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IT'S A BARRETT CHRISTMAS!

HERE ARE A FEW PICS OF ALL THE FUN WE'VE HAD OVER THE HOLIDAY SEASON SO FAR....IT'S BEEN A TRULY WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS, AND I HAVE THE MOST WONDERFUL MEMORIES!!! ENJOY THE SLIDE, AND I HOPE YOU AND YOUR FAMILY HAS A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR!!!
JEN

A True Merry Christmas

IT'S CHRISTMAS YA'LL

In life there are a few things you can always be certain of...paying taxes, death is inevitable, and preschool christmas parties that wear you out!!! (ONCE AGAIN, EXHAUSTION ENSUES!) Today is the last day of school before the holidays, and I am so STOKED! (that's excited for all you not up on the lingo...haha) Hopefully over these next few weeks, we will get some much needed rest. The last few have been hectic and hard! So for now, here are just a few of the pics that I have taken thus far this season, and I will add more later. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

...I'VE EDITED THE SLIDE SHOW FOR THIS POST AND IT IS NOW POSTED ABOVE.....

Too Funny

This video has nothing to do with anything in my life, I just thought it was HILARIOUS!

MY THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving was good. Restful? NO! But good still. We had my in-laws over for breakfast, and that was nice...except for when my hubby got a call to go see about a fire alarm going off somewhere. "Breakfast" turned into "Brunch" due to the delay in his arrival after he went out. He was on call this weekend & hopefully that means he'll be all ours for Christmas and not be on call then too. But with his job, who knows. We had lunch at my parent’s house, and it was nice, but quiet! My family all came in shifts this year. I didn’t get to see either of my brothers at the same time, and all the cousins, aunts and uncles were in a million different directions at a million different times. Still the food was plentiful and good, and we loved it all (especially the dressing and mom's famous potato salad!) We went to my hubby's dads in the evening...and no, I did NOT eat again! I was still stuffed. But the kids did, and we had a nice visit. About the time we were leaving (8:00 pm, mind you), my mom calls and tells me that one of the craziest and most hilarious cousins we have, had surprised her for a visit, and wants to know would we come back by. WELL HECK YEAH! I love these people, they are great! My husband was introduced to her a few years ago, and when she found out he could install a security system in her home, she was excited! Now I need to precede the following story with a little background on her. I believe she is my mom's 4th cousin and she is from what we all refer to as "The Sticks", and most would refer to as "The Country"! She has the thickest southern accent of anyone you'd ever meet. Her daughter is a year older than me, and her son is about the same age as my brothers. We didn't get to see them often, but all through my childhood, whenever they all came over, it was nothing but F-U-N!!! My husband was introduced to this side of the family a few years ago, and she told him she needed him to put a "booger light" in her house. Yeah, you read that right. A "BOOGER LIGHT"!!! Let me translate for those of you who don't know what she meant. She wanted a SECURITY SYSTEM in her new home! The only kind of security she had was a motion light that came on in the driveway when someone or something walked up. So you can imagine when she said "BOOGER LIGHT" the kind of laughter that followed was enough to make your side split! Every since then, whenever her name is mentioned, my husband only refers to her as "BOOGER LIGHT"!! It always gets a laugh. When we went in to see them late Thursday evening (it was nearly 9pm, and my poor kids were exhausted!), the party came to life the minute my husband walks into the living room and sees them sitting on the couch and he yells "IT'S BOOGER LIGHT!!" From that moment on, we laughed, and laughed and screamed more laughter as we talked about the good ol' days. It was a great day! The only thing for sure is that I was exhausted when I had to get up at 1am because my little man was running fever...got back to sleep around 3:30 and then up around 5am to start getting ready for my "mad shopping" day on the craziest shopping day of the year! I made it home by 4pm, and was fighting sleep at 7pm. Kids and me in the bed by 8:30...which for our home is UNHEARD OF! I'm definitely a night owl, and rarely in bed before 11pm. But I made up for the lost sleep on Saturday and its back to a regular schedule now...a regular schedule of chaos that is!
J

The Turkey Is Coming!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! I'm sure I'll have some "Turkey Tales" when it's all said and done, so stay tuned to the next posting!!!
GOBBLE GOBBLE!!

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SO YOU HAD A BAD DAY,

Well, today there is a song running through my head, over and over again! Yep. That crappy "BAD DAY" song that American Idol wore out at the end of the "kick off" shows. It's been a rainy, windy, gray day here. I've been in the kitchen for hours, working on the Indian Tshirts I had the bright idea to do for my 2 year olds preschool class. Hubby calls, from out of town (on business), and tells me that he's headed into town...that town would be NEW YORK CITY! Ticked me off. I'm eatin' bagel bites, and pringles today, he's touring Rockefeller Plaza. I'm putting beads on the dyed shirts I've hand painted, he's headed out to Times Square. We are eating leftover spaghetti for dinner, I'm fighting with a 5 year old over the color of the cup I gave her at dinner, and my 2 year old has a "spaghetti belly" because he's dumped his plate everywhere, and hubby's eating $40 dinners that the company is paying for. I had to go to OPEN HOUSE at the kids school last night-in the rain-and attend a crowded book fair with the kids, while he was relaxing in a quiet hotel room ordering room service. I'm staying up late at night so I can stay caught up on everything (the dishes, the laundry, the shows I've TIVO'd), and he's watching the shows with little interuption (except when the kids call to say goodnight) and relaxing in a comfy bed. So, whenever I take a "girls night out" or go away for a girls trip (SOMEONE CALL ME PLEASE, I'M READY TO GO), please, please, please, SOMEBODY remind me NOT TO FEEL GUILTY! Why do women do that? Why is it that when I went away on my 24 hour Nashville excursion a couple of months ago, I felt slightly guilty about the trouble hubby had to go to to take off work and go pick kids up at school, etc. I dunno. Do the men ever feel guilty leaving the wife and kids behind when they go out of town on business? And when I say guilty, I MEAN REALLY GUILTY. Not just "saying" that to make the wifey-poo feel better when you talk to her. I guess that is just one of the many vast differences between men and women. Well, I do have one small peace of solice...my peach fuzzy navel is waiting on the kids to go to bed so mom can finally RELAX! YUMMY!

MY THANKS GIVINGS

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The Thanksgiving Holiday is just around the corner! I love this time of year! But this year in particular, I am trying to make more of an effort to remember the things I have in life in which to be thankful for. Often it's too easy to take our trials, and hardships on as burdens, and negate God's presence in those circumstances. Tonight, God took me to 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." My joy, my prayers, and what I have to be thankful for should not merely fluctuate with my circumstances or a roller coaster of emotions I am experiencing. It's easy to see where obeying these 3 commands, be joyful, pray continually, and give thanks, would go against our natural disposition in life...it's hard to have joy in hard times. But there is a difference between JOY and HAPPINESS in life. Happiness reflects your circumstances, but TRUE JOY COMES FROM JESUS! And, I have found, especially here lately, that when I make a concerted effort to look for God's presence in all those hard situations, and do what He says, I am also able to see God's will at work, and the "circumstance" in a whole new perspective. Think about times when you have relied on God's guidance, and how He showed up in those major ways that you needed him in those hard times...now, looking back, do you see Him more? Do you see how BIG he is? That's your JOY! There's your Thanksgiving! In verse 18, Paul is not telling us to thank God FOR everything that happens to us, but rather to give thanks IN every circumstance! A commentary note in my study bible says "Evil doesn't come from God, so we shouldn't thank Him for that, but we can be thankful for God's presence in the midst of our trial, and for all the good that He will carry out through our distress."
My daughter has an awesome song that she's just learned...and she's singing it all over the house these days. You may remember singing this as a child...

My God is So Big

My God is so big,So strong and so mighty,There's nothing my God cannot do.(clap, clap)
My God is so big,So strong and so mighty,There's nothing my God cannot do.(clap, clap)
The mountains are His,The valleys are His,The stars are His handiwork too.
My God is so big,So strong and so mighty,There's nothing my God cannot do.(clap, clap)

I love how the Lord uses my own kids to remind me how having the faith of a child is all I need to come to Him! It's so easy for a child to have faith in God. If you tell a child to have faith, their mindset is set! They expect God to act! WOW! My God Is So Big, To Use Small Children In Such Big Ways!!! Praise Be To GOD In Whom My TRUE JOY Rests!

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW ME?

So I thought I would give this a try because it seemed like fun... How well do you know me???? Well, click on the box below and let's see!

Create your own friendquiz here

HALLOWEEN PICS

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

EXHAUSTION~ONCE AGAIN!

HALLOWEEN IS EXHAUSTING!

Here's a few pics from our Halloween....Let me just say, I'm exhausted from these past few days! Between my father-in-law nearly loosing a leg due to a blood clot and being AIR LIFTED from a hospital in Foley, Al to Pensacola, FL, (he had surgery and is doing better now...) hubby being gone to see about his father, me having to do crafts for the K2 class my son is in, and having to take 2 kids to a fall festival (again) all by myself....I'M POOPED! But hey, the week didn't slow down...& I have more stress on the horizon! BRING IT ON! I heard on the news this week that people who go to bed stressed out and worried, will burn calories while sleeping. Well, I've been stressed and worried so much this week, that I ought to look like a HOT MAMA~! Yeah, that story is a bunch of crap...I gained a pound at this past week's "SKINNY COW GIRLS" meeting...and judging by the amount of candy in my house, it'll be a rough weigh in next week-I've been "stress eating"!!...Anyway...back to the Halloween stuff...We've done the Fall Festival & Trunk Or Treat's...We've dressed up as our alter-ego's: Hannah Montana & SuperMan (or Pooperman if you're a 2 year old who doesn't speak clearly!)...We've carved our pumpkin...we've Trick or Treated, and now, we're ready for the next holiday! I love this time of year! Isn't the fall just beautiful this year? I'm in heaven!

Enjoy the slide in the post above...

Camping Trip Slide Show

Here's a slide of our trip...the "REAL" story is posted after...enjoy

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The Griswold's (aka Barrett's) Camping Vacation

This was the big camping weekend. We'd been planning this for 2 months, our daughter was excited to finally find out what camping was all about after we had talked about it for so long. This was the first camping trip with kids, as the hubby and I used to go often before we were blessed with children, so it's been at least 6 years...but the camping gear was still in good condition, so the trip is ON! This is the prettiest time of year to go, since the fall season brings out the most beautiful colors of nature! We decided to go to Mt. Cheaha, a new camping place for us because most all of our previous camping trips were at Guntersville State Park. Once we began climbing that mountain, our breaths were taken away when we saw all the gorgeous colors of the leaves! The excitement mounted! Little did we know, that was going to be one of the few exciting moments of the entire weekend...So we find us a camping spot at the bottom of the mountain near the lake. Not our first choice, but it turned out fine in the end. Hubby gets there and starts the camp fire, and begins assembling the tent. I let the kids out of the van to run some energy off and as the sun begins hiding behind the trees, they're getting cold, so we huddle up near the fire. Yes, we've been "camping" for less than an hour when suddenly, my 5 year old is bent over vomiting! OH YES! That NASTY stomach virus that the kids and I have been dealing with for the last 2 weeks IS BACK! I say a quick prayer for her to not to do that again. She would have been absolutely heart broken to have to pack up and go home...but luckily that was the only time. We made it through the night, even though it was 38 degrees outside and let me remind you we are sleeping in a TENT! But to no avail, we came prepared! We have an air mattress to keep us elevated off the ground, covered with an electric blanket (it's not camping without the electrical hook up and extension cords bringing you the warmth of heaven!), and the best little $10 investment we've ever made: a space heater that we had sitting on a small cooler that kept our entire tent nice and toasty ALL NIGHT LONG! As a matter of fact, my 2 year old got SO toasty, he was kicking our covers off during the night. OH-Did I mention the fact that the 4 of us all slept on that queen size air mattress???? Packed like a can of sardines, but it worked. Not much sleep for me, because every time my girl moved, I was panicked that she was going to vomit again, so I had to be ready! But we made it through the night all clear! The next day...I was thinking we were over it, and we all went down to the lake. Hubby was eager to teach our daughter how to fish with her brand new Princess fishing rod. She was eager to try. But disappointment ensued when there was not one bite. But I guess it's hard to make a catch when a 2 year old is throwing rocks into the water...go figure. Not long after that, we abandoned the idea of fishing and went for a hike around the lake...a good walk away from any restroom...therefore, the stomach virus comes back. But this time, it was the other end! (Yeah, if you have weak tummies, get over it! IT HAPPENS!) My poor girl was so upset, we once again, abandoned our hike around the lake, and went back to camp. After cleaning up, and multiple trips to the bathhouse that was luckily only 1 campsite away, it was official, we were in for the long haul with this stomach bug. LET ME REDEEM MYSELF AS A PARENT HERE! I know it sounds bad, but she wasn’t so sick that we had to come home, she was fine, aside from the multiple trips to the restroom. She was having so much fun, and frankly, we were too. So with only one more night to go, we stayed. Later in the day, I noticed the wind was blowing a lot. So, since we were “roughing it”, I got out my cell phone, and stood on the top of the picnic table to get a signal, & connected to the internet to find a weather report. Yes, the rain chances had gone up from the forecast I watched just a day ago. It was no longer a “slight chance of rain”, it was now “Thunderstorms likely, chance of rain 60%”!!! The doom set in. I begin suggesting we go ahead and pack up the van, not to go home, but just to have everything ready if in the event it DOES rain and we need to go in a hurry. Well, my suggestions were shot down. Fine. We’ll deal when the time comes I guess. AND WE DID! At midnight, it began raining. No problem…the tent is surviving so far. I fell asleep, and at 2:30 am I awaken to find everything on the tent that is not on the air mattress is soaked! We were dry, at least. I begin changing my clothes, and as I took the shirt off my back to change, the COLDEST raindrop hits my back and makes me scream! Yeah, not only do I have to run to the bath house in the rain to go pee, but now the tent is leaking from the top! Hubby wakes up, and makes the decision: Load up the kids, and the wet clothes, blankets, shoes, etc…he’s taking us home. No time for taking the tent down…he’ll come back. So by 4 am we are on the road in what can only be described as a monsoon, headed home. The 2 hour drive home was rough, and poor hubby had to utter the words I will cherish, and I’m sure, remind him of for years to come, “Honey, YOU WERE RIGHT AND I WAS WRONG”! So, will we go camping again????? Yes, but next time, we pack the van and be ready for ANYTHING! After all, I WAS RIGHT!

WE LOVE THIS PLACE!

Yeah, so I posted a blog last week about the Pumpkin Patch. So we went back this weekend with our sunday school class for a night time hayride and bonfire weinnie roast. It was a lot of fun, so I just had to post a slide show with pics of all of this. We look forward to doing this every year! It's a great time for our families!

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

The Skinny Cow Girls

One week ago today, a few friends of mine got together to embark on a weight loss journey. We all are former Weight Watcher clients, but given our current financial status (stay at home moms), we can't really afford to go to the meetings, so we've decided to meet once a week, and conduct our own support group. Last week, we all weighed in for the first time, and got each other all pumped up and excited about getting this weight off! One of the girls named us the "Skinny Cow Girls", and that is indeed our goal! We will all take turns hosting the weekly meeting at our homes, weigh in, trade tips, and recipies, and give support to each other so we can all achieve our goal. First, I have set "small term goals". I would like to loose 10 pounds by Thanksgiving. I think that is a reasonable goal, and totally acheivable. At today's weigh in, I was down 3.4 pounds (WOOO HOOO!!!). It was a rough week. I had a hard time in the beginning, because I felt hungry all day long ( a mental thing with me, just knowing I "can't" eat was torture!). But by the 3rd day, I was doing better~no longer feeling like I was going to chew the cabinets off the walls! The key to it all for me, is going to be journaling what I am eating. I don't really even think it is necessary to write down the points everytime (which I most likely will do), but just writing down what you eat kinda gives you a visual of what all you're taking in. And best of all, my wonderful hubby is now on board, and ready to loose weight. We are finally on plan together! Usually, it's me and not him, or the other way around, but finally we are both on the same page, so that is going to be HUGE! I absolutely need his support, or you can just hang it up! I can't eat healthy if I see him enjoying all the burgers, fries, and peanut butter! So, here I go, really ready to loose the weight and feel and look better....We won't weigh in for another 10 days because of scheduling conflicts with us all, but I will post another weight loss victory at that time! (The power of positive thinking!!) Until then....
J

The Pumpkin Patch

Time for the Pumpkin Patch!!!
My family looks forward to this time of year for many reasons...the leaves changing colors, the crisp, cool air when the temps drop, watching football, cooking chili on the stove, and going to the Pumpkin Patch! We love it! For the past 3 or 4 years, we've made it an annual thing to go to the patch together-dad takes off work, and we all go with the kids preschool. Every year, it's alot of fun. Every year, it wears us out! Every year, something new happens. And now, this year is no different. Hear me when I say, it's just wrong, I REPEAT-WRONG for it to be 90 degrees in October!!! Just last week, it was so cool at night, it crossed my mind to put an extra blanket on the bed...and now, it's so hot I was on the verge of melting while searching for the perfect pumpkin (2 perfect pumpkins, in fact) for my perfect pumpkins! Why did I dress us all in bluejeans????? BECAUSE IT'S OCTOBER! But, you would think, living in the south like we do, I'd be used to it by now...I guess it's just wishful thinking. But, we survived, even if I had to peel the clothes off us when we got home! (And it's a miracle we made it home, because yes, I LOST MY KEYS WHILE WE WERE THERE! Thank you to the dear soul who wanted me to go home today and turned them in!!!) We had a great hayride, the kids played in the "jumpy things", my little girl was able to ride the ponies-her favorite thing, and a local Fox station was there doing a story and interviewed my dear darling and 2 of her friends...who knows what they'll actually use on the air, but it's supposed to be shown on the news next week. All I know is my girl was acting like a ham! She did a great job! When the reporter asked what she was going to be for Halloween, she said "Hannah Montana!" and started singing the theme to the show! "You get the Beeest of both worlds!" I know I'm prejudice, but she was so cute! What did I expect, right? Hehe! I can't wait to see the news segment! My baby is a star!!

Vacation?????

When I was small, vacations were what your parents took to get some rest, and relaxation away from the daily grind. Now that I'm an adult, vacations are usually anything but that! This past weekend, my hubby and I took the kids to Atlanta to visit with friends, and to go to the Georgia Aquarium. To me, it sounded good. My husband desperatly needed the time away because he consumes all of his day and night worrying about his hectic, stressfull job and then adds more work to that by taking on side jobs for the weekend, so we can have a little more money and try to stay on top of everything. So a weekend away was just what the doctor (me) ordered! We set out friday afternoon, and begin driving the short trip to the state next door...the kids were excited, hubby was slightly relieved that noone could call him and ask that he do something, and I was stoked that the fam was going to spend quality time together for 3 days straight! Just as we drove past the state line, we run into construction on the roads, and traffic is backed up. I'm cool with that...until the "cool" ran out. The engine on our van began running hot (again! it did it back in February of this year when we drove to Orlando, and ended up costing $2000 to get our air conditioner fixed!), the air blowing our of the vents was anything but cold, and we had to sit in traffic and watch the needle tick further and further up. I was saying silent prayers to the Lord, and finally the traffic started moving and we were able to see the needle tick back down (but only after rolling the windows down and turning on the heat. I'm a woman, and I don't quite get why that works because I dont' understand "car talk" but I'm just glad it did work.) So we made it to our friends house, unloaded the car and spent the evening celebrating a birthday for my hubby's childhood friend. It was really a great night. The next day, we headed out to the Georgia Aquarium. Now for the most part, I don't really enjoy aquariums. To me, it's just one fish right after another. I've been to the aquarium in Chattanooga, Nashville, and New Orleans, and they were all the same to me (best one being NewOrleans if I had to choose). Well, for the most part, we all enjoyed our visit to the aquarium, but we all had the same complaints...First of all-GEORGIA PEOPLE ARE RUDE(more specifically-Atlanta people!) No offense to those who are from Georgia, and especially if you are not one of the rude ones, but I'm sorry, we had people running into us in this very crowded space and rarely did we hear anyone say "excuse me" to us. There were even people running over the kids and then looking disgusted that they shared the same air space with them. It's definatley not the southern hospitality that we are used to. And our second complaint is for the aquarium itself...the flow of traffic is pathetic! We walk into this large circular center court, and all along the walls are the different areas of attractions. The flow of traffic was fine once you got into the different types of aquariums, but if your in the centre and need to go to the restroom: GOOD LUCK!
At the end of the day, my dawgs were barkin'!!! I felt like I had been at Disney World for 5 days straight and all that walking was going to be the death of me! But overall, it was a great trip. We finished Sunday off at the North Georgia State Fair, and once again, the feet were tortured. It was a fun, and exhausting vacation. Vacation? There is that word again. So maybe I need to come up with a better word. It wasn't relaxing...but we still had a blast!
J

Raise Your Hand If You've Ever Caught The Rainbow-TWICE!

WOW! OK, So back in June of this year, on my hubby's birthday, we were taking our kids to see the new Disney movie, "Cars". On the way to the theatre, it came a torrential downpour, and you couldn't see the road in front of you. Then as quickly as the storm came, it left. And before us in the sky, just barely skimming the tops of the trees, was a glorious rainbow. Now if you are at all like me, you get excited anytime you see a rainbow in the sky. There is just something special about remembering God's promise to man, and the rainbow being our sign of God's faithfulness to us all. So in all my excitement, I get my kids involved and we're all screaming and pointing up to the sky "Look at the rainbow!". Then the most amazing thing happened. WE ACTUALLY CAUGHT THE RAINBOW! No lie! As we turned a corner in the road, the rainbow was hitting the asphalt in front of us! I could hardly believe my eyes. As we continued to drive, the rainbow landed on the hood of our vehicle! I'm telling you it's the most amazing thing I've ever seen! I would love to tell you that there was a beautiful pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, just as the mythical legends would have us all believe, but all I saw was my blue, 2002, Chevy Venture minivan. Not quite the sight you would dream of, but if that means my van is worth gold, then so be it.
Well, the story doesn't end there. Once this summer, I was visiting with a friend, who is going through the gammant of emotions as he and his wife are having to spend everyday in the hospital fighting for the life of their unborn baby. (I made a previous post about them, and they are doing well now...but keep them in your prayers) As I was standing in his driveway, and we were having a conversation about trusting God in the hard times, and learning to have faith in new ways, etc, etc. I looked up in the sky and what do I see? YES! A RAINBOW! Now that is amazing in and of itself, but the kicker is, there was not a raincloud in the sky! It had not rained a drop that day! I believe God sent that rainbow as a reminder that He is in control of ALL things, and we need to be more diligent in giving Him the praise and glory for it all!
And then there was this past Saturday. It had been threatening bad weather all day, & rained pretty hard a couple of times, but nothing like the forecast had predicted. My sis in law invited us to come over and let the kids play for a bit, so to keep my boring saturday for getting any worse, I loaded up my 2 kids, and we headed out. As we were turning onto a major Highway just blocks away from their house, what do you think appeared out of nowhere? No, not a bird. No, not a plane! IT WASN'T EVEN SUPERMAN! There in the sky in front of me, reaching all the way down to the asphalt in front of my blue, 2002, Chevy Venture minivan, was another rainbow-A DOUBLE RAINBOW AS A MATTER OF FACT! (again, no pot of gold) So all I can conclude from this "marvelment" of an experience is that God IS faithful, He is TRUE, He is taking care of me, and HE IS EVERYTHING I need, and each time I see that beautiful rainbow, I am reminded of all this. God is the origional artist of life. Only a God like Him could do that, and for this reason, it is only a God like Him, that is worthy of all my praise in life! I wish I knew a way to post a song on this blog, because if I could, it would be "Only A God Like You"...but in lieu of that, I will leave you with the Lyrics....

Only a God Like You
For the praises of man, I will never ever stand;
For the kingdoms of this world, I'll never give my heart away or shout my praise.
My allegiance and devotion, my heart's desire and all emotion,
Go to serve the man who died upon that tree.

Only a God like You could be worthy of my praise, and all my hope and faith;
To only a King of all kings, do I bow my knee and sing, give my everything. (repeat)
To only my Maker, my Father, my Savior, Redeemer, Restorer, Rebuilder, Rewarder,
To only a God like You, do I give my praise.

Only a God like You. (4x)
Tommy Walker, Integrity’s Praise Music 2000, ASCAP, Admin. Integrity’s Praise Music
All rights reserved, used by permission

DOG TIRED!

Ok, so my last post, I was "sleepy tired!" Today I am DOG TIRED! I was the substitute teacher for my son's preschool class today. Picture this: 8 twoyear olds-7 of whom don't like being seperated from Mom anyway, and now their teacher is not here, so we're all gonna cry...all day...and never stop... + the fact that one of them is MY SON which means he takes advantage of my being distracted by 7 other children whom all need my attention and is being a bit bratty! (yes,l my sweet angel has a dark side!) + the fact that it was an emergency sub (teacher is very sick with kidney stones!), so there was nothing prepared for me to do...I just had to find things to fill the 5 & 1/2 hours of the school day + the fact that I had to feed them and get them all down for a nap! (one guess as to who DIDN'T go to sleep!) I now have a new love and appreciation for that teacher! I am praying over the passing of that kidney stone harder than I have ever prayed before! When I got home this afternoon, I made my 5 year old lay down on the couch to watch a movie, and put my son to bed for nap (which he was so ready for!) and I crashed on the couch for about 2 hours! AMAZING! (I looked like the dog in the picture, I'm sure!) As room mom of this class, it really was great for me to get to know the kids and get a feel for what the class is like. And for the most part, I do enjoy being a sub...it's just that today was rough! So hands down, teachers are great people! Today, I tip my hat (or maybe I'm taking a sip of my Margarita-you decide!!), to all teachers, and especially preschool teachers! God bless you all!
J
PS: By the way, I'm also praising God, because about 6 months ago, I was praying about possibly being the teacher of that class! He knows me better than I know myself! I'm glad it didn't work out, because I would never have guessed how hard it would be to have my own son as a student. It would be too difficult to give each child the attention they needed! Thank you Lord for knowing what I need better than I do!

Watch Out ~ I'm crashing!

I am so tired today! I've been burning the candle at both ends alot lately and sleep is not on the radar. Last night (and just about every night for the last week or so) my 5 year old is waking up, and getting in bed with me. So often, I just wake up and she's there in the bed, I never even knew when she did it! (an example of how tired I am, I guess) Then, when I wake up enough to take her back to her bed, it's not long after that when I hear my 2 year old crying in his crib (yes, crib-I need him to STAY in bed, so he has to be behind the bars!). I try not to wake dear hubby, because it's my philosophy that I can always try to take a nap during when my son does, and he has to work all day...but naps aren't happening lately either. So, it's now caught up with me. I need to go to bed early, but who knows if that will actually happen. Dear Son hasn't had a nap today, so I'm hoping he'll crash soon. Dear Daughter will go to bed when I tell her, because I can tell she's a little worn out today, and Dear hubby-well he can fend for himself!
Ok, that's it...I'm fading fast! night night world!
J

OK PARENTS! Here's a good one for ya!!

Here's the situation: We were invited (last minute notice, because our invitation was returned to sender)to a birthday party for a schoolmate of my 5yr old. I didn't realize until we got there that swimsuits were needed and there was a huge waterslide for the kids to play on. My daughter was heartbroken. Well, I would have gone back home to get it, if the party wasn't 20 minutes away from my house! After much sulking, crying, pouting, and pure heartwrenching agony, I finally convinced her that it was OK to get wet in her clothes! No Problem-o! Plan B was finally working! She was happily sliding down in her clothes, and loving it! For nearly an two hours straight, the kid was blissfull as she enjoyed the slide, the pinata, the cookie cake, the opening of the presents and then MORE SLIDING, an absolute birthday bash! So when it finally came time to leave, I started with the warnings...30 minutes: "It's getting time to leave, so get be ready", and "you've got 5 minutes!", and finally "This is the last time to slide, then we're going". Well, it's totally normal for kids who are having the time of their short little lives to not be ready to go...but, is it totally normal for them to completely fall apart when the time comes? Wait! Before you answer, read on and see what happened, and then tell me what you think!!
So anyway, my dear daughter begans crying (very loudly) and fussing that she doesn't want to leave, and I am getting more and more aggrivated with her, so I kneel down to her eye level and very sternly tell her (in more than one way!) to stop screaming. She is covered in grass, and I'm not sure if she's trying to get grass out of her mouth, or if this was her bad behavior getting worse, but she spit at me! At this point, I am beyond aggrivated!! I am teetering on the edge of anger, heading to being furious! I promptly put my hand over her mouth (and I think you know what I mean!!!), and tell her not to EVER do that again!!! We walk over to gather our belongings, and I no more than turn around to grab my keys out of a chair when I feel something hitting the back of my leg-IN MULITPLE PLACES!!! I hear the adults around me all let out a big gasp, and I realize what has happened. My dear daughter, whom I love with all my heart, but at this moment, I could send to the MOON....HAS KICKED MUD ALL OVER THE BACK OF MY PANTS!!! At this moment, the aggrivation is long over, anger has been far surpassed, furious doesn't even begin to explain it!I AM BEYOND LIVID!!! Well, I am a parent who believes in spanking (sorry for all you who don't-but deal with it!) She got a spanking right there in front of the few adults who were still watching, and we immediately left, after saying a quick apology and thank you to the dear friend who invited us! I think it must have been at that moment that my she realized how mad Mom was. She began apologizing, which I readily accepted, but it certainly didn't take away my anger!
So, I GROUNDED HER! YEP! CINDERELLA STYLE! She sat in timeout on her bed for over an hour(I usually do the "one minute for every year of life" rule that is spelled out in the Parenting magazines, etc, but this one required much more than that!), she was not allowed to lay down in her bed, because that would mean comfort! She would only fall asleep or play, and I'm trying to drive home that she is being punished. So she was forced to sit! It may have taken an hour of time out because that is how long it took for me to calm down, but I could see it was working. When I finally let her up, she again apologized. I explained the punishment...no TV for the rest of the day, no toys, no books, no music, nothing. She had to clean the house. YEP! I TOLD YOU IT WAS CINDERELLA STYLE! Only this Cinderella didn't get to go to the ball, she stayed home, and I made her clean her room, gather her laundry, (things I make her do anyway, but this time, it was harder-no help from mom!). When all that was done, she had to scrub the bathroom floor by hand with a washcloth, then we moved to the walls, then the sink, and last the toilet! (I thought she was going to gag at the toilet!) Finally, it was 7:30 pm, still daylight outside, but she went to bed! I know it was tough, and believe it or not, it was tough on me too, but this was one punishment I HAD TO CARRY THROUGH!
So, at this point, I can only hope I did the right thing...I may never know. All I do know is, that I think I handled it right, and I don't have any regrets. Hopefully it made a big enough impression on her that she won't behave like that EVER AGAIN!
(big breath in...haaaaaa. I feel better now.) I am done ranting for this post. Until next time!
J

Broken Bridges Premiere in Nashville

Remember that Nashville trip I talked about in the first post I did? Well, it was definatly the time of my life, and I have a few pics to share....no words necessary!

Locks Of Love

Ok! So I did it! My hair is gone!
About 3 or 4 months ago, I realized my hair had gotten entirely too long! I mean, it had been over a year since I'd had it cut & it had been so long since I let my hair grow like that! So one day I decided to measure it just to see how long it was. It was about 9 inches from the back of my neck. That made me remember the wonderful organization, Locks Of Love, that takes donations of hair from people, and makes them into wigs for those in need. I decided that since my hair was already long enough, I'd let it grow a few more months until I had the 10 inches and I'd do it. Well, last friday was the "magic" day. I took my 5 year old daughter with me, (who is deathly afraid that I am going to make her cut her hair too), and we placed 10 inches in a pony tail, and wacked it off leaving me a "new do" right below the ears! Wow! What a change! My daughter is very proud of her long hair (that reaches down to her waist) and I was concerned that she might not like my hair any longer since I cut it. So I sat her down, and explained why I let my hair hair grow long, and just exactly what I'd planned to do with that pony tail the hairstylist cut off. I wasn't sure if she really understood so I went to the Locks Of Love web site and pulled up the before and after pictures of recipients. She just sat there staring at the little girls with no hair, and I could feel her heart going out to them as big tears pooled in her eyes. For the last two days, she has talked about how "mommy cut her hair to make a wig for a girl who can't grow hair" and tonight, she made me proud. She told me she would let me cut her hair and showed me how much I could cut (but showed me only an inch!) and said her hair could be made into a wig just like I had done! To me, that is almost a big a gift as actually cutting it for a 5 year old who LOVES having long hair and longs for the day she can grow it to her toes! But, we will wait until she is a little older and understands a little more. Perhaps if she still wants to do it, we can make a big deal out of it and she can also donate her hair for a wig. I had a "proud mommy moment" tonight when she told me, that my hair was beautiful, and she kept gently touching my short mane of hair. It's those "proud mommy moments" that make me realize how blessed I am to have children. They speak honestly, frankly, and lovingly. I am truly blessed! Praise the Lord!
J

Poor, Poor, Frazzled Me!

I have started a new Bible Study at my church (CrossPoint Church), and it is awesome! I've never been in a bible study, where the name of the book fit me so much! It's called The Frazzled Female , written by Cindi Wood. While I am sorely behind in my reading (I blame being frazzled!), I am 21 pages into the study and already my mind is reflecting on the study all day long while I go about my daily routine. (that is a good thing!) I am finding myself talking more to God throughout the day. This book is a good challenge to anyone who desires (or maybe you don't desire, but wish you did!) to have a closer, more intimate walk with Christ. God is revealing Himself to me in many ways so far. 1. That He is everything! I always want Him in my hour of need, but I am also finding that God is fun! I am enjoying Him in worship...He is the excitment I feel when I go to worship Him at church and the music is KICKIN'!!! But even when God is revealing the good parts of my relationship with Him, He is gentle and loving enough to convict me in lacking areas of our relationship. Conviction. That is something I have always struggled with. I hate to be convicted! I fear it! I run from it! I am scared of it! Perhaps that is why I have neglected my Lord for so long in my personal study! But this week, my convictions haven't felt bad. I haven't felt like I am worthless. I guess because my God is big enough, to love me through the bad and the good! Imagine that! A God as wonderful as Him that I place all my faith in, except I have never trusted Him enough to be able to face my convictions and change my sin. God has let me realize that He is not my priority. (OUCH!) For so long, I have been walking ahead of God, and dragging Him along, rather than letting Him take the lead, and me following! He is also showing me that it is my choice to want to spend time with Him. I must respond to Him, He is all around me and ever present! He isn't the one that is MIA, I am! I am also learning that I tend to treat God more like "Santa" than Daddy. Just as I love to spend time with my earthly father, I need to also spend more time with the eternal Father. I tend to mainly come to Him whenever I need (or mostly want) something! Perhaps page 21 sums me up best when it speaks of my "attraction" to Jesus. "When we become busy with too many things-even good things-our focus moves from the Lord to whatever we are doing. We can also become distracted with emotions, people, and time." WOW! DISTRACTED WITH TIME! How about my time is wasted! I spend more time surfing the internet, watching TV, and worrying about the grocery list, or whether or not we have enough money to make it until the next payday. But my relationship with God takes time! He has the time! I have to make it! (which goes back to my priorities) My thirst for Him will come whenever I spend time with Him. I can't just pray for Him to create a thirst and then sit back and wait on it. I have to seek it and He will add it to me.

So wow! There is just a few things on my mind from this awesome study. I hope to learn more and most importantly to grow more. Many people get frazzled in the daily grind. I hope to grow in knowledge of God and gain more tools to use so that I can become "Victoriously frazzled"!!!

J

God Is Good All The Time

"God is so good. God is so good. God is so good, He's so good to me, AMEN"
Through the help of his older sister, my 2 year old is learning about saying the blessing before eating a meal. I love watching my 5 year old explain the importance of thanking God for our food. Sometimes it is with real love, and wanting to teach him something she's learned. Sometimes, she is bossy, and too informative when he forgets. (I can't imagine where she gets that!) But all the while, my boy loves to sing "God is so good" for his blessing. And it is really very sweet. This morning, he came to the kitchen to ask for something to eat. (he doesn't talk well, so you basically understand only one word out of his sentence, and that is "EAT!"). I said, "OK, you want to eat?" and he imediately became excited, he started jumping up and down, and began singing "God is so good". His enthusiasm for giving thanks is exactly what we should all have. I should look for more opportunities to proclaim how good my God is. I should praise Him with the excitement of a 2 year old. I know my God is good. He gets me through each day. He helps me through my failures. He loves me despite my lack of faith. He forgives me despite the magnitude of my sins. I have much to sing about! "God is so good. God is so good. God is so good, He's so good to me, AMEN!"
J

How To Weigh...upsidedown!

OK, I guess I need to quit denying what is obvious to any eyes that look at me! It's time to loose weight! I've been in denial, imagining myself as being much thinner than I actually am, and all the while, eating like today is the last day on earth and I need to enjoy every "morsel" of it! Can you believe I've gaine weight with this mindset????? It's unimaginable to me, but I have been my most uncomfortable today as my "fat jeans" are now getting too tight! And now that I am not doing Jazzercise anymore, I've got to start walking, or something to keep this hopeful image of a more thinner me alive in my mind and make it happen on the actual body itself! Several years ago (3 to be exact) I was able to loose about 35 pounds (give or take one or two-you know, water weight!!) by following the Weight Watchers way of life. That program actually does work for me, because I have the ability to eat anything I want, I just have to allow myself the "points" for it. (That means I didn't have to go cold turkey and cut out the chocolate I love so dearly!!). The problem is that once you go off program (whether it is intentionally or because one becomes pregnant and gains weight anyway-which is my case), it is incredibly hard to get back on program! I have a good friend who is a WW leader, and I am thinking I might have to enlist her in some "under cover" meetings, as the price of a WW meeting is too much for me right now! (I know $11 may not seem much to some, but when you have a job that pays nothing monetarily.....) Anyway, here is just another rambling from my daily life. Suprisingly I have had more to say in a blog that I really ever thought I would. Which is odd, since I have lots to say in conversations to people and most of the time they have to cut me off or ignore me since I tend to speak up and out a little too much!
Until the next rambling....
J

Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

Once again, I am brought to the mysteries of life when I question why bad things happen to good people. As a dear friend of mine lays in a hospital bed, fearful yet hopeful that her baby will be alright and she will be able to continue her pregnancy to term, my mind automatically questions "Why". I don't think I even have to concentrate to make that appear in my head, it just goes there...perhaps a sign of my human nature. I am a believer in the One who gives life, the Creator of all life. I know that my God is in control and has a plan for all things in life. Perhaps that is also why I am a generally optomistic person, who usually doesn't believe in "bad things" until it slaps me in the face and I have no chance to deny it! Romans 8:28 says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose". That verse speaks volumes to me. First, "In all things, God works for the good"...wow! That tells me that God is working even in those moments where life seems to come to a screeching halt! I may not understand the reasons, but it is all according to his purpose. While we don't wish bad things to happen (to good people or any people for that matter), I think the truest test of what kind of person you are comes with how you handle the situation. As humans, it is natural to question "Why?", and to even become angry, scared, and anxious. But it is in those moments that all the focus should be turned to the Lord! If you read the 8th chapter of Romans a little further, it also says in verse 31, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" God is not against us in the bad times, he is for us. He is with us. He can comfort us. He can give us answers. It is in the bad times, that God draws us nearer to Him. And quite frankly, without the comfort of the Holy Spirit, I don't know how to function in the bad times. He is my strength when I am weak. He is the treasure that I seek. He is my all in all.
Say a prayer for my friends and their unborn child.
J

On Your Mark, Get Set, BLOG!

Let It Begin!
So here is the begining of my blogging life. Who knows what, if anything, will come of this, but I thought it would be fun to give it a try. There are a few things going on in my life. First one, my kids are starting preschool in the next couple of weeks, and it is the first time in 5 years that I have been home without a child. My 5 year old is going to kindergarten, and my 2 year old starts his preschool class 2 days a week. So what am I going to do with the extra time on my hands? Stay tuned!
Secondly, I get to go on a 24 hour excursion in a couple of weeks to Nashville! I have the opportunity to go to the red carpet premeire of "Broken Bridges" which is the new movie starring my all time favorite country music superstar, Mr. Toby Keith. I am so excited, and I have got to figure out what I'm wearing to this shindig! My sis in law (who has been to several red carpet events) says to be comfortable! We are not the stars of this event, so we won't need to be all dressy-but I do want to wear something that is sortof nice, even if it means someone pours beer on it at some point during the night! I'll blog after the event with details.
And thirdly-I'm thinking about going back to school. While recently at a friends house, who happens to work as an advisor in the community college I used to attend some 10 years ago, he happened to pull up my old transcripts on the web and it turns out, that I could get my 1 year certificate in Child Developement with only 5 classes left. So it makes sense to go do it, right???? Well, maybe not. It all depends on that other thing that makes my world go round! MONEY! I have begun looking into the financial aid thing via the internet, and let me just say that it all makes me crazy!!! I can't believe there is so much information required! I get so overwhelmed the minute the website pulls up that I just wanna scream. So again, stay tuned for more info on this little detail of my life.
Well, there it is...my first blog post. Not that anyone will read this, or even care if they do...but here we go a blogging.
Until the next one (if there will be...)
J