Because sometimes you just have to.

Check this out...

and this...

Why you ask?

Because sometimes you just have to.

Much love, many laughs and a few quirks,

A

Disheveled Part II

 I recently blogged about my daughter's tendency to rub her hair into a knot when she sleeps.  I've discovered more photos that need to be shared.  (Pardon the blur on the last.)

This photo was taken at the beginning of a return trip from Hawaii.  

This is what her hair looked like when we started the journey.

This is what her hair looked like after we woke up and were nearing our stop.  

Note the back light.  It really helps you understand the magnitude of this feat.  

Mom and I were trying to keep our giggles to a minimum.

I'm not sure when this one was taken, but if I hadn't told you,

 would you have been able to figure out what it was?

I love that girl!!!

Much love and many laughs,

Her hairbrush-toting Mama

Say it ain't so...

I'm officially old enough now to have seen the styles from my "glory days" be recycled and updated for modern use.  

For the most part, it is a nostalgic walk down memory lane.  Yet, I can admit that in the past 20 years, people have started to dress better. 

 One cause of this could be my cultural paradigm shift in moving from the modest mid-west to the decidedly more dressy south.  

Another reason for this could be shows like "what not to wear" or magazine articles telling us how to pick the best jeans to fit our body type.  

The criteria for buying jeans used to be "as long as they aren't snug anywhere".  Now, jeans are designed to hug, lift, cinch, and do the dishes.  This of course all for the low, low price of ten times what they used to cost.  (I'm told the cost is all about the technology that went into designing a gravity defying, leg lengthening jean.  Those folks must have degrees in physics and engineering or something:)

All in all, I can't say I have a problem with the current styles.  For the most part, I think people do look better in their clothes.

So why oh why, are we forced to see these things again....

(internet photo)

No, don't adjust your screen.  This is not an old photo of your friend in her brother's faded denim shirt, her favorite floral jeans and those shoes she should have thrown out years ago.

This is actually a picture courtesy of a cool but quirky clothing store, circa 2012.  

I've only just now started to live down these type of photos from my younger years.  Why are retailers subjecting us to this stuff again?

Weren't we supposed to be wearing space-age suits by now?  Not stuff we donated back when we went off to college.

Please, say it ain't so...

Much love and many laughs and a few moments of chagrin, 

A

My future Food Network host

My girl loves to cook.  She loves to be creative.  Put the two together and you have some pretty interesting kitchen experiments.  She calls them salad.  

I think this all started when I was assembling a green salad and she wanted to make one on her own.  I'm pretty sure it had strawberries and some of her favorite foods.  That is probably what got her attention.  

Since then she has decided the sky was the limit and that the term "salad" was a loose term and had many interpretations.  I have to agree with her (jello salad, potato salad, chicken salad, tuna salad and so on...).

Here are some of her creations...

This one was pretty good.  The brown sugar and butter on toast had potential.  Thankfully, 

the chocolate syrup and mustard did not make the cut.

This one was hard for me to watch.  I often get the "that is so wasteful & there are starving kids guilty twinge".  

However, the "these things go bad quickly & you didn't have immediate plans for them" 

tempered with the 

"seriously, how could you have gotten these raspberries to the starving kids?" 

thought trumps the guilt.

(Sorry for the chaos in that paragraph,

yet another sampling of the run on sentence kind of thinking I do.)

It was also interesting, because after you added the mayo, parmesan dust cheese, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and sliced colby jack, you let it ferment cook in the sun.

This one was reallllly niiiiice!  It had a pungent odor.  That is what happens when you use a mostly full bottle of mustard.  The poor grape tomatoes and parmesan cheese didn't stand a chance.  However, there was a silver lining.  It cleared my sinuses:)

And here we come to one of the biggest reasons why my girl loves to cook.  See the woman in the background.  That would be grandma.  Unlike her mother, sweet girl's grandmother is good at cooking, and she enjoys feeding people.  It is something special they do together. My girl really loves these time spent together and that makes me smile. 

And once in a while, if I give them a sad hang dog look, I get some banana nut bread out of the deal.  It's a win-win situation for everyone!

Much love and many laughs,

A

Community Bible Study devotional

Last week I heard a devotional that was inspirational.  Here are some thoughts I wanted to share with you.  These words are from Cindy Beqette and "The Red Sea Rules". 


"Sometimes God Will quiet a storm; other times He will let the storm rage and He quiets His child."


As Christians, we know we will face storms.  Yet still, they can stun and rattle us just as much as anyone else.


If God doesn't quiet your storm, He has another plan.  He may want to quiet you, His child.  Sometimes deliverance takes place in our hearts rather than in our circumstances.


How does He do this?  He calms our hearts by changing them.


Here are some ways He does that:


1.  When you surround yourself with God's word, fear will turn to faith.


2.  Get to praising.  God tells us he inhabits the praise of His people.  Have you ever felt the quieting and calming of your spirit as you lift your hearts in worship to God?  It is truly astounding how praise and worship change our hearts.


3.  Make a gratitude list.  It chases away our self-pity.  It's hard to complain when you're recognizing the things you have to be grateful for.


4. Spend some time with people who make you laugh.  It may not change your circumstances, but it will change your outlook.  




Just because we are believers does not mean that strength comes easily or naturally.  However, it does mean we have access to everything we need.  We have the faith, trust, and the courage we need to press on.  When you get knocked down, God will give you the grace to stand back up and say "I still believe that You love me, You have a plan, and You will never leave me."  Our trust in Him is our gift back to God.


"If He brings you to it, He will bring you through it."

It was a timely reminder of God's goodness and an encouragement to me.  Thanks Cindy for sharing these encouraging words.




Much love, many laughs, and God's blessing be on your life both today and in all the days to come.;


A

A wild rumpus!

Well my big boy turned 10 years old.  I can't believe it.  He's such a big kid.

To celebrate, he wanted to have some friends sleepover, play games and watch movies.  As the boys got comfortable I enjoyed seeing just how uniquely different each one is.  I've love observing kids to discover their unique gifts and laugh at their funny quirks.  I'm not trying to pigeon hole anyone, but it is entertaining to sit back and watch their personalities unfold.

There was one boy who was the "put together" one.  He always had his sleeping bag and supplies put away and organized.  He was the first to get dressed for bed and the first one dressed in the morning.  I thought about asking him if  he could come over and give my kids lessons on listening "the first time".

There was one boy who was the most enthusiastic one of the lot.  I kid you not,  he and my son spoke at the loudest decibel levels they were was capable of.  This guy had signed on for the full sleepover experience and was not going to miss a beat.

Then, there was the relaxed calm kid who seemed to get along well with everyone.  In my family we call them "type O", because like type O blood, they go with everyone.

Then, there was the kid who was one moment right in the middle of the ruckus, the next, quietly sneaking off to play with the dog.  He loves our dog and the feeling is mutual.

Lastly,  there was the absentminded one.  The one who couldn't find his stuff.  I would find his belongings in the nooks and crannies of the playroom.  He was the one who still didn't have his shirt on, or teeth brushed, when the rest of the boys had their belongings ready to go at the front door.  He is a youngest child. I can spot them a mile away because that is exactly how I am was as a kid:)

Ten is a great age.  They are gaining a lot of independence, but they are still sweet and have not learned to be ashamed of their family and loved ones.  They still want you to come to the honors assembly.  They still feel like "big stuff" when a parent walks into the classroom and everyone notices.  They want to show us off.  I love that.

Many times I have wished I could freeze time and save each age.  Alas, it is not to be.  So I will cherish each age and thank God for the special gift he gave me 10 years ago.











"Okay, now look silly......"








"Now give me your serious face.... "

(that little sister-she's a stinker)













Now for the crime scene........

Evidence they did get some
(if only a little) sleep......









Evidence of a pillow fight......

Evidence that Big boy has eyes under all that hair......

At some point the shirts came off......

And everyone got home in one piece -whew!











HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY SWEET, SWEET BOY - LOVE, MAMA

How Family Night Exploded

   In the spirit of the holiday season, we try to carve out a night to have some time just for the four of us.  It is such a great activity, that I included it in the advent calendar this year.  To make it more "official" (or maybe so my kids would think it was a requirement?) Hmmmm..... I'll have to ponder that one.

  Family night is special, but a Christmas time family night is even more so.  We pop popcorn, drink hot chocolate, snuggle up with some soft throw blankets and watch a Christmas movie.

It didn't happen that way this year.  Instead, here is how it happened......


son:  Mom, can I have a friend over to spend the night?

mom: Not tonight sweetheart.  Remember, we are going to have a family night and watch a Christmas      
movie?  Hot chocolate and popcorn - ringing a bell?

son: But Mom, sister got to spend the night last Friday night and I didn't.  You always say "no".

mom:  That's not true.  I would have let you last weekend but you didn't mention it and I can't help it if everyone has conflicting schedules anyway.

son:  But mom, I haven't seen this friend all week.

mom:  I can't help it if you have to go to school during the day.

son:  But mom, can't he just watch the movie with us?  He won't be any trouble.  I never get to have a sleepover.

mom:  But son, I just scheduled for you to sleepover with a friend from school next Friday night.

son:  But mom, that is my friend from school.  I haven't seen this neighborhood friend all week.

mom: How about if you play with him and return at dinner time?

husband (quietly mumbles):  "It's ok with me if it's ok with you."

son:  But that is not enough time.

mom:  Son, sometimes parents need it to be "just us".

son:  Pleeeeeeese?

mom:  I guess that would be okay.  Go see if he can spend the night. How about I go get the makings for smores and we roast them over the new fire pit?

After roasting marshmallows over the fire pit (and racking up some "your mom is cool" points) we retired to differing areas of the house.

(sometime later after having lost track of time)

mom:  where is everybody?  are we going to watch a movie? I start walking around looking for my peeps.  My husband is in the kitchen working.  Not on kitchen things mind you, but working all the same.  My daughter is watching Frosty the Snowman on T.V.  Okay, I thought to myself, one down two (actually three now) to go.  I go in the family room and discover that the boys are watching Dragon Ball Z Kai and playing on the computer and ipad.

son:  mom, can we just play a little longer?

(after looking at the time)

mom:  okay, that's fine

(after letting them play much too long)

mom: guys it's time to go to bed.

(my husband heads upstairs to help our daughter, while I work on Christmas cards)

So that's how family night quickly dissolved into "everyone to his/her own corner of the house" night.

I had good intentions.  Doesn't that count for something? I just got worn down by an incredibly tenacious 9-year-old.  What is a mother to do?

Side note:  We did get some snuggle time.  It involved my youngest in the bed sandwiched between my husband and me.  Even the furball doggy got in and joined us.  I decided not to ask the boys if they wanted to climb in.  I didn't think they would appreciate the humor. What if they didn't get the joke?  Then I would just become "weird mom", and after getting brushed off for family night, I didn't think my ego could take it:)

Much love, many laughs, and a Merry Christmas to you!