Minivan Moments

Sorry to all of you who will be offended by this, but I have to post this website. View it without children present! http://www.abortionno.org/ If you are pro-choice and have never seen exactly what you support, you owe it to the 49million+ babies whose deaths you supported to watch the video. If you are pro-life, ask yourself this: is there more I can do to help teens and young women who feel like abortion is their best option? Don't give the pro-choice folks a chance to appear as if they are the only ones who care about these women... let's not forget the mothers of these unborn babies. For those of you who will watch it, be warned: it is real, and it is graphic. You should also check out: BlackGenocide.org May God have mercy on us all! P.S. for those who may feel I am unfairly biased in my opinion that others should know what they support, let me remind you that I am the mother who took her children to a chicken farm to show them how chicken gets on our plate. If you sup...

Whew! We made it up to the mountains of Virginia and back again... all in one piece, relatively speaking. Dania is officially a car-sick kid, much worse even than her big sister, and that was an unpleasant discovery. We naturally brought home more than we brought up there; we were visiting the grandparents, after all! We went up healthy - for the most part - and had several illnesses while we were there. I am quite certain the grandparents are ecstatic over that turn of events! After much unpacking, laundry, frig restocking, and new-toy-home-finding, we are relaxed and comfortable. There was food, games, food, piano-playing, food, movie-watching, food, skiing, food, and visiting. With food. I think my mom is afraid we don't eat right. The woman was either feeding us or cleaning up the kitchen after feeding us! Well, it was darn good food, so I'm not complainin'. In fact, I am a little depressed that my vegetarian mother can make a better beef roast than I... a ch...

Dearest Husband, It was incredibly thoughtful ( and sneaky ) of you to spend time - on your own ( while I was taking care of our children ) - picking out just the right gifts for the children and I ( after we agreed on the gifts I had chosen ). It warms my heart ( and burns my biscuits ) that you would care enough about each of us ( or want to show me up ) to demonstrate your love ( and competitiveness ) in this manner. The children are ecstatic over the gifts you got for them ( and barely care about mine now that they have opened yours first )! I just love my gifts ( though they make the ones I got for you seem insignificant ). I thank God for you ( though you may suffocate in your sleep tonight ). You are truly a gift ( one that cannot be returned ) and I am grateful for you in my life ( that one's usually true ). Your loving wife.

It is amazing.... All the shopping, the errands, the wrapping, the planning, the gathering.... To just sit here this morning with my children and watch a movie.... The peace I am given this day, the day before a holy day, the day that comes before the culmination of all the shopping, errands, wrapping, planning, and gathering.... When we wish for peace on Earth, do we even understand what peace is? Many of us do not. To me, obviously, peace is, in a very shallow sense, quiet and stillness and ease. How many of us might wish for world peace but have no true concept of the meaning of it? Does the war in Iraq really touch us, the majority in this country? Does hunger truly have us in its grip? How about cold? Heat? Are we without clothing or blankets this winter? Many of us are not. And many of us will never know that reality. So... Peace at Christmastime may sound like a fairy tale. To many of us, a quiet morning with our families is enough, though we may half-heartedly wish f...

Seriously.... 9 degrees?!?!?! We are looking forward to a high temperature of colder-than-freezing today. And I have some errands to run! Aaak! Have I mentioned yet how much I dislike cold weather? I am your typical curl-up-in-the-sun cat, so this polar bear nonsense is quite infuriating... and irritating... and not even for the birds! Most of them have flown south! I should've followed them while I had the chance .... Okay, so later, when I get back home to my house with heat, I will be blessedly aware of how wealthy I am.... Just to be able to come in out of the cold, into a beautiful home with heated air, put on some hot cocoa or coffee or tea, and get snuggly under the covers on the sofa... maybe with a movie for the family... Yeah, I am spoiled. I am also a whiner, apparently. Enjoy your day! Hope you are in the above-freezing range....

We had our first Christmas celebration last night, and it was such fun! Thanks to all our friends who brought food and hung out with us as we began our Christmas fun!! We played games, ate, drank, and were generally merry... and the kids had fun, too. We are really looking forward to the next few days as Daddy is home until the new year. Then we will have a family Christmas Eve celebration, followed by our traditional cozy Christmas morning at home. Then, we are off to the mountains to enjoy some Christmas fun and family gatherings with my side of the family. Really looking forward to that!!! Hopefully, the weather will cooperate... though, cooperate is a matter of perspective, I suppose. Have a great Pre-Christmas few days, y'all!

Today, the children had fewer meltdowns, though it could have been due to the play dates we had scheduled. It was, therefore, fairly easy to keep them on track. All in all, not a bad day. We had some friends over, so the house was noisy, then we took Grampa to dinner - Happy Birthday, Grampa! After dinner, we ran through the grocery store as a family, then headed home to decompress and hop in bed. A little housework, some Baker Girls on CD, and I decided to take their advice.... They said to Leave it There ... so I did. I walked away from the remaining housework and sat down with a book I have been meaning to read as soon as the littlest bairn was tucked into bed, where I enjoyed a trip to Biblical times with Queen Esther. Yeah, I have no real problems. Blessed beyond measure, Angie

My children all got together last night while I was sleeping and decided to up the ante. They agreed to sabotage all of my good intentions with back-talk, whining, defiance, and drama. And that was just for breakfast. My day started with my husband grouching at me about something that doesn't affect him, followed by the Mommy Sweater attaching herself to me over my morning coffee and clinging for dear life. Not to be outdone, The Boy decided to refuse to do his math. That's it. He just wasn't gonna do it. So there. (yeah, he did his math) As if that wasn't enough to turn Super Mom into a blubbering idiot, The Princess, aka The Eldest Child, spent a laborious hour writing sentences for her spelling words, because " it's too ha-a-a-a-ard " to write a sentence using words like "kitchen" and "throw." Uh-huh. Sure. Well, more whining continued throughout the day, interspersed with moments of blatant defiance and dramatic flair over...

With all the wet, cold, yucky weather we have been getting, the kids and I have been stuck inside a lot. I feel like I am getting cabin fever! In an attempt to keep the finances on track, we are staying in, but I REALLY want to go out and do something!! Aaaak! Dania is climbing the shelves to get to new and different toys (put there so she can't reach them, mind you). Calysta is being bossy and snotty to her brother (listening to her mother, for sure). Quin is being obstinate and refusing to be cooperative (trying to be a little man and in charge of his own destiny already). Mommy is trying to hold it all together (piece by piece, one finger-hold at a time). And Daddy just comes home and laughs at us (after all, he is with other people in a different environment all day)! I sure hope we can survive the winter - is it spring yet? How about now? Now? Oh, well, Christmas will be a bright spot, and January will bring renewal as our home and homeschool get a thorough cleaning and org...

When you can listen to your children interact and hear all your parenting mistakes.... When you can watch your children play pretend and witness everything you've ever done wrong.... When you catch yourself reprimanding your child in the very tone you are reprimanding her for using.... It is time. Time for a much-needed attitude adjustment. Our children learn what they experience. Mine have obviously been experiencing a bad attitude a little too often. Children speak what they hear. Mine have clearly heard too many nasty tones recently. Children are what we make them, to a large degree. I refuse to go on shaping them in this most negative way. One thing you may already know about me is this: I am passionate about things I believe in, but not unwilling to focus on my own shortfalls. I try not to focus on other people's splinters while walking around with a plank in my eye! (that's from the Bible, just in case you wonder where you had heard it before) Clearly, no one -...

Yes, I realize it is cold outside. I understand it is December. I even acknowledge the chilly drizzle falling from the sky. But we wanted ice cream cones . And our favorite ice cream was on sale . And it was on the grocery list, so we didn't even impulse-shop! We had ice cream cones for lunch! Really, people who only have dessert after a meal are just packing additional calories onto an already-met caloric need. Let me explain. You need 300-400 calories for lunch. So, you eat a sandwich and some chips - maybe some soup and crackers. You ingest your 300-400 calories. Then, you want something sweet. You want a treat! SO you eat a 200+ calorie dessert. Ummm, do the math, people! That dessert destroys your weight worse than eating the dessert in place of the meal would! So, my kids are happy to have a mommy that believes it is okay to eat an ice cream cone for lunch every once in awhile. After all, we are only as old as we feel, as young as we act, and as responsible as ...

From Minivan Moments Well, most days! Dania is now taking fewer naps! Mommy made that executive decision after many months of dealing with a miserable toddler for an hour everyday after her nap. Mommy's opinion is that naps should improve the child's disposition, not wreck it! So, after many months of pre-dinner nightmares, we have banished the nap. And it is not altogether unpleasant, actually. I certainly can use the middle-of-the-day break from my busy little imp, but the constant struggle to put to sleep, followed by the inconsistent amount of nap, wrapped up with one hour of post-nap whining sure put a constant damper on the day. Then, when Dania started to show signs that she could stay up all night after having a lovely afternoon nap, Mommy took drastic action! We are now in our second week of fewer naps (about a nap every two or three days is working), and the Crankmeister's disposition during the day is much improved. And Dania is going to bed at a decent tim...

In general, intelligent parents do some sort of homeschooling every week. We teach our infants and toddlers skills they will need, and we talk to our preschoolers about letters and numbers. We help grade-school children with homework, and we answer endless questions about absolutely everything . All of this is home education. The usual vision of the homeschool varies significantly, from children seated around the kitchen table writing in workbooks, to kids in various stages of hands-on activities throughout the house. Sometimes it looks like a tidy, orderly arrangement, and other times, it seems to be chaos. One thing is certain: no two homeschooling families are alike! We do things somewhere in the middle most days. We have some orderly lessons at the table, but we throw in mud play in the backyard and spontaneous trips to the museum. Sometimes we do math first, other times we read, and still others, I start with our Bible lesson. The reason I am writing about this is that I st...

... even if my children still get older? My son turned six yesterday, and it is amazing, to say the least, that my children are now 9, 6, and 2!! How did I get so old??? I remember being nine. I may not remember much about 6 or 2, but 9 I remember. I remember thinking my parents had it all together, grown-ups still knew almost everything, Barbies were still cool, my town was so big I couldn't comprehend its size, and summer was all about playing outside until dark, which was past normal bedtime. Looking back, I realize I had a completely distorted view of what growing up would mean! I thought I would feel different inside somehow. In a lot of ways, being a grown-up is really just about making right choices when you want to make wrong ones, like doing the laundry when you want to watch television, making dinner when you want to order take-out, and picking up the Bible instead of the latest suspense novel. Being a grown-up is about being responsible. Of course, being a grown-u...

Yesterday, I received an invitation to help the Nashville Rescue Mission provide Christmas dinner for some homeless men, women, and children who would otherwise go without a warm meal at such a special time. I did two things: I decided that our family could afford to feed 6 people (less money than taking us all out to McDonald's), and I explained the Mission to the children and asked if any of them wanted to help. Here's where God moved my family.... You ready for it? My son brings me his only dollar. Yeah, I asked him, and he said it was the only one he could find . And he gave it to me for the Mission. {sniffle} My oldest child, my first-born, brought me $4. She said she wanted to feed two people. On her own. {sniffle, sniffle} I promptly wrote a check. God is so GOOD . As if that is not enough, the oldest brought me the rest of her money this morning and said she wants to feed more homeless people Christmas dinner. She then says, "Well, I am only going to bu...

Here it is, the day before the BIG day, the eve of the day we all actually plan to eat far too much food and lie around on the softest pieces of furniture we own, all while watching grown men in tight pants beat each other up on fake grass to get a pigskin ball. Oh, and the parade ! Let's not forget that we also watch giant "balloons" and floating stages in a parade with too much commentary. And why do we do this every year? Got a minute? Okay, so a very long time ago, some oddly-dressed ancestors who had come to this slab of land we call America in a big boat (or several) decided for one day after the Autumn harvest to practice what they preached - and they put aside their differences with the Indigenous Americans (they weren't in India, by the way) and shared a day of "Thanks Giving" for all their God (or Spirits, if you are one of the Indigenous Americans) had blessed them with to survive the coming winter months. Just gives us the warm, fuzzy feelin...

Dania got her very first haircut yesterday! Mommy was playing beauty shop with Dania and noticed how ragged some of the shorter hairs were on Dania's head. Mommy asked, "Do you want a real haircut?" Dania said, "Yeah." Mommy trimmed a bit off the lengthy back layers, then shortened up some bangs in the front (Dania hates having her hair in her face!), and Viola! first haircut! From Fall2008 By two years of age, the other two had already had several haircuts, but Dania's hair is just different - much like the child, herself. So it strikes me a bit odd to get excited about her first haircut when she is talking up a storm and using the potty! Oh, well, there are certainly no two alike! Makes me think... The Bible says God knows the number of hairs on our heads...Does He also keep track of when they get a trim? (and was He more aware of my daughter's hair condition than even I was?) Does He know how many times that number changes, like when you have ...

...the remnants of Autumn... ...a layer of dust that had settled upon the earth... ...and my energy. There is nothing quite like a cloudy, rainy day; but it takes its toll on my perkiness. My eyes want to drift close, my mouth is in constant YAWN, and my brain feels sluggish. Oh, to have nothing to do on a day of rain! Too bad it didn't work out like that for me.... The laundry needs doing, the children need teaching, the dishes need washing and putting away. The toddler needs watching, the floors need a sweeping, and I'd rather watch movies all day! The rain is the cold kind, the drizzle-all-day kind, and that kind of rain is just so draining. I wish I could spend the whole day in pajamas, but then I'd have to do some 'splaining! Hope your day is filled with all the energy mine is lacking!

Oh, barnacles, the Little One has discovered Dora The Explorer ! Rats! My sweet Puddin' walks around asking to " watta Dowa " on the " teedee " daily. She is adorable with it, though, because, unlike my anti-social older offspring, she actually interacts with the program! Isn't that the whole point of the obnoxious show? (actually, the older children recently informed me that they do not like the way Dora talks to them - I think they feel insulted!) Anyway, though Dora the Explorer is not my favorite children's program, it is cute to watch Dania clap her hands with Dora, call out the Spanish words, and sing the songs! And let's not forget that during the episode, she is not climbing Mount Mommy to fiddle with my earlobe or scaling the pantry shelves in search of a " nack ." Ah, well, could be worse. She could be addicted to The Wiggles . {shudder} I never could get into that group. Have a fabulous weekend!

One thing I have learned after having my third child: when kids come over to play, we hardly feel the addition of another person! There must be some magical chaotic setting that the third child initiates that just doesn't go away, because when other children are added to the mix, the chaos factor hardly rises at all. Yesterday, we were blessed with a playdate with a friend as well as a playdate with a cousin - at the same time! The friend is 8 and the cousin is 1, but we all had fun, and the house was good and full! We played dress-up and "house," because naturally, when two little girls get together in a house with dress-up clothes and toddlers, "house" is the required game of the day! Plus, there was a tea party!! During the upstairs tea party, the little ones stayed downstairs with me, where I gave the 2-year-old a bowl of Sponge Bob Cheezits and bid her "share" - which she did, quite happily! (I have already learned that the 1-year-old cannot...

Okay, Christmas is coming... and the goose is too skinny this year. Seems like every where I turn, a family is struggling to put food on the table. Every other person I talk to is looking toward a meager Christmas. Maybe the focus is all wrong.... I am not trying to diminish anyone's anguish over financial struggle; I do know what they are feeling. However, I wonder if all this struggling could be a symptom of something bigger.... Faith is bigger than finances. Family is better than bow-topped presents. Hope is fancier than a fully-trimmed Christmas tree. Love is richer than Santa. And Jesus is the reason for the season, anyway. "Away in a manger, no crib for a bed...." Jesus, too, had financial woes. "The first noel, the angel did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay...." Poverty doesn't remove you from God's sight, neither does it keep you from His blessings. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of...

Time to break out the bread bowls of stew, the lib balm, the fuzzy slippers and cozy fleece robes, and the throw blankets for the sofas! This morning, the weather turned colder - much more in keeping with the season, for sure. The snap in the air, the take-your-breath wind, and the gray skies tell me Ol' Man Winter is on his way. The poor toddler braved the dropping temps with Mommy this morning, and she was having difficulty covering her face and holding onto her blowing hair! Yup, it was sure "win-ny!" Yesterday, my daughters and I went to see High School Musical 3 with some close friends, and we were all alone in the theatre! I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING! Heehee! It was a good movie, another wholesome family film, and we happened to take in the "sing-along" version, which displays the lyrics for every song on the bottom of the screen. My only complaint in this film was that Gabriella's dresses sure got dangerously short since the last two! But, overall,...

Oh, may the Good Lord help us, I think we are entering the pre-pubescent years! Calysta started needing deodorant under her arms about 2 weeks ago, and last weekend she had mood swings from - that other place - and YESTERDAY , she developed a not-so-subtle zit on her face! Where did my child go??? The teen years are bearing down on us!! Aaak, puberty, here we come! After the mood swings, we promptly purchased a parenting series that we had known we wanted to try when the kids got to this level. Now, we are impatiently awaiting that package in the mail while we deal with zits ! I have to buy my child/preteen a book about the changes her body is going through, and that book is going to talk about s-e-x and where babies come from! ... and believe it or not, Calysta still believes the simple answer from when she was 3: that a Mommy and Daddy pray to God for a baby, and He can give it to them!! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?!?!?!? Okay, deep breath, calm down.... If anyone has any advice on ...

Yep, I'm goin' there. Buckle your seatbelts, folks, here we go.... Americans in general seem to be remarkably undereducated about the structure and function of our government. The United States President is an individual who is in the forefront of our minds, so he makes a convenient scapegoat for all of our problems and gets credit for the good times. I am here to tell each of you that there are three branches of government in our great country: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. Each branch has equal weight in the running of the country, but each has a different role. Allow me to inform you: The Executive Branch of the government consists of the President and Vice President, as well as other executive departments and independent agencies. This branch of the Federal Government is responsible for enforcing the laws of our nation. Did you catch that?? They ENFORCE the laws. Okay, the Legislative Branch, also called Congress, consists of the Senate and the House of Repr...

Today, the children and I went to a small family farm. The family is a homeschooling family like us, and they are in the early stages of building their farm. So far, they only have chickens, but in time they will have eggs, beef, and fruit. The family invited us to visit their farm to see them process chickens - so we could see how chickens go from "wing" to food. I knew this would be touchy for the kids, but it was a great learning experience, so we went. Plus, my kids already have a deeper understanding of what we eat than the average American child in the twenty-first century . So we went. The hardest part for the kids was watching the chickens bleed out, so we distracted them during that part. The next difficult moment came when the guts were removed from the chicken's belly cavity. But the whole operation was done by the family in a humane manner that preserved the dignity of each of God's creatures. I can certainly see how many people exposed to this type...

We took Her Highness, the brand-new 2-year-old, to McDonald's to play at the PlayPlace (courtesy of Granna and Papa). We walked into McD's to order, then she turned around and spied the PlayPlace... "Yay! Climb!" She gushed with excitement. Still, though, she sat sedately like the big girl she is on a hard bench in the PlayPlace area and ate her "buwbuw" and "fies" and her solitary "kickin" nugget from her Sissy (burger, fries, chicken). When she finished with her lunch, she asked if she could go "cyime!" I instructed her to take her shoes off first, so she plopped her diapered tush onto the floor in front of the shoe cubby and removed her new sneakers, then added them to the cubby and ran off to play. It was a really good time for us all. Sissy and Quin helped her get up to some of the harder spots, and Dania refrained from eating the petrified french fries in and around the play equipment (although it wasn't as bad ...

So, it is October, it is Autumn, it is chilly!! We are preparing for the little one's second birthday this week. She will turn two on Monday, and we will have family and friends over to celebrate with us on Sunday evening. She is so social, I didn't figure we could get away with not having her favorite people gathered together in a party. Plus, she requires all birthdays be accompanied by cake.... already a Mommy's girl! Yesterday, we saw the Pediatric Endocrinologist. Usually, that is a fairly routine visit... she looks good, let's get some blood, no change, same meds, good to go. However, yesterday I mentioned that we had done the sleep study since we saw her last and she has sleep apnea.... I mentioned the snoring that had started me thinking she was suffering from sleep apnea way back when, and she informed me that in rare cases of children with Dania's type of hypothyroidism, the thyroid is actually in the wrong spot in the neck and blocks the breathing w...

Well, this weekend, we spent a lot of times with family and friends. We stayed close to home, almost at home all weekend, but we had a nice time. It has been awhile since I updated, so I thought I would let you all know how we are doing and what we are up to. Dania is talking in sentences, teething, and throwing things all over the house (including at me if I make her mad). Calysta is getting closer to those lovely teen years with every day. Quin is working hard (and having fun, of course) through Lego Indiana Jones. (We love those Lego games because there is no blood... the violence is with Lego characters, and they all just break up into Lego pieces when they "die") We are planning for upcoming birthdays, and we are studying history and architecture. This week or next, we hope to take a field trip to a neighboring town and check out all their old buildings and such. They have something called "I-Spy: Franklin on Foot" which is a walking tour (possibly self-...

I have taken quite for granted that I would have the time To embrace all my tomorrows, when, truly, they aren't mine. I haven't any promise from God, in all His grace, That I am due a future, not on Earth, in any case. The days that I've been given, up to now, this very day, Are intended to be cherished, and not just passed away. If I am to be faithful to The One who calls me His, I plan to make some changes: to live , not just exist. And so, to each of you out there, "hearing" my heart's wish, I hope that you will value a meaningful life lived . Let this not be a heavy day; let guilt not weigh your heart; Just reach into your soul and find the path on which to start. It's marked with love and kindness, with a sharing of your lives; And a life that's filled with real love is a blessing in God's eyes. ~ Angela M. Varela Sept. 14, 2008

Well, my beloved Grampa Brown was laid to rest in the Arlington National Cemetery last month, and my baby sister has been married off. We are back from our travels, done with all of our preparations, and plodding through homeschooling. We are finally unpacked, getting a handle on the "fit in the housework" game, which has become very challenging, but learning a lot about how homeschooling works in our home. This past week, we visited our City Hall, where the kids got to see photos of all of our past mayors, tour the courtroom, see where our city approves or denies permits, and talk with a police officer about the role of the police in our community. There was a lot to see for such a small city (land-wise), and we were able to share with everyone in the building our delicious homemade muffins. The kids seemed to get more curious about government and our city after this visit, so the field trip definitely paid off! Dania has begun to speak in 2- and 3-word sentences, and sh...

Time is like the baby's socks... pieces of it slip away without notice until one day, you are looking for it specifically, only to discover it has disappeared! I have just a few minutes to spare, so I thought I would update the site..... We are homeschooling again! Quin is in Kindergarten, and he is doing fantastic!! Calysta is in the 3rd grade now, and she is really taking to her schoolwork better than last year! Hurray, Summer Vacation!! The baby/toddler/distraction/destroyer is just meandering about trying to be in the middle of everyone's business. She likes to "write" and "read" with the big kids. I figure at this rate, she'll be in kindergarten next year! Anyway, we are preparing for our trip to Virginia to watch my baby sister get married! We will also be attending the funeral and memorial service for my grandfather who passed away last month. I have been working on a tribute video/slideshow that will be shown at the memorial. It has bee...

The Disappearing Toddler needs a new name. Well, yes, she does still like to run off in all sorts of public places, but she has a new... um, hobby, you could say. She has recently taken to spit shining herself. And others. If you aren't paying attention. Yup, she spits into her hands, then "washes" herself. And others. If you aren't paying attention. You know, if you have kids, you're already aware that dealing with the seepage of their bodily fluids is part of the package. However, I can tell you with no small amount of experience here that being spit shined by my toddler is still disgusting. Really, really icky. Really. Icky. Any tips on how to abbreviate this favored past-time?? She really likes it. Her family, however, not so much. Well, for now, we are telling her "no" and putting her away from us. We'll see how that pans out for us. Gotta go. She is now fishing pieces of stale snacks out from under the entertainment center. An...

I just finished the most amazing book: The Shack . This book was not only a great read, it was poignant, inspiring, and life-changing. If you have not heard of the book, check out their site: www.theshackbook.com If you have heard of it, but not read it, PLEASE reconsider!! This book sat in my house for several months before I was convicted enough to read it, and when I read it, I was really hooked! I couldn't wait to get back to the book each time I had to put it down (which was often since I have three children, all of whom were ill during this time). I am not going to tell you much about the book; I am just going to tell you that it will change how you think about God... in a GOOD way. In a let-out-that-breath-you-were-holding way. In a kind of " Oh, Thank You, Jesus! " kind of way. Seriously, this book could be the difference between really knowing God and just thinking that you know God. One thing I have said for as long as I have considered myself a Christia...

You know, I used to believe that I would never get married. I have been married for 7 years now. I used to wonder if I would have children of my own. I have been blessed with three. I once thought that if I went to college, I would fail. I got my Bachelor of Science degree in 4 years with a 3.7 GPA. When we moved to Tennessee in 2000, I had no friends, and I wondered if anyone would want to be my friend. Now, I have more friends than I have time to appreciate. I once believed that I was an invisible member of society. Then I became a Christian, and invisible was good - I want people to see Jesus when they look at me, not Angie. Last weekend, as you know, my dear grandfather passed away. It was said to be peaceful, but it was -and is- painful for the rest of us. Since my grandfather served this great country in the Navy for many years, he will be honored with a special burial at Arlington National Cemetery next month. Since that day is several weeks away, my neighbors (dear ...

There is no easy way to deal with saying goodbye to someone you love. If they have had a good life, a long life, it gives you little solace in the midst of your pain. Those who leave us have no knowledge of what life is like without them, of how much they are missed, loved, appreciated. When someone we love is taken to "a better place," there is some comfort in that, but our hearts forever lack the fullness that their life brought to ours. Even knowing that the time is drawing near, as a loved-one "gets on in years," doesn't quite prepare us for the moment it all becomes a reality. Death. We call it many things: passing away, leaving this world, going home to Jesus, the eternal sleep. Those words help us deal with what has happened, but they do not shadow the harshness as much as we may wish them to. Death comes to us all. Our time here is limited, some more than others, and I remain grateful for those people I have been blessed to know. People who have...

This weekend, we finally conquered The Boy's room. I picked out the colors based on the quilt that I am working on, which The Boy picked out eons ago. So, since we have this reversible Outer Space quilt in the works, and The Boy loooooooves Star Wars, we decided on a Star Wars/Outer Space room. We already have a rocketship ceiling fan, and he has 2 space pictures thanks to his Aunt Joyce. So, the colors. I picked out the blue first. The one that worked was called Dazzle . I liked it but was worried about the whole room being that color, so I picked out a second color from the quilt. It turned out that Electric Lime was just the right shade. I know, Electric Lime ! It is just what you are imagining, seriously. What is totally awesome, too, is that The Boy's toy bins and throw blanket are ALL in those two colors!! What a treat! Well, it is once it is all put together. We have one green wall, two blue walls, and one half-and-half wall (which will sport a running shelf...

Well, it has been a long, relaxing weekend so far. We celebrated our nation's independence in the good ol' American way: with the grill, the neighbors, and some flashy stuff up in the sky. Lots of flashy stuff. We learned the year after we moved in here that we need not travel to see fireworks. We need only plant our bottoms in our front yard - far enough out to get a good 360 degree view. Yup, the fireworks are plenty, and on all sides of us. This year, our city even had their own show... which was just down the street, so we got to see those over the trees as well. Only problem we had was Dania. She started off crying and begging them to be over. "No, pop! Done! No more, pop!!" Sob, sob, sob. So, being the Mommy, I took her inside to watch television, which we had to turn up pretty loud to drown out the sounds of the "pop!" Eventually, she settled down to sleep, but she did cry out in her sleep later, "No, pop!" Poor dear. Anyway, we ...

Okay, so for seven years I have succeeded in Operation Allow Your Husband to Live . Now, we are about to embark on our eighth year, and I have to be honest with you.... God has a sense of humor. When we, in our infinite wisdom as young people, choose a mate based on our own ideas of what we think we like, God chuckles and lets us tie our own hands. Then a couple of years into the marriage, He is still chuckling as the very things we loved about our spouse are now Absolute Deal Breakers . Okay, that is perhaps a bit harsh, but still, you have to see the irony. So, pat yourself on the back if you have managed to get through even a few years of marriage. We are currently at the marital stage I'll call Roll Your Eyes and Shut Up , which seems to be full of small disagreements which we have both learned cannot be reasoned out, so someone eventually just rolls his eyes and the other has to shut up. Isn't this fun?? I think the next stage might be Throw The Good Dishes Until He...

Okay, so God probably doesn't whole-heartedly buy into the full version of attachment parenting when it causes families to neglect other areas of their lives, but in its pure form, attachment parenting is God's idea: to "train up a child in the way he should go" is, in essence, to respond to each child's individual needs. That is what we practice in our house, and have practiced with each of our three children. I firmly believe that my dedication to attachment parenting is what led to my discovery of Dania's sleeping problems. Think about it.... If I were a "normal" mother, I would have put my child in her own crib in another room from the first day of her life. I would have probably let her "cry herself to sleep" when she had difficulty sleeping. I might even have let her scream in the middle of the night with the assurance that she would learn to put herself back to sleep. However, because she sleeps in my bedroom, and because I did ...

I have begun to learn an unfortunate truth: The Middle Ages are not the period in time that our teachers stuffed our brains with, rather they are the years between becoming an adult and becoming empty-nesters. For those of you in your thirties and forties without children of your own, this will all be slightly above your ability to comprehend, but feel free to read it... Then go on about your business, but know that some people are dealing with The Middle Ages very differently than others. In The Middle Ages, you have smallish children. Children who are still quite in need of your daily attention and care. Children who inevitably require feeding, clothing, bathing, disciplining, teaching, the occasional trip to the doctor, an ow-ey washed and bandaged, a hug to make it better, and many more surprises in life. In The Middle Ages, you may also have aging parents or grandparents. In my family, we have a history of starting our families while we are quite young, so I grew up with all o...

I taught Dania a new phrase to calm her when it storms: "First it goes FLASH! Then it goes BOOM! Then it goes RAIN, RAIN! " (of course, this is said with Happy Enthusiasm !!)It helps tremendously, and she is too cute when she does the sounds herself. Ever since we were first introduced to the Panic-Stricken Puddin' that appears during a storm, we have learned that she becomes quite frantic when the thunder and lightning get really bad. The Mommy Sweater becomes a Mommy Necklace, specifically a CHOKER ! We even have to sleep this way sometimes. Since we live in Middle Tennessee, I foresee many of these days and nights in our future. Today was one of those days. Tonight might be one of those nights. By the way, there is absolutely nothing like a charcoal grill. GOD BLESS THE PERSON WHO INVENTED A WEBER!!! Tonight, we got a little smarter. Once we had the coals going, we grilled a bunch of stuff for later in the week. (we got this idea by combining my neighbor...

When I was a nanny to these adorable twin preschoolers in Florida, I was tickled every time one of them got dizzy. She would always say, "bizzy" instead of "dizzy." It was so cute!! Well, around here we have been really busy... and I have been bizzy as well. Monday, I had a very bad morning that culminated with a trip to the doctor. The doctor diagnosed me with an inner ear issue. It was making me incredibly dizzy, nauseous, and lightheaded, plus it was affecting my vision at random moments. He seemed to think it would take a few days of bed rest to get over it. Lucky for me, though, things calmed down later that day, but if I am not careful, I get woozy again. It has been a strange couple of days.... While it is nice to have the excuse to lay around and relax, it is also difficult to get the regular chores done that way. Every time I try, I get lightheaded and have to sit back down. We did have our garage sale, and we are finally free of all that stuff in ...

The kids are having a really difficult time understanding that it isn't officially summer yet. It is pool weather, we are sweltering in the sun, we are getting sunburns, school is out, but... it isn't summer. I think I am just going to lie next time Quin asks... "yes! It is finally summer! Isn't that great?!?!" We have a neighbor with a daughter really close to Dania's age (Shiloh is a few weeks older is all), and they love to play together. Well, Shiloh's mother is showing me up in a big way this year! If I was a keep-up-with-the-Jones' kinda mom, I would be waaaaaaay behind. :-) A few weeks ago, I put some sand in an under-the-bed plastic storage box for the kids to play with. Shiloh got an awesome sand and water table that I drooled over for 2 years. Yesterday, I put water in a larger plastic storage box, which Dania climbed into and used as a pool. Shiloh's mom brought out a beautiful, colorful, inflatable, shaded toddler pool today. ...

So, Dania had her follow-up visit with the Endocrinologist at Vanderbilt today. She looks great!! They always wait for the results of the labs to refill her prescription since the results determine the dosages, but they are very confident that Dania will be weaned from the meds between 2 and 3 years of age! YAY!! Not that taking the little peach pill bothers anyone, but we are sooooo grateful that God has decided to answer our prayers for healing!!! THANK YOU, ALL OF YOU PRAYER WARRIORS!!! Anyway, we had her blood drawn, which was a nightmare because of the other screaming children who completely stressed her out, but she was a trooper as usual. We then dashed over to the mall to reward the kids with some retail therapy, then home again to rest... well, for a little while. Then we went outside to play with water - that was fun. After which, the kids were blessed with the ICE CREAM TRUCK!!! The idiot Ice Cream Truck that drove through our neighborhood at 4:45pm. Yeah, so I get...

Now that we are no longer schlepping up to preschool three days a week, we have so much more time!! I really anticipated this post-preschool time, but even I hadn't realized how much time it was sucking from my schedule! During the past week, I have spent that bonus time on the house... well, the time that wasn't taken up with the many treks outside we are taking now that all the kids are out of school. I have been getting caught up on the things around the house that have been waiting for months to get done. The next step is Quin's Room!! We have to plan it out first, but we will be painting it soon, then once the bedding is done, his room will be finished! I can't wait!!! We will be having our garage sale this coming weekend, so that will get rid of half the mess in the garage, YAY! It is kind of a hassle to have a garage sale with three kids, but it has to happen. Hubby got his Dad's Day gift early since we caved at Lowe's yesterday and picked up the W...

Well, tomorrow is Memorial Day. It is a day to remember those who have risked their lives to maintain our way of life here in America. It is a day to remember the families who have lost loved ones in the fight - to honor their sacrifices in true American spirit: by celebrating what they have fought for - our freedom. We may disagree about religion, politics, taxes, education, and our fundamental values, but that is the beauty of our nation: we are free to disagree. Thanks to all of the many men and women who have gone and those who continue to go out into the world to fight on our behalf. We are indebted to each of you as we sit comfortably in our homes with television, computer, air-conditioning, refrigerators, telephones, running water, electricity, and easy access to food. Your dedication to this great nation inspires me, maybe not to join you on the battlefield, but to be true to the American Dream - to live in loving compassion in this world, working hard, helping others, spe...

My mortgage holder is about to make me nuts! These people, who own our loan, who are as intimate with the terms of the loan as we, the borrowers, are, keep contacting us to refinance. Yeah, you're thinking, "so what?" I'll tell you so what! They write us letters telling us how much we can save on our monthly payments if we'll just pay $2000 closing costs and, oh, increase our interest rate. THEN, they call me... they tell me they have a great offer for me on a refinance interest rate that is gonna save me lots of money. Yeah, okay, tell me about it. She puts on someone who can help me (so the person who called me can't actually tell me about the great deal she called to offer me?? that was my first clue), and this guy gets on and asks me if we have any plans for a refinance. Umm, so I tell the guy, "gee, we're always willing to see what the new rates are to see if we can save some money." So he ASKS ME WHAT MY CURRENT RATE IS ! When I t...

Tonight we go to the sleep lab. Just Dania and Mommy. And some strangers. And some cameras. And some electronics hooked up to wires hooked up to Dania. Should be a nice restful night away from home. Dania got up early, as usual. She took a somewhat short nap, though, so we are going to have to travel up toward Nashville early or she will fall asleep on the way up. That would be bad. We'll probably meet Daddy up by his office and have dinner, then be on our way. We must park in the stadium parking garage (yeah, we'll be sure to arrive before dark), and be checking in by 7 or 7:30pm. Then we have to have lights out by 10p and they will wake us up at 6:30a. Like I need one more person whose job it is to wake me up before 7am . Well, here's the rundown of what we can expect, physically: electrodes on head and forehead, affixed with washable gel; electrodes on sides of eyes to monitor REM sleep blinking and movements; electrodes on chin to monitor face muscle ac...

This morning, not only was I up before 7 am again, but I actually waited until my husband was done with his run and his shower to start the coffee. Then the unthinkable happened: my coffee pot broke. AAAAAAKKK! Noooooooo! The pot is sputtering and hissing, and I look over at it in confusion (I have already been awake for 1 1/2 hours at this point, so the fact that I even heard it and noticed something amiss is a miracle!). The coffee seems to be bubbling up under the decanter on the hot plate. Hmmm. I took the pot by the handle and lifted it off the burner, and proceeded to wipe up some of the spill and ascertain the origin of the mess. At this point, I realize that the coffee is still dripping off the decanter, but I have wiped it clean. Not good . Aha! There is a crack ! A crack ! In the decanter ! WHAT?!?! I spin around crazily for half a second contemplating how to proceed as I watch in a panic as my life-giving force is draining out of the pot and onto the counte...

Whew, has it been that long since I posted something?? Sorry about that. I know you all missed me! :-) It has been a busy week, and mostly I am sleep-deprived. The unspoken law of families with multiple children is apparently that at least one child must rise before the sun each day. It never fails. I need to find out the code for that command so I can break it! Well, Quin is officially a kindergartener now! We are all done with preschool. We had graduation and his preschool program. Yes, I actually teared up at the graduation... surprised me, I can tell you that! Clearly, I am frightened about homeschooling to be crying over him finishing preschool! (just kidding, calm down) His ceremony was cute!! The best part was watching the other parents' reactions to the Tutti Ta song. I guess, unless you've worked in preschool, this is not part of your repertoire. It is a good one, though, and every preschooler loves it!! (Beck, does Cameron still do it for you?) Anyway, th...

Today is the day that we celebrate mothers. Mothers who get too little sleep, too little privacy, too little quiet, too little appreciation, too little pay (yeah, like NONE!), too little praise, too little education, and too little societal support. Oh, and we get lots of crying, explosions of bodily fluids, tantrums, teething, whining, arguing, sibling rivalry, yelling, and messes. We are an underpaid, under appreciated necessity, and we are too often overlooked as functional members of our society. Honestly, my husband does less at his job than I do at mine. That is obviously not the case in all households, but it is in ours. Working a full-time job was a breeze compared to what I do now! It isn't easy to be a mother, but it is a lot harder to be a bad mother with rotten kids, so I will do what I can to keep my kids from being rotten. Sure, they'll need therapy for something horrible I have done or will do to them, but they will be the product of my constant, conscious ...