About Last Night 2/26/2009

It wasn't pretty.

Do you ever get tired of being under attack?

Well, I am.

It came from all sides and unfortunately Big Daddy got served from the "All is fair in War and Migraines" Buffet....and it wasn't yummy love and dessert I was serving, it was nasty, messy, worse than left-overs from the all night truck stop kind of messy.

What kills me, is that we are actually doing the "Love Dare" right now, yeah that's right, he is actually showering me with love, and I am giving back the worst of me.

It is like I am the grave digger, busy digging up ancient graves, instead of openly receiving the love he is giving.

None of which was helped by a horrendous migraine/sinus headache that took me all day to get rid of.

So, this is confession. I gave the worst of me to my love. It didn't really hit me how bad I was toward him until I realized that I did have some really great interactions yesterday. Not only did I pony up and put on a good front, I actually showed love and graciousness toward others. I also had some really funny moments that I shared on Twitter, that were not coming from the same "woman wronged" vantage point that I gave to my Beloved.

Of course, everything in my life is intertwined, and the Lord usually hits me from all sides since I am too dense to see the quiet subtle signs that should keep me in line.

Pete, posted about this very thing and linked, once again to a great blog, about the 8 things that can ruin even the best marriages. Whether you have the marriage you always dreamed of, or are dreaming of marriage other than the one you have, please go read the 8 things...it is very enlightening, and comes from a couple who has been in both places.

So, here is to communicating truth, receiving love, and living forgiveness.

Marriage...it's ALWAYS worth fighting for.

But fight the battles against what tries to destroy your marriage.

Don't fight each other.

Note to self: read and take your own advice!!!

Pretty Woman

Last night I took The Beez to the Ballet for the first time.  

While I am not endorsing the movie Pretty Woman, if you have seen it, think back to the scene were Julia Roberts arrives at the Polo match.  As soon as the team scores, she starts cheering, a la Arsenial Hall with the dog pound style fist pumping in the air.

That was kind of how my little princess acted when she cheered for the ballet dancers.  Instead of just clapping, she started "woohoo-woohoo-woohoo-wooho!!!!!!"  All in a priceless 5 year old high pitched squeal/scream.  

All made even funnier by the fact that we were sitting in the upper section, but on the front row, so every time she started in, the people below us would kind of turn around and try to find the source.

I guess, even at the Ballet, refinement is hard to come by if you live in our house.

About Last Night 2/19/2009

Looking for a little refinement, I took The Beez to the Ballet last night.

We have a beautifully renovated opera house not far from here and we have been blessed to be able to catch all sorts of amazing shows the past few years.

The best part about it, is that many traveling shows do educational performances during the day for local schools, and these shows are only $5 bucks...that's right, not the $25-$90 bucks that is charged  for the evening production.  So one or two days a month, we journey down to the opera house and catch a show.

Last night was actually the result of me not being able to use a calendar...one of my many faults.  I hate being tied down, and unless we are trapped in a sporting season like baseball where we have to be at varying places on different days, at different times, I pretty much just like to wing it.  Well, every school show this year has been on Friday.  So my week had been planned around spending this morning at the Ballet.

But, yesterday I realized that I needed one additional ticket so I called the box office and asked it any were available...to which she replied, "Oh, Honey, the Ballet was this morning.  You missed it Sweatheart....I am so sorry Darling."

So, I screwed up and The Beez was not going to be happy.  The nice box office lady did say that there were tickets available for the evening performance, but that they $35-$50 each.

I did not have $100 to spend on an evening out.  I was so bummed.  But then about ten minutes later, before I had built up the nerve to break the news, the kind lady called back.  She had shared my mishap with the director of sales, and he was going to sell me tickets for $12!!!!!   

So, after a little jiggling of our scheduled activities we decided to make it happen.  I failed to mention, that I had also invited a young lady from church, who loves to dance, to attend the morning show, which I of course missed, so she to was going to come along last night.

The show was amazing.  It was not a typical Ballet, as it was no a continuous story played out in dance, instead it was multiple vignettes with some audience particpation.  Here are a few of my thoughts on ballet:

1. I was surprised that some of the men in the dance company did not have what I would have considered dancers bodies...some of them looked like they could have been playing professional football, with very broad shoulders and short, stocky builds.  
2. The same can be said of the women, various body types and height.  This company also did something unique.  Instead of the women wearing pink tights and ballet shoes, as is the norm, they had their tights and shoes dyed to match their skin color.  That was neat because they had many nationalities represented within the dance company.
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Life Interupted

Last week in Sunday School our pastor asked us, "How has your life been interupted, and how did the Lord use that in teaching you a life lesson?"

About Last Night 2/17/2009

The Beez has lost her first tooth.

While I am appreciative of the fact that she really milked it for all it was worth, in the end the stupid thing fell out anyway, and hence opened the floodgate of my soul.

I distinctly remember when our oldest lost his first tooth...we were calling everybody and counting the days to the Tooth Fairies arrival. But with The Beez, although there were lots of phone calls, as there should be with such a rite of passage, there were also lots of tears...on my part.

It is no secret to anyone who really knows me that 4 has always been my magic number for children. It has always been four...maybe even 5...but always 4. After we had our boys within 15 months of each other...no I was not on drugs...we decided to wait a few years to have more. I relished that time as Mom to 2 Boys...it was a magical time. I was so young, and thought I knew so much, but in the end I think we all figured it out together.

Then 5 years later, we were blessed with The Beez...I had always thought I would want 3 & 4 as close to 1 & 2, but reality hit, and so we waited. Once again, I relished being a mom to 3...what a difference pink makes.

With a long awaited DisneyWorld vacation on the horizon, this roller coaster riding momma did not want to have to skip out so we decided to start trying on our vacation for my magic number 4.

Well, I guess roller coasters and reproduction don't go well, because somehow, my previously fertile myrtle self was just not cooperating. Finally, A YEAR later, we were pregnant.

I was beside myself...magic number 4 was on its way.

But, only days after our wonderful news, our world came crashing down with complications that ended up with us in the ER. Our friend was the Dr on call, and he said that either I was not as far along as we thought, or something was clearly not right.

Something was clearly not right. After countless ultrasounds and blood work with nothing concrete on the horizon as far as a diagnosis the Dr assumed that it must be ectopic. For the next 4 weeks the needles continued with blood work every 48 hours to see if the methotrexate had worked and would save me from surgery.

It did not and sadly one of the most frightening days of my life ensued. I ruptured at home, in the early morning, alone with my kids who were all sleeping soundly in their beds and never heard my cries for help for over an hour. Finally, my oldest heard me and found me on the floor of the bathroom and called my dearest friend who got me to the hospital.

Magic number 4 was not to be the summer of 2006.

And neither in the winter of 2008 when another early miscarriage took precious life from within me.

And, so now, as I slip on my Fairy shoes to make a night time delivery, I am reminded it will be the first time, for the last time.

The future for Big Daddy and I is laid before us...Crack, Snake and The Beez.

Three is not a bad number, it is just not what my plan had picked.

But none of this surprises The One I serve, and if His "Plan A" for my life is Mom to 3, then I will cherish my first and last with a fierce heart.

My quiver is full and I pray my heart will follow suit.

Father Daughter Dance 2009

Big Daddy and The Beez went to their 3rd Father Daughter Dance tonight. The Beez was so excited about her red dress and red shoes AND about FINALLY getting her Daddy to wear a pink shirt.

I can not believe she is 5years old...were has the time gone?

About Last Night 2/8/2009 AKA as The 80's Revisited

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About Last Night 2/8/2009 AKA as The 80's Revisited

This is me and Big Daddy all dolled up for the throw back valentines banquet. You were suppose to dress like your graduation year....let me clarify that BIG DADDY graduated in the 80's, NOT me. But really, how much different were the early nineties????

He was so channeling Don Johnson....make sure that you scroll down and see what he had on his feet...I was dying when he put them on!!!



This is me and "Candy"...at least that is what my kids call her. We were collectively working the 80's eyeshadow, the gaudy jewelry, the mauve lipstick and the hair by "Aqua Net"

This is Crack and his lady...she did an amazing job during the show. The youth did a flash back to the previous decades, and she was by far the best dancer.

These are the previously mentioned shoes. Do you love the white pants? I guess you should know that he actually had PINK pants on to begin with, but we liked the mint green shirt over the pink Tee with the white pants in the end. This was also taken after we got home, but when we were there, his pants were tight rolled, right above the ankle...just like the ladies liked them back in the day.

We had a marvelous time re-living memories, and making some new ones.

Now, if I can just get my hubby to order me this for Valentines Day, I will be all set.

"Is it spring yet???"

My darling daughter asked me this morning, "How many more days till spring?"

Science 101

Jumping on the trampoline = Static Hair

HELP

We are planning a visit to NY and to DC in the spring.

If you live there, or have been there, help a girl out and tell me what we HAVE to see.

I have all the "regular" places penciled in, but I am looking for things that might be more from a locals viewpoint.

Things off the beaten path, you could say.

So, speak up and email me at laughingmomma@gmail.com to send us on our way!!!

Oh, and if you have any contacts that could get us a White House tour, you better speak up!!!

Insomnia.....While I'm Waiting

Insomnia


I can run with the best of them, but insomnia has been a struggle for me pretty frequently over the past two years.


I have, in the past, lain awake at night worrying. I tend to over analyze everything and so sometimes it is my racing mind keeps me awake.


But the past month, it has not been my racing mind that has kept me awake, but instead it has been my uneasy heart.

And last night, or better said, this morning I laid awake until 3:45.


If I had to be brutally honest I would have to say that it is not circumstance that causes me unrest...but the thought of the unkown.


I am capable to deal with the known, whether good or bad...but ask me to wait and I am a nervous wreck.

And, yet, here I am waiting.

I am waiting on the LORD.

In my time of waiting, this is what I am listening to, it is by John Waller, entitled "While I'm Waiting"

I’m waiting
I’m waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I’m waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I’m waiting
I will serve You
While I’m waiting
I will worship
While I’m waiting
I will not faint
I’ll be running the race
Even while I wait
I’m waiting
I’m waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I’m waiting on You, Lord
Though it’s not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I’m waiting
I will worship while I’m waiting
I will serve You while I’m waiting
I will worship while I’m waiting
I will serve You while I’m waiting
I will worship while I’m waiting on You, Lord

So, I wait.

Come quickly Lord.