Shot of the Day

This morning was nice. Woke at 6 and jokingly told my hubby, "lets go wake the kids". He got out of bed and I called after him thatI was just joking. I got our ham in the slow cooker and our Christmas morning cinnamon roles in the over. Shortly before seven we went and woke the kids. It's so much fun jumping on their beds saying "It's Christmas (insert child's name here)! It's Christmas, it's Christmas! My younger two wake up immediately, the others taking just a smidgen longer.

We have been so blessed this year. I just have to share this favorite shot of the day of mine.


Michael is 10 and he's entered the stage of joking around with me faaar too much, and always trying to get the better of me. So I told him I was going to 'get him good' this year, and boy did I ever. My son has recently been all about basketball, unfortunately they couldn't find a coach for St. George's kids, so it looks like he won't be playing this season after all. Anyhow, he's had his Dad's old ball for a while, the thing is flat and doesn't hold air for anything, he wanted a new basketball so bad. So, all the presents are open and there's no basketball. He told me "I have $40 so I'll get to buy a basketball. That's when I suddenly remembered that there was another big box. I presented it to Michael, he was very excited.

So he opens this big box, just to find another box in it, and another box, and finally a little tupperware dish. He's giving me looks, inside is a little 3x3 card, written on it is a clue. He gets a clue which leads him to my bathroom which leads him to the fridge, which leads him to the laundry room. Funny thing is, he's still tripping out over the fact that Mommy 'got him', and his siblings are the ones figuring out the clues!

So in the laundry room he finds a big box, opens it up and inside is his basketball. He's glad and relieved, till he finds that there's another clue taped to it. That clue leads him to the microwave where a little box waits for him. He opens that up and finds a net. He keeps saying, "I know you didn't get me a basketball hoop. What is this for?" Meanwhile his sister is reading the clue that was with it which tells him to get some fresh air. He heads outside and finds a basketball goal in the drive way with a big red bow on it. He was so shocked and surprised. I'm quite satisfied that I got him so well. I've proved once again that I am still able to get the best of him. :)

It's that time of year...

It's that time of year, the time of family, friends, laughter, good cheer, and.... not much time to blog. Today is the last day of school for my little ones, so starting tomorrow I have two and a half weeks of constant noise and having to find something for them to do. I don't suspect I'll disappear entirely but my much decreased frequency will probably continue for a while. I'm spending my time with my family, which is finally whole for a change. I pray everyone has a fabulous Christmas. Remember, it's not the gifts, or the money that makes Christmas great, is the memories of being with one another, and remembering our Savior's birth. :)

A Perfectly Imperfect Christmas

One of my kid's teachers forwarded this to me. It reminded me of my crooked Christmas Tree that I posted earlier. I know nothing about Jim Fay or the Love & Logic group this is from, so I can not either endorse them or discourage their message. But I do know that this particular message made me smile, and in this season of stress and worries, sometimes us adults need to allow things to not be perfect.

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HAVE A PERFECTLY IMPERFECT CHRISTMAS

What was your best Christmas as a kid? Was it the one where there was a lot of stress about a perfect meal elegantly served—on time—to a perfectly dressed family? Or was it the one where the dog pulled the turkey off the stove and dragged it away through the dog door? There was no perfect meal that day. Everyone rolled with the punches. They rolled up their sleeves and worked together in the kitchen to salvage a makeshift meal.

The beauty of that memory is not in perfection and organization, but in remembering the joy of being together and doing things together. It was the laughter. It was one of those days when the choices were to laugh or to cry, so you all laughed it off and enjoyed one another. It brought you all together in a different way.

Holidays are times for enjoying one another. We are not suggesting that you purposely feed the turkey to the pets, but we strongly suggest that an imperfect day with little stress will create better memories of loving relationships.

We wish you a perfectly imperfect holiday season.

Thanks for reading!
Jim Fay
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Though I seriously do not hope anyone's dinner runs away from them, I'm hoping everyone will allow joy to fill their hearts during the imperfect moments.

Now it's looking like it!

This is what I woke up to this morning! Isn't it so pretty! So yeah, a couple days ago the cookies had it smelling like Christmas, now the snow has it looking like Christmas. I'm so glad my hubby's home to do a share of the shoveling! lol I did not enjoy doing that last winter.

I hope everyone is staying warm! I'll be huddled around the dryer, stove and craft table at different times of the day today. :)

Quick check in

I love my kids with all my heart. Just last night I was whining to my husband about how lonely I will be when they all grow and leave the house. I told him he better be prepared for my mid-life crisis when my baby girl moves out. But one thing I think I will enjoy about a quiet house... being able to sleep in when you plan on it! I had planned to sleep in till like 7:30 this morning, but noooooo.... two boys and a puppy made sure I was up at 6! *sigh* So is the life.

Yesterday was a very busy day. Johnathan had a tournament to participate in. I'll have to see if I can get a picture or two up on here later as my camera is currently in the back of my van, which I'm not allowed into because there are Christmas presents there from our shopping trip last night. One must be resourceful to go shopping for five different people and not let anyone see what they got. lol Thank heavens for big jackets that cover contents of shopping carts!

At least this morning I woke to an e-mail letting me know I made the Design Team at the Christmas Cards all Year 'Round blog! I'm so excited. It's my first excursion into this realm and I hope it leads to new and excited things. People have always told me how "creative" I am, it's time to put it to the test. :)

Well, off I go... gotta get this day started. Sunday School to prepare for, a Lord to serve. :)

It's begining to smell a lot like Christmas

Anyone who knows me, knows usually my Christmas decorations are going up before all the Thanksgiving dishes are washed. This year has been unusual for me, the outside of our house still has no lights, and my tree has been in my living room for one week, all it has is lights and garland.

Friday evenings in our house are known as "Family Night". It's the one night that there is no where to go, nothing to do, I love it! Tonight we're making my famous Chocolate Chip Cookies (what do you mean you never heard of them?) and hanging ornaments on the tree. I decided to get just a small amount of baking out of the way this morning. Caitlin and I made Spritz cookies together. It was my first time doing them, as my friend gave me her Pampered Chef Cookie press when she moved to California in June. I love it!

Anyhow, something that's been bugging me lately is that there are nearly no pictures of me with my kids. As I make their scrapbooks it seems I'm not even in their lives! So I bugged my hubby to sit and take some pictures, boy am I glad I did!

I won't share them all here, but there's a few I just have to.

Caitlin of course is given the job of pouring the already measured ingredients into the bowl, keeping the mixing bowl steady, and decorating the cookies. She had done some snowflakes with blue sugar, some wreathes with green. Then we did some squares of which I gave her my big Christmas Mix to decorate with.



I had the side with holes opened, so I knew she couldn't dump them out, however this quickly led to "It's too heavy for me!" So I put some in a dish and instructed her to use her fingers and sprinkle them on. While I turned to tend to something else, she promptly picked up that little dish and dumped all the Christmas goodies on one cookie. While I missed it, thankfully her Daddy did not.



I just love the distressed look on her face. It's priceless. These are the memories I'll cherish when she's all grown up with little ones of her own.

We will be making more tonight, so the others aren't left out of the baking fun, so beware there might be more pictures tomorrow. So, as I conclude this post, I'll share just one more.



A happy little girl feeding a happy daddy Cookie Dough. :)

Why?... How?? and other such laments.

Let's start with "Why?" Why oh why did I ever get a puppy? I know, Michael had been begging me for a dog for years. Chocolate labs are hubby's favorite breed of dog. I knew the owner of the momma, and she's a fantastic gal. How often will you find a pure chocolate lab at the price of $50. And lets not forget... she was soooooo very cuuuuuute!

Yeah, well now that cute, can't pass it up, puppy is driving me nuts! She's going into bedrooms, getting kid toys to chew on. She's slowly tearing apart my Christmas tree. Each morning I wake to at least three branches torn off the bottom and scattered around the living room. Why oh why did I get a puppy?

As for how... Thursday I visited Mrs. Kirsten (Nahla's original human mommy) to get my hair fixed. I had my hair highlighted for my Sister's wedding back in Sept. 07. I hated the job and went to Kirsten to fix it a couple months later. She did such a fantastic job I wanted some more highlights put in for hubby's return. Well, hubby returned early, but I didn't care, I wanted my hair touched up.

Anyway, she washes the color out and says "You only had three grey hairs, not bad." What?!? Gray hairs? When did that happen? I'm only 31!! I can't have gray hairs! "I think I got them all." she comforted me. I jokingly told her that if any remain she can just pluck them out. Low and behold a minute later she finds one as she blow drying my hair. "You're going to have such pretty silvery hair." she comments. Uh, like hell no I'm not! lol I had her pluck it. My mom chastised me for that one, saying I'm going to only get more, but I wanted that hair gone. It was funny cause you could see the dye mark like halfway down of when I had tried to fix the bad highlight job. I brought it home to my husband, with strict instructions of telling the Army that's the damage deployments do to his wife. I swear I didn't have grey hair before he left!

I'm so not ready to face getting older. Not ready at all.

On to other non-news. Today I created a card for a Design Team call for the Christmas Cards All Year Round blog. It's a small blog, and they've posted the call several times, so I get the feeling they haven't had that many takers. I had thought I'd pass on the chance with hubby being home and all, but today I decided why not. You've got to start somewhere right? Besides it was fun. They'll make the decision on Monday, then I will post my entry on my crafty blog. Win or loose, I like it, it's cute, and I'll share it.

Now I must get my butt in domestic gear. After the kids school they have dentist appointments and Calvary Kids Club. So I gotta get things cleaned up now and a take with us dinner made.

Oh, I can't believe I almost forgot to share this cute picture.
Yesterday was really cold, when hubby came home he directly to our bed, hoping to warm up under the covers. Caitlin and I joined him and they ended up taking a nap.



Aren't they too cute?

My brain is sleeping

I'm up, I've been up for a while, but I swear my brain is asleep. I've tried to start this post several times over the last few days, but I always end up just staring at the screen. I have nothing witty to say, so I shall just ramble.

Hubby braved the Saturday crowd at Walmart and picked up a tree. We did have a nice artificial one that had prestrung lights on it that we bought five years ago. Unfortunately we couldn't get it pulled apart last year so I just let it stand in the corner of the garage. We brought it in and started to clean it up. There were some things on that tree that neither of us felt comfortable with, so out it went.

Anyway, hubby braves Walmart for me (he's so courageous) and we got it up on Saturday. The thing is extremely crooked. I mean, the trunk of it is, it just grew crooked. So depending on where you stand in the living room it looks like it's falling over. We let it stand overnight with nothing on it to allow the branches to fall and settle. Our dog loves to chew on sticks so we also wanted time to teach her it's off limits before anything electric/breakable got on there. She's learning, thankfully, but she's still not broken of it completely. But that's not what worries me, her tail hitting the thing worries me more. lol Her tale has been nicknamed a lethal weapon, it wags, a lot.

Anyhow, I finally got lights and garland on it today. It's not as lit as our old one was, because it was pre-lighted plus three strands. Now this one just has three strands, but you know, I'm happy with my not quite so bright, very crooked tree. Christmas is not about perfection, if anything it reminds me just how 'crooked' we are, and why Christ came to earth for us.

Anyhow, today is a day of chores, if I can get my headache to go away. I may do my best to sneak a nap in today. I'll need patience and a clear head for putting ornaments on the tree with my kids tonight. :)

The tale of two wildcats

Okay, so my husband's alarm went off at 4:30 this morning. What the heck is the army thinking?!?!? These soldiers just spent 15 months in a desert who's recent weather averaged 75 degrees F. After being home less than a week, they want them to go PT in less than 20 degree weather. Idiots... I swear!

Anyway, so though I try as I might I can't get back to sleep. So after some prayer time I'm on my laptop still in bed :), checking my e-mail. I know I've said it a thousand times over, but I love living in this smaller atmosphere. Back about a month ago, the 1st and 2nd graders had a poster contest for the K-state Basketball season. Johnathan's class won which got them a visit from the K-State mascot, Willie the Wildcat.

Now this isn't going to matter to anyone but me, and those friends of mine that grew up in Arizona. See, my home town, Tucson, Arizona is home to the University of Arizona, which happens to have the wildcat as it's mascot also. So I grew up with one distinct "wildcat" mascot, it's weird to see a different logo and different mascot attached to the "wildcat" name.

Wilbur Wildcat:

Willie the Wildcat:

Honestly, I think the Arizona one is superior, because the wildcat head on a human body just gives me the willies. (pun intended) I mean, yeah, we all know it's a guy in the costume, but at least Arizona tries to mask the fact.

And my friends that are loyal to Tucson may want to throw tomatoes at me for this next comment... I think the superiority stops there.

Where Wilbur is a fun character, great to have around at game time, I don't recall it ever being involved with the community, with younger children outside of sporting events. Willie the Wildcat is. My sons class got to go to the K-State college and see the locker rooms and basketball court and football field first hand. Willie was with them as they took the "secret stairs" that led them outside. Willie signed autographs and if you didn't have something for him to sign, he'd sign your arm for you. (I know... the marker still hasn't come off my sons arm!)

The fact that K-State is involved with the youth at the younger ages outside of sporting events thrills me. My little man came home so psyched up about his visit, he was just bubbling over with excitement. Though this might seem un-important for most, think of the early impact. It is making young kids excited about college really. My son will never forget the day he got to go to the college, he's going to feel that connection, and how he felt important and special, like he belonged there. It's just awesome that's all.

So as I leave this post that I'll be scratching my head about later, wondering where the heck it all came from (I blame the 4:30am alarm clock!!) I shall leave with a picture my son's teacher sent me.



PS Oh, and if you're like me and interested in useless little trivia facts when you have time to kill... According to Wiki, K-State created the costumed wildcat mascot first. Willie is 12 years older than Wilbur.

Back to Normal

Well, it's finally come, a day that goes back to normal. My husband's alarm went off at 5:30 this morning. He went off to work just before the kids wake up. Then it's get them off to school and now it's just myself, my baby girl, and the dog. Laundry is started, e-mail is seen too, dishes are calling my name, and my craft table is screaming to be cleaned. lol Yup, back to normal!

It's below freezing outside, so it looks like my Christmas yard decor isn't making it out today. I usually have the Christmas stuff going up before the Thanksgiving dishes are washed, but with the circumstances this year I haven't gotten to it. With a rowdy pup and my husband's homecoming, it just hasn't happened yet. Hopefully soon. Hopefully.

Okay, so this was a useless post. Guess I just wanted to check in. :) I'm off to get something done. lol

All about hubby

My friend posted this list on her blog, and given my husband's recent return home, I just HAD to snag it!

All about Hubby...
1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? An action/adventure movie.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Artichoke Hearts

4. You go out to the bar. What does he order? We never go to bars, but if we did, it would be a German Beer.

5. Where did he go to high school? Sunny Side High School, Tucson, Arizona

6. What size shoe does he wear? 9

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? Coffee mugs

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Philly Cheese Steak

9. What would he eat every day if he could? Mexican Food

10. What is his favorite cereal? Cocoa Puffs

11. What would he never wear? Pants hanging down low

12. What is his favorite sports team? He doesn't have one, he thinks they all get paid too much.

13. Who did he vote for? McCain

14. Who is his best friend? Me

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Bug him with silly blog questions

16. How many states has he lived in? Five plus Germany and Japan

17. What is his heritage? All mixed... like most Americans

18. You bake him a cake for his birthday what would it be? It would be a cheesecake

19. Did he play sports in high school? Track & Cross Country

20. What could he spend hours doing? Reading, putting up with his wife

21. What's something cool about him? He actually laughs at my jokes. He has a photo memory when it comes to technology. He can list stats of all sorts of gadgets and tell you exactly which one can do what and how much it costs. He can instantly revert to boyhood and play with the kids, but when I need him, he's all grown up. :)

Home

Are those happy kids or what? That was the scene yesterday, and the reason why I may be a little hard to nail down. The ceremony time kept changing, first it was on Sunday, then it was Monday at 11am, then it was Monday at 8:30am, then when we got there we were told it changed to 10. Thankfully though, once it did start, it was super quick. They marched them all in (about 100 guys) and some high ranking guy thanked the men for a job well done, then said let's get these guys released to their loved ones. I was so thankful for that! Finally someone who knew his droning on and on meant little to the soldiers, they just wanted to be with their families.

So for now things are going slow. He has to go back to work full time on Thursday, I'm sure I'll be pestering my blog then. :)

One more day...

Ha! As I should have predicted, hubby's homecoming isn't happening today. His plane broke down in Iceland. lol Poor guy. Now we're rescheduled for Monday at 11am. I'm rolling with the punches, unfortunately however my oldest is being a down right difficult child and I can't help but wonder if it's because of this. He is just lashing out at everyone, and though I understand his frustration and anger, it's not okay that he takes it out on those of us that are home. *sigh* Today is going to be looooooong.

On the bright side, I now have more time to clean up. lol Not to mention play with my "stuff". I posted a card I made today on my other blog, and I really need to get making a good website. I gave out several cards at the craft show yesterday, I need to have a website to support it, but I just so am NOT in the mood to create a website. I have the know how, I just don't have the gumption. I wish there were a lady out there that would trade me a website for a discount on scrapbook items. lol If you are out there, contact me!!

Oh... thought I'd leave with this picture of my daughter, bored at the craft show yesterday.

Finally Home...

Today has been excruciatingly long! But it hasn't always felt that way. The alarm went off bright and early at 6am. Out the door by 6:30. My oldest stayed home with our dog. Last night, my oldest thought it was a grand idea to play keep away with Nahla using one of those small rubber bouncy balls. Well, Nahla got it, and swallowed it whole! So while I'm freaking out Nahla's quite pleased with herself. Thankfully the vet said she should be able to pass it (while she's barely a 5mo old pup, she weighs 40lbs, she's a big girl), he gave me some medicine to give to her to help her poop. So since my oldest was the one to feed her the ball, he got to stay home to take her potty constantly and see if that stupid ball makes it through.

Anyway, I dropped my youngest two off at a friends house, then my oldest daughter and I headed to the craft show. It was pretty easy to set up, I had one table their for me. When the doors opened at 9am the guy that was to my back dumped all of his oils on his six pails of potpurri. While I've always liked potporri, sitting by buckets of it for hours on end isn't good. Come noon my head was pounding, and when 4pm came I couldn't wait to get out of there. Thankfully 3/4 of my stuff sold and it was a super quick pick up. I hope to be able to do the show again next year. With more time to prepare I can make more things and be less stressed about it. I was shocked that three of my cards actually sold for $3 ea and I had several people take a business card and even chatted about my cricut machine with a few!

Anyhow, so now my head is pounding, but it's been a good day. I pick up my kids and as I'm driving towards Pizza Hut to pick up our pasta for dinner (I love their chicken pasta) the phone rings. It's the army. I get to pick up my husband Sunday afternoon!! It's supposed to be COLD tomorrow, and the ceremony is outside, so hopefully it will be quick. The poor guys have been in the desert for the last 15 months, they think 60 is down right cold. We're not even supposed to hit 40* tomorrow, and our off and on snow is supposed to continue tomorrow. What a homecoming it will be!

So, if I'm not around my computer much the next couple days you'll know why. He's supposed to have two days off before he has to go back to work, till the 13th when his block leave starts. So I'm sure I'll get to the computer by the end of the week. But I doubt I'll be around my puter for the next two days or so. :D

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's that day again! The often under appreciated day when we are reminded of all the blessings we have in our life. And I have lots of them! I could easily sit here and type out a list of 100 things I have to be thankful for. The good Lord has given me so many blessings in my life. As I redecorated this blog for Christmas, I hope all my friends, and those who happen to cross my blog somehow will see the Lord's fingerprints in their lives.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A lonnnnnng time...

First, I want to say very publicly, thank you Jenni! For understanding my need to vent despite the fact that I know all of this stuff already. lol And of course my mom... who I called immediately begging for her to come do my craft show for me. lol Thanks for laughing with me through it all.

I'm a military wife of 13 years, this is not the first homecoming I've been through, though this is the longest he's ever been away. He left on the 3rd of Sept. 07. He'll be home just days shy of 15 solid months. I know that it's perfectly 'normal' for the emotions to range from anxiety to pure excitement. There's even resentment, fear, joy, and awkwardness. It's all very usual... but just because it's 'normal' does not mean it's easy.

This morning as I was cleaning up my kitchen, preparing to get my pie started, my mind wandered to the changes that have happened in this house since he's been gone. There's been a lot.

The first one that comes to my attention (probably because I can't take two steps without running into her) is our Nahla.

I am so sorry Jenni, you've asked me about her often, and I somehow always forget to snap a pic of her. Even now that I have, it doesn't show her size well, all I can say is when we got her, her head was well below my knees when I sat. Now you can see she's waaaay taller than that. But I just love this picture, she's so.... handsome in it. (Can I use that word to describe a girl dog?) She is beautiful but she is a handful! She's a very large, playful, rambunctious (did I mention large?) puppy. She is however my hubby's favorite breed, so hopefully he'll fall in love with her. Hopefully she won't mind him to much as well. lol I can see the two of them getting along.

Then there's the fact that when he left I was homeschooling the kids. Now they go to the public school, which involves a huge change for them, but also for our schedule. There's dropping off, and picking up, tutoring days to keep straight not to mention homework.

When he left the kids were not in extra activities, now there's Gymnastics, Taekwando, Library Story time, Calvary Kids Club and soon there will be basketball as well.

All of his kids are a year older, half of them have had two birthdays since he's been gone.

I'd have to say one of the biggest differences is me. Quite frankly, I was depressed. I had the joy of the Lord, but being joyful is not the same as being happy. I was depressed, I didn't take care of my self, I didn't put even an ounce of effort into my appearance. And though I still do not wear makeup, and I'm not all about my looks, I have self worth and value now. The Lord has worked on me lots while my husband's been gone.

And you know, I'm sure the biggest changes are those that I don't know about yet. The ones in him. Those that know our story know that there has to have been major changes for him. I mean we faced divorce square in the eye while he was gone. It's weird. Fifteen months is a long time.

Got a phone call

It's not the phone call... As that title is reserved for the worst phone call military families fear. Nope I got the "you can expect your spouse home between this three day window" call. While I'm glad, and it's nice to know he's on his way, I am so worried that he's going to come in on Saturday! I payed a $55 fee just to have a table at this fair, I sunk over $100 worth of stuff into creating my goods for this fair. Now watch, I won't be able to go because I'll have to pick up my husband. Is it wrong for me to pray he won't come in until after six pm on that day? It is isn't it! There's no way I'm NOT going to pick him up. I mean it's the end of a 15 month deployment. But man... it'll hurt to not have the opportunity to recoup the costs... Listen to me I sound horrible!!

Around

Around... that's what I've been. Just not here. Life's busy, I've got the craft show this weekend, throw in Thanksgiving, and trying to mentally/emotionally prepare for the husband's return. His e-mail today told me that they're no longer working, now they just sit around waiting to get flights out. My poor hubby is probably going to be stuck in Kuwait for Thanksgiving. Oh well, it beats being in Iraq.

I'm afraid I don't have a ton to say. I just wanted to check in today, I've had a horrible case of the headaches tormenting me. No amount of tylenol has worked, this is not normal for me. I'm taking a small break tonight to watch Wall-e with the kids. It's a cute movie. I'll probably post on Sunday or Monday telling how my craft show went. Hopefully it'll go well.

The answer to that question is...

You know that ancient question... "Is there such a thing as too much of a 'good' thing?" I have the answer. YES!! There is such a thing. I have been crafting my little heart out whenever I can, and I can tell I'm headed for burn out. I have over 2 dozen different little baggies that are partially done. They're awaiting filling, ribbon and accents. I feel like I'll never get it done!

Of course, in between those I did do a quick goodie bag for a friend of mine from church, and I stayed up to the wee hours of the night last night making a card for my Grandma. It turned out so cute, I was determined to take a picture of it. But this morning when I woke up I forgot all about taking pictures of it. I filled in the inside, and mailed it! lol That's what I get for crafting instead of sleeping.

If this show turns out to be a success, I know I'll want to do it again next year. Just next year I'll have three months to work on it, instead of just three weeks!

What I've learned...

Today has been a busy day filled with ups and downs. It could so easily make a long post of details, much like a checked off "to do" list. But you know, I think at the end of this day, I must stop and reflect on why it was the way it was. What was God trying to whisper in my ear today?

How about the fact that even though you know what's best for your children, they often want to learn their lesson on their own, which means doing it the hard way. The same could be said of those of us who are God's children. He knows what's best for us, and we know He knows what's best for us. But we are determined to give our way a shot, and finding out, often times the hard way, that we really should have tried His way.

Or how about the first person to volunteer to reprimand, usually isn't the one who should be doing it. Rather it should be the one who is most hesitant to speak. Being less "gung ho" about correcting someone gives you time to pray for the correct words so you can approach the person with love, rather than self righteousness. And when you pray for God's guidance regarding the way in which you should approach someone, He will always provide, if you are the one He wants to use. If you don't hear from Him, then pray some more and keep your mouth shut!

How about the best laid out plans need to be disposable. When God wants to interrupt your daily planner, let Him!

Then there's always the fact that you never know just what an impact you have on someones life. You may not hear from a person, and you think your deeds are unnoticed, or really don't amount to beans. When truthfully you've made a huge impact on their life, and they just don't know how to tell you.

And every now and then, the things your children do that worry you the most, are the exact same things you were guilty of yourself as a kid. And you must ponder... am I lecturing them, or me when I was that age? Let's face it, our kids are "just like us" and it drives us nuts!

To those whom I take for granted, I am sorry. I pray that I will listen closer to God's tiny whisper.

Can't Focus

Today has been the polar opposite of yesterday. Yesterday started out cruddy but quickly transformed into a good day. Today started out fantastic, then quickly transformed into a cruddy day. I let Nahla stay outside last night since the cloud cover was supposed to keep the temps up. So I was able to sleep in till 7:30! Talk about fabulous! But as I woke I realized my whole body ached, and when I tried to talk with my kids, I had no voice! It came back to me as I got up and moving, but I sound like someone who's been smoking for 80 years!

This sinus thing is going around my family. Started with my youngest, has gone full circle up the ranks to me. Unfortunately though it seems my baby picked up another version of it, as she had a fever when she crawled into bed tonight. We just have to get past this this weekend!

I tried to craft today, I really did. When I think that the craft show is only 2 weeks away now, I want to go into panic mode! I have virtually nothing right now. I managed to make about six packets today but then I just quit. I did not like how they were turning out. I just can't concentrate and be creative when my body aches like it does.

The whole day was not wasted though. We got a boatload of laundry done today. And I do say "we". My kids rocked it for me today! They each folded their own, and separated out mine, helped me with the socks. (Have I ever mentioned that I HATE folding socks?) Given we haven't had a truly warm warm day in a while I bit the bullet and put up all the summer clothes so we have enough hangers for the long sleeve shirts. I do feel that today wasn't wasted, it just wasn't spent where I needed it! So now, I am on my way to bed. Unfortunately it's dipping into the mid 20s tonight, so Nahla is inside. Here's hoping she doesn't "retrieve" things out of the trash for me while I'm sleeping. It all leaves me asking, "Why, oh why did I get a dog again?" lol

Oh, I almost forgot. My daily thankful. I did forget yesterday. (I'm slapping my own hand.) Well, yesterday I was very thankful for the fabulous teachers that my kids have. They are fantastic women, and I am so thankful that God has provided an excellent school for my kids.

Today, I am thankful for $1.99 a gallon gas!! Here I thought it would never go below $2 again in my lifetime! Woo-hoo! Just in time for hubby to get home and do his long drives to work. The gas prices before he left was killing us. This will be a little easier to swallow.

A dog sorta day

Today's been a longer, yet relaxed day. Although, it didn't start that way. This morning I woke to sounds of our puppy's paws on the kitchen floor. There was a lot of foot steps for so early in the morning. Little alarm bells went off in my head. So I got out of bed and what did I find? Clothes everywhere!! I have a laundry basket in the living room of clean but unfolded clothes. It's like a pit of socks that I just can't force myself to fold.

Well, at least they used to be, until my dog decided she would spread them out all over the floor. Boy, was I not happy. And boy did she find out. After grabbing a hold of her, spanking her hind quarters and dragging her out to the back yard I forced myself to take stock of the damage. Surprisingly they were wet from dog slobber, but there were no tears or holes. Go figure, she played with them, didn't tear them apart. Labs are listed as retrieving dogs, is that what she was doing?

Now I'll have to decide, do I lock her up in her Kennel where she's guaranteed to wake me up super early, or do I hide the basket of clothes and take my chances with her retrieving something else?

Needless to say, I wasn't in the bests of moods. Thankfully I got a great e-mail from my friend which boosted my spirits. The morning hours were then spent crafting. Nothing to show for my efforts yet, but I hope to complete them tomorrow. This afternoon I had Parent - Teacher conferences to go to. Thankfully they went well. Johnathan is finally going up a level in reading class. He had started in the higher class, but because of his behavior, they moved him down. Though he still struggles with his behavior, he has improved enough they want to put him back up. I'm worried that the change in teachers and the change in routines is going to stir up some problems, but I'm hopeful that having work that isn't a cakewalk for him will help as well. The boy acts up when he's bored, so this just might help!

My older two have improved a lot since first getting there. They had big adjustments to make from having only been homeschooled to now being in public school. I adore my kids' teachers. They're all fantastic ladies.

This evening we have gymnastics class and Taekwondo. I'm planning on taking the kids out to a new fast food place that just opened up; Freddy's Steakburgers and Frozen Custard. I've never heard of it before, I hear it's just a tad expensive, but they deserve it!

One of those days...

Today is turning out to be one of those days. It seems like nothing I do comes out right. I've wasted so much time today attempting to get things accomplished and yet at the end of it all, absolutely nothing was accomplished. Add to it the fact I'm sick, and some really harsh words spoken by a child, I can't wait to climb in bed. First I have to head out to the church. If I hadn't promised I'd help with the packing of Operation Christmas Child boxes I wouldn't be going. I'm glad I am though. Even when all I want to do is crawl under a rock, getting myself to church around those who love God and love me helps to lift my spirits. Even if there are a bunch of loud kids running around.

My friend has gotten in the habit of posting what she is thankful for everyday. I think I need to start doing this! Force your mind to dwell on the positives and your bound to lift your mood a little. Today I'm so thankful for the years God gave me with my kids at home. Yesterday during Taekwondo, the leader revealed the new weapon that they're going to start training with in January. It's basically a glorified, shiny plastic sword. All the kids oohed and awed over it. Someone asked how much it is... "It's usually $50. But these two weeks it's on sale for $40." My jaw dropped. Holy cow! He then mentioned that you could train with the brown stick instead.

When we got home and I was tucking my kids in for the night, I asked my son what he thought about it. Of course he thought it was really cool. I asked if he had heard how much it costs. He hadn't. When I told him, I followed up with, "If you get that for Christmas, I'm afraid that's going to have to be your main gift." His reply? "Okay, I want the stick then." With no pouty face, no big bottom lip, no hint of sadness in his voice. I was floored. I asked him several times, "Really?" I asked him how he can say that so calmly. "Because I don't care what other people have. I don't want what they have." I was floored. This coming from my seven year old son. I just have to get it for him now. He totally deserves it.

So yeah, I'm thankful for my son, and the time God's given me with them. Here I thought nothing was sinking in!

Organizing

I've decided to split my blog up a little bit. I've created a new one just for showcasing the crafty things I do. I hope in the future I can use this as a means to compliment my business site. Not that I'll be selling things on it, but it'll be more of a "see what I did with this" type of thing. I spent last night moving most of my crafty posts from here over to there. This way folks that are interested in that type of stuff can browse a blog that doesn't have a lot of my personal reflections and stories on it.

I'm still trying to get things organized, it'll be a work in progress. Hope you don't mind Jenni, I like the background on your blog so much I got mine from the same site. I'm such a copy cat!

Anyhow the new one is Cards 'N Things. And I posted the two cards I made yesterday. :)

Happy Veteran's Day

You know, growing up as a kid, I heard about Veteran’s Day. I knew what it was about, but I never really did truly appreciate it. I’m 99% certain that’s true for all kids. It’s just not something you think about in your days of youth. I’m afraid to say that I feel the same is true for a lot of adults in this country too. You can’t truly appreciate what a veteran, or active military member does unless it’s touched your life somehow. I mean, I’m thankful for police and firefighters. I think they are true heroes, often unsung. But I can’t truly appreciate what it is they do. Put their life on the line every day.

The same was true of me, even as a military wife, until this war on terror started. When I married my husband back in ’95, the only war I knowingly lived through was Desert Storm. And that was pretty much short and sweet. I was in high school during that war, I was more concerned about the drama going on with my friends than some war that was in another country. I was more into 90210 than watching the nightly news. The first six years of our marriage was during peace time. There were a couple two or three month exercises in the field. All really no big deal. Then 9-11 happened. That’s the beginning of my getting to truly appreciate Veterans and what they’ve done for us.

My kids’ school had an hour long Veteran’s Day ceremony today. I wish the school district I grew up in would have tried to actually teach us the importance of this day. Not that I can guarantee I would have listened if they had, but who knows, maybe I would have. The local VA chapter came to the school, carried the flags and opened the ceremony. Not ten minutes into the thing I had my first opportunity to fight tears. A gentleman placed a black POW cover on an empty chair in the front, the speaker explaining that the gentleman doing so was himself a POW of Vietnam. I lost the fight with the tear that formed in my eye. The things that man and his family had to endure, and all those that never return home. What can I say, it got to me.

The high school’s marching band was there, among other songs they played the theme songs for the five branches of the military. I leaned into my daughters’ ear during the Marine Corps song. “If Daddy were here he’d be singing the words.” She smiled. Her daddy would drive me absolutely nuts walking around the house singing that song. Later I found out they have been teaching the kids those songs. I think my husband has a singing partner in Kirsten now. They both sing off key so it’ll be beautiful.

They asked the students of the school to stand if they have a relative that is serving or has served, I was shocked when somewhere around 90% of the kids stood. Granted, most of those were probably grandkids of military members, but still. A list of names was called out of people that were present who have served, each stood and were applauded. Some that stick out in my memory, one of the last survivors of Perl Harbor, WWII vet, and a nurse who served in the Nurse’s Corp. They called my husband’s name. My kids got to stand up for him. Again, I had to fight the tears.
My husband and I don’t always agree on things, my nose would grow if I said we’ve had more good years together than bad. But I’m ready for him to be home. And I’m proud of him. And I’m proud of my kids. And I pray that I do a better job of teaching my kids how important it is to be truly thankful for those who have served and die for our country, than I was taught as a child. My job may be easy, as their lives have been deeply touched and torn by this war.

Oh, before I forget. Our town ordered some banners to go on the light poles of the town’s main street. There’s only four flags, but on one side they say something like “St. George salutes those who serve our country.” (Not an exact quote, I'm going from memory.) And the other sides have names of people who live here that have served, or are currently serving.



That’s my hubby, second one down. Say what you may about hick town St. George, who’s only businesses in city limits is a bar and a barber shop. I’m proud to live here.

The jury is out...

Last night I awoke to the sounds of my younger son struggling to breathe. There's no hint of a fever, but he's congested so thick it isn't funny. So, he got to stay home today. When my kids stay home sick from school they have to lay down all day. And take a nap. Come lunch time I'll run down to the school and pick up his school work for him to do. I'm just so very thankful that we don't have to go anywhere today!

So, in between pouring drink refills, I've been working on my next craft. I'm not so sure I like the took of this one. There's something that just doesn't do it for me, but I can't think of any other way to finish it. It's supposed to be a paper Christmas Tree.



I swear it's not really that crooked, I just took a tilted picture.

Oh, to answer the question you left in comments Jenni... It's the Cricut Machine by Provo Craft. I have secret hopes for an Expression one day, which uses the same cartridges but can make images twice as big. One day, one day. :)

Sweet Science...

Well, no crafting yet today, instead the kids and I have worked on cleaning up the house (yet AGAIN) and doing their science projects. They've been learning about the scientific process of doing experiments, and they were to come up with their own to do at home.

My daughter (the smart one) decided she would compare lemons and oranges to see which has more juice. Yeah, so it seems like a no brainer, but it's the sort of blonde idea she comes up with.

I was surprised that her arm held up through the juicing of six fruits (3 lemons + 3 oranges). The favorite part for her, was when it was all done...

I found out that you have to add a whole lot of sugar to make lemon juice drinkable!

As for my son... I swear, he can't leave his stomach out of anything! Including science! His project... finding out which has more candies in it, a bag of Skittles or a bag of M&Ms. I know... not very scientific. But he's able to do the scientific process with it, so the teacher said it counts. (I know you're dying to know... over all M&Ms had more, but not by much.)



So yeah, you can bet they're anxious to eat those six bags of goodies!

Before all the "science" activity going on, we were cleaning up the house once again. When I found out that hubby is NOT going to be home for Thanksgiving I felt that there's no reason to celebrate. I mean, it's just me and my kids, why cook a gigantic meal? You cook for hours making a ton of food that takes a whole fifteen minutes to sit and eat then you get the hour plus of cleaning to do. I wanted to just skip Thanksgiving all together.

But as I took stock of how things are, this morning I decided to stop being a party pooper and I brought out my fall decorations. I'm glad I did. Sitting in a cluttered house really does put a damper on your spirit. With the pretty fall items around me I'm in the mood to cook and just accomplish general household stuff. Let's see if that hold's out till Thanksgiving. For some reason I highly doubt it!

On my way to bed...

Oye... I am one tired mommy. This morning was spent at the bank and out to a few stores. Besides the necessities for feeding four kids I was looking for things to get my craft show making self in gear. By time we got home it was after lunch time, so I took care of my kiddos and got to work.

My mindset is I want to make a variety of things, but it all has to come back to my Cricut machine. That way if someone asks how I do it, I'll have the crack in the door to stick my foot through. Not to mention the stalls have electricity, so I'll probably bring my machine with me. That way I can work on things when I sit and am bored, but also it wouldn't hurt to have it out in the open.

Anyway, I decided to start with something simple and easy. This show is all about homemade holidays, so I'm focusing on inexpensive gifts and home decor. That way whatever doesn't sell will make nice little gifts for teachers and what have you. The Christmas Clips posted by Teza over at Christmas Cards All Year 'Round seemed like the perfect little simple thing to get myself started.

Ha ha... was I fooled. While the project itself is really super simple, I had to open a brand new Christmas Cartridge for my cricut and it took me a while to figure that thing out. Not that it gave me problems, but that I was making one of something in several sizes to get the right fit! That's okay though, because I'm collecting the extras I made and they'll be put to good use later.

Anyhow, I'm going to market these as photo holders. For the show I'll actually print out a picture from Christmas past... but for this, I just grabbed the first photo I could find.



I absolutely love these little snowflakes. I'm definitely going to have to play around with them to see what works of art I can create. Here's a close up, just because I want to. :)



I did a few in the more traditional color schemes of Green and Red. Man... getting all those itty pieces of snow (white paper) on their right took a lot of time. I am just so thankful that I have nails, or it would have been impossible. I have sticky fingertips from that!



And last but not least, some pointsettas. These were the very first ones I did. I'm not entirely happy with all of them. As you can see I ran out of ribbon and I will need to get some more!



Anyhow, so these will most likely be my simplest items. I'm hoping to get a paper tree made tomorrow. After I spend the morning on chores and getting all the kids school work done, and I HAVE to find the Sunday School book. I can't find it, and I need to teach on Sunday! Oye... I'm in trouble. lol

Jenni... I so totally owe you an e-mail, as long as to a few other as well. I will be working on that in the morning. For now it is after 11pm. I'm going to take the dog out to pee and then I'm crawling in bed!

Out of my mind

Yup, I must be out of my mind! I found out there is a craft show three weeks from Saturday in Manhattan. While I can't sell my products, I could sell items I make from my products. It's a good potential opportunity to get my business name out there. The only down side is I now have a ton of crafting to do. By time December comes I will be all crafted out!

I forsee lots of pictures will hit this blog in the coming weeks. Part of me wants to start tonight, but I am so tired, I can barely keep my eyes open. I just might be going to bed the same time as my kids do!

Tearing people apart

Have you seen the new sprint commercial where firefighters are in charge of the government? If not, check it out here. It really is a great commerical.

If only life was that simple eh? I had told myself the best idea when it came to politics and my blog was to keep them separate! Everywhere I look I see politics causing problems between people. It seems like politics and religion are the two topics that are guaranteed to cause problems. While I will speak openly about my beliefs and my faith, I'm not so quick to do so when it comes to politics. Why? Cause I believe my faith is the truth. The truth that has the power to save people from hell. I know there are many in this world that would call me closed minded, old fashioned but I don't care what they think of me. The world rejected my Savior, why would I expect to be treated any differently?

But when it comes to politics and who is the best person for various jobs, I do not think there is a "truth". I have my opinions, my neighbors have theirs, the media has their own. Politics is something that I've always taken the "agree to disagree" high road. And I don't want to descend from that in this post. But as I'm up late tonight, thanks to my poor baby girl having a fever, I'm watching the news, and I'm just troubled. Since I haven't been able to talk with my husband for some time, I have no one to discuss it with. So, I'm turning to this. It's my only option other than keeping it all bottled up in myself.

As for the title of my post... I do, I see politics tearing friends apart. I found myself correcting people. Obama is not a Muslim, Obama is not the anti-christ. And the fact that people scoffed at me over stating the facts is telling. Why were people so scared of him that they resorted to making lies to attack him? All that does is make the other side look cowardly, devious and desperate. It does more harm to them than to the candidate they were hoping to damage.

I will say upfront that last night CNN was my channel of choice for election coverage. I see NBC as far too left, and Fox as a bit right. I do think that CNN tilts to the left, but overall they're fair. Their fancy hologram reporting was a bit over the top for me, the money spent on all that fancy show off technology could have been used for far better causes, but ehh, what ya gonna do about that?

I was intrigued last night, as they broke down the information they gathered from exit polls. Since I can't seem to find it on the CNN website today, I'll do my best to pull it from memory. Over 60% of the people that said race was a major factor in their choice voted for Obama. I think that is wrong. Just like the near 50% of people that voted against him because of his race is wrong. I am by no means a racist, four years ago I wished that Collin Powell would put his bid in for the presidency. But to vote for or against someone because of the color of their skin. That's just wrong. I understand and agree that a major turning point happened in this country, and quite frankly I'm glad that it did happen. I just wish no part of it would have been based on such superficial reasons.

On the flip side, a lot of people voted against McCain because of his age. While I don't agree with that, I think it is legitimate. I mean, lets face the facts, I think John McCain is a hero of this country, I feel his image was drug through the mud and distorted, both by the other side, and his own campaign. But he is no spring chicken, and having Palin as the president in waiting... that just doesn't jive. While I admire Palin and all she stands for. Every person is made to fullfill a role in this world, I just don't think the President is one she was created for at this time of her journey, she just didn't have the knowledge or experience for it.

I admit, as I watched John McCain give his speech last night, I was deeply moved. He is a man of integrity all the way. When his supporters booed Obama, he stopped them. The clincher of the night was when he blamed the failure of his campaign on himself. That was sad to me. I don't want him to ever see himself as a failure. No, he's not perfect, no one on this planet is, but that man has given more to this country than most people can even dream of.

So now that Obama is our president elect, I'm worried for him. So many people have put him on this pedestal that is ridiculously high. He has been handed one of the worst situations our country has ever been in, and a ton of people are looking to him to solve all of our problems. To the best of my knowledge, there is not a president in recent history that has kept many of the promises they made while running for the office. Many people really believe he is different, they expect him to deliver. For that, I have to say good luck. Good luck Obama, you're going to need it!

I saw a video clip where a preacher was basically calling Obama the messiah for today. A different person compared him to Jesus, at the same time comparing Palin to Pilate. Never have I heard Obama put himself there, but others have. Others are looking to him to save this country. That's a very large task for anyone. Even though he has a majority of the house and the senate on his side, which is guaranteed to make things a bit easier on him, the problems this country currently faces have no easy fix.

I'm curious, once he gets all those super secret briefings, will his stance on speedy withdrawal from Iraq change? Or is he going to stay true to his promises of withdrawing all troops sometime in 2010? Will he still dump a ton of money into health care, and schools while not increasing taxes? Where's that money going to come from? I just don't see how he can keep all those promises. And honestly why should we expect him to? All other presidents in our life time have not kept their promises, why should he? Because his followers believe whole heartily that he is the answer to all of our problems.

I will be interested to see how it is received if he can not deliver all he promised. Will the media kindly forget the promises, as they did when he said he would not accept public funding but then did anyway? Or will they tear him apart over every little weakness as they do President Bush? I have my own opinion, but I will wait to see.

Now I will do as my Father has commanded. Romans 13:1 "Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God." There's a reason why Obama is having his moment to shine. No one can look at his journey to the White House and call it ordinary. The world is watching, we shall see what he does.

So now that I've unloaded all that was on my chest, I don't plan on posting anymore political blurbs. I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, that was definitely not my intentions. I just needed to share some of my thoughts. I promise, once my hubby is home (some time around Dec. 10th I've learned tonight) ya'll won't be subjected to it as much. :)

Out of breath...

I am a bit out of breath. Literally. Today has been a whirlwind, and I am definitely looking forward to a smoother tomorrow. My day started off badly, I couldn't find the dog's shot records, so as I looked for it I was wishing my mom a happy birthday. Head off to the vet's, drop the dog off back home and head out to a friends house to brief him and the pastor so he can take over the admin stuff at church. Come home for half an hour before getting my youngest from school, help him with his homework, go back and get my other two. Head out to Pizza Hut so they could use their book it coupons, drive through a huge storm out to base to deliver a title, then head to trainin on base. Get home, it's already 9pm. I feel like today was so packed full of stuff, if it weren't for my headache I'd fall asleep instantly. Thankfully tomorrow's highlights are dishes, laundry, prepping my Sunday School lesson and eating lunch with my kids at school. I am looking forward to it!

The meeting on base tonight was interesting. I am struggling to not be so selfish. My hubby will be one of the last ones home since he's training their replacements. They're expecting the majority of hubby's company home no later than the 15th of this month. The rear d shared that they'll have 5 days of reintergration stuff, after that they're pretty much going to have nothing to do until their block leave. So here, my husband isn't coming home till after the 6th of December, he misses a tiny bit of block leave. It just feels that those leaving now are getting an extra month of leave. I should be happy for them, but I'm jealous! I know envy is a sin, but it's so hard to not feel like you're getting the short end of the stick.

I was surprised to hear that the guys that came back about three weeks ago, they've already had a drunk driving arrest, sexual assault and something else. To sit and listen to other wives share their frustrations and how they pretty much don't want their husband's home. It's just sad. These are real people, real lives, and they're so screwed up. I'm so thankful I know Jesus. He's the only reason I'm okay, and I don't know how people do it without him!

Everyone is doin it...

Well, at least everyone should be doin it. Voting that is. I headed down this morning, it was my first time to ever actually stand in line. In the past I always voted via absentee ballot thanks to being part of the military. This year though when going through my separation that I was sure was going to happen, I decided to become a Kansas Resident, so this year I got to stand in line. Thankfully our town is small, and even with all the surrounding area having the same polling place I was in and out in just under an hour. Not too shabby. I do have to say I'm glad it's done. This year is unlike any other, and I really feel that this election fits into the end of times. I love this country, but I believe it's passed it's golden days. Things are happening, times are changing, and my Savior is coming back soon.

The older gentleman next to me in line said he feels this is going to be a waste of his time. He's sure his man isn't going to win. I shared my philosophy on voting. If you vote, and your man does not win, then you have the right to complain in the future. If you didn't vote, then you have no right to complain. I remember four years ago, it seemed the whole world was certain Bush wasn't going to get a second term. However he did. I felt then, those that hated him, but didn't bother to actually vote, they couldn't complain. They had their chance and didn't take it.

I have a feeling though, this time around, I'll be the one who bought her free to complain card. lol Either way my God is big and I place my trust in my God, not my president.

A-OK

Wow... it's been near a week since my last post. I swear I'm not hiding! Things have just been busy, busy, busy. I'm trying to get ready to pass along the administrative duties to someone else. In doing so Pastor asked for me to make some changes and it's all just kind of spiraled out of control. Things are a mess, and I hate to pass on a mess, but I just can't keep this up!

Today I selfishly spent the day creating. Unfortunately I can't post pictures of any of what I created even though I'm absolutely tickled pink over them. The baby announcements for my friend turned out great, I hope you love them Jenni! Made a birthday card for my mom, and a card to go in my friend's package. I want all of them to be a surprise to their recipients and they each visit my blog, so no pics are to be posted.

We spent last night at the mall. Johnathan participated in the yearly "Board Breaks for a Cure". The ATA classes try to raise donations for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation by breaking 1000 boards in under an hour. This year they did it in less than 40 minutes. I took some video and wanted to post it, but I can't get Windows Movie Maker to work correctly. I'll keep working on it, eventually something has to go right for me! Johnathan enjoyed it, and if anyone doubted the boards were real, there were enough "Oww!!"s proclaimed and bags of ice being passed around to prove they were real. lol It was a good time though.

I'm afraid I'm still gonna be a little hard to get a hold of till the end of this week. Monday I'm dedicating to the church books. Tuesday is the usual taking Caitlin to class, but also need to go wait in line to vote. Wednesday I'll be with the pastor and the guy who's taking over my admin duties. Thursday will be busy with errands, hopefully Friday I'll be able to breathe!

At least staying busy helps the days to fly by. I just hate feeling like I'm never caught up.

mia

A big ol' "Sorry!" to those who have been waiting for an e-mail from me. I don't know what's goin' on with me! Okay, so I kinda do. I just can't get myself out of it. Saturday was a busy day of working around the house. I loaded up all the left over garage sale stuff that's been in my garage for over a month into my van. Now at least I can fit a vehicle in there again. The van full of stuff now sits in the garage waiting for me to haul it down to the Salvation army tomorrow.

Yesterday was a good but awkward day. The other two families with kids in my class didn't come. So Sunday School consisted of just my four children. It was kind of weird. The pastor that teaches on Sunday night is sick with bronchitis, so he didn't make the hour plus drive to come teach Sunday night, so I didn't get fed Sunday night either. Our pastor planned a movie night, but I couldn't bring myself to drive all the way out there for a movie when I'd rather just spend downtime with my kids at home. Sunday afternoon we walked to the school and played on the playground. My youngest has been pining for a chance to play on the new equipment.

That night my heart broke. My youngest has a stuffed unicorn that she got from the hospital when I took her in for an x-ray, shortly after we moved here. It is her most favorite stuffed animal in the whole wide world. Well, I allowed her to bring it to church with her, and unfortunately she left it there. This naturally was discovered as she was climbing in bed for the night. The big brown eyes with tears swelling up in them and quivering bottom lip did me in. It didn't help that this was just after she had talked all about how she misses daddy and how he would read night-night stories to her. She was trying to be a big girl, holding back her tears as she realized unicorn was alone at church. Man, talk about heart wrenching!! I dashed into my room, and got a stuffed animal off the top of our wardrobe. It's stuffing is similar to her unicorn, her daddy won it for me at an amusement park in Germany. I offered it to her and after finding out it was from her daddy she took it. She thanked me and said it reminded her a little of her unicorn. My poor four year old! I'm headed to the church tomorrow, it'll be a happy reunion for her!

Today I pretty much wasted. I found out that abc has season 2 episodes of Kyle XY on the web to watch for free and I got hooked on it. I haven't been hooked on a TV show in a very long time. At least this way I had very limited commercials. lol I got a phone call today though that really bothered me. It's hard when there are rifts in family. It's even harder when you feel like you have to protect yourself from them. I hope my children never feel like that. But I refuse to feel guilty. I have a responsibility to protect my children from harmful people, even if that person is family, and especially since they refuse to acknowledge just how toxic they are.

Anyhow, so I admit, I've been kind of mopey lately. I'm fourteen months into a fifteen month deployment. God is so big, and so grand, he's used this experience to fix my marriage. But I'm not handling this last month as well as everyone thinks I am. I'm not like hiding out in a dark room type of thing, my Lord is my strength and the house still functions. I just think I'm taking a bit too much pity time. But it's comfortable here.

Tomorrow is going to be super busy. I have Caitlin's speech class, story time, meeting with the pastor, taekwando, bible study, errands, the list goes on and on. Add on top of that a seven year old boy who is struggling through school, and I can't figure out how to help him, a nine year old daughter who can't get enough hugs and feels alone, and a ten year old son that's been acting out against those that love him most, probably because of his Dad's absence. I don't know, maybe I have a decent enough reason to waste an entire day watching sci-fi stuff on my laptop?

Getting better

I am so completely shocked with myself right now. After I got the kids off to school this morning, instead of going about my usual chores and business I climbed back in bed. That is so not like me. I stayed there for about three hours! That also is so not like me! I've never done that before, but now that I have I feel like myself again. And I think I understand why I've been slowly getting back into that funk that totally took over yesterday. I'm the type of person that needs a solid eight hours sleep. I can function well enough off of seven, but less than that and I am not at my best. Ever since we got our dog over a month ago I've been averaging five to six hours a night. I think it's been taking it's toll on me, and I just don't have the energy anymore. I really should be getting in bed earlier than I do, but I just don't want to. With hubby deployed I find myself wanting to just stay up so late that I literally pass out with the TV on. It's not healthy, but I just can't force myself to go to bed at 10pm. Stupid emotions... why do I have to let them rule?

So, I'm getting a late start to this day, but hopefully I'll get more done around here!

Last night was my kids' concert at school. It was folk songs across America. I love living in this little town! (Have I mentioned that before?) :p The music teacher mentioned at the beginning that she strives to have an important role for each and every kid, and as far as I can tell she accomplished it. There were approx. seven songs and throughout them different kids came and sang solos or with one or two other kids, or played the big bass xylophones. Michael got to keep beat during Polly Wolly Doodle, which we found out, has roots here in St. George! Kirsten sang a verse at the mic on Clementine. Unfortunately I didn't get the best of pictures. They were too far away and the lighting wasn't so great that my camera did a less than stellar job of capturing moments. But they had fun and they did a good job. I caught some of the last song on video, I wish I had caught it from the beginning. Can you tell what song it is?



During one part I zoom out and you can see near all the kids. That's all of third and fourth grade, not quite a third of the entire school. Next year, all four of my kids will invade it! Kindergarten, second, fourth and fifth grade! lol Watch out St. George Elementary!

Nada...

Nothing, nada, zilch, zero, that's how much stuff I've gotten done today. I don't know what it is, but I just can't seem to get motivated. I'm not depressed, I just have no energy and no drive to do anything. Maybe staying up past one in the morning did me in. My mom wants me to get my thyroid checked since problems with that run in the family. Maybe it's my lack of exercise lately. What ever it is, it has me in a funk. Despite having a nifty schedule that should be keeping me on task, I just want to lay on the couch. I did go to the school and eat lunch with my kids. In a few hours I'll be picking them up, dashing to Kirsten's gymnastics, grabbing some food to eat and getting back to the school. Johnathan is missing Taekwando today because Michael and Kirsten have a concert they're in at the school. They have to dress up prairie style. Michael is so nervous because he gets to play the Xylophone and he hasn't quite mastered it. Before going to school, they keep telling me "make sure you bring your camera mom"! So they're excited.

In other news... I got an e-mail from a woman that was a dear friend of mine back in highschool. Her hubby is in the Army and they're expecting to be moved to the same base my hubby is stationed at this summer. I'm excited to see her, meet her hubby and two boys. People change a lot in life, I'm not the same person I was back in highschool, but it'll be neat to catch up with her.

Hubby sent me good news via e-mail. During their deployment award ceremony Sgt. Major told him he wants hubby heading up the Tactical Airspace Integration System (TAIS) team when they return. This is huge and such a sign of God's hands at work. Thanks to a couple different people in charge at different times, hubby had pretty much been dismissed as a looser, having no future in the Army. Now he's finally being recognized for what he does. I know it'll make a welcomed change for him. Maybe now he'll be happier in his career. Before that ever happened though, he had to get right with God for that to happen. I'm just so glad to see Him work, He is a great God.

Hmm... lets see... there was something else that I can't remember right now. Guess my brain is on vacation too!

It's coming...

Today has been a frantic day. Not in the chaotic sense of the word, as I'm glad I've gotten a bit more organized with my tasks lately. But it's been busy busy busy. Tuesday morning is my youngest's speech class, so I spend near an hour bringing the kids to school, and various things. Then we head out to do errands. I had to bring my new wedding ring to the jeweler for it's six month check up. Gosh that sounds really goofy, but I have to bring it in to keep it's warranty in tact. Anyhow, they cleaned it, and wow it's shiny. Who knew it had gotten so dirty!

Anyhow, then it was off to the library for story time for my youngest. Then to hobby lobby for searching for supplies. I couldn't find anything that was a clincher, so I got one of everything and figured this way I could play around with them at home and come up with something then go get enough supplies to do all of my project. Naturally that took waaaaay too long. lol

Then off to walmart for the typical items needed all the time. I got home a good hour later than what I had planned, so there was little time before driving to the school and picking up the kids since it was pouring rain. We were home less than two hours before I headed out with my youngest two, leaving the older two at home. We had taekwando and women's bible study, I didn't get home till 9pm. This is exactly what I'm talking about when I feel like I don't get to see my kids. I got to see them a whole two hours today. It's what I don't like about public school, the kids spend more and more time away from family, it's only a matter of time before the family bond isn't so strong. This is one of the reasons I've struggled lately with all my church responsibilities. I took on half of the admin, then a couple months later the sunday school got added on, then a couple months later I got the rest of the admin added. I've been so buried down with extra activities when my kids don't have school, I'm busy with church stuff. Yes, we are to put our God first, but it goes, God, family, church. I can't be the jack of all trades, I'm practically a single mom right now, I can't sacrifice my kids for the church.

So, I prayed, and Sunday I told our pastor that I need to pass on the admin duties to someone else by the end of the month. If I had it my way, I'd be passing on the Sunday School responsibility, but God has made it obvious that wasn't what he wanted. Today I found out that someone else has stepped up to take over the admin, and I'm sooooo looking forward to it. The next two weeks are going to be laden with extra duties as I need to train the new person in all the ins and outs of the paperwork and financial aspects of it, but once it's done, I will feel like I am getting my priorities in line. Just in time for the hubby to come home. :)

Wow... lookie there, I've gone on and on. I'm not even going to go back through and spell check it... too much to do, too little time. So I'm just going to finish with, God is sooooooooooooooooooo good!

Bye bye weekend

*sigh* The weekend is over and it's back to the week. I feel so drained that I am so tempted to say adios to the schedule I made for myself. But the boys' clothes hampers are overflowing, so is the sink with dishes, so I do have to get some work done today. I'm thankful we don't have to go anywhere after school today.

Saturday was good. We tried something a little different than usual. We worked for an hour cleaning up the house, then we took an hour break. Then we worked for an hour in the garage organizing the leftovers from our garage sale so I can hopefully get rid of it easier, then took an hour break. After lunch we went outside and worked for an hour raking leaves, then... well, you get the idea. Work, break, work, break. It actually worked very well for my kids. Since their work was interrupted by play time I got less attitude from them, and it worked well. Saturday seemed really long for me.

Then yesterday a lady at church that I really felt was a friend of mine dropped a bomb on me. She picked up her son from class and told me they would not be returning. She didn't want to talk about it, but they were leaving and not coming back. My jaw sort of dropped. I wanted to ask her why, I could tell she was hurt about something, but if someone tells you they don't want to talk about it, what are you to do? I'm not a pushy person, I am more than happy to listen if someone is willing to talk, but if they don't want to talk, then I'm not going to pressure them. It was the suddenness of it that really shocked me. There had not been any hinting to dissatisfaction, in all the times we talked, even looking back with hindsight I didn't see any hints to something boiling underneath the surface. For someone to just up and leave without talking about it is hard to accept.

And not to sound selfish, but she was the pre-school teacher. So we have one week to figure out what we're going to do. It looks right now like I'll be taking both classes. Thankfully we're small enough, I can do that, but if we get a visitor with little ones, I won't be able to do that on my own. You can't effectively teach six 9-11 year olds while trying to keep a couple babies happy while they're going through separation anxiety.

Anyhow, it just really brought me to my knees in praying that God will save this church. There's so much turmoil, and it really feels like we're under attack of the evil one. He despises churches that teach the word of God, and he's apparently not very happy with us right now.

I also spent a good amount of time on the phone yesterday with family in Arizona. My (husband's) grandpa's funeral service was Saturday. It was neat to hear of the people that came to pay their respects. The man that hired him back in 1950 something was there, along with old friends he worked with, and even his hearing aid guy came. The church has really surrounded my (husband's) grandma and has been bringing her food and checking on her. She has her sister with her, along with her sister in-law. So God has been good and answered/is answering prayers to surround her with love. I got to talk to her, and she's doing good given the circumstances. The church recorded the service and we'll be getting a cop of it. One of my father in-laws friends from his church made a picture slide show to celebrate his life. And my father in-law who is a worship leader sang a song for his dad. I know that had to be a hard thing for him to do.

Wow... I've rambled and rambled. I guess I'm making up for my relative quietness lately. I need to find the will power to actually do my household chores today. Cause tomorrow I'm going shopping for supplies for baby girl announcements and I want all my work done today so I can spend time creating tomorrow!!

Turn it back on... please!!

I know we are not machines, but I swear that someone somehow turned my brain off today. I am just so out of it!! Earlier today I tried to create a card. I stared at the stamps, rummaged through my papers, and shifted things around. And shifted, and shifted. Just nothing came from me, nothing at all. Despite having my nestabilities now, which are so cool!! But nothing came to me. So I wasted an entire hour with that.

Then while cooking dinner once again my brain was not turned on. I had to put the dish in the oven so the crust could get browned. I removed it and about five minutes later I poured the egg filling over it and proceeded to grab a hold of it with my bare hands. Completely forgetting that just five minutes ago it sat in a 325* oven. My poor finger tips are so sore!

So anyhow, we're resuming family game night tonight. It used to be a weekly happening, somewhere along the way it got put aside because of my lack of patience. With my brain not working my kids are assured to win!

I'm here...

I'm here... and there... and everywhere. *phew* What can I say except for I feel like I'm split in a hundred different directions. I feel like there's not enough hours in the day to do what I want, but when I honestly backtrack over how I spend my days, there's a lot of time that's not so productive. I'm just so unorganized, so yesterday I sat down and made a schedule for myself. Trying to fit in time for chores, church duties and quality family time, it's quite a juggle. But hopefully this will be a good launching pad to get my time better spent, for I must admit, I'm a procrastinator and really don't get nearly enough work done. This will also help me to make a decision regarding cutting out a responsibility on more facts and less feelings. After all, if there's one thing I know about me for sure, it's that I can be rather emotional and make rash decisions based on those emotions.

Anyhow... yesterday Johnathan tested for his camo belt. That boy is so psyched up. He's thrilled that now he'll get to participate in sparring and weapons training. I'm riding on the coat tails of that excitement as long as I can and trying to use it to influence his behavior at school. Today is his show and tell day at school so he brought all four of his belts to show off.





Unfortunately two of the pieces of sparring gear that I bought used are too big for him. So the good news is he'll grow into them and use them later if he sticks with it, bad news is, I need to find proper sized gear super quick. This stuff is so expensive!!

Today I get to watch my daughter's gymnastics for the first time since the gym reopened after the tornado. Usually I have to drop her off and run to something else. I'm really looking forward to that and just wish I could be more involved with her. *sigh* Yeah, some responsibility needs to go, cause my kids are growing fast, and they are not getting the attention and time that they deserve.