So, we weren't at Leanne's house very long before one of her friends texted to see if she could bring over some goodies for our family.
Ummm...yes, please.
Leanne has two specific friends who are known for bringing goodies to her family at just the right time: Lisa and Kelly. Lisa was out-of-town, but in 15 minutes, Kelly arrived...treats in hand.
And she and Leanne were just talking and talking...and I was sitting there listening. Mostly, they were talking about their families, or people that I didn't know...but every once-in-a-while, there was something I would comment on.
At one point, they started talking about shopping and where all they went for Christmas gifts and what all they bought for their kids, etc. And then Kelly goes, "I did most of my shopping at Nordstrom's," and I got all excited, and piped up, "me, too!"
The look on my sister's face was priceless. She threw her hand down and said to Kelly, "no she didn't...she's more of a Wal-Mart kind-of-girl."
Which, I AM...but I really did buy a few gifts from Nordstrom's this year.
So I said, "I did, too!" And Leanne said, "you...shopped at Nordstrom's? NUH-UHHH."
And I was all, like, "I promise I did."
I told her friend, Kelly, that a blog I read had recommended some things and she goes, "which one?" And I said, "Pinterest Told Me To," and she goes, "was it Big Mama? Do you read Big Mama?"
DO PEOPLE NOT LISTEN TO ME?
I said, "no, it was my [pretend] friend, Shaeffer at Pinterest Told Me To," and I started telling her about the leggings...oh, the LEGGINGS...and the pajamas and the boots that I got for the 3 girls in my life.
And all this time, Leanne was just staring at me.
Like I can't shop at Nordstrom's.
And when my other sister, Robin, got there, Leanne said, "Marty said she shopped at Nordstrom's." And Robin said, "MOOSE! That's fancy!"
So, in case my kids or anyone else out there in blog-land wondered about whether or not I was fancy, I hope this post puts you all at ease. I am not. I just bought some things on sale...and got free shipping. And if loving that is wrong, I don't wanna be right.
In my defense, I didn't know it was a fancy store. We don't have a Nordstrom's in Arkansas. Robin said, "it's kind of like Macy's." Again...not in Arkansas. She said, "well, then...like Nieman-Marcus." Hello? NOT IN ARKANSAS, PEOPLE.
In their defense, I really AM more of a Wal-Mart kind-of-girl. That's my motherland. I try to be very frugal, and I buy a lot at Wal-Mart. Target...Old Navy? You're speaking my language, too. But I decided about 3 months ago that I was going to buy all 3 girls the same 3 things: pajamas, boots and a clothing item (the leggings weren't one of the 3 gifts...they were stocking stuffers). The clothing items I got for them were all different. One got a fuzzy vest, two got cardigans. The pajamas and the leggings came from Nordstrom's. The idea to get the boots came from the Pinterest Told Me To blog, but I bought each pair at a store in Little Rock...and at different times. I definitely had to space it out, because that's a lot of money for our family.
I always have to space out what I buy for Christmas...and I always will, because, Lord willing, our family will just get bigger!
I am so glad I decided to get the girls the same things. My mother-in-law always did that with her boys and I always wondered why...because they are all 3 so different. Was it just easier? Faster?
I had my own reasons that I kept to myself, but they were confirmed after I heard about these two girls in a family: one was the daughter and one was the daughter-in-law. At Christmas, the family decided to take turns and have each person open all of their gifts before the next person started opening theirs. The daughter-in-law opened a couple of presents, and when it was the daughter's turn, they all sat there as she opened box after box after box after box. I'm sorry, but that is ridiculous and there is no way I'm having that. As a Mom, I have plenty of opportunities to buy gifts for my own children. I don't need to make a show of it, or show favoritism...EVER, but especially at a FAMILY gathering like Christmas.
Goodness!
So, now I kind of understand why my mother-in-law did things the way she did...not that she would EVER favor one of her boys...or one of her daughters-in-law...over the other. She just never would. She never has.
I appreciate that.
And, Robin...who nearly died last year from a food thing (not at Leanne's house), and then got a c-diff type of thing after that...and I...(but mainly Robin!) broke Leanne's garbage disposal when we stuffed a fourth of a cheese ball and some small weenie looking things down in it. So there's that.
Wonder if I could pick up a new disposal at Nordstrom's?
"God does not show favoritism." Romans 2:11
...finding joy in the UPside of DOWN...
Monday, January 6, 2014
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Shark Bait, Ooo-Ah-Ah
Well, this blog originally started as a way to record things about our lives with Joshua...and I haven't written much about him since his Very Merry Christmas Program, Take 2.
He's still here...being his funny, funny self.
My newer vehicle seats 8 people. My old vehicle seated 7. Doesn't matter, really. If we are all together, or if we have more than 5 riding with us, Joshua will be in the back left seat.
Like, the back left seat in what my kids call the "way back."
He likes it back there. He has a cup holder and a little compartment that he can store his things in...and he gets back there and makes his nest and is as happy as he can be. I've tried sitting back there with him and he doesn't really like it. It's HIS space. Plus, side note: riding in the "way back" of a Suburban that's turning can be like being the last kid in a line of "crack the whip."
Fun at the roller-rink. In a Suburban? NOTSOMUCH.
My new vehicle is smaller than my old Burb, so I wasn't sure how it would be going on a long trip. Definitely not as much luggage room! And, where the Burb had 4 bucket-seats and a bench in the way-back, the newer car has two bench seats. We gave Joshua the choice of whether he wanted to sit on the middle bench seat on the way to Texas, or if he wanted to sit in the "way back." He chose the "way back."
Kinda figured he would.
So Jim put down two of the "way back" seats to give us more luggage room, and left one up for Joshua. He made sure to leave room for Joshua to make his nest. Joshua is a creature of habit and likes to travel with all of the things that make him happy: a small backpack full of notebooks and pens, his Bible, his devo books, his ipod touch, headphones, mouth spray, hankies, chap stick, eye-glass cleaner, cell phone, charger, etc.
First of all, when we met up with Jim and Joshua to start our trip down to Texas last week, the first thing I noticed was Joshua's face. He apparently had not shaved for at least 2 days. And he was pretty happy about it. I was less than thrilled.
You see, when you have a child with special needs, you already will get a lot of looks. So, it's really important that they look well-groomed and clean, because people will judge you as the parent, no matter how old your child is...and they will make assumptions about the child based on his/her physical condition.
I asked Joshua about it and he said he was growing some "chin fur." I told him that it looked kind of scruffy...that he only saw his grandparents 2-3 times a year, and I wanted him to look nice. He said he would shave when we got there, and that was fine with me. I mean, at this point...whatcha gonna do?
BUT THEN we stopped for lunch. We are walking in to the restaurant and I look down and Joshua has this huge stain on his blue t-shirt. SERIOUSLY? I said, "what is that?" Joshua very matter-of-factly says, "oh, that's from LAST NIGHT when we ate at the Hibachi place with Mammaw Jack and Papaw Genie."
ACK!
I said, "you wore that last NIGHT? Why didn't you wear a clean shirt today? Did you bring an extra shirt like I asked you to?"
Joshua is pretty black and white in his thinking. If we are staying 3 days, he brings 3 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of socks, etc. He does not take into account that there might be a spill, or some other reason where he might possibly need to have an extra of anything.
He said, "oh, I have other shirts in my bag." Except when he says it, it sounds like "other shuhts in my bahg."
And we walk into the restaurant just asking for some "bless his heart" looks. ARGH.
Side note: Please don't think we travel wearing our Sunday best...we don't. It's a well-documented fact that I am the most UNfancy person on the face of the earth. I was wearing my black "yoga" pants and Jim was wearing jeans...Clark and Faith were dressed about the same way. The "restaurant" we were going into was McDonald's. Classy, I know. I just wanted Joshua to look nice for his "old-school" grandparents who like to see their grandchildren look nice.
And, altho this has nothing to do with the story, I'd like to mention at this point that we found a hair on our table half-way through our lunch, and it reminded me of that Seinfeld episode at the Royal Bakery where Elaine finds a hair on their cinnamon babka and says, "It was a little hair. I took it off," and Jerry says, "a LITTLE hair? Do you think that makes it better?"
No, no it doesn't.
After lunch, it's my turn to drive and it's now my 3rd time to drive the newer car. It's got this back-up camera thing that freaks me out, and plus, if you read my other post about our trip, all I could see out the back IS THOSE DANG BICYCLES. And the person next to me parked too close and there were cars parked behind me in the next row...and there was a car waiting for me to back out so they could have my spot. And, my intestines still hadn't unclinched from the whole stopping-on-the-interstate thing, but I backed out successfully and got out on the road. I had my seat-warmer and my to-go cup of diet Coke. I found a K-LOVE station and I finally began to relax and enjoy the drive.
All of a sudden, I was jolted back to reality. There was a noise coming from the back that sounded like a) the bikes fell off and we were dragging them on the interstate or b) I had lost the radio station and there was just that loud static. I don't know. It scared me so much...I about ran off the road. I looked in my rear-view mirror to see Joshua...big grin on his face...SHAVING with his battery operated razor.
Yes, folks...he was SHAVING...in the car...going down the interstate. And we all busted out laughing...because shaving.
There's a picture of this on my Instagram: @martythemoose
I also need to talk about Joshua's hair. He wanted it styled like his two younger brothers which is short on the sides and a little longer on top. It can either lay down, like normal hair should...or it can be spiked up. Joshua, ever the routine guy, told Logan that he spikes his hair on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. WHAAAT?
Well, it was Sunday...and his hair was spiked up...HIGH. I'm talking like we live in one county...and his hair is in another county.
And Joshua LOVES it.
LOVES. IT.
Every time he goes to the bathroom...at home or at a restaurant...when he comes out, his hair will be higher than it was when he went in.
Joshua was listening to music on his i-pod touch and had head-phones on...and I don't know how it was even possible, but his hair was sticking up...even with the head-phones on...like a shark fin.
Every time we looked at him we would say, "shark bait, ooo-ah-ah."
Or we hum the music from JAWS...you know what I'm talking about.
I mean, seriously, it's a masterpiece...the way his hair sits up there. @martythemoose
At some point, while I was cracking up at the "fin" in my rear-view mirror, I looked closer...wasn't Joshua wearing a BLUE shirt earlier? When we stopped at the restaurant? That had a stain on it?
Well, now he was wearing a red shirt. I was so confused. I said, "Joshua...did you change your shirt?"
He grinned and said, "I changed my shuht quietly so no one would know...hee, hee, hee..."
That little rat-fink had quietly found his own bag back in his "way back" seat, and had changed out of the one with the stain...without any of us even knowing what he was doing! And without getting out of his seat-belt. How is that even possible?
And when we arrived at my sister's house, not only was he clean-shaven...he had on a clean shirt, too!
"O LORD, You alone are my hope. I've trusted you, O LORD, from childhood." Psalm 71:5
He's still here...being his funny, funny self.
My newer vehicle seats 8 people. My old vehicle seated 7. Doesn't matter, really. If we are all together, or if we have more than 5 riding with us, Joshua will be in the back left seat.
Like, the back left seat in what my kids call the "way back."
He likes it back there. He has a cup holder and a little compartment that he can store his things in...and he gets back there and makes his nest and is as happy as he can be. I've tried sitting back there with him and he doesn't really like it. It's HIS space. Plus, side note: riding in the "way back" of a Suburban that's turning can be like being the last kid in a line of "crack the whip."
Fun at the roller-rink. In a Suburban? NOTSOMUCH.
My new vehicle is smaller than my old Burb, so I wasn't sure how it would be going on a long trip. Definitely not as much luggage room! And, where the Burb had 4 bucket-seats and a bench in the way-back, the newer car has two bench seats. We gave Joshua the choice of whether he wanted to sit on the middle bench seat on the way to Texas, or if he wanted to sit in the "way back." He chose the "way back."
Kinda figured he would.
So Jim put down two of the "way back" seats to give us more luggage room, and left one up for Joshua. He made sure to leave room for Joshua to make his nest. Joshua is a creature of habit and likes to travel with all of the things that make him happy: a small backpack full of notebooks and pens, his Bible, his devo books, his ipod touch, headphones, mouth spray, hankies, chap stick, eye-glass cleaner, cell phone, charger, etc.
First of all, when we met up with Jim and Joshua to start our trip down to Texas last week, the first thing I noticed was Joshua's face. He apparently had not shaved for at least 2 days. And he was pretty happy about it. I was less than thrilled.
You see, when you have a child with special needs, you already will get a lot of looks. So, it's really important that they look well-groomed and clean, because people will judge you as the parent, no matter how old your child is...and they will make assumptions about the child based on his/her physical condition.
I asked Joshua about it and he said he was growing some "chin fur." I told him that it looked kind of scruffy...that he only saw his grandparents 2-3 times a year, and I wanted him to look nice. He said he would shave when we got there, and that was fine with me. I mean, at this point...whatcha gonna do?
BUT THEN we stopped for lunch. We are walking in to the restaurant and I look down and Joshua has this huge stain on his blue t-shirt. SERIOUSLY? I said, "what is that?" Joshua very matter-of-factly says, "oh, that's from LAST NIGHT when we ate at the Hibachi place with Mammaw Jack and Papaw Genie."
ACK!
I said, "you wore that last NIGHT? Why didn't you wear a clean shirt today? Did you bring an extra shirt like I asked you to?"
Joshua is pretty black and white in his thinking. If we are staying 3 days, he brings 3 shirts, 3 pairs of pants, 3 pairs of socks, etc. He does not take into account that there might be a spill, or some other reason where he might possibly need to have an extra of anything.
He said, "oh, I have other shirts in my bag." Except when he says it, it sounds like "other shuhts in my bahg."
And we walk into the restaurant just asking for some "bless his heart" looks. ARGH.
Side note: Please don't think we travel wearing our Sunday best...we don't. It's a well-documented fact that I am the most UNfancy person on the face of the earth. I was wearing my black "yoga" pants and Jim was wearing jeans...Clark and Faith were dressed about the same way. The "restaurant" we were going into was McDonald's. Classy, I know. I just wanted Joshua to look nice for his "old-school" grandparents who like to see their grandchildren look nice.
And, altho this has nothing to do with the story, I'd like to mention at this point that we found a hair on our table half-way through our lunch, and it reminded me of that Seinfeld episode at the Royal Bakery where Elaine finds a hair on their cinnamon babka and says, "It was a little hair. I took it off," and Jerry says, "a LITTLE hair? Do you think that makes it better?"
No, no it doesn't.
After lunch, it's my turn to drive and it's now my 3rd time to drive the newer car. It's got this back-up camera thing that freaks me out, and plus, if you read my other post about our trip, all I could see out the back IS THOSE DANG BICYCLES. And the person next to me parked too close and there were cars parked behind me in the next row...and there was a car waiting for me to back out so they could have my spot. And, my intestines still hadn't unclinched from the whole stopping-on-the-interstate thing, but I backed out successfully and got out on the road. I had my seat-warmer and my to-go cup of diet Coke. I found a K-LOVE station and I finally began to relax and enjoy the drive.
All of a sudden, I was jolted back to reality. There was a noise coming from the back that sounded like a) the bikes fell off and we were dragging them on the interstate or b) I had lost the radio station and there was just that loud static. I don't know. It scared me so much...I about ran off the road. I looked in my rear-view mirror to see Joshua...big grin on his face...SHAVING with his battery operated razor.
Yes, folks...he was SHAVING...in the car...going down the interstate. And we all busted out laughing...because shaving.
There's a picture of this on my Instagram: @martythemoose
I also need to talk about Joshua's hair. He wanted it styled like his two younger brothers which is short on the sides and a little longer on top. It can either lay down, like normal hair should...or it can be spiked up. Joshua, ever the routine guy, told Logan that he spikes his hair on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. WHAAAT?
Well, it was Sunday...and his hair was spiked up...HIGH. I'm talking like we live in one county...and his hair is in another county.
And Joshua LOVES it.
LOVES. IT.
Every time he goes to the bathroom...at home or at a restaurant...when he comes out, his hair will be higher than it was when he went in.
Joshua was listening to music on his i-pod touch and had head-phones on...and I don't know how it was even possible, but his hair was sticking up...even with the head-phones on...like a shark fin.
Every time we looked at him we would say, "shark bait, ooo-ah-ah."
Or we hum the music from JAWS...you know what I'm talking about.
I mean, seriously, it's a masterpiece...the way his hair sits up there. @martythemoose
At some point, while I was cracking up at the "fin" in my rear-view mirror, I looked closer...wasn't Joshua wearing a BLUE shirt earlier? When we stopped at the restaurant? That had a stain on it?
Well, now he was wearing a red shirt. I was so confused. I said, "Joshua...did you change your shirt?"
He grinned and said, "I changed my shuht quietly so no one would know...hee, hee, hee..."
That little rat-fink had quietly found his own bag back in his "way back" seat, and had changed out of the one with the stain...without any of us even knowing what he was doing! And without getting out of his seat-belt. How is that even possible?
And when we arrived at my sister's house, not only was he clean-shaven...he had on a clean shirt, too!
"O LORD, You alone are my hope. I've trusted you, O LORD, from childhood." Psalm 71:5
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Texas Road-Trip/New Year's 2014
We never do things the easy way in our family.
Or, it seems that way.
Even when the plan seems clear and fairly straightforward, we will find a way to make it more difficult.
For example...our latest road-trip.
My big family always gets together in Texas for New Year's. We usually arrive at my sister's house a day or two before New Year's Eve and hang out and visit and play BAGGO and spike ball and put together some amazingly difficult puzzles and watch football and play UNO and Apples-to-Apples and the game where you wear a headband that has a card with a word written on it and everyone else gives you clues to help you guess the word written on the card in your headband...and EAT SO MUCH FOOD!
We always have a big family-friendly New Year's Eve party...and then we pack up and head home early on New Year's Day.
This year, we planned on leaving for Texas on Sunday, December 30. Easy enough, right? Well, it would've been easy, if we could've all left from the same place at the same time, but nooooo.
Jim needed to take our dog to stay at the "grandparent's house," and so he and Joshua headed down there on Saturday. Logan and Morgan decided they wanted to go with them because there's this big garden park in that town that has big light displays for Christmas. Logan and Morgan hadn't been there since their first year of dating, and they really wanted to go back. So that's 4 of our group staying the night at the grandparent's house.
Also, Jim thought this would be the perfect time for me to finish painting our bedroom.
Awww...isn't that so sweet? "Honey, to get out of your hair, I'll go to the lakehouse and visit with my parents and eat out for dinner and go to bed at a decent hour and sleep in a bed...and give you the time you need to climb on the ladder and stand on and move furniture and run a paint roller up and down the walls for 6 hours. You're welcome."
Now, that's not what he said...and that's not how I took it...at FIRST. But about 5 hours in when I'm the only one up and I'm doing all the work for OUR bedroom...my bad attitude and the paint fumes were making me one sad girl.
Plus, I had to sleep on the couch because of the paint smell in the bedroom...so there's that. And I'm using the word "sleep" very loosely. But I did sleep some, and I got up early and cleaned up the kitchen and straightened up the living room so that when we came back home, things would be neat and clean.
And Clark and I, we picked up Faith, and took off in my new vehicle that I had only driven once at this point, and headed to the meeting place to get the others. Easy, huh? Except that Jim had decided that he wanted to take a couple of our bikes with us down to Texas. My sister, Robin, had told him about some trails, and he was wanting to ride them one day while we were there...with either Logan or Clark.
Before he left for his parent's house, he had loaded the bikes and the bike rack onto the back of my vehicle. I was a nervous wreck with those things on the back, but I tried to keep a watch on them. All of a sudden, I noticed that one bike looked "different" than before. Eeek! I was convinced it was falling off, so I turned on my flashers, pulled off the interstate and Clark jumped out to check on the bikes.
Let that sink in...my baby...my youngest child...jumped out to check the bikes while I am STOPPED ON THE SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE.
I was so nervous. I was watching these big 18-wheelers go flying by...and, hello? I thought it was a new Arkansas state law that you move to the left lane when there's a car on the side of the road. Very few cars did. And I said to Clark's girlfriend, "I am so nervous for Clark," and there was dead silence. I turned around to face her, and SHE WAS OUT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, TOO.
Mom of the Year.
So Clark does something with the bikes, I have no idea what...and we get back on the road. I am still all jittery about those dang bikes and all I can think of is the time the mattress fell off the trailer when we were moving Logan back to college.
Good times.
Anyway, a little ways down the road, one of the bikes starts to look "funny" to me again. About that time, Faith gasps and goes, "oops! I think one just fell down."
EEEK!
Back off on the side of the interstate...the kids jump out and I call Jim. At this point, it would be good to know that he is a "just the facts, ma'am" type of person, and my love language is a world in which things don't fall off the back of my vehicle while I'm driving.
So here's how our conversation went:
Me: "something is wrong with the bikes."
Jim: "what do you mean?"
Me: "they are trying to fall off."
Jim: "I don't understand what you mean."
Me: "what do you think it means when someone, who has two bikes on the back of their car, says that the bikes are trying to fall off? THEY ARE TRYING TO FALL OFF."
At this point, if he had been anywhere near me, I would've used Annie Downs' book, "Speak Love," to beat the fire out of him.
I'M JUST KIDDING.
Instead, I gave the phone to Clark and he talked to his dad and did something with the bikes...and we made it to the meeting place w/o incident. Unless you count profuse sweating and heart palpitations as "incidences."
At the meeting place, we left one of our vehicles and picked up Jim and Joshua. Holly and Aaron met us there in their own car with their little dog, and Logan and Morgan jumped in with them (we can't all fit in one vehicle with all of our luggage and Holly's little dog). Jim checked the bikes and we left...and, WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT, had absolutely NO TROUBLE with the bikes for the entire rest of the trip.
And between 2-3 p.m., 9 members of our family plus one half-a-dog...arrived safely in two vehicles to my sister's house.
Let the fun begin!
"Let Your unfailing love surround us..." Psalm 33:22
Or, it seems that way.
Even when the plan seems clear and fairly straightforward, we will find a way to make it more difficult.
For example...our latest road-trip.
My big family always gets together in Texas for New Year's. We usually arrive at my sister's house a day or two before New Year's Eve and hang out and visit and play BAGGO and spike ball and put together some amazingly difficult puzzles and watch football and play UNO and Apples-to-Apples and the game where you wear a headband that has a card with a word written on it and everyone else gives you clues to help you guess the word written on the card in your headband...and EAT SO MUCH FOOD!
We always have a big family-friendly New Year's Eve party...and then we pack up and head home early on New Year's Day.
This year, we planned on leaving for Texas on Sunday, December 30. Easy enough, right? Well, it would've been easy, if we could've all left from the same place at the same time, but nooooo.
Jim needed to take our dog to stay at the "grandparent's house," and so he and Joshua headed down there on Saturday. Logan and Morgan decided they wanted to go with them because there's this big garden park in that town that has big light displays for Christmas. Logan and Morgan hadn't been there since their first year of dating, and they really wanted to go back. So that's 4 of our group staying the night at the grandparent's house.
Also, Jim thought this would be the perfect time for me to finish painting our bedroom.
Awww...isn't that so sweet? "Honey, to get out of your hair, I'll go to the lakehouse and visit with my parents and eat out for dinner and go to bed at a decent hour and sleep in a bed...and give you the time you need to climb on the ladder and stand on and move furniture and run a paint roller up and down the walls for 6 hours. You're welcome."
Now, that's not what he said...and that's not how I took it...at FIRST. But about 5 hours in when I'm the only one up and I'm doing all the work for OUR bedroom...my bad attitude and the paint fumes were making me one sad girl.
Plus, I had to sleep on the couch because of the paint smell in the bedroom...so there's that. And I'm using the word "sleep" very loosely. But I did sleep some, and I got up early and cleaned up the kitchen and straightened up the living room so that when we came back home, things would be neat and clean.
And Clark and I, we picked up Faith, and took off in my new vehicle that I had only driven once at this point, and headed to the meeting place to get the others. Easy, huh? Except that Jim had decided that he wanted to take a couple of our bikes with us down to Texas. My sister, Robin, had told him about some trails, and he was wanting to ride them one day while we were there...with either Logan or Clark.
Before he left for his parent's house, he had loaded the bikes and the bike rack onto the back of my vehicle. I was a nervous wreck with those things on the back, but I tried to keep a watch on them. All of a sudden, I noticed that one bike looked "different" than before. Eeek! I was convinced it was falling off, so I turned on my flashers, pulled off the interstate and Clark jumped out to check on the bikes.
Let that sink in...my baby...my youngest child...jumped out to check the bikes while I am STOPPED ON THE SIDE OF THE INTERSTATE.
I was so nervous. I was watching these big 18-wheelers go flying by...and, hello? I thought it was a new Arkansas state law that you move to the left lane when there's a car on the side of the road. Very few cars did. And I said to Clark's girlfriend, "I am so nervous for Clark," and there was dead silence. I turned around to face her, and SHE WAS OUT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, TOO.
Mom of the Year.
So Clark does something with the bikes, I have no idea what...and we get back on the road. I am still all jittery about those dang bikes and all I can think of is the time the mattress fell off the trailer when we were moving Logan back to college.
Good times.
Anyway, a little ways down the road, one of the bikes starts to look "funny" to me again. About that time, Faith gasps and goes, "oops! I think one just fell down."
EEEK!
Back off on the side of the interstate...the kids jump out and I call Jim. At this point, it would be good to know that he is a "just the facts, ma'am" type of person, and my love language is a world in which things don't fall off the back of my vehicle while I'm driving.
So here's how our conversation went:
Me: "something is wrong with the bikes."
Jim: "what do you mean?"
Me: "they are trying to fall off."
Jim: "I don't understand what you mean."
Me: "what do you think it means when someone, who has two bikes on the back of their car, says that the bikes are trying to fall off? THEY ARE TRYING TO FALL OFF."
At this point, if he had been anywhere near me, I would've used Annie Downs' book, "Speak Love," to beat the fire out of him.
I'M JUST KIDDING.
Instead, I gave the phone to Clark and he talked to his dad and did something with the bikes...and we made it to the meeting place w/o incident. Unless you count profuse sweating and heart palpitations as "incidences."
At the meeting place, we left one of our vehicles and picked up Jim and Joshua. Holly and Aaron met us there in their own car with their little dog, and Logan and Morgan jumped in with them (we can't all fit in one vehicle with all of our luggage and Holly's little dog). Jim checked the bikes and we left...and, WOULDN'T YOU KNOW IT, had absolutely NO TROUBLE with the bikes for the entire rest of the trip.
And between 2-3 p.m., 9 members of our family plus one half-a-dog...arrived safely in two vehicles to my sister's house.
Let the fun begin!
"Let Your unfailing love surround us..." Psalm 33:22
Friday, January 3, 2014
Over the River and Through the Woods
I love Christmas. I love the trees and the lights and the wrapping paper and the music. I love the decorations we have in our home. I love giving gifts to my family.
Mainly, I just love being with my little family...Jim and our kids and their "plus ones"...and having an excuse to do nothing...or everything.
But, even after I was married and we had little kids of our own, Christmas didn't really feel like Christmas for me until I went home. To my Mom's house.
Actually, we call it "Christmas," but my big family (parents, sisters, brother, nieces and nephews) usually gets together over the New Year's holiday.
My Mom always made things so special...and it looked effortless. I don't know how she did it. It takes everything I have, PLUS Holly's help, for me to get things ready for Christmas. Not my Mom. Her house was always decorated so pretty. Growing up, we had all kinds of trees. We had the tinsel decorated tree with the big colored lights. Later, she got the tiny white lights. The last few years of her life, her Christmas tree was decorated with peach flowers and angel ornaments and all things lacy.
That was my Mom.
Her last Christmas, we came to my sister's house in Texas to celebrate. My Mom had fallen off a stage in one of her shows (she was a gospel singer, and had formed a women's ensemble that sang in churches and other events all over Oklahoma), and she had broken her foot.
Side note: ever the professional, she was helped back on stage and finished up the night...even tho her foot was swelling and she was in a lot of pain.
Because of her injury, my Dad didn't feel like she could host our family gathering that year, and so my sister, Leanne, graciously offered to do it.
We didn't know it then, but God was preparing us.
We've had our big family "Christmas" get-together at Leanne's house ever since.
I love Christmas with my family and Jim's family here in Arkansas...but now it just doesn't feel like "Christmas" is complete until we have our New Year's get-together with my big family in Texas.
"...all day long I put my hope in You." Psalm 25:5
Mainly, I just love being with my little family...Jim and our kids and their "plus ones"...and having an excuse to do nothing...or everything.
But, even after I was married and we had little kids of our own, Christmas didn't really feel like Christmas for me until I went home. To my Mom's house.
Actually, we call it "Christmas," but my big family (parents, sisters, brother, nieces and nephews) usually gets together over the New Year's holiday.
My Mom always made things so special...and it looked effortless. I don't know how she did it. It takes everything I have, PLUS Holly's help, for me to get things ready for Christmas. Not my Mom. Her house was always decorated so pretty. Growing up, we had all kinds of trees. We had the tinsel decorated tree with the big colored lights. Later, she got the tiny white lights. The last few years of her life, her Christmas tree was decorated with peach flowers and angel ornaments and all things lacy.
That was my Mom.
Her last Christmas, we came to my sister's house in Texas to celebrate. My Mom had fallen off a stage in one of her shows (she was a gospel singer, and had formed a women's ensemble that sang in churches and other events all over Oklahoma), and she had broken her foot.
Side note: ever the professional, she was helped back on stage and finished up the night...even tho her foot was swelling and she was in a lot of pain.
Because of her injury, my Dad didn't feel like she could host our family gathering that year, and so my sister, Leanne, graciously offered to do it.
We didn't know it then, but God was preparing us.
We've had our big family "Christmas" get-together at Leanne's house ever since.
I love Christmas with my family and Jim's family here in Arkansas...but now it just doesn't feel like "Christmas" is complete until we have our New Year's get-together with my big family in Texas.
"...all day long I put my hope in You." Psalm 25:5
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Unintended Break
I love technology. I don't understand it 99% of the time, but it's awesome, isn't it?
And social media? Pretty cool thing if it's used right.
I think it can be a blessing or a curse, you know...with the over-use or abuse of it. We all hear those stories, and it is something we need to watch out for with our children...and with ourselves.
But you know what else it can be? A big, giant prayer chain. I LOVE being able to read prayer requests and pray for people...even if I don't know them. I've certainly had situations in my life...big things like with Joshua or Clark, or even littler things like when we were trying to sell our house and praying for our move...and you can put them on social media and have a bunch of people praying for your situation in minutes. And it's also a great way to pass on prayer requests from others. Even if you don't want to put it "out there" for all the world to see, you can always send a text or email. "For where two or three have gathered in My name, I am there among them." (Matthew 18:20)
Social media can also be a way to keep in touch with family and friends who live far away. Jim and I have always lived far away from our families. It is a blessing to be able to keep in touch with them and see pictures of their lives. I love it!
For me, it's also a tool I use to obtain knowledge and get encouragement from others...mainly other women...mainly other moms. Back in the day, we had these things called ENCYCLOPEDIAS. People would go door-to-door selling them, and they were very expensive. If you weren't lucky enough to have a set in your home, you had to go to the (gasp!) Library! I love it that now we can "google" anything and find information, answers or directions...almost immediately!
I also love reading encouraging blogs. I have several that I try to read every day. I don't typically read the newspaper or magazines, and I rarely have time to read actual BOOKS. But I do love reading a few blogs.
Here are some of my favorites:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/
http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/
http://thebigmamablog.com/
http://boomama.net/
http://www.aholyexperience.com/
http://www.incourage.me/
I took a little unintended break from my blog the past several days. I could not get my computer to work on the wifi at my sister's house. Or even with the wifi device that we brought with us. Argh. And I was not happy about it. Not at all. It started out being SO frustrating because there were things I thought I wanted to write about and share...things that I wanted to record for my memory and for my children.
We tried everything to get it to work. And by "we," I mean Jim. In the end, as frustrated as I was, I just had to put it down...and leave it.
And, guess what? The world kept on spinning, and, as Jim's grandmother used to say, "God's still on His throne."
I think sometimes I need to be reminded that only voice I need to hear...is His.
"...as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper." 1 Kings 19:11-12
And social media? Pretty cool thing if it's used right.
I think it can be a blessing or a curse, you know...with the over-use or abuse of it. We all hear those stories, and it is something we need to watch out for with our children...and with ourselves.
But you know what else it can be? A big, giant prayer chain. I LOVE being able to read prayer requests and pray for people...even if I don't know them. I've certainly had situations in my life...big things like with Joshua or Clark, or even littler things like when we were trying to sell our house and praying for our move...and you can put them on social media and have a bunch of people praying for your situation in minutes. And it's also a great way to pass on prayer requests from others. Even if you don't want to put it "out there" for all the world to see, you can always send a text or email. "For where two or three have gathered in My name, I am there among them." (Matthew 18:20)
Social media can also be a way to keep in touch with family and friends who live far away. Jim and I have always lived far away from our families. It is a blessing to be able to keep in touch with them and see pictures of their lives. I love it!
For me, it's also a tool I use to obtain knowledge and get encouragement from others...mainly other women...mainly other moms. Back in the day, we had these things called ENCYCLOPEDIAS. People would go door-to-door selling them, and they were very expensive. If you weren't lucky enough to have a set in your home, you had to go to the (gasp!) Library! I love it that now we can "google" anything and find information, answers or directions...almost immediately!
I also love reading encouraging blogs. I have several that I try to read every day. I don't typically read the newspaper or magazines, and I rarely have time to read actual BOOKS. But I do love reading a few blogs.
Here are some of my favorites:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/
http://www.kellyskornerblog.com/
http://thebigmamablog.com/
http://boomama.net/
http://www.aholyexperience.com/
http://www.incourage.me/
I took a little unintended break from my blog the past several days. I could not get my computer to work on the wifi at my sister's house. Or even with the wifi device that we brought with us. Argh. And I was not happy about it. Not at all. It started out being SO frustrating because there were things I thought I wanted to write about and share...things that I wanted to record for my memory and for my children.
We tried everything to get it to work. And by "we," I mean Jim. In the end, as frustrated as I was, I just had to put it down...and leave it.
And, guess what? The world kept on spinning, and, as Jim's grandmother used to say, "God's still on His throne."
I think sometimes I need to be reminded that only voice I need to hear...is His.
"...as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper." 1 Kings 19:11-12
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