Dear Mr. President....

Dear Mr. President,

This election mattered. You now have the awesome responsibility to not only walk in the footsteps of our history but to also forge you own as you lead this great country.

I pray for one thing as you undertake this, the greatest task asked of a countryman.

That you are Honorable.

That you act not on your own behalf, but on the behalf of us all.

That you will fight for the future of our country, always mindful of the foundation that was laid by our forefathers.

That you will remain faithful as a husband and father, remembering your true legacy will be with them.

That you will act, not as a politician, but as a man bound by the honor of this great nation.

This election mattered.

Lead on.

Sincerely,

Not Me Monday

It's that time again...Not Me Monday





I did not spend the last week on Facebook reuniting with friends from elementary school...because that would mean that I would have to admit that elementary school was more than 20 years ago for me...and who wants to admit that???? Not Me!!!

I did not try to explain math to my oldest son by saying, " you can not add those together...it's like apples, pears and oranges....they are different." Only to hear my little girl say, " you can add those together Mommy, you can make 'p-o-r-n-g-e-l-s juice...that would be yummy." To which I then had to explain that that was not a good made up word...not one we should be sharing with others. Not me.

You're Gonna Miss This...

I know...two posts in ONE day...it's like Christmas all over again.

For my first installment of Pam's You're Gonna Miss This I thought I fill you in on a little something, and hit two birds with one stone.

If you have been reading this blog for more than a few months, then you might remember this post about my little sister KC moving 100 miles away...which is a really BIG deal because she lived practically in my backyard...technically, she(and her husband and little girl) live next door to my backyard...but you get the point....from a 100 feet to 100 miles is a really BIG deal.

Well, it was horrible. Really horrible. The pain of not seeing her and the Beast daily almost killed me. But, on some level it was never as bad as we had imagined it in our heads. We did have to detox from daily coffee together and daily interaction of our kids, but the hardest part was that the day after they moved...she found out she was expecting. Talk about kicking you when you are down...I then had to grieve all over again it took me weeks to realize that once again it was probably worse in my head...I seem to always end up in the deep end in my head.

Anyway, we were all doing our best. The first few days we did a lot of texting. That's what we do when all we would do on the phone is cry and therefore make everything worse. They, as a family were miserable. Between the apartment living, no family around, and pregnancy hormones...it was really hard.

Call them crazy, or call me the luckiest girl around...tomorrow they will be back in the "Blue House" as the Beast calls it. Yep, my backyard will once again have a worn pathway from my back door to hers...actually since its winter...the path never went away.

This morning the Beast is here with us while KC is at work... in all fairness she is so NOT as Beastly as she use to be...but the name stuck. So my pictures are of what I DID miss...and what I am glad to miss no more.

Here is Kannon...in all her glory...some of my favorite shots...

She is always a "knockout"



This one we affectionately call "Baby on a Wall"



First steps



Rocking out with the big girls on Beez's 5th Birthday

When your child quotes the Bible...to your other child

So, I was just sitting here, working on my 200th post when I overhead the following conversation from the kitchen...

Crack (who is almost 12 to Beez who is 5): "you need to stop messing around, it's time for lunch." Beez: "I am just playing with Snake"
Crack: "I know you are just playing, but you are being disobedient. Mom said for us to get our lunch made and not to waste time. The BIBLE says that you should obey your mother and father, and you are not doing that are you?"
Beez: "No, I am not. I will be obedient and get my lunch ready like Mom said"

Me, to myself, "is that a good thing or a bad thing??? Part of me is thinking, 'way to go Crack!!!'...the other part is thinking, 'take your own advice'.....mostly I am thinking, "he ALREADY sounds like his mother!!!! (poor thing)"

New Year + New Budget = New Stress

I am really not a New Year's resolution kind of person. With the exception of taking a personal inventory(and spiritual one too) I really don't make a list of things to do or accomplish just cause it New Years.
This year, though, I really have felt the urging of the Lord to get our finances in order. This past year we had record expenditures due to the fact that we made a top to bottom remodel in our kitchen, replaced the floors through 75% of the house and also gutted and remodeled the kids bathroom. Add to that some hefty auto repair bills(no car payments though) and any one would have their head spinning. But unfortunately, while we were in full demo mode the economy was in total meltdown mode. Not a good mix.

So, for the New Year, I have some new goals:

• Start using http://www.pearbudget.com/ I found this over on Brand & Boys page. I hope it is all that I am dreaming it will be...I hate most online budget guides, but so far this one is right up my alley.
• Give up the Debit card....too much mindless spending on my part...I can turn a quick trip for milk and eggs into 4o bucks without blinking.
• Give up the check book too...except for bill paying that I can not do online. I am a sucker for kids coming up to me asking me to sponsor them or order something from them for a fundraiser...and then just whip out a check...mindless spending again.
• Stick to my grocery budget...not my list..just my budget. I have this thing about groceries...it is kind of freaky, but ask anyone, my pantry IS ALWAYS stocked. In my defense, I also cook a full hot meal EVERY night and during the colder months, I usually cook a hot breakfast a few times a week too. We only eat out maybe twice a month at our fave Mexican place.
• Do my VERY BEST to not purchase any "wants". I am a bargain shopper, so I do a lot of what I would call preemptive sale shopping. I am always on the lookout for my kids next size athletic shoe, end-of-season-for-next-season bargain clothes shopping, and just in general...if it is on sale, than I am tempted to buy it.
• And, lastly I really need to keep on eye on our tithing. While we do tithe regularly, I have kind of gotten into a giving rut. I am praying that the Lord will help me be mindful of others needs, and to give freely, without preconceived amounts and then trust the Lord to meet our needs.

So, if you find yourself in these same shoes, or maybe your own pair with different goals and changes on your horizon, leave a comment I will pray for your journey, as I pray for my own.

Ants in my pants...or something like it.

Last night, in order to watch 24 uninterrupted, I gave the kiddos permission to finish the cupcakes that I had made earlier by icing them and decorating them. I know, what was I thinking????

But actually, they did a very good job. What I did NOT tell them was how many they could eat AFTER they finished with the decorating. BIG MISTAKE!!! I should first mention, these were no measly cupcakes...these were my highly sought after JUMBO Celebration Cupcakes.

So this morning, while I was cleaning up the mess(don't miss the fact that it was this morning...not last night) I realized that there was only 5 left. After some quick addition(or subtraction) and searching, just in case I missed them and they were hiding, I realized that between the four of us who ate them last night(Beez was full from our yummy homemade soup and cornbread..which she said "rocked") we consumed 7 cupcakes...remembering that they were of the jumbo variety should bring a look of shock across your face.

But I KNEW that Big Daddy and I only ate one a piece....which left the culprits Crack and Snake eating two each.

That, my friends, is the equivalent to 4 PIECES of CAKE EACH!!!!!!

Just trying to make a point...

Sometimes, when homeschooling your children, you have to go to the end of the world to get one of them to understand a new concept or even just a simple project.

Crack, who is in 6th grade, loves to do reports on figures he is learning about, especially if he gets to role play. Tell him to imagine he is actually walking around the walls of Jericho, and watch out, he will blow your socks off with vivid imagery and relate able feelings.

Snake, on the other hand, loathes role playing, at least in school. Don't get me wrong, the kid actually has a more vivid imagination than his older brother, but somehow when asked to use it scholastically, and he clams up.

Today, Snake had to write a short report based on the story of the King Belshazzar in Daniel. Specifically on the writing on the wall story. His instructions are simple, read the passage, and then describe the account in your own words including the translation of the words written on the wall. In addition, he needs to IMAGINE that he is at the kings table when it all takes place and describe his feelings in relation to the nights strange and powerful encounter with the Holy God.

After he retells the event as laid out in the scripture...he hits a wall. Blank stares and absolutely no desire to "go there" in his imagination he calls for me.
I read his completed portion, which was fine and then ask him to IMAGINE he was at the table when it actually happened.

Again, a blank stare. Not even a hint of imagination in his eyes. At this point, in my frustration I look down and try to keep my composure(and my hands to myself). When I look back up, I spot Snakes newest pride and joy, a Lego robot, complete with guns and fighter guys to help protect him. I then remembered his explanation of all of his parts the previous night. You see, the Lego robot had something that NO OTHER Lego Robot in the history of Lego Robots has ever been privy to have....a goober gun, two actually.

So, I grab the Lego Robot, goober gun and all and explain to Snake that his IMAGINATION thought up the goober gun...that no one else on the planet would have had the IMAGINATION to do that. So just like he used his imagination to think up that, he needed to use it to think of being at the kings table.(sans the goober guns)

When all else fails, just use the goober guns to get the job done.