Minivan Moments

i did NOT put my youngest child to bed in her clothes last night, and she is absolutely NOT currently wearing the same outfit. i certainly did NOT eat my body weight in potato chips at a birthday party yesterday, so i expect NOT to have gained 5 lbs. i am NOT sleeping in my daughter's bunkbed with her so she will get used to sleeping there sometime before she turns 18. i did NOT catch a fly laying eggs in my daughter's sippy cup, and then i did NOT take them out and tape some of them to a slide so we could look at them under the microscope. i did , however, sterilize the entire kitchen and go on a maniacal fly-killing spree!! (you should definitely NOT ask the children what that looked like because it would NOT be at all embarrassing for me.) Yesterday, i did NOT leave the house without my driver's license or debit card, and my husband did NOT also forget to bring his wallet, and we did NOT collectively decide to go to the store without realizing we had no way to pay. Ye...

In the moment that i realize how much God loves me, i am humbled. When i esteem myself, i become proud. So, i surrender my pride and take up my humility. My humility brings me closer to my own imperfections. My imperfections accuse me, shining a spotlight on my sin. My sin shows me how desperately i need God. In the instant that i acknowledge how much i mean to Him, i am again humbled. In my humility, i feel unworthy of the love and forgiveness of Almighty God. In the hopes that i can present myself as worthy, i become proud. My pride drives me to prove that i deserve Jesus. When i am beaten down again by my failed attempts to earn what has already been freely given, i am deeply humbled. Do you see a familiar cycle? " Oh, Lord, it's hard to be humble... " Smile. God loves you! Pray. God is listening. Sing. You know you want to! Be Blessed.

Today, i encourage all of you to try to become better informed about what is going on in your city/state/national government. Here are some suggested places you could start: Find out how homosexuals are trying to take away a Christian's right to religious freedom at http://www.afa.net/hatecrimes_20090615.html Find out how Planned Parenthood is trying to convince the nation they are providing a public service at http://www.traditionalvalues.org/pdf_files/TVCSpecialRptPlannedParenthood.pdf and http://www.blackgenocide.org/sanger.html Find out how President Obama is trying to take away a person's responsibility to provide for himself/herself at http://righttruth.typepad.com/right_truth/2009/02/hello-socialized-medicine.html Find out how the government is trying to take away your rights as a parent at http://www.parentalrights.org/ Our "culture" has been trying to tell you "They" know what is best for your child, but as we have let them take more and more re...

Today, i did NOT turn 35 since that would mean that i am on the downward slide to the big Four Oh! This weekend, i did NOT eat out more times than i ate in. My child did NOT take her dress off in the front yard and run around in only her panties. i did NOT eat a salad for lunch so that i could have a giant slab of chocolate-chocolate cake ( thud! ) and a cup of calorie-laden coffee. i did NOT buy myself 2 new hats because my hair is in the "growing it out/between styles" stage and covering it up won over shaving it off. i did NOT read an entire romantic suspense novel this weekend. i did NOT get so behind in my laundry last week that 6 hampers were spilling their guts all over the house (which equaled 12 loads of laundry in my super capacity washer, by the way). And since i am being the Queen of Denial, you should also know that i did NOT just give my 9-year-old daughter 3 pairs of my shorts that used to fit me last summer (umm, chocolate cake, anyone?), and i did NOT just bu...

...carries a whole different meaning when you get home from the mall with 3 armfuls of stuff, a sleeping child, and a cramp in your, ahem, behind . ...involves more than spending money, since it is about hanging out with friends, going ga-ga over things you shouldn't buy, and having that one special treat that you can only get at the mall. ...explains how i spent my Saturday. What did you do?

...it's a tie! Thank you, Greta and Shelly, for explaining the functional use of the fly to me... though, i have no idea how i will live with that information in my head now.... Blech. ...and the prize for the 2 winners is... A DESIGNER FLYSWATTER! Kill your houseflies with style ! ~ Thank you, Dania, for your modeling of today's prizes.

As you all probably know, we are a homeschooling family. This year, I found out about a contest of sorts that had a honey of a prize: free homeschooling curriculum to try in our home! All I had to do was write a review for a few e-books (which I loved reading and learning from), and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine would decide if I had what they were looking for in a "Crew." Well, I made it onto the Crew , and I couldn't be more excited!! Publishers will send us pieces of their curriculum (according to our home school) and we will use them; then I will write my review - and keep the materials ! For a homeschooling family of 3, that is as good as money in the bank since we have to buy all of our supplies out of pocket each year. My first review assignment is fitting: The Schoolhouse Planner. I debated buying this E-Book for no less than a month, and I just couldn't justify it. I kept telling myself that I would be wasting money purchasing 'something i could pu...

Okay, i have read some blogs in which the blogger does a theme on Mondays called " Not Me Monday " and i LOVE to read them! i missed it yesterday because i forgot to do it (and i was tired ) so i am starting a Tuesday theme on my blog! :-) Let's see if we can get a theme for almost everyday!! Today is Try It Tuesday! Think of something you want to try, do it, and blog about it! (If you do not have your own blog, comment here after my Tuesday posts.) So, today i am going to TRY to play my banjo! It sits in my closet because i never have time to play it, and i just LOVE the way it sounds!! Plus, i never mastered putting my fingers on the frets, so i will TRY to work on that! i am also going to TRY to have all the dishes in the house clean before bed! That will be a big one! Many of you probably do that every night, but my husband doesn't participate in the evening routine around here, so after i feed the hungry creatures in my house, take everyone outside for som...

Tonight, i am tired . Tired of moving my body. Tired of washing the dishes. Tired of engaging my children. Tired of contemplating our finances. Tired of holding it all together. i am tired. i am just plain tired ; tired to the core. As my children walk around dropping items in their wake, i am tired . As my husband does his own thing, not included in the household chores, i am tired . As my dogs dig up the flowers that made me so proud, leaving not one for me to enjoy, i am tired . As my bills pile up, requiring my attention, i am tired . As i write this entry, my eyes blurring from the strain, i am just so tired . Do you ever just get tired ? Good night. God bless.

Have you ever noticed that flies invite themselves into our homes before we can even say a "how d'ya do?" They mark "their" territory all over our kitchens, they pester us in our beds, and they climb down into our cups to sample our drinks. They also spend most of their time zzzz-zapping against the window panes! Why , when they were so quick to get in out of all that sunshine, are they so determined to go back into it? Why , if they liked it out there so much, did they zzzz-zip into our houses so quick in the first place? And why , i would like to know, did God tell Noah to bring flies onto the boat in the first place? What purpose do they serve? If you can tell me the purpose of the fly (a real purpose, like what do they do to contribute to the greater good of the earth), you will win a prize! Just to titillate you further (oooh, that's such a naughty-sounding word), the prize is, um, a surprise ! Yeah, as in, i have no idea what it will be, but ...

Hello, friend!! Come on in - glad you stopped by. Sure is hot out! Want some lemonade? Well, i've been makin' an awful lot of lemonade lately, and i would appreciate you drinkin' some of it with me. Gettin' kinda sick of lemonade, if you must know, bein' as how i've been makin' it just about every day for awhile now.... Y'see, people always say, " When life gives you lemons, make lemonade! " Well, i took that advice, and now i am quite sick of lemonade!! i've tried adding sugar ( when i can see the bright side of things ) to make it easier to choke down, but honestly, i just want to have something else for awhile! Other people get to drink other things, that's the truth! But if i spend too much time focusing on what other people get that i don't, i sure get bogged down in a pile of self-pity! That ain't much fun, i can tell ya that!! So, anyway, friend, i know you stopped by for some socializing, and it's the truth, ...