Locked out!

I still don't know what I did, but I somehow got locked out of my blogger account, so that is why I haven't posted since January! Crazy stuff!

I'm working on the remaining post to the Wellness series I was in the middle of & will get those posted soon.

In the mean time, I'll just leave this here. We finally had a family picture done in June. I love that our family is growing in a new way.

Doing Hard Things

For a year she begged to go to our church children's camp.  I was hesitant.  We always made our kids wait until they had complete 3rd grade before we let them go to camp. She had only finished 2nd grade.  But she wanted to go so badly so I signed her up.
She promised she wouldn't cry or want to come home, but I wasn't so sure. She cried every night the last time she went to my parents house without me.

Sunday night was the first meltdown.  I found her in the bathroom, late that night bawling her eyes out.  She didn't want to be away from us for that many days (four days..2 whole days without seeing us).  We talked it out.  She wanted to go, she just wasn't sure about being away from us. "I like being with my family" (Hoping she still feels like that when she is 16)

The next morning she said she could do it & was ready to start packing her bags.  I thought, maybe she is gonna do it.  She was great all day and so excited when she went to bed she could hardly go to sleep.

This morning, she woke up ready to go.  I was combing her hair & it started all over again.

Meltdown #2.

Her big sister stepped into the bathroom and said, "Let's go get breakfast at Chick-Fila and Mom & Dad will meet us at the church."  That helped a little.  She walks out saying, "I'll go to breakfast, but I'm not going to camp!" :)

Scott & I got to the church before Sarah & Gracie did so I grabbed that opportunity to talk to her counselor explaining the situation.  Sarah & Gracie park at the church & meltdown # 3 starts.  I was really beginning to think she wouldn't make it and neither would I.

After talking with Ms. Rebecca (her counselor) Gracie decided she was going.  Dad put her bags on the bus and we found her group of friends.

Posted from my Instagram

She sat down with her friends, I took a picture & started to walk off when all of a sudden she was wrapped around my waist. Yep...meltdown #4 was underway.

Here was her cry.  She wanted to go really bad, but she didn't trust herself to not cry at camp and she didn't want to go unless she knew she wouldn't cry.  Yep, that is my girl!  That is how she rolls through life.  Unless she knows she will do it extremely well, she won't do it at all.  Her name is Gracie, but she hasn't learned yet how to give herself grace.

We hugged and talked a bit more and then Dad walked up and let her know Sophie, her best friend, is in the bathroom crying too!  She is having a hard time too!  In a weird kind of way, that made Gracie feel better.  She now had a purpose, to help Sophie.

She was now able to find the courage she needed to get on that big giant bus.  And that is what she did...with her counselor gently leading her on while quoting Philippians 4:13 outloud,

 "I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength I need."

She is the shadow above the "R".  Waving bravely, wanting to cry but now she can't because she needed to help Sophie be brave too.

Teaching our kids to do hard things is not easy but so important. We want to find excuses for them like I did for Gracie.  Maybe she isn't old enough.  She needs to be more mature.  But instead we are to encourage them, cheer them on and be their greatest support!  Going to camp was all Gracie's idea and in the end it was all her choice.  We were not going to force her to go, but we knew how badly she wanted to go.

Finding purpose in doing those hard things gives them a whole new meaning.  Jesus never asks us to do something hard that doesn't have an eternal purpose.  It is all for a reason. And it is all to bring glory to God.

Today's hard thing for Gracie was getting on that bus.  Tonight it will be going to sleep without Mom or Dad there.  Tomorrow it wil be something else.  Everyday is a new opportunity to do a hard thing and do it very well, to the glory of God.  Teach your kids the value of this and they will be prepared and excited to take on whatever challenges God brings their way.

I cried when I watched Gracie get on that bus.  I cried because I knew how hard it was for her to do that and I was so proud of her.  I know she will do great.  Her leader will make sure of that.  I can't wait to see her Friday!!  But it would be really great if her leader would text me & let me know how great she is doing. Just a mom thing.


 

The Mustang

So, what happens when you leave your broken down car in our driveway too long?

Josh is finding out.

It was a great car.  Here is the story.

Josh worked really hard , saving his money and bought himself a truck.  He had always wanted an older truck and that is what he got.  But, this truck needed constant love and attention and that was beginning to get really expensive. Even though he had a job, he didn't save his money very well so quite often his truck would either run out of gas or just not run because he had spent his paycheck.  This old truck of his was getting on his last nerve.

So, when a friend offered to trade with him he jumped on it.  What did he trade his old truck for?  A 1999 Mustang GT. It was nice. It was fast.  It worked. And best of all, he thought he looked good in it. (Because that is really important to a 19 year old guy)

Life was great until one very rainy night Josh was on his way home (in his car that he looked amazing in), hit a deep water puddle & slid into a curb.  The car died and wouldn't start again.  After a friend helped him tow the car to our house, the next morning Josh saw the damage and realized the motor was shot. His nice car was now a none working car needing a new motor.

Fast forward many months.  The car is still sitting in the driveway.  He talks of getting a new motor but we all know he doesn't have the money.  He talks of selling it, but remember that "friend" he traded with?  He had no title to the car.  He told Josh he would bring it to him, but that never happened.  So, Josh is stuck with a car that he couldn't sell or take to the junk yard.

Then one day while on Facebook he saw a picture of his car & read the status above it that Collin (his younger brother) wrote.

Couldn't get a new motor for the mustang so now I am parting it out. 1999 Ford Mustang GT... NO MOTOR, TRANSMISSION, RADIATOR, BATTERY OR TITLE.. Let me know if there is anything you would like off of this vehicle and I will give you a price quote.

Josh read it again & then it dawned on him. His brother was parting out his car!

 "Dude!  That's my car!  You are selling my car!"

So, the lesson is don't leave your broken down car in our driveway too long or a sibling will find a way to make money off of it!

By the way, the car is still sitting in the driveway.  Anyone want to make me a good deal?  Momma needs money for a pedicure!

The Big Birthday Dress Up

Here I am in all my pregnant glory!  Horrible picture, but it is the best I can do right now.

All is good with me & baby except that my back now hurts constantly, but that is how I roll.

So, I just had a birthday & it was a big one!  Somehow, I always knew I would be pregnant on my 40th birthday. I finally made it to 40 as my husband puts it. He has been there for a few years now so it felt like forever waiting for me to join him. :o)

Speaking of my husband, I have I told you how wonderful he is?  Well, he is.  With our lives so crazy now he planned the perfect birthday for me.  He took me away for the weekend.  Just the 2 of us!  Special dinner & hotel was planned.  He knows me so well.

So, the dinner was at a special place and my usual clothes of sweat pants & t-shirt just wouldn't do.  Thankfully, I did have a maternity dress that I thought would work great.  I was so excited to get dressed up for a night out with my man!

I tried the dress on a few days before our weekend to make sure it would work.  It would, but it was a little low in front so I needed to buy a cami to go under it.  At my parents house, there is only a Wal-Mart within 30 minutes.  Everything else is in Tyler & that is much farther.  So, the kids & I took off to Wal-Mart so I could buy a cami.  I didn't pay a lot of attention to what kind I bought, I just bought the biggest one I could so it would go over my belly.  It wasn't until I was actually putting it on at home did I look at the tag.

I got it over my head & my arms through when I realized I might have a problem.  I looked at the tag which said in big bold letters...

TUMMY SLIMMING

Really?  My tummy doesn't need slimming...everything else on me does.  I finally got it over my pregnant breasts & then FINALLY over my belly.  Took a while & a little jumping around in circles to get it on all the way.  I looked in the mirror & it looked good with the dress.

But then I realized that even though it was smoothing out my rolls, it was also pushing down whatever it couldn't hold in.  Have you ever squeezed a balloon that is blown up in the middle?  What happens to the air you squeezed...it has to go somewhere.  Yep, I was looking like a balloon being squeezed in the middle.  I suddenly had MASSIVE saddlebags on my hips & my butt was looking funnier than normal.

No problem!  I'll get some pantyhose to smooth out the rest.  I haven't worn pantyhose in a really long time, but I just knew that would fix my problem.  Ya know...some things just can't be fixed with spandex & Lycra!

 I soon realized that I couldn't breathe with this tummy slimming thing on and the baby must have felt squeezed too because he started trying to stretch out.

I examined the cami again & realized there were 2 layers to it.  The inside layer was the "slimming" part.  No problem, I will just cut it out in the front.

Now I had to take it off so I could fix it.  Taking it off took a while & more jumping around & spinning in circles (why I spin in circles...I have no idea) before I finally got it off.  I cut out the inside layer & stuck it in my suitcase.

A few days later we are at the hotel & it is time to get dressed for my special birthday dinner.  I had packed the special jewelry my daughter made for me along with my extra dose of "gotta hold it in" under garments.  As I got dressed I kept thinking of how great I would look for my husband.  He had gone to so much trouble to make these arrangements & the least I could do is look as sexy as possible in spite of being 7 months pregnant.

First I put on the pantyhose.  Like I said, I haven't worn them in a really long time & my belly made it quite difficult to put on.  I really don't have the right words to describe to you how I got them on, but I did...and I got them over my belly.  But not easily. About this time I'm thinking about how glad I am I cut out the 2nd layer on that cami.

Then I put the cami on.  Yes, there was more jumping around in circles.  Thankfully, Scott didn't see any of this going on.  He was in the shower.

The pantyhose made the cami slide up so I had to tuck the cami inside the hose to keep it down.  You see, the dress showed EVERY seam, crinkle, roll & I was trying to not show any of that. I had a slip, but the belly was too big & it didn't fit anymore.

I finally got it all on, multiple layers of lycra and all.  Stood back & looked in the mirror & thought I was looking pretty good.  Scott agreed. He had no idea what I had just gone through to look this good for him.

We were soon off to the restaurant and it didn't take me long to realize I was in trouble.  I was held in so tightly by the layers of lycra that I couldn't breathe very well.  When our food came, I couldn't eat either. I watched Scott enjoy his steak while I nibbled on mine & finally asked for a box. I spent most of the evening waiting to get back to the hotel so I could shed the lycra and breathe again.

All in all, it was a great evening, especially once I got out of those hose & cami.  We enjoyed our time together and I will always remember my 40th birthday very well and laugh about my layers of lycra.

By the way, I gave the cami to my daughter.

Lesson for me is always read the tags carefully & never try to squeeze into something your body won't go into.  It just isn't worth it!

How to Pack for Camp

As my kids get older, our summers have become consumed by camps.  Our church offers a camp for every school age group and of course I have a kid who is eligible for each group.  So, we have become quite good at packing up for camp.
Thankfully now that my girls are older they pack for themselves.  Packing for them when they were younger was quite the ordeal.  Packing for boys is easy.  So, here are a few of my best tips on how to pack for camp.

Pack for dirt.  I don't know about your kids, but my kids usually go to camps that are hot and dirty.  So I NEVER buy them new clothes for camp.  We either pull out the old stuff or go to Goodwill or Salvation Army if they need anything, with the exception of socks & underwear.  I like to send clothes that we call "disposable". If it gets really dirty or lost it is no big deal.  It can be thrown away.  I tell my boys that if it get's wet & muddy just throw it away.  I know that girls are a little different, but the same concept can stand.  Don't send clothes that would be missed if they didn't make it home.

Let them help you pack.  Don't pack up your kids bags & not let them see what you put in the bag.  They need to see what towels you put in there & what clothes.  Even though they use these things at home all the time, for some reason when they get to camp they forget what it all looks like.  Make sure they know their own stuff.

How much to pack?  I usually send clothes for twice as many days as they will be there.  Zach will be at camp 4 full days so he takes 8 sets of clothes.  I know they get dirty during games & really sweaty, so I make sure he has something to change into that evening for dinner & evening devotions (or whatever they do).

Ben at camp

Label. Label. Label.  OK, 2 reasons why you need to label their stuff.  1st, if they throw their stuff on the floor their counselor can call them on it & make them pick it up. Scott & 2 of my daughters have gone to many camps as counselors and they are amazed every year at the stuff that is thrown around and even though it has the kids name in it, they swear it isn't theirs.  LOL!  2nd, if it get's left somewhere at the camp it can be returned to them.  If they are taking camera's or water bottles, it is inevitable that they will set them down & forget to pick it up before they leave.  Something besides their clothes that you might want to label is their spending money if they have any.  Guaranteed every year there is someone in a cabin who likes to help themselves to other peoples money.  We usually put initials or full name on the bills.  Works!

Kids love mail!  I am the absolute worst at this!  That is why I started sending my husband to camp with my kids.  LOL!  The week before camp, you can get the mailing address for the camp & start mailing them letters before they even go.  Some camps even have it set up where you can email your kid.

Snacks.  Most camps have vending machines or an area the kids can buy snacks, but honestly they are so expensive!  So I usually send some snacks with my kids.  I send stuff that is individually wrapped so that they don' t have open packages of food left in their bag.  That is nothing more than a giant WELCOME TO MY SUITCASE sign for ants & other nasty's.

Camps are so much fun & I am so thankful that my kids get to experience them.  They learn so much and always come back excited about next year.  I wasn't sure if I wanted my kids to do the "camp thing" as my experience as a kid was not always that great, but there are a lot of life lessons involved in spending a little bit of time away from Mom & Dad.

Happy Packing!

Sarah worked this Summer as a counselor at Joni & Friends Camp.

Mommy Day Camp

We are deep in the season of summer camps.  Sarah is at her second one already.  Monday morning she along with Morgan & Ben will go to another camp.  And Collin is on his way home right now from a camp.  I'm so thankful that our church provides such great opportunities for my kids like these camps.

But just for a moment I had a thought that turned into another thought. 

I want to go to camp!

Not as a chaperone, but as a camper. 

So, I started thinking about it.  How cool that would be to have a "camp" to go where just for a little time I didn't have household duties, or taxi service or any other demands that come with being a mom.  Just for a little bit, I think it would be great to have some time to take a break.

Then I started thinking about it even more. 

What if there was a Mommy Day Camp for moms whose husbands were unemployed or under-employed?  What if there were a Mommy Day Camp that for one day, provided a mom a day off from her mommy duties and was pampered in a way she could never afford otherwise. 

Manicure
           Pedicure
                      Haircut
                               Massage
                                       Breakfast & Lunch (real, not fast food)

and great fellowship with other women.

and best of all...

It's FREE!

I know, I'm dreaming.  But it's my dream.  I can't afford those things, as simple as they are & I know it would so much fun to be pampered one day.

So, I'm dreaming & praying.  I would love it if the Lord would show me how to make this happen.  I can't tell you the excitement in my heart that I have at the thought of giving this simple gift to moms who can't afford to do it themselves.  It may never happen, but a girl can dream can't she?

LIttle Man Play

It was just me and Sam, my 4 year old.  Ben was home, but he was busy watching a movie. Everyone else had somewhere to be tonight.   Sam asked me if I would play army guys with him upstairs in the playroom.

I'm not an "army guy" kind of person.

"Please Mom?" Sam asked  "We will have so much fun!"  And he was right.

I closed down my computer & followed my little boy upstairs.  He lead me to a table that had strategically placed army guys on it.
"This is where you are" he said as he lead me to sit down on one side of the table.

And the battle begun!

We fought the Transformers.
We fought the Rescue Heroes.
And then to top it off we fought & defeated the "Rides", which I quickly found out were all of his cars.
I tried really hard to be the best soldier I could be, but it was very obvious that I didn't have near the experience as Sam.

"Mom, that isn't how you make gun sounds!  Do this...spfh!  spfh!"

I tried, but my mouth just would do what his was doing.  He was gracious though.

"It's ok Mom, it is because you are a girl."

Oh well, I tried!  We had fun.

Redecorating

I try not to make many changes in the design of my blog, but I just didn't like the design I had. I had borrowed it from another blog designer(with her permission of course) to use until I knew what I really wanted to do with mine.

So, it is a lot different than what I had & I'm still tweaking on some minor things. But, I wanted to have a design that coordinated with my Ministry site.  Eventually, I will probably move my blog over to my ministry site as a direct link off the site, but for now this will work.

3 year old photographer!

So, what happens when your 3 year old gets your camera?

What's for Lunch?

I've never been really good at cooking a good Sunday lunch. We leave around 8:30 for church & don't get home until close to 1:30. So whatever I cook for lunch has to be a crockpot meal or baked before we leave.
On the way home from church yesterday, Scott asked what I had cooking at home for lunch. I said I had beef tips & gravy in the crock pot & I had roasted some potatoes before we left. Then it hit me, I didn't remember turning off the oven before we left. The potatoes had been sitting in an oven at 450 degrees since 7:30 a.m. and it was 1:15 p.m.

I had visions of smoke going through my head. I knew I would come home to find a smoke filled house, but I was hoping it was still a house & not a pile of ashes! As we got closer to the house we couldn't see smoke so we were hoping that meant that I turned off the oven.

NOPE!

Oh well, we still enjoyed beef tips & rice & gravy with the smell of burned potatoes filling the air.

Funny Craigs List Ad

Scott & I like to check out Craigslist every now & then for some freebie bargains. Yesterday we were looking on there & he saw an ad titled, "The Loudest Vacuum on the face of the Earth". Scott clicked on it & this is what we found. It is kinda long, but way too funny not to pass on.

The loudest vacuum cleaner on the face of the Earth (PPU)

Giving away absolutely free of charge, with no lien, mortgage, or other encumbrance of any sort,
the undisputed world-record holder in the "loudest vacuum cleaner on the face of the Earth" category!
Act now to take advantage of this truly unique opportunity! "Wow" your friends with this incredible Hoover!

To accurately describe this fine piece of machinery, I will need to be rather wordy, so please bear with
me on this matter. Imagine you are on the runway at D/FW airport, right in front of one of the jet exhaust deflectors.
A Boeing 747-400 has just taxied on to the runway about 8 feet in front of you, and holds there, awaiting clearance for takeoff.
After a few short moments, clearance is given. The pilot keeps the brakes firmly applied as the co-pilot
gently places his hand on the throttles, then, in an instant, violently shoves all four of them forward
to maximum thrust; right up against the stops.

The ensuing cacophony resulting from the dissonance between the screaming whine of the turbines
spinning at ten bazillion RPM and the 65,000 MPH blast of air and choking exhaust blasting you into
the cold, sooty metal of the deflector is utterly deafening.
That is not how loud this vacuum is. It's louder.

Just as the pilot of the 747 releases the wheel brakes, and the silvery, tubular behemoth commences its
trip toward the other end of the runway and into the wild, blue yonder, air traffic control realizes they
have made a deadly mistake; they had previously cleared an Airbus A380, the largest plane in the
world, to land on the same runway, in the opposite direction! Frantically, they radio the two planes in a
vain attempt to prevent the impending disaster, but to no avail. The planes meet nose-to-nose in a gut
wrenching, mind-numbing collision. Add that noise to the already earsplitting din that was being
emitted by the first plane.
That is not how loud this vacuum is. It's louder.

While all of this is happening, the air traffic control supervisor has notified the airport's fire department
and they have rolled to the scene just as this tragedy takes place. Their sirens are blaring as they pull
up, only adding additional decibels to the already unbearable level of noise you are experiencing. Your
eardrums feel like red hot razor blades fired from a 12 gauge shotgun careening around inside your
cranium. You honestly wish a 2-ton piece of the shrapnel flying from the ruins could just catapult your
way and sever your head, putting you out of your misery once and for all. It never happens; you survive
this, the most miserable moment of your entire life, surrounded by carnage, the noise level absolutely
unbearable, with blood now flowing profusely from what used to be your ears.
That is not how loud this vacuum is. It's louder.

Take the entire scene and insert it into the humungous wind tunnel at the Chrysler factory. Run the
wind tunnel up to about 350 MPH. Take the noise you are now being subjected to, and triple it.
Now, THAT'S how loud this vacuum is.

I've had people tell me I'm wrong, that this thing is much worse than I've described, and I'm being
gentle just to be able to unload it on some poor, disadvantaged housewife in an act of masochism,
thinly veiled as generous, selfless philanthtopy.

I expect the competition for this beauty to be fierce, but if you want it, just email me and I'll set it out
on the curb for you. If you need help finding the place after I give you the address, just let me know. I'll
turn the lovely contraption on and you can follow the roar. Don't worry, it'll drown out the highway
sounds from the semis, and the traffic choppers overhead and you'll have no problem getting here,
even if you're just pulling out of your driveway in Guatemala.

Don't get me wrong, it does what it's supposed to do; it cleans the floor.
I'm just tired of cleaning the blood from the walls that sprays out of my ears when I use this little gem.

ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED!
ALLERGEN FILTRATION!
BRUSHED EDGE CLEANING!
WON'T LAST!
ACT NOW TO TAKE THIS CREAM PUFF HOME WITH YOU TODAY!

Bumbo the Flying Buffalo

We have began collecting funny saying that Gracie spits out during the day. She is really full of them lately. We decided to keep adding on to our list here as she spits new ones out.

• Sarah found Gracie & Sam digging in her purse one day. She asked Gracie what she was doing. Gracie answered, "I'm looking for a kleenex because Sam just bless-you'd all over my stuff." Translation: bless you'd = sneeze.
• When asked what Gracie was watching on TV she answered, "Bumbo the flying buffalo" Translation; Dumbo the flying elephant.
• She crawled up in mommy's lap and asked "I want some birthday kisses." So mommy kissed her all over & then gave gave her a zerbert(strawberry) on her cheek to which she commented, "and birthday spits".
• Gracie got a doll house for her birthday. We had bought it from a friend & with it came some furniture & people. We also bought her some more people & furniture. We didn't pay attention that we had bought her another set of parents. When Scott's mom came over one day Gracie had to show Mamaw the doll house. Mamaw asked, "does the baby have a daddy?" To which Gracie answered, "she has 2 daddies!" So we have a politically correct doll family & didn't know it.
• As her sisters were going out the door to go to the store for me, Gracie follows then saying, "Can I go? I need to go to the potty!" What child doesn't need to go potty in the store, our's insist on going to the store so she can go potty.