The things I take for granted are amazing!

My husband is so sweet natured-not to say he does not have his moments-but he is much more even keel than I am. It is his nature to be nice and friendly unless provoked to do otherwise.(Yes, I am often provoking) All that to say, I have been making an effort to just be nice. Somtimes I just forget to speak or give a hug or say hello even. It is kind of ridiculous. Sometimes I do it with people I pass in the hall at church as well. Greetings are important. It feels good to be greeted. Especially by someone you love and have missed all day.

So this morning I just so happen to be awake while Erik was dressing in our bedroom and I said "Good morning!" Keep in mind there are two unusual things here-I was both awake and coherent. Erik looks at me and says, "Were you talking to me or the dog?". Now in my defense, the dog was right beside me. However, it kind of speaks volumes about my lack of sweetness to my man. I'll be working on that. I believe nothing says I love you like a home-cooked meal and clean undies-but "Good morning" 's and "Hello, how was your day?" 's certainly rank right up there too.

How about you? Anyone else forgot their manners with your mate?

On blogging...

I had a conversation with two much beloved people on blogging last night. Neither of them blog but one of them does read a few. It was interesting to get a different perspective from my own. I love to read and write posts on blogs. They don't like it. They do not like that thoughts and struggles are shared online with total strangers. They don't like that sometimes family is left out of the loop. They believe others are hurt unintentionally and that is a big deal.

There is a transparency that I just crave-from myself and others-through blogging. However, it is a little one-sided. There are people out there who are reading my blog and making judgements about me that may have never met me. There may also be people who know me well that read my blog and discover a part of my personality that they never knew before. This may improve or damage our relationship. I hope I have not hurt anyone through blogging. It has always been my intention to be open and honest but also for this to serve as a journal. Someday, I want my children to read this and know that I struggled with all of the same things I know they will struggle with some day. I hope I inspire them to keep chugging on and look for God in all things. I hope I do that with anyone else that reads as well.

What are your thoughts on blogging? My blogging?

Good morning!

Oh how I love Thursday. Mon-Wed. are so busy and so Thurs and Fri become our down days. We can do fun things or just home things and either way, it is a blessing. Today we will do fun things and home things.

I have a list two miles long of things to do, but I am only going to do about the top 10. I am but one person and other things will just have to wait. Easter is just around the corner and I have an excitement that matches my children's. I can't decide if I should have the bunny bring me diet coke, mello yello, or Mr. pibb-all favorites. Maybe a sip of each one.

Next Monday is our troop Easter egg hunt and the girls have voted to do the exact same thing we always do. We make a bunny head cake and then decorate it. The only change this year is that they did vote for individual bunny heads. Then we will have a contest to see whose cake is best. They also agreed to lose their cool-ness for a bit to hunt eggs since they will have money in them. I have mostly 5th grade, 1 -4th grader, 2- 6th graders, and 2 -8th graders, and Lilly the kindergardner. The two sixth graders are the coolest right now but they promised they could forget their coolness for one day and just have fun.

Oky doky, I am going to start my top ten things along with some laundry and hope to get some things really accomplished. I wish you a productive day and I hope you wish me the same!

Vacation continued...

We headed for Karri's house Friday after yet another continental breakfast. (I kept hoping for eggs and bacon at one of those breakfasts but the hottest we got was a waffle.) We got there just a little while before lunch. Her home is beautiful as is the property they are on. The kids had a great time playing with scooters, go-kart,& four-wheeler. Mostly though, I think they all enjoyed having someone to play with that was not a sibling. We also got to visit with a fellow KY girl, Rebekah, who was visiting with the oldest daughter. The two of them were so good at keeping the peace among the girls that we hardly ever had a fuss. When you are talking about 7 girls ranging from 2-13 that is impressive! Bentleigh and Rebekah are both such fine young ladies-I hope my daughters picked up on some of their behaviors!

Since we were there on the weekend, we offered to help them do some of the yardwork they had already planned. We had been eating and lazing for so many days, we were eager to do something. So we helped enough to catch a little sun and actually burn some calories. That night we may or may not have had blue margaritas and a hot tub soak. I shall never tell, you can just wonder.

Karri's friendship has been such a blessing to me. She has taught me so much about homeschool and how you have to use the flexibility to your advantage. I started out very rigid and regimented but as I learned to relax and enjoy the journey, it has become more of a blessing. It is so easy to burn out when you are too structured, but lack of structure will do you in as well. I guess that is why the co-op works for me right now. I got a little too relaxed. In all things there must be balance, but there also must be joy. Joy is a precarious thing when you are together with your children all the time. Karri is one of those people that make life look so simple and easy. You would never guess that she has five children because she isn't stressed out all the time. I am at least slightly stressed most of the time.

The next day we went to church with them and it was a very stretching experience. I enjoyed it alot. It has gotten me in the word checking on how I feel about some of the issues. That is always a big plus. I am a pretty liberal thinkier when it comes to church denominations. I believe very few of the issues that divide us are heaven or hell. I also trust a sovereign God who will work it all out to HIS glory if we always make sure we are deepening the relationship with Him. The relationship is what is key, not the sign on the building. We left after the potluck and went back to get everything packed up and loaded up to head to Beaumont(actually China, TX)last stop on the TEXAS TORNADO tour.

We arrived at Erik's uncle's house just in time for supper. It was delicious-I don't think we had a bad meal or a small meal when we were gone. Erik's Uncle Roy and Aunt Connie were so happy we came to visit! We visited a bit before bedtime-we were all exhausted! Uncle Roy works very part time as a butcher and he had to get up very early the next day. Aunt Connie also had to work early and we were just pooped from staying up too late the night before. The next morning, Uncle Roy was home by the time we got up(8 ish!) and he made us some wonderful breakfast. Then we drove down to see the lake where he fishes and the property he hunts on, but it was too muddy to go very far back. Later, we ventured into Beaumont to see the sights, which for us was mostly a couple of very large ships that were docked in the Harbor of Beaumont. I have never seen such a large ship in my life. I can't even imagine working on one of those! We tried to see a museum but it was still repairing from the hurricane. It was very troubling to see that there were still so many repairs not made since the hurricane. I can't even imagine what some of the Alabama and Mississippi towns that were so devastated must look like. Of course, all you really hear about is New Orleans and they received so much less damage and so much more money. The sqeakiest wheel.

We left on Monday around 3Pm and headed toward Texarkana. We were again hoping to make it to Little Rock but this time we settled for Hope, AK-home of Bill Clinton. The next morning at breakfast, the hostess kept going on and on about him to fellow travelers. She was talking about how nice he was and how smart Hillary was. I threw up a little. I managed to avoid making eye contact with her because I knew I would be unable to contain myself if she actually spoke those words to me. A quick thank you and we were off to load up and head for KY.

It was so good to get home. We had so much fun and Erik really enjoyed getting to know each of the families we visited better. Texas is awesome.

Top ten things on my mind:

10. I worry about the way we discipline our children. I want to disciple more and spank less. Spanking is easier but less effective. I want more unity between hubby and I in this area as well.

9. As the end looms near to my scout troop, I am apprehensive about starting a new scout chapter and uncertain as to how that will look and what it will entail.

8. I am still in vacation mode and I hope it passes tomorrow!!

7. My kids are still in vacation mode and I hope it passes tomorrow.

6. We are out of milk and some other essentials even though we just went to the grocery.

5. Hubby and I are very poor communicators and I wish I knew how to make it better. We truly don't speak the same language.

4. I want to do more Pampered Chef work but cannot seem to squeeze it in right now because I am out of the practice of squeezing it in.

3. I am no longer even remotely on track for reading the Bible in 90 days. I want to get back on track. My time is not well managed and alot of things are slipping by. I am hating it.

2. I desperately want a diet coke. Easter seems so far away.

1. God is in control and he has a plan for my life even when it seems all jumbled and mixed up like it is right now. He has a plan and preference for everything on this list. I am overly hormonal and hoping to give it all to Jesus and not take any of it back. God is in control, God is in control, God is in control....

Bear with me on these vacation posts. They really are more for my benefit than yours. My memory is not very long and I will forget if I don't recap in my "journal"(blog). So we left Rockwall heading out toward Abilene. It was so much quicker than I thought it would be. We had no trouble finding our hotel, we got unloaded and headed to Chad & Stephanie's where supper was waiting for us. It was delicious!! After that we just visited and let the kiddos play. It was a little awkward at first (keep in mind Steph and I are great friends-soul sistas-but our hubbies are just aquainted) and I worried in vain that it might not go well. In no time at all it was late and we needed to get back to our hotel yet we were all reluctant to give up our visiting time.

The next day we planned a trip to Frontier Texas museum and it was great! It was so kid friendly. Very hands on and interactive. I believe kids can learn so much more when all their senses are involved! Especially the young ones. It ends with a movie in a round room where everyone is on a turning stool. You actually get to spin your stool around to look at all of the things going on up above your head. I don't think my kids will ever forget that all Indians were not friendly as they recall the scene where a mom and daughter are in their cabin and as you spin your stool around there is a painted war-faced Indian in every window. Scary. It also culminates in a fire because the oil lamp gets dropped in fright. Yes, it is crystalized in my brain as well. The whole museum gave me a refresher in appreciating the hard lives the first settlers lived. Sometimes it gets romaticized a bit. It was anything but romantic.

We then met Chad for lunch at the famous Harold's BBQ. It is such a local legend, greatly recommended. Erik loved it. The kids and I not so much. The memory of the reflux I experienced from the sauce lingers with me still. After that we all went back to our own place so Steph could get naps in for her young 'uns and I could prepare for her Pampered Chef party later that evening. I decided to make hot pizza dip and Tiramusu brownies. They were both a big hit and her party was fun. It was a nice and casual party so I answered alot of questions about PC and the business. It is such a great company to work for and at least two of the ladies there are more than a little interested in more info. I love that I work for a direct sales company that is not a rip-off and no one ever walks away from it wishing they hadn't done it or in debt. They really are too good to be true. (Sales pitch over now). I just mention that to say that I have worked sales jobs in the past and they were less than honorable. I once worked for a car dealership where I had two weeks of almost $1000 in commission checks. They were amazed to receive my two weeks notice. My integrity was worth more to me than that amount of money. I could not work there and keep it.

While we were partying, the men folk went out for Mexican food and then to our hotel to swim with ALL 7 kids. We love you darling hubbies!! After the party, Steph and I had a girl's night out. We went out for a late supper and then hung out at starbucks. I tried Spiced Chai Latte. I liked it alot. Sort of similar to pumpkin pie. We caught up on our girl talk. She drove me by Highland Church of Christ so I could be a bit of a stalker. It looks quite enormous and I would love to have been able to sit in on a service under Preacher Mike but it wasn't meant to be this trip. This is actually not where Stephanie goes to church either, so I probably would have gone with her anyway.

We left the following day for Fredericksburg. Very neat city. Totally full of tourist shops. We bought some excellent jerky. We ate at a German restaurant (Erik was delighted), went through the Pacific War Museum and walked too far for too long on stomachs that were way too full. Not to full for ice cream though. I was tired and whiney. Mostly just very hot and miserable because I had eaten like a pig at a trough at the German Restaurant.

I did not want to stay overnight there. I can only stand so much shopping. Not very much either. Too many choices overstimulate my brain and bring out the consumer in me which then breeds discontent in my heart. I start longing for a home more like a Southern Living magazine spread and forget how much I love my home. Skipping the shopping is just easier.

We left out of there to San Antonio where we had big plans and dreams of exploration. Unfortunately the whole town had not a single hotel room available for our weary heads and so we had to skip it all together. In hindsight, I am glad. They dye the river green for St. Patrick's Day and it would have been WALL TO WALL!! I would have been very grumpy. We called my firend Karri and let her know we would be along earlier than planned and made sure that was OK. This cut our trip short by 2-3 days which was another blessing. We will go to San Antonio another time when we have planned more and certainly booked a hotel! ( : We did not find a hotel until Columbus which is really close to Houston and very far from San Antonio.

The next morning we left for Karri's and we got there a little before noon. It was so good to see her again. I will recap that visit more tomorrow in the final installment of vacation.

Funny!!

I am only posting this because mine is sooooo accurate!


I loved a phone because that's how I play.

Borrowed from www.katiefleck.com who borrowed from Busy Mom:

Pick the month you were born - (Feb)
Pick the day (number) you were born - (3rd)
Pick the color of shirt you are wearing - (black)
Now type out the sentence you made using the answers below:

Pick the month you were born:
January----------I kicked
February--------I loved
March------------I punched
April---------------I swam with
May---------------I choked on
June---------------I murdered
July----------------I did the Macarena with
August-----------I had lunch with
September------I danced with
October----------I sang to
November-------I yelled at
December-------I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:
1-------a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a Mexican
6-------a flamingo
7-------my cell phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friend's boyfriend
10------my neighbor
11------my science teacher
12------a banana
13------a fireman
14------a stuffed animal
15------a goat
16------a pickle
17------a squirrel
18------a spoon
19------myself
20------a baseball bat
21------a ninja
22------a snowman
23------a noodle
24-- ----your mom
25------a football player
26------my sister
27------my brother
28------an ipod
29------a permanent marker
30------a llama
31------a zombie

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:

White----------because I'm very pretty.
Black----------because that's how I play.
Pink------------because I'm cool like that.
Red-------------because the voices told me to.
Blue------------because I can see the future.
Green----------because I love to boogie.
Purple----------because your mom's cool.
Gray------------because the voices in my head told me to.
Yellow---------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars.
Orange---------because I tripped over my house.
Brown----------because I love my pillow.
Other-----------because I'm a ninja.
None-----------because I can't control myself

Let me know what your ridiculous sentence is!!

After JFK museum, we met Bret for lunch at On the Border and we were introduced to fresh flour tortillas with butter. EVIL! Yummy! The food there was spicy for me, wimpy taste buds, but everyone else loved it. I was full after chips and flour tortillas anyway. We then went to Bret and Summer's church and met all Bret's co-workers, everyone was really super nice. We also got to visit a bit with Lesli-Kayla was soooo glad to see you Lesli!! We ended up not being able to visit wth Lesli later because of her having to pack and Ryan having school stuff, so I was glad to see her during our afternoon visit. I WILL VISIT E-town soon, I will feel justified having both Julie and Lesli there!! Plus, it is totally a day trip!

Preston Road has such a great kid's program-from what we could see. I loved the kids under construction theme, because they are!! Seems like the whole church got in on the decorating for it too. I love when kids are the focus of a church(after God, of course!!). They are the future of the church but more importantly-lifetime impressions are made in the formitive years. Our perceptions of God and church are made. Alot of lost people are lost because they were not cherished and honored in the church of their childhood. I digress, I really enjoyed touring the church! Plus the neighborhood all around was sooooooooooooo beautiful. Probably because it is such a wealthy neighborhood-but it was pretty anyway.

Speaking of neighborhoods-Bret and Summer's house is so new and spacious, Erik got a good case of house fever. I think he is finally over it as we are getting back into the groove of home. It is easy to get a case of the "wants" when staying in a house nicer than your own, but I truly feel there is no place like home. We may be COZIER than other houses, but I really like it here.

Later in the evening, after supper, Summer and I slipped away to Target. Good times. I love Target. I cannot figure out for the life of me why we don't have one-but we don't. Soon maybe. We returned home rather quickly and enjoyed a round of Dominoes with our dear hubbies. Of course, I was the grand champion of the night...if you go by the highest score. Of course, scoring correctly, I was the customary last place.

Next day, we let the kids play and worked on laundry and packing both families up. We were moving on because "Fish and houseguests both stink after 3 days"-I think that is Ben Franklin wisdom. We leave after two just to make sure we don't stinkify anything and we "always leave them wanting more, not wishing for less!" and They were packing for a spring break trip to sea world. Hopefully we were a help not a hinderance.

Bret and Summer are wonderful hosts and we enjoyed our visit very much. Please allow us to reciprocate if your family would ever hear of it!!

Summer-I NEED the pancake recipe. YUM! Scratch pancakes that taste great!! My scratch pancakes usually taste like scratch...heehee.