Blessings

I'm feeling very blessed today! It's probably a nice side-effect of all those endorphins getting released from my new-found love of running. Either way, it just seems like everything is going well. I was almost afraid to write that, because of what they say about karma or whatever, but we hold to the Truth, so I'm not too worried about karma. I know the immediate future will hold some challenges, with us going through our first winter as seasonal business owners. But, and this is a big BUT, we know without a doubt this is God's plan for us. We're ready for it! Bring on the winter!

I am wearing a Tshirt today that has Jeremiah 29:11 written on it. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord. "Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a HOPE and a FUTURE." We claim that as Truth. The Truth is good stuff. And it's a really cute shirt!

So what's so great about today? Nothing spectacular, really. Beautiful sunny weather after a day of gray and rain. Getting to eat breakfast as a family because Greg stayed home this morning. Lunch with a precious friend, which included a huge glass of sweet tea. Going for a run in the cool wind and surviving again. Using my new hair products. (I am realizing I have an obsession with my hair lately.) Getting to spend the afternoon with my sweet babies, and listen to them tell me all the important things happening in their lives, which includes talking about purple birds, Nemo, and blankies.

No, there isn't anything spectacular about these things. But these are my blessings, however small they are. I am favored by God! As His daughter, I am loved, and loved well by my Abba.

Whew! I've done four "sessions" of the couch-to 5K already! I repeated week one for an extra day today.. and I think I'm ready to move on to week two! I really underestimated myself. I even sprinted on the last 90-second interval. I can't really claim it was a true sprint, but I did run faster and harder. It hurt, but felt good at the same time! I'm afraid to even look at what's in week two... but I'm committed now!

Carly just interrupted my typing to tell me she needed to go potty. Seriously!? She is not even two years old, and she just pooped on the potty! This is not the first time she's used the potty, but it was the first time she came and told me she needed to. Wow. Then as I was cleaning the potty, she went into her room and peed on the floor while getting out a clean diaper. Oh well. She pooped!

Caleb has also been doing very well on the potty lately. He gets SO MUCH stuff when he goes, I don't know why he wouldn't beg to go every day. Right now he gets a dollar for going every day or every other day, a check on his chart, sticker, AND he gets to brag to daddy. He's collecting dollars to buy a certain truck at Walmart... he's up to $11 and his truck only costs $13! This is a fun game because it's teaching him the value of money and counting. These are two unintentional side effects of it. We just wanted him to go poop, but everything is a teachable moment I suppose. Today he "read" his book to me at naptime. It's a simple book about *what else* animals, and has a little one-liner fact about each one. He recited about 75% of them before I could. It got me thinking about teaching him to really read. I think he could, if I could find a good simple curriculum that will help me teach him. I'm the one who's clueless about it!

I've been noticing on my left sidebar someone from DC clicks my blog a lot... if you are reading, leave me a comment and let me know who you are! If you are the White House, nevermind. There's nothing "red flag" going on here. Unless talking about poop is grossly offending, ha ha!

I'm hoping to get some pumpkin patch pictures this weekend of the kiddos, but I've got to get Carly's outfit finished first! It's going to be WILD!! I love it so far. I'm using a vintage pattern from my Granny, somewhere from the 70s. Of course, there will be added ruffles. And I'm talking about ruffles, people. It will be smashing!

Couch to 5K

Well, faithful readers, you are hearing it here first. I am going to become a runner. I've been making ugly faces at my friends for years when they brag about their running 6 miles the other day, or they pass so-and-so on the running trail every day blah blah blah but all it really was was me being jealous that people do that, and actually enjoy it. That's right, I'm that shallow! And petty enough to say stupid things like, "Why would anyone run for fun?" So there you have it, I'm the petty jealous type!

SO, I had heard about this so-called running program that claims to be able to get your butt off the couch and into a 5K race in 9 weeks. Right. But at the same time I was silently mocking I felt a pull to be involved. (see earlier post about my addiction to being in the middle of everything all the time). And after my gluten tolerance test came back normal and I have no medical answers to why I am perpetually skinny despite my man-sized appetite, I figured if God gave me this body I might as well take delight in it and treat it well. That starts with getting in shape. Or at least able to climb a couple flights of stairs without breathing so hard it sounds like I've run three miles (or a 5K maybe?).

It's a pretty simple program, like baby steps for stupid people (which I consider myself at this point). My biggest hangup to starting was How to do this with my kids? I don't have a runnable -- yes I made that word up-- double stroller, so taking them with isn't an option. Today the problem solved itself. I took the kids on a walk down our street, with Carly in our lightweight single stroller, and Caleb pushing his Little Tykes fire truck. As I watched him running ahead of me, then stopping to wait for me to catch up, it dawned on me, "Why can't the boy run along beside me?" So that's exactly what ended up happening. I changed into my running shoes (why I even have running shoes is a mystery since before today I haven't run since, ahhhh, middle school maybe?) and off we went, jogging for 60 seconds, and then walking for 90 seconds, repeat for 20 minutes.

Let me just say this right now. That was the LONGEST 20 minutes of my LIFE thus far. Forget childbirth. Puh-lease. That was easy peasy compared to the stabbing pain in my side and my burning lungs after about half of this torture regimen. I'm going to have to take the remedial track of this program and give myself an extra week at the beginning. So I will officially start Week One next Monday. Check back with me around Thanksgiving and see if 1) I'm dead, or 2) I'm a running-obsessed freak planning a half-marathon in January.

I'm not saying I'm committed just yet, but given the fact that I didn't die on the side of the street today, and I have recovered enough to function like nothing torturous happened to me today, I think I will do it again.

If you'd like to run with me, leave me a comment and I'll set up an email accountability group. That will give me enough pressure that maybe I'll follow through.

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

Choices

As a mom of a toddler and a preschooler, I often hear the advice, "Pick your battles." Today I had a choice. Mommy needed to go to the bathroom, which on 99% of occasions happens with an audience of two. I'm okay with that. But today I just wanted some privacy for once. So I closed and locked the door, sat down, and proceeded. About 3.2 seconds later I heard the rustling at the door. After that I heard, "Mommy? What are you doing?" Then I heard a short pause, (the realization that the door was locked) and then "WAHHHHHHHHHHH! I want to come in there with you!!" So my time to myself was filled with lots and lots of noise.

So I realized I have two choices... perform in front of an audience, or listen to an over-the-top performance just outside the door. Today I chose the latter. Never again.

Mops Convention

Whew! How much fun can a girl have in a four day period? Lots!! I was lucky to get to go to the Mops International Convention this year for the first time. It was at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville. I had so much fun -- our little group of four heard some great seminars, comedy, AWESOME worship time with Matt Redman and Christy Nockels, heard Matthew West and Plumb perform.. MopShopping and resource fair (read: FREE STUFF!), and we went downtown one night to see what Nashville is all about. The other girls got themselves some cowgirl boots... I settled for a hat, which after looking through my pictures I noticed I am wearing that silly $5 hat in every one of them! There were around 4,000 women there, and even in a place that huge, that is a LOT of people. Always a line to stand in-- for food, girls' room, checkout lines, coffee-- everything except the elevator, strangely.

the story might be better told through the pictures...


Jamie almost hyperventilated when she figured our hotel was across the street from Cooter's. (It's a late-70s kid thing, I guess... Dukes of Hazzard.) We all lined up for a picture beside the General Lee.

Chelsey


Me


Jamie


The view INSIDE the Gaylord Opryland. There was even a riverboat tour.




We walked past these silly horses several times on our way from our room to the conference center. So on the last day we took pictures with them. I decided that the stupid horses needed a stupid pose, so that's what I did.


Group Pic inside the Gaylord


Meeting my "imaginary friend" Andrea. Our oldest kids were born around the same time and we were/are a part of the forums on Babycenter.com.


In a Grand Ole Opry Store downtown


This is JAMIE riding the bull. She did quite well! And there is a video to prove it!


Meeting Josh Dunne at Cadillac Ranch. We all think he'll be famous someday, so I'm bummed my pic is fuzzy :(


Cute sign downtown


This guitar is on the street corner in downtown Nashville. That pretty smoky look in the picture is actual cigarette smoke from the nice lady who took our picture.


Me and the HonkyTonk guitar. I only know a handful of those faces.. :/


The theme for Mops this year. I took a picture of one of the five HUGE screens they had in the room.


My pirate picture of Plumb singing. She is amazing! One of my all-time favorites.


Boo! Coming home... it was a pleasant flight on the smallest aircraft I've ever been on. A 50 passenger jet. I know there are many smaller planes, but this one was still rather small. I learned on the first flight that the "overhead" bins are not actually over anyone's head. I know this because I cracked my forehead on it when I went to get in my seat. I learned my lesson on the second flight.

Passage for the day

I had a little reflection time on this early this morning:

Matthew 7:1-6

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. ² For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

³ “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? ⁴ How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

⁶ “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you.

It is so neat how the Lord brought the right passage of scripture to mind to calm my spirit this morning.

I'm getting ready today to start the first leg of a trip that will end up in Nashville. Getting there is going to take a long time though! Today I take the kids to Grandma's/Mawmaw's, but before we leave I have to go get my blood drawn (FINALLY getting that Celiac test done!) and then run home and grab the kids and take them in for their flu shots. Home for lunch and (hopefully) a nap, and then we'll head out to Grandma's behind the evening rush hour traffic. That's the plan anyway. Tomorrow morning I fly to Nashville and will meet three other girls for the MOPS convention! I am so excited: 1) Nashville!! 2) Gaylord Opryland Hotel!! 3) Girl time with NO KIDS!! 4) Plumb in concert! I'm a sucker for her music - always have been ever since she first started. Even more so when she sarted singing beautiful lullabyish ballads to her baby. Not the sappy kind, the AWESOME kind! (My playlist is full of plumb, btw).

I hear Carly talking, so that means it's time to get started with my day! Yay for fun!

It's been a while since I updated, sorry! Fall has begun, and I am so busy lately! This week I have had some meeting/luncheon/event every day. Some days had more than one thing. This stresses me out. I am such a paradox, even to myself. I can't stand to not be included in every little social thing, but when I am involved in everything, I am stressed out and cranky. Too tired to work on my orders at night, too tired to be very nice to my kids, and it disappoints me that I can't do it all. I wouldn't say it's a stressful life I lead here, instead I think we do a good job at keeping a very laid-back household, but just the busyness of life brings me down. I don't know what I hope to accomplish by blogging about it, I guess I just want to complain. But that'll be quite enough out of me.

Caleb has started KidzPraise at church, which he seems to enjoy. We hear him singing in his bed at night. He won't sing in class, or at home if he knows anyone is listening, but we hear it coming from his dark bedroom. It's such a blessing to hear our little guy learning and retaining things. He has recently been singing the ABC's (that's the only one he'll sing for us) in lightning-speed-mode. It's funny. He also counts to thirty, and only occasionally skips a number. Today in the car he was counting to himself and I heard him say 14, 15, 17, 18, 19... just so funny to me! Cute as can be.

Caleb's other new thing is telling jokes. He mostly does this with Daddy in the early mornings, so I don't hear it, but yesterday he randomly asked me, "Mom, do dogs take catnaps?" I was shocked as it dawned on me, "He just told a joke!! That is so stinkin hilarious!!" He cracks me up. Literally.

Carly. Carly Carly Carly. That girl. Hmmm. She is something lately. Not quite sure what exactly. Sassy, yes. Smart, yes. Girly (in a hormonal teengaer kind of way), YES. I did not realize HOW different girls are than boys, even as babies. Crazy. She wants her bow in, no not that bow, the other bow. No, not that bow, the OTHER one!! She wants her shoes on. Not those shoes, the other ones. NO, NOT THOSE SHOES, THE OTHER ONES!!!!!!! Drama Drama Drama.

She's in her "no" stage right now. I remember Caleb going through that one. Everything is "no!" Even when she means "yes." When she doesn't get her way, it gets noisy. She is defiant and independent. New word lately is "self." She loves to make noise, which is SO much different than Bubba. We wondered if he would ever talk. She won't shut up. But the upside to all the noise: the girl loves to sing! I've recently discovered that in order to keep her still during night-night time I have to sing to her, instead of reading books. I started out singing what few kids songs I could remember, which embarassingly wasn't too many. Our current repertoire is: If you're happy and you know it (You should hear her say, "Amen!" Too cute!), ABC's, Jesus Loves Me, Jesus Loves the Little Children, and Holy Holy Holy (yes, hymn number 1 in the Baptist Hymnal, LOL). She actually starts me off on Holy Holy Holy. It is so sweet to hear a child - a baby really - singing Holy. I hope to encourage her love of music (Caleb's too) and nurture her confidence so she can share it with others some day.

Thankfully, my Friday morning got postponed, so I can sleep late (yeah right) and then hang out in my pjs for a while in the morning. We'll eventually make it over to my friend's house for a playdate with her triplets, and I can remember that whatever stories I can come up with from this week, she's probably got me beat.

Gluten Free Frenzy giveaway

Here's another post about gluten-free Frenzy. Chandice is sponsoring a giveaway of TWELVE boxes of Blue Diamond nut-thins crackers. (Mom, these are those crackers you gave me, yummo!) They are a healthy snack, because nuts are GOOD for you! I am not a nut lover, but the Almond crackers are very good! I'm not currently on the "diet" -- still waiting for the blood test -- but I still enjoy a yummy snack. And eating cheddar cheese or ranch flavored crackers that happen to be made of nuts beats the heck out of choking down a handful of almonds.. blech!

Blue Diamond's website: www.bluediamond.com

Chandice's blog - GlutenFree Frenzy: http://glutenfreefrenzy.blogspot.com/

See this on Facebook recently?

No one should die because they cannot afford health care (especially children), and no one should go broke because they get sick.

This makes me laugh. Mostly because it's completely true, and untrue at the same time. General statement made by blind followers (mostly).

Two things here: ONE: No one should die because they cannot afford health care. True, no one should die. And since in American it's illegal for a hospital to turn anyone away for the nonability to pay, it doesn't happen here. I'm sure there are cases of hospitals or doctors committing crimes against this law, sure. Humans are humans and we all sin. But for the most part, people DO NOT die because they can't afford health care. Sorry that I have no laws to quote but everyone has seen the signs in the hospital entrances.

TWO: No one should go broke because they are sick, again true. People get sick, it's part of life. It's a booger to afford health insurance these days. BELIEVE ME, I KNOW. I've been unemployed in the last few months and now self-employed and shopping for health insurance is tough when you don't have an employer to pay half (or ANY). BUT there are MANY MANY MANY low-cost options that protect you from catastophic medical costs. I'm talking $50 a month can keep you from "going broke because you are sick." Granted, you are going to have to pay for it for a LONG time, but you will not go broke if you manage it properly. The insurance companies are just as eager to put you on a payment plan as the credit card companies, so just add it to the list. Personally, we chose the $380/per month family plan that keeps us from "going broke when we get sick". It was a sacrifice we were willing to take for better coerage. If it wasn't possible though, we would have at least gotten the $50 plan. That's LESS THAN AN AVERAGE CABLE BILL! Priorities.

Sorry for that, but in my mind this needed to be addressed. It's just so funny (in a *headslap* kind of way) that people do not think things through! The best part is that this is a liberal attempt to get peole to drum up more support for the stupid idea that the government will keep people from dying when they can't afford healthcare (especially children!! Don't forget the children!!) and keep us all from going broke when we get sick.. Otherwise known as Universal Health Care. Or socialism. Call it what you want.

I'm not saying the system doesn't need to be fixed. It absolutely does. But blindly following the crowd and trusting a few hundred government politicians to look after the health of multi-millions of Americans.. I just don't get it.

*Disclaimer: Positive comments are always welcome. Anything other than that, don't bother.

Sitting Outside on a Monday

Sitting outside on an 80 degree, sunny, breezy Monday = +2
Eating a HUGE chocolate cupcake = +4
Forgetting to bring out a drink = -3
Hearing the wind rustling the leaves = +2
Still being able to hear road noise = -4
Being outside by myself while the kids nap= +2
Going back inside to do the things I don't want to do = -1

= +2

So far so good, for a Monday.