Thankfulness

I'd just like to say how thankful I am for my friends. I remember reading a poem some years ago about the different seasons of your life and how friends can come and go. (Reason Season Lifetime by Brian Chalker) Whether that friend passed away, moved away or turned away from you, we learn something from these relationships. Some are fleeting and some are long lasting.

Yesterday, at my house, I reconnected with 2 of my dearest high school friends. After spending 2 fun hours together, I remembered all the reasons that I had picked these friends all those years ago. I am so blessed to have these long lasting friendships! The kind that time does not disturb.

My view on friendship has truly changed with each stage of my life. I spent this morning talking on the phone with another dear friend of mine. We were discussing our children's difficulties with their own friendships. 5th grade can be very trying, can't it?!

We all go through times of difficulties and hurt within our friendships. First of all, remember that God is our constant friend so we are never alone! Secondly, if you desire "human" friends, then be prepared that You Will Be Let Down at some point. And yet, we still gain something from those losses. Strength and understanding.

So for my kids...

To have a friend you must be a friend. Loyalty, kindness and generosity will attract the right kind of friends!!

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.

Not Me Monday - Mid Life Crisis

It's Monday again. You know the deal...
This is a list of all the things I would not get caught dead doing. MckMama hosts this fun activity. Check out her site for other "Not Me's" Mommy blog posts.

I did not eat a bowl of ice cream every day this week. Especially after starting a diet only 2 weeks ago! If I really wanted to lose some weight, I would not buy 3 half gallons of ice cream "for the kids." Because that would be way too much temptation!

I did not spend an entire hour on facebook this past week looking at profiles from my high school. But I did find a dear friend and she's coming over for a visit on Tuesday. We haven't seen each other in about 20 years. She looks fantastic!!! We're talking beautiful and buff and she has two young kids! And I did not get the least bit jealous!!

I did not inform my family that for my 40th birthday this summer I was going to get my nose pierced. What a "mid-life crisis" thing to do. Do you think I'll do it? Dare me to!!

By the way, I did not take a bath with my cat this week. Sometimes Arlo sits on the side of the tub while I soak. He's really quite cute, but I never thought that Glynis would walk over and push him in! I'm sure if a cat were pushed into the bath tub then he would immediately jump out causing the entire bathroom to be soaked. I suppose it'd be kind of funny.

Photo Story Friday

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Today's photo story began when Mommy left the room to grab the laundry basket. Glynis, the one year old dare-devil, in a split second, figured out how to scale the TALL dining room chair. She proceeded to grab a half eaten banana left out by her big brother in his rush to get to school. Glynis eats bananas all the time, but this one seemed to be more tasty then normal.
Mommy watched (and photographed) in wonder while telling herself that her job had just taken on a new task. Keeping Glynis Alive and Unscathed. Mind you, there is no pay raise involved.After Glynis finished off the banana, Mommy tried to retrieve Glynis and the slimmy banana peel. At that point, sweet baby Glynis turned into evil Glynis the Menace! She screamed, flailed and threw banana slime all over Mommy. She was also able to grab the Captain Crunch from the table and dump it onto the floor.

Just minutes after Glynis made this crabby face, Mommy swooped her up and placed her gently and lovingly into her crib. Mommy then cleaned up the floor, changed her own shirt and socks, handed the silly baby her cup of milk and they lived happily ever after!

Generation Text

Our youth minister called me one day and asked if I'd be interested in having my family participate in a CBN News report. Without consulting my family, I said YES! How cool! When my kids came home that afternoon, I informed them that our house would be invaded by a news crew and that we would be on TV. Jaws dropped to say the least. "What has our crazy mother gotten us into this time?" They were actually less than enthused at first. I suppose I'd be pretty weirded out a little if I were them. Eventually they accepted the idea and it came to be. Chris was interested in the idea from the get go, knowing that this would be a great experience for us all.

The theme of the news story that we are lucky to contribute to, is teenagers and their technology. The reporter emailed us several questions to go over ahead of time. Chris & I would be interviewed about how we control the computers and cell phones that our children use. How we think our kids benefit from technology and also our worries or concerns. Our oldest son, Cole would also be interviewed with similar questions.

One week later, Monday 3:30pm... Heather Sells, reporter from CBN News, and her 2 camera guys, Tyler & Jonathan, showed up at our house right on time. What an experience. It took roughly 30 minutes for the 3 professionals to ask a few questions, scope out our house and set up their lights and cameras. It was a big production for our modest sized home.
The plan was to take "candid" footage of our family using computers, cell phones and video games. And then we would jump into the short interviews. Well, who would think that in order to come up with approximately 2 minutes of footage, over 2 hours of taping would be required! It was quite cool I have to admit.

Each of our 4 children (yes, Glynis was included) was filmed using one of our 3 computers. Glynis often shares time with Daddy on his lap top watching music videos. The two of them were tapped while Carson also used the other computer in our bedroom. Chandler got his turn too. He was tapped playing an online Disney game that he loves. They even asked me to jump online and pull up my blog and type a bit. Cole was video tapped in the den working on a video editing program on the kids computer. He was also tapped texting on his cell phone! Chandler's favorite part was playing Guitar Hero for the camera.

After the technology was all caught on film, we were asked to sit at our dinning room table to share some family time con media. Then came the interviews. I was nervous, as I normally do not do any public speaking, but after spending so much time with the news crew in our house, I felt very comfortable. Cole is a natural. He sailed through his interview with much confidence. It all went smoothly and the crew quickly started packing their things. I believe it took about 3 hours from beginning to end. Heather and her crew will also be going to visit another family before the report is aired. It will be so interesting to see how it all turns out. I'm told that it will be on TV and the Internet in just a couple of weeks.
I'm so appreciative to Heather for making our TV debut so delightful. She is a lovely woman with 3 children of her own. What a wonderful job she has. Both young camera men were friendly and funny. They talked about their jobs with us and they worked easily with the kids.



Here's a quick slideshow of behind the scenes pictures:

No Title, No Time

Have I mentioned lately how much I love my husband!?? After reading last Friday's post, he's agreed not to fatten up our animals with table scraps anymore. (Don't worry Hun, I won't blog about my irritations with you anymore either I promise!)

There is so much I want to write about, but today I am just too busy. Just got back from volunteering at the elementary school and I brought home a project too. Plus, Wednesday night we have church.

Real Quick:
Our news shoot on Monday went fabulously. It was such fun and I can't wait to tell you about it.
Also, I spent yesterday glued to the t.v. watching the inauguration. ...So many thoughts running through my head.
I hope to spend some time tomorrow writing about these two topics. So check back.

Not Me Monday-Lemon Juice

MckMama is the funny lady who started this Not Me Monday craze. After you watch my video, head over to her site and read about all the other crazy mommas.

I did not give Glynis the lemon juice bottle yesterday when I was making gaucamole...And she did not throw a huge tantrum when I tried to take it away (I left that off the video)


And by the way, I am not getting nervous about the news report being shot at my home today!

And the weather man did not say that we may get snow tonight!

Photostory Friday

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I hate that my husband lets our pets eat his food!!! They have learned such bad manners. They beg, they steal and they're getting fat! There's no getting through to my husband. He'll do what he's gonna do. I've lost this battle so I guess I'll shut up now.

Baby on a plane

Looking for tips here...I'm planning a trip to Texas to see my little brother. My daughter, 1 and a half year old Glynis, will be travelling with me, as will my mother. Here's the question...I have the option of buying the baby a ticket or not. She's under 2 so I can save myself a few hundred dollars if she rides in my lap. Then there's the car seat situation. It'd be nice to bring it with us and they'll probably charge something if I check one in.
I haven't flown with a toddler in many years, but I flew with the boys quite a bit when they were little. I don't remember so well these days. I'm looking for answers again! Please add your little chirp below.

In the news

We live near CBN (Christian Broadcasting Network.) On Monday, a camera crew and a smart beautiful news reporter are coming to our house to do a story on teenagers. I'm excited and nervous. The reporter, Heather Sells, will be interviewing us for a story she's working on about how families monitor the technology that their teens use. Texting and Internet mostly. Never done anything like this, so it'll be fun. The kids are cautiously looking forward to it also. Of course, Mrs. Sells mentioned "footage," and my heart jumped. That means a clean house! AHH! Did you see yesterday's post about my sore neck? Or Monday's post about my messy house?
I must grab the ibuprofin and get to work. Stay tuned.
http://www.cbn.com/

Pain in the neck

Wish I could sit here and post something interesting, but I have another pain in my neck. Maybe it's Glynis related (carrying a toddler around.) Or maybe it's from sitting in front of this blasted thing!!
What ever the cause, this is the 3rd or 4th bout I've had with neck pain recently. I guess since I'm 39 that it's all down hill from here. :) Are aches and pains par for the course? Why don't you click the comment button below and give me some insight on turning 40. My birthday is in August. I need to start preparing my psyche.

By the way, here's the commercial from Motrin where "baby wearing" is accused for being the cause of many women's back problems. It stirred up controversy, but I think they've got something here...

No Energy Monday

This Monday I'll be honest. I have no energy to write the "Not Me's" I can't even remember what I did the last few days so I'll just be open and frank about my failures.
It is 11am, Glynis just went down for a nap. I've pretty much done nothing today!
I haven't showered yet and the house is messy. I've watched tv for a bit and then closed my eyes for about 15 minutes while Glynis watched Seasame Street in my lap. What a loser I am! After I write this, I have to get into gear. Someone give me a push!!!
The boys start dribbling in from school withinn the next 3 hours, I've got to get the house straightened up, go to the market and have lunch.
Let me take you on a picture walk of my morning....

Did you think I would really let you see all the messes? Actually I wanted to be real today. Some days I'm on the ball and some days I'm slow out of the gate.

If you want to hear the "Not Me's" of other mommies please step over to MckMama's Blog.

My Husband

Well here he is. I haven't written much about my husband recently so I thought I'd start off the year with a post about Chris. In case you didn't notice, he's a police officer. Before we married he was living in California and working for the State of California. He was medically retired when he was injured on the job. He was awarded the highest honor, the Medal of Valor. I won't go into details, but let's just say that he not only stopped a bad guy, he also protected an innocent person from grave danger. His retirement ended a career that he loved, but also opened up doors he couldn't have imagined. For instance, reconnecting with me. Chris saw plenty in his line of work. Some he shares with me, but also things he won't share. I'm happy that he's out of harms way now.

After retirement, he moved here to marry me. He returned to college, completed his bachelors degree and started working for our children's school system. He is now in an administrative position at a local university police department. He trains other officers. It is such a blessing that he is able to continue a career he loves.

On top of his professional accomplishments, he is a father to 4 children. He's been the most wonderful, loving Dad to my three sons and, as you know, Glynis was born over a year ago. Another of his most important positions is Husband to Me! I don't know how I got so lucky. When we first married, he had lots of changes to make. After over 5 years of marriage now, he has accommodated all of my demands and more. Did I say demands? I meant needs. heehee

I love you Christopher!

Trust but Verify

Most mornings, I read the headlines in our local paper. Today and yesterday, our front pages highlight the injuries and deaths of 6 local high school students. 6 boys, all athletes either hurt or killed in shootings within a year's time. Shootings! What is going on here? Who's to blame? I look at a mother's picture on the front page. She is understandably distraught, her daughter consoling her. Her son was shot at 1am. He had been at a party. 1am?
I'm not so naive to think that my children are above any risks, but there had to be signs in these families! Yes, they'll let us down, they'll make mistakes. We all did! We all pray that our children will become happy, successful adults, but even despite our best efforts sometimes this does not happen. My parents were too permissive with me and I know from experience what kind of trouble can find you when you're a teenager.

I'm a strict parent and my kids still love me! Monitor you kids! Know their friends. Know where they are going. What could your teen possibly be doing past 11pm? Don't just set a curfew and let them loose. They need good, chaperoned activities available to them! Thanks to some wonderfully supportive parents, my church offers tons of teen gatherings. They still have opportunities to find their independence. Sure, we have disagreements. They have friends with less strict parents. We have discussions about these other lifestyles and I support my decisions with logical insight and God's plan. Sometimes I do give in to their pleas. I pray about it and then refer to the well known motto : Trust but Verify.
My oldest and I recently discussed what would be expected of him once he graduates. He plans to attend college, but likely will be living at home. He now knows that there will still be rules, curfews and expectations. It was easy to explain. I referred to Joshua 24:15. (It's my house and) as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord!

P.S. My heart goes out to the families of these young men and all other parents that have lost a child. I can't imagine the pain. I pray that God's loving arms bring you strength.

Gotta Love Mondays

I did not just clean poop out of the bathtub!!!!
I did not just start another diet today. And plan on losing 20lbs by summer. That would be a miracle.
I did not spend $210 on groceries today.
I did not spend half of that on diet snacks.
I do not have to get up before 6am tomorrow morning to make sure that 4 able bodied people get out the door on time.
I do not still have Christmas lights on my house.
I do not plan to start addressing Christmas cards for next year, this week. (See Final Word on Christmas Cards)

I can not believe it is 2009!

Happy New Year!!

I'm not one for New Year's Resolutions. It's just too much pressure. I prefer to wake up each morning and ask God to help me through the day. Looking around the Internet I found this prayer and I think I'll leave it on my night stand.

The prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.