Birthday Boy

At breakfast this morning, B said, "I'm thankful that I was born into the most awesome family in the universe."

This happy Mama just 'bout cried!

Motivation

So I was in the dressing room tonight at Stein Mart. I had an entire hour and a half out by myself this weekend and I spent it shopping. Really, not my favorite past-time. Anyway... I did find a cute skirt on the 30% + another 15% rack, blue and white, my size, and went to try it on. Cute, I tell you! but the zipper up the back was stubborn and being in a hurry, I yanked until it finally came up. Now, mind you, the skirt was not too small, that's not the reason the zipper wouldn't zip! The reason, I realized, was because the zipper was broken! When it finally came all the way up, it wouldn't go back down.

Seriously.

There I stood stuck in the skirt in the Stein Mart dressing room. It would not budge. And there was no way that skirt would come down (or up for that matter, tried that too) without unzipping the zipper. Y'all, I had to RIP the skirt to get out of it!!

What would you have done??

Finally, with my own clothes on, I took the skirt to the sales lady and explained the problem...

Motivation, because no matter if the fault was the broken zipper, or my big belly, you can't even imagine the humiliation of standing there stuck in the dressing room.

Maybe I'll give the south beach another visit.

Eight Random Things...

This from Mrs. Grits:

The rules are as follows~
1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of the blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged and to read your blog.

Humm... well, I'll play, but since this will be read by the three of us, I won't tag anyone...

1. I love to bake, but once I get started, I can't stop. Seriously... what's the point of heating up the oven for just a batch of cookies when we could make a triple batch instead plus six loaves of bread?

2. Baking is cheaper than therapy. When life is getting stressful or I can't figure something out, watch out b/c I'm going to be mixing up some cookies. Other random info: yesterday I used parchment paper for the first time! Wow, did those cookies come out great. Where have I been??

3. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6:15 a.m. I walk for 30 minutes with my neighbor. It's a great way to start the day, get some exercise, and have a wonderful adult conversation. Do you think it defeats the whole purpose for me to come home and eat three of the above mentioned cookies?

4. I love natural, healthfood stuff! Whole grains, brown rice, whole wheat pasta... I have a grain mill and we bake our own bread. (...and homeschool. I know, how cliche!)

5. I also love Diet Coke. And Chocolate. And ice cream.

6. But I don't love vegetables. Seriously, it's hard for me to eat a salad.

7. This is the third time I've started blogging. It'll probably not last very long either.

8. Reading aloud is my favorite thing to do with the children. Right now we're reading the Trumpet of the Swan.


So now you know.

yumm...

Oh how I love choclate chips
Into the big box my hand dips
I grab two or three
and snack happily
as sweetness does pass by my lips!

How it all turned out

This is how the cake looked when I went to bed at midnight on Friday. By Saturday a.m., the bow was FLAT!! So I took the advice of may cake making expert friend and put a real bow on top. It was a little wierd, but cute enough and still tasted great. Working with the fondant was fun, covering the cake and making the ribbons down the side was pretty easy (and I think it's really pretty!!), but I clearly need a little more practice with the bow thing.

The important thing in all this was the sweet baby and mom whom we were showering! What a joy it was to celebrate the gift of this long waited for and prayed for TINY BLESSING!!

Here's a picture of the cake as it appeared on the table...

Ugh.

This day. A comedy of errors. A comedy? If I could watch it on a movie, I think I could cry, not laugh. But this evening I think I should laugh because if I don't I would cry. (Funny, I just typed the letter I eight times!)

This day will live in my memory as a living testimony to why eating ice cream for breakfast is not wise. Even if it is Mayfield's Blueberry Cream Pie ice cream. Sugar high! Sugar crash for the rest of the day. Seriously, y'all, its been bad. (And yes, 'y'all' refers to about three of us.)

BUT so has T's vomiting, D's diapers, E's whining, the Critter Control guy coming to tell me the mice have been with us oh probably all winter, the laundry piling up, the e-mails not sending (stuck in the outbox?), the mess in the kitchen not getting cleaned up, the wierd smell in the house, the baby's new squealing habit... and Matt gone at a meeting tonight. Add to this the realization I have four major events to plan in the next two weeks including B's book 1 recital and a visit from my parents and my mother-in-law.

And yet, the phone conversation with a friend at church who is struggling with infertility puts it all in a different perspective. My life, and my home, is full of children. There is no void in my heart where the love of a child doesn't fill.

Thank you, Lord

Our Thinking vs. God's Promise

It's impossible
All things are possible (Lk. 18:27)

I'm too tired
I will give you rest (Mt. 11:28-30)

Nobody really loves me
I love you (Jn 3:16)

I can't go on
My grace is sufficient (II Cor. 12:19)

I can't figure things out
I will direct your steps (Prov. 20:24)

I can't do it
You can do all things (Phil 4:13)

I'm not able
I am able (II Cor. 9:8)

It's not worth it
It will be worth it (Rom. 8:28)

I can't forgive myself
I forgive you (I Jn 1:9 & Rom. 8:1)

I can't manage
I will supply all your needs (Phil. 4:19)

I'm afraid
I have not given you a spirit of fear (II Tim. 1:7)

I'm always worried and frustrated
Cast all your cares on Me (I Pet. 5:7)

I don't have enough faith
I've given everyone a measure of faith (Rom 12:8)

I'm not smart enough
I give you wisdom (I Cor. 1:30)

I feel all alone
I will never leave you or forsake you (Heb. 13:5)

A new adventure...

I'm going to try to make a cake for the baby shower I'm hosting this weekend!

A smaller version of this is my goal:

This website is FULL of directions and advice. Stay tuned for the results!

Change is Good

I have a friend who changes all the furniture around in her house when there's a baby on the way. That's how her husband knows... he comes home from work, and the whole house is rearranged. Well, I'm NOT expecting, but I have rearranged furniture in six rooms here. It's like a whole new house! Matt asked me if I was discontent, but I think no, just hormonal. It helps fulfill that urge to create...

Plus, it makes the cleaning more fun if after I vacuum behind the bed and dressers they don't go back to the exact same place. The children think its so fun, too, and I do let them help figure out where to put stuff.

No matter how superior the cleaning company may be, they wouldn't do that!

Oh, and another thing about today... my sweet husband took all six children out to IHOP for breakfast BY HIMSELF! That meant I had an hour and a half here BY MYSELF! Woo hoo!

225 reasons to clean my own house.

The best motivation for getting our gang in gear and cleaning the house?

Yesterday I had a representative from "Superior Cleaning Company" stop by and walk through the house with me, tell me what they'd do in each space and give a quote for a cleaning schedule.

GASP!

Today we are moving furniture and cleaning our own baseboards, bathrooms, ceiling fans, and chair molding.

And we can vacuum, too.

A year and a half later...

Look here, a blog entry!
And it's THURSDAY... so here's a limerick to celebrate my re-entry:

I just put my baby to bed
I prayed and then kissed his sweet head
I turned out the light
for another quiet night
When with a shout "MAMA" he said!

That boy doesn't have many words, but he does say MAMA really frequently, and really loud.

So there you have it. A blog entry. How long will this last? Hummmm.... well, I'm not making any promises but it is fun to think about posting again!