Yay!

I just want to thank God that we are able to meet at our church today. For the past 3 services, we have been unable to meet at our church because the road has been washed out. This rain has really done a number on the dirt road that leads to our little country church. We have been meeting at an alternate location which has been a huge blessing, but we are so thankful for our church building. God is good and He is faithful.

I'm grateful that the TRUE church is not a building at all, but is the believers that attend! Praise you Lord for letting us realize what's really important.

Mystery Photo Revealed

There you have it. Obviously the raisins were a dead giveaway. Tuesday, I went to open my bible and discovered that someone, who will remain Emmynonymous, thought I might get hungry for more than God's Word. Doesn't it say somewhere, "man does not live by raisins alone."? I think I'm misquoting that. (Please disregard the cat hair attached to the raisins.)

Mystery Photo

Can you guess what this is? There's a short story behind it. I would to hear your theories.

No Warning....

No one warned me, when I was expecting my first child, that there would be days I would not have a good answer for my kids when they asked the proverbial question, "Why?"

No one warned me that there would be days where being a mother would be, bar none, the most stressful job in the world.

No one warned me before I had children that I would have times where I actually asked myself the question, "Is this really what I was meant to do?"

(Bite marks from her sister)

No one warned me that a trip to the grocery store, sans children, would be a mini-mental vacation.

No one warned me that I would one day be on the receiving end of judging glances about my parenting that I used to be one the giving end of........funny how things come full circle.

No one warned me that, at 34, my hormones would be so out of whack that I could be crying one minute and wanting to scream the next and getting increasingly more agitated at my hair sticking to my sweaty face as I try to cook dinner, do dishes, and tend to 3 children who all want to be right under my feet as I do the first two.

No one warned me that trying to carry on a conversation with my husband in the car would require a privacy window, like those in limousines. Children must always be louder than the loudest person in the vehicle.......did anyone warn you of that?

No one warned me that sleeping in would be considered anything past 7:30 a.m..........

I guess, if someone had warned me I would've done one of two things.......

1. I would've ignored her, thinking, "That's just her. It won't happen to me."

2. I wouldn't have had children.

I'm glad no one warned me.........:) Our life is like a puzzle. Some pieces don't make any sense at all until you see the big picture. The stress of raising young children is not a job for the weak at heart.

There are days you will want to pull your hair out.

There are days you will think, "I'm not cut out for this."

There are days you will cry and feel helpless and you will think, "It just can't get any worse than this."

There are days you will laugh so hard and love so much that you will think, "It just doesn't get any better than this."

Being a parent is the hardest, bestest, most challenging, most rewarding job on the planet.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

***It's been a rough couple of weeks, for me, as a mom. I haven't felt up to taking new pics, so I've recycled some old ones. ***

Late Bloomer

Michael turned 8 in April and he is just now losing his 4th tooth. It's his first on the top. Eric was a late tooth loser, too. He lost his last teeth in high school. Can you imagine? That would put a damper on your dating life. Nevertheless, Michael finally has the cute toothless grin that I've been waiting for. Of course, I tried to take a good picture, but he kept coming in too close to the camera, so here's what I got......freckles, ears and all.......I love this boy to the moon and back.

Love And Wants

There are a few things I have fallen in love with as of recent, and it started with a Mother's Day treat to the salon for a hair cut and an eyebrow waxing. The stylist talked me into the latter and it's been, at least 6 years since my last wax. I just figured, "What the heck, it's Mother's Day and my husband probably won't even notice." Wrong. He didn't say anything right away, but the following morning he saw my status on Facebook (which stated said waxing) and he came into the bedroom and said, "I thought your eyebrows looked different!"

Okay, really? Really? I never, in a million years, thought he would notice something as minute as that. I guess he really does still look at me....:)

By the way, these are his eyes, not my freshly waxed ones...

So, the girl who did my hair put some Chi Silk infusion on my freshly blow-dried and flat-ironed head. Okay, you wanna talk about some good smelling product? Girlfriend.......mmmmhmmm! I love the smell of this stuff and now I'm trying to empty our bank account buying some for myself. Well, in my defense, I was almost out of flat iron spray and straightening balm.

So, now, of course, I reeeaaaalllly want to get a Chi Flat Iron. I have a cheapy one from "our- favorite-store-to-complain-about", but they just don't last. Can anyone tell me if I would be wasting my money on a Chi?

Yo Gabba-ish

There is something so cool about accapella singing. This is really kind of bizarre, but at the same time very intriguing. It's pretty amazing that it's all done without any instruments.




I can burp my name......what about you?

My Sexy Snake Wrestler

My husband is my hero. He, not only, makes the kids school lunches (and puts sweet notes in their lunch boxes), prepares breakfast for the whole family, continually renovates our house, and drives a pickup truck (♪♪...somethin' woman like about a pickup man♪♪), he wrestles snakes!! Does it get any hotter, ladies? Don't be jealous...:)


This nasty, non-poisonous critter showed up in our driveway this afternoon. Blech!!!!!!! Scourge of the earth.

Just What The Doctor Ordered...

Okay, not really, but it was an amazingly relaxing time. Friday, the kids' school was taking a trip to Sea World and we opted out of spending over $200 in gas, tickets and food, not to mention waiting in line in the heat. We just took a 45 minute drive to St. Augustine Beach. We even brought Flat Stanley along with us. What a much better way to spend the day. We just spent time together as a family. We really should do it more often.

What does your favorite family fun day consist of?

Greater Things....

If you haven't yet heard this tremendous song of praise by Chris Tomlin, please listen today. As we embark on this National Day of Prayer, please intercede for your home, your church, your school, your city, your state, our nation, and God's world.

Lord,

Today, I pray You would wake up the sleeping church. Open our eyes to the needs that are right in front of us. Make us aware of the hurt that is all around us and help us MINISTER accordingly. There is NO ONE LIKE YOU, LORD. I praise YOUR HOLY, MAJESTIC, AWESOME NAME~ ADONAI! You are.

I love you, Jesus.

It's gonna be an interesting day....

Pray for me. I have been snacking on some yummy Maui Onion Kettle Cooked chips and just decided to check the ingredients. CONTAINS WHEAT. Ooooops.

Pray for me. Thanks.

***I have Celiac Disease and wheat is the BIG No-No......***

Birthday in Bed

Well, Saturday was my 34th birthday. It was pretty uneventful. My hubby planned a party with some of our friends. He took care of everything. Unfortunately, I was sick. I spent the entire day in bed. Not swine flu, thank goodness, but nonetheless, yucky.

Eric took the kids out and left me alone, which I greatly appreciated. When I woke up, my little nurse, Lauren was in bed with me stroking my hair and asking me if I was feeling better. Her exact sweet words were, "I'm sorry you're feeling sick on your birthday."

Eric went out and bought balloons, plates, cups and all the fixin's for a really nice shindig. We'll have to save it for another time. He did make me a flourless chocolate cake that was INCREDIBLE! It had, like, a pound of dark chocolate and 2 sticks of butter and 8 eggs. Oh yeah, it was reeeeeeaaaaalllllllly rich. It was just what I needed to make me feel better.

The kids got me a family size George Foreman grill. I. love. my. grill. It's wonderful. (Yes, I look like death-warmed-over, thank you very much. I was sick. I have an excuse :)

Thank you so much to my family for taking such good care of me. God gave me the best family is the world.