Happy New Year!

As I write this post, people all around my neighborhood are popping fireworks. In fact, I've just stepped inside from watching the colorful display going on all around our house. It irritated us the first two years we lived here - that is, every family on the block (except for us) popping fireworks for every occasion that deserved it. Any upcoming celebration of any kind that might go nation-wide warrants hundreds of red fireworks stands just on Main Street alone. We noticed that they are even taking MasterCard and Visa now! Holy cow. Last year I had to put a damper on our neighbor's festivities when they lit every Black Cat in the free world right outside the kids' windows. Noodle didn't sleep for the rest of the night. I guess the kids have gotten used to it by now, too. It's coming up on thirty minutes now and it's not let up one bit. Ah, well. At least the bright side is, there's no need to go downtown for any New Year's celebration or colorful displays. I could see lots and lots of beautiful displays just standing in my very own driveway. And believe you me, these folks spare no expense. I know firsthand of neighbors who spend upwards of $400 - and I'd like to be the first to thank them! I've seen fireworks displays to rival that of my neighbors in San Francisco! I'm not kidding, ya'll, the stuff our neighborhood pulls out have got to be illegal somewhere, but not in good ol', Somewhere Near Houston, Texas! No, siree! If you don't believe me, come and spend the next holiday-warranting-fireworks, and I'll prove it to you.
Other than all that, I hope ya'll had a wonderful Christmas and have a very Happy New Year! If I can find some earplugs, I'm going to bed!

See What I Mean?

What They Will See in the Morning

The Kitchen!!!! My amazing $10 find. Outfitted by $1 items from Target. The special aprons from my favorite elves that sew, are delayed in the mail but we will enjoy them so much when they get here to complete The Kitchen!!! Can't wait to send pics of the kids wearing them. The Barbie house - was FREE - outfitted with furniture that was a steal-of-a-deal, thanks to Ebay! The flowery sleeping bag that's peeking out down in the left corner, also FREE!!!!
Stockings, baby doll for Noodle, Razor Scooter for Chicken Nugget. Also dirt cheap items.
Pup tent - $6 from work. I heart my discount. It all looks like so much loot, but I still can't believe that we spent hardly any money. I am posting these pics because I wanted ya'll to see it before it was all played with and not recognizable, especially The Kitchen (of which I am MOST proud!). Also, I'm afraid we won't see the first reactions, but will be pulled out of bed as the kids come to tell us of all they have found around the tree.
God bless you all this Christmas! I'm so thankful for the Reason that we celebrate and are able to exchange gifts to remember that first and most wonderful Gift of all, Jesus!

More Cute Pictures

Banana enjoying a chocolate Pop Tart.
At our Christmas party with Kelly and Jarvis, our other friends that were there, Mr. and Mrs. Hot Chocolate, got Noodle a cool pink chair. Noodle thought it was so cool that she put it on top of the coffee table and sat in it so that everyone could see.
Also at the Christmas party with Jarvis, Kelly, and Mr. and Mrs. Hot Chocolate, we tried to get a cute pic of the kids in front of the tree. This was one attempt.
This was another.
This would have been a very good picture, but the flash didn't go off. And Noodle wasn't looking. Oh, well.
Noodle waking up from a nap.

Noodle, happy to be awake!

Eating, Sleeping, and Breathing . . .

Well, eating and breathing anyway.

And oh yeah, working.

I'm an insomniac begging for help!

I've been working nights lately, from 4:30-10pm, which means I sometimes don't get home till 11 or even 11:30. The time I get home depends on how many customers are still in the store at 10pm (we stay until they leave, and we don't give them any cues as to when they should leave, so we're at their mercy) and how much clean-up there is to do after the last customer is gone.

When I get home, I cannot just fall into bed, much as I want to. I'm still wound up from customer and co-worker interactions and from all the work I've just done. So I might have a little ice cream, watch some Letterman, you know, just sit for awhile.

But the past couple of days, even that hasn't been working. I can't fall asleep! And ya'll, I NEED my sleep. I lay down and will myself to sleep. Doesn't work. I don't know what to do! I've never not been able to fall asleep before, ever. And by the time I get home and wind down, I have precious few hours in which to catch those z's before my day begins oh, so early in the morning.

So, any suggestions? A different kind of snack? No snack at all? Warm milk? Anything? I am open to just about anything at this point.

Here's wishing you all pleasant dreams!

The Way That People Treat Their Kids

I'm far, far, far from perfect. I parent incorrectly most of the time. I work hard at giving people the benefit of the doubt, mostly because I screw up so often and know what it's like to fail. But there's something that has been bugging me and, ya'll, I've got to get it off my chest.

It's the way that people treat their kids in public. I'll be sharing three examples that I have witnessed at work just over this past week.

First example:

A lady is shopping with her granddaughter. The little girl is about 5 or so, and crying miserably. The lady tells the little girl, repeatedly and rudely, to shut up.

"Shut up. You better shut up. You do this every time. You just better shut up."
And saying other rude and threatening things, in a very loud voice. The store manager and I are standing close by, knowing we can't take much more, so the manager walks over to try to comfort the child with some kind words; then I walk over and ask the little girl if she needs a drink of water.

"What she NEEDS is to shut up!" Says the grandmother.

Second example:

A lady is shopping with two or three small children. One little girl in particular, about age 6 or 7, is being compliant and pretty quiet from my observation, but has done something to upset her mother terribly. She is very loudly telling the little girl that she is bad and undeserving of things and that she is going to tear the little girl's hair out.

Third example:

A lady is shopping with her three older kids, I'd say ages 8 and up. The kids are really bugging her, though they seemed to be behaving from my vantage point. By the time she is ready to check out, she is very rudely and loudly telling her kids to be quiet, and then tells me she needs a belt. I start to show her where the belts are, but she says, "No, I mean to beat my kids with." It was a joke, only I didn't find it that funny. As she leaves, she says to her kids, "Come on, Children of the Corn, let's go."

The sad thing is, there's really not much I can do, but pray for these families when I encounter them. Like I say, my family is not perfect or even good sometimes, but I just think there are better ways to deal with unruly children while the family is in public. Take them into the bathroom to talk to them, or into the car.

But more than that, it was the blatant uncaring rudeness toward their kids that gets me. I am so sad and angered when I see this, and especially when I see the faces of the children. Especially when it didn't seem to me that the kids were behaving badly (and believe you me, BW and I deal with our own unruly kids enough. Noodle can pitch a fit to put anyone else's fits to shame, and they always happen in the middle of Wal-Mart! So I know what a naughty, defiant kid looks and acts like!); of course, I don't know what has happened between parent and child prior to the shopping trip, and I really am trying so hard not to judge.

But sometimes enough is enough, and you can look at a situation and know that something's not right, and I just wanted to talk about it.

Have Yourself a Texas Little Christmas

Just wanted ya'll to see what we've been doing this fine Dec. 13, just 12 days before Christmas! We've been playing outside in our shorts and camo t-shirts :o) The weather is lovely and in the low 70's with surprisingly low humidity. The skies are clear and sunny. I wanted you to see Noodle and Banana as they posed by our candy cane Christmas lights that line our driveway. They weren't much into posing, but at least you can see the candy canes anyway. Also, we've been enjoying our lovely crop of pecans! We had so many this year, and they were really good! When my family was here in October, Daddy sat out in the yard, cracking and eating as many pecans as he could stand. We let anyone who could come and pick them up and take as many as they wanted. I cannot tell you how many we had (neighbors AND pecans!)! Please note the pic of Noodle feeding some pecan to Banana - awwww!!!! And can you tell that those are pecans that Noodle is holding up to show all the world? I hope ya'll are having as lovely an Advent season as we are!!!! Don't worry, we'll be shivering in Arkansas soon enough, so, don't hate us because we're warm! We love you all so much!

I like her anyway!

Noodle was telling me about one her favorite shows, Go, Diego! She said that there was a frog and a shark.
"I like that frog," she said.
"I like that shark," she said.
"I like that mermaid, too," she said, though I'm not sure where the mermaid came from.
I said, "You know what I like?"
"What?" she asked.
"I like Noodle!" I told her.
She looked perplexed and said with surprise, "Me?! But Noodle not a mermaid!"
Oh, well. Even so, I like her anyway!

My Favorites

My friend Akat posted her favorite ornaments, so here are a few of mine. Please notice the Razorbacks ornament above. Below is my favorite sparkly snowman-in-stocking ornament. I collect snowmen.
Below is a new ornament my friend just gave me! A fun fun VW bug ornament!!!! Isn't that the coolest thing you've ever seen? I also collect VW's (not the real thing, the die-cast variety), but who's ever seen one fashioned into a festive holiday ornament???? My friend LC did, and she got it for me, post haste! THANK YOU!!! I love it!!!!


OK, so Banana is not an ornament, but he likes to play with the ornaments. And he's cute.

Say What?

I was watching TV the other night and a commercial came on that made me do a double take. I literally exclaimed out loud, "Say what?!"

It was for a new Showtime television series, "Sleeper Cell."

The commercial showed a building being blown up by two guys sitting in a car and pushing a detonator button. The scene prior to the explosion showed pedestrians going along the street, doing normal things on a normal day. The voice-over then said, "Where will you be during the next terrorism attack?"

"WHAT???!!!"

Now I think everyone knows how I feel about censorship, but I get a feeling in my gut that this show goes way beyond censorship. I don't have Showtime, but if I did, I certainly wouldn't be watching this show. I don't feel that this is along the lines of the movies that recently came out, World Trade Center or United 93, which I think tried to be respectful depitcions of the heroes of that day. This TV show is something altogether different.

I wondered when I saw it, are we now going to glorify terrorism? Turn it into entertainment? Hang on the edge of our seats as we eat popcorn and suck on our sodapop as we wait for the next explosion?

Another message I heard in that commercial is that we sit around and wait for the next attack. We live in fear. So let's commercialize on it! Why not? Let Hollywood make another buck.

To be fair, I have never seen the show. I haven't read anything about it. Maybe someone can enlighten me. Maybe it's about raising awareness and looking for warning signs. Who knows? But the advertisement for the show was enough for me not to want to watch it.

And the bed is made again . . .

"This is what the Lord says: 'You say about this place, "It is a desolate waste, without men or animals." Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither men nor animals, there will be heard once more the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, "Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the Lord."
Jeremiah 33:10-11

" for the Mighty One has done great things for me - holy is his name . . . He has filled the hungry with good things."
Luke 1: 49 & 53

"God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." Psalm 46:10

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us the approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may recieve mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4: 14-16

" . . . to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Isaiah 61:2-3

"Oh Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me . . . weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning." Psalm 30:2 & 5

A catchy praise song we sing at church from time to time, and something my heart has been singing more and more each day:
"God is good, all the time,
He put a song of praise in this heart of mine;
God is good, all the time,
In the darkest night, His light will shine;
God is good
God is good
All the time"

Thanks for all who checked on me and who accepted my previous, rather frank and blunt, post without judgment. I'm doing better. I'm now out of bed for good; I've tucked the sheets in tight and I pulled the covers up over the pillows.

We've been busy. It is holiday hours at work now - we close at 10pm, which means I sometimes don't get home until almost 11pm, which really throws off my bedtime! We've had lots of shoplifting activity, which can be scary. Last week one of our (legitimately shopping) customers was threatened by a shoplifter. She had to be walked to her car by a security guard. Last night there was a shoplifting team in the store, and it didn't take long to figure them out. The thing a shoplifter hates most is to be waited on, so we asked them many times if we could help them with anything. They left in haste.

We have our Christmas decorations up. Last year we had a tiny tree that we put on top of the entertainment center to reduce temptation for Noodle's sake. This year I said, to heck with it, I want the big tree up! So we have lots of decorations up top and not many on the bottom. The ones on the bottom are non-breakable and Noodle and Banana have enjoyed decorating and redecorating the bottom of the tree. Chicken Nugget has her own little tree in her bedroom. She feels so big about that.

BW brought me roses and candy last week.

These things made me laugh today:

It was lunchtime. I said, "Noodle, it's time for lunch."
Knowing what comes after lunchtime, she said, "I don't want to go night-night."
Ignoring that statement, I asked, "What do you want for lunch?"
Noodle said, "Um, cookies."

I was taking my bath today (I have conceded to the fact that if I want to bathe anymore, it will be with a one-year-old and a two-year-old looking on) and as I got the shampoo ready for my hair, Banana pantomimed what I did. He rubbed his hands together and then rubbed his hands all in his hair. It was so cute, though you'd have to see it for yourself, and I was happy for the laughter that it brought me. He smiled as I laughed out loud at him.

I'm finding myself wanting to talk to all my loved ones as Christmas Day draws near. I got to talk to two of my favorite missionaries today (OK, you're all my favorite missionaries!). I was so happy and blessed to talk to D/S McNary. I also got to talk to a dear and special friend in Iowa, KS. I wish I could talk to all of you!
" . . . I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy." 2 Timothy 1:4

Coming out from under the covers . . .

Another day, another depression.

Yep, that's what I said. Depression.

It's not a secret to anyone who might read this blog. At least, I've never tried to keep it a secret. While it may not come up in everyday conversation, it is a fact of my life with which I've dealt since the birth of my first child in 1999. The feelings that I felt after she was born terrified, confused, and overwhelmed me. Surrounded by friends who recognized what I could not, I was encouraged to get help. My wonderful OB prescribed meds and immediately sent me for counseling. I got through the PPD, but depression has hung on in cycles ever since that time.

I don't want to use this blog to bare all. There's no need to let all of my readers (all both of you) into every intimate part of my life. But I like to blog, and I like to blog about what is going on in my life, and I like to blog many times a week. My blog has had few posts over the past couple of weeks, and the depression is the reason for that.

One reason I wanted to go ahead and post this blog is that so many, many people deal with depression, and thankfully the stigma regarding mental health and drugs is slowly waning. In the wake of the Brooke Shields / Tom Cruise debate, I feel that many women are starting to speak up regarding their own PPD.

Depression raises many issues - what do you do with religion and depression, depression used as a defense (as in the Andrea Yates case), depression and medication? I read this article about a level playing field, and I liked that analogy so much. We all deserve that level field to play on. If you've ever dealt with depression, then you can understand how depression can create valleys and mountains in daily life, making things seemed skewed and difficult.

What would obviously look like success on a clear day, would look like total failure on a day filled with depression. On those days, even the simplest tasks are difficult. Wiping up a puddle of spilled milk will seem as overwhelming as single-handedly building a fully-functional rocket ship, ready for lift-off in ten minutes. The things I love become something unthinkable - like being around people. I'd rather bury myself in my bed than do the thing I love more than anything, which is be around people. I want to isolate myself from my precious family and from dear friends.

I remember after Chicken Nugget was born, how all of these feelings came upon me, and I felt like I couldn't tell anyone about them. I didn't understand what was happening to me, and it was scary. I'd never felt the grip of depression before that. I would stand in the shower and cry, never wanting the shower to end, never wanting to face anyone or anything in life ever again. I could only articulate it this way: I felt as though I was drowning. My mother said that my grandmother used the same phrase when she went through PPD so many years ago.

Now I've cycled through it many, many times in these last seven years. I've had about three episodes (or whatever you want to call them) recently that have pretty bad. Thankfully, I have faithful friends and a dedicated spouse to walk beside me and encourage me to get the help I need. Thankfully, I can recognize what is happenening now and reach out for what I need.

While I wait for things to clear up again, I want so desperately to claw out of the pit of hopelessness, fear, and anger. I want to be happy to see the sun shining. I ask people to pray for me. I ask the Holy Spirit to pray for me, with those groans that words cannot express. I try to remember that my High Priest understands all that I'm going through, and that I can approach His throne of grace with confidence and ask anything I need to.

And when I'm out of that pit, I'm thankful for those who have helped me though, helped me understand that I didn't cause this and can't help it, and pray for those who feel they have to suffer through it alone. I pray for more understanding and more help, more research and articles, more encouragement for those people like me, who suffer from depression.

A New Spin

Previously Posted Picture,
New Caption:

"Daddy's gonna kill Ralphie!"

Thanks, Marita, for giving me that laugh today and reminding me of what this looks like!

May you ALL have a great Christmas Story or two to tell this season!

Thinking of Some Things

So I went to my mom and dad's over Thanksgiving. Sorry I missed your call, CBB. :o( I should have called you back. My cell phone died while in Arkansas. So besides thinking about you, CBB, I was thinking of how my family is like a country song. Well, not my immediate family, but some of my cousins. It was fun to see them all (my dad has seven brothers and sisters), though I'm sure not all of them were happy to see one another. Especially two of my cousins who are brothers, who have a wife in common. Well, she divorced the older brother and is now married to the younger one. But all three of them live in my aunt's house, with their children. Yep. Jeff Foxworthy would be proud.

I have also been thinking about the new blog in which I'll be taking part over this Advent. Please look every day of Advent, as there will be a new devotional each day. I am the pity partner - no, really, it is true - for this endeavor. Did I spell endeavor right? Somebody? See what I mean? My co-bloggers for this project are geniuses. Literally and truly. So on the days when it is my turn, please expect very little, compared to what has come before. It will be a great project, though, and I am excited about it.

Here's the last thing I want to mention that's been going on in my head: I'm thinking about becoming a teacher by getting my alternative (? or alternate? - see, I don't even know what I'm doing) teaching certificate. That way, we'll have a little bit more of a financial cushion so that I can finish the last 30 hours of my seminary degree. I don't know, though. Will I be a good teacher or a bad teacher? Can I deal with the stress of it? I am going between excited and apprehensive at the thought of it. What do you think?

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving with your families! CBB, I'll see you Christmas. Did you eat some ham on Thursday? Seeing as you normally eat ham. :o)

And to my Apron Ladies (check out my link to Peanut), THANK YOU and please let me know payment and mailing details. I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Funny Pictures

Closeup . . .
. . . of Banana when he climbed into the bathroom cabinet while I was doing my hair.
Chicken Nugget helped me "edit" this picture of her.
Potty Princess . . . it cracks me up that Noodle will completely disrobe, all except those shoes, just to use the potty.

I just thought this was a great smile!














"I love my toes!"

Rendezvous with Retail, and Other Tasty Tidbits

I may be writing a lot about all kinds of retail things for awhile. It is interesting stuff. People are interesting creatures.

Two nights ago, just as we were closing up, one of my (female) coworkers dashed into the men's room yelling, "Oh, no!" and then came out, fuming mad.

"Go in there and look," she said to me.

I wasn't quite sure . . . being a men's room and all . . . but I went anyway. Someone had plugged up the drain in the sink and turned the faucet on, intending to flood the whole place. Ms. Alert, my coworker, had caught the prank, pre-disaster. The sink had not yet overflowed. She had a few choice words for the little *%#@'s that had done the deed (her words). Had she not heard the water running, the entire store would have been flooded by morning. Makes you wonder why they did it. What were they thining?

We are always worried about "shrink," which is shoplifting. When I worked at the same store two years ago, our loss was enormous. The store has since come under new management, and the difference is noticable. Departments have been moved and the whole store is neater and better run, and I like that. The ship wasn't so tight before, and we were all stressed as a result, because our manager left stressful tasks to the last minute. It's so efficient now and loss is down quite a bit.

The store where I work is located in a mall, and the mall is dwindling. There are many empty storefronts in the mall. We have a few things, like a Bath and Body Works, Sears, JC Penny, Macy's, movie theatre, and those kinds of things; but we're missing an Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, American Eagle, and other stores that would generate a good shopping crowd. Someone told me that we were supposed to get those stores, but the mall manager didn't want the kinds of people in his or her mall that would come to those stores.

I said, "What kind of people? The kind with money?"

The look I got told me all I needed to know - it is about race. No one wants to shop next to Hispanics. This could start an entirely new blog post, so I won't go there. I'll just say, I don't get it, and I prefer to stay naiive. My neighbor likes to say the "N" word a lot. She drops it at will. She does not like African Americans at all. (She doesn't have a racial slur to use for Hispanics, so she just says "Mexicans" in that case.) A few of my other neighbors have said that "if all these houses in this neighborhood get bought up by Mexicans, I'm moving!"

It was the same way in Iowa, where there was a large Hispanic population. Only there, they were called, "foreigners." There were two towns near where we lived in Iowa that you could find Wal-Mart, grocery stores, doctors, etc. We chose the closer town, but my neighbor chose the one farther away, and I asked her why. She said, "It's because there are less foreigners there."

I said, "Oh, you mean Mexicans?"

"Yeah," she said, "I guess that's kind of mean, huh?"

"Yeah," I said, "It is."

I had to walk away from a group of moms on the playground once as they discussed "the Mexicans" and how they stole from Goodwill and would talk about you in Spanish if they saw you in Wal-Mart.

So this post started with tidbits from retail, and ended up with racism. But they really do tie into one another. Just last night, a coworker was telling me of a huge sale last week that happened when I wasn't working. She said, "We had tons of people all at once. I mean, I turned around and there were all these Mexicans," she whisper-hissed the word.

One of my friends says that one day she wants to move somewhere where (I know this sounds bad, she says), there aren't as many Mexicans (or any probably). I told her, good luck finding it. I've never lived anywhere that there wasn't a Hispanic population.

Like I said, I want to stay naiive, because I know there are issues. And I don't want to make this blog any longer than it has to be. But I think a lot of the issue has to do with ignorance. People don't want to take the time to look into what is really going on, but choose to remain angry about what they precieve is going on.

Oh, and I don't worry too much about my neighbor using the "N" word a lot. I have to overlook it. After all, she is a redneck. ;o)

Good Fortune

It was a long day yesterday. I had to be at work by 4:30, and didn't get off till about 9:30. I had to go buy groceries after work. I had to ya'll; I normally go on some afternoon when BW gets home from work, but now I'm working every afternoon, and our cupboards were bare. By the time I got out of the grocery store, it was WAY past my bedtime, and I still had to go through the CVS drive-through.

Thankfully, there is a Starbuck's on the way to CVS, and I still had some birthday loot. Since it had been such a trying day, I decided I needed a treat. I was thrilled that they were still open at the late hour. I ordered a tall Cafe Mocha (yum yum!!!), but they had shut something down that prevented them from making anything like that. I then asked for a hot cocoa. They couldn't make that either. So I just asked them what would be easy and quick for them to make for me (I understand - it was just moments before closing and I was their last straggling customer), so they made me a grande Mint Mocha Frap - FOR FREE!!!!!!! And it was decaff, too, thankfully at that hour of the night!

It's always a treat to get some coffee, and I love a good frap, even if it was a bit chilly outside last night. BW doesn't drink coffee (thanks BW for my fun Senseo you gave me for Christmas last year!!!), so I rarely have any, and anything from Starbuck's is a very special treat!

Can you believe I got something so yummy and wonderful and large for FREE???? So I gave them a great tip, since they were so sweet to give it to me on the house. Yay for Starbucks! Thanks for letting me be your last customer and not even making me pay for it!!!!

Well, then!

I was working last night, and enjoying some conversation with my friend R as we were doing markdowns. (I'm thankful to work with some great and interesting folks!) R was called away to the fragrance counter to help a gentleman, so I returned to my wrap station with some more markdowns. A few minutes later, the gentleman who had just purchased some cologne came up to my counter. I asked him how he was doing and if I could help him with anything. He said he was fine, and then said:

"I need to ask you a question. Are you a married lady?"

It may sound silly, but t his is not an uncommon question in the world of retail, especially around the holidays when a husband might be picking out a gift for his wife. I've heard the question many, many times, usually followed by, "What would you say if your husband bought you such-and-such?"

So I told the man that yes, I was married, and waited for him to ask me an opinion on some kind of merchandise he was thinking of buying for his wife. But that's not what happened! Instead, he looked disappointed and said:

"Well, there is a reason I asked you that. I was going to see if you would go out with me sometime. I think you are an attractive lady and I figured, why not? There's still single people out there, you know?"

I told him that I was very flattered but that I was happily married with three children, and that I would pray for him to find that special lady and that he would be as blessed as I was.

He was a very nice guy and we chatted for a couple more minutes; again I said thank you and that I was flattered and then he said something that he was very serious about, so I couldn't laugh until after he left the store:

"You tell that one to your husband. You can take that to the bank, and I promise you it won't bounce!"

Thanks, Jarvis and Kelly!

In addition to the cards and phone calls, and my husband cleaning the house for me, Jarvis and Kelly stopped by with a cake, ice cream, and gifts! I think Banana was more excited than the rest of us!

Just a little fun thing -

Per the Lumpkin's blog and the McNary's blog, here is a little activity:

"Here are the rules:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next four sentences on your blog, along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that 'cool' or 'intellectual' book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest!"

Like I've got time to dig . . . however, I do really like the book that I am using, and it truly was the closest (except for the phonebook); it was sitting on my printer.

Sorry it is nothing as spiritual as Dallas Willard, D/S Mcnary!

From The Giver by Lois Lowry:

"They hugged one another.

"The small child went and sat on the lap of the old woman, and she rocked him and rubbed her cheek against his.

"Jonas opened his eyes and lay contentedly on the bed, still luxuriating in the warm and comforting memory. It had all been there, all the things he had learned to treasure."

Ma'am I Am

I started work last night. It wasn't bad . . . until I went over to help some teenage girls who were shopping. I asked if they were doing alright and if they needed any help. They said, "No, ma'am, we're fine."

Ma'am. I've tried to deny it for a long time. In fact, when I was a youth minister in Arkansas, one of my posted rules was, "Do not call Amy 'ma'am!' " I was admonished (remember, Shane?), because the kids were being raised to say, "ma'am," and "sir," and I needed to encourage that, but I was only 24 years old at the time and certainly didn't feel like a ma'am!!!!

But last night wasn't the first time, just recently, that I've been called "ma'am" by teenagers. I don't know what magical point in life makes you a "ma'am" or a "sir," but apparently I have reached it. It is six years after I declared to a group of teenagers in Arkansas that I wasn't a ma'am, and at some moment in those six years, I have become a ma'am. So I concede. I don't tell them anymore not to call me that. Ma'am I am.

New Links

I've finally updated some of my links.

Look at:
Friends from way back:
CBB (sorry it took me so long to change your URL)
Joye and Family

Friends who are missionaries:
Charley

Barlow Girls:
Rebecca
Elizabeth
(I updated Anna's right when she joined blogger. If you haven't visited hers yet, you should stop by!)

Friends from Marin:
Adam and Erin
These crazy kids are about to have their first baby and they are very special to me! I need to blog about them later because it is a great story and I am the WHOLE reason they got married!!!!!!!

I love all of you so much! Even if I haven't updated a blog link recently, you should go visit them all!!!!!! They are very fun!!!!! Right now on Charley and Marianne's blog, they are taking us through their "journey to Joshua," in which they are adopting their son from China! They are there RIGHT NOW, so go take a look as they prepare to take Joshua home for the first time! Praise be to God - this has been emotional and exciting, and I love to read it everyday and look at the great pictures.

Speaking of babies, The Henrichsens just had twin boys, bringing the total to six boys! How blessed are they!!!! And Boss (Meaty Chunks) is going to have a baby in February! A GIRL!!!!

And don't forget to look at CBB's pictures of her sweet little puppy - he is so cute!

I'm sure I could do updates on everyone . . . just go visit!!!!!

Much love to all of my blog buddies! I'm so happy to have you all in my life!

The SRC

If you do not know about the Stash Reduction Contest, you need to look at Boss's post.

I am asking for help from those of you craftier than I!

Have I mentioned that I cannot sew? My mom is a master seamstress and she tried to teach me once or twice when I was little. I vividly remember hand-stitching a quilt piece, and finding it very tedious and boring. I never learned on the sewing machine, never wanted to after that hand-stitched quilt piece thing. A few summers ago, my friend told me to come over and she'd teach me to make a dress for Noodle. I laughed and laughed! Just the thought of me sewing, even in my own mind, is comical. I can't imagine it. I wish I did know how to, but I just can't imagine it!

So, for those of you who can sew, here are two options for you:

#1 - make a special trip to Texas, with your sewing machine, and teach me how to sew

OR

#2 - help me out with a little project!

For Christmas, I have found the kids a great kitchen, one of those huge ones with stove, sink, cabinets, etc. I found it at a yard sale for $10! So I've been trying to outfit it, and I've had great luck there too. At Target, in the Dollar Spot, I found tons of canned food and other notions. At Walgreens, I found dishes and pots and pans. I even found a cute mixer that makes sounds and everything! While at Target with a friend, I also saw some kid-size play aprons, but pardon me for not wanting to spend $15 apiece on them!!!!! Especially since I'd been so thrifty with everything else.

So, here's what I'm asking from all of you wanting to take part in the SRC. Would any of you be willing to use some of your fabric stash to make a couple of simple, kid-size aprons? I'd be willing to either pay you for your labor (and of course for the shipping), or I could send you a pack of goodies from my own stash!!!!! I'm ALWAYS trying to get rid of stuff myself. So . . . what do you think???????? All you SRC-ers, think about it and let me know!

Thanks from your friend who is "sew challenged!"

Poor Thing . . .

Noodle is sick today. This image is uncharacteristic of her behavior. It's five minutes till 11 in the morning, and she's curled up on the loveseat, sacked out. She fell asleep in the chair and I moved her. Bless her heart. She's been coughing and coughing and sneezing. Normally she'd be running around, laughing, messing stuff up, playing. I hate it when little ones are sick like this and just lay there. Banana isn't feeling so great either, but he had a traumatic day at the doctor yesterday. I took him for his 12 month shots and the doctor discovered that he also has a virus because his throat was inflamed. :o( He also had blood drawn, and that was so sad. So he's sleeping right now and I'm doing laundry. My poor sweeties. I hope they'll be playing again tomorrow.

Halloween

Noodle and Chicken Nugget, pre-candy.
"Look at my impressive wingspan!"
"Rah, or whatever."
"Dang, is she done taking pictures yet? I want some candy!"
The remains of the pom-poms. I walked in this morning and found my two little sweeties in the middle of it all.
"There are no pom-poms here. These are not the pom-poms you are looking for. Go about your business."

Our church had a big festival with games, two bounce houses, a hayride, pony ride, hot dogs, and at the end of it, lots of church members sat in the backs of their cars (mostly trucks and SUVs - state-issued vehicles of Texas) and handed out TONS of candy! I'm sharing some pics of the girls before we left. Chicken Noodle went as a bat (she's got this book about bats and is fascinated with them. I thought she'd want to be a cat, but the bat outfit caught her fancy instead) and Noodle was a cheerleader. Both were cute with lots of glittery-sparkly dust stuff I sprinkled all over them. BW and Banana stayed home to hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood.

This morning, Noodle and Banana were playing with Noodle's really cool pom-poms from her costume. As I was doing other things around the house this morning and thought they were watching tv in the living room, they were quietly destroying the pom-poms. As you can tell.

Hope all of ya'll had a fun and very candy-filled Halloween!!!!!

Why My Life is Bad

OK, I'm just kidding. My life is not bad at all. I just thought that might be an attention-getting title for this post.

My life is great! I have three beautiful, healthy children and a loving husband who works hard to take care of us. I enjoy many fulfilling activities during the week (not the least of which is spending time with my family).

But . . . well . . . even though I have a great life, sometimes it gets stressful.

Take potty training, for example. Noodle was going along like gangbusters for awhile, but then she just starting peeing her pants every ten minutes. I was taking her every thirty minutes, and that was working like a charm. But then she started to balk, not wanting to go at the appointed time, then peeing in her pants before I could get to her again. She thinks that all things that come out into her pants are poop, so she comes up and says, "I poop," and I think, "Oh, great," but really it's just pee. Which isn't exactly nice, but better than cleaning out poop-filled training pants.

Which is exactly what I did this morning.

Normally, Noodle will wear pull-ups in the morning. She will pee in the potty, but not poop, so if she poops in her pull-up, it's no big deal. But we are out of pull-ups, so it was training pants or nothing, and I keep hoping against hope that she'll magically poop in the potty. Well, she didn't. After a very successful peeing morning, I smelled the dreaded smell. And this was a bad one. And Banana has a fever today and he was crying, so I'm changing Noodle, trying not to get poop literally everywhere as I'm taking off her training pants, I was thinking some things:

"I have a college degree, and I'm doing this?"

"My house is a wreck - how am I ever going to get everything done today?"

And then, as I'm washing out the training pants in the bathtub and then cleaning out all the poop that didn't go down the drain:

"Did I make the right life choices?"

Yep, staring at a tub-full of poop will do that to you. You'll wonder why you didn't finish those last 30 hours for your master's degree. You'll wonder if you'll ever be worth anything more than just a poop-washer-outer. You'll wonder if what you are doing matters to anyone, anywhere.

And to top it off, I just got a retail job. I'll be starting in a couple of weeks. It won't last forever, and we really need to extra money. I'll be on nights and weekends, and I'm starting just in time for the holiday rush. I worked at the same store a couple of years ago, so they were happy to hire me right back on.

And working retail makes me feel very humble. If you want a lesson in humility, or if you have a problem with pride, working retail will knock all of that right out of you. Already I'm thinking, "what kind of a job is this? how humiliating . . . "

And I can look back at this entire post and see it oozing with counterfeits. You know why? Because all of those thoughts are attacks from the enemy, who wants to steal my joy. And any of Satan's lies are direct counterfeits of God's truths. Do you know what that means?

I really must be doing something special. I am worth much more than I can even fathom. I have made good life choices. And as for the job, it's a great job. You know why? So many reasons. I displayed good work ethic, so was happily rehired. There are many people who can't work. There are many places in the world where someone couldn't just walk in one day and get a job right off the bat. I'm able to help my family. I have the ability and desire to do so.

Thankfully, I am not unaware of Satan's schemes. When I feel the attacks of the enemy this hard, I just start to praise God, because I must be doing something really great, something I don't even know that I'm doing, that Satan wants to stop from happening. Christ through me is doing some amazing things, as long as I don't stand in the way. That's pretty exciting stuff! It may not feel like it, as I stare at a tubful of poop, but it really must be. And anyway, if God is for me, who or what circumstance can be against me? The fruits of my labor are only just budding, and I see them in the faces of my family. God help me just do right by them and to disbelieve the lies of the enemy.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

Good Morning!

Cuddle time.
Banana's cheese face!
Sleepy Smiles :o)

Chicken Nugget took this picture!

I was starting to feel bad . . .

. . . because on The View the other day I heard Rosie say that her kids don't watch TV. And then I started to hear that a lot of other people say that it's not good for your kids to watch TV.

But then I stopped feeling so bad, because I realized that all those people who are playing with their kids all day, doing arts and crafts and reading books and all those things, those people who keep their kids from the evil television, those people:

-have housekeepers
-have nannies
-have lots more money than I do to afford such things
-probably have people to go grocery shopping for them

And I don't have any of that!

So, Rosie, much as I love you, I have to dispute you on this issue.
Send me your nanny, your housekeeper, some of your money (you know, to buy cutsie arts and crafts and etc.), and your grocery shopper person, and I'll gladly turn off the TV! As for this moment, the TV is useful for me for these activities:

-keeping the little ones occupied so that I can clean my house and do my laundry
-keeping the big one occupied while I care for the little ones (e.g. - potty training, bathing, etc.)
-scraping together whatever arts and crafts supplies I have on hand in order to get ready for arts and crafts time
-spending time on the phone while I make Pampered Chef and Avon calls (so that I can gain some money for more fun arts and crafts stuff)
-doing my grocery shopping

To my credit, I try to make sure that we watch fun and instructional television, such as:
-Count With Maizie
-Veggie Tales
-Everything I can possibly squeeze out of PBS kids
-sometimes a Disney flick (ok, so not so educational, but usually a great way to teach warm fuzzies)

Sorry, Rosie. And all you other people who are anti-TV. I do the very best I can. And I got an extra boost at parent-teacher conferences with Chicken Nugget's teacher. They said, when I asked if, on the whole, she was doing ok, "She's doing ok. In fact, she's doing better than ok. She's obviously getting some kind of good instruction at home."

So TV hasn't runined at least my oldest kid. I hope it doesn't ruin the little ones.

Awwwwwww . . . .

We Won!!!!!!!!

The girls and I got into the action!
BW and Banana were having so much fun!
Noodle wasn't quite so sure about what was going on, but she looks cute anyway!

Banana was busy giving play-by-play commentary to the crowd, while Chicken Nugget worked hard to try to figure out that game called "football."
The scoreboard! Yay for Kris Brown!
The cheerleaders. Thank goodness they were there to fill in all those commercial time-out lulls.
Some of the action on the field. GO TEXANS!!!!!
Love that huge Texans flag!
Let's not forget Torro, our mascot! Below, the girls and I celebrate the win with Elvis Guy. His Elvis jumpsuit was emblazoned with a sequined Texans symbol. Out of control. I think Noodle was a *little* unsure of him.
Go Texans! We won over the Jaguars, 27-7!!!!!