Farm Mom

The first words out of my child's mouth this morning were "Will you play with me?"

I never thought I would be this way, but that question makes chills go up my spine and my hair stand on end. I can play a game, read books, color, and put together puzzles, but "will you play with me?" means actually getting down on the floor and transforming into whatever car, tractor, combine, or truck my son has picked out for that day. Yuck.

After using all the reasons I could possibly think up without hurting his feelings, I finally gave in.
He was ecstatic as we hooked the disc up to my tractor and the drill up to his. The combine and wheat truck were sitting nearby in case we needed them as well. Not three minutes into playing, this is what I heard:

"Hey, you can't disc yet, the combine hasn't cut the wheat yet!"

"OK, the wheat truck is full, go dump the wheat at the elevator."

"You forgot to plow this part of the field."

"Hey, you can't plow there, I've already planted the wheat there!"

"Mom, you can't drive there, that's where we keep the wheat to fill up my drill."

"No, you just crashed through our shed! Did you forget that's where our shed is??" (Did I mention the shed is invisible?)

Good, quality, connecting time with our children...that's what it's all about. The amazing thing is, when daddy came home for lunch, he still wanted ME to play with him instead of daddy. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?

Our Weekend

You know, we didn't see many families at the lake this weekend with very small children - there were a few, but not many. There may be a reason for this! Don't get me wrong, we had a great time, but I'm not sure I can remember the last time I've been quite so tired or felt quite so grimy.

We chose to be irresponsible parents and go camping even when our son was battling a fever. We decided we could lay around at the lake as easily as we could lay around at home, so off we went. He was getting much better Thursday afternoon, and sure enough, he was fine.

Here are some shots from camping - or as my four year old would call it, "the germy lake." (Remember that blue-green algae thing??)

We spent a lot of time-

At the park...

Hydrating our kids...

Playing games...

Hanging out in the camper...

And improvising for things we forgot (this is how you have s'mores when you forget the firewood)...

We missed the group camping event, but had some quality family time instead.

And I'm happy to report that I didn't see ANY of my "10 Things" list from last week.

Putting away the camping gear...

We are back from the lake - we did actually make it out there, and we had a great time in spite of all the changes for the weekend.

I will post some more pictures, but not tonight, my husband is already in bed and has been tossing and turning and sighing a lot. I'm thinking that is my hint to quit all the typing and go to bed or get out of the bedroom.

Too bad I still have hours of unpacking and laundry to do before I hit dreamland.

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

10 Things on...Thursday

We are supposed to be heading to the lake today. It has been quite a journey scheduling this weekend. We finally decided we could go (with three other couples), and we made the leap and reserved our spots.

Then on Tuesday my child spikes a fever in the high, high 104's. Hmmm...now what?

Then the lake we were all planning to be at posts a moderate blue-green algae alert, which means they have found more blue-green algae blooms that could make you sick. Hmmm...NOW what?

The group decides to go to a different lake, but spots have to be reserved three days ahead of time - so it's first come, first served. It's now Thursday and the fever is still hanging around. Hmmm...NOW WHAT????

So, we are heading to the doctor today. I am pretty sure I will get the typical "It's viral" comment and come home $25.00 poorer, but just in case he can give us some much-desired, precious antibiotics, we are going anyway. I guess either way I'm $25.00 poorer. Oh well.

In spite of all of this, I am still holding out hope that I won't be home tomorrow and will at some point this weekend see the lake. In the spirit of camping, here are 10 things that I have seen at the lake before that I hope NOT to see this weekend.

1. 300 pound men sporting only jean shorts that don't cover everything they should.
2. A snake living in the tree above our camper.
3. The tornado warning horn on the park ranger's trucks.
4. Blue-green algae.
5. Dead fish floating along the swimming beach.
6. A pregnant women, 8-9 months along, sunbathing on the beach in a bikini while smoking a cigarette.
7. My 1 year old sprinting toward the fire pit.
8. Three huge black dogs camping in the site next to us.
9. A storm that rocks the camper back and forth for two hours and dumps so much rain that the lake is now right out your front door.
10. People camped next to you who don't realize that their tent isn't soundproof.

Hopefully I won't be back for several days! Happy weekend!

Rarely do I blog to/about one specific person, unless he lives in my house and is under the age of 5. Today, however, I am taking a moment to write about my brother.

Last night at 10:15 my phone rang. It was my mom. I thought she was calling to check in on my child who was sick. I had been calling and calling her earlier when my child's fever hit 104.6 and all I got was a busy signal. I immediately harrassed her about it being a really bad day for her to forget her cell phone at work. She said, "You're right. It was a bad day for that. We just found out your brother has been in a car accident." Not quite the words I was expecting to hear.

This was the car he was driving.

Amazingly, he walked away. Eight stitches in his hand, glass everywhere, and a really sore body - but that's it. I'm in awe of this.

I talked to him for awhile this afternoon, and I have to admit, never did it sound so good to hear his voice. After we got off the phone, I started thinking about all of our years growing up together and our relationship since then. Five years difference in age made us not all that close for many years, but adulthood seems to easily overcome that age span.

My brother and I are different in many ways, and because of this he has taught me a lot in life. Some good, some...not so good...but all very valuable in one way or another. Here are some things I learned:

• Never lie to mom and dad. They had a secret network with all teachers, coaches, employers, and friends' parents. You could never get away with anything.
• Look beyond someone's choices and love the person, whether or not you agree with what they are doing.
• Understand other's opinions and don't be quick to stereotype and judge people.
• Regular size people really can crawl in and out of tiny basement windows (not escape windows).
• If you leave food under your bed long enough, it will eventually lose all odor and identity.
• It is easier to follow the rules and get good grades than experience the wrath that occurs when you don't.
• Waterskiing is a lot harder than it ever looked while watching him do it.
• It is possible to learn to be completely open, honest, and transparent with people even when you weren't raised that way.
• Big brothers really do have a handbook entitled 1,000,001 Ways to Torture Your Little Sister.
• It is possible to wholeheartedly forgive someone even after carrying around years of baggage.
• It is possible to love someone intensely even when you don't talk to them or see them every day, week, or even month.

So, to my one-and-only sibling, who I am so thankful for, I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH!

To everyone else, I hope it doesn't take a "...been in car accident" phone call to take a moment to tell others you care about them.

"Mean Mama"

The other day my friend Jamie wrote about being a "stupid mommy". Today I had one of those moments at my house.

We are having a bit of an issue with our oldest child being mean to our youngest child. I know every family deals with this, but it is driving me CRAZY! We have tried several disciplinary tactics, and some have worked for awhile. Then the effectiveness (or my consistency - I'm not sure which) fades and the problems get worse again.

Today I may have found something. I told the boys to come to the table for lunch, and sure enough, I see the hand of the older child reach out and grab the ankle of the younger child as he is walking on the wood floor. Down he goes - again. Granted, he wasn't really hurt, he got back up and headed for his booster seat because he loves to eat more than anything else in the world. But, it made me mad. So I immediately said to the older child, "Since you did that you will have to clean off the entire table after lunch (usually he just carries his plate to the sink - if I remember to ask him). I could tell through all of lunch that my son wasn't completely sure if I was serious about this.

Just in case, he made lunch drag out longer than ever before. When he finally finished, I told him to start bringing me all the dishes off the table. His jaw dropped (as much as a 4 year old's can) and he said, "really, everything?" I knew this was going to be good. "Yes."

As he carried the first plate he pouted a little bit. The second plate came with an emphatic, "I do not like this consequence." And by the third plate, he had a catchy rendition of a newly created song entitled "Mean Mama". Amazingly, through all of this, his whole attitude was not all that rotten; however, he made sure he reminded me again that this was not fun at all.

Score one for mom. I finally found something that caught his attention - and I didn't have to clean off the table for once. I'm thinking this may be my new favorite consequence. I think I'll wait awhile to tell him that when he is older, this will be a mere expectation on his job chart.

Feeling Sentimental

Yesterday was a rough day for napping. My son fell asleep for 20 minutes in the nursery at church, so I instantly knew it was going to throw the entire day into a tailspin. I didn't worry too much about it throwing off his nap since we were spending the majority of the afternoon at Target and Walmart getting some much needed supplies. However, when we were driving home at 5:00 p.m., and he hadn't slept a wink since church, I was getting nervous. An hour later, we made the mistake of driving 3 miles to grandma's house, where he managed to get in a 10 minute nap to get him through the rest of the evening and make bedtime a disaster.


Needless to say, the bedtime routine was not fun. I had a severely over-tired child who DID NOT want to go to bed. I put him in his crib like I do every night and walked out, only to hear intense screaming that would not let up. Since I knew he had not had a typical day, I gave in and started rocking him to sleep. It was in this moment that I wondered why I had not done this every night of his short life.


Don't get me wrong, I have rocked my child before, but last night he laid there and stared up at me with his big brown eyes and never looked away. He was so tired, I thought it would take three minutes of rocking and he'd crash, but 20 minutes later he was still awake, still staring at me and turning me into puddy in his hands. A thousand thoughts were racing through my mind all at one time. It was one of those "oh, wow, I have been given the responsibility to make him feel loved, safe, fed, clean, rested, and a million other things" moments. Parenting is a huge job.


It was also a God moment for me. This may sound strange, but one of my favorite parts of having had the privilege to adopt a child is that it has opened my eyes even greater to God's love for each of us. Before we adopted, several people asked me if I thought it was possible to love an adopted child as much as my own biological child. The answer is emphatically yes. It makes me realize that God chose to love us, to call us his children, even though He didn't have to. Just as we sought out a baby, He seeks us out as well. It's a comforting thought in the midst of all the chaos of life.


I think I'll carve out a little rocking time in the bedtime routine from now on.

Snap, Crackle, Pop

I remember when I was a kid and the "Snap, Crackle, Pop...Rice Krispies" commercials were on ALL the time. I would sit at the table eating my Rice Krispie breakfast with my ear as close to the bowl as possible to hear all the sounds. Sure enough, the cereal actually did make those noises.

Today I walked outside my door and felt like I was in a huge bowl of Rice Krispies. The snap, crackle, pop noises were almost deafening, especially since I wasn't expecting it. I looked up and saw this in my yard:

The picture doesn't do this fire justice. If you look very closely, you can see my crazy husband - he's to the right of the tree on the left. Two thoughts quickly entered my mind.

1. I instantly remembered that I usually plan to be gone when they burn the field that my house sits in. (Might have helped had I KNOWN they were burning this field this afternoon...)
   
2. One more reason to add to my list of why I swore I was never going to marry a farmer (see my very first blog entry).

The view from my back door wasn't much better:

Thankfully the field burned without any calls to the local fire department (which ironically would have meant my husband jumping in his truck, driving to town, jumping on a fire truck, and driving back...).

My son was sad when he woke up and realized they had burned the field while he was sleeping. To cure his sadness, we drove over to the next field to watch them burn that one, and to see if daddy would give him a tractor ride later. As we drove up, we noticed a tractor driving down the middle of the burning field. Sure enough, my husband was inside.

I had a heart attack.

My 4 year old said, "No way, mom, I'm not going on a tractor ride now."

Two fields down, six to go. Then I'll start sleeping again.

10 Things

I'm cheating, it's Saturday, but I'm still going to post my 10 things. We left for the lake on Thursday and didn't return home until today, so I'm sure this still counts!

Thursday evening my sister-in-law and I packed up our six children and headed off for a "surprise" for the kids. Well, at least for most of the kids. Since my four year old was sobbing hysterically about all of the swimsuits and water toys we packed, I finally told him that we were NOT going to a waterpark, swimming pool, or any place that he would HAVE to swim. He calmed down when he realized that grandma and grandpa's camper was waiting for us at the lake and we were going to camp there with his cousins. Whew.

So, off we went, two vans loaded from top to bottom with an 8 year old, 6 year old, 4 year old, 3 year old, TWO 1 year olds, us, and as much stuff as we could possibly cram in for approximately 20 hours of camping. I think my last words to a friend (on the phone) as I was driving out were "If I don't return, come pick me up at Prairie View."

Here are 10 things I learned while we were there:

1. My 4 1/2 year old still needs naps and fairly regular bedtimes to act somewhat human- neither of which happen while camping.


2. Even microwave popcorn tastes better at the lake.


3. For some odd reason, bumblebees, 100's of them, have decided that areas with swings and slides are the best places to hang out.


4. Eight people can sleep in a camper that "sleeps 6". Two in the regular bed, 2 in the couch bed, 1 on the table bed, 2 in pack-n-plays, and 1 on two couch cushions squeezed in the last 2 x 3 area left on the floor. I'm sure that was against some kind of fire code.


5. My 4 year old is still afraid of everything and my 1 year old is still afraid of nothing.


6. Even while camping, kids will still beg to watch a video.


7. No matter how many showers you take, all the sand will never completely come off.


8. At 11:00 p.m., when you're driving your child around as a last resort to get him to go to sleep, the prayer changes from "please fall asleep" to "please fall asleep before I do".


9. Time with cousins is priceless, no matter how tired and sunburned everyone is.


10. In spite of all the craziness, I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

"Swimming" Lessons

We started swimming lessons this week. Here they are stretching before they start (my child is in the middle with the Cars suit).

Here he is getting into the water, timidly, yet he did get in when they asked him to. I think he stood like that for 20 minutes - arms up, hands out - the least amount of body touching the water, the better.

And...here one of his teachers had to intervene. He had reached his maximum level of participation (standing in the water...).

I'm trying to be positive about this experience:

1) He got in the water when asked to.
2) He stayed in the water the majority of the first lesson.
3) With a promise of a mere 3 gummy worms, he stayed in the whole time the next two days.
4) He isn't crying (much) through the lesson.
5) I don't have to worry about him taking a risk in the water and drowning.

Only five more sessions to go!

Pizza for Breakfast

My child is a food addict. This is okay, because for several months now he has been hanging right around the 3% range for both height and weight on the doctor's growth chart. He could use a little growth power. He has a radar for knowing when someone in the house is eating, fixing a meal, or even thinking about sneaking a snack out of the pantry. He flies around the corner in 1.3 seconds shouting, "cooking!" You'd think I perform this task often.

His first words this morning confirmed my food addition suspicion.

8:00 a.m. - I hear noises coming from his bedroom, so I walk in.

Me: "Good morning!"

Him: "Pizza!" (what?...)

Me: "Are you ready to wake up?"

Him: "Wake up!"

Me: "How are you?"

Him: "Pizza!"

Me: "Are you hungry?"

Him: "Hunngggrrryyyyy."

Me: "Okay, let's go get some breakfast. Should we get out the cereal? Do you want some
peaches?"

Him: "PIZZA!!!"

Since when does a 17 month old ask for pizza for breakfast?

Never in his life has he had pizza for breakfast, but if I would have had some available, today may have been the first. Poor thing, he had to settle for toast and his second favorite food ever - banana.

Tomorrow he'll probably ask for ice cream.

Summertime Sickness...with more information than you ever wanted to know!

So, number 10 on my "10 things" list was about finding my child at 9:00 a.m. Friday morning only to realize that he had thrown up everywhere in his crib. I got him all cleaned up (took two times to scrub his hair), clothes and sheets in the washer, and the room Lysoled. By the time that was done he was saying, "milk, bread, cereal, bread...". This is when every mom thinks, "Do I dare??"

The kid was adamant about eating. So I assessed the situation - no fever, happy child, wanting to eat. OK, I fed him toast and water. He was happy, the day went great, he ate every meal, and never showed one sign of sickness. I wrote off the experience as a fluke puke.

I WAS WRONG.

Saturday morning I felt funny. I never actually got SICK, but I just felt less than par. One time that morning my four year old told me his tummy hurt. I didn't think much of it, but then he didn't eat any lunch. Uh oh. He tossed and turned and moaned now and then through his nap, and I could almost guess what was coming. I prepared with blankets covering things and big throw up bowls ready. By the end of his nap, he had a fever of 101, and sure enough, within an hour, I had to turn into a nurse (NOT my gift!) and a janitor.

Thirty minutes later, my husband returned home from helping a friend all day. We quickly realized he also had a fever, and during the night things went south for him.

I hate the flu, I mean really HATE the flu. But, there are moments in my life when I wonder which is worse - being the one with the flu...or being the only one left to deal with it all.

Thankfully, this has been fairly short-lived. We are still digging out of the wreckage as you can see. I'm sure you won't overlook the upside down throw up bowl and the missing couch cushion (missed the bowl...gross). Why I post pictures like this I have no idea - must be serious lack of sleep.

My son is well enough to torture his younger brother, but has already stated for the record that he doesn't think there will be any way his tummy will be COMPLETELY better by tomorrow because swimming lessons start in the morning.

10 Things

Ten Random Boring Things Most People Don't Know About Me...

1. I've never broken a bone in my body (I'm suspicious about a broken tailbone, but that was never confirmed...)
2. My favorite color seems to change yearly - currently it is light blue.
3. When I was 8, I fell through the ice while ice skating - on a sewage "pond".
4. I have picky food issues (everyone knows that). The random surprising fact - at least for me - is that my newest favorite addition to salads is broccoli.
5. The most disgusting feeling I've ever felt is being covered with honey, syrup, and cornflakes. (Sorority initiation...sounds terrible, but we had a great time.) It's also the only time I've ever had to wash my hair five consecutive times to get it clean.
6. My vision in my right eye is twice as bad as in my left eye.
7. Growing up, my favorite lake past-time was racing dirt bikes down the boat ramps and seeing how many flips we (my brother and I) could do over our handlebars.
8. The first thing I would change about me (other than physical appearance issues): My fear of heights.
9. In college, I co-led a seminar called "Rough Kids, Tough Teachers" at the National Council of Exceptional Children Convention in Orlando. I cannot for the life of me remember ONE THING I talked about during that seminar.
10. And finally, **warning - this one is gross** because it is fresh on my mind after finding my child this morning laying in his crib in his own vomit - the one smell I CANNOT stomach: puke.

I'm sure everyone will sleep better tonight after knowing these life-altering facts.

Happy Friday!

Why Do I Even Try?

Today I have nothing incredibly blog-worthy, so I'm just going to sit here and see what I end up writing. Mostly, I will probably vent, and make anyone reading this suffer through it. I guess, really, you're not forced to read anything, huh?

I have tried and tried, but just finally have to admit it: I do not have a domestic bone in my body. Oh, I can be if I have to be, but it definitely doesn't come naturally. Today I set a goal for myself. The house had to be dusted and vaccuumed before I spent any time on the computer. I didn't realize what a lofty goal that was. I will not even put in print how long it has been since my house has had a thorough cleaning. When God passed out the genes for cleaning and cooking, I think he skipped over me. Why then, do I so dislike clutter and mess? Talk about contradiction.

As I worked my way through cleaning each room, my one year old followed me and took out every toy I put away, rearranged every shelf I dusted, and attempted to "help" me vaccuum. Each bedroom floor was entirely picked-up when I turned on the vaccuum cleaner, and was covered with toys by the time I was done. I didn't even think that was possible. So, I pulled out the very best parenting tactic I have: I put in a Little People video and sat him in front of the TV. I'm sure at some point in my life, I vowed I would never do that.

I am happy to report that the rooms are dusted and vaccuumed, and at least I know that under the kid clutter, the house really is "clean." At least those with carpet...I think for the sake of my sanity, the bathrooms will have to wait until tomorrow.

More about kids...

As I've read in many of my friends' posts, this blogging thing is quickly becoming like a diary of our children. This is obviously because they take up 99% of our time, energy, money, and brain cells. I'm sure one of these days I will actually have something interesting to say about myself, but for now, here is another kid entry.

My friend wrote yesterday about her son turning five years old. As I read her post it made me also look back over the past five years of life. My oldest will be turning five in the fall, and I can't believe the immense changes that take place in a little person in this amount of time. Here are some things he has asked me in the past week that left me a bit tongue-tied.

• "Mom, why do my cousins have a little brother and a little sister in their family? I know it's hard for you to have babies, but can't we just adopt another one - this time a little sister?"


• "Mom, if I pray for rain and someone else close to us prays for it not to rain, what will God do?"


• "Mom, by the time you die, I'll probably be all grown up and can take care of myself, right?"


• "Mom, God gives everyone the Holy Spirit, right?"

This makes me state again my very strong opinion that there should be at least a four year college program for parenting.

The incredible thing is that no matter how many mistakes I make, or how many strange answers I give for his questions, he still looks to me to meet nearly his every need. I am still the one he calls out to at night, the one who he wants to snuggle with after naps, and the one he comes crying to when he gets hurt. I know I should treasure these days before they are gone.

And just when I think he is growing up too fast, I look ten feet behind me where he and another four year old friend (a girl) are playing with dump trucks, excavators, bulldozers, and loaders that have turned into princes and princesses and are talking about marrying each other. I wonder what that means...

Testing, Testing...

This is a test post. I had computer issues earlier that were driving me insane. My last post didn't have a comment option, so I'm trying it again to see if all is right now in my blogging world.

So, here are some pictures just for fun...

Two days ago I walked into the kitchen and saw my son wearing a mischievous smile. This is what he was doing:

It all looked pretty innocent until I realized what was coming along behind him...

"Swimming"

On Saturday I took my two boys to a friend's house for some good kid play, some good adult chit-chat, and a little bit of swimming. We had a great time. Our four year olds immediately went off to play by themselves (hooray!) and the one year olds played "with" each other as much as one year olds do, which pretty much meant they hung out in the same room together. Since it was so hot, we nixed our idea of picnicking in the park and just stayed at the house in the cool AC. After lunch it was time for swimming. This word means different things to different people. Here's what it means to my children:



Note: The child in the pool is not mine. My husband and I are baffled at this. We both love to swim, but it is a major accomplishment to get our oldest to want to partake in this activity. He'd rather...I don't know...fish for other children. Or, go to the dentist, eat broccoli, or get a shot. Okay, that might be stretching it a little bit...

At the defense of my youngest child, it was my fault he was not in the pool. I remembered everything I needed for him -- swim diaper, swimsuit, sunscreen, towel, flotation device -- except his earplugs. Tubes in the ears are a real bummer! He probably would have been in the water for hours had I not destroyed his chance for "swimming". Although you can't tell it in the picture, there was was water in the tether ball tire, so he was still a happy camper.

To my oldest's credit, he did actually GET IN the water after awhile (yep, still fishing). I think it lasted for about three minutes, and the picture shows how much of his body ever got wet. If anyone out there has great advice for how to get a child to love swimming, I'd love to hear it.

I'm already starting to lose sleep over the fact that swimming lessons start next Monday.

10 Things on Friday...

Today I took my 16 month old to the Ear, Nose, and Throat Doctor for an ear tube check and to the Allergy Doctor to have allergy testing done. Here's what I learned over the last 11 hours.

1) It is not a wise idea to schedule two major appointments in one day for a one year old, even if it significantly saves gas money to only make one trip.

2) Apparently our ENT is on Mountain time. I have not yet gotten to see him within an hour of my scheduled appointment time (third visit today).

3) The ENT apparently also has the following policy: "I will spend one minute of time with you for every hour you wait on me."

4) It officially takes two sane, fairly functional adults per one child to get through allergy testing.

5) It's not the actual testing that my child hates so much, it's the disinfectant wipes they use before and after testing.

6) If twenty-five years from now my child sees the same nurse who did his allergy testing, he will immediately start sobbing hysterically and crying out "grandma, grandma!!"

7) My child does not have allergies!! Hallelujah!

8) He does, though, have large adenoids...and reflux. Related? I have no idea. I'm so confused.

9) He has NO ALLERGIES, but I still came home with two prescriptions!

10) The good news: He is not allergic to wheat, so we won't have to sell our house. That, and we all got ice cream for surviving the day!!

Happy Friday!

What will I do all morning?

I think I am entering a new stage of life.

One I will be grieving over for many weeks to come.

It seems my child has decided to give up his morning nap. I am holding on to a small thread of hope, because he has tried this before and has rebounded back into normal schedule nicely, but I'll admit, this time, he has me worried. Yesterday I put him down for a morning nap and for the first time ever, he never went to sleep. I blamed it on the fact that there were two extra children running around my house, making it a tad louder than normal.

Today he took a great morning nap. "Hurray!" I thought, "yesterday was just a fluke." However, I just walked past his door 50 minutes after putting him down for his nap (which I should know never to do - if I can't hear crying, why do I go investigate??). I could hear his little voice talking to his teddy bear and blanket. He was scheming with them to stay up and never, never, never go to sleep again.

I feel the depression setting in as I type. My list of "things I can accomplish while the little one is napping" is going to have to be cut in half. My patience will need to double...

I think it might be time to get a part-time job.

Tales From the Laundry Room

Have you ever been afraid to wash a load of laundry?

Never in my life has this been an intimidating task - until today. Yesterday I innocently threw in a load of laundry to try to keep it from piling up to the ceiling. All was well for the first 14 minutes. Then, as the machine decided it was time to drain the water out, the hose on the wall decided it was time to go on strike. You all know that sound that you dread hearing- the one like the waves of the Pacific rolling onto shore.

I flew into the laundry room, saw the Pacific shooting all over the machine and floor, and gathered my wits about me enough to turn off the washing machine. My next move was what any independent, modern, "woman of the house" kind of woman would do - I raced outside to get my husband. I decided this was not the moment to take on any kind of feministic ideas (not that I typically do anyway...). Of course, my hubby was on the lawn mower clear out by the road. So I "run" down my rocky driveway barefoot shouting for my husband to come here. How I thought he was going to hear me over the very loud riding lawn mower, I'm not sure, but I continued to shout at the top of my lungs anyway.

Finally, we got back inside, grabbed every towel we owned (slight exaggeration) and started to clean up the mess. My loving husband started pulling out the washer and dryer out from against the wall, looked at the nasty junk behind there, and turned to me and said, "Don't you ever clean anything around here?" Thankfully, since he wanted to live to take his next breath, he was kidding. He followed that up with, "why don't I fix this hose so this doesn't happen again?" Ya think?

Needless to say, he saved the day, and the laundry room is in working order. Well, I think so, I haven't actually tried to wash another load yet.

The positive outlook on this situation? If it's been a long time since you've mopped the laundry room and the job is way past due...this is one way to get it done.

A Tribute to Friendship

On Saturday I went shopping with three friends. The four of us spent five years of our lives teaching together and have been close ever since. We all used to live in the same town, but have since moved: one 3 hours away, one 10 hours away, one 1 hour away, and me - still here and not goin' anywhere. Since we love birthdays (not our own so much...they just make us older...) we always plan a huge day of shopping during the month of whoever's birthday it is. My birthday was last week, so this weekend it was my turn.


This day of being with friends got me thinking about the many wonderful friendships God has blessed me with over the years. In March I shared my testimony at a MOPS group, where they had asked me to talk about "Getting Through the Tough Times". One of my main points was this: Girlfriends Are Crucial to Survival. I think I have always known this to be true, but I don't think I fully realized that until trying times came my way. Looking back, I know that I took many friendships for granted, and for that I am sorry.


I started this post Saturday night, wrote a lot more Sunday, reworked it, reread it, and deleted pretty much all of it. As I walked down memory lane in my mind, I struggled to be able to put it all into intelligent thoughts, but I guess it all comes down to this...

Thank you to those who walked with me through...our first days of school, first recesses, first Barbies, first crushes, first dates, first boyfriends, first driver's licenses, and first time to ever move away from our closest friends (which probably would have been graduation for all of us!).

Thank you to those who walked with me through...our first times living away from home, first 7:45 a.m. college classes, first REAL long-term relationships, first real understanding of God's love for me, getting engaged (didn't think "first" would be appropriate for that one...), job searches, college graduation, and marriage.

Thank you to those who walked with me through...long days of teaching, decisions about jobs, issues of infertility, childbirth, the journey of adoption, and raising children.

You are all amazing - I know some of you are reading this (at least 4 or 5...maybe!) - I hope God blesses you richly today.