The Shindig

We are back from our yearly couple's beach trip. We didn't go the first year it was started. I think we slid our way in because another couple couldn't go one year, we're okay with that, as long as we keep getting invited!
It was originally started for our friend Kim's 30th Birthday, her husband wanted to bless her and have others bless her with coming together for a big celebration. It was also a way for husbands to show love to their wives. They even had T-shirts with the Ephesians verse that speaks of husbands loving their wives at Christ loves the Church. I saw how the theme of love really played out this weekend. However, the couples we were around, love each other with Christ's love I think on a daily basis. There has been a lot that most of the couples that we went with have been through. I feel blessed to even see a glimpse how Christ has worked in and out of their marriage and families. God has been good to my friends and He will continue to be good. I take great peace in knowing that He is in control and is gracious with His love, His providence and His power. Here are a few pictures below before we went out to our fancy dinner.
Oh and my friend's like to eat, and I mean eat good, that is one of the reasons we keep coming back!

Sunday is coming.....

I was thinking about Easter and what I wanted to post about. I read Beth Moore's post today and thought she shared the hope I desperately believe. No matter our circumstances, our trials, our joys, our sufferings He is alive and in the midst of those who call upon His Name. The context of the below quote from Beth Moore is about some of her blog friends commenting on how they are doing, just in general. How life is going for them. Some difficult things were shared that I pray that I will never have to go through. Some great joys were shared too.... She sums all of it up with her following thoughts.....

"And Christ is watchful and active and overflowing with unabashed, unbridled affection over every single one of them. As Present in one as any other. As purposeful in the life feeling the least purpose. The most exhaustion. He still raises the dead. Saves the lost. Heals the weak. Sets prisoners free. He never misses a tear. Never let’s us go. He was lifted up so we could be drawn to Him. Killed so we could live. Beaten so we could win. No matter what stone seems to have you entombed, He can roll it away. Nothing can stay in the grave when God has resurrection on His mind. And, Sweet Thing, God has resurrection on His mind right now.

He had it on His mind with every beat of that hammer on the nails penetrating Christ’s flesh. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” Death never gets the last word. Not even the death of relationship. Respect. Well-being. Health. God cannot – will not – leave well enough alone. His business is life and life at its liveliest. Loveliest. May He roll away every last thing that is stifling His effervescence in us. He never promised that life here would always be fun but He mighty well promised that life here could always be full. Every single ounce of power expended on the Cross is yours in Jesus’ Name. Ask Him what that means. How you draw from it. That’s what I’m doing today. Like you, I’ve had innumerable blessings and unforgettable moments of late. Like you, I’ve also had my own heartbreaks, disappointments, and worries. Felt weary to the bone. Frustrated to the core. I’ve cried, too. Thought I was fed-up with some things, too. Wondered if I’d ever change, too. Then comes Good Friday. The violence that says something’s about to be different. That causes our earths to quake. Then comes the Saturday wait that seems an eternity long. Then, finally, FINALLY comes Sunday morning…long before dawn. By that time the Father has waited long enough. And stones begin to roll.

“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us ALL our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 3:13-15

Some of us are burdened and weary because we never have allowed ourselves to feel the full and free forgiveness of the Cross. What if today you believed it? What if today you believed Him? What if you finally let it go? What if today the deadness in us could no longer resist the sound of Christ calling us forth from the tomb? What if we decided to get up and really live?"


AMEN!! (That's my contribution)

"Honey, why do you think your stomach hurts?....."

Marschall "Well I think I ate too much food"

Me "What have you eaten?"

Marschall " Hotdog, chips, cake, peanut butter & jelly sandwich, banana,
yogurt and some chocolate candy"

Me "Did they serve you lunch at school? I had feed him the peanut
& jelly, banana and yogurt once he had gotten home)

(His preschool is over at 11:50, they usually eat "snack" around 10:30")

Marschall "No, that was my snack".

Me "Marschall, a hotdog, chips, and cake is not a snack, that is a meal.
How about next time you tell me what you have had at school to eat
before I fix another lunch for you. That way your stomach won't hurt.

Marschall "Yeah.. I will". (As he sits on the toilet for the second time today)

I've been tagged

I have been tagged by Melissa. I am suppose to share 7 strange things about myself..... Here goes

* I am an impulse buyer, however, I am the queen of returning things. I almost get more joy purchasing than actually keeping.

* I hate having clutter, we have a junk draw that I clean out every so often; without hardly looking at what is in the draw I will chuck everything into the trash.

* My aim in life is to be as cozy as possible. I love big blankets, big fleece pants and tons of pillows. Sounds attractive, huh? I love making the boys cozy too, with warm drinks and a cozy sofa pallet to watch their favorite movie.

* I love checklists, I will make a "to do" list that actually has the action to make another list for something else. Like "Create beach trip list".

* As Melissa mentioned buffets, I feel I have let the system down if I don't at least go back 3 times to a buffet, hence why I hate buffets, I feel terrible for the rest of the day.

* I cannot not wear mascara.

* I like reading magazines from back to front, I will even peak at a back of a mystery book to see if I can glance what the ending is. I don't like surprises.

His Best Buddy

My 4-year old's best friend drives a car, he's married and has children. I am asked through out the day when is "he" coming home? When I tell him "he" is on his way home from work, Marschall runs to look for him out the window. He has the rest of the evening planned for what he and his best buddy, (which he refers to him often) will do together. I get to witness a very special relationship. I am so thankful Marschall has the kind of dad he does. I see Pete longing to be home with his boys too. He gives me the call, "On my way, love, tell them to get ready". Usually, get ready means, they will have "the best fight ever". They wrestle...a lot. Sometimes I think someone may fall through the floor upstairs.
I caught a glimpse yesterday into my 4 year old's mind. How much he yearns to be like his dad and just "be" with his dad. I took a double take yesterday and wanted to capture this memory. Marschall had gotten his baseball mitt, his ball, bat and most of all his dad's mitt together. That was his "plan" for the evening, an old fashioned game of baseball with his dad. Supposedly, Marschall had the best hit ever and I guess his dad threw the best pitch ever. I sure do love having boys around, all three of them.

Yum-O

For Valentine's, we had a nice quiet evening (after the kids were in bed), at home eating a huge take out dinner from our favorite Thai restaurant. I have been salivating a "do over" ever since. We went all out that night.
Tonight, I just wanted a sample of that awesome food again. So, instead of spending $38.00 on it today; I went by during lunch and got almost everything that we had for our special V-day night but at the lunch prices! I spent $15.00 and it included fresh spring rolls! I am always looking for a deal and a way to get what I want just by being smarter and getting it cheaper! I am very pleased and suspect it will be just as good as it was a few weeks ago, especially knowing the deal I got! Don't get me wrong, I really am not always the kind of gal that minds the budget. I now feel I have an extra $23.00 to spend on something else. Not really true and I am sure I would get slapped on the wrist by Dave Ramsey.

Was anyone else Dancing?

First, let me clarify, I do not watch Oprah everyday. However, I did tune it today and Rick Springfield was on. The only reason I know him is from the song "Jesse's Girl" back in the 80's. I was hoping by the end of segment he would sing the song and Oh did he! I found myself singing and dancing,(as I was holding Garrett). Marschall looked at me like I was nuts... yet he is still muttering, "how can I get a woman like that....."
If you have no idea what I am talking about please don't bother to tell me, I know I am old. I have a not so secret desire to sing and dance. I am seeing a pattern here; Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, my secret karaoke machine, just kidding about the karaoke machine... I can wish.

PS A little Rick Springfield trivia.....He said that the song is a true story about a real girl, however the guy's name was Gary not Jesse. He said Gary's girl just didn't quite make the cut.

Our Wild Nights

So it has been almost 10 nights that our two and half year old has not woken up during the night, (minus one night). I do have hope. It's been a great week and a half, energy wise. I feel like the dark circles I have had for two and half years may start to diminish. However, last night was a different story. Garrett played a trick on us....and not a very funny one. I think he knows what he did and even snickered to himself at midnight last night. As midnight rolled around, we went from being dead asleep to both of us sitting straight up in bed. We basically begin arguing over what sound it is we are hearing. It was a sound that had a certain pitch and beat. It was high pitched, it was loud and it was not going away. We figure it out it was an alarm clock. In the past, we have never really used it for it's alarm capability. You know why we have not used it for it's alarm? Because we never could remember how to set it. We would inadvertently set it for "naps" and it would go off during the day and give me a heart attack, then in the mornings we would sleep through the time we needed to get up. Since then we have just set our TV alarm and have woken up to that.
We couldn't figure out how to stop it other than hitting snooze which is what Pete did at first and then we woke up again 5 minutes later. (I am still holding on to a little anger this morning as I type this.) After 5 more minutes of arguing and both of us trying to stop the madness; I find myself under our bed trying to unplug the blasted the thing. As I am reaching for the alarm cord as Pete is wiggling it, of course, I unplug the lamp at first and not the alarm cord, so I can't see what I am doing. Finally, get back in bed, my heart is racing like none other. As I am lying in bed trying to get down from my adrenaline high I am realizing that our sweet little babe had been hanging out in our room with Pete earlier. He must have have been pushing buttons and set the alarm for us at midnight. I guess he figured I still needed to get up even though he didn't want to be my alarm anymore.

Picture it

Whenever I read peoples' blogs, I often wonder what their surroundings look like. I decided to take a picture of my blog room. It is our office. Already at first glance it looks like I have a picture that needs to be straightened. I am neurotic for having to have straight pictures. If I go to someone's house and I see a crooked hanging picture, I will straightened it right behind their backs. Anyway, that's all, a little peak into my stomping grounds. I must do something with those tangled cords underneath the desk. I decided to put a brown pillow in front of them, hope it doesn't start a fire....

Wow!

Great interview, I can't figure out how to host the video from here, so a link will have to do.

Road Trip

What does every good road trip need? I came across Garrett's little tricycle we keep in the house. It seems he packed all his necessities for all his trips around our kitchen island; a teddy bear, a drink, a gun and Beth Moore's, Praying God's Word Day by Day. To be honest, in our house, he probably needs all of those.

X-Men Underwear

It's rainy here and cold. We went out for a little while, to Big Lots. I love me some Big Lots. There are not too many places where you can buy both deodorant and a mattress. We headed out, after, I purchased, a lamp, deodorant, Hanes underwear for my hubby and then some X-Men underwear for my 4 year old. I got in the car, everyone buckled in and realized my 4 year old was still holding his underwear. We did not pay for it. I would never think twice about keeping it, the thing I get tempted by is the thought to have to take it back in the store with the kids in tow. I would not leave the kids in the car, especially in our Big Lots parking Lot. I already saw some creepy guy in there and my scenario of him kidnapping us in the parking lot was all too real. (I'm the queen of scenarios)I drove back up to the front of the store,decided to run in and throw the underwear down on the counter. As I am running out, I pretty much yell, "We did not pay for this, my child took it with him out of the store". The cashier is trying to act like maybe I did pay for it, and starts asking me to check my receipt. I am yelling, again, "no, we didn't". I am basically having to get stern with her to say keep your underwear! Geez
This leads me to another almost stealing scenario... but not really. A few months back I was in Wal-mart, bought a ton a of groceries, paid for them and left. I had my hot commodity of Diet Coke under the basket. I got home, realized I did not have it, doubled checked that I paid for it. I had indeed paid for it but remembered I must have left it under the basket in the parking lot. I go back to Wal-mart with my receipt to the customer service and explained what happened. The cashier told me to go get another 12 pack and bring it back up to customer service to check it out again. I had already waited in line to tell her I needed to get what I had already paid for, I was not going to do it yet again. You know me and Wal-mart, we have a love/hate relationship.
I decided it was ethically okay, just to grab my diet coke that I had really paid for and leave. I would not stand in line again. I was perfectly ready to give an answer if someone decided to question me, I had my receipt. I went to the end of the store picked up my diet coke and walked out the door, no questions asked. I know, I dare to live on the edge. I am not a rule breaker, I see it as I just have common sense without a lot time to wait in lines and I wanted my diet coke for the week.

Ebay

I have "done" ebay off and on for several years. It's so easy to find anything you want or need. I have found the most random things I couldn't find in stores and for great prices. I had been thinking of pulling a "store" together for a while. I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted in it and came across this great line of accessories. I know most stay at home moms or people watching their budget do not have a lot of extra money to spend on fun little non-necessities. However, for me, I was always looking for inexpensive gifts for my family and friends. It' so hard to drag all the kids out to little speciality stores to find something unique. A couple months back I found myself in the Jewel Box looking to buy something for my sister for her Birthday. I had my youngest with me in the stroller. Trying to navigate through their little displays and having my child grab at anything and everything made sweat and feel like all eyes were on me. I grabbed some earrings for her and hurried out. I thought geez what an ordeal to buy a $10.00 gift. So that experience led me to search for several items to put in my virtual store. I am super pleased with the quality and unique look that each piece has and of course the prices I am able to offer. Please visit and I hope to add to it over the next couple of months. If you are local in Greensboro, let me know what you are interested in and you won't have to pay for shipping~ That's all- it sure is easy to be pushy when you can type it out and not have to hear any objections!
Shop Shop Shop!

A Brand new me (sort of)

So, it's here! Don't you love the colors! I had Darcy do the blog design from Graphically Designing. She was super great to work with and fast! If you are even considering re-doing your own blog please contact her!
That's all, just wanted to share that it has been done!

Celebrityism

Which is not a word I know. I always make up words, usually by default and not on purpose.
Anyway, those who know me well, know I love me some literature on the hottest celeb news. I am actually trying not to read up on it as much because it is ridiculous I know. ( You like how I called gossip pages, literature?).
With that being said, have you ever gone to My Heritage?
You can have your own picture uploaded to see what stars you resemble. It's fun and quite the compliment.
However, when I uploaded Pete's picture a while back his picture said he most resembled Jimi Hendrix. I can still laugh out loud, hard, about that one. Pete was not laughing, which made me laugh harder with tears. So I am not so sure how accurate it actually is. I just did Pete's again and Jack Osbourne came up. Those who don't know my husband, he is 6'4, lean and the most clean cut person. There may be a little inaccuracy in it. However, I like all the people that came up for me, so it must be pretty right!
Scroll all the way down my blog to see me....... It's fun to try several pictures of yourself to see if the same people come up for you. Please share on your own blogs if you do this. This is a great afternoon time killer while the kids are playing outside or watching a movie... like mine are right now.

It's coming.........

In about a week or so I should have a new look for my blog, all

Über-fancy.

I know all 5 of my faithful blog reading friends will be waiting with baited breath!

I am hoping it will also have a cool little link to my ebay store that carries all my fun trendy accessories that I sell.

Be on the look out!

Being an 8th grade girl.....

I am a co-leader for the 8th grade girls small group at my church. I'm in my third year of being involved. I wish I could be more involved. I mainly just show up for our small group on Wednesday nights. Sometimes, I do question how useful am I in being there? Can I relate to them? It takes a lot for me just to get there. I have to make sure Pete's schedule will work for our boys to be taken care of. I have been picking up some girls from my church's neighborhood, for which I am usually running late. Recently, every time I leave from our time of meeting together, I am reassured by His Spirit I am suppose to be there, even if it is just showing up. I am the oldest, so I feel like I should be sharing some "prophetic word" or in some way trying to make middle school a whole heck of a lot easier for them, than it was for me. Most weeks, I just sit and listen and pray quietly as they share.
I think we have made small group a safe haven for them to share and ask for prayer. My hope is they gain perspective from Godly women who encourage them to cling to Christ in the midst of living at the age they are. I wish I could tell them life is so much better after middle school and high school. I want to tell them if they would only do things "this way" or "don't do that", it would be so much better. In the end, they are having to decide what decisions to make or not make for themselves. Our small group is a place for them to figure it out together through God's word and our guidance. Even as I struggle to to get there and wonder if I am doing any good, I am encouraged by this verse...
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." (Galatians 6:9-10)

On a side note, I must admit I am trying to stay a little more "hip" ( is it even hip to say hip anymore??) when I am around these girls. I went to three different Targets to find a pair of shoes that one of the girls were wearing last Wed. They were so cute... on her. I've said before, I usually need to see something pulled together before I can visiualize liking it for myself.
Finally, I found the shoes in a size 10 and they were too small. In the past, if a size 10 is too small they get put right back on the shelf. However, I really wanted these. I broke my own personal moral ethical code of fashion and bought the size 11. Brought them home, put them on and showed them to my dear husband, who like me, has no filter. He said, "those are different.... they make your foot look really long".
The cute pair of gathered red flats are back in the box ready to be returned to Target. Oh well, who needs to be as hip as an 8th grade girl; she probably would have not wanted to wear her own pair anymore once she saw that I copied her.

Grrrrr.....

I want a new blog template. It seems there could be more choices. I may have to have one designed for me. Just having 20 different shades of color is not enough creativity for me. I don't want to even design it anyway. I just want one done for me. A pretty one, but not too much pink froo-froo.
Moving on.... I am going to have to shut the door on Oprah's face. House is back to being a mess. We're both home tonight and it's back to business..... I shall go veg out on our big bed and love every minute of it. At least I am hearing the dishwasher run in the background. My sweet husband is good about loading the dishwasher, which I am thankful. Before I race to my bed I will set my coffee pot tonight. That is a treat in the am! I'm wrestling with putting a coffee pot in our room to wake up to hearing it turn on and smell it brewing. I like cream in my coffee so that wouldn't work. I still would have to go downstairs, unless we put a mini-fridge in our closet. We actually had a special refrigeration socket (that is not the right word, but you get my drift) put in our closet when we built our house. I had this grandiose idea that if I could store my breast milk at night in our mini dorm fridge, my dear husband would get up and feed the babe. Somehow, the fridge never made it to our closet, the sleepless nights wore on and somehow we are instead, currently storing a microwave in our closet . Now, that I think about it, we were going to have both the fridge and the microwave to store the milk and then heat the milk up. That's what happens when you have children, you have these great ideas that will make life easy and then it all goes to pot when you are up for a gazillion nights in a row. Now, that the boys sleep pretty well, I have got to get this "in room" coffee pot idea fleshed out before we have another babe.(no not any time soon, I'm just saying....)
Off to set a pot of brew!

PS: My friend Kari gave me the "in room" coffee pot idea. Ode to the Office.

I open the door and it is Oprah......


Exciting huh, ? No, she really didn't come. However, if she gave me a surprise visit, I am pleased with how my house looks. Sometimes, I think about her shows where she pops in on people and that in itself gives me motivation to clean on a regular basis. 85 % of the time I would be mortified if anyone gave me a surprise visit!
Pete is at his basketball game so I gave into cleaning and organizing. (My organizing just means I actually folded all the laundry and put it away, but it counts.)
Usually, once we put the kids to bed, I don't lift another finger do to housework. I know this should be the time to get the most accomplished. But, when 7:30pm rolls around, it is my maxing and relaxing time. Believe me, I take full advantage.
However, tonight, Pete is playing in a late basketball game and he won't be home until 10:45. So, I decided to give myself over to the 4 loads of laundry that were on our guest bed, empty the dishwasher and straighten until I felt like if my friend Oprah decided to pop in to give me a room makeover,(with cutie pie Nate Burkas ), I would let them in.
All that said, please don't think I am on my high horse of feeling better than thou, having my house clean for a night, remember the mouse incident? Enough said.
I feel like I have to keep the house in tip top shape so we won't have any more uninvited visitors. As I look back, since Mickey's death, our family seems to be benefiting from that little buggard; spotless floors, laundry's put away, straightened living room. Now that I think about it, maybe, just maybe, Pete invited Mickey in for a reason....

Inspired by the toile....

I love reading the blog by , The Nester.
I was very inspired by her red toile. I am not a good visionary when it comes to home design. I see something I like and copy it to by best ability. I saw her sofa in a beautiful cranberry toile. I decided I had to find that material for my dining room window treatments. I found exactly what I wanted on ebay, 7 yards of material and including shipping it was $20.00. I felt like it was a good deal. I don't have an artistic bone in my body, a glue gun scares me. I end up always gluing my fingers together when trying to work on a project. So, I had my panels sown, due to my lack of inability with a glue gun. I have no patience either. I get a rush of anxiety to make something and I usually have to start over or throw it away, whatever I am working on. I am super impressed with the Nester's way of winging her decorating and it turning out perfect.
The reason I NEEDED my cranberry toile is because of my cranberry chair you can see in our living room from our dining room. (Some background info, before I was married, I fell in love an oversized chair. It was really the only piece of "real" furniture I owned. Pete calls it the orange chair. It is not orange. It is cranberry. Who one would buy an orange chair?)
I have had a blank dining room since we moved into our house 3 years ago. I put a random valance up that I really didn't like and that was about it. I don't have any before shots but just imagine a nice table in a vacant beige room with a dark beige valance. (That would be the before shot.)
My ebay material arrived, loved it, ran to the seamstress to have the panels made. I picked a light gold paint color, it doesn't really show up in the pictures below but it is same color background as my widow treatments.
I just read the Nester's blog today and she had plaid window treatments with her toile sofa! I did not know this before I picked my toile for my window treatments! I feel like I made a good decision based on her taste that I really like. So thanks Nester for your inspiration of cranberry toile!

January 22, 1999

9 years is not a huge numerical mile stone, I know. However, every year at this time, it is sentimental for me.
I had returned from a long term mission trip that previous spring. I was trying to find a job associated with my degree. I remember, I was working for my parents business, living with my parents in an apartment while they built their new house, and I was going to church with them on Sundays. I was waiting to move out until I had a good job that I knew I wanted. I had several friends in the area that I would go out with. I was determined not to go out on random dates. I hated just dating around, I never did it that much anyway. It was excruciating for me. I would get way to nervous and just did not enjoy it. I am not sure how I thought I was ever going to meet anyone!
Since, I was going to church with my parents, I also attended a weekly Bible study with my mom. As I look back, I kind of laugh that I spent that much time with my parents and enjoyed it. Sure, I would get discouraged at times. As I look back, I think the Lord was solidifying my heart's desire to be married and what kind of husband I wanted. The deeper things in a husband, not just for him to be attractive and tall. I wanted him to have a strong desire for God's will in his life, a strong leader with a gentle sensitivity. I was learning to be content and satisfied with who the Lord created in me, His daughter. I knew I had to relinquish control and quit demanding Him to bring me someone, in order for me to be "content" in the present.
(Back to the Bible study) Every week there was a women, who I had known through out the years of growing up at this church, she would say"I really think you need to meet my nephew". I would say, "I really don't do blind dates". (Little did she know I didn't even like going on actual dates period!) I thought, she is nuts if she thinks I am going to say "yes" to this. I could see it now, her nephew showing up and being 5'6". The only thing wrong with a short man, is if he shows up to the door being opened by a girl who is 5'10". Enough said.
Yes, height has always been an issue for me. I did not like Tom Cruise way before everyone else got on that band wagon of disliking him. I like heels, I like trying to stand up straight etc. Wow, I have digressed...

Phyllis Price was faithful to check in with me every so often seeing if I would be open to meeting her nephew. A few months later at church on a Sunday, someone pointed out to me way across the sanctuary that it was Phyllis Price's nephew. I thought, well I can't really see him real well but I could tell he was tall enough. I couldn't quite tell how tall but his head was a lot taller than most of the other men. At some point, I gave Phyllis the go ahead, if she wanted to introduce me to her nephew it was okay by me. A few months later, on Sunday, January 17th, 1999 I received a call from Peter Uber. He had to remind me that his aunt was Phyllis Price.
While on the phone I had all the normal butterflies, especially knowing I was going to say "yes" to go out with him. He had just called a girl that he had no clue about... that in itself intrigued me.
We chit-chatted for a while and set a date for that Friday, January 22nd. He was to pick me up and we were going to go see STOMP. (Stomp is a funky dance team that uses trash cans to make music) I thought, what an excellent idea, trash cans and music, who couldn't make conversation about that? I was so extremely nervous, I about canceled. I am not joking. I talked to one of my friends about an hour before he was to come pick me up. I had a glass of wine, careful not to have too much, because that would not be good!

I was by myself at home, so there would be no awkward introductions with the fam. That night is so fresh in my mind. I had on a burgundy cardigan set with black pants and boots. I was praying the boots would not be too tall. The knock came and I remember I was about to jump out of my skin. I still remember thinking right before I opened the door, "Am I about to meet my future husband"? (not to put any pressure on this night, huh?) I calmly opened the door, there he was.... all 6'4" of him. I let out a deep breath. Honestly, I don't remember much of the rest of the evening except knowing I had a good time and it was easy. (I liked easy and I still like easy.)

I am so thankful 9 years later. I am thankful, for my life that I get to lead with Pete and my precious boys. I am thankful that the Lord solidified both of our hearts to each other and to Him that drew us together.

January 22nd, 1999, I met my life long love. It seems every January is a new year of being able to grow deeper together as we grow as one.

Birthdays

I Love Birthdays, and I am so glad today is mine!!!

A filler post

I couldn't leave that mouse picture up for too much longer.
I thought I would share that my sweet husband organized with his brother to get me DANCING WITH THE STARS tickets!!! Yes, I am excited.
Pete's brother works for Harley Davidson as their IT guy and they provide coliseum event tickets for different shows. Jon got us 4 free box seat tickets. Thank you Jon!
2 months ago I almost decided that's what I wanted as my b-day present but it was going to be $150.00 or so for Pete and I to go. I figured he really didn't want to go that much and that was a lot of money. I let it go and we went to our fancy hotel night instead. (At least it lasted for 2 days instead of 3 hours.)
Anyway, I was way surprised and cannot wait until next Saturday. I love the show and actually do some of my own waltzing during the program, that's how into it I am.
Pete said if they asked me to go up there for audience participation... please say no.
Let's hope they don't ask, because I would loved to be lifted and dipped ;)

A picture speaks a thousand words......

Hummm, I guess I have no shame.....

Let me set the scene. My two best friends from college were over on Thursday night. Pete was out at his basketball game. All the kids were in bed. We had a great time catching up, the three of us rarely all are able get together. I had clued them in on the mouse situation, the one we still have not caught! The one that steals the cheese right off the traps we have set.
I had clued Kristen and Ashley in on the mouse situation earlier in the evening. I should be embarrassed but these are friends that you have for life and all they did was laugh. I still am not laughing.
Before Kristen left she decided to look one more time behind the sofa where we had 4 traps, (we are not messing around, we're are out for mickey's death). Here is how the conversation went....

Kristen... "Meredith, didn't you have 4 traps behind the sofa?"

Me....."I think Pete moved some around to some other places" (I go look over the sofa with her), "But we did have TWO of the gluey sticky traps there with the other two regular traps!!!! One of the traps is missing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kristen...."Oh my gosh, there he is"! (as he runs cross the floor underneath the sofa.)

NOTE: At this point, Ashley jumped up on the coffee table, Kristen is on the bar stool and I am on another bar stool across the room. We are standing 10 feet tall in our chairs and we are dying laughing and almost crying.

We stand there for probably a good 15 minutes trying to figure out what to do. Pete wasn't due home for at least another hour. They decided to help me barricade the steps. Ashley, who was spending the night, was afraid the mouse would climb the 15 stairs and go into her room. It looked like a burglar had come in and turned over chairs and a table.
Kristen leaves, Ashley and I bolt up to my bedroom to watch TV until Pete comes home. Pete arrives to find the mouse had drug the sticky trap underneath the sofa and got away!!!
We have bought 2 more kinds of traps.
There will be a post that he has been caught, I will assure you of that.
I don't know when, but it better be soon.

I'm going to celebrate my birthday tonight with Pete at the Proximity Hotel. My poor sister and brother-in-law are stuck in Mickey Mouse club house until tomorrow when we return!

Do I dare share?

I saw Mickey Mouse last night.....I'm not talking about Minnie's companion.

First off, I am a very clean and somewhat organized person. We live in a house that is only 3 years old. It is on a slab foundation. My pantry is organized, there is no food on the floor. My drawers have stuff in them but are not dirty. Tell me how this happened? I don't know. This is my story and if you ask me about in public, I'll be sure to deny it.

Last night, trauma hit my world at around 9:30pm. I was coming down stairs to get some ice cream for us. I thought I saw something out of the corner of my eye scatter under our sofa. Yes, our sofa in our living room. I really thought it may have been a moth or some bug!? I ran up and got Pete. Thankfully, he takes me seriously, for the most part. He lifted our sofa and moved it around. Sure enough a mouse ran under the ottoman. (Not nice words were coming from my mouth.) If we were on live TV or a reality show, there definitely needed to be a 7 second delay or some beeps. Seems like there were some crumbs of goldfish, crackers, cookies etc. that Mickey found. Next question, did we catch him? NO!!!! The only thing we can figure out; there was a hole in the underneath part of the ottoman and we think he got up in there. Needless to say the ottoman is in the garage probably with the rest of his family. I don't care if we never have another ottoman. Pete said he would take apart the ottoman to make sure it was clean and no other burrows. I thought that's fine, we now have seat for the garage and it can stay in the garage! He is coming home for lunch today with traps and to figure out where Mickey found a way into the "Promise Land". I was tempted not to post this... but this is my life, uncensored ;) Pete got a good look at him and said he was very small. Is that suppose to make me feel better?! I think not. That's it, we have a mouse, we think we got him back outside. Who knows for sure? I slept great last night wondering if even a little mouse could make it upstairs. I decided there was no way and we will leave it at that, (unless he knows we have leftover dishes of ice cream on our nightstands).

Food TV

One of my favorite things to do by myself is to watch Food TV. Even if I can just sit for a partial segment. I have always enjoyed watching people make food. When I was little, I remember watching Julia Child and the New Orleans cajun guy on PBS. I would stand in our kitchen stirring canned corn and adding spices to my masterpiece. I would talk out loud and describe in detail what I was making, as if I were being taped for TV. (I'm not kidding).
Some 20 years later, I find myself actually trying to make a Barefoot Contessa dish. Her dishes seem to be elegant yet simple. When one begins the recipe, one seems to find themselves over their heads, namely "Me". I made filet of beef bourguignon. ( I'm not even sure how to pronounce that last word). It looked good and we are beef lovers at our house!
I will say it turned out perfect... at 8:45pm last night. I was hoping to have this romantic dinner for two at 7:30 or so. AGGH. Thankfully, it was just the two of us. I kept thinking if I was serving this for guests I would have died.
My carrots WOULD NOT cook, I kept having to add more of the liquids to create more sauce. I think I used almost a whole bottle of wine for my reduction sauce! To finish cooking my carrots, I did a few short cuts that I will not share because "Contessa" would not approve . The dish turned out perfect in the long run. I googled this recipe to include in this post and look what came up! Someone else having a hard time with their carrots. I wasn't loosing my mind. I thought how can you mess up carrots! I agree with all of his other suggestions too, like the bigger pan. Thankfully, that's the only size I had, so it worked out fine. By the way, I found a really good deal on the filets of beef. I spent only $10.00 for two and sliced those to have a total of 4 pieces.
By the time we sat down to eat, I was done. I was so sick of the sauce and tasting to see if my carrots were cooked. However, Pete seemed to really like it. I will try this again and will fine tune it for the future.

PS Microwaves work wonders

Christmas Decorations

I absolutely hate taking them down. I wanted to throw out our tree with the lights on. I figured we have 4 strands of lights that maybe cost $3.00 each. $12.00 not to sweat, get irritated and bring down all of the dead pine needles.... sounds like a deal to me.
I should be more positive about my day. However, I can't think of anything. I could tell about Garrett's throwing up session in McDonalds.
A guy that was sitting right next to me ran and got me napkins. He has done his good deed for the year!
Pete was meeting me at McDonalds and I had gotten there a little early. I kinda had on a cute outfit and I was putting my lipstick on to see my husband mid-day.... to only end up catching mounds of throw up in my hands by my two-year old.
I think the throw-up overshadowed my outfit and my lipstick.
Gotta love it!

PS Garrett is not sick, if he coughs the wrong way he gags himself into throwing up.

Peek a boo shoes

I love peek a boo shoes. I actually have a cute pair I rarely get to wear. Pete and I went to a Christmas party last night. At the last minute, I decided to go for it and wear my cute little shoes (well, little is relative, since I wear a size 10). I find nothing more fun than getting ready for a nice evening. I love the long shower, being able to put my make-up on slowly, doing my nails etc. However, things got a little rushed as they always seem to do with kids running around..... I call it my winter pedicure. Don't let your eyes deceive you, I had no time to do the other toes, just enough time to paint the first two. At the time, I thought "how efficient, I got the job done, no one is the wiser". Today, as I look down and see my three little bare piggies... how sad, I need to have a reality check!

Peace be with me

I have been thinking a lot about peace and what that means in my life.
I get worked up too quickly, angry too quickly, frustrated too quickly, need I go on.....
I just finished reading Beth Moore's blog, she and her daughters blog together. Her oldest daughter recently gave great perspective on the desire for peace in her own life that I resonated with.
I personally, love simplicity. I don't like clutter. I don't like unresolved conflict. I like routine. I get anxious if we have too much going on in one week. I am the first to say no and the last to sign up. I try to control my peace and when the "unknown" circumvents my peace.... here comes my sins of many. I really am not trying to be cynical.
I have just been getting more frustrated over being frustrated in the first place. I tell Pete that I get on my own nerves sometimes! I'm not the most eloquent in explaining myself but you get the gist.
For the last few months or so I have been thinking about my lack of compassion for people in general and my anger in the little things that life arouses. However, my desire is to be content in all situations. I've realized as I been reading in the scripture that the peace of God is so easily talked about. It is usually said at the end of chapters in the New Testament. Now, I am not glossing over the words of peace so freely talked about. I yearn for it. My question is how do I find that peace? I am not able to muster it up.... And there is my problem, again trying to control my peace. I am unable to attain true peace by myself. I need God's peace, there is the true rest that I try to seek elsewhere in the routine of my days.
I'm not known for knowing a lot of scripture or where to find certain verses. But my goal since last week is to truly submerge my thoughts into the following verse..... Phil. 4:8 , this is Paul's writing.
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do and the God of peace will be with you". That's how I am going to attain peace.
I can't get all riled up in my Wal-mart excursions or angry that one of the kids spilled ice cream in the car right after I told him not to spill it, or that the kids knocked the whole 8 foot Christmas tree over or that.....I gotta stop before I go down the road I don't want to be on.
Whatever is lovely, noble, just, pure, praiseworthy... that is a pretty picture, huh?!

You can't lose your salvation but.....

If you could, I would lose mine in Wal-mart. First off, I am very thankful to have money to go grocery shopping, so please don't get me wrong.
However, I do not like being a slave to the big box grocery store. I cannot not go. (is that southern or just bad grammar?)I save money, they have everything I need in one store and it is less than 1 mile from my house.

Today, I was dreading going shopping like the plague. I worked this am, rushed to get our oil changed, Garrett needed a nap, so I had to get to the store before we went home. I have been watering down the apple juice not because of the sugar, but because I was running out, if this gives you any idea how desolate our fridge was becoming.

The kids were doing great. Toward the middle of our shopping trip, Marschall tells me he needs to go to the bathroom, he ALWAYS has to go to the bathroom in Wal-mart. I have no idea what brings it on, but his bowels were in full force (too much info?).
I decide to park my cart in one of the aisles and be right back. I could get to the bathroom faster if I just scooped up Garrett and ran with Marsch. We finally return to our cart about 10 minutes later......no cart..... no groceries....nothing. I feel my blood pressure start to boil. If you know Wal-mart, it can take 30 minutes to go through the check out line. These cashiers are not known for their speed. I'm wondering how did someone realize there was an empty cart sitting alone for a few minutes. I nicely ask a lady stocking the shelves, "have you seen a cart with groceries"? She said, "Yes, a lady just took it, there she is right now!" She begins to ask the other employee where my cart is. I'm actually relieved just thinking my cart is around the corner. But no, she had put 85% of my food back! I'm thinking, I would have really liked to seen how fast this women was because she needed to take the place of my cashier who took 20 minutes to check me out. I think some little Wal-mart ferries came and all went to work to put my food back!
I had strayed from my list as usual and couldn't exactly remember what I still needed. So who knows what my recipes will consist of this week.
Again, thankful for groceries not so much for the big box grocery stores. I may have to take a break and shop somewhere else for a while to get some perspective. Oh by the way, Marschall informed me the next time we are shopping we shouldn't leave our cart, we need to take to take it with us wherever we go. Ahhh good times.......

You can't make this stuff up.....

Marschall has been curious about family dynamics; whose mother is also grandmother to someone else, etc. He gets a kick out of it if he sees Pete and I kiss, and knows he is my husband and I'm his wife. We had a brief conversation about it at the dinner table the other night......

Me "Marschall do you want to have a wife someday"?

Marschall "Yes , but I want to live with you guys still."

Me "What will your wife look like?" (thinking he's going to describe a friend of his)

Marschall "She will have skin like you, green eyes like you, straight hair like you, earrings like you....(pause).... she will be a mommy robot."

I took that as the best compliment ever :)!

And so it begins.....

We did something super spontaneous on Saturday. We were planning to get our Christmas tree at a nearby tree lot on Saturday. We've gone to this lot before, they have hayrides for the kids etc. It was almost lunch time. Pete was coming back from playing ball and I had come home from the gym with the boys. I called him and said "how about going to Boone to get our tree today"? It was time for Garrett's nap and I knew my other narcoleptic son would fall asleep in the car too. All I could think of was a nice quiet ride with Pete and to see my ole stomping grounds again.
We had a lot of fun. As we rolled back into our driveway that evening, Pete said " That was fun, I don't know if I would want to do that every year but it was fun". What he should have said was, "what were we thinking taking a 4 year old and a 2 year old up a mountain to cut down a tree!" But it will be a fond memory!

I'm Back.....

I don't have any pictures......I don't even take pictures of my children very often, it's terrible I know. If I did scrap booking, I would have to have some pretty darn good looking stickers, because there would just be a lack of pictures on my part.
My trip was wonderful, so relaxing. I went with my best friend from college, one of my bridesmaids in my wedding and another friend from the camp I worked at back in college. (Basically, my best friend introduced me to the other girls back in college.)It was great to be around people you don't have to worry about what to say or not say. I can say things around these girls and they just roll their eyes and say, "only Meredith would say that" and I am more than okay with that!
We had a huge pasta dinner at the beach condo on Friday night, drank some wine, laughed and caught up a million miles a second. Saturday is our big day of shopping at the outlets. I got at least half of my Christmas shopping done. Saturday night we went to Bonefish Grill. We told the waitress ahead of time that we did not want to be rushed. Between 4 of us girls we have 10 children. A nice quiet meal was all we wanted. We probably stayed there for over 2 hours!
Sunday we slept in until about 7:30, that's all we could do, ridiculous I know! We headed back to our appropriate cities after lunch. It was so great, I keep thanking Pete. I came home to a house that was still standing, boys that ran to me and to a husband that looked more than grateful!

Ready, Set, I'm gone


The clothes are set aside in order of days; nightime, Saturday, church

The clean sippies cups are laid out

The food has been bought

The diaper bag is full of any disaster that may occur

I'm on my way out........

My girl's beach weekend is about to start; shopping, sleeping, eating!! Who could ask for more??!

Resting under his leadership

There is no dancing around the subject of submission between wives to their husbands. God calls wives to submit to their husbands and for husbands to dwell with them(their wives) with understanding, giving honor to the wife. (1 Peter 3:7) We rarely hear the later part of this verse used in our current culture.
Our culture does not promote the husband being the leader of the household. The very word "submit" in our culture gives the picture of not being heard, not being able to share in thought or to give advice within a marriage relationship. I don't believe this was God's idea for submission.
Marriage is a wonderful gift. It can be hard. I think the hard times bring you closer together for the next battle that comes.
With all this said.......I've had a hard week. We found out about some criminal activity we have had going on behind our neighborhood. My first inclination was we gotta move, flee, run and I'm done; meaning I don't want to even fight. These circumstances have brought up a lot of fear, dissatisfaction and has tainted my view of our back yard.
I am a doer, motivated, "get it done right now" type of person. I have a plan and I have a back up plan for my original plan, if this gives you any idea how I can be.
My husband is patient, slow to respond and thoughtful with his words and actions. Great combination for us, huh?!
First thing Pete said, we going to do was to trust God and His protection of us. I told him very honestly, "I can trust God; I am not sure I can trust you through this". I wasn't sure I could trust him with the decision of leading our family through these circumstances. It was out of my mouth before I realized it. At first, I wanted to apologize but then again, it was the honest truth. I have a hard time holding anything back verbally, especially with my husband and those closest around me. I know it hurt him to some degree. He asked to carry this burden with me and he would help me take it to the cross. He never said I must submit(our current cultural view of submitting) to listen to him or anything of that nature. He did honor me and say very clearly that he will lead us through this and that God has placed himself in our family to do so. He told me not to stop telling him my concerns, fears and even my own desires.
I was praying yesterday telling the Lord( I am even bossy with God sometimes) that I wanted Him to speak to my husband's heart. I wanted the Lord to tell Pete, to do what I wanted. After some prayer, I felt clearly that the Lord had already spoken to him.
I need to rest in my husband's leadership over our family. After all, who placed Pete in my life from the beginning? To finish off with the verse from 1 Peter 3:7, "Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered. I am still not comfortable with my surroundings. This week, I am thankful I am in a place of surrendering this burden to the Lord. I feel like I am being honored through this time by my husband yet also being led by him. The Word promises by doing so my prayers will not be hindered. If I truly rely on God's care for me; I must trust the man that He placed in my life to care for me.

This makes me smile...



I'm not sure if it's because Pete is getting ready to drop me or if it's just knowing we like laughing together~

Ode to the Acorn

Ever since the beginning of this school year, Marschall recently got into a ritual of bringing home acorns from the playground. For the past two months our conversation would sound like much of the following....

Me "Marschall how was your morning?"
Marschall "I got a looooooot of acorns"
Me (sounding ever so proud) "Oh great, I can't wait to see how many!"

He would buckle up and we would be on our way home, (I love paying the preschool so he can pick up their playground). We would come in the house, he would race to his room and stock pile these acorns into another bag. For two months this has gone on. I thought, "this is so silly", but I pick my battles... who cares!
I work for four hours on Mondays and it seems everything in our life falls apart for us on Mondays. Pete calls me at work, he was watching Garrett for me while he worked from home. Our conversation went something this....

Pete "I've got to tell you something, I'm hesitant to tell you, but I know Marschall will. Well, (long drawn out pause), Garrett dumped all the acorns out of Marschall's bag and there were larva worms (70-80 maggots) that came out of this bag with the acorns on to Marschall bedroom floor. "

Me Silence ......(love all things about my boys except their love for insects)...I sit in a cubicle around 10 other people, trying to hold my composure. Thinking, I want to have his room scrubbed down... NOW.
Pete "I have vacuumed and then I vacuumed again."
Me "Then vacuum again"

I came home and found that the floor had been cleaned and all of the acorns out of his room. The vacuum bag emptied. I saw a glimpse of Marschall's insect house in the garage with acorns and about 10 of the maggots to keep for observation.

This is why we have dads.

My Grandmother's perspective

I had sent my Grandma Marschall an email that included The Good Wife’s Guide , 1955 Good Housekeeping article. I take her out once a week to go to lunch and run errands. This past Friday, I asked her if that article really articulated expectations of wives during the time she was raising her three children. She said, "absolutely yes". She also felt like that is how her mother's generation was expected to act also.
She goes on to say, "Some other advice we would hear back in the day was for wives to wrap themselves naked in cellophane (saran wrap) and greet their husbands at the door when they came home from work, to add a little spice". I really wasn't shocked she said this, because my grandma is hysterical, even when she isn't trying to be. What got me laughing, I had said I would get my grandmother's perspective. I did not ask her if she actually did the cellophane thing.... I'm not sure what magazine she was reading to get that advice!
I am now imagining a little bullet point in the mix of The Good Wife’s Guide , maybe right after their advice to...

• "Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it."
  

• "Wrap yourself naked in cellophane and greet your husband at the door "

Now... I think The Good Wife's article is complete!

Thanks for the laugh grandma!

The Good Wife???!!!!

Where do I begin? This was sent to me as a joke. But it is a documented, advice giving article from Good Housekeeping in the year of 1955 AD. I laughed, then my mouth dropped and then I thought I have got to pass this on. I was going to write what I thought was somewhat true of a "good wife" (which I personally dislike any term that rates our "goodness" by our actions) and then what I thought to be outlandish. I don't feel the need to explain/vouch for any of it. This is the time when my grandparents were raising kids. I need to further discuss this with my grandmother's and get their perspective.

PS. Now, remember even if he stays out all night, don't question him.
(I had to comment on that one.)

To Budget=

Anxiety, not being able to get what one does not have, constraining, creates fights, time consuming, need I go on........

We actually strive very hard, or at least we attempt, to stick with a budget. We were in a 3 hour workshop this morning. My neck muscles are still tense with the anxiety it created. When I hear Pete say, "we need to take a look at the budget", all I want to do is yell expletives! I don't even know why. When the word budget was defined today, I think I had an "aha" moment.
Someone stated the meaning of budgeting is controlling where you spend your money and you might (will) have to give up something in order to get something else. I don't like doing that. It seems so easy in this day and age to achieve getting everything you want with credit cards and no interest until 2050 etc.
We work with a cash envelope system; when the money runs out then we are done spending, until the next pay check. Personally, it keeps us accountable. We usually end up pulling out the debit card at the end of the pay period, but we know that it is only eating into our savings or the next paycheck.
I want to create good spending habits for our boys, too. Just the other day, Marschall was dying for this toy that costs $10.00. He rarely specifically asks for things. I am sure, it's only going to get worse as he gets older. I told him we didn't have any money to buy "that" toy right now. I felt like I needed to explain to him, we do have money, we are choosing not to spend it that way now. It was like I had diarrhea of the mouth, rambling on and on with a 4 year old the reasons of his parent's budget. Why did I feel the need for him to know? I think, because I don't want to have to deny him of anything, especially monetary things. I feel he needs to know he will always be taken care of. I am realizing, I need to instill in him that he will be taken care, just not always buying things he wants. Open ended.
He saw some money in my purse and said "See....you do have money". I said "that is for food". I should have simply said, "that is for food and we cannot eat your toy". I think, that would have made it click for him. Maybe he would have had his "aha" moment.
I made a deal with him, when Pete got paid again we would get the toy. I felt like he was looking forward to pay day as much as I was! Marschall was showing Pete his new red ninja turtle and he said "tomorrow Daddy we are going to go to the store and get the blue one". He hasn't quite gotten the concept of not getting everything he wants... If I was to be honest, I guess I haven't either...

"The Church"

We went to our friends' wedding renewal ceremony this past weekend. They have been married for 10 years. A lot has changed for them as a couple over these years. We have probably known them for 8 of the 10 years they have been married. I asked my friend, if they knew the Lord when they got married. She said we had a "God conscious" but said they had not really committed their lives to Christ until later in their marriage. I thought that was interesting, the Lord was working on both of them yet when they got married they did not have Christ at the center of their lives. Thankfully, He has taken them 180 degrees from where they were and brought them to Himself. I love to hear the testimonies of how people come to truly know Jesus as their Savior. This is what they have done. They know Him. In the ceremony the two of them testified as couple to His grace, His forgiveness, His redemption, His hope, His protection, His love for His bride and to Him that died for them. I witnessed two people that have fully committed their lives to the Lord, to drive a stake in the ground and testify what the Lord has done for them and in them. Christ is the center of their lives and their marriage.
What struck me the most were the 20 people surrounding them in a circle as the pastor spoke. Family and friends, each one of us knowing them in different ways, stood their to support them and witness a Holy moment. They specifically invited people that were intimately involved in their lives and their walk with Christ. It wasn't a Sunday message or Wednesday night program. We witnessed "The Church" in action.
We were the Bride of Christ getting a glimpse of why Jesus was sacrificed for us. He has redeemed us. He is not going to stop pursuing His Bride until ultimately we meet Him face to face. At some point, their ceremony became a picture of what my life is. Redeemed, fought for, bought with a price and for my freedom. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free....

Trying to Get with the Times

I have been wanting some type of digital (is it digital?) MP3 player of sorts. IPod, MP3.... I think IPod is a type of MP3. Anyway, I got a mini 1Gigabyte MP3. It can hold 250 songs, which I can't even imagine knowing 250 songs, so I think this will do just fine. I wanted to be able to see the songs on the little LCD screen. I have two "Playlists", one I named, "Worship the King" and the other, "Dance Funk". How funny are those opposites? There is a little part of me that loves to "break it down" when no one is looking. Ironically, I listen to the worship music when I work out. As I was running around the track I lifted my arms up to adjust my headset. Yes, I said headset. However, I don't have a headset. I am with the times now, I have ear buds that are too big for my ears. The last time I listened to music when I worked out was back in college with a headset and a mix tape. Totally 80's, yet I was living in the 90's.... I was dying laughing thinking how technology is changing right before my eyes. Our children probably won't remember cassette tapes, they will think of tapes as my generation thinks of 8 tracks.
My friend's husband was running around his block with a digital FM headset on his head. Some kid at a bustop yelled to him dumbfounded, "what do you have on your head"? So every so often my friends and I ask "are we getting old?", I believe, I can say, pretty adamantly... "yes". We have kids not even recognizing our older technology. Oh well, at least I don't remember when the first TV came out.

Where is the bathroom?

One of my main reasons to start blogging again were all the situations where I would say to myself, I need to write this down, I won't remember it. So, here I am, with another "gotta write this down moment". I am not a very sentimental person. I like re-living certain memories Pete and I have made; looking back at pictures, remembering trips etc. Now, I'm starting to want to remember specifics with our boys. Like Garrett, he will be labeled as our child who never slept through the night. I am praying that we can say, "Remember right after his 2nd Birthday, he did it"! He slept through the night on a consistent basis. So far, that's a no go. I peaked on him last night and he had his eyes opened and started screaming and crying....(I will not document how long it took for us to coerce to go back to sleep).
I feel purposeful in my blogging. As I did last time, I am going to print them out to remember these days of my life.
Oh yeah, what I wanted to remember.... Marschall wanted to know if heaven was going to have bathrooms and if we would have new skin ( he does not want wrinkly old skin). This said all in the same sentence. My response... "It will be something like that, I'm sure if we need a bathroom, there will be one and Yes, we will have new skin, or something like that." He seemed satisfied with my answer. That's the great thing about kids this age; they take what you say at face value and feel you have all the answers.

Endless Sympathy

My patience and my sympathy only go so far. Marschall is sleeping on the top bunk these days. He hasn't fallen out when he sleeps, thankfully. However, last night, he fell down the ladder for the third time in the past week. He was trying to get down to go to the bathroom one more time before bed. I had had it! (That seems right when I say it aloud.)
I just finished telling him to be careful, so he wouldn't get hurt. I said "Remember, last night, when you fell down trying to get one last toy up to your bed?" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, he fell pretty hard down ladder.... again . All I could do in the opposite of my nice soft voice.... who am I kidding? Yelling, "Marschall, I just told you to be careful and that you could get hurt, ahhhh". I don't think he benefited from being told again that he could get hurt, the cries of scraping his back down the ladder seemed to overtake my lecture. I felt really bad later, checking on him after he had fallen asleep. He's just four. To me, it seems once they reach the age of being able to communicate, they should just anticipate danger, know consequences etc. Isn't that ridiculous? Motherhood is a journey. I have never learned so much about myself in trying to raise in my little ones. It seems, four years later, all I have learned is I still don't have patience and my sympathy is not endless. I have a mature friend(she has raised two boys) that said your children will bring you to the cross. At first, when she said that, it made me think of coming to the cross when my children are in their teenage years; wondering where they are and what they are doing. I am realizing lately, I cling to the grace of the cross because of the mistakes I make with my boys already and the changes I need to happen in me. Thankfully, God is the perfect parent for my children. Confessing that I am not, enables Him to work in me. That's all I want.... for Him to do is perfect work in me and boy, do I need Him to do so daily.

No one's Birthday

Sometimes, it good just to make a birthday cake to celebrate the taste of chocolate!

X mark

My baby (4 year old) got his first red X mark on a worksheet he brought home from preschool. I had two overwhelming thoughts that came over me when I was looking through his work. The first, "there must be a grading mistake by his teacher" and secondly, how insensitive to start correcting him, he will be devastated! Go figure, my boy did make those mistakes and there was a right answer to each question that he didn't do correctly. Was he devastated? No, to be honest, I don't think he still gets how he was suppose to answer the question correctly.
This should not be a big deal but I always have to try to make things to be a bigger deal :). What I mean is, this is where it begins... not just in school but future participation in sports and ultimately life.
I read something recently that our society is enabling kids to be "winners" in all situations. Don't single out the kid that actually won the race, in only rewarding him, the others will feel bad about themselves. Hand out a trophy to everybody! If we don't, it might lower the others' self esteem, etc. (I'm curious what it does to the actual winner, mentally.)
I have contemplated this article that I read since the dreadful X mark. I want Marschall to always feel good about himself and the work he strives in. I mean he tried real hard, shouldn't that count? I do believe it does, to some degree.
Clearly, in my own teen and adult life I faced and continue to face, a myriad of circumstances in which I was not the winner. Others have been singled out for something they did better than me. I believe that in itself has been a motivator for me, at times. If I continue to instill in Marschall that he is good at everything how will he know his true gifts? Obviously, I will encourage him in all that he does, how can I not? Secretly, I think he is good at everything! But sometimes our mistakes/inabilities help us for future obstacles. I want to prepare him for that even starting at the age of 4. Hopefully, the next time he brings home his worksheet he will have a check mark showing that he colored the pictures that match! If so, he will know that he has truly mastered matching concepts!

Where is the Mercy? (a post without much depth)

When I tell my dreams to Pete, sometimes they even don't make sense when told aloud. However, I need to document this one.
Last night, I had the most random dream. The short of the story..... some family who I did not know was walking around our neighborhood(but it wasn't our neighborhood... see what I mean, it's already starting not to make sense) anyway, they dropped off their two year old son and asked us to watch him. I said, "okay" and we ended up taking this child and our children to the mall. This child begins to have massive amounts of diarrhea, that I am having to clean up off the gross mall bathroom floor..... So in my real life, I am changing diapers and wiping bottoms and then in my dreams I am cleaning up huge amounts of excretion from a child I don't know..... Where is the Mercy? No rest for the weary......

And I have two boys that came from this man......

Garrett's 2nd Birthday, September 16th, 2007

When did the change occur?

So no pressure... I stopped blogging for over a year and am encouraged to start again from reading my friends' posts. But I will not feel "legalistically" bound to do this on a regular basis. (I would've made a good Pharisee.)

Onto my subject line.... How was I THE messiest person known to mankind growing up and through the years of being single and now .....I can not have a good day IF my kitchen floor is not clean. I am not exaggerating. My mood revolves around the cleanliest of my house. So you would think that my house is awesomely clean all the time...... not so much. So that leaves me in a funky place...a lot.
I was reading my friend's post and found a kindred spirit.
For me, a lot of my focus and time is in the home. To be honest, I try to keep everything looking good on the outside, while my cabinet draws are stuffed with junk, my closets are packed with all kinds of stuff and my laundry is piling over behind closed doors. It's has made me start thinking introspectively. What kinds of things do I try to cover up in my heart and mind and push aside? I have been praying for the Holy Spirit to reveal my junk to me. It's not so fun but very relieving, in a sense. Admitting I cannot control and balance it all by myself. I am seeing pride, not a lot of compassion and a lot of self-seeking justice which ends up over riding mercy towards others. Yuck.
Yet, I don't feel condemned or the need to have a pity party. God's given me hope that he will continue to refine me by His grace. Lately, I have seen a change in my heart towards others. Hopefully, they may start to see in me, behind my heart's "closed drawers", nice clean closets and folded laundry.... so to speak.
So......once my heart is all cleaned up, how do I deal with the real laundry?

Whose says anything is finite?

Signing off….

There is a time and a season for everything. So I feel my days of blogging have come to an end. I’ve enjoyed it! I will always say to myself as my joy-filled homemaker days proceed, “This is something I should write about”! Thanks for reading and maybe I gave you a little new perspective of what a crazy day is really like, homemaker style.
I hope I never take any part of my life for granted, meaning my husband, children and home. No matter the circumstance or situation that arise in my life the character of God is good, I can trust Him completely. As a mom I find the following verses give great perspective about “this life” and what to focus my energy on and what to rest in … Ephesians 3:14-21. The last part says “to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. I want to be a mom that is passing on Truth to her boys and the Truth that will hopefully be passed on to our future generations.
I gotta run, nap time is almost over….

My heart will choose to say….

I have not written in while for a myriad of reasons; sick children, busy summer activities and some days just not feeling so "joy-filled".

The song below has been out for a while, yet I continue to find great encouragement from it. I have not found myself in the desert place very often in my life. It reminds me how blessed I am and thankful I should be. My mom and I were talking the other day that my life is good. I never want take to it for granted and the times I want to complain or get frustrated I need to remember my blessings from the Lord. When doubt creeps in or selfishness or jealousy or pride or I could go on and on…. I pray I can turn from it and trust the Lord’s goodness of who He says He is and who I am in Him.
The times that I will find myself in the wilderness, the dessert place, suffering and pain I pray that my faith will uphold me and my heart will choose to say “Blessed be the name of the Lord”.

Blessed be your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where the streams of abundance flow
Blessed be your name
Blessed be your name

When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name
Every blessing you pour out,
I turn back to praise

When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say...
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be your glorious name
Blessed be your name

When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be
Blessed be your name
Blessed be your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering

Blessed be your name
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, Blessed be your name