Oh How He Loves Us!

Is this really what God had in mind when He blessed me with my beautiful family?

A tired, stressed, haggard mother of 3 hanging on my her fingernails?....fingernails complete with bamboo shoots shoved up underneath them! 

Right now I have so many things I am responsible for and yet there is still ONLY ONE ME !  How can that be?  How could God have done this?

It was His Will that gave me my three sweet children......

.....His Will that gave my wonderful husband such a good job, yet keeps him away from us for months at a time.....

.....His Will that gave me so many "possessions" to take care of.....

.....His Will that gave me a phone that rings off the hook all day long with my loving friends who want to speak to me.....

After my migraine-filled, accident prone weekend, it's a miracle I'm actually here to complain about my stress!  Why, who else could literally inject themselves in the thumb with an Epipen so deeply that a paramedic would have to remove it?  Why me of course!

*sigh*

As I was gathering my thoughts today, trying to figure out how in the world I am going to pull off my busy 3-day-weekend event schedule, I realized that I have double-booked myself ALL THREE DAYS!

Now mind you, I didn't deliberately, or even absent-mindedly do this.  My book fair was planned months ago, long before I knew Jagger's football schedule, or Frank's travel schedule, or about Terry's ....well....Terry!

Now I'm in quite a pickle...I don't know which end is up and my stress level is so high I can barely breathe.  So this is what it feels like to have an anxiety attack?  Hmmmm.....I'd always wondered...but never really wanted to know!

Tonight, between my break from children's choir and the end of the children's activities at church I had a brief 30 minutes in which I could RUN to Kohl's to exchange a pair of shoes I had purchased there earlier in the day.  Unfortunately, when I got them home they were too small....go figure!

Anyhoo...I digress....

So I run in at break necking speed and realize that OF COURSE they don't have the pair I purchased in the size I needed.  So I selected a more expensive pair.  When I went to customer service, I was greeted with the most ornery customer service representative they have in their employ.  I've dealt with this wretched woman before and was less than thrilled when I saw she was working tonight.  After a significant wait ( I was third in line ) it was finally my turn with Medusa!  I explained my situation and asked if I could exchange for the more expensive pair in order to save my "Kohl's Cash" balance.  She very rudely informed me that it "clearly states on the receipt that you will lose your Kohl's Cash if you return merchandise".  So basically I got to spend MORE money and lose part of my Kohl's Cash. 

Really?

Seriously?

I spent $277 in their store today and just spent an additional $15 in order to get a different pair of shoes because they didn't have my size, no fault of my own mind you, and THEY TOOK AWAY $10 OF MY BLEEPIN' KOHL'S CASH!?!?!

I proceeded to tell her, as she incessantly argued with me, that just because the receipt said such, it didn't make it ethical!  So much for "the customer is always right" huh?

Needless to say, by the time I got into my car I was reduced to tears....my anxiety through the roof!  I was spent...in more ways than one!

So I went back to pick up my kids and after yet ONE MORE ERRAND...we headed home.

So now you want to know how my God loves me so?? 

I came in, fed my youngest son a sub sandwich and sat on the couch to just vegetate!  I just had nothing left in me....and then I hear it....from the back of the house....the teenager!  He's actually playing with his younger siblings, occupying them to save me more grief!  WOW! 

God has provided me with everything I need to survive this journey.  My sweet son stepped up to the plate, saw my need and filled it.  He rescued me when I needed rescuing most....when I was at my weakest. My heart overflowed with pride and love for this sweet child that God has sent to me.  He is such a blessing to our family.  I don't know that he will ever fully understand how he has blessed me by giving me the opportunity to be his Mother, but I am so very proud to call him my son!

And that my friends ...

                                                                      .....is a God Thing!  :o)

It's the little things.....

Sitting on the couch this a.m. I'm slowly waking up, drinking my coffee and watching the news.  I can hear my littlest one rustling in the bed and calling for me in the tiniest, sweetest voice.

Part of me wants just a "little more time" to myself....

...but when she rises and comes out to greet me...

her hair is disheveled,

"my tummy doesn't feel better", she says.

I ask my little princess if she wants to sit in my lap, and she nods in the sweetest way.  She decides that lying down fixes her tummy issues and as she's lying beside me she says,

"God "make-ded" the perfect Mommy for me!"

 

At that moment I thought my heart would literally burst from my chest with love for this precious child whom God has entrusted me to raise, love, nurture......treasure. 

WOW!  What a responsibility....

...but remarkably it's nothing compared to His love for us!

Ephesians 3:16-19

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷ so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

¹⁸ may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

¹⁹ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge

—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

My cup runneth over!

It's a God Thing!

As I sit here in the midst of the wreck that is my home...I'm reflecting on the stress I've experienced today.  Have you ever thought your heart was going to literally burst from your chest from the sheer weight of the world on your shoulders?

Well...that's how I felt today. 

It started at 3:45 a.m., when my sweet husband, drove away...again...for another long trip.  My heart aches at the thought of yet another separation for our family.  I try to be thankful and appreciative for God's provision for our family.  He is so GOOD.  If you've ever wondered...He answers prayers!   It was just 4 short years ago that we were desperate for Frank to find a good job.  We were living off of credit cards and didn't even have our own home.  Boy howdy does he answer prayers!  Now Frank has a rockin' job...the caveat....he's never home! 

I feel like my life is running full speed ahead and I've missed the boat! 

I don't want to grumble and complain, truly I don't.  I want to be grateful. 

But when I'm not the Mom I want to be, because I'm over tasked,
or I'm not the witness I want to be, because I'm over tasked....
or I'm not the ME I want to be...
you guessed it....
BECAUSE I'm over tasked....

I'm miserable.

I was talking to a dear friend on the phone today who suggested I reevaluate my life and cut some things out.  I thought about that for a while and realized that I really don't have anything I do for ME.  It's all for my family, my children, my church.  What do I cut out?  I can't do it all...I'm doing the work of two parents all by myself; and I'm trying to do it perfectly....and I'm failing!

What keeps me going?

Recently God spoke to us and He has sent a blessing of such magnitude that we cannot even fathom the weight of it's goodness. 

A couple of months ago I was blessed to start a business selling children's books.  My supervisor and I had a charity book fair at a local beach resort and our local children's shelter was the recipient of the free books.  By chance, or shall I say by God's Grace, I met a young man who will soon become a part of our family.  It is truly amazing how He orchestrates our lives, how He shapes and molds us as His own ....and how He teaches us to give just a little more of ourselves for others.  It's amazing how easy it is to do when it's God-driven and not of our own selfish desires. 

WOW....is all I can say! 

I am so excited about the changes that lie ahead for our family.  I hope that we can bring peace and happiness to our new son and give him the life he has always deserved, for he was created in His image and in MY opinion, deserves the very best of everything.  I only hope we can prove ourselves worthy of his love as his family and that he will have us.  Whatever happens, I know it will be okay....as I like to say....

It's a God Thing !

Philippians 2:5-9

New International Version (NIV)

 ⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

 ⁶ Who, being in very nature^[a] God,
   did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
   by taking the very nature^[b] of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!



Kimberly, Terry, Frank, Jagger Reese & Addie Kate




Three Monkey's after dinner at Capt. Anderson's



Our House.....

As I'm busily preparing lunch for my two kiddos and myself.....AFTER a morning of "nastics"....I'm mentally going through the 1001 things I have on my agenda for today.  I'm rushing around the kitchen, back and forth, juggling 10 things at once when my sweet little daughter comes up to me and causes me to pause.

She's drawn a sweet little picture of our house.  Now keep in mind, three weeks ago, we had an unsuccessful yard sale and decided to leave everything set up in our garage for when my hubster returns from California....who KNOWS when that will be?  .... I digress.....  But, for the past three weeks we haven't been able to park the van in the garage.  So she shows me the delightful picture of our house that she has drawn and begins to explain all of the details of her artistic endeavor.

"Our House" by Addie Kate

She explains that the sidewalk is going out to the driveway where our van is parked (located near her cutsie little fingers) and the image above our van is our garage and I quote.....

"wif too much stuff in it to park."

......  *sigh*  .......

....guess I'll add one more thing to my 1001 things to do!

20 Years and Counting....

So when does life get easier?  Just wondering if anyone has the answer to the magic question?  I personally thought that mine would be getting better as my hubster hasn't been on any extended travel for several months now, his parent's have well....been doing better...and that's all I'll say about that....and my many stresses have....well....not been stressing me !  But of late I've been ......  STRESSED !  And I don't mean, frustrated with a bad hair day stress, I mean wanting to smack a person because I drive all the way to Petsmart and they are out of my dog's food stress !!! 

Can't figure out what's wrong with me.  Wishing I could because even I can't stand to be around me when I'm like this....then I went to the doctor....LOVE LOVE LOVE my doctor !  He really knows what's up with me and as usual suggested exactly what I needed to feel better...but not before I vehemently requested that he Baker Act me to Club Med....

he didn't.....


*sigh*


But then I realized something else....


Yesterday, April 14, 2011 was the 20th anniversary of my Mother's death.  I can't believe it's been that long ago.  Although I don't cry as often as I used to, it seems as though it were yesterday.  It reminds me of a line in a movie I saw, Simon Birch, where the narrator is speaking of losing his mother and he says that when you lose someone you love, you don't lose them all at once....you lose them in pieces....first you lose their smell on their clothes or linens....then the little reminders around seem less and less.....

I remember her smell....I remember how she used to hold her mouth open when she put on her mascara !  Funny !  I remember how she liked her food piping hot....I mean scorching hot !  And I remember trips...lots of trips with her.  It's funny, I say my kids are the blueberries to my muffin...well, I was the blueberry to her muffin.  She made no bones about it.  There was never a moment that I felt unloved.  She had mothering down to a science....I can only pray I'm a fraction of the mother that she was, then I'll know I've done a good job.

Come to think of it, I'm always weird this time of year.....EVERY YEAR.....but this year it was rage...not sadness or melancholy....RAGE.   I was beside myself trying to figure it out...why all of a sudden this change in my behavior?  Then I remembered how drastic the change in my Mom's personality right before she was diagnosed.  She was 40 when she died.  I'm 40.  Maybe my subconscious just couldn't take anymore and it manifested itself in a rage....who knows?  All I know is I feel tons better now.

And then something really strange happened yesterday that has never happened before.  My precious baby girl, my Addison Kathleen, asked about her namesake for the very first time.  How strange that she would ask me where my Mother was on the anniversary of her death !  We'll never know why these things happen, or the reason for the timing of them......but what a sweet reminder of the precious gifts we do have and how grateful we should be and cherish every day we have to spend with them. 

I took extra care in explaining to my sweet girl that her NaNa was in Heaven with God and she was watching over us always.  Addie Kate asked about her four times yesterday....I hope this is just the beginning of many, many years of her questions...because through my precious memories, my beautiful Mother will continue to live.

Who needs a clean house?????

I just love the little surprises I find when I finally decide to clean house.  I mean...who really needs a clean house anyway?  Aren't the hairball, dustbunnies endearing?  Can't we just be creative and turn them into something fun...like another little dog to take care of or something of the like?  Seriously....the tufts of dog hair resting along the baseboards in my house were so big and so numerous that I could have made a small canine from them!  Just what I need!

So as I was busily dusting this a.m. I was delighted to find that my precious Lilly has been sneaking off and chewing on the corner of my Mother's Grandfather clock !  You know, the one I can't replace ?  Yeah....that one!  So now, along with the beautifully saran-wrapped columns in my dining room and the blanket-wrapped antique piece in my entry way, I've added to my home decorating collection a saran-wrapped Grandfather clock! 



* sigh *



Lovin' Life !!!!!

Busy ! Busy ! Busy !

Wow!  It's been almost a month since my last post!  This confirms it.....I really HAVE been busy!  I have spent the past two days catching up on laundry and cleaning house and to my dismay I STILL cannot see the top of my dining room table, the laundry STILL isn't finished, and I'm STILL feeling completely overwhelmed!

 Last Sunday night was the culmination of many months of hard work for the Emerald Coast Fellowship Children's Choir.  We are so blessed to have a wonderful director, Christi Taylor, who is OOBER talented and has an amazing vision for our children.  Every year it is mystifying how it all comes together at the last minute, truly a "miracle" and God's hand is literally all over it! 

Parabalooza was the name of our program this year and it was truly delightful!  It was designed as a television "game show" with the choir divided into two teams competing with each other playing various games....intertwined in the madness, children would come forward to tell different Parables from the Bible.  I don't know about you, but there is just something about having amazing music coupled with the sweet voice of a child quoting scripture....WOW...brings me to tears every time! 

After the program concludes each year, one of the Sunday school classes in our church graciously provides an ice cream party for the kids to celebrate all of their hard work and for the families to gather and fellowship for a bit in the aftermath of the "whirlwind" week before!  Needless to say...I am spent as we approach this time of worship every year....but every year it's rewards far outweigh the sacrifice.  I love this part of parenting...being involved with the lives of my children and their extracurricular activities....watching them grow in Christ is something I will forever treasure and would never be able to replace if I chose not to participate.  Which leads me to this....

Something happened a week or so ago that made Frank and I realize that some of the stuff we are teaching our children is actually sinking in!  Our neighbor, whom I mentioned in my previous post, was still in Houston receiving her treatments for breast cancer and her husband called our home to ask a favor.  When Jagger answered the phone, the first thing he wanted to know was, "How is Ms. Yvonne?"  Yvonne's husband, Manny, was so touched by Jagger's concern for her that he made it a point to tell Frank how much it meant to him that Jagger's first thought was HER welfare and nothing else.  I love that our child is growing with empathy and concern and love for others.  It made me think.....Maybe they DO listen when we think they DON'T !  Maybe they ARE watching when we think they AREN'T !  Maybe we all should consider our thoughts, words and actions a little more carefully when our little ones are around....we never know what they are processing....and WHEN !

This much I DO know.......

I need to reign it in....
   I need to mind my P's and Q's.....
       and I need to do BETTER....for their sake! 

It made me realize how many times I fail them, my sweet children who love me and depend on me for so much. 

Why do I lose my patience so easily?  Why do I think it's okay to scream at my kids, yet treat a perfect stranger in public with the utmost respect? 

Why is THAT okay? 

I know that my priorities and my values have been way off kilter....and I need to get back on track....to be the Mom I WANT to be, the Mom my kids DESERVE and the Mom that will create sweet memories for these precious gifts that God has given me.........

²⁷ Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
   when it is in your power to act.
²⁸ Do not say to your neighbor,
   “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—
   when you already have it with you.

Proverbs 3: 27-28

New International Version

My burden is light....

Wow...what a week...and it's only Monday. 

Sunday, at the beginning of our church service our Co-Pastor made an announcement that shocked, stunned, saddened and stung me to my core.  He announced that our Pastor's precious wife has breast cancer.  I am so troubled for Ms. Elaine and for her sweet, sweet family, although I know there has been remarkable work done in the field of cancer research, and I know many more survivors than not but, I can't help but to feel pensive and heartbroken and scared ~~~ all at the same time.

Tonight, as we were preparing to take our three rambunctious dogs and two trouble making kids ( at least today they were troublemakers ) for an evening walk, my husband was speaking with our neighbor who has one workday left until he retires.  He'll join his wife in retirement as she just retired in January, both leaving careers in the school system.  I'm amazed at how supportive they have always been about our choice to home school our children.  Somehow in the back of my mind I always figure that people who are involved with the schools think homeschooler's are crazy....and in some respects we TOTALLY ARE!  Today was one of those days that had me wondering what in the heck was I thinking????  For example, we were in Walmart earlier today, picking up something for dinner, and the kids were bickering....back and forth....back and forth...I mumbled under my breath, "You are driving me crazy!"  A woman standing near us heard me and chuckled.  I mentioned in passing how peaceful my life had been prior to having kids!  Then my son pipes up with expert comedic timing and says, "Didn't you say Dad used to go to bars before you had kids?"



* sigh *



Anyway, feeling completely beaten down, I have spent the rest of my day in survival mode...just simply trying to "make it" until my loving husband got home from work.  Of course today he worked 2 1/2 hours of overtime...coupled with a 1 1/2 hour commute...it made for a very long day for the both of us!

Tonight, after we walked away from our neighbor, Frank told me that his sweet wife Yvonne has breast cancer and will be travelling to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX next week for surgery and a follow-up.

Wow...  Two dear friends in two days.  Breast cancer.  My heart is weeping.  I don't understand it, and to be truthful I stopped trying about 18 years ago when I met Frank.  He was a nice distraction from the loss of my own mother to cancer.  So many memories are flooding back with this news.  I was 20 when she passed away.  She died at M.D. Anderson.  I met Frank almost a year to the day of the 1 year anniversary of her death.  I like to think that maybe she helped God pick him out for me; and when he's being a real pill I KNOW she did....pay back for all the trouble I caused her when I was growing up. 

The death of my mother was so sudden and so painful for me that I turned my back on God.  I decided that He was not worthy of a relationship with me for taking her away, when there were so many things I wanted to share with her.  During my stages of grief, and by the way I'm back...my God didn't abandon me, even when I abandoned Him....I read that a young woman who loses her mother in her early years experiences the loss over and over with significant life events; i.e. marriage, the birth of children.......losing friends to the same disease. 

I'm trying to be positive and concentrate on prayer for these dear ladies who are in such desperate need of it right now.  But it's hard...the burning question of  'Why?' comes back, again and again.  I also read during my hiatus from my Saviour, that our lives are like a tapestry....what we see is the back side...it's just a jumbled up mess of string and color and knots.....but when we die, and we join Him, our Heavenly Father....we see the other side of that beautiful work of art and it is then that we can see the big picture.  I hope that one day I can make sense of all of this....for now I'll just continue to lift them up in prayer.  I know they are both Godly women...

.....and it's going to be okay......

Matthew 11:28-30

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Forever friends....

I have friends, you have friends, we all do.  The friends I have made since I've become an adult have been some of the most rewarding friendships I could have ever asked for....truly God sent.  I'm sure you feel the same way.  There is just something about having that one person you can confide in, other than your significant other, who in MY life is my very best friend, that makes life.....well....special !

But, this is about the friendships we make as children.  I can remember those too....can you?  I can remember running the streets with my friends until we couldn't see the pavement anymore because it had gotten too dark; the way my skin felt sticky from being out in the damp, summer air for hours on end.  I can remember my Mom being furious with me for making toast and using up all the butter while she was at work...."I buy REAL butter," she said, "NOT margarine!"  Now that I'm a Mom, I know why she got so mad at me for making the whole neighborhood toast and jelly for snacks and using up all of her "real butter".....that stuff is expensive!

Anyhoo, I digress....

So, today I did a favor for our good friends Selena and Jarad.  I picked up their cutie patootie son, Asher, from preschool. He's in Addie Kate's class and they have become fast friends.  So I brought him home after school and they had a supercalifragilisticexpialidociously long playdate today.  We wrapped up the playdate by playing in front yard, the two of them driving around in Addie Kate's hooptie! 

The pictures say it all...I hope and pray that their friendship stands the test of time....but for now....the memory making is priceless!



Asher and Addie Kate




Enjoying the beautiful sunny afternoon !




Chillin' like villians !




I think he enjoyed being chauffeured!




"Stopping for snacks at the store"









Too cute!

 



Best Good Friends !



What forgiveness looks like....

After our.... ahem...challenging day yesterday, I was getting ready for bed.  My head was splitting open with one of the worst headaches I've had in a really long time.  So much to do, so little time to do it.  And ...BONUS !!!!

...the hubster is out-of-town....AGAIN !!!

Anyhoo...I digress....

So, as I'm preparing to go to bed, it's about 10:45 and I'm finally cleaning the kitchen.  Dishes are piled up from breakfast, lunch AND dinner, and I'm navigating through all of the clutter to find my bedroom....I see this little postcard.  What could it be?

It's a little love note...  a precious little momento from the heart of my nine-year-old son.  No doubt he was moved to write it because of how I handled all of his "little" mistakes yesterday. 

Folks, don't kid yourselves....quiet time to reflect is such a good thing.  Mom's out there take my advice....sit in the mess of your house and take this time when something goes wrong.  The dishes can wait, the dust will be there later, trust me...the vacuuum cleaner won't hold a grudge.  But that time I took yesterday to heed my husband's words before he left to go out-of-town was invaluable.  "Don't stay mad," he said. 

That was God speaking through him.  And those words spoke to me ALL DAY as I reflected on all that had happened....and that continued to happen on and off all day......yesterday was no picnic!

Anyhoo...before I get too long winded, I just wanted to share this precious postcard with you....it touched my heart....I hope it touches yours too!

                                                        Makes it all worth it !

Don't worry kids...money grows on trees!

Auuuuggggh !  If it's not one thing it's another! 
I swear the epitaph on my tombstone is going to read ...

"I knew this would happen!"

BTW... I stole that one from a friend!  It seems like when it rains it pours!  No sooner than I wreck our mini-van and cost us an arm and a leg in repairs, everything under the sun hits at one time!  Are you familiar with how that seems to work?  Murphy's Law they call it. I liken it to wiping your beehinie on a wagon wheel...the poo just keeps on coming back around!  Sorry...again...very blunt.  I couldn't help myself!

So...cha ching ! In the previous pics, not sure if you noticed my precious son was wearing a darling tuque that his dad brought back from his recent business travels to Toronto.  30 US Dollars to be exact. Pretty pricey for a knitted cap that he'll wear in sunny Florida, what, twice a year?  Anyhoo...I digress...

So, our son, who has been told countless times to keep his things picked up because there is a puppy in the house, leaves his tuque out and following the natural order of things, yup, you guessed it....the tuque is now being processed through our puppy's digestive tract.  That was $30 bucks well spent!

Next, when the hubster and my sweet son come in from a morning out at breakfast this a.m. I show my loving husband the gift he so had so thoughtfully purchased for our son, or shall I say, what was left of it.  He was pretty steamed, but counters me and says...."Oh that's nothing...wait till Jagger tells you what else has happened."

Now, I'm on hold with the insurance company, dealing with a big mess for Frank's parent's....WHOLE 'NOTHER BLOG! and I beg my husband to tell me what happened.  He's holding out...."Nope," he says, "I'll just let Jagger show you."  Now my first thought is that they have done something to the rental car that we are driving while mine is being repaired, you know, from MY latest screw-up!  Nope...that's not it.  When I finally get finished dealing with the in-laws crisis, I go back to our son's room and ask him what has happened that his father just can't bring himself to tell me about.  It is at this point that my sweet child pulls out his 3-week-old, $220 iPod Touch that he received for his birthday....and the screen is cracked.  He had taken it upon himself to remove the $20 rubber protective cover I had purchased for it and decided to carry it around in his pocket "Sans Souci " because nothing is ever going to happen to it..."Mom's crazy for buying that rubber thingy to protect it...why would she do a silly thing like that????"

Famous last words.....

After all of the dust settled and I had time to reflect on this situation, I realize that God is giving ME the same opportunity to show kindness and understanding to my child, that my husband had shown me just one short week ago!  Isn't that AMAZING how our God works?  I will admit, my reaction was a bit less controlled than my husband's...but I do see the big picture!  I see how He is growing me...shaping me....molding ME.....

Colossians 3:13 (The Message)

 "^12-14So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it. "

He's not giving up on me, HIS child...no matter how many times I mess up...and I'm not giving up on my sweet child....no matter what!

Groovin' on a Sunday Mornin'

So....We're officially playing hookie from Church!  My husband, who has been in Canada for a week gets up and prepares a delicious breakfast for us, and is soooo sweet to leave the kitchen for me to clean, hey I don't mind....at least I didn't have to cook!  And while I'm cleaning I realize he's MIA....Jagger comes out of his room and asks me where he is, Addie Kate is looking for him....noone can seem to find him.....

After a few minutes, the love of my life and father of my precious children comes traipsing in from the garage, with a handful of CD's that he is blowing the dust off of and heading with a determined look over to the CD player.  For whatever reason, my loving husband has decided that he needs to expose our children to HIS generation of music.

Enter the Jackson Five.  YIKES !  Can you see my eyeballs popping out of my head right now? 

Any of you who know us, know that there is a 10-year age difference between the sweet hubster and myself...soooo....having said that....this isn't MY generation of music either! lol  Long story short...as I'm washing dishes and listening to "la la la la la la la la ....I love yoooooouuuuuuu!"  I look into the living room and realize why I "la la la la la" love him sooooo much.

The photo says it all.  He's piled up on Addie Kate's pink trampoline, strategically placed in our living room to get the wiggles out of our children on an "as needed" basis, with our two blessed children and our puppy Lilly...singing his heart out...on this beautiful Sunday morning!

I love my life!

The Crash Heard Round The Hammocks!

What a week!  Right now as I type, there are a million other things I should be doing....case in point!
The photo?  Ah!  I knew you'd ask!  I'll start by saying that I've officially decided to take a hiatus from Facebook, which is the biggest time sucker I've ever experienced in my life.  And what is completely baffling is that I can't even explain WHY it's such a time sucker.  There really is nothing concrete that I do on Facebook that makes me sit there for hours on end, reading about my friends and their "black-eyed peas and ham hocks supper" that was "yummo" or the silly videos posted by so many, including myself.  The only thing of value that can even justify my spending time on Facebook is the prayer requests, which I have certainly utilized myself.  I am thankful to have such a wonderful outlet to send out my own prayer requests and I covet the opportunity to pray for others as well.

Now back to the photo.  Last Tuesday was a normal day in the Golden household.  I awoke a couple of hours before the kids, turned on the computer, started my coffee and sat down to catch up on my email and everyone's "business" on Facebook.  In usual fashion, my sweet angel baby comes tootling out of her room, rubbing her eyes, crawls up on the sofa and slowly starts waking up....a few minutes after that her brother soon follows suit.  Long story short....in usual fashion, I was late getting the kids fed and dressed for Addie Kate's "nastics" class at 10:00.  So at 10:10 we are backing out of the driveway to go to "nastics" to arrive at 10:15, our usual time since I am ALWAYS LATE EVERYWHERE I GO!  By the way, this is my husband's FAVORITE of my many endearing traits......NOT!

As I'm backing out of the driveway, we are all jarred and hear a crunch!  I say, "What was that?"  No big deal, it's just a 2 ton, 2004 Dodge Ram 4x4 Dually!  Now...I realize that this was my fault...but this woman was parked in the street with the driveway completely empty....did you hear me??  The driveway was completely empty !!!!  Anyhoo, I digress!  So, I exit my vehicle, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't muttering a few choice words under my breath!  After assessing the damage to my vehicle, which as you can see by the photo is, well...significant...., I look to the dually.  I am not exaggerating when I say this, the rim, literally the hubcap is bent on this big monster of a truck.
 
Are you ready for the meat of this story???  Here it comes.  So the woman who owns the truck, hears the crunch and comes around the side of the house where she was working on the well pump and the first thing she says to me is..... "I hope it didn't bend my rear axle."

Are you serious?



Really?



.....Seriously?


So... my reply,  as God is my witness, to her is this, "Ma'am, if your rear axle is bent from my little mini van hitting your hubcap at .008 mph, then perhaps you need to buy a Ford!"  Geesh!
 
An hour later, after insurance information is taken, repair companies are contacted, and photos are taken  / YES..I immediately took photos of her bent rear axle! / we missed "nastics" and I spent the rest of my day crying my eyes out.  I had hoped to send my husband an email explaining how careless I had been and begging him for forgiveness before he Skyped us from Canada where he is on travel this week.  But....nooooooooooooooooo......he Skyped before I could get to it !  The reason?  I was too busy wasting time on friggin' Facebook!

So, I admitted my shame and stupidity to my loving husband of 18 years and his forgiveness and understanding just made me feel worse.  Oh, don't get me wrong, he was plenty upset, just very understanding that I am who I am and any anger he could direct at me over this situation is not going to change the fact that I am always going to be late wherever I go and that he is going to love me anyway.

Micah 7:18-19
 ~New International Reader's Version~

 18 Lord, who is a God like you?
      You forgive sin.
    You forgive your people
      when they do what is wrong.
    You don't stay angry forever.
      Instead, you take delight in showing
      your faithful love to them.
 19 Once again you will show loving concern for us.
      You will completely wipe out
      the evil things we've done.
     You will throw all of our sins
      into the bottom of the sea.

Thank you God for the gift of this man in my life.  I am truly blessed beyond measure  !!

Nice!

New Outlet for Mee!

Okay!  I've decided that since I am taking a hiatus from Facebook that I have to have an outlet for sharing the calamities that occur in our home on a daily basis!  I figure that since I'm not on Facebook I won't get caught up in looking at everyone's business and getting stuck for hours.  Everyone has been so sweet to say how much they would miss my updates so I felt compelled to start this blog.  I hope you enjoy reading these updates as much as I will enjoy writing them!  I will miss keeping up with everyone, but will only be away until I get my poo together....sorry for being so blunt, but...it is what it is !

Until another crisis.....

Mee !

Party Animals !

Whew!  It's been a crazy month and a long while since I've updated the journal !   We've been super busy and there are so many moments I've missed that I'm afraid I will forget the details to record them here.

I can start by saying that Frank and I have started a new chapter in our lives and  we are embarking on a business venture/life changing event. We are working towards joint goals that we've never dreamed of before and have finally come together in our dreams and aspirations for our future! WOW! It's only taken 18 years! Okay, so we're a little slow on the up-take!

Our precious son, Jagger Reese turned 9-years-old on the 21st of January. It was bittersweet for me as this is the last of the single digit years for him and I feel his childhood slipping away from us. He's growing so fast but has blessed our life in countless ways. Frank and I had a business trip to Atlanta that took us away from home on his birthday, so we celebrated a weekend late. I took him to Walmart to pick up the ice cream and toppings for the ice cream sundae's he wanted to celebrate. He was only having 3 boys sleep over for his birthday/spend-the-night party and in lieu of gifts he chose to collect donations of dog and cat food for the Humane Society. What a great kid we have! Anyway, while we were at Walmart, time was starting to run short and he was in the process of picking out candy for he and his friends to gorge themselves on and he selected a 1 lb. bag of bubble gum. I immediately said NO as he didn't need a full pound of bubble gum for just the four of them. I could see it already, gum in my carpet, gum in their sleeping bags, on my couch, on the ceiling...you name it...the possiblities are endless! I told him to look for a smaller bag. His reply? "But Mom, this IS the small bag.....it says right here... L - B for "little bag". Now who could argue with that? We bought the gum!

Attached is a photo of the boys crashed our in our living room after a hard night of Hubba Bubba, Cherry Dr. Pepper and too much PS3! Ahhhh, the life of the 9-year-old boy! If only WE could be young again!

Happy Birthday our Sweet Boy! We love you bunches!!!

 

 

Christmas Joy !

Whew !  Yesterday was a busy day! After church Frank and I decided that in order to "recharge our batteries" enough to get everything that we needed to get done we should.....NAP! So what did we do? I set the alarm, so we wouldn't over sleep as there was a lot to do, we popped a movie in for the kids and took a nap! Ahhhh! God is Good! He provided us with a good 45 minutes before Jagger came in to wake me up to ask me when the alarm was going off. Two minutes later my daughter is shouting from the potty, "Mooooooom! I'm done poo pooing and pee peeing on da' pottyyyyyyyyyy !!!!"

*sigh*... Nap time is over for me! Anyway, I did enjoy about 45 minutes of blissful sleep prior to all of the standard interruptions one would expect when one has children. Hey! I asked for it....I wanted em'! Even prayed for em'! Be careful what you pray for people... remember God is Goooooood ! lol

So, Frank and I rise from our slumber and get to work undressing our beautifully decorated home and taking down all of the Christmas lights, our Charlie Brown tree and decorations. Kind of sad, but kind of a relief that it's all over. The picture says it all.

Jump back to December 24, 2010.

After finding out that Frank would be working Christmas day, and the "strudel incident", we decided that some serious juggling was going to have to be done in order to accomplish all of the Holiday Joy and Memory Making that we wanted to accomplish. So while Frank was driving like a bat out of....well...you know...to get home on Christmas Eve so we could make the Candlelight Service at Church, I was busily getting our beautiful children ready to attend the service. About 10 minutes before he came screeching in on two wheels, our Precious Punkie Poodle Pie, all dressed to the tee, did it...yup...you guessed it! SHE FELL ASLEEP! So Frank jumps in the shower, jumps out of the shower, dresses and asks, "Are we going to Church?" Of course my only response is to point to the Angelic Baby sleeping on the bed who is oblivious to the fact that she has totally thrown a monkey wrench in our whole evening! Why not just wake her you ask? Anyone who knows Addie Kate knows the answer to that question...so we didn't. We just took our time getting our things gathered and headed over to Daddy No No's and Granny Janny's house for Christmas Eve snackies and gift exchange. We had a wonderful time visiting with family, eating and watching the kids excitedly opening their gifts.


Christmas Eve 2010




Christmas Eve 2010




Christmas Eve 2010

 Now here is the meat of the story.

When we returned home, we walk into the house and Santa had arrived! There was a letter he had left, right by the plate of empty cookies and milk in which Santa mentioned that he KNEW that Daddy was working Christmas Day and he made our house the VERY FIRST STOP on the North American leg of the 2010 Christmas Season. He made special note of the reindeer food that Addie Kate had thoughtfully prepared with her own two little hands, she even added sparkly glitter so that Rudolph could see it from high, high above!


Carefully adding ingredients for her Reindeer Food




"Gotta add some cinnamon!  Reindeers love cinnamon !"

 Then he reiterated that Christmas is about the birth of our Saviour, Jesus Christ, and to ALWAYS remember! But the cute part was that, as my Jagger Reese was reading this letter, he stopped in the middle and shouted, "Mom! Santa IS real...this is in HAND!" I'm so grateful that Santa took the time to write the letter, he kept the"magic" of Christmas alive for my Jagger, if only for another year...for that I'm grateful.

The photo shows the aftermath of the Christmas 2010 Hurricane that blew through on the night of December 24, 2010. Thank you God for my family. I am truly the most blessed woman in the world and I am feeling your abounding love in abundance....right now...at this very moment!


"Gloria in Excelsis Deo !!! "





"Hurricane Gift Overkill 2010"