What's Cookin'?

Part of our trip to visit the grandparents always entails a week at an amazing Christian retreat center that I grew up going to (and in later years being on staff at). We were blessed a few years ago to be asked to come for a week each summer for Donn to lead the soccer program. It has quickly become the highlight of our year as a family. If you're ever looking for a great family vacation where you'll be completely rested and spiritually rejuvinated by the end of the week, take a look at Camp of the Woods.

As part of their festivities, each week they have a carnival with games, clowns and even a dress up parade for the kids. My kids plan ahead for this carnival beginning about December each year. This year Ayden and Brekyn decided to go as Camp of the Woods Chefs.

They were truly the most adorable little chefs I have ever seen. Ayden also made a sign which he carried with him that said "Camp of the Woods Shef". It was an afterthought that ended up being on a piece of scrap paper that we had in our hotel room but it truly made the costume.

In the end,the boys were voted best costume and received free ice cream cones at the snack shop!

Does it get any better than this? :)

Frog Catchin'

One of the highlights of Ayden's trip to Yaya and Papa's is "catchin' frogs"

I think it's safe to say that in one day he had successfully caught at least 10 frogs which were then put into buckets and covered with wax paper.

Ayden is truly fearless...he tromps right into the pond water and scoops them up. It is easily the highlight of his entire vacation.

Then there's Brekyn. Now; my little Brekyn is no scaredy cat but for some reason trapsing into the pond to grab himself a frog just isn't on his list of the most exciting things to do during summer.

The other day I sat and watched as Ayden stood out at the pond in all his glory...

I then caught Brekyn trying to get in on the act....

Brekyn did a great job!

The only problem was that it was a ceramic frog!

Oh well, baby steps!:)

An angel in our midst...

My heart aches tonight.

I sit in a hotel room, hundreds of miles away from my home, and I can’t help but finally let reality sink in.

On a family vacation that we have spent months looking forward to, I have just received word that my dear friend H has gone to be with the Lord.

I ache in so many ways…

I ache because she is no longer here to shine her smile at the world…

I ache because I can’t quite picture how tomorrow will look when I wake up and she’s not in it…

I ache because I can’t imagine the pain that her precious family is feeling right now…

I ache because many of you never had the chance to know my dear friend…

Many of you never had the chance to know her love that made you feel like you were the most important person in the world…

Many of you never had the opportunity to hear her bring stories to life for countless children…

Many of you never knew her long silky hair that flowed with each step she took…

Many of you never knew the fighter that she was and her determination to overcome sickness and be a testimony of God’s goodness.

Many of you never knew my friend H… and now she is gone.

And yet; as my son so quietly reminded me tonight through tears…

“Mommy, I am sad, but Gramma H is with Jesus now…you’ll get to see her again.”

Oh Ayden, how right you are.

How precious the words from your mouth sound in this moment.

Through my tears I imagine my dear friend marveling at the beauty of Heaven’s birds...

I imagine my precious friend planting millions of pansies outside her castle in the sky. ..

I imagine my faithful Sister covered with children as she brings books to life and teaches little
ones how to love art as much as she does…

I imagine my sweet friend who is now dancing with Jesus as her hair flows in the breeze with one beautiful braid cascading down the side.

Oh Lord, thank you for sending her to us.

We ache to let her go, but we now realize that she was always just an angel on loan to us for such a short time.

And so my dear sweet friend H, Gramma H, Helenya; we thank you for being here with us.

We will miss you more than words can say and, although the pain is immense, we know where you are and we thank the Lord that He allowed us to be loved by an angel in our midst.

You are our angel and you will be with us forever.

I love you.

Cyndie

The Minivan Chronicles II

I have to thank many of you for the prayers that you prayed on our behalf as I travelled to my families' house with the kids. I must admit, most of our trip went very well.

Despite comments from gentlemen with gray hair about the amount of "baggage" I carried, we had a pretty nice day and spent many hours in the car watching every disney movie known to man.

Around 7pm I decided it might be time to pull over and find a hotel. In my mind, I was dreaming of spending a nice quiet evening lounging on a bed and maybe taking a quick trip to the hotel pool with the kids. That was a nice thought, but you can imagine that it couldn't be quite that easy.

After 2 hours of stopping at every hotel along the way and finding out that even in the middle of the week, hotels apparently fill up quickly; I was beside myself. I called my parents and told them that it looked like I might just be traveling through the night. It wasn't my first choice, but I figured I would survive and make the best of it. I told the boys to get comfortable and to go ahead and fall asleep in their seats.

Then the rain started. What started out as small drops quickly became a huge thunderstorm and I started thinking about how much I hated driving through storms (especially in the dark).

As I tooled along, stuck between a bunch of mack trucks, I was seriously contemplating whether or not I really wanted to try to go another 4 or 5 hours in pitch black, wet conditions...and then it happened:

Out of nowhere, the tractor trailer in front of me, began swirving. The car to his left began swirving and I grasped the wheel having no clue what was going on ahead of me.

And then I saw...

It was too late to do anything...I hit it with my left tire and heard the huge thud as it hit the side of my car.

I have no idea what it was...in all honesty, it looked like a big body bag. There it was lying across the lane, and in such stormy conditions, it wasn't visible until you were on top of it.

I pulled off the road and stopped at a gas station to be sure the car was alright and then I called my mom and told her that I didn't care what she had to do, but I need her to call every hotel between where I was and her house and find me a place to stop.

And so - thanks to my parents bailing me out- we made it to a hotel around 11pm and finally settled in for the night.

Despite the slight glitch of hitting a body bag in the middle of the highway, we had a nice time at the hotel and the boys loved every minute.

When we finally arrived at Grandma and Grampa's house, the storm that we had driven through had arrived at their house and we spent the first day trying to escape the rain by letting the kids play at the indoor playplace at the "Food Shack" (which we had to drive 45 minutes to get to! Oh the joys of a small, small town). There is actually a bumper sticker in this town that says, "Last one out of town, turn off the light."

When the rain finally ended, it had dropped over 5 inches in their town and the lake had risen so much that the dock began to break apart.

But, that didn't bother the kids...as soon as the thunder was gone, they were in the water.

Here you'll notice the dock that was missing it's boards and Ayden trying to surf on some of the boards that had come loose.

We ended the day with a trip to the local restaurant (yes, there is only about one restaurant in their tiny town) where the kids received two of the LARGEST ice cream cones we have ever seen (we ordered smalls):)!


We're thrilled to finally be here and we're enjoying every minute of it!
Hope you have a great weekend!

The Minivan Chronicles

So, what do you get when you mix three kids, an obviously insane mother, a smelly minivan, and endless highway miles?

Well; you get some very interesting conversations and quite a few sympathetic looks.

Hmm…where shall I begin?
-----------------------
Brekyn: “Mom, can I have more goldfish?”

Mom: “No Brekyn, you don’t need any more goldfish, we’re going to be eating lunch in a few minutes.

Brekyn: “Are we going home to eat lunch?”

Mom: “No Brekyn, we’re somewhere in Virginia right now; we’re not going all the way home for lunch today. We’ll stop at a restaurant.”

At which point I heard a dramatic gasp from the back seat as Ayden yelled out;

“Nooooooooooooooooooooo…..NOT A RESTAURANT! I wanted to go to McDonalds!”

Mom: “Ayden, McDonalds IS a restaurant.”

Ayden: “No it’s not Mom! McDonalds is a food shack!”

Well, Ayden; you might just be right for once in your life…

Of course, heading into the so-called, “Food Shack” also required stop number 4 million and 37 in the restroom. After waiting for 10 minutes for the handicap stall to open up (because have you ever tried squeezing 4 people into a normal stall?), I told the boys to face the wall and keep their hands by their sides.

Apparently one of my children (who shall remain nameless) decided to peek…

Not only did he decide to peek, but he also announced (in a rather loud voice),

“Hey Mom! You just had a bug land on your bum!”

To which I heard women snickering from every stall around.

Then again; it is the “Food Shack,” if there weren’t bugs in the bathroom it just might not feel the same.

And yet, despite all of those memorable moments; I would have to say the one that tops them all was when the sweet gray-haired gentleman stared at me as I lugged three children, a diaper bag and a purse from the gas station toward the minivan.

“Wow! Are those all yours?” (I assumed he was referring to my children)

“Yes, they are in fact mine.” :)

“My goodness…I’ve seen army men headed into combat carrying less stuff.”

Well, that makes sense….you see; I thought about joining the army but then I realized I was entirely too tough for them…that’s when I decided to be a mom instead.

Oh the joys of a roadtrip!

The Test...

Well, I have to admit it; I am pretty proud of myself (remember I said yesterday that humility really runs in our family)!

Really though, I am proud of myself!

When I started this blog back in March, I figured it would be one of the "Oh yea, I've done that too" phases in my life.

You know what I mean: like dating a guy that clearly isn't your type back in high school, or giving up carbs for a season..."Oh yea, I've done that too."

I was thrilled to start putting all of my random thoughts down somewhere more concrete than on the back of a napkin; but in many ways, I wondered if I'd be able to keep the momentum going. I figured that in two weeks, I'd hear myself saying: "Oh yea, I did that blogging thing once too."

Well, here I stand (okay...sit) rejoicing that we have now all been together (me and my faithful 3) for a good 4 months! For four months I have written down some of the most absurd thoughts and admitted some of the weirdest things about myself...

And for some strange reason; for four months, you have all sat beside me and listened (hmmm...that says something about you - not sure if it's good or bad just yet though)!

Well, so here comes the test. Over the past four months I think I may have only missed about 2 or 3 days of posts. Somehow, I have managed to put random thoughts into words almost every day of the week.

But, now I am leaving for vacation. Even worse; I am leaving for a 3 week vacation!

That's right, I will be leaving my sweet hubby behind to fend for himself for a bit while I tour the country in my customized tour bus (okay, my minivan-Uggh!)

I'll be stopping along the way to visit family and friends and I will be keeping a tally of how many potty stops one woman and three kids can make in one hour's time (Oh, I know you're all on the edge of your seats)!

Sure, at one point, I will meet up with my dear hubby and actually get a bit of a vacation time with him; but for the most part I will be SuperMOM on a mission to find adventure in every pitstop along the way!

Okay, maybe that's not quite accurate...maybe I will be more like that mom who looks like she's just spent 16 hours in a smelly mini-van with 3 screaming kids and a McDonalds stomach ache...yea, that's probably more like it.

So, here's the point to this incredibly compelling tale:

GIVE ME A BREAK IF I MISS A DAY OF POSTING!:)

I will do my absolute best to bring you the deep thoughts that you're all yearning for (HAAAAA!) but if I miss a day or two here or there; please just think of me in my smelly mini-van and pray that the DVD player doesn't overheat and that each and every exit along the highway is equipped with bathrooms that don't require hazmat uniforms upon entering.

Ahh the life of SuperMOM! Does it get any better than this?! :) Happy vacationing!

My son...the karate superstar

I think it's so great to see a child's confidence boosted.

Granted, my little guy Ayden really didn't need much help with that (for the most part he boosts his own confidence daily).

It is very common for us to have to remind him that humility is a great quality to possess.

Nevertheless, I still find it great when I see the innocence of childhood and the excitement that something like one week at karate camp can create.

This morning I found Ayden drawing a picture of him showing off his new skills.

Notice the amazing boy doing a split in the air with the medal around his neck...You got it; that's Ayden.

Notice the other person that Ayden is "battling" (as Ayden says)....that's Grampa.

Why Grampa?

I have no clue...but it is; except Ayden couldn't find a gray marker so this is a representation of Grampa when he was young. Plus, as Ayden says:"Grampa couldn't jump that high nowadays," so Ayden had to make the picture with a young looking grampa.

Finally, notice all the people standing below staring in awe at the amazing Karate Superstar...those are all of Ayden's faithful fans...

When I asked Ayden if I was in the picture he said, "Yea Mom...this is you."

"I'm really sorry about your hair though. I accidentally gave you spikes. Sometimes your hair looks like that, but it doesn't today. Sorry about that."

Oh Ayden...it's okay...I'll still be your faithful fan (spikes and all).

$1.09...

Ahh… the life of a youth pastor’s child...

So, this week has been an exciting one for our big boy Ayden. Each summer we allow Ayden to pick one camp that he can attend for a week. Because Donn has done some coaching over the years for one of our local private schools, Ayden gets a 50% discount for camp. Being that we are independently wealthy (ha), we gladly welcome the 50% discount and look forward to Ayden’s week of fun!

This summer Ayden picked karate camp.

After the first day of camp, Ayden came home with a list of items that could be purchased. Uniforms, tee shirts, you name it…they had it. As a mom, I was ready to buy him everything on that list. My fellow moms out there probably understand the feeling. I could picture my adorable 6 year old in his karate uniform and I could already imagine the page in his scrapbook. However, the budget just didn’t allow for it and I resigned to the fact that my child was having a great week at camp and would survive without all the “extra” stuff.

So, needless to say, I was surprised to walk into “graduation” today to see Ayden wearing a Karate t-shirt. For a moment I thought maybe the instructors had given them away (probably feeling bad for my child who seemed to be about the only one without a full uniform); but then I noticed one other child who had no karate gear on so I realized that couldn’t be the case.

As soon as I could, I pulled Ayden aside and asked him where he got the shirt. He smiled and said, “I bought it!”

“Honey, I know what they were charging for those t-shirts and there’s no way you had that much money…how did you pay for it?”

“I did pay for it Mom! It was cheap! Just one dollar and nine cents!” To which he scampered off into his Karate lineup.

At the end of graduation; after watching my son do jump-kicks and punches galore; I went up to the instructor and asked how much I owed for the t-shirt.

The sweet woman looked at me and said, “Oh no…you don’t owe anything. It is our treat for Ayden.”

“That’ s very sweet,” I said. “But I’m happy to pay…I wasn’t aware of the fact that he wanted a shirt so badly.”

To which the instructor said, “No, really; this is our treat. You see, when we asked the class if anyone had been planning on purchasing a uniform, Ayden immediately raised his hand. He then walked over and said, I need a small and here’s my money. When he pulled out a Buzz Lightyear wallet, I asked him if this was his money from his piggy bank. He said yes and I would like a small please. He then handed me one dollar and nine cents. It was the first time in our 18 years of this camp that a child has ever brought their own money for something. We all thought it was so great that we said, here sweetie we can’t give you a uniform, but have a t-shirt.”

So, needless to say; I’m feeling a bit like a loser today. :)

My poor kid; the ‘first kid in 18 years’ to have to pay for his own t-shirt at karate camp! :)

Then again; he is a youth pastor’s kid…

You never know; maybe there’s something to this ‘cute kid with the Buzz Lightyear wallet act’…

Do you think it works for mortgages? :)

Peace...

Sometimes I feel so incredibly helpless.

I sit back and wonder what God is doing and yet no amount of pondering seems to bring answers.

I shed some tears, sense the Lord comfort me and resign to the fact that I am a child and He is my Father.

There are many things I may never understand.

As many of your read yesterday, I have a dear friend who continues to be in a physical battle of great proportions. I spent yesterday on my knees, petitioning the Lord for His great healing hands. I felt deep sadness for the trial that this Godly family is enduring…

And then I got a phone call…

The phone call was to inform me that another dear friend, Tammy (who is one of my “Front Porch” Ministry sisters – see link at the side) received word yesterday that her son has a recurrence of cancer and is now facing 3 tumors on his brain (one of which is inoperable).

And I am left….in a pile on the floor…feeling such a deep sense of helplessness and pain for my sweet sisters and their families who are facing trials of such deep proportions.

Lord, I love you and I know you are standing right beside each one of my sisters right now. I know that none of these events has come as a surprise to you. I know that you love my dear sisters more than I could ever begin to love them. I plead Lord for your sweet peace. Bring my sisters peace that can only be explained by your comforting hand. Bring healing where it is needed and bring hope that can only come from a risen Savior. It is only in You that we can put our trust. Your will be done.

Amen.

Today...

There are some days when I just can’t be eloquent.

This is one of those days.

I can literally go down and list the number of prayers that God has answered as a result of you (my blogging friends). We have seen miracles…an orphan girl has found a family, a soccer team from Nicaragua was clothed with full uniforms. A crazy person like myself was able to actually complete a proposal and meet with publishers about it…God is very real and God hears your prayers.

Today, I am asking for your prayers. Not for me, but for a dear friend.

Today, I have a dear friend who is lying in a hospital bed and is very ill. She has been battling an infection for 3 weeks that has ravaged her body and is now causing very serious issues. As of this morning, both of her lungs had collapsed and the situation is becoming very scary.

I can’t begin to put to words the plea that I have for each one of you to take a moment to lift this friend up in prayer. Please pray for the doctors to have wisdom; please pray for her husband and daughter to have courage and peace. Please pray for complete and full recovery.

I have seen God’s miracles.

I have seen my mother walk away from a stroke.

I have seen my sister survive an “in-survivable” car wreck.

Together we have seen an orphan girl named Loriana receive a family.

I believe in prayer and I believe in the power of the saints.

Please dear saints…. pray with me today.

If God leads, please post your prayer in my comment section and I will hand deliver them to this Godly family so that they will know how much God loves them. (If you’re unfamiliar with the comments section, please remember that you can comment anonymously if you feel more comfortable.) The only thing I ask is that you list your state in the comment. I would love for my friends to know that people all over the world are praying for their family right now.

What is yours?

Wow...there are no words.

God's Camcorder...

I was pondering heaven yesterday.

Do you ever wonder what heaven is really like?

I know that I can’t begin to fathom all of its glory, but sometimes I try. Sure, I think about the streets of gold and the rooms that He’s preparing for each one of us who know Him; but more often than not, my mind wanders off to other things…
--------------------
Summer in the south means many things….one of the greatest memories I think my kids will have of their summers in the south are of the thunderstorms.

Without fail, it seems like just about every day around 5pm the clouds roll in and the wind picks up. The trees begin to sway and the sun becomes captive to the dark blanket that canvases the sky. Some people can’t stand this. I myself love it.

Yesterday I saw the onset of the ever darkening sky and I skipped out the door and plopped into my big yellow Adirondack chair where I rested my head and stared up at God’s handiwork. As the wind began to rush across my face, I noticed how quickly the clouds were moving. They were faster than they normally are and it seemed like such an amazing sight.

I quickly called the boys outside to sit with me as we gazed at the clouds.

It was one of the most precious moments of my life. We laughed and pointed as the boys sat mesmerized by God’s masterpiece. It truly was a sight to behold.

AND THEN…

Out of nowhere, the clouds opened up and buckets of water began pelleting our faces. It was truly hysterical. No warning drops. No starting off slowly. Just an absolute downpour that left us drenched in the two seconds time that it took us to jump up from our seats and head to the door.

We laughed harder in those 2 seconds than I think I have laughed in months. Ayden stood outside with his arms in the air and twirling around. It was like a scene from a really good movie.

As we got inside and dried off, there was just one thought that kept coming back to me…
“Lord, I hope you have a camcorder.”

My memory is weak and my lifetime is short; but these precious moments are too good to live just once.

“Lord, I hope you’re recording them. I hope that when I someday join you in heaven, I will sit in the room that is prepared for me and I will laugh hysterically as I watch these moments on the big screen. That's what I think heaven will be like. A big movie in the sky of all of the highlights of my life. Thank you for my family. Thank you for these precious moments.”

And the award goes to....

And the award for ‘Mother of the Year’ goes to…

Okay; those are a few words I will NEVER hear spoken on my behalf!:)

So, time travel with me, if you will, to yesterday morning.

I am dramatically running around the house pouting because my internet doesn’t work and I can’t get my morning news (what?? the news is on the tv too? Who woulda’ thunk!)

In between pouts of pure girly fashion, I catch Brekyn playing with a toy that we just purchased for Ayden to bring to a friend’s birthday. I grab the box out of Brekyn’s hand just before he tears it open and I immediately turn to Ayden and say, “Ayden, I told you to leave this on top of the fridge so Brekyn doesn’t get into it!”

Ayden looks at me and says, “Sorry Mom, I wanted to see how big it was so I could get wrapping paper for it.”

I then scold Brekyn for touching it and I take the boxed toy and place it back on top of the fridge where it belongs.

Fast forward a few hours through a few “Hallelujahs” and “Praise Gods” as the Internet Techy Guy restores my glorious internet service; and I walk into the kitchen to find Brekyn sitting on the floor with the ripped open toy box in his lap.

I grab the box from Brekyn’s hands and again scold him for touching it and then I walk over to Ayden and get in his face and forcefully say (okay, okay; scream) “I TOLD YOU NOT TO TAKE THIS TOY DOWN AGAIN! WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOURSELF?” (as I dramatically dangle the ripped up box in the air).

It is at this point that my sweet six year old boy bursts into tears and looks at me with a panicked face and says, “Mommy, I didn’t take it down. I really didn’t.”

“Well then Ayden! How did it get down? There is no way that Brekyn could have….”

WAIT A MINUTE…

It was at this point that my brain kicked into surreal slow-motion mode and I vaguely remembered those few minutes when I was trying to waste time as the internet techy man worked on the computer.

As if I was standing on the outside looking in, I saw myself reach up to the top of the fridge and pull down the toy box while reaching for something that was behind it on the fridge.

My eyes got huge as I looked at my precious boy who had now sunk to the kitchen floor with absolute rejection and was sitting cross-legged sobbing.

“Ayden, I’m so sorry! Mommy is SO sorry!” I blurted out as I began hugging and kissing him.

“Mommy took the box down from the fridge and I am so sorry I yelled at you! I am so so sorry! Will you forgive me?”

To which my sweet Ayden casually replied, “Sure Mom, I forgive you.”

And once again; my children have taught me the valuable lesson of thinking before reacting.

MAN, when do you think I’ll actually ‘get’ this lesson…it seems like I’ve had it a lot lately!

God is chuckling...

Have you ever pictured God chuckling?

Oh, I have!

Yesterday morning I awoke and wrote one of the world’s fastest blogs about how I had been on strike the day before and how I needed an internet break. Hmmm….

I literally hit the “publish” button on my computer and headed to my email account. I checked a few emails, began a few replies …

AND THEN…

Nothing.

“SERVER FAILED”

What? I was just online?

Who is this “server” and how can he fail me now? Doesn’t he know that I just took a personal vacation from his service and NOW I am counting on him!!! This can’t really be happening. Are you kidding me? I have bills to pay! I have emails to respond to! I have work to be done (yes, I do in fact use my computer for work – it’s not ALL fun and games!)

It was pure girly drama, let me tell you!

But no matter what I tried…”SERVER FAILED”

Four hours later, after listening to the Hungarian woman politely spend 40 minutes trying to help me fix my problem, I finally got the response; “Well, it looks like this may be an issue with our system. I’ll get a tech on it right away.”

Right away, huh?

Let me translate that into everyday Joe language:

“We’ll send someone out to your house by next Tuesday.”

And so, there you have it…

A full 26 hours without internet service and I can just picture God up there chuckling. My guess is that He’s sitting around with a bowl of popcorn and a few of his best angel buds pointing fingers and laughing at me.

Needless to say; when the nice technician man drove into my driveway a few minutes ago, you could hear me yelling “PRAISE GOD!” the next town over. I think the tech guy thought I was a bit crazy when I told him that I have never been happier to see someone. He didn’t even respond.

It’s really quite pathetic how much life has changed!

Just a few years ago I didn’t even have internet at my house! Now I’m kissing the feet of the man who shows up with a new modem and a smile (well, okay - maybe just a new modem – he didn’t really smile much…probably because he was overwhelmed by the psycho lady who was yelling “Praise God” as he rang the door bell).

And yet my dear friends; I know I’m not alone…after all; on the one day that I didn’t post, I had an inbox full of people asking me where I was and what was wrong!

HA, HA – You’re all addicted too!

Do you think there’s rehab for this? Oh, if there is I hope it's in the Hamptons! :)

On Strike!

Okay, here’s a glimpse into the kind of rebel I am at heart.

After a weekend of amazing quality family time of fireworks, parades, karaoke (yes, I said karaoke) and even a backyard movie against the house; I decided I was on strike.

As much as I LOVE blogging and I absolutely adore my ‘faithful 3’ (for those new readers out there; this is how I refer to my faithful readers because I can’t believe there are actually more than three people in the world who are reading this goofy blog!) I really enjoyed the weekend of NO COMPUTER!

You got it…. ‘NUTHIN’. I think I checked email once late Saturday night but other than that I had banned myself from it. I find that as a “Home Executive” (yup, that’s what I call myself!) the computer can be very addictive!

In my world of, “Mommy, can I have?” and “this house smells like poop” the computer becomes a bit of a reminder that there is a world going on outside of my 4 walls. Somedays, I do just fine with it; but other days I feel like I’ve spent the whole day either blogging or reading your blogs! Those are the days that I feel like I’ve let down my family and missed out on opportunities to be with them.

Soooo, after a great weekend of family time, I decided to buck the system and not post yesterday.

Now, I know that no one probably even noticed my absence yesterday, but it was my way of rebelling against the blogging monster that can rise up in me.

So, if there is ever a day when you notice I don’t get around to posting, you can assume one of two things:

1) The blogging monster has returned and I am in combat mode all day as I ward him off

OR

2) There was a HUGE sale on swiss cake rolls and I am stocking up for winter

On that note; welcome back dear friends and Happy Tuesday!

My heart skipped a beat...

My heart skipped a beat when I saw these videos.

Please click here to see the story behind the new Mark Schultz song.

Please click here to see the music video.

Drowning...

Someone; oh someone, PLEASE tell me what the obsession is with boys and flatulence?

Obviously, for those of you looking for deep thoughts; nope…this just ain’t your day.

Seriously though, I must understand it. Like I said a few days ago; I grew up with all sisters.

Growing up, if you had to “toot” (as I prefer to call it) you would quietly sneak away for a few moments and hope that no one noticed. Certainly, if you did choose to “risk it” by staying amongst a crowd, you made certain that no one would be able to pinpoint its origin. This is the world I grew up in, and this is the world I felt comfortable with…

AND THEN I HAD BOYS.

In my new world, it is an honor, a right and even an aspiration to achieve the loudest, stinkiest and most crude gaseous output known to man! Sure, we force the kids to say excuse me, but when they say those words it is always with a sense of great satisfaction and pride!

For years now, I have tried to understand this phenomenon of the sexes and I have finally realized that I will never grasp the joy of flatulence that my boys so cling to.

Better yet, just this morning I witnessed my 6 year old teaching my 3 year old how to make “toot” sounds with his armpit…Come on; you have got to be kidding me!!

As if we need any more body parts that make that sound around here!

Oh Elle; I sure hope you are a girly girl….Mommy is drowning in testosterone! :)

I Got Nuthin'...

I know you’re all on the edge of your seats wondering what my excuse is for posting so late today…

Hmm…let me see what I can come up with here.

Nope…I got nuthin’.

The sad truth is; I was up way too late going to a great concert with my studly hubbie where we sat on the lawn seats and tried our best to ward off the 14,000 different “smoke scents” that were about to make us pass out.

Then, I got up early with 3 precious kids who decided that 6am is a great time to wake up. Come on! A little sympathy here! Mommy was up way too late!

Then I had an amazing morning catching up with a good friend and before I knew it, nap time had arrived and I was faced with two options:

1) Blog for my 3 readers
OR
2) Take a nap with my kids

BUT;
Then I realized that despite the fact that I had stayed up late with a bunch of crazy fans (did I mention ‘WAY TOO LATE’), life must go on and I had a pile of bills that were supposed to be paid yesterday!

Sooooooooo….. I passed on the nap and the blogging and spent over an hour crying over why the power bill is so high and why my kids have this insane idea that food is an important part of their daily lives.

Alas, here I sit…7:30pm…DOG TIRED (because I stayed up WAY TOO LATE last night) and I’ve finally decided to bless you all with my deep thoughts for the day (HA! If you find any deep thoughts in this mess of words, you win a prize – it won’t be a good prize, but I’ll find some chewed up army man or something around here!)

Oh well…they can’t all be insanely inspiring days! Sometimes you just drag your tired bum around while paying a few bills and eating a few swiss cake rolls (Oh yes, you KNOW I made time to eat those today!) The kids made me do it. No, seriously….they really did; but that’s another blog for another day when I’m not so stinkin’ exhausted!

Next time I try to pretend I’m still in my early 20’s with my studly hubbie; please remind me of this day!

All new territory...

Growing up in a family of all girls (except for my dear ole’ dad), every day is a bit of an adventure in my world of growing boys.

Yesterday I heard some clanging around in the kitchen and as I walked out I saw my 6 year old boy rummaging through the pots and pans.

As I rounded the corner I noticed that he was clenching his fist as if he was holding a precious treasure.

“Ayden, do I want to know what you’re doing?” I cautiously inquired.

To which my sweet southern boy responded:

“I need to get me a fryin’ pan…I’m gonna fry me up a dead bug!”

Well, you know what they say in the South….everything’s better when fried!

Oh Lord, be with me….this is all new territory for a girl like myself….