You know you're the baby when....

your mom is a week late posting about
your 8th Birthday!!!

Can you even believe it?
This little pot turned 8 last week.

As you may, or may not know this
little punk is quite the character. 
He makes me laugh on a daily
basis.

He is probably the most strong-willed
child that I know.  I pray a lot
for patience.  Cause I need a lot
of it.  Heaping portions of
good ol' fashioned patience
like grandma had, but not my
grandma.

I really should write down everything
that he says.  Most of the time I'm
left with my mouth hanging open.

Earlier this year, some
friends invited us over for dinner.
The meal was fabulous looking, and
you could tell that the hostess
had worked very hard on it, but Josh
when he sees the spread yells,
"I don't like none of this crap!"
I wanted to die right there.  Dig
myself a hole and crawl in it. I ain't coming
out.  The Mr. of the household heard
it and started to laugh really loud.
The hostess lauged too (thankfully, although
we've not been invited back.  I'll have
to ask her if we're still friends).  Me, I
was hiding in the hole.  I only came out
to write this little story.

Then another time, when our Home Teachers were
over, he and I were sitting on the end
of the sofa.  He had wallowed me to death.
So, I kind of raised myself up, to get off my leg
that I had been sitting on, when
Josh yells "Watch out!! Mom's gonna
let one blow!"  I think Brother Jones, one
of the home teachers, almost got in the
floor over that one.  Nice.

Needless to say, I find myself saying to Josh
all the time "Just because you think
it, doesn't mean you say it."

Umm.  It's not getting through.

Sometimes, I can see the wheels
spinning and intercept his
thoughts/comments, but sometimes
he beats me to the punchline, and
sometimes no matter how scary
of a look I give he's just. got. to. 
say. it.

He should come with a warning sign:
"Don't let the brown eyes fool you."














Life with Josh is never boring.
Heavenly Father knew just what
he was doing when he
sent him to us.  I am absolutely crazy
about this boy. 

He's growing up way too fast.
I always say to him, "Are you my
baby?" and he snuggles in for a
hug, and murmurs "uh huh."
Melts my heart.

Happy Belated Birthday Joshy!!
I love you.

Hoarding fears.

Last night I watched Hoarders:  Buried Alive.
For 2 hours.  That was enough.
I've never watched it before.
It scared me.
Know why?  Because I think
there are times in my life
when I could  easily slip
into doing nothing.  Ever.
And then before I would know it,
with kids and a husband
running amuck, the mess would
quickly become consuming and
overwhelming.

Last week was one of those weeks
for me.  Just so you know.  There are
times when I really struggle with depression.
When it hangs over me.  I hate it when
I feel that way.  Luckily it passes
quickly, although not as fast as I would
like.

Anyway, back to the hoarders. 

Having done home health care in my
career I have been in homes like this. 
One patient's son told me that his mother
died when she fell behind some
boxes and no one could find her.
Hmm.  Not sure if I believe it or not, but
how awful. 

Something that I noticed while watching
the show was the emotional issues
that these women were dealing with that
was leading to their hoarding habits.
I used to think of it as laziness. 

One case involved a lady that had lost
a infant son twenty years before and
began keeping things afterwards to avoid the pain
of his loss.  Twenty years.  That's a lifetime.

The other stories were just as sad.  It reminds
me of a line from one of my favorite hymns
"in the quiet heart is hidden sorrow that the
eye can't see..."

We truly don't always know of the
burdens that others are carrying. 
Sometimes, that load can be too
much to bare alone.  Sometimes all it
takes is the love of another to reach
out and pull them from the depths
of sorrow.  Maybe that someone can
be you.  So, this weeks challenge to all
those who are reading. 
Do something to make another's burden
light.  And throw stuff away. 

Blog ya later, Missy

"O give me a home.."

Let me just start by telling you that
even though I have not posted recently,
it doesn't mean that all has been quiet on the
homefront.  No. No. No.  Quite the
contrary.

Here's a few things, in case you were
worried.

1.  Olivia turned 13.  Got a cell phone. 
     And has not stopped talking/texting since.

2.  Josh got superglue all over his fingers while
     trying to fix a wooden snake, that he got for free from a
     yard sale.  (Please note that I glued the snake earlier
     in the day, but Meghan broke it.  Again. So, the two
     of them were trying to fix it. Again.  For safety reasons
     do not let a 16 year old and an almost 8 year old play
     with superglue.)  Guess we should rethink the motto:
     "If it's free.  It's for me."
     
     For awhile, it seemed as though it might
     break him from sucking his two fingers, but alas when the
     glue came off he resumed his old habits. That boy went
     through some serious withdrawals! (I told him
     that it was poison and he might die if he sucked his
     fingers with it on there.  What?!?!  Someday I'll tell you
     what my dad said to me that stopped me from
     sucking my thumb, and I'm still ok.)

    








3.  The girls are both planning slumber parties for this
     weekend.  I'm not sure how that happened.  I
     must be crazy.  Sometimes it's just easier to do what
     they want, when they want, than it is to listen to the
     "You said I could have a slumber party for my birthday."
     "She always gets to have friends over.  Why don't I?"
     "This summer has been so boring.  I haven't seen my
      friends all summer..."  So I put up the white flag of
      surrender and am letting them both have a party.  This
      weekend.  Friday night.  Around 10-15 girls.  Teenage
      girls.  That's a lot of hormones.  I'm going to buy
      an economy size bottle of Tylenol. And earplugs.
      I'm running away.  Can I come over Friday?  This
      Friday?

4.   Hubs bought me a resin rooster from a yard sale
      last week.  I love it.  It's big, fat, black and has
      some funky shoes on its feet.  I collect roosters.
      But I'm a bit of a rooster snob.  Not every rooster
      piece is worthy of my collection.  It has to be unique. 
      (Note:  In 17 years of marriage I've never known him to
       go to yard sales without me dragging him along. 
       He did good.  Times are a changing.)

5.  Big changes are going on at work.  I'm probably
     going back to 3rd shift which I don't mind really, but
     giving up my dayshift spot makes me nervous.  What
     if thirds ends up sucking, and then I'm stuck?  S-T-U-C-K.
     I made a list of pros and cons.  I'll share them with you.
    
     Pros:  I am not a morning person.
               I won't have to use an alarm clock. 
               I can go to the kids daytime activities without having to
               take off from work (which may or may not happen). 
               Less politics. 
               Pay differential.
       
     Cons:  Hubs sleeps at night. 
                Trying to sleep during the day when
                the kids are home for the summer.

      Suffice it for me to say...I am glad for the change.

      I think.

6. I've been suffering from an identity crisis related to my blog. 
     It all started when I read some blog advice.  One very active/
     successful blogger made the suggestion that bloggers should
     link their blog to a specific area of interest.  Uh Oh.  Now we
     have a problem.  Where do I fit in?  I'm not really a crafter
     (though I would love to be).  I'm not into politics (that's Hubs
     arena). I would be ashamed to post pictures of the meals I
     cook and feed to my family (I would totally have to plagerize
     other peoples pictures, and that just wouldn't be honest).  So you
     see my dilemna?  Where do I belong?  What do you all think?
 
7.  I made a fruit arrangement at the Relief Society meeting last
     night and accidently stabbed myself with the skewer. 

8.  The other day while I was doing dishes I had the best conversation
      with Josh as he was rolling around under my feet and all over the
      kitchen floor.
      Josh:  "Do you bewieve in mustard seed?"
      Me:  "Yes.  Do you mean do I have faith the size of a mustard seed?"
      Josh:  "Yeah that's it.  Do you?"
      Me:  "Well I hope that I do, but I'm not sure I could move a mountain."
      Josh:  "I do.  I need it to move a twee."
      Me:  "Just don't move it in my way."  (JK.  I didn't really say that)
      Cute.  Huh?  Good teaching moment.

9.  I'm thinking about redecorating my kitchen.  The budget will be
     modest.  If I post some pictures will you give me your thoughts?

10.  Dear Brother, if you're reading this you should schedule
     some time on your calendar to assist your favorite sister
     with her budget friendly kitchen remodel.

11.  Dear Sisters, you can come and help too.

Ok.  Just needed to end on ten. 

(Little Sis kindly pointed out (because she loves me)
in her comment that I do not know how to spell unique,
so I corrected it.  She did fail to notice; however,
that I do not know how to count either because I had two #3's.
I think it's related to the proposed trauma of the
upcoming weekend.  The problem with having numbered
wrong it makes my numbers off now, but I'm too tired
to care.  Please forgive me.  And pray for me.  I
need it.)
Blog ya later, Missy

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Today is my sweet Olivia's birthday.
It should be a national holiday.  I am
convinced that if all the world knew her
all would agree.

Anyway, she is now a teenager. 
Where did the time go? 
I find myself asking that question a lot
lately. 

I love this sweet girl.  Her heart is as
big as Texas and she is more clever than
a fox at evading work.  Just ask Meghan.

I could go on and on about how she

...is always thinking of me.  She brings me sweet
treats home from Mamaw's house.

...reminds me of things that need to be done.

...makes me laugh at her dry sense of humor.

...teaches me compassion.

...lights up my day with her warm smile.

I could keep going, but I won't. 

I will share some pictures though.

Christmas 1999, Age 2 (Meghan, 5)

Nauvoo.  Summer 2000, Age 3  (Meghan, 6)

Olivia's 4th birthday party

(l to r: Bryton, Olivia, Kiana, Kamen (back), Owen (front), Meghan holding Dasia, Jimmy(back),

 Kaden (front))

Special Olympics, Spring 2010 (Age 12)

4th of July fun with Josh and Kiana (Summer 2010)

Happy 13th Birthday Olivia!

The Goat Chronicles.

Meet Max & Ruby.  They're Olivia's goats. 
A gift from her Uncle Bobby and Aunt Shelly.
She showed them in the 4H Fair two weeks
ago.  After the fair they came home with us.
Our lives may never be the same.

Yesterday they escaped twice.  Not once. 
TWICE!!  In this heat and humidity! 
Have mercy. I thought I would die.

The first prison break occurred because Olivia didn't
latch the gate right. The boys discovered them
on top of Mamaw and Papaw's roof.
They were apprehended pretty quickly, but not
before breaking a sweat.

We're unsure of how they escaped the second
time, but it went unnoticed for several hours.
When Olivia found out they were gone there
was weeping and wailing that could be heard
for miles.  So, the hunt was on.

We broke up into search parties and began
combing the countryside for the Prodigal Goats.
You would think it would be relatively easy to
spot two white goats in a lush green forest.  No.
Not even.

Josh was my hunting companion for most of the time
(after Kaden ran off and left me when he promised
he wouldn't.  Turkey).
He kept saying things like this "Mom you sure don't know how
to walk in the woods do you Mom? Did you ever play in
the woods when you were little Mom? and "Don't worry Mom
I know where we're at."
All this while running barefoot and shirtless through the woods.
He's part Indian.

We hunted and hunted with not one sign of those beasts.
"O for the love of Pete.  Where are they?"
Finally, after walking through countless spiderwebs
and getting stuck by briers too many times to count
I called it quits and returned home. 


Here's my reasoning.
1.  It was way too hot to be lookin for goats
     that don't want to be found.
2.  I don't like spiderwebs.
3.  They'll come home when they're thirsty/hungry.
4.  Dripping sweat was blurring my vision.

A few hours later.  Josh came in the back door 
yelling that he found the goats in the barn.
IN.  THE.  BARN. 

Are you kidding me?

Well at least they're home and safe now.  But there
are a few things you should know before you start
a goat hunt through the countryside.

1.  Take a long stick with you to knock down spiderwebs.
2.  If you wave the stick in a figure 8 pattern in front of you
     while you're walking, it will take down any unseen webs.
3.  Don't wear flip flops into the woods.  Unless you're almost 8
     and prefer to go barefoot. 
4.  Be sure to get an almost 8 year old hunting companion who knows
     the terrain.
5.  Check the barn first.
6.  Olivia also suggests some bug spray and water.  (Not a bad idea.)

Oh.  And guess where the Goat Goddess was while all her
minions were out hunting for her Beloved Goats.
Yep.  In the house.

Blog ya later, Missy