year I didn't have it down until right before Valentine's Day. I promise I won't break that record this year. It's just so sad to take it down, the house looks so folorn for a few days!!
Oh, oh, oh, (picture a know-it-all third grader with her hand shot up in the air)... I do, I do, I do!! BUT, in my defense I did start a new job the week after Christmas. I at least have all the ornaments off of it, which Bee took three days to notice. One year I didn't have it down until right before Valentine's Day. I promise I won't break that record this year. It's just so sad to take it down, the house looks so folorn for a few days!!
My Name
There aren't many people with my name...
...but I've been accused of being at least two of them over the years. Both times it should have been obvious that it wasn't me. One of things I got in the mail asking for a bill or something to be paid actually had the other woman's s.s. # on it and it wasn't anywhere near mine. One time they were calling someone to be a witness to something that happened in a town that I had never even heard of let alone been in. It also seems that at least one of those other people appears to have a hubby with the same name as mine!! Wierd, huh!!
...but I've been accused of being at least two of them over the years. Both times it should have been obvious that it wasn't me. One of things I got in the mail asking for a bill or something to be paid actually had the other woman's s.s. # on it and it wasn't anywhere near mine. One time they were calling someone to be a witness to something that happened in a town that I had never even heard of let alone been in. It also seems that at least one of those other people appears to have a hubby with the same name as mine!! Wierd, huh!!
Who'd Have Thunk It
Well it looks like now we may not get any snow or hardly any rain. We seem to be in a spot that often gets missed when the good storms or snow move through!! There's even been a few times that it's been north and south of us and completely missed us... figure that out!! Looks like Farmwife needs to build an ark where she lives!! I want a good storm... just no ice please!!
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Pizza Pork Chops and Tortellini Soup
Farmwife and my Cleanin' Cuz '75 asked for these recipes days ago, so here there are.
Pizza Pork Chops
pork chops
spaghetti sauce
sliced onions
sliced green peppers
sliced mushrooms
fresh garlic to taste
Put it all in a crock-pot in the morning on low. By dinner time the pork chops are falling apart delicious. I serve with some type of pasta, mozzarella cheese melted on top, garlic bread, and salad. This is a house favorite!!
Tortellini Soup
1 roll of breakfast sausage or
2 1/2 cups or so shredded chicken
1 large can chicken broth or enough to fill your pot
1 bag shredded carrots
4 stalks celery chopped
1 clove of garlic (or more if you want it)
1 small or 1/2 large chopped onion
1 T. dried parsley
1 bag frozen tortillini
If your using sausage, brown it, drain it, set it aside. If using chicken, cook it, shred it, set it aside. Pour chicken broth in soup pot. Add carrots, celery, onions, parsley, and garlic. Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are cooked, but not mushey. Add meat and tortellini. Follow directions on tortellini package for how to cook. The kind I use says not to boil, just simmer for five minutes or so. This is really good with parmasean (tried 3 ways to sp., who knows) cheese sprinkled on top and good bakery bread with REAL butter spread on it. YUM!!
It's also good with mushrooms in it if you use chicken!!
One More...
Easy Apple Crisp
2 cans apple pie filling
1 box spice cake mix
2 sticks butter
Spread apple pie filling in 9X13 dish. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over apples. Slice butter into thin slices and lay each square side by side all over the top of the cake mix. Bake at 350 for ..... well I don't remember, just set your timer for 20 minutes and then check it every 5 minutes or so after that until it looks slightly crisp but not burnt! LOL!!
I was wanting something different for the teens last Sunday night and came up with this version of the old faithful "dump cake" with the cherries, pineapple, and yellow cake mix. It turned out delicious and we served it with vanilla ice cream!! Yum-O!
Pizza Pork Chops
pork chops
spaghetti sauce
sliced onions
sliced green peppers
sliced mushrooms
fresh garlic to taste
Put it all in a crock-pot in the morning on low. By dinner time the pork chops are falling apart delicious. I serve with some type of pasta, mozzarella cheese melted on top, garlic bread, and salad. This is a house favorite!!
Tortellini Soup
1 roll of breakfast sausage or
2 1/2 cups or so shredded chicken
1 large can chicken broth or enough to fill your pot
1 bag shredded carrots
4 stalks celery chopped
1 clove of garlic (or more if you want it)
1 small or 1/2 large chopped onion
1 T. dried parsley
1 bag frozen tortillini
If your using sausage, brown it, drain it, set it aside. If using chicken, cook it, shred it, set it aside. Pour chicken broth in soup pot. Add carrots, celery, onions, parsley, and garlic. Bring to a boil and simmer until veggies are cooked, but not mushey. Add meat and tortellini. Follow directions on tortellini package for how to cook. The kind I use says not to boil, just simmer for five minutes or so. This is really good with parmasean (tried 3 ways to sp., who knows) cheese sprinkled on top and good bakery bread with REAL butter spread on it. YUM!!
It's also good with mushrooms in it if you use chicken!!
One More...
Easy Apple Crisp
2 cans apple pie filling
1 box spice cake mix
2 sticks butter
Spread apple pie filling in 9X13 dish. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over apples. Slice butter into thin slices and lay each square side by side all over the top of the cake mix. Bake at 350 for ..... well I don't remember, just set your timer for 20 minutes and then check it every 5 minutes or so after that until it looks slightly crisp but not burnt! LOL!!
I was wanting something different for the teens last Sunday night and came up with this version of the old faithful "dump cake" with the cherries, pineapple, and yellow cake mix. It turned out delicious and we served it with vanilla ice cream!! Yum-O!
'Nanas, Leftovers, and Aldi's
I just finished reading 2 books, putting jammies on a baby doll, praying, saying "I love you" and "goodnight", and then walking across the hall to give my goodnights and kisses to the boys. It's been a good day.
It was Bee's turn to take the snack to school today. They are supposed to take a snack that begins with the letter of the week. The letter of the week is "N". We looked around Wally World and couldn't find anything that satisfied this mama's desire for something besides the usual cookies and junk that's usual taken in... so we settled on making "'nana muffins". I personally thought I was being rather creative. Smart Guy says I settin' 'em up for life. They're three come on, 1/2 of them probably still say "'nana" anyway. Bee actually calls them "beenanas", which I think is hilarious since Bee's been her nickname since birth.
I finished my work hours for the week today, so I don't have to work at all tomorrow... hip, hip, hooray. I do need to go over Saturday evening for a half hour or so and make sure all the chairs in the classrooms are straightened and trash cans empty, but that's easy. You would think with it being Thursday that maybe it would be presentable for Sunday morning, but not at our church. There's constantly something going on in our building... some church stuff, some not.
Smart Guy came home when the boys came home this afternoon and we all kinda crashed. We sat around while the boys did their homework and their reading until about five or so. We had leftovers for dinner... chili mac, chicken noodle soup, or tortellini and sausage soup. Everyone is now in bed (under the age of 10 anyway) and Smart Guy and I are gonna watch Gray's Anatomy at 9:00. I'm still working on that huge pile of laundry, it's slowly getting smaller.
Bee and I are gonna go shopping tomorrow. We are in desperate need of groceries to feed this ravenous family. Aldi's is my grocery shopping place of choice. If you don't have one in your area I feel sorry for you... although I know Ruby does and never goes there. Cleanin' Cuz '75 used to but it's not as easy to get to as other places so she opted for other places instead (she's one of those people that uses coupons like a madd woman and really gets good deals with them). I always take coupons in, get what's on it and put it in my cart and then forget to give them the coupon. Clean Cuz '75 puts the coupon on top of the product in the cart so she doesn't forget she's got it. Anyway, Aldi's is a grocery store chain that sells only their brand of products. Very little in the way of choices. I like that. I hate to go into Walmart and have 10 different types of chicken noodle soup, 12 different kinds of whole wheat bread, 4 brands of pasta, 4 brands of cake mix, 30 different brands and types of pizza, and 5 different sizes of eggs to choose from. It's a small store with a small parking lot and everything in it is cheap, cheap, cheap. I love it. You actually have to put a quarter in to get a cart and you have to pay for your grocery bags (I take my own that I reuse over and over), and you bag your own stuff. They have a fairly new line of stuff called Fit and Active that's healthier alternatives to their other things. Actually it seems like someone posted about this awhile back come to think of it. Most of their stuff is quality stuff, and they have very good produce. I paid $1.99 for a pineapple there a few months ago and it was really good. There are some things they either don't have or I just simply can't talk myself into getting there... veggie dogs, shredded carrots, ranch dressing (has to be Hidden Valley), sunchips, meatballs, butter spray, dog food (Bowzer has a sensitive stomach and trust me, a moose with a sensitive stomach with the wrong kind of food is not pretty), bath stuff, pads, tampons, and most cleaning stuff. I get the rest at Walmart. I love to grocery shop and usually do my list several days ahead of time and this time was no exception. I've been looking forward to this for days... I know I'm crazy.
It was Bee's turn to take the snack to school today. They are supposed to take a snack that begins with the letter of the week. The letter of the week is "N". We looked around Wally World and couldn't find anything that satisfied this mama's desire for something besides the usual cookies and junk that's usual taken in... so we settled on making "'nana muffins". I personally thought I was being rather creative. Smart Guy says I settin' 'em up for life. They're three come on, 1/2 of them probably still say "'nana" anyway. Bee actually calls them "beenanas", which I think is hilarious since Bee's been her nickname since birth.
I finished my work hours for the week today, so I don't have to work at all tomorrow... hip, hip, hooray. I do need to go over Saturday evening for a half hour or so and make sure all the chairs in the classrooms are straightened and trash cans empty, but that's easy. You would think with it being Thursday that maybe it would be presentable for Sunday morning, but not at our church. There's constantly something going on in our building... some church stuff, some not.
Smart Guy came home when the boys came home this afternoon and we all kinda crashed. We sat around while the boys did their homework and their reading until about five or so. We had leftovers for dinner... chili mac, chicken noodle soup, or tortellini and sausage soup. Everyone is now in bed (under the age of 10 anyway) and Smart Guy and I are gonna watch Gray's Anatomy at 9:00. I'm still working on that huge pile of laundry, it's slowly getting smaller.
Bee and I are gonna go shopping tomorrow. We are in desperate need of groceries to feed this ravenous family. Aldi's is my grocery shopping place of choice. If you don't have one in your area I feel sorry for you... although I know Ruby does and never goes there. Cleanin' Cuz '75 used to but it's not as easy to get to as other places so she opted for other places instead (she's one of those people that uses coupons like a madd woman and really gets good deals with them). I always take coupons in, get what's on it and put it in my cart and then forget to give them the coupon. Clean Cuz '75 puts the coupon on top of the product in the cart so she doesn't forget she's got it. Anyway, Aldi's is a grocery store chain that sells only their brand of products. Very little in the way of choices. I like that. I hate to go into Walmart and have 10 different types of chicken noodle soup, 12 different kinds of whole wheat bread, 4 brands of pasta, 4 brands of cake mix, 30 different brands and types of pizza, and 5 different sizes of eggs to choose from. It's a small store with a small parking lot and everything in it is cheap, cheap, cheap. I love it. You actually have to put a quarter in to get a cart and you have to pay for your grocery bags (I take my own that I reuse over and over), and you bag your own stuff. They have a fairly new line of stuff called Fit and Active that's healthier alternatives to their other things. Actually it seems like someone posted about this awhile back come to think of it. Most of their stuff is quality stuff, and they have very good produce. I paid $1.99 for a pineapple there a few months ago and it was really good. There are some things they either don't have or I just simply can't talk myself into getting there... veggie dogs, shredded carrots, ranch dressing (has to be Hidden Valley), sunchips, meatballs, butter spray, dog food (Bowzer has a sensitive stomach and trust me, a moose with a sensitive stomach with the wrong kind of food is not pretty), bath stuff, pads, tampons, and most cleaning stuff. I get the rest at Walmart. I love to grocery shop and usually do my list several days ahead of time and this time was no exception. I've been looking forward to this for days... I know I'm crazy.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Oops, I Missed It
Somehow I missed the fact the Temera tagged me... 3 days ago... so here we go..
When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? Wonder what the hair will do today.
How much cash do you have on you? Zilch - paydays on Friday!!
What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR? poor
Do you label yourself? Mommy
Bright or Dark Room? Dark room with lamplight - cozy!
Why is there always a missing question? Is there a question missing?
What does your watch look like? I admit I don't wear a watch, could be why I have the problem of my last post.
What were you doing at midnight last night? Reading blogs.
Where is your nearest 7-11? I have no idea, but I love their slurpie things, I lived on them while I was pregnant with Prophet.
What’s a word that you say a lot? "Cool"
Who told you he/she loved you last? Smart Guy
Last furry thing you touched? Smart Guy... the man's like a gorilla
How many rolls of film do you need developed? None - digital.
Favorite age you have been so far? Can't decide.
Your worst enemy? my mouth
What is your current desktop picture? don't have one.
What was the last thing you said to someone? "Night, I love you, I'll be to bed in a little bit." (that was an hour ago)
The last song you listened to? God of Wonders
What time of day were you born? no idea and it's too late to call Mom
What do you do when vending machines steal your money? Put in more money and then if I still don't get what I want... at Walmart, give up... at the little tiny grocery store in my home town, go in and they'll give you your money back.
Do you consider yourself kind? not really
What’s your life motto? "What's the point in perfect?"
Name three things you have on you at all times. wedding ring, mother's ring, and lip balm
Can you change the oil on a car? no. Isn't that what Walmart's are for?
When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? Well, if Christmas card's count, just a few weeks ago.
When you looked at yourself in the mirror today, what was the first thing you thought? Wonder what the hair will do today.
How much cash do you have on you? Zilch - paydays on Friday!!
What’s a word that rhymes with DOOR? poor
Do you label yourself? Mommy
Bright or Dark Room? Dark room with lamplight - cozy!
Why is there always a missing question? Is there a question missing?
What does your watch look like? I admit I don't wear a watch, could be why I have the problem of my last post.
What were you doing at midnight last night? Reading blogs.
Where is your nearest 7-11? I have no idea, but I love their slurpie things, I lived on them while I was pregnant with Prophet.
What’s a word that you say a lot? "Cool"
Who told you he/she loved you last? Smart Guy
Last furry thing you touched? Smart Guy... the man's like a gorilla
How many rolls of film do you need developed? None - digital.
Favorite age you have been so far? Can't decide.
Your worst enemy? my mouth
What is your current desktop picture? don't have one.
What was the last thing you said to someone? "Night, I love you, I'll be to bed in a little bit." (that was an hour ago)
The last song you listened to? God of Wonders
What time of day were you born? no idea and it's too late to call Mom
What do you do when vending machines steal your money? Put in more money and then if I still don't get what I want... at Walmart, give up... at the little tiny grocery store in my home town, go in and they'll give you your money back.
Do you consider yourself kind? not really
What’s your life motto? "What's the point in perfect?"
Name three things you have on you at all times. wedding ring, mother's ring, and lip balm
Can you change the oil on a car? no. Isn't that what Walmart's are for?
When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? Well, if Christmas card's count, just a few weeks ago.
I Have Been Late For...
1. Church
2. Sunday School
3. Parent/Teacher conferences
4. Award Ceremony at boys' school
5. Bee's school day (1/2 the time)
6. Dr.'s appt's (actually had to reschedule one time for being so late)
7. work
8. leaving on vacation (usually at least an hour)
9. getting dinner started (we had dinner after 8:00 when we entire family was here
for the family reunion back in October because I started it late. It's not
uncommon to have dinner after 7:00 in our house.)
10. Bed (everyday for the last week)
11. school
12. hair app'ts
13. picking my boys up after school (only happened once)
I am the queen of lateness... people who are on time don't get how someone can be so chronically late. It's a disease, something one is born with. I've never been in a hurry to get anywhere until 5 minutes before I'm supposed to leave to be there in my entire life. When I was in third grade I was called into the principals office for being late several days in a row... I walked to school and liked to take in the scenery enroute to school.
I have been teased about this character flaw my entire life. I have had many people smile and point to the watch on their wrist, sometimes invisible. I've heard the cracks like "well, it's nice of you to join us". I have become the "queen of being late excuses". The problem with that is that people eventually catch on the 10th time your late in a row and when you really do have a good excuse for being late... well, it's kinda like "the boy who cried wolf".
I tend to get sidetracked really easy... thus causing me not to do what it takes to get ready to get out the door on time. This has always driven my mother nuts!! Even now we'll be getting ready to go somewhere together and she's usually waiting on me, but I'll still stop and have a conversation... no I'm not talking while getting ready, I'm standing there with my hairbrush in my hand (not my hair) flipping it around like the drama queen that I am. I can here her voice and see the flip of her hand as she tells me to "come on".
When we go somewhere as a family, Smart Guy and the kids go out and get in the car a good 2-3 minutes before me, almost all the time. Maybe that's just some Freudian way of getting out of getting everyone out the door, into the car, and buckled in... usually pretty chaotic. Maybe it's just one more time that I've been late something!!
2. Sunday School
3. Parent/Teacher conferences
4. Award Ceremony at boys' school
5. Bee's school day (1/2 the time)
6. Dr.'s appt's (actually had to reschedule one time for being so late)
7. work
8. leaving on vacation (usually at least an hour)
9. getting dinner started (we had dinner after 8:00 when we entire family was here
for the family reunion back in October because I started it late. It's not
uncommon to have dinner after 7:00 in our house.)
10. Bed (everyday for the last week)
11. school
12. hair app'ts
13. picking my boys up after school (only happened once)
I am the queen of lateness... people who are on time don't get how someone can be so chronically late. It's a disease, something one is born with. I've never been in a hurry to get anywhere until 5 minutes before I'm supposed to leave to be there in my entire life. When I was in third grade I was called into the principals office for being late several days in a row... I walked to school and liked to take in the scenery enroute to school.
I have been teased about this character flaw my entire life. I have had many people smile and point to the watch on their wrist, sometimes invisible. I've heard the cracks like "well, it's nice of you to join us". I have become the "queen of being late excuses". The problem with that is that people eventually catch on the 10th time your late in a row and when you really do have a good excuse for being late... well, it's kinda like "the boy who cried wolf".
I tend to get sidetracked really easy... thus causing me not to do what it takes to get ready to get out the door on time. This has always driven my mother nuts!! Even now we'll be getting ready to go somewhere together and she's usually waiting on me, but I'll still stop and have a conversation... no I'm not talking while getting ready, I'm standing there with my hairbrush in my hand (not my hair) flipping it around like the drama queen that I am. I can here her voice and see the flip of her hand as she tells me to "come on".
When we go somewhere as a family, Smart Guy and the kids go out and get in the car a good 2-3 minutes before me, almost all the time. Maybe that's just some Freudian way of getting out of getting everyone out the door, into the car, and buckled in... usually pretty chaotic. Maybe it's just one more time that I've been late something!!
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
My "Near" Faith Crises
It's 12:10, I know I should be in bed sleeping by now, but obviously I'm not!! Everyone else is sound asleep... the only time to have time to myself.
I've had something on my mind for a week or so now and haven't blogged about it for fear of who might read this and think differently of me. After all I was "born in the front pew of the church", have believed my entire life, and have been the helpmate to a youth pastor for almost 13 years nows... I feel like these questions shouldn't be questions for me. Maybe that means I'm putting myself on a pedastal, I don't know. I like to think not.
Anyway, last week I found out about two major "things" happening involving people that were known to have integrity. I guess I kinda talked about my struggle then, but that was just the beginning of it. It blossomed... and then some. I started questioning a few faith issues that I have just simply believed since I was a child, and revisited questioning one from a few years back that simply disappeared from my mind when I just relaxed back into God's arms and trusted him. I want answers now!!
The whole issue of prayer has been a topic for me during this last week or so. Inkling and I stayed up until 1:30 talking on the phone about this issue one night last week. We all say "pray for so and so". Some of these prayers I don't question. I don't question praying for someone who is sick, that there may be healing... although I do question why one person is healed and not another... that's not for us as humans to know... there's always a reason... usually found later after all is said and done... sometimes many years later. The prayers I question are the one's that ask for someone to do or not do something or for something to happen that involves a choice from someone. For example: If I ask God that my children please obey me and clean there rooms. God doesn't make them do it. They have a free-will, God's gift to them, to choose whether or not they are going to obey me. If they then have this free will, what's the point in praying that they'll do it?
Seriously, what's the point in a wife asking God to make her husband faithful? The choice is ultimately up to that husband to choose to do the right thing, right? Does God ever intervene and make someone do something because someone else has prayed for them, thus stripping them of the free will that was granted by God in the first place? Does He put a thought into a husband's head that says "Your wife is praying for you?" and make them "feel" that what they are about to do is wrong? Is that type of prayer more for us humans... I'm more likely to do something right if I know that someone is counting on me to do it that way.
I guess if I believe that God makes us do things a certain way to answer the prayers of others, then I don't see how we could possibly be honoring Him by our actions. I mean, how is it honorable to someone if you are being forced to do something. God is my god because I have chosen to make Him that way. I have the choice, He gave me that choice. If it wasn't my choice to love Him, to worship Him, it wouldn't be honoring Him. If Smart Guy had to love me because I was holding a gun to his head, it would mean nothing to me, but because he loves me because he chooses to love me, it means everything. It's kinda like the child who only obeys because they are fearful of being spanked... I personally want my children to respect and obey me because they ultimately choose to do so because it is for their own good, not because I do something that forces them into it.
God is not a puppeteer. He's not "up there" pulling our strings to make us hand back that extra $5 bill, pulling our foot off the gas pedal to slow down to the speed limit, or telling that husband to walk away from a situation. He's not a slave driver. The things He asks of us are for our own good, to help our lives run smoother and ultimately to worship Him. But we don't have to do them, WE HAVE A CHOICE!
Then that brings up the whole issue of God being in control. On the Sunday after 9-11, I (the good little youth pastor's wife) got up and sang in front of the church a song that I had always loved... Twila Paris' "God Is In Control". I cried, everyone in the congregation cried. It made us all feel better to think that God would save us, that He was still in charge of the situation. I sang, but honestly it was just a bunch of words. God was not in control during 9-11, the people who chose to use those airplanes as huge bombs were in control during 9-11. They were practicing that free-will that God has given to us. Unfortunately they used it to the cause pain to many people all over the world. Again, He's not a puppeteer.
There's such a fine line between my free-will and God knowing everything that I will ever say, everything that I will ever do, every place I will ever go, and every person I will ever influence... I guess that's my struggle... where is that line?
So, while I'm having a faith struggle, it's not a complete faith struggle... I'll get thru it... I may just have to once again sit back and relax in God's arms and allow myself to trust the faith I have in Him to get me thru the next few years until it comes up again... until then I still believe that God is my Lord... I'll still pray to Him, the alternative stinks... I'll still trust that He's gonna take care of my family and friends... what choice do I have really... as much as I believe that I have a free-will to do what I please, to chose if I love Him, for myself He runs thru the very veins of my body, to simply get rid of Him would leave a hole bigger than the Grand Canyon inside of me. I choose to love Him, I choose to trust Him. Some questions will never have answers this side of eternity I guess, because I can't seem to get a firm solid answer that "does it" for me from anyone. Smart Guy says I'm making it too difficult. This from the king of theology. I've been known to accuse Inkling of thinking about theological issues to much, making it too difficult... she's been known to think that Ruby and I make it too simple. I like the simple way better, it's easier. Did God ever really intend for "this" to be so hard to figure out? Oh, I'm just ramblin' at this point, I can't get down what I want to get down...
*Feel free to give me your opinions, IF 1. you love me 2. you consider me a friend 3. you're not going to berate me.
I've had something on my mind for a week or so now and haven't blogged about it for fear of who might read this and think differently of me. After all I was "born in the front pew of the church", have believed my entire life, and have been the helpmate to a youth pastor for almost 13 years nows... I feel like these questions shouldn't be questions for me. Maybe that means I'm putting myself on a pedastal, I don't know. I like to think not.
Anyway, last week I found out about two major "things" happening involving people that were known to have integrity. I guess I kinda talked about my struggle then, but that was just the beginning of it. It blossomed... and then some. I started questioning a few faith issues that I have just simply believed since I was a child, and revisited questioning one from a few years back that simply disappeared from my mind when I just relaxed back into God's arms and trusted him. I want answers now!!
The whole issue of prayer has been a topic for me during this last week or so. Inkling and I stayed up until 1:30 talking on the phone about this issue one night last week. We all say "pray for so and so". Some of these prayers I don't question. I don't question praying for someone who is sick, that there may be healing... although I do question why one person is healed and not another... that's not for us as humans to know... there's always a reason... usually found later after all is said and done... sometimes many years later. The prayers I question are the one's that ask for someone to do or not do something or for something to happen that involves a choice from someone. For example: If I ask God that my children please obey me and clean there rooms. God doesn't make them do it. They have a free-will, God's gift to them, to choose whether or not they are going to obey me. If they then have this free will, what's the point in praying that they'll do it?
Seriously, what's the point in a wife asking God to make her husband faithful? The choice is ultimately up to that husband to choose to do the right thing, right? Does God ever intervene and make someone do something because someone else has prayed for them, thus stripping them of the free will that was granted by God in the first place? Does He put a thought into a husband's head that says "Your wife is praying for you?" and make them "feel" that what they are about to do is wrong? Is that type of prayer more for us humans... I'm more likely to do something right if I know that someone is counting on me to do it that way.
I guess if I believe that God makes us do things a certain way to answer the prayers of others, then I don't see how we could possibly be honoring Him by our actions. I mean, how is it honorable to someone if you are being forced to do something. God is my god because I have chosen to make Him that way. I have the choice, He gave me that choice. If it wasn't my choice to love Him, to worship Him, it wouldn't be honoring Him. If Smart Guy had to love me because I was holding a gun to his head, it would mean nothing to me, but because he loves me because he chooses to love me, it means everything. It's kinda like the child who only obeys because they are fearful of being spanked... I personally want my children to respect and obey me because they ultimately choose to do so because it is for their own good, not because I do something that forces them into it.
God is not a puppeteer. He's not "up there" pulling our strings to make us hand back that extra $5 bill, pulling our foot off the gas pedal to slow down to the speed limit, or telling that husband to walk away from a situation. He's not a slave driver. The things He asks of us are for our own good, to help our lives run smoother and ultimately to worship Him. But we don't have to do them, WE HAVE A CHOICE!
Then that brings up the whole issue of God being in control. On the Sunday after 9-11, I (the good little youth pastor's wife) got up and sang in front of the church a song that I had always loved... Twila Paris' "God Is In Control". I cried, everyone in the congregation cried. It made us all feel better to think that God would save us, that He was still in charge of the situation. I sang, but honestly it was just a bunch of words. God was not in control during 9-11, the people who chose to use those airplanes as huge bombs were in control during 9-11. They were practicing that free-will that God has given to us. Unfortunately they used it to the cause pain to many people all over the world. Again, He's not a puppeteer.
There's such a fine line between my free-will and God knowing everything that I will ever say, everything that I will ever do, every place I will ever go, and every person I will ever influence... I guess that's my struggle... where is that line?
So, while I'm having a faith struggle, it's not a complete faith struggle... I'll get thru it... I may just have to once again sit back and relax in God's arms and allow myself to trust the faith I have in Him to get me thru the next few years until it comes up again... until then I still believe that God is my Lord... I'll still pray to Him, the alternative stinks... I'll still trust that He's gonna take care of my family and friends... what choice do I have really... as much as I believe that I have a free-will to do what I please, to chose if I love Him, for myself He runs thru the very veins of my body, to simply get rid of Him would leave a hole bigger than the Grand Canyon inside of me. I choose to love Him, I choose to trust Him. Some questions will never have answers this side of eternity I guess, because I can't seem to get a firm solid answer that "does it" for me from anyone. Smart Guy says I'm making it too difficult. This from the king of theology. I've been known to accuse Inkling of thinking about theological issues to much, making it too difficult... she's been known to think that Ruby and I make it too simple. I like the simple way better, it's easier. Did God ever really intend for "this" to be so hard to figure out? Oh, I'm just ramblin' at this point, I can't get down what I want to get down...
*Feel free to give me your opinions, IF 1. you love me 2. you consider me a friend 3. you're not going to berate me.
Monday, January 8, 2007
My Monthly Menu
I've always been a list freak. I get it honest. My dad and grandma are the same way. If I don't have a couple lists going about something, I'm probably feeling very overwhelmed with all the things that are in my head at that time. Lists give me a feeling of power knowing that I'm not gonna forget something that's rolling around in my head once it's on paper, that is, if I can keep track of my list. I've always been one of "those women" who has a menu on her fridge. We don't use it all the time, but I try to stick to it pretty close. Because of this menu, I'm also one of "those women" whom you see with a very anally organized grocery list in the grocery store. I have several categories on my list... meat, produce, dairy, C & J (cans and jars), B & B (boxes and bags not bed and breakfast, Ruby), frozen, bread, H & B (health and beauty), bakery, baking aisle, paper, and misc. Okay no comments from the peanut gallery, I'm not OCD okay, I just simply like for everyone to think that I'm totally organized when they walk into my kitchen and see this incredibly detailed list. It works, you should try it sometime. I know Sarah was asking for dinner ideas last week and Lauren is trying to make a meal plan, so I thought I'd post my newest menu for everyone to see and make fun of. I get made fun of alot for this, but inside I know it's just because their all jealous. LOL
Week 1
M - pizza pork chops, angel hair pasta, garlic bread, and salad (C.P.)
T - tortellini & sausage soup, crusty bread, and salad
W - church or sandwiches and veggies
Th - chicken pot pie and green beans
F - pizza
Sa - shake & bake pork chops, baked potatoes, kidney beans, and salad (S.G. fav)
Su - church
Week 2
M - meatballs, mashed potatoes, and green beans (C.P)
T - pancakes, sausage, and fruit
W - church or sandwiches and veggies
Th - spaghetti, salad, and bread
F - pizza
Sa - creamy chicken & noodles, and green beans
Su - church
Week 3
M - veggie-beef soup, salad, and bread (C.P.)
T - biscuits & gravy, cottage cheese, and fruit
W - church or sandwiches and veggies
Th - cheeseburger pie and green beans
F - pizza
Sa - bacon-cheeseburger pasta, salad, and bread
Su - church
Week 4
M - tortilla soup, salad, and bread (C.P.)
T - roasted chicken, wild rice, and stir-fry veggies
W - church or sandwiches and veggies
Th - lasagna casserole, salad, and garlic bread
F - pizza
Sa - nachoes and toppings
Su - church
Lunches
M - hot dogs, sunchips, and carrots
T - tuna salad, crackers, and grapes
W - cereal & milk, yogurt, and applesauce
Th - P.B. & J., pretzels, and applesauce
F - leftovers
Sa - sandwiches, chips, and veggies
Su - sandwiches or leftovers
Breakfast*
M - eggs
T - toast
W - oatmeal
Th - pancakes
F - cereal and milk
Sa - donuts
Su - cereal and milk
Bedtime Snack*
M - cereal
T - pretzels
W - toast
Th - banana
F - popcorn
Sa - string cheese
Su - applesauce
School Snack*
M - string cheese
T - granola bar
W - popcorn
Th - cheese crackers
F - apple slices
After School Snack*
M - popcorn
T - cheese crackers
W - apple slices
Th - string cheese
F - granola bar
*apples, bananas, grapes, carrots, raisins, and celery are always options!!
Okay, now before y'all start making fun and saying things like ".... OCD tendencies" and such... just remember this... while you probably don't know what your children are having for breakfast tomorrow morning (in less than 12 hours) I can tell you what my children are having for their after school snack on Thursday in three weeks.
While this may give the illusion that I'm really organized, keep in my mind that I still have at least 13 loads of laundry sitting on my bedroom floor waiting to be washed, my daughter is sleeping on the floor in her room because when she cleaned her room this evening I didn't check it until I went to put her in bed and found she had put every single item that was on her floor onto her bed, and at the moment the only item on that menu that is currently in my kitchen is a box of microwave popcorn. The menu thing is just "my thing"... it gives me some freedom to not have to think about what's for dinner any more often than every few months when I make up a new one!!
If anyone wants any of those recipes, ask and I'll put them on. I just didn't want to put them all on and no one use them or really care. Keep in mind though, that I'm one of those cooks that tends to never use an actual recipe, I just kinda throw the same basic things into the pot and hope it turns out close to the same as last time!!
*by the way "C.P." means crock-pot and the meatballs are frozen - much easier than meatloaf and I can pop them in the crock-pot in the morning with some tomato sauce, green peppers, onions, and garlic and by dinner they're done!!
Week 1
M - pizza pork chops, angel hair pasta, garlic bread, and salad (C.P.)
T - tortellini & sausage soup, crusty bread, and salad
W - church or sandwiches and veggies
Th - chicken pot pie and green beans
F - pizza
Sa - shake & bake pork chops, baked potatoes, kidney beans, and salad (S.G. fav)
Su - church
Week 2
M - meatballs, mashed potatoes, and green beans (C.P)
T - pancakes, sausage, and fruit
W - church or sandwiches and veggies
Th - spaghetti, salad, and bread
F - pizza
Sa - creamy chicken & noodles, and green beans
Su - church
Week 3
M - veggie-beef soup, salad, and bread (C.P.)
T - biscuits & gravy, cottage cheese, and fruit
W - church or sandwiches and veggies
Th - cheeseburger pie and green beans
F - pizza
Sa - bacon-cheeseburger pasta, salad, and bread
Su - church
Week 4
M - tortilla soup, salad, and bread (C.P.)
T - roasted chicken, wild rice, and stir-fry veggies
W - church or sandwiches and veggies
Th - lasagna casserole, salad, and garlic bread
F - pizza
Sa - nachoes and toppings
Su - church
Lunches
M - hot dogs, sunchips, and carrots
T - tuna salad, crackers, and grapes
W - cereal & milk, yogurt, and applesauce
Th - P.B. & J., pretzels, and applesauce
F - leftovers
Sa - sandwiches, chips, and veggies
Su - sandwiches or leftovers
Breakfast*
M - eggs
T - toast
W - oatmeal
Th - pancakes
F - cereal and milk
Sa - donuts
Su - cereal and milk
Bedtime Snack*
M - cereal
T - pretzels
W - toast
Th - banana
F - popcorn
Sa - string cheese
Su - applesauce
School Snack*
M - string cheese
T - granola bar
W - popcorn
Th - cheese crackers
F - apple slices
After School Snack*
M - popcorn
T - cheese crackers
W - apple slices
Th - string cheese
F - granola bar
*apples, bananas, grapes, carrots, raisins, and celery are always options!!
Okay, now before y'all start making fun and saying things like ".... OCD tendencies" and such... just remember this... while you probably don't know what your children are having for breakfast tomorrow morning (in less than 12 hours) I can tell you what my children are having for their after school snack on Thursday in three weeks.
While this may give the illusion that I'm really organized, keep in my mind that I still have at least 13 loads of laundry sitting on my bedroom floor waiting to be washed, my daughter is sleeping on the floor in her room because when she cleaned her room this evening I didn't check it until I went to put her in bed and found she had put every single item that was on her floor onto her bed, and at the moment the only item on that menu that is currently in my kitchen is a box of microwave popcorn. The menu thing is just "my thing"... it gives me some freedom to not have to think about what's for dinner any more often than every few months when I make up a new one!!
If anyone wants any of those recipes, ask and I'll put them on. I just didn't want to put them all on and no one use them or really care. Keep in mind though, that I'm one of those cooks that tends to never use an actual recipe, I just kinda throw the same basic things into the pot and hope it turns out close to the same as last time!!
*by the way "C.P." means crock-pot and the meatballs are frozen - much easier than meatloaf and I can pop them in the crock-pot in the morning with some tomato sauce, green peppers, onions, and garlic and by dinner they're done!!
My Boys Are Growing Up
We took Prophet and D.K.'s bunk beds apart this evening. The only other time they've been apart was after the wreck when Prophet couldn't climb the ladder because his arm was in a sling. They have now decided that they want separate beds and are willing to give up the floor space to have them that way. There room looks so different. I've gotten so used to having that tall piece of furniture on one wall and now it looks so bare on their walls!! This also means that the dinosaur costume that's been hanging on the end of the bed for the last three years (long since been outgrown by the giant that is D.K.) has now been relocated to his new home on a hanger in the closet. This is indeed a sad moment for this mama. D.K. has, however, refused to give up any of the 28 animals that presently share his bed with him... yes I meant to write 28, I just went in there and counted them as he slept. Prophet is having a hard time falling asleep tonight. He's been in bed since 8:00 and he still hasn't fallen asleep, it's now 10:55. Could be that's he too close to the floor, or I guess it could be the Robitussin I gave him for his horribly runny nose before he went to bed. That stuff always keeps me awake, it must be doing the same thing to him. So he's awake, but on the bright side, his nose finally quit dripping!!
Mommy, Why Are You Laughing At Me?
This afternoon around 1:30 I finally told Bee it was time to get dressed. So she went upstairs to do so. She came down in red tights with a cute little mint green and lavendar skirt and top. She was stylin'! Honestly I was too impressed that she got the tights on by herself (I know what I go thru to put hose on, thus the reason I only wear them once in a blue moon) to make her change them and we weren't gonna be leaving the house anyway, so she stayed in that outfit the rest of the day.
At one point this evening she walked over to me tugging at her hip and said "Mommy, I'm having issues here." That was enough to make me laugh, but when I lifted up her skirt I could see what the issue was. The last time she had used the potty, she had apparently pulled up her tights but had neglected to pull up her panties first, thus they were in a rolled up knot sitting around her thighs while the tights were practically pulled up to her neck. I lost it! I started giggling and couldn't stop!! The red tights, the mint green outfit, the panties... it was too much. Poor little Bee didn't see the humor in it thru her discomfort and just looked at me very seriously and asked, "Mommy, why are you laughing at me?" Ang, you talk about someone needing therapy, this poor youngest child of three is a shoe-in!!
At one point this evening she walked over to me tugging at her hip and said "Mommy, I'm having issues here." That was enough to make me laugh, but when I lifted up her skirt I could see what the issue was. The last time she had used the potty, she had apparently pulled up her tights but had neglected to pull up her panties first, thus they were in a rolled up knot sitting around her thighs while the tights were practically pulled up to her neck. I lost it! I started giggling and couldn't stop!! The red tights, the mint green outfit, the panties... it was too much. Poor little Bee didn't see the humor in it thru her discomfort and just looked at me very seriously and asked, "Mommy, why are you laughing at me?" Ang, you talk about someone needing therapy, this poor youngest child of three is a shoe-in!!
Mopping, Cooking, Laundry
What a weekend!! Saturday I finished up my cleaning to get my 15 hours in even though we had been gone on our trip most of the week. Our church has never had someone "official" clean the kitchen. It's always been left up to whom ever was the last one to use it. Ha! Ha! Anyone who's ever used a church kitchen knows that they are almost never truly clean... ours is no exception. When I started cooking dinner for the youth every Sunday night back in September, I realized then that no one really cleaned it completely when they were done. The floors and the walls behind the work tables and next to the stove were the worst, but not any more. I spent about 6 hours in there between Friday and Saturday getting it somewhat caught up to where it should be. It shouldn't take me as long to clean it each week now that I spent an hour with a magic eraser scrubbing the grease off the wall beside the stove and another 3 hours scrubbing the entire, very large, floor. It still looks bad, but I know it's clean.
Saturday evening we all came home from the church, had bacon and eggs for dinner and everyone crashed in our room for the night!!
Sunday mornings are always fun in our house...Smart Guy always leaves about 40 minutes before first service starts at 8:15 and there is no way I'm getting up that early on a weekend. So that means that I'm left to get everyone up and ready for church by myself. If I get it together and get everyone's clothes out on Saturday night, we usually make it to Sunday School. If I don't, then we don't make it until the 11:00 service. Considering the fact that I was still washing clothes for everyone to wear to church at 10:00 on Saturday night, we didn't make it to church until the 11:00 service. We went home, had a quick (read easy to clean up) lunch, rested until 2:00 or so and headed back to the church to make dinner for the teens. Last night's menu was salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, greens beans, corn, and apple crisp with ice cream for dessert. We cleaned up from that, went home where I promptly laid down on the couch, was quickly joined by Bee under my blanket, and we were both out cold and oblivious to the world in about 5 minutes. We stayed there nice and toasty warm and drowsy until about 11:00 and then we went and climbed into our cold beds upstairs.
Today has been a wonderful day of staying at home all day long. We sorted laundry... well actually my children sorted laundry while I took a shower at 2:00 this afternoon. I started to do this monumental task when I suddenly had a thought... this is a kid proof job. I transferred Mt. St. Laundry from our closet to the middle of our bedroom floor and then put things into each pile that would be necessary to sort all of it. It took all three of them about 30 minutes to sort it all... pathetic I know. Here's the funny part... I went and took my shower while they worked.
For those of you that don't know, I'm a big chicken little. I'm not as bad as I used to be but I still have everyone sleep downstairs when Smart Guy is out of town just in case there's fire or someone breaks in it would be easier for me to get everyone out by myself. I know, I think too much... that's just who I am. Anyway, one of the things I started doing way back along time ago when I first starting staying home with Prophet and would usually get my shower when Smart Guy wasn't at home was to turn on the hallway light and turn off the bathroom light while I showered. My thinking was that if someone walked into the hallway with the light on, I'd see the shadow because the bathroom light was off. Fortunately I never got a chance to test this theory. After awhile I just began enjoying the peacefulness of taking my shower in the dark, especially now when I get up first thing in the morning and have to get ready immediately, it's a good way to relax for just a few more minutes. So today while the kids sorted the laundry I closed the door to the bathroom all but a small crack for light enough to see if I was washing or conditioning my hair and jumped into a very hot shower with full intentions of staying there until it was no longer hot water (which means a very long shower in this house with our huge hot what heater. At our family reunion I think we took about 10 showers back to back, a few going on in two different bathrooms at the same time, and still didn't use all the hot water up). As I'm standing there enjoying the water, the door opens and the light comes on and someone asks "what pile does this go in", I answer, the door closes, with the light on. Same thing again, except this time, the light gets turned out and the door left wide open. Same thing again, except this time the light is left on and the door closed. And again, but this time, the light is turned off and the door is pulled completely shut, leaving this mama in the complete blackness of a bathroom without a window. After a few seconds when my eyes adjusted I decided it wasn't worth the cold air to get out and open the door a crack knowing that one of them would be back in a minute or so anyway to turn the light on.
So now, I have at least 13 loads of laundry still waiting to be done and I've already done about 6. Isn't there a saying that says something to the effect that there are two things for certain in life... death and taxes... I think I could add laundry to that for it never goes away!!!
All three kids go back to school tomorrow morning and I'm gonna work six hours while Bee spends the day with her daddy!!
Saturday evening we all came home from the church, had bacon and eggs for dinner and everyone crashed in our room for the night!!
Sunday mornings are always fun in our house...Smart Guy always leaves about 40 minutes before first service starts at 8:15 and there is no way I'm getting up that early on a weekend. So that means that I'm left to get everyone up and ready for church by myself. If I get it together and get everyone's clothes out on Saturday night, we usually make it to Sunday School. If I don't, then we don't make it until the 11:00 service. Considering the fact that I was still washing clothes for everyone to wear to church at 10:00 on Saturday night, we didn't make it to church until the 11:00 service. We went home, had a quick (read easy to clean up) lunch, rested until 2:00 or so and headed back to the church to make dinner for the teens. Last night's menu was salisbury steak, mashed potatoes, greens beans, corn, and apple crisp with ice cream for dessert. We cleaned up from that, went home where I promptly laid down on the couch, was quickly joined by Bee under my blanket, and we were both out cold and oblivious to the world in about 5 minutes. We stayed there nice and toasty warm and drowsy until about 11:00 and then we went and climbed into our cold beds upstairs.
Today has been a wonderful day of staying at home all day long. We sorted laundry... well actually my children sorted laundry while I took a shower at 2:00 this afternoon. I started to do this monumental task when I suddenly had a thought... this is a kid proof job. I transferred Mt. St. Laundry from our closet to the middle of our bedroom floor and then put things into each pile that would be necessary to sort all of it. It took all three of them about 30 minutes to sort it all... pathetic I know. Here's the funny part... I went and took my shower while they worked.
For those of you that don't know, I'm a big chicken little. I'm not as bad as I used to be but I still have everyone sleep downstairs when Smart Guy is out of town just in case there's fire or someone breaks in it would be easier for me to get everyone out by myself. I know, I think too much... that's just who I am. Anyway, one of the things I started doing way back along time ago when I first starting staying home with Prophet and would usually get my shower when Smart Guy wasn't at home was to turn on the hallway light and turn off the bathroom light while I showered. My thinking was that if someone walked into the hallway with the light on, I'd see the shadow because the bathroom light was off. Fortunately I never got a chance to test this theory. After awhile I just began enjoying the peacefulness of taking my shower in the dark, especially now when I get up first thing in the morning and have to get ready immediately, it's a good way to relax for just a few more minutes. So today while the kids sorted the laundry I closed the door to the bathroom all but a small crack for light enough to see if I was washing or conditioning my hair and jumped into a very hot shower with full intentions of staying there until it was no longer hot water (which means a very long shower in this house with our huge hot what heater. At our family reunion I think we took about 10 showers back to back, a few going on in two different bathrooms at the same time, and still didn't use all the hot water up). As I'm standing there enjoying the water, the door opens and the light comes on and someone asks "what pile does this go in", I answer, the door closes, with the light on. Same thing again, except this time, the light gets turned out and the door left wide open. Same thing again, except this time the light is left on and the door closed. And again, but this time, the light is turned off and the door is pulled completely shut, leaving this mama in the complete blackness of a bathroom without a window. After a few seconds when my eyes adjusted I decided it wasn't worth the cold air to get out and open the door a crack knowing that one of them would be back in a minute or so anyway to turn the light on.
So now, I have at least 13 loads of laundry still waiting to be done and I've already done about 6. Isn't there a saying that says something to the effect that there are two things for certain in life... death and taxes... I think I could add laundry to that for it never goes away!!!
All three kids go back to school tomorrow morning and I'm gonna work six hours while Bee spends the day with her daddy!!
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Bad Weeds and Beautiful Flowers
Hey guys!! I just have to say that I have sore muscles that I didn't even know exsisted!! My shoulders hurt, my arms hurt, my shins hurt, my back hurts, my ankles hurt, shoot, my butt even hurts!! I'm such a weenie, I know!! Hopefully in a couple weeks I'll get used to it and it won't hurt anymore!! Inkling by the time you see me again, I'm gonna look like a female body-builder!!
Well, we have a saying in this house that goes like this... "D.K. grows like a bad weed, and Prophet grows like a beautiful flower." D.K. is a giant. He won't be eight until next month and he's already up to my chin. Now, for those of you that know me in real life, you know that's not really saying much (I'm about 5 foot 2 inches), but for a seven year old that's over the 100th percentile. I'd say that by the next time he sees his Sara Orange he's gonna almost be looking her in the eyes... she's kind of a shorty ya know!! (but she's our shorty and we love her) So anyway, Prophet has always been a slow grower. He started small and everyone kept saying, "Oh don't worry, he'll catch up". He hasn't and that's okay, it's part of who he is.
For awhile I tried to avoid any talk about the size difference when the boys were around and hated it when some big mouth would make a big deal out of the height difference between them. Then one day I heard them plotting to do something when they didn't know I was listening. Prophet told D.K. that he needed to do it because he was bigger and could do it easier. Okay, so Prophet knew that his little brother was bigger than him and not only was he was okay with it but he was using it to his advantage to get his little brother into trouble. Prophet is a very confident guy and not the least bit upset about his shortness.
At this point I'd say there's about a five inch height difference between them with D.K. (the "little" brother) being the taller one. He is now the one who gets the new clothes and then passes them on to his big brother... which brings me to the entire reason for this post... I just put on a load of pants and jeans for the boys and EVERY pair of D.K.'s pants have holes in the knees. Did I mention that all of these pants were just bought back in September because he had outgrown everything from last year? Prophet on the other hand has been wearing three pairs of his pants for three winters now, and they just now are starting to get some wear, not holes, in the knees. I would really like to know what on earth D.K. does to cause this to happen.
Oh well, he's already outgrown the length anyway. I was just putting off the inevitable of having to buy him two complete sets of pants in one winter, now I really don't have a choice. I'm gonna take him out next Saturday to get new pants, after my first paycheck. I think I'm gonna buy some of those iron on patches and iron them onto the inside of his pants where they always get the holes to see if that prolongs their life. I guess D.K.'s gonna have a couple pairs of cutoffs to wear next summer seeing how they still fit his skinny butt perfectly!
Well, we have a saying in this house that goes like this... "D.K. grows like a bad weed, and Prophet grows like a beautiful flower." D.K. is a giant. He won't be eight until next month and he's already up to my chin. Now, for those of you that know me in real life, you know that's not really saying much (I'm about 5 foot 2 inches), but for a seven year old that's over the 100th percentile. I'd say that by the next time he sees his Sara Orange he's gonna almost be looking her in the eyes... she's kind of a shorty ya know!! (but she's our shorty and we love her) So anyway, Prophet has always been a slow grower. He started small and everyone kept saying, "Oh don't worry, he'll catch up". He hasn't and that's okay, it's part of who he is.
For awhile I tried to avoid any talk about the size difference when the boys were around and hated it when some big mouth would make a big deal out of the height difference between them. Then one day I heard them plotting to do something when they didn't know I was listening. Prophet told D.K. that he needed to do it because he was bigger and could do it easier. Okay, so Prophet knew that his little brother was bigger than him and not only was he was okay with it but he was using it to his advantage to get his little brother into trouble. Prophet is a very confident guy and not the least bit upset about his shortness.
At this point I'd say there's about a five inch height difference between them with D.K. (the "little" brother) being the taller one. He is now the one who gets the new clothes and then passes them on to his big brother... which brings me to the entire reason for this post... I just put on a load of pants and jeans for the boys and EVERY pair of D.K.'s pants have holes in the knees. Did I mention that all of these pants were just bought back in September because he had outgrown everything from last year? Prophet on the other hand has been wearing three pairs of his pants for three winters now, and they just now are starting to get some wear, not holes, in the knees. I would really like to know what on earth D.K. does to cause this to happen.
Oh well, he's already outgrown the length anyway. I was just putting off the inevitable of having to buy him two complete sets of pants in one winter, now I really don't have a choice. I'm gonna take him out next Saturday to get new pants, after my first paycheck. I think I'm gonna buy some of those iron on patches and iron them onto the inside of his pants where they always get the holes to see if that prolongs their life. I guess D.K.'s gonna have a couple pairs of cutoffs to wear next summer seeing how they still fit his skinny butt perfectly!
Friday, January 5, 2007
I'm Pooped and So Is My Puter
Well, I just finished my second day on the new job!! It's going good, but I'm really worn out!! I'm not used to be pushing a vacuum around 15 rooms in one day or wiping down about 45 tables. Shew!! I won't be doing it all at once starting next week. I'll only be working 3 hours a day, but since I went to Mom and Dad's house, I had to get my 15 hours in less time. My poor children were bored stiff today, especially the boys!!
Well, my puter is down, something wrong with our connection to the browzer. Hopefully Smart Guy can look at it tonight and figure out what's wrong with it easily!! It's been doing wierd things for about two weeks, so who knows. Right now I'm on the puter in Smart Guys office at the church and I need to get home, but wanted to say "hi" and tell you that I miss you guys!! Hopefully I can sit down and write tomorrow afternoon sometime!!
Ya know Inkling, part of my exhaustian could be from our 2 1/2 hour phone call that didn't end until 1:30 am my time... oh well, it was worth it!! Love you guys, and chat later!! Hugs!!
Well, my puter is down, something wrong with our connection to the browzer. Hopefully Smart Guy can look at it tonight and figure out what's wrong with it easily!! It's been doing wierd things for about two weeks, so who knows. Right now I'm on the puter in Smart Guys office at the church and I need to get home, but wanted to say "hi" and tell you that I miss you guys!! Hopefully I can sit down and write tomorrow afternoon sometime!!
Ya know Inkling, part of my exhaustian could be from our 2 1/2 hour phone call that didn't end until 1:30 am my time... oh well, it was worth it!! Love you guys, and chat later!! Hugs!!
Thursday, January 4, 2007
My First Day
Tomorrow when I get back home from Mom and Dad's house I will go immediately over to the church building (with my children in tow) to start my new job!! I can't wait to get started!! Please pray that I'll get the whole work/family thing figured out!!
She Did It
I just wanted to tell the world that my precious little Bee finally figured out the fine art of holding the end of her shirt sleeve between the palm of her hand and her bent fingers so that her sleeves don't ride up to her shoulders when putting on her coat. Yeah, what a big girl accomplishment!!
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Security in Chinese Food
I really, really like Chinese food!! It's one of my favorite things to eat with my mom. We have always made tradition of eating it together. Smart Guy doesn't like it, so that's about the only time I ever get to have it. The first time I can ever actually remember having it with Mom was after Prophet was born. She had come to stay with Smart Guy and I because I was on bedrest and needed her, so she packed up, left Illinois and Dad, and came to take care of me for what we hoped would be about three months, which would have been full-term. Unfortunately after one week of her being there, the same week that Princess Diana and Mother Teresa both died, I gave birth to Prophet 12 weeks early. It was so stressful, but Mom was there with me thru it all. She went ahead and stayed until he was supposed to have been born because my health was not good at the time and I just simply needed my mom there with me. He'd been home from the hospital for about 2 weeks by the time she left.
The first time I ever remember eating Chinese with Mom was after one of our daily visits to the hospital to spend the day with Prophet. On our way home, we stopped and had Chinese at one of the shopping plazas in Robinson Township right outside Pittsburgh, PA where the hospital was. It was good, but I was too focused on my baby and myself at the time to really be able to enjoy anything.
The day after Prophet came home from the hospital weighing all of 4 pounds, we had to take him back out to his first dr.'s appointment. Mom and I dressed him up like a little doll and doted on him like crazy. We have pictures of that day. He was the first grandchild and much longed and waited for. The doctor had him as the very first patient after lunch so he wouldn't come into contact with anyone who could have made him sick with anything, mainly RSV since the season was in full swing at the time. After the appointment we took him to his very first lunch outing...Chinese!! We put his seat at the back of the table facing away from anyone's stares... babies that small are a magnet, but unfortunately you really can't show them off because of their health issues. I had imperial shrimp that day for lunch and actually for the first time felt like a mom. I had my baby home with me and was dragging him out like a somewhat-normal mom.
As time passed, Chinese food became Mom and I's "thing" together. Whenever I came home to visit, we would have Chinese. As Prophet hit the finger foods stage, his Grannie started giving him fried rice and those little fried donuts covered with sugar that you find on every Chinese buffet across the country. Trying to get that sugar off of little tiny hands that were struggling with tight muscle tone and didn't want to open was always a challenge and we would just laugh and laugh at it. The only thing a wipey would do is move the sugar around. We usually ended up having to rinse them in the sink. The rice was usually everywhere but his mouth... in his shirt, in his diaper, and all over the floor.
Then D.K. and the Bee came along and the tradition continued just with one more guest at the table with each new little person. They've all just kinda grown up knowing that when we visit Grannie and Pa for more than 2 or 3 days, at some point we'd get to have Chinese food for lunch or dinner. One Halloween the kids actually ate dinner there in their Halloween costumes while in the middle of trick or treating.
So this evening when Grannie said to everyone, "If you all could pick anywhere to eat dinner out tonight, where would it be?" They all said "Chinese". Personally I said I wanted to go somewhere where I could get "fried squid, roasted pigs eye balls, and boiled cows butt". My children have lived with me long enough to know that I'm crazy and this suggestion was met with a resounding "Mommmmmmy!!" from all three of them. It was great!!
So tonight, as soon as Pa (Dad) got home from work, we all put on our coats and headed to the Chinese restaurant that we always go to. It's got a buffet so everyone gets what they want. The women that work in there know us when we walk in and always give us our drinks for no charge!! The boys are old enough now that I just let them go up with their plates and get what they want... where have the years gone!! It seems like Prophet should still be sucking the sugar off his donuts and practicing his pincer grasp with rice and peas.
Everyone had an interesting variety, but D.K.'s plate was the best. He had two different kinds of shrimp, at least 4 cheese wontons, chicken fingers, pizza, teryaki chicken on a stick, fried rice, green jello (eaten with chopsticks... the only thing he ate with chopsticks), onion rings, donuts, and something else that has escaped me at the moment. Yes, he always eats that much and no he's not fat, but he is over the 100 % in height. He's only seven, what's he gonna be eating when he's 16. Prophet had about 3 cheese wontons, shrimp, fried rice, chicken, ice cream, and he ate it all with chopsticks. He's actually very coordinated with them. I guess the years of occupational therapy paid off since I'm 32 and can't figure those things out. Bee's favorite part is always the ice cream. Tonight she ate almost all of it by licking it out of the bowl and not using a spoon. You should have seen her face.
So, I bet you never thought you'd actually see a post this long about how Chinese food has been a secure, consistent thing in my life. It respresents a time in my life of trasitions and the feeling of being a real mom finally. It represents a tradition that my mom and I made together when I was a grown woman and we were not just mother and daughter but best friends. Silly, I know, but that's okay... some of the best family traditions people have don't make sense to anyone other than themselves.
The first time I ever remember eating Chinese with Mom was after one of our daily visits to the hospital to spend the day with Prophet. On our way home, we stopped and had Chinese at one of the shopping plazas in Robinson Township right outside Pittsburgh, PA where the hospital was. It was good, but I was too focused on my baby and myself at the time to really be able to enjoy anything.
The day after Prophet came home from the hospital weighing all of 4 pounds, we had to take him back out to his first dr.'s appointment. Mom and I dressed him up like a little doll and doted on him like crazy. We have pictures of that day. He was the first grandchild and much longed and waited for. The doctor had him as the very first patient after lunch so he wouldn't come into contact with anyone who could have made him sick with anything, mainly RSV since the season was in full swing at the time. After the appointment we took him to his very first lunch outing...Chinese!! We put his seat at the back of the table facing away from anyone's stares... babies that small are a magnet, but unfortunately you really can't show them off because of their health issues. I had imperial shrimp that day for lunch and actually for the first time felt like a mom. I had my baby home with me and was dragging him out like a somewhat-normal mom.
As time passed, Chinese food became Mom and I's "thing" together. Whenever I came home to visit, we would have Chinese. As Prophet hit the finger foods stage, his Grannie started giving him fried rice and those little fried donuts covered with sugar that you find on every Chinese buffet across the country. Trying to get that sugar off of little tiny hands that were struggling with tight muscle tone and didn't want to open was always a challenge and we would just laugh and laugh at it. The only thing a wipey would do is move the sugar around. We usually ended up having to rinse them in the sink. The rice was usually everywhere but his mouth... in his shirt, in his diaper, and all over the floor.
Then D.K. and the Bee came along and the tradition continued just with one more guest at the table with each new little person. They've all just kinda grown up knowing that when we visit Grannie and Pa for more than 2 or 3 days, at some point we'd get to have Chinese food for lunch or dinner. One Halloween the kids actually ate dinner there in their Halloween costumes while in the middle of trick or treating.
So this evening when Grannie said to everyone, "If you all could pick anywhere to eat dinner out tonight, where would it be?" They all said "Chinese". Personally I said I wanted to go somewhere where I could get "fried squid, roasted pigs eye balls, and boiled cows butt". My children have lived with me long enough to know that I'm crazy and this suggestion was met with a resounding "Mommmmmmy!!" from all three of them. It was great!!
So tonight, as soon as Pa (Dad) got home from work, we all put on our coats and headed to the Chinese restaurant that we always go to. It's got a buffet so everyone gets what they want. The women that work in there know us when we walk in and always give us our drinks for no charge!! The boys are old enough now that I just let them go up with their plates and get what they want... where have the years gone!! It seems like Prophet should still be sucking the sugar off his donuts and practicing his pincer grasp with rice and peas.
Everyone had an interesting variety, but D.K.'s plate was the best. He had two different kinds of shrimp, at least 4 cheese wontons, chicken fingers, pizza, teryaki chicken on a stick, fried rice, green jello (eaten with chopsticks... the only thing he ate with chopsticks), onion rings, donuts, and something else that has escaped me at the moment. Yes, he always eats that much and no he's not fat, but he is over the 100 % in height. He's only seven, what's he gonna be eating when he's 16. Prophet had about 3 cheese wontons, shrimp, fried rice, chicken, ice cream, and he ate it all with chopsticks. He's actually very coordinated with them. I guess the years of occupational therapy paid off since I'm 32 and can't figure those things out. Bee's favorite part is always the ice cream. Tonight she ate almost all of it by licking it out of the bowl and not using a spoon. You should have seen her face.
So, I bet you never thought you'd actually see a post this long about how Chinese food has been a secure, consistent thing in my life. It respresents a time in my life of trasitions and the feeling of being a real mom finally. It represents a tradition that my mom and I made together when I was a grown woman and we were not just mother and daughter but best friends. Silly, I know, but that's okay... some of the best family traditions people have don't make sense to anyone other than themselves.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
"Person of Integrity"
I looked up "integrity" on Meriam-Webster online and here's what it said.
Integrity - firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values: incorruptibility. synonym: honesty
Honesty - fairness and straighforwardness of conduct. synonym: integrity
Then under honesty it says "integrity implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility, or plege.
Recently I have recieved two phone calls. First from Ruby and then awhile later from Inkling. They were both concerning the same matter and they both needed to simply "talk it out" instead of mulling it around in their heads. I was the one who was chosen for both these phone calls. My problem is that I can be a rather judgemental little b**** at times. I listened and then gave my opinion on the matter, even though it hadn't been asked for. I apologize for this guys!! My opinion is strong because this matter touches a very sensitive fear of mine and therefore in my eyes makes it one of the unpardonable sins... to me... thankfully not to God.
For those of you that read Inklings post earlier today, this is gonna sound like I'm skirting the subject because I am, but just bare with me. Both Inkling and Ruby told me that back in the day the person who has done this heinous thing was a "person of integrity". Inkling went as far as to say that this person had as much integrity as H.D., which for Inkling is the highest standard there is. I'm glad I'm not the Judge because I'm struggling with this. How is it possible for someone who has such amazingly high integrity to do something so incredibly unbelievable. I simply don't get it!! I can't figure it out!! The more I've thought about the more confused I've gotten. Inkling and Ruby are both forgiving and gracious. I on the other hand don't even know this person and I can't go there right now.
I was talking to my mom earlier and she presented me with some things to think about, which is not unusual. Inkling'll tell ya, Mom is good at making you see the other side of an issue. I'm just convinced that this person is "bad". After all, how can someone who did something so awful have any good in them. So in my judgemental, it's black or white mind, this person is either good or their bad. My Mom said to me " Everything's not - either/or". Meaning that just because this person did something that isn't good, doesn't make them a bad person. She actually went as far as to say this person is a "person of integrity" because they turned themself in before they were caught doing this thing. She used the example of someone who did some horrible things to her growing up, things that have caused alot of heartache and trauma for my mom, but this same person was an amazing person and influence in my life. She wasn't all bad. I guess I get it in one part of my brain, but the other part still hasn't wrapped it fingers around it yet!!
All I know, is that right now, I'm not feeling like a "person of integrity". I'm feeling judgemental and nasty. What's wierd is that this doesn't even involve me, but it's become such a problem in our society, that it seems like it's infiltrating my little corner of the world and it has got to stop - NOW!!
I don't wanna make this about myself, it's so not. There's many families out there in our world that are suffering and struggling because of this problem and one's similar to it!! I wish there was a way we could fix it, but alas only God can take someone's heart and transform it. We can all pray. Let's pray that there is healing in this particular family and in all the others that have been hurt and separated by similar things. My heart aches for them, the husbands, the wives, the children...
Well, it's time to close up shop for the night!! 'til tommorrow, goodnight!!
Integrity - firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values: incorruptibility. synonym: honesty
Honesty - fairness and straighforwardness of conduct. synonym: integrity
Then under honesty it says "integrity implies trustworthiness and incorruptibility to a degree that one is incapable of being false to a trust, responsibility, or plege.
Recently I have recieved two phone calls. First from Ruby and then awhile later from Inkling. They were both concerning the same matter and they both needed to simply "talk it out" instead of mulling it around in their heads. I was the one who was chosen for both these phone calls. My problem is that I can be a rather judgemental little b**** at times. I listened and then gave my opinion on the matter, even though it hadn't been asked for. I apologize for this guys!! My opinion is strong because this matter touches a very sensitive fear of mine and therefore in my eyes makes it one of the unpardonable sins... to me... thankfully not to God.
For those of you that read Inklings post earlier today, this is gonna sound like I'm skirting the subject because I am, but just bare with me. Both Inkling and Ruby told me that back in the day the person who has done this heinous thing was a "person of integrity". Inkling went as far as to say that this person had as much integrity as H.D., which for Inkling is the highest standard there is. I'm glad I'm not the Judge because I'm struggling with this. How is it possible for someone who has such amazingly high integrity to do something so incredibly unbelievable. I simply don't get it!! I can't figure it out!! The more I've thought about the more confused I've gotten. Inkling and Ruby are both forgiving and gracious. I on the other hand don't even know this person and I can't go there right now.
I was talking to my mom earlier and she presented me with some things to think about, which is not unusual. Inkling'll tell ya, Mom is good at making you see the other side of an issue. I'm just convinced that this person is "bad". After all, how can someone who did something so awful have any good in them. So in my judgemental, it's black or white mind, this person is either good or their bad. My Mom said to me " Everything's not - either/or". Meaning that just because this person did something that isn't good, doesn't make them a bad person. She actually went as far as to say this person is a "person of integrity" because they turned themself in before they were caught doing this thing. She used the example of someone who did some horrible things to her growing up, things that have caused alot of heartache and trauma for my mom, but this same person was an amazing person and influence in my life. She wasn't all bad. I guess I get it in one part of my brain, but the other part still hasn't wrapped it fingers around it yet!!
All I know, is that right now, I'm not feeling like a "person of integrity". I'm feeling judgemental and nasty. What's wierd is that this doesn't even involve me, but it's become such a problem in our society, that it seems like it's infiltrating my little corner of the world and it has got to stop - NOW!!
I don't wanna make this about myself, it's so not. There's many families out there in our world that are suffering and struggling because of this problem and one's similar to it!! I wish there was a way we could fix it, but alas only God can take someone's heart and transform it. We can all pray. Let's pray that there is healing in this particular family and in all the others that have been hurt and separated by similar things. My heart aches for them, the husbands, the wives, the children...
Well, it's time to close up shop for the night!! 'til tommorrow, goodnight!!
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