random things you might see or hear while you're at my house

All the boys working hard to pull their share of work around the house.  At one point today, in my back yard, Jonah and Noah were cleaning up after the dogs and picking up toys, Graham was edging along the fence and under the playground, and Drew was cutting the back yard.  How I wish I had  gotten a picture.

Lots of singing.  Lots.  Graham, Drew and I are always singing something.  And speaking of Drew, that kid has an endless amount of knowledge floating around in his brain about music.  He can tell you almost any song and who sings it.  Graham sings, too, but more than that, he taps out the drum beat on any and every surface in my home.  Sometimes (lots of times), it drives me bonkers!!!

Joking.  We all mess around with each other almost nonstop.

Books lying around everywhere.  I always have at least one near me...sometimes more than one.  This includes my Bible...I admit that sometimes I leave it out after I read it so the kids can see.  I hope that seeing mine might make them want to read theirs more.  Especially because I also leave out the highlighters and colored pencils to mark it all up. 

Music.  Any time I'm not sitting down, I have my kitchen radio turned on.  Music is a vital part of my day, each and every single day.  I cannot imagine my life without it.

Shoes.  We all have this aversion to putting our shoes away.  They all kind of get jumbled up in the kitchen.  It used to irritate me, but I've learned to let it go.  Someday I'll miss those piles of shoes...ranging in sizes, all over my floor for me to trip over.  ;-)

Crayons and construction paper on the desks in my living room.  Drew, Jonah and Noah love to create things.  I keep loads of art stuff around just for that purpose.  It's also part of what we give them each year for Christmas or their birthdays.  I love their creativity...and it often overflows onto my refrigerator.  Sometimes I wish my refrigerator was nicer and newer, but then I think I would miss all the art work and pictures all over the front of mine.  I know it might not be "chic" to do that nowadays, but who the heck cares?  Not this mama.

Hairy floors.  I have dogs.  And cats.  And someday my floors will not be hairy, but for now, they are.  Even after vacuuming every two days.  Seriously, folks...the floors are wood and I vacuum every square inch of the downstairs every two days.  Ask my kids.  I mop once a week.  (If I'm lucky.)

What are the things about your home that you love?  Share the love and let me know you're still out there...sometimes I wonder who I'm writing to.

And all these things I've listed are what makes my house our home.  I am not always so nice about the hair and the messes everywhere, but I really do try to be.  Someday when my kids are gone, my house will be perfect.  Until then, I plan on embracing the mess.

Love to all.  

things

Yesterday, my mom-in-love and I had a girl's day together.  We had lunch at a cute little cafe in The Ville called Take A Break.  We followed lunch with manicures and pedicures at Gould's Day Spa and Salon. 

It was pure Heaven.

See?  Bliss.  It's been three years since I've had a pedicure.  Which, really is not that big a deal to me.  I do mine all the time...I get really tired of a certain color, so I re-polish often.  My hands and my toes.  I have this thing, though, in that I am obsessive over the way my feet look.  I know.  Weird. 

Anyway, while we were gone, the boys stayed home.  :-)  I love that they're old enough to do that now!  It's kind of nice...I don't have to worry about finding someone to sit with them.  My only thing is that I don't allow them to cook while I'm gone.  I really prefer that they not burn my house down.

I got my hair cut...wanna see?

It's several inches shorter.  And I lurve it.  It's cooler, easier and it's not frizzy underneath.  :-)  I'm a happy girl...it's also not this color anymore.  I colored it darker to match my roots (again) last night.  And this time, I think I might have gotten all the grey's!  I have some pesky ones that don't like hair color. 

Well, I am going to stop writing so I can go do this:

I'm trying really hard to stay caught up in my daily Bible reading plan.  I have to say...this is my favorite part of each day.  Love to all!

I am thankful for...

Jesus.  He is always the first in my life and is of the utmost importance to me.  And not just because I'm trying to be a good girl...but because I know how much He loves me (and you).  And that no matter what happens, I can always cling to Him.  He never frustrates me and He never lets me down.  "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine."  (Song of Solomon 6:3 NASB.)

My husband and his sense of humor.  I love that we can mess with each other.  Although, sometimes I can't take it.  Poor thing.  I need to be more careful and warn him when those days come!

My precious boys.  I am thankful that they are considerate.  And they are genuinely good kids.  I was having a conversation with Jonah just now, and we were talking about the fact that Pappaw (my dad) is coming to get them in a little while so they can help him with his yardwork.  And Jonah said to me, "I'm not taking his money, so he'd better not even try to pay me."  I don't know many nine year old's that would say that...or thirteen year old's, for that matter.  Graham always says the same thing and has been known to leave his money at Pappaw's house.

Speaking of Pappaw...I am so thankful for my parents and for Todd's parents.  I truly could not imagine my life without them, and my children are so blessed to have them in their lives.  We were supposed to have moved away when we got married, but we didn't.  And I am so glad we didn't.  There are times when I hate this city around me, but I love The Ville, and I love the fact that we see our families often.  It's a blessing. 

I know it might sound crazy...but I'm thankful for internet and social media.  I try to only use it for encouraging others, although on Tuesday, that was not the case.  I'm not perfect, I have bad days and people frustrate me beyond imagination.  But, I do try and use it mainly to encourage and uplift. 

Our pets.  They bring such joy to our lives...remind me of this the next time I say anything negative about Crash.  (Notice he doesn't get called Evil Knievel much anymore.)  We make our pets "talk" to us...and it cracks the kids up every single time.  We also use special voices for different things...and we're always laughing at the way one of us will say something. 

I could go on...but I am going to go read my Bible.  Graham, Drew and Drew's friend Tom are all upstairs being quiet, so I'm going to go take advantage!  Love to all. 

Oh, Happy Day!

So many things make me happy today:

First, I ran across some really great Bible verses this morning in my quiet time.  I was really, really, really irritated by someone last night who said something really rude.  The same thing could have been said without the rudeness.  The Bible verses (from Proverbs) helped me see past some stuff this morning.  God is ever faithful to show Himself to me. 

Second, my washing machine is now working again!  Eureka!  I never thought washing clothes would make me so happy.  I also promise to never take a working washing machine for granted again.  With so many of us, even one day of not doing laundry can mess me up for days.

Thirdly, I now have diet coke in my house again.  :-)  It's been two days since we've had any in the fridge and I was getting to be almost desperate. 

Fourthly (is that a word?), my sweet friend (and neighbor) Katie invited us to swim later this afternoon.  I didn't swim because the water is a chilly 76 degrees, but the kids did.  The lowest temp I can swim in is eighty. 

Lastly, I am getting my hair cut tonight!  I cannot wait.  It's driving me absolutely insane...the longer it gets the curlier it gets.  The whole underside of my hair is nothing but ringlets, and it makes it look really short.  If it looks short, it might as well be short.  Not that I'm going to get it cut super short, but definitely shorter than it is now.  I might upload a pic or two later.  Or I might not. 

Well, I have to change and get ready to drop off Graham and Drew for a swim party.  Love to all!

strange morning

Just as I went to bed last night (well, about ten minutes after I had gone upstairs)  Todd came up behind me.  I thought it was a little weird, because he never goes to bed as early as I do.  Not that I went up early last night...it was around eleven.  But anyway, when he came in, I asked him with surprise in my voice, "You're coming to bed?"  He wasn't...he had just gotten called out to go help with search and rescue with the sheriff's department. 

My heart always sinks a little when I hear those words...it usually means that some family is about to receive horrible news.  There were some (one?) boaters who disappeared somewhere along the Loosahatchie.  They searched for four hours before finally finding their boat...but with nobody in it.  Todd has some work to do today (his real job), then he plans on going back out and searching some more.  So just as I was waking up at eight o'clock, he was coming up the stairs.

Weird.

It's 8:42, and I keep on feeling like I need to be doing something.  Like laundry.  Did I mention that my washer went kaput?  We have a repairman coming out in the morning to try and repair it, or they might just end up replacing it.  Who knows...but it is so strange to have so much laundry to do and being unable to do it.  I keep on thinking I need to go start a new load, and then I remember that I can't.

That being said, we're going to my mother-in-love's house today.  The boys are itching to swim in a pool (it was a little cool to swim yesterday) and I need to utilize her washing machine!  Hopefully I'll get caught up while I'm there.

The boys are still asleep.  Usually I hear some movement by this time of morning, but I've heard none this morning.  (Jonah is awake now, though.  He's fascinated by the story of Todd helping with search and rescue last night and later today.)  

I'm watching the Today show, and Meredith Vierra (sp?) is guest hosting with Matt Lauer today.  I loved when she was the host on this show and cried on her last episode.  I know...I'm a sucker.  Does anyone know why they're in London covering the Queen?  They said something about a diamond jubilee?  I have no idea what that is.

Well, Jonah keeps trying to tell me something, so I'm going to stop writing and pay attention to what he's saying.  Love to all!

the man I love

I love my husband.  He is a really hard-working man that provides for us at home.  He is the one who encouraged me to quit my job so I could stay home with Jonah and Noah to homeschool them.  Even when I am doubtful, he is the strong one.  I appreciate that about him.  I love how he always reassures me during those times. 

He works during the daytime and several times a month at night, he volunteers for the Shelby County Sheriff's department.  He started doing this five years ago, after volunteering for about five years with the Piperton Fire department.  I like him working with the sheriff's department so much better.  All the city officials are always so thankful for their help during times of need.  Todd has been on many call-outs (when someone has disappeared, they always call the sheriff's department for extra hands), and he's spent many nights away from home after bad weather. 

Like last night.  We were sitting here watching tv, and the chief of the sheriff's department texted him, asking if he could come help cut down trees.  Apparently some parts of our city were hit pretty badly by thunderstorms last night, and many trees were blown down, cutting off roads.  I always tells Todd that when the chief asks him personally to do something, that he should always say "yes".  And he has, for the most part, unless it interfered with work.  The more times he says "yes" to her, the more she trusts him. 

He's the one she prefers to have drive special vehicles to events.  She trusts him a lot more than some of the other people that volunteer.  She also calls him to ask him to be OIC (officer in charge) on the nights when he rides around the city.  On those nights, he basically paroles whatever area he's been assigned.  For instance, when someone is in medical distress, they might need extra assistance from the sheriff's department.  Todd is in ES, which stands for emergency services.  He is a first-responder, so many times he will beat the ambulance to a call.  His job is to assess as much as possible, and do whatever necessary to stabilize the person until the paramedics come. 

He enjoys doing all this.  A benefit of volunteering for the sheriff's department is the insurance they offer.  They pay for the majority of our family insurance each month.  Really, really good insurance.  But really, that is just a benefit.  I'm so glad he has something like this that he loves doing so much.  He loves this the way I love reading.  It's just a part of him...and I'm thankful that the boys have such a great Dad to look up to. 

I couldn't be more proud of him.  I took this picture last summer when he was on his way out to ride one night...I think he was talking to the chief on the phone at the same moment:

Love to all.

Pickwick

We just got home from the best weekend.  Our sweet friends, David and Amy, invited us to their lake house in Pickwick.  They asked us last summer, but we could never make the time work.  This time we were determined, so Amy and I decided on this weekend. 

It was amazing.  And such a wonderful getaway...she told me all I had to bring was clothes, beach towels, extra bread and extra drinks.  Do you know I have NEVER traveled that light since having kids?  Even as we were loading, the kids were asking, "Mom, are you sure this is all we need?"  I am not exaggerating. 

Our arrival into their neighborhood looked like this:

(I love Instagram...have I said that lately?)

This will eventually be the gate house.  For now, there is no fence around it.  The boys and I got there Thursday afternoon.  Todd and David joined us on Friday.  The boys were in immediate kid-Heaven.  Their boys have four wheelers and a golf cart, so they were immediately consumed with all that involves.  We saw them occasionally...like when they were thirsty or hungry. 

Friday dawned bright and early with more of the same.  The kids were so excited to see the dad's arrive...they were dying to get out on the water, and we couldn't really do that until they were there.

Jonah and Noah were out first on the inner tubes.

Graham and Drew were next. 

Jonah, Noah and Garret went together, and Garret's goal was to get Jonah off the tube.  Mr. David's goal was to knock Jonah off the tube.  Poor little (not)humble guy...he was the target that day.  ;-)  He had bragged to David that he had never fallen off before. 

 Guess what?  He fell off.  Not once.  But twice.  Do you see him smiling?  He was laughing his head off...so much so that I was afraid he'd swallowed half the lake.  But he didn't. 

On Saturday, they decided to try something new:

Knee boarding.  Both Jonah and Noah did great...Jonah popped right up and stayed up forever.  Noah got it on try #2.  It's really hard to do...you have to lay on your belly on this board, slowly rise up on your knees, strap a Velcro strap across your knees, then hold on to a ski rope...all while the board wriggles back and forth.  They were naturals. 

Graham and Drew...not so much. 

They all tried skiing, too...but with no luck.  Even Todd tried.  After he did a face plant into the wake the boat was making and doing the splits, he gave up.  While we all laughed hysterically from the comfort of the boat. 

The kids all jumped off some little cliffs, too:

And Amy and I had fun zipping around on their golf cart:

We were all wind blown. 

It was an amazing weekend.  I'm forever grateful that my sweet sister, Tricia, came and stayed in our house to watch the dogs and cats.  Even though Crash might have stressed her out a bit.  ;-) 

How was your weekend? 

We'll be home all this week, and then we're heading back out on Saturday for a week in Branson, Missouri.  I can't wait for the boys to experience all that Branson has to offer...it should be a really fun week. 

Love to all!