We're nuts.

Summer time is here! Extreme couponing is about us... I know right.  I love it.  I can't do it. But I love it. Hello. My name is Jenny. I'm addicting to wanting to be extreme.  Purchased 2 movie tickets for $9 last week and I was HOOKED.  Now, today, I'm excited about  attempting to get free hot dogs. HA. Yes, it's nuts.

Now summer time is here take II.  Flies. Everywhere.  I hate flies. What gives people?  Where did they all come from.  Did they have a breeding session this winter? I don't know, but something has to give here. 

Summer time take III.   The house door opens. closes. opens. closes. opens. closes. opens. closes.  Yes, I've actually said "were you born in a barn." Which take III leaves lots of room for take II! Open. close. fly. fly. fly. open. close. fly. fly.

Summer time take IV... stay tuned.  How knows, I might write it while eating a free hotdog! :)

June 2 "Like"

Thursday. June 2. "Like".  Ok, this is a bit diff from normal so hang with me.  God just delivered an answered prayer. YAY God!  You Go God. You are SO good.  We are SO blessed.  I wish I could blog a feeling... but this is the best I can do.  I feel like the little boy with the fish and bread.  God took the little I had, and I mean little, and blessed it, and blessed it, and blessed it, and I am relating (somewhat) to the boy with the fish and bread.  There I stood, my mouth open, and in awe, absolute awe, and what God can do and DOES.  I'm not even going to stop at this point and say... Girl, why ARE you surprised. After all, HE IS GOD.  I'm going to skip that for now.  I'll deal with that later.  But for right now, me and that little boy... I can relate, not about fish and bread, but about having a little bit of something and asking God for the blessing and watching, almost literal here, watching it become bigger and better, bigger and better!! Have I mentioned, GOD YOU ARE SO GOOD!?!?!?! One day, I will run to that boy and ask him if his mouth was wide open in amazement too.  Or who knows... children are so smart, maybe he wasn't shocked. Maybe he trusted God more than I. Maybe this is a lesson of loving and believing like a child. Maybe. But for sure, God is SO good and He has blessed my family more than we will or have ever deserved!     

JUST BECAUSE... it's funny and yes it could possibly be my childhood photo!  Laughter is so good for the soul! 

From tough skin to letting it ALL hang out

While at a ladies retreat over one weekend, our faciliator asked us an icebreaker question, being: "if you could be any of the animals on the Ark, which one would you choose and why?"  Well and odd question, but a good question.  Her answer was a giraffe and I was thinking, good answer!  Their awkward creatures, long necked, long legs, long tongue (I bet my mouth would REALLY get into trouble then), these little horn like things, very beautiful print, and they're high up there and can really see the view.  My answer was a Rhino. Let's be honest, NO ONE messes with the Rhino.  They have this armor that can HOOK the mess out of you... you get my drift.  They have thick skin.  They are firmly planted to the ground.  They just put off this message of "I shall not be moved".  Ok, but then I realized, I would love to be the Rhino, but I'm more like that "monkey" caught picking her nose open to the rest of the ark. She's flinging her "mess" around the ark and it stinks!!  LOL! Or better yet, she's the one that you can't help watch her and the family of monkeys because it's like a train wreck with her rear-end openly exposed!!!  You know what I mean... geez. You just want to say, why God... why did you leave that poor little monkeys butt all exposed??? WHY??? hahaha. So as much as I want to be a rhino, I should have maybe mentioned that I am more the monkey! :/  But, the question was COULD BE, right! And is it just me or does that poor monkey always look crazy.. just sayin.

personalized stitching

I am ssoooo slow! To say the least about myself at this given moment.  I love the fact that each bump in the path is personalized by God.  I heard myself say something this weekend that has still hidden away in my mind. Sloan was completely personalized by God. Now, yes I know all my children are, but you see, God had a plan for little ole' me and it involved big happenings... Sloan.  What a dear dear gift she is.  And now I can see that more and more clearly everyday.  God knows my ways. God knows my path. God knew my heart, then and now.  He gave me this Gift but He allowed the gift to bring me to my knees and back to His plan all the while realizing it wasn't about MY plan, but His.  And WOW, isnt His plan better!! (DUH)  You see this is were I get into the "being slow" part.  it's taken me 4 years to actually "get it".  He has changed our family thru her... He used His totally personalized gift to change our lives.  I don't know about you all, but I loved personalized stitching... :)

Happy Birthday Sloan!

Still can't believe today our little surprise gift is 4! HOW time flies when you are having a good time.  And time is flying and we are having a great time.  Life is good, crazy, busy, and revived!  Happy Birthday today to our sweet surprise party!  God has complete control and gifted us a very precious part of our life, Sloan Rae. 
Some time ago I posted on Facebook that I would no longer rush and hurry.  We felt that we were constantly telling the kids to hurry. Come on. Now. We have got to GO. Go now. Come on.  We were in a rut of urgency.  So I made a vow to no longer rush their life for my agenda or their agenda or whatever agenda was before us that particular moment.  I am pleased to blog that we have ended the urgent clauses of COME ON. GO NOW. HURRY.  Now, Im not pretending that we don't move at fast speed but the tone and pace has changed for the betterment of our family. I remember that a friend of mine commented on the post that morning with "good luck".   Thanks for the luck because it worked!  The circus gets out the door without the urgent hateful clause pounded in their ears.  To be honest, I didnt want them to look at me 20 years from now and think they heard those urgent clauses more than they heard I love you.  Our children hear those special 3 words in their ears often because it's said, BUT on the flip side, I heard us telling them, Come on, Now, Hurry, much more often in a day than those special I love yous.  So, maybe, just maybe, 25 years from now at family gatherings they will not be laughing that all mom and dad ever said was Hurry!

Snow Days

I will attempt to refrain from fussing about the snow today.  I have fussed about it enough.  Instead, I will be thankful.  God gifted my family some quiet time. No schedule. No routine. No where to go.  Yes we drive each other nuts in the house, but isn't that what we are supposed to do.  I mean, the kids play and get on each other's nerves.  Builds character right.  That's what I'm calling. character building 101. We've laughed today. LOTS. Over things that if snow had not been on the ground, someone would have missed it.  Since we were in the living room to which Jeremy trip, it was funnier!  And no one missed it!! :) Snow days are deep breath days. So, breathe in...and relax... breathe in again... the temps are just right to give us a day more of quiet time.

Time REALLY flies

Ok, so it's been a while!  2011 rushed me and it's here!  And it's been here for a month already! 2011 is proving itself to be full of surprises and who doesn't love a good surprise every now and again.  The one year anniversary of Pepaw's death passed.  I was dreading that day so much. God really held my hand that day and helped me remember He is in a much better place.  No tears came. Only smiles. Thankful smiles.  It feels as if it just happened and my heart aches SO; but also it feels like it's been ages since I seen his sharp chin and beautiful gray hair. But it's ok, He's walking in Glory.. and we're here! LOL. He's got the better gig for sure!! ;) Ok, so... Im moving on... cause I could blog about that all day!
Basketball arrived for the Circus - and it's great!  Nothing better than watching your kids playing sports!  The girls love it too.  They get to socialize... yes the social scene of a gym! The Ringleaders have been attempting a weekend away for the past month.  SNOW SNOW SNOW has caused some delays.  We need a small break.  We laugh and say from the kids, but in truth, it's not the kids.  It's the routine. We, like most, are busy.  Busy is good. No complaints. But busy takes a toll. Everyone needs a small moment to refresh, regroup and take on the next chapter.  I believe with all my heart that parents need small moments to remember how important their marriage is in the family structure.  It begins with the marriage.  It's the foundation God supplied for the family.  It must be strong and healthy to endure what all a family can place upon it.  Thus, a weekend away helps!! A little dinner without 3 bathroom breaks, or spills, or colors! A little retail therapy for good walking shoes (specifically a pair of red TOMS calling mom's name)!  A little drive in the car without movie's, Hannah Montana, ear buds, and some fighting over the back seat!  A time without emails, texts, or can you take care of this for me. A moment without a schedule. A small break from all that helps fill in those foundation cracks and gets the foundation firm and ready to hold up the family!
Baseball is around the corner... which means this year, mom and dad split up and get to go three ways this year! I'm sure you'll get to read about all that in a month or so.  Sky baseball. Josie softball. Sloan tee ball.  Looking forward to EVERY minute of it.  Actually, let me restate that... thanking GOD for every moment of it! 
Oohh duty calls... a fight is brewing in the sunroom over a dog, Dr. Seuss, and who's hair is more cute.  This is the day the Lord has made, let me rejoice and be glad in it! -- REJOICE.