Visits from Florida and a story about hair....

 

Here's the one and only picture that I took while Heather was out in Phoenix!! We were just too busy having FUN!! In case anyone wondered we had a fantastic time and are impatiently awaiting our trip out to Florida!!

In other news...Many of you know my oldest, VERY LONG HAIRED daughter....WELL....

 

We visited the hair dresser today for a "trim"....

 

Yes there is a story behind it...

 

So do you want to know the story of the girl who SWORE she would NEVER cut her 25 inches from root to tip hair??

I was taking her for a trim...seriously, only an inch or two to get rid of the dead ends...but we had to stop at Walmart first because I had promised dd#4 a jumprope and I figured she could jump rope in front of the haircut store while dd#1 was getting her trim.

...fast forward to Walmart and my almost teenage dd#1 dragging me across the store to the hair coloring aisle...(background: dd#1 has wanted streaks aka lowlights in her hair for months)...to show me the color she wanted her hair to be. Well, I looked at her and asked if she was going to cut her hair because the cost of putting lowlights in a 25 inch tangled mane was as much as I made in a month.

Needless to say she was horrified and told me that she was NEVER going to EVER cut her hair. End of story.

Until we get to the hair cutting place.

Until she asks the hair dresser how short her hair would have to be to donate it to Locks of Love.

To make a very very long story short, Miss Thing chopped her hair off, donated TWO ponytails to Locks of Love, and I am now in debt for one lowlights dye job!!

She was very nervous when they first cut it...then she started jabbering...

"It's a HUNDRED pounds lighter MOM!! I don't think I'm going to get as many headaches MOM!! It's going to be SO MUCH easier to take care of MOM! WHY are you smiling like that Mom?!? What??"

Could it be that I've told her all these things and more over the past year of I will NEVER cut my hair land??

"You know MOM, it's not fair that you're always right"

Yes.

She did say that.

I'm recording it so she can read it later.

Then she looked at me and asked, "So when can I get contacts?"

It's going to be a long 7 years.

Once again overheard at my house....

You know...I'm really beginning to wonder about my children's hygiene!! I trained them better than this, I SWEAR I did!!

Mom: Wow, you really need to brush your teeth when we get home, they're really dirty...

DD: I know...that's because I lost my toothbrush at my friend's house (the sleepover was TWO weeks ago!! EWWWWWWWW!!)

Mom: So you haven't brushed your teeth in two weeks?

DD: Well, I used my finger and toothpaste...

Mom: So, do you think if that happens again you could just let me know and I'll buy you a new toothbrush?

DD: Okay.


I'm so grossed out I can't even describe it!! I can't stand not brushing my teeth twice a day much less TWO WEEKS!!! Needless to say, I bought two toothbrushes at the store so we'd have a spare...

Just in case....

Non-stop laughter!!

Oh, if I could only bottle the energy!! I'd be rich!! I love the hair!! She's gonna be a star someday (and then maybe she will be able to afford a hairdresser!!)

Overheard at our house....

Mom: Son, you smell much better now that you've taken a bath.

Son: That's because I used soap ALL over my body...

Mom: So...you don't usually use soap all over your body?!?

Son: No...usually I just put it in my hair.

{{sigh}}

A Sobering Thought....

This beautiful little boy passed on this past Saturday...

I've been following his blog for awhile, praying for a miraculous healing that was never meant to be I guess...

Such a sweet little boy, only four years old...I can't even imagine the pain his parents are going through right now. I know I cried for almost an hour and I didn't even really know him.

His mother's optimism and faith in the midst of this tragedy has been amazing.

In the process she has inspired me to hold my own children a little tighter...to love on them a little more...and to be annoyed by their crazy antics a whole lot less...with gratefulness that they are here to annoy me.

I have found a little more joy in watching my ten year old son tackle and tickle his twelve year old sister...I have found peace in watching my little girls "mother" their babies...and I have found happiness in the ten pounds of sand brought home from the sandbox.

Hug your children just a little tighter tonight and say a prayer for Julian's family...it's going to be a hard road for them for awhile.

On the lighter side...my son was overheard saying, "MOM! I know what we should do today!!! We should go out and ask every black person we meet to sit at the FRONT of the bus!!" He was so serious!! I'm not sure he really gets the reason we are out of school today...but his heart was in the right place!!

Happy Birthday Buddy!!

I'm a little late in getting this posted but that's because we've been busy celebrating!

My little man turned double digits on Thursday!! Ten years with my buddy has been an extreme blessing. He is a boy who never ceases to amaze me...he can devour an entire novel in two days...or spend 6 straight hours playing computer games. He throws snowballs, builds sandcastles, jumps in puddles, and plays in the mud. He is all boy in so many ways and yet will still play house with his baby sister if she asks him to (don't tell his friends I told you that!) He has an unwavering love for his momma that melts my heart!! I can't believe he's ten already!! Another year or two and he'll be as tall as me too!! Happy Birthday, Buddy, I'm proud of you!!

Just for fun....

And because it's been awhile so.....

You Are a Cappuccino

You're fun, outgoing, and you love to try anything new. However, you tend to have strong opinions on what you like. You are a total girly girly at heart - and prefer your coffee with good conversation. You're the type that seems complex to outsiders, but in reality, you are easy to please

What Kind of Coffee Girl Are You?

Saturday Musings

Let's face it. I live a busy life. I have four kids...and recently, a husband with a broken leg, a full time job, plus all the responsibilities of a full time mom. It's exhausting on a good day...on bad days...well let's just not go there!!

I have been struggling to find a balance and maintain sanity...not to mention my spiritual connection with God amongst the "busy"ness of life. It's not an easy balance to find, less easy to maintain for any length of time. There is always the tyranny of the urgent that is abundant to pull me away from the best that life has to offer.

I'm doing a study on the Sabbath in Scripture. It is a Christian Discipline that has been largely cast aside in today's busy world. I work at my job as a teacher on Monday through Friday, and then often at night I am lesson planning or grading papers, or helping my kids with homework and projects and making lunches for the next day. It leaves very little time (and even less energy!) to do much "homemaking"...things like doing laundry or dishes or cleaning toilets! These things still need to be done, though, so often they get done on the weekends. Before I know it the weekend has been worked away and we're off to the next week of work and papers and homework. It exhausts me to write about it and that is my life day in and day out. Fortunately, for both me and my family AND my students, we get a two week break every so often. It is in the middle of one of these two week reprieves that I write this. I still spend a great deal of time doing the homemaking part of life but with the work side of life cast aside temporarily I have more time to reflect and just "be." I spent part of this time taking a five hour nap yesterday, I was physically and emotionally spent and my body gave me no choice but to recuperate. I think the biggest realization through my study this week is that my friend Heather was my Sabbath place. I realized yesterday how much I depended on her for a place to go that was peaceful and restful and I miss that. My kids asked me what was wrong yesterday and I just yelled, " I need to pack you up and go to the Nations' house for awhile!!" My heart was crying out for a Sabbath in the midst of the craziness and that was the greatest gift she always gave me...and she gave it willingly and without strings. I think that is what I miss the most.

So now I must go on to "find" a Sabbath for myself...and I suppose it had to happen, she couldn't be my Sabbath place forever (well, it would have been fine with me but I guess God had other plans!). I just don't quite know how to do that. I don't know how to stop. I don't know how to ignore the dirty socks in the middle of the living room. I find it hard to rest at home because there is always work looming in front of me.

That is the struggle I face. I don't have an answer right now, only questions.

Part of my study stated that observing the Sabbath is acknowledging that "God is caring for everyone and everything." Somewhere in my heart I know that is true, and yet my head is screaming "but God does not get my laundry done or my house picked up!!" Is that irreverent of me?? Come on, tell me you've never thought that...or something like that. Let's just be a little honest here. God has, however, sent me a mother in law who stayed for two weeks and cooked and cleaned and drove my husband to numerous doctor's appointments after his accident. I think I need a full time live in mother in law!! I've jokingly said to friends that I need a WIFE!! Until then, however, I will muddle along, with a dirty house, and dirty laundry, trying to find the balance between having clean clothes and having my sanity. I'll let you know what I discover along the way in this journey!!

An Arizona Christmas!!

We had to come up with a song for our class to sing for our annual "Winter Concert" and we were told it could be Christmas related as long as it wasn't "too religious"...sigh...don't get me on that soapbox...it's CHRISTmas for goodness sake!! But I digress...
So I sat on my bench in the 100 Acre Woods and visited my thinking spot...think, think, think....
Then I had an epiphany!! Last year at our Women's Christmas dinner some of the men who were doing the music performed this songand the seed of the idea was planted...
Now...I am not nearly computer savvy enough to put the music on my blog this late at night on a school night so you'll have to sing along...you all know it...the tune is "jingle bells." The song, however, is a little different...

Dashing through the sand, in a jeep with four wheel drive,
O'er the rocks and shrubs, Santa will arrive.
Don't worry there's no snow, Santa has a plan,
While he's in our part of town he'll work on his suntan!!

Chorus:
Jingle Bells, Lizard Tails, Hot and sunny day!
Santa's here in desert town, he's come to catch some rays!!
Jingle Bells, Lizard Tails, Hot and sunny day...
Santa's Jeep is packed with toys the Arizona way.

A day or two ago, I thought I'd take a ride,
so I gassed up the quads, with Santa by my side...
We thought we'd hit the dunes, found a cactus in our way...
ended up pulling stickers out for all of Christmas Day! OUCH!!

Chorus:
Jingle Bells, Lizard Tails, Hot and sunny day!
Santa's here in desert town, he's come to catch some rays!!
Jingle Bells, Lizard Tails, Hot and sunny day...
Santa's Jeep is packed with toys the Arizona way.

Later on that week, we traveled once again,
Grand Canyon was our hope, got stuck on I-10!
We traveled for what seemed, a million miles or more,
but we only got as far as the Anthem outlet stores! Ca-ching!

Chorus:
Jingle Bells, Lizard Tails, Hot and sunny day!
Santa's here in desert town, he's come to catch some rays!!
Jingle Bells, Lizard Tails, Hot and sunny day...
Santa's Jeep is packed with toys the Arizona way.

Snowsuits aren't for us, we wear shorts and shades,
instead of sledding down the hill, we go on rollerblades,
We don't shovel snow, we never miss a beat,
Come visit us at Christmas time and soak up the "dry heat!"

Chorus:
Jingle Bells, Lizard Tails, Hot and sunny day!
Santa's here in desert town, he's come to catch some rays!!
Jingle Bells, Lizard Tails, Hot and sunny day...
Santa's Jeep is packed with toys the Arizona way.


Have a very Merry CHRISTmas and a Blessed New Year!!

We've been a bit out of it....

I have had a horrible case of bronchitis this past week and my dh had strep throat so we've been a little out of it lately. But...I got most of my Christmas shopping done and my Christmas letters are ready to go out (but not stuffed in envelopes yet)...so we're making progress!!

I'll try to update the blog soon!!