Peaceful

Well, almost. Evie has fallen asleep in my bed, David is down, and Sam is watching Animal Planet. Something about wildebeests, I think, but I don't care, because I know nothing about the wildebeest. Maybe we'll do a unit study one day on the wildebeest migration (ok, I know they migrate. But that's it!), and Sam can teach the class. Hey, someone should know what they're doing, right??

I have been very spoiled lately. Or spoilt, as my kids say. You see, I've become used to my wonderful handsome husband being at church with us, and he had to work this morning, so I took all three by myself. I can do that, right? I'm bigger, stronger, smarter, and faster than all of them. Their behavior has been wonderful lately, as the result of some strategic 'practicing' and we're all set. No one has cried about bedtime in a week. We've been practicing church. (Want to know how? Ask me, because I now know!! I want to share all my fabulous and timely knowledge, people!!) Fighting has reached an all time low. This should be a piece of cake, right??

Uh, huh. Right, Brea.

I'm about to start my period. Like most women, that gives me an extra ounce of kindness and patience. (And did I mention that it's opposite day?) So even though I had everything ready for church, clothes laid out and Bibles, diaper bag and purse in the car last night, I was still totally stressed by the time we left. David woke up three or four times last night, so he was sleepy and I was sleepy. Good combination, that one. I changed my clothes three times because I couldn't figure out what I wanted to wear. Did I say three? Ok, I'll be honest. Four. Ok, ok!! It was five. No, really. Five. But I changed my shoes three times with the outfit I picked.

We've decided we want the kids with us in Sunday School, too, not just church. Sam and Evie did wonderfully, for a change. David is usually the innocent bystander to the three-hour squabble that is The Sam and Evie Show, but not this morning. Sam and Evie colored and listened during Sunday school. They were great!! David was a pain in butt the whole time. Sam pushed the stroller around in the back for a while, and that seemed to calm David down.

(I should explain that we meet in an elementary school right now, so we meet in the front half of their gym/cafeteria and leave the back half for nursing moms and for walking around with babies and younger kids in strollers. It gives parents the opportunity to start training their kids to sit still when they need to, without being too much of a distraction to everyone else.)

Then all hell broke loose. David was sitting there, playing with his little train, and suddenly started screaming. I'm not talking a little 'I'm so tired' baby cry. I'm talking 'my arm fell off, and I ate a habenero pepper, and a dog bit me, and then I got punched in the head' kind of cry. I took him out of the stroller and just held him in the back. Then, while he was crying, I saw something in his mouth.

It was a new tooth. Poor baby. Well, the last few days with him make a little more sense, now.

Evie sat with Mrs Erdman during the service, and David was still cranky. Sam walked around with him a little, but I finally caved and let them all to to Children's Church. I'm ok with that. We'll keep working on behavior during service, and I'm going to have to accept the face that Sundays without John are certainly different than Sundays with John. Rome wasn't built in a day, people!!

Then we went to WalMart, came home, had lunch, went to Travis' birthday party (which was awesome!!), picked up Chili's on the way home, and that brings us up to now. No one napped today, which is why the younger two are asleep so early. I'm going to lay down on the couch with Sam, probably fall asleep, have half of a coherent conversation with John when he gets home, and stumble my way to bed.

And start it all over tomorrow.




You know what? I'm ok with that.

Man, I love my life. I wouldn't want it any other way. God has been so very, very good to me. :)

Why Do I Believe?, edited 11/17

That's right, I wrote Why Do I Believe, not What Do I Believe?

My best friend and I have been having some interesting conversations lately. It's been an interesting experience, because I feel less knowledgeable than most of my other friends when it comes to God's Word, so it's kind of fun to be the one who tries to answer the questions, instead of the one asking all the questions. She has been calling me, asking me about scripture, and what I believe, and why, and so many other questions. I have explained to her that I believe the Bible is the inerrant word of God Himself, and that I truly believe it is literal. She mostly agrees with me ... until we get to homosexuality. She has many gay friends, and she says she can't believe that God would send them to hell for 'being born that way.' I've told her that I don't know that they would go to hell for that, any more than someone who lives in adultery would go to hell, or someone who is very prideful and haughty, or someone who steals, or someone who is divorced, or someone who tells a lie, or someone who chooses not to honor his father and mother. It doesn't make it right, though.

It may be something we never agree on. There are plenty of other things we don't see eye to eye on, and I'm ok with that. We're able to have some crazy conversations, and get into some really deep stuff, and we have never hung up the phone mad at each other. We talk politics, love, money, theology, relationships, sex, food, books, music, movies, business, chickens, my wild kids, her crazy friends, and everything else, and we've always, always walked away from every conversation a little more enriched, and a little better friends.

I don't think it's healthy to only have friends who believe that exact same things that you believe. Where is your opportunity to learn and grow? One reason John (very strongly) encouraged me to stay in my book club, is all the different kinds of women that are involved. I'm definitely on one end of the spectrum, little Miss (Mrs) stay-at-home mom, homeschooler, belongs to a very conservative church, believes in Biblical submission to my husband, the only one with young kids (most women don't have any kids at all), only one who doesn't work outside the home, and know what?, politically I'm actually further to the right than the Republican party is. So there. On the other end, you've pretty much got the exact opposite of everything I've described. Feminists, liberals, no kids, atheists, agnostics, etc. And then there's everything in between. But know what? I love them all.

Any heated topics that are brought up are addressed respectfully, and (usually) no one yells, shouts, or is disrespectful. I am forced to think about why I believe a certain way, and then I'm forced to put my beliefs into words. It's all fine and well for me to say, 'I believe in small government,' but why? Can I articulately express the way I feel without sounding like a moron? It makes me look at my beliefs in a different light. Do I feel the same after hearing someone else's well-spoken, thoughtfully presented argument? If I feel differently, it usually means I haven't put that much thought into my positions, or that my position is wrong. If I feel the same, then the conversation usually serves to strengthen my belief or conviction.

There have been many times I have walked away from book club thinking. 'Wow, what a great night. I have a ton of research to do in the next few weeks, because I want to learn more. I don't feel like I know enough to accurately present my side of this topic!' or 'Hmm, I never thought of that subject in that way. This is some serious food for thought!'

I like being on strong footing when I speak with people. I love knowledge. I love learning. I pray that I never, ever grow complacent and stop seeking knowledge and truth. And there is a book (or seven!) for every topic under the sun, but there is one Book I always turn to first. It is my first, last, and final Authority. And it's a NKJV (I admit it, the KJV scares me. Please don't tell Mike Pearl!!).

This post has been inspired by this post, which has several very well-laid arguments, all of which are presented in a lovely, loving manner, and none of which are conventional in the least. May the Lord grant me the wisdom and meekness of spirit to always come across as politely and firmly and gracefully as she did!

My Dad, part 2

My dad is an interesting fellow. I love him dearly, despite some of the strange things he's done. He met a woman online, and he visited her once or twice, and they ended up getting married. Did I mention that she lived in Russia? It didn't work out, what with her being a huge bee-otch. But it does make for an interesting conversation.

My dad has always loved to read. He has different tastes than I do, but he always encouraged me to read. He never tried to get me to read what he liked, but he did give me two book that I will forever love. The first is Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Excellent book, very instrumental to me for a time in my life. The second is Listen to the Warm, by Rod McKuen. It's a poetry book. I've always had an aversion to poetry, but I recently figured out it was the whole rhyming thing. I don't like that. As it turns out, there is plenty of great poetry that doesn't rhyme, and I'm discovering it. (Thanks, Lynds!!)


from Listen to the Warm, by Rod McKuen

SEVEN

We touch.
Shoulder-to-shoulder.
You can't do more when crossing streets
with mannequins in windows looking back.

I try to match your step-
that way I'm sure of staying close.
You smell like love.
That must be so
for what I smell is dear to me and new.

And so a little walk through town
becomes a journey
a love vacation from ourselves
but with ourselves.

Everything you say is funny
or beautiful.


Dad, thanks for introducing me to such a wonderful book. It's funny, sweet, touching, and, sad at the same time, but I love this book so much. I'm going to go sit in front of my fire and read some more.

My Dad, part 2

My dad is an interesting fellow. I love him dearly, despite some of the strange things he's done. He met a woman online, and he visited her once or twice, and they ended up getting married. Did I mention that she lived in Russia? It didn't work out, what with her being a huge bee-otch. But it does make for an interesting conversation.

My dad has always loved to read. He has different tastes than I do, but he always encouraged me to read. He never tried to get me to read what he liked, but he did give me two book that I will forever love. The first is Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Excellent book, very instrumental to me for a time in my life. The second is Listen to the Warm, by Rod McKuen. It's a poetry book. I've always had an aversion to poetry, but I recently figured out it was the whole rhyming thing. I don't like that. As it turns out, there is plenty of great poetry that doesn't rhyme, and I'm discovering it. (Thanks, Lynds!!)


from Listen to the Warm, by Rod McKuen

SEVEN

We touch.
Shoulder-to-shoulder.
You can't do more when crossing streets
with mannequins in windows looking back.

I try to match your step-
that way I'm sure of staying close.
You smell like love.
That must be so
for what I smell is dear to me and new.

And so a little walk through town
becomes a journey
a love vacation from ourselves
but with ourselves.

Everything you say is funny
or beautiful.


Dad, thanks for introducing me to such a wonderful book. It's funny, sweet, touching, and, sad at the same time, but I love this book so much. I'm going to go sit in front of my fire and read some more.

Stroke of Genius

I had a craving for Taco Soup this morning, so I decided to make it for lunch. I thought I had a bag of cooked meat from the last time I browned meat for this recipe, but I realized (after mixing and heating all the other ingredients) that I didn't have it anymore! Oh, no! But then I discovered that taco soup is great without meat.

Candi has been telling me for a few years how much her husband like rice in the taco soup, but I've never tried it. Payday isn't until Thursday, and I was less than responsible with my budget last week, so I'm running a little short this week. Or, you could say, I have no money for meat or another trip to the store. So I cooked one cup (pre-cooked measurements) of my brown rice that I love, and added it to the recipe. I couldn't even tell that there was no meat in there, and it gave me a lot more soup!! Yay!! I love leftovers!!

And a nice plus: if you've got any vegetarian friends, this recipe is perfect, and if you don't use cheese (or use soy cheese), this is a vegan recipe! Who knew?

Ah, it's nice when things work out in my favor ...

Stuff.

I'm not going to post the book review today. At least, not right now. My brain isn't all that sharp right now. I've been doing housework all morning, and getting everyone back down to earth from this weekend.

I had a wonderful time with my mom. She is pretty much the coolest mom ever, and I love her so much! And she has a MySpace. (Giggles) Is your mom cool enough to have a MySpace? Yeah, I didn't think so. :)

My friend Brian got married last week. Congrats, Brian!! I am so happy for you, and hope you and your lovely wife will have a blissful life together.

I got stood up (kind of) on Friday night, and I'm still a little hacked about it. I was supposed to meet a friend from high school, and he totally bailed on me. No phone call, no email, nothing. So not cool!!!

Vicky left me a very sweet comment (see last post), and since I didn't see a website to find her on ... Thanks, Vicky!! My funk had passed my that evening, I think, and I was basically in the 'poor me' cycle. I finally just got up off my butt, got some stuff accomplished, and made a meal for a friend. I felt all better!! (But that doesn't mean that I wouldn't move somewhere to do missions in a heartbeat!!

John, Sam, Dad, and my brothers had a great time in Mexico. They had fresh (watched em' made) tamales, went fishing, camped, had a fire ... and drove. A lot. But everyone said it was fun, so I'm glad they all went.

I'm so very much taking a nap today. Did that sentence make sense grammatically? I didn't think so. That's how tired I am. Maybe I'll go find the baby and give him lots of kisses. :) Now, where did his big brother and sister put him ... ?

Mmm ... coffee ...

There are many things from my past that I've given up, because they weren't healthy for me. I won't list them here, but I do have this to say.

I. Will. Never. Give. Up. Coffee.

It's just probably never going to happen, folks. One thing I love about my mornings, and getting up to early, is that I'm able to go through my routine of making coffee in the French Press (yeah, I'm old school!), pouring myself a cup, and having coffee with God every morning. I sit down for at least half an hour, read my Bible, pray, make notes, and just have quiet time before the (completely wonderful) chaos starts.

Now, before I got pregnant with Sam, I drank a lot of coffee. I mean, a lot. I worked at Barnes & Noble, one of my favorite jobs I had pre-marriage, and we were the largest one in Central Texas. Actually, I think we were the largest store in Texas, period. And because we were so big, and in such a nice area of town, we had a very nice, very big, cafe that served Starbucks. And I was good friends with the people that worked in the cafe. And they gave me free coffee. :) Yes, you're right. It was a very hard life that I led at the time. :) I used to drink 4 or 5 of the huge cups of black coffee every day!!

Then Sam came along. I never was able to go cold turkey, but I worked my way down to one cup a day. One small mug. And it was half decaf. (Um, don't tell that part to John. He still doesn't know that I switch the coffee that I make for both of us to half-caf when I'm pregnant. :) Hee hee.)

So now, I have exacly one cup every morning, out of the same mug (yes, I wash it every day!). It's about half full of milk, and I usually don't finish even that, but please, don't try to take away my coffee. You're likely to have a finger or two bitten off. I'm just saying.

So why am I now writing my seventh paragraph on coffee? Because the baby woke me up at 4:45, and I haven't been able to go back to sleep, as tired as I am. I'm here at my mom's house, Evie is with John's mom, and Sam and John will be on their way to Mexico in the next few hours. I met my best, most wonderful, and completely beautiful friend, Sarah, and her husband Scott, last night at ... um ... well, at Starbucks. (That's slightly ironic or something, huh? I had tea. Don't judge me.) I didn't get back to Mom's until after 11, and I was looking forward to sleeping in.

But noooo. The silly little baby woke up howling, I mean, he sounded like a wounded and angry bobcat or something. As soon as I picked him up, he grinned, gave me a hug, and giggled. He giggled. At 4:45 in the morning. (What a little brown-noser!!) It should be illegal to giggle that early, I'm telling you.

So now I'm off to start cleaning something, because this post has already become about three times as long as it should be. Good grief, someone make me stop typing!!

New book review coming tomorrow, or maybe Monday, on the Jeub's book, called Love in the House. It's amazing. This family has 13 kids, with another on the way in a few weeks. Buy it now, so we can talk about together over a cup of, well, coffee!

Methinks it's time for a change

Sam got up this morning, and immediately curled up on the couch under a quilt in his jammies. This is not out of the ordinary; we do this pretty much every morning if David isn't awake yet. Sam can't get dressed until David is up, because David is a very light sleeper and wakes up if Sam starts rummaging through the closet for clothes. I'm love a chilly house in the mornings; I can drink my very hot coffee and put on a sweatshirt and thick socks. Apparently, not everyone shares my love.

Sam never sleeps in a shirt. Ever. Even when he's awake, it's like pulling teeth, trying to get that kid to wear something on his top half. We've been telling him to wear a bedtime shirt at night, because we don't turn the heater on unless it's below 40, and even then, not always. It stays very warm upstairs. Warm enough that Sam takes off his shirt as soon as he gets in bed, saying that he's 'way too hot' to leave it on. I have bigger hills I'll die on, so I let him.

After he got dressed this morning, I noticed he looked strange. A little ... I dunno ... puffy. And his shoulders looked abnormally large. I realized he had layered some shirts. We're getting ready to run some errands, so I told him he could only wear one shirt, and to go change. He came back a few seconds later, asking for help getting his shirts off.

I helped him get off the first one. And the next. And the next one. And the fourth one. And then the last one.

He was sweating under all the layers.

What a strange kid. I told him that if he gets cold, he can wear one shirt, and one sweatshirt. Not one long-sleeved shirt and 4 t-shirts. No wonder he looked like a linebacker.

And with that out of the way, off we go!!

Apple Spice Cake

Well, the weather finally feels like fall, and I've been spending the last few weeks baking my hiney off. My family (and friends!) have been loving it. Here's a favorite that I forgot to post last year. It's really very healthy, and a wonderful food for breakfast. I came up with this recipe after studying several others and just experimenting ... here's the final product.

But I caution you, it's very, very good. If you're not married, and you make this for your sweetheart, you may get an on-the-spot proposal. Make it for your husband, and he'll follow you around like a puppy, begging for more while professing his undying love. Your kids will attach themselves to your legs and never let go, which makes for an awkward time of shaving your legs, believe me!! So, do beware of the powers that this cake has, and use them wisely, for good and not evil.

Apple Spice Cake
by Brea!

1 cup raisins (dark or golden)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups barely packed brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each ground cloves and ground allspice
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups peeled apple chunks (honey crisp apples are the best ones I've found so far, but any really fresh, crisp apple will do)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Heat oven to 350, and grease two muffin tins or one muffin tin and 2 or 3 mini loaf tins. Don't make this as one big loaf; it'll never cook all the way through.

Coat the raisins with flour to prevent from sinking in the batter. In a small bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together, and set aside. In your mixer, cream the butter, sugar and eggs. Slowly add the oil with the mixer running, then the vanilla. In small batches, add the dry mix. Mix in the apples and walnuts, and stir in the raising by hand. Yes, this will be the thickest and chunkiest batter you have ever beheld in your entire life. It's supposed to be like that, don't worry!

Spoon into the tins and bake about 25 minutes, until springy and dry in the center. This time might now be anywhere close to right, because my oven is possessed by the devil and makes me do all kind of strange things with time to get things to cook. When they look completely done, and are brown all over, and aren't squishy in the middle, they're done.

Notes:
**As soon as you're able, turn everything out onto a cooling rack. The moisture content is so high that they start to get mushy very fast. No cooling rack? Use a dishtowel on the counter, but move everything after about 10 minutes to prevent it from sticking.

**Now, since this is kind of a pain in the hiney to make, I usually triple the recipe and individually freeze what we won't eat in two days or so.

**There is a glaze that is pretty good, too. Mix powdered sugar with maple syrup, or powdered sugar with milk and vanilla extract, and lightly drizzle over the cake when it's mostly cooled. Mmmm ...

And Tomorrow I'm Off Again!

Goodness, it has been a crazy few weeks! But good, fun, I had-a-great-time crazy, not like the never ending 10 days of driving we recently finished up. Between last Sunday, and the Sunday before that, we saw the Ellisons 7 times. That's a lot in one week! I think I'm going through Kristie withdrawal right now. :) She hosted a ladies' brunch Saturday, and spent the week getting ready for that. The house that the Ellisons moved into is the cutest thing; I love the layout!! But ... the wallpaper. It was bad, and it was everywhere. She's finishing up her kitchen, which looks completely great, but has been taking up her time. So she looked at the horrid sea shells in the bathroom and decided that she would rather have bare walls and no mirror, than have people think she approved of those sea shells.

So we ripped a lot of wallpaper off last week, and she watched my kids when I went to book club, and I watched her kids while she got ready for the brunch, and we saw each other at art class, and at church ... and my kids are bummed that we're not getting to see them this week! :)

We've been running errands this week, and now we're preparing for this weekend, which is going to be a great one. John and Sam are going camping with my dad and my younger brothers Wesley and Kevin. Please note, I would love to say 'my little brothers' but that would be totally incorrect, since they have both towered over my for years. Hateful tall things. But I digress ... And where are they going camping, you ask? Well, Mexico, of course. Where else would you go? They'll get to fish, and have fires, and do all kinds of manly things. They're all looking forward to it.

Evie is going to stay with Sherry, John's mom. We're meeting her off 290 (she lives in The Woodlands), dropping off Evie, and David and I are going to stay with my mom Friday and Saturday night. I'm very excited!! I'm going out with some friends from high school Friday, then I get to (hopefully) see Sarah on Saturday, and take Dale and Jenni a baby gift for their new arrival.

Oh, and I taught myself to crochet the other night, and have started a new scarf for myself. I like scarves, and I have decided that I most definitely prefer crocheting to knitting. It's much more forgiving to people who pay little to no attention to what they're doing. Hypothetically.

Sam has learning to play A Mighty Fortress Is Our God on the piano, and at first I was so proud. It's one of my favorite hymns, after all. And now I want to tear my hair out every time I hear it, which is approximately every 4.7 seconds. I have got to teach that kid a new hymn before I wig out and take an ax to the piano. Seriously.

God is really working in my life right now, in some great and wonderful ways. What an awesome God He is. Loving, full of grace and mercy, infinitely forgiving and patient, and just so good to me. I hope to expand on this topic soon, but please pray that I would be open to what he wants me to learn. There's so much I don't know!!

What Have We Done?!?

Evie and Sam love to spend their free time drawing on any scrap of paper they can find (those spiral-bound sketch pads are pretty much the best gift they can be given right now!) with crayons, colored pencils, or markers. Being the parent that is usually home when they are drawing, I have been given a rather large stack of some beautiful and very interesting art. Many StarWars pictures, several knights with shields and swords (and daggers and lances and arrows, oh my!), a whole myriad of monsters, castles, horses, birds, insects, cats, dogs, and let us not forget the self portraits. Yes, the pictures are wonderful, and I cherish them all.

And I thought I was doing a pretty good job of raising well-adjusted children. Until yesterday morning.

Evie was coloring at the table, and Sam came by to check on her progress. Normally, this small act would have started WWIII, but the whole morning had been surprisingly peaceful. I was at the sink doing dishes, so I could hear that they were talking, but I couldn't hear the conversations. I did catch pieces, thought, like 'ant' and 'shrew' and 'trail' and 'cat.' I thought maybe Evie was drawing the backyard or an area of the trail out back that does indeed have ants and those mole mounds. Oh, if only ...

She came up to me a little bit later, and said, 'Mom, I have a picture for you!'

'Oh, wow, Evie. That sure does have a lot of colors. Why don't you tell me about it!'

'Well, that's a shrew. The cats killed it and it's dead. And that's all the ants that are eating it. See their trail going back to their home?'

'Uh ... um ... Yeah, I see it. Uh, Evie, why does the shrew have a circle in the middle of it?'

I got the why-does-mom-take-so-long-to-figure-these-things-out look. 'Because that's where the cats ate the guts, Mom.'

'Oh. Well, where's the other foot, hon? Shrews have four feet, not three.'

Repeat of the above-mentioned look. 'Because the ants already took it to their home, Mom.'

'Oh. Well, why didn't the cats eat the whole shrew?'

'Because they caught a copperhead and ate it first so they weren't hungry anymore.'

'Oh, ok. Anything else?'

'Can I have a cookie?'

'Yeah, sure. Why not?'

Man, what kind of strange, strange children am I raising? At least her husband will thank me when she doesn't scream and jump on a chair if she sees a spider, mouse, or snake ...

In Retrospect ...

I was looking for some pictures to upload onto eBay this morning, and I accidentally opened a picture folder from spring of 2005. And then I decided to go through a bunch of old pictures, so I'm going to share some of my favorite kid memories with you.

Here, we were trying to get bluebonnet pictures of the kids. This was one of only two pictures we didn't delete, after about 45 minutes of taking pictures. And it's very typical, seeing how Sam is trying to kiss Evie, and Evie is eating a bluebonnet.

This is the oldest one of all the pictures, from April 2005. Look how cute they are!!!

Sam only ate about 20 tomatoes this afternoon at my dad's house. He loves to eat cherry tomatoes right out of the garden (to the point where he's just not allowed to pick tomatoes when they're in our garden. They never make it to the house, because he eats them all en rout). Late April 2005.


If ever a picture captured Evie being Evie, this is it. This was the wallpaper on my mom's computer for a long time. May 2005.


You know, little girls aren't supposed to wear firetruck underwear. They should be girly, and have cute pink or purple underwear. And they really should wear shirts. But sometimes, you just have to break all the rules, and go topless in firetruck underwear. We're all had days like that, haven't we? June 2005.


We were at my mom's for this one, and the kids had been playing in the sprinkler. And then Sam found a gecko and caught it, cause he's like the Steve Irwin of gecko, lizard, and skink catching. And then he put it on Evie, but she was just confused and wanted to play in the sprinkler some more. Poor Sam, he ended up with a sister who likes all the creepy-crawlies he catches!! June 2005.


Baby got back! I like big butts, and I cannot like. You other brothers can't deny ... I could keep going, but I won't. May 2005.


So, did you read in the paper or see on CNN about those college students at UT that got trapped in some caves in Austin and had to be rescued after being in there for 32 hours? Click here, and check out picture #5. (Don't worry, it's a safe site.)

I told him this morning thanks for not getting lost, because once they had been found, and I knew everyone was safe, I would have had to smack him in the head.

And here's something strange: I never realized how many nekkid pictures we've taken of Evie. Seriously, there were way too many pictures of that child when she had on no clothes!!

And don't suggest that I love her more than I love the older one. No, I don't. Really. She just photographs better. I love them both the same. Yes, I do. Stop suggesting things.

In a Funk ...

Ever get into one of those? I know, I know, you're probably perfect, with no problems. :) I, however, am most certainly not perfect, and I'm having some issues.

For one thing, I tend to get a little more moody after my period, not before. Silly hormones. Also, I'm a little sad. I was four or five days late this month, and I really thought I was pregnant. Of course, I started thinking that a week before I should have gotten my period (yes, I knew that soon with David), so I had almost two weeks of trying not to be too excited. Except that I was really excited. And I cried when I realized I wasn't pregnant. John was bummed, too. Not as much as I was, but he was very sweet none the less.

Also, it's October. The second half of October. So, really, it shouldn't still be 95 degrees, right? That's the forecast for Austin this afternoon, and I'm getting a little cranky. I love summer, and I don't like to be cold, but is a nice day in the lower 80's too much to ask? Really, is it?? Come on, now!

Sometimes I think I should be doing more. I mean, I'm busy with the kids, and actually have more work than I can ever get done, but I feel like I'm not doing enough sometimes. I wish I had a small business I could run from home, preferably something web-based that I could do at night, or whenever I have a few spare minutes. I was really excited about this, but I'm just not good at sales, and hate talking to people about something I'm selling. I just feel strange doing it, regardless of how much I love my product. (And I do truly love this stuff. I feel that it's worth every penny! But I digress ...)

I would love a ministry based business. I would love to sell everything we have and move to southeast Asia or South America and be missionaries. I'd do that in a heartbeat. What am amazing experience that would be for the kids! I just get restless sometimes, and oddly enough, I get restless when I have busy spurts of insanity ... like the never ending week we wrapped up last week. When it comes to the fight or flight response, if none of us are in physical danger, I have a huge tendency toward flight!! When I get stressed, I want to get out of Dodge and go somewhere quieter, simpler, and farther away from people. My dream would be owning about 200 acres and being as self sustaining (and off the grid, lol!) as possible.

I can also feel my body freaking out about my diet lately. It has not been good. I think Sarah and I are going to detox together next week, and I'm looking forward to it. Kristie let me borrow her detox book, and it's a really big deal. It's a nine-day course, where you gradually add certain foods back into your diet. I've just been so tired and run down the last few weeks, and craving refined sugar and flour. I haven't felt like this in forever, and it's really getting to me. Actually, I think how I'm eating is mostly responsible for the funk I've been for the last few days.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. It's the verse that keeps me going some days, because man!, do I ever try to do everything in my own strength. Yeah, that always works out sooo well for me. :)

My Hands Hurt

I went over to Kristie's yesterday and helper her paint and hang paneling in her kitchen. Seeing how I am a wuss, my hands now hurt. Aww, poor me. :) I was at her house for about 4 1/2 hours, and had a wonderful time. The kids stayed here with John, and her kids amused themselves most of the time (when not chatting with and amusing us!), so we actually got to just chat and have girl talk ... which covered many topics, ranging from movies we've recently seen to politics to putting babies on a schedule. (We're all for it, by the way.)

I never did get that nap on Saturday, because I forgot I invited Kristie to drop her kids off while she went up to Home Depot for the above-mentioned products. This might pretty benign, but let me remind you that Kristie has 5 kids. So I had 8 kids under 11-years-old at my house, and honestly, I've hardly ever had so much fun. I love kids so much, and I pray that God blesses us with several more.

I had a great morning today. Well, I accidentally slept in and didn't get up until almost 6:45, but it was good other than that, because the rest of my family slept in, too. That never happens. In my devotionals, I've been spending a lot of time in Paul's epistles lately. I decided to go back and read the Gospels again, and started with Luke. (Why? I dunno. Why not?) What an amazing story. I think Luke is probably my favorite Gospel. Then I read Matthew 5 this morning over breakfast; we've moved our daily chapter out of Proverbs to the evenings. Our memory verse over the next few weeks will be the Beatitudes, for so many reasons. For one thing, they're beautiful! I love the way the words flow, and I just think it's wonderful poetry. Also, what a wonderful way to live!!

Read this, and just think about it for a while ...

Matthew 5:3-10
"Blessed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn:
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek:
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:
for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful:
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart:
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

new recipe

Head over to my mangosteen blog and check out the new recipe I put up there, for a XanGo Power Smoothie. It's very yummy. :)

http://mangosteenjuice.livejournal.com/

Home at Last!

Oh, my. Since last Tuesday, the kids and I have spent over 34 hours in the car. Over 34 hours in 11 days. That's waaaay too long. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my.

John's grandfather passed away late last Sunday, and his funeral was on Thursday. John's dad Jim rode back home with us Thursday afternoon and stayed with us that night. John worked Friday, so the kids and I drove Jim to Austin to meet John's half sister, Heather, at Whole Foods. Jim stayed with Heather Friday night, and had his flight back home this morning. It was an ... um ... interesting ... visit, as always.

We got our shopping done at Whole Foods, and I bought myself a treat: Pumpkin Ale! I never buy myself beer, mainly because I almost never drink beer. Especially since I quit smoking. I have nothing against it, I'm just an uber-lightweight and tend to fall asleep if I drink more than one ... or if I finish one too late in the evening. :) On the rare evening when I get a hankerin' for one, I just steal one of John's. But I love pumpkin, and I've seen this stuff every year, and I've always really wanted to try it. So I got wild and crazy and went ahead and bought some. But I was too tired to try it last night. Maybe this evening. We'll see. Hee hee. I'll report back.

All the kids came with us to the funeral; it was a short service at the Houston National Cemetery. Jim was given military honors (he served in WWII), and the service was beautiful. I have to brag on my kids for a second. They were amazing. Not that they're usually wild Indians when we're in public or anything (please not that I said usually), but they were above and beyond great at the service, and then at the family gathering we went to afterwards. My darling husband at I received several compliments on all three of the little dears, and we couldn't have been prouder.

And then came yesterday. I am so glad that none of the people who were at the service were around yesterday. By the time John got home, I wanted to lock myself in a closet and not come out until Christmas. Well, maybe Thanksgiving at the earliest. But not before. Even the baby was making me crazy!! I think it was just that yesterday, the stress of the last few weeks came crashing down on us all ... whatever it was, it wasn't fun! All the kids were in bed by 8, and I was asleep on the couch by 10. And I'm still tired and trying to catch up on sleep!!

So on that note, I'm off to take a quick nap while the baby is down for a while. I promise to post something marginally more interesting soon, once I figure out which way is up.

Quick Update

Well, Dustin's funeral went well yesterday. I went with Sarah and Lyndsey, who flew in from New Orleans that morning to make it in time. There were at least 7 people who got up and spoke about Dustin, and there was a great slide show, and it was all very touching. Except ... the person who did the service was awful. And I feel bad for saying that. And heaven help us, but Lyndsey and I almost cracked up several times. Lyndsey kind of alternated from almost crying (y'know, the kind where you just have a few tears every few seconds that you dab at, but you're not really crying?) to shaking with laughter at something completely inappropriate the pastor would say. It was bad, guys.

We got out into the foyer afterwards, all three of us about to go our separate ways, and L and I were worried that Sarah would be upset with us. We didn't know if she had seen us desperately trying not to laugh or not. But it turned out that she agreed with us, so we didn't feel (quite so) bad.

All that to say that Dustin very obviously touched a lot of people's lives, and the lack of his presence will be deeply felt. He was a great, happy, fun, caring guy, and it was almost an honor to sit there yesterday and hear the stories about his from the people that were closest to him.

Then I picked the kids up, drove to San Antonio, watched John take his flight that he enjoyed except for the aerobatics that made his kind of sick all the way into last night, ate supper in San Marcos, drove straight to Starbucks for out Titus 2 meeting at 8, ran by HEB after, ran into Becky and Alex and chatted with them, and didn't get home until almost 11. So I didn't see my house from 6:30 yesterday morning until 11 last night.

And I'm getting ready to leave again in about half an hour. We're very excited to go to The Woodlands to visit Sherry and her new house, and we'll be leaving there around 9 tonight ... and then going to the never ending day at church tomorrow. And then driving to San Antonio again on Monday to visit Candi and the see the Pearls speak that evening. And not getting out of bed at all on Tuesday. :)

Please pray that I can get some rest, I really need it, and that the kids' amazing behavior would continue. They have absolutely blown me out of the water these last few days; I have just been so proud of them!!

Hopefully, then next time I post, I'll have something interesting to say, not just tired ramblings ... Maybe some new pics, who knows? :)

So Tired!

We have been so busy lately. And it's not going to slow down anytime soon, either ...

On Tuesday, we drove to San Antonio. We went by the Antique Rose Emporium, a mall, Chili's, and then to the little airport where John was supposed to take his airplane ride. We got to the airport, and were able to see the plane land with the person who flew before John. Very neat plane, by the way. John got in, got his goggles and parachute on (just in case of emergency, you know!), was ready to go ... and the plane wouldn't start. The pilot thought it was the starter, and since the company is in San Antonio until Saturday, we're going down there again on Friday to give it another whirl.

But John is going to drive to San Antonio by himself, and we'll meet him over there, because I have a funeral to go to Friday morning. Dustin was a guy that I knew in junior high and high school, and we were never super close, but he was always very sweet to me. Lyndsey and I are going to go together, I think. The kids will be with my mom. I'm leaving right after the church service to pick the kids up and head to San Antonio, so I can watch John's ride and get lots of great pictures.

On Saturday, we'll be leaving about 6:45 to drive to The Woodlands to see Sherry and her new house. I think she just closed like a month ago, and we're all looking forward to the trip. We'll be there until 9-ish, so the kids will sleep when we drive home.

On Saturday, we have church and potluck afterwards, and then we have a baptism ceremony. I'm excited about it, because (among other reasons) the church hasn't had one since we started going.

Monday is a slow day, or as I am now calling it, The Day I Plan On Not Leaving Bed. :) Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are just days to run errands, do laundry, do school, cook, etc. And we'll probably take Mr McCormick a meal Wednesday, too. Then Thursday, I'm driving to Austin to run errands like SAM'S Club and Whole Foods, and having coffee or lunch with an old girlfriend.

Whew!! I'm tired just writing all of this. I think I need a nap. :)

My Website

Woohoo!! Look at me! I've got a website. Yeah, it's pretty simple for me to keep up, but I'm ok with that. I don't have enough hours in the day as it is, and I may end up with even less soon. I have no time for site maintenance.

http://www.myxango.com/ashleybstewart/

Please go check it out, and let me know what you think. :)

Art Class

Sam is taking an art class this semester. The class is taught by Mrs. Barnabas, a very sweet retired public school art teacher. She has told us that she likes doing these homeschool classes (she has at least three that she does) much better than her last job, because how can you teach are without teaching about the One who created all things beautiful? We meet every other Friday at my friend Cynthia's house; there are two groups of kids. The younger group is 5-8-year-olds, and the older group is 9-12-year-olds. I think. Sam is the youngest one in the class, but he does really well. He seems to really have some talent, and I think we all know what parent that comes from. Not the one writing this, that's for sure. Stick figures are about as complex I get (and let's be honest, they're not even well drawn stick figures!).

And this class isn't just 'let's color the flower pink, kids' or 'let's cut some paper!' In the first class, they learned about lines and perspective. Second class was the color wheel, and primary colors vs secondary colors, and how you decided which is which. (John took the kids to talk class, because I was out of town having White Russians at the Skyline Grill and Bar and wearing black heels and generally looking amazing. But I digress ...) This week, the kids are learning about drawing people and portraits. The pictures that Sam did were amazing!! I hope our scanner is up and running again soon so I can show y'all what he's capable of.

And lest you think his younger siblings are left out, don't worry. All the 'youngers' come to class, too, they just don't take the actual class. The kids that are around Evie's age either play outside or in Shawn and Spencer's room, and the little ones crawl around or spend most of their time being cuddled by moms whose little ones have started growing up. It's a bad place to be if you're borderline baby fever-ish, because all the little ones are so ridiculously cute!!

This class is a huge blessing, and I am just so grateful that Cynthia agreed to host it, and Mrs. Barnabas agreed to teach it!!

Babies ... Oh, how I want to eat them!

Really, is it any wonder that I want about 6 more kids? Just look at the most recent addition to our family.

He's musically gifted, and loves the piano.

And he can really jam, too. He's got soul, man!!

He's concerned with his health. He makes sure to eat a balanced diet, consisting of grains, veggies, and fruit. And sometimes some cheese, but only when I drop it on my kitchen floor and he gets to it before I can clean it up. But he makes sure he eats his recommended daily allowance of fruit. See?

And he takes pride in it, too. See how happy he is? (And no, he didn't slaughter anything, regardless of how it looks.)

But more important than all those things, he's a family man. Family comes first, and he makes sure to show love to each member of our household every opportunity he gets. This can include kisses, big smiles, waving and saying 'BYE' as we enter the room, licking our faces and arms, but of course, lots and lots of hugs.

Isn't he just the greatest?? And he can clean up Wedgits and books after he plays with them, too!

Books and more books

I just got home from book club, and had a lovely time as always. The women I meet with every month are so amazing. We're all so different, but we all like and respect each other so much, and we all bring unique perspectives to the table. And there's always a ton of yummy snacks. I do like to eat. :)

We were at Melanie's house this month, all the way out in Dripping Springs. She has such a lovely house, and she's such a lovely person. I really admire her a lot, and look up to her in some ways. And she's so much fun!! But it takes me over an hour to get to her house, so I had to leave and run back, because Hannah was watching the kids.

She said everything went well, and that my kids are very sweet and well behaved and she likes them so much. I swear, if I could have hugged her through the phone when she told me this, I would have. Seriously. I know that my kids are peachy, and I love them to death, but it's really nice to hear from someone else that they are well behaved. Cause Lord knows they have their moments. :)

And she cleaned my kitchen!! My goodness, lawsie mercy!! I'm going to get her a happy, because I didn't even notice until after she let, and didn't get a chance to say thank you.

Hannah is another person I admire a lot. She's very quiet, like me. Ha!! I almost wrote that with a straight face ... Anyway, she's just a doll, very sweet, but strong in what she believes, and maybe the kindest person I've ever met. And did I mention that she likes my kids??

We're going up to Georgetown tomorrow to see John's grandfather, who isn't doing too well. These next few weeks will probably be his last; please pray that he will be comfortable. His name is Jim.

Now, I'm off to bed, because I had the strangest dreams last night that kept waking me up. I normally don't have dreams like that, but they were crazy last night, and I'm beyond exhausted at this point ...

Pot Roast

We have this every other Sunday. A favorite with, well, eveyone!

Crock Pot Pot Roast
by Brea!

1 pot roast
1 medium onion, cut in thick slices
5-6 cloves garlic, diced (we love garlic, and I use about 10 cloves)
1 bottle Shiner Bock (optional, but this really brings everything together, trust me!)
2 c + diced carrots
2 c + diced red potatoes, skin on
2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 t dried basil, or 1 T fresh
salt and pepper to taste
flour and oil for browning roast

Salt and pepper roast, and light flour while heating a small amount of oil in a frying pan. Brown the roast on all sides on medium-high heat for 2 minutes per side.

When the roast in browned, place it in the crock pot. Turn crock pot to high. Add Shiner, all veggies, basil, pepper, and 1/2 t salt. Add enough water to just cover everything.

Cook on high for 6 hours, checking every so often to make sure everything is under water, until roast is fork tender. Adjust seasoning in the last half hour of cooking.

Serve with homemade cornbread and a salad, and enjoy!

**Notes: If you don't have the full 6 hours (and possibly a little more) to cook the roast, cut it into two or three pieces before you brown it. This will make it cook faster.
**Also, if you're kind of new to buying roast, the packaging should say something like 'good for roasting.' And since you're doing this in a crock pot and not the oven, you can use a much more lean cut of mean, because you don't have to depend on the fat to keep it moist.
**If you're planning on prepping this whole thing the night before, follow the instructions the same way except for the potatoes. Wait until right before you actually cook the roast to cut to potatoes.

I done got tagged!!

Jesnicole tagged me a while back, and I just realized it a few days ago. Ok, I can be a little slow at times ... I've been working on this for a few days, since I can't seem to find more than 2 minutes to sit down before at least one of my children has blood or chicken poo (or both!) somewhere on them ...

1. What is your school name and why? Uh, I'm supposed to name my school? I guess it's the Stewart Please Don't Embarrass Me In Front of My Friends Whose Kids Are In Public School Cause They Already Think I'm A Little Strange Academy.

2. How is your weather today? A little warm, low 90's, but feels like fall already because the mornings have been cool and the humidity has been low.

3. What steals your joy? Waking up late. I do not like to sleep in past 6:30 because I feel like I've wasted my morning, and I like to have some quiet while I have my coffee and devotional, and sometimes fold clothes. Joy comes in the morning!!

4. Name 5 blessings you've received this week. Ooh, that's way too easy!
1. I had grown-up time with John, and the kids had a blast at my mom's house.
2. I helped raise money for a great charity. Helping others makes me feel great about myself.
3. Hannah agreed to watch the kids Wednesday evening so I can go to my book club alone ... yay!!!
4. I have pretty much the best husband ever. He is so good to me!!
5. I won a book and had a sweet email from Dawn.

5. Favorite Scripture? Easy, too. One of the first 'long' verses I memorized. Isaiah 40:29-31 'Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.'

6. Who in the Bible do you think you are most like? Well, obviously, Mary!! Ha, just kidding. I'm pretty much not like her at all. I really don't know. Someone with a lot of flaws, but with a desire to know the Lord better and learn His laws and ways.

7. Passage of Scripture you last read? I Corinthians 9, 10, and 11.

8. Have you ever praised God for something weird? Please, who do you think you're talking to?? Of course I have!!

9. If you were making a greeting card for God, what would it say? Seriously? This is probably the strangest question I've ever read. I'm too mystified to even begin to answer.

10. What is the most fun thing you have done lately? Had a beer on my deck with a fire in the fire bowl with John, just chatting for almost 2 hours with no interruptions!

11. How did you choose your screen name? It was my name on a (mostly moms) message board, and I just like the sound of tinymama. And I am a tiny mama!! :)

12. What is the best miracle God has performed in your life, or what is your favorite answered prayer? No question or thought about it. My answer to both is John.

I don't think I'll tag anyone else. I'm a rebel like that. And I don't know all that many bloggers. :)

My Slow and Special Chicken (revised)

When we decided to buy chickens, we went ahead and bought 11 total, over the space of about a week. One died, so we now have ten. We didn't want any roosters, but and a really funny twist of fate, both of the Hilton Sisters have turned out to be boys. So instead of Paris and Nicky, we've got Man Paris and Nicholas. We still call them Paris and Nicky, though.

Here's Man Paris.

Funny things happen when you have kids, especially when you've got boys. And some things are pretty funny in retrospect, but but so much at the actual time.

A while back, Evie and Sam were playing outside, and I gave them permission to play with the chickens. They had been outside for a while, and I was just thinking to myself, 'Hmm, they've been out there for a while now. And it's awfully quiet. No good will come of this,' when Evie came running into the house, shrieking at the top of her lungs. 'Mom, mom, Sam threw Nicky into the side of the coop and she's just dead and she's not moving and there are bubbles coming out of her nose and SAM KILLED NICKY and I didn't do anything and MOM NICKY ISN'T MOVING!!!!' (Yes, she said it all one sentence like that, and actually there were no spaces between the words.)

Was the chicken's welfare my first thought? Was I concerned about the psychological state of my son? Sadly enough, no. The first thing that came into my head was, 'Aw, crap. I'm going to have to explain to John how his favorite chicken died on my watch!'

So I went out to check on the chicken. Sam was standing there crying, partly our of guilt and partly out of fear. (As it turns out, he just wanted to see the chicken fly, which is admittedly very very funny, and ended up pulling a Lenny; he just didn't realize his own strength.) Nicky was indeed lying on the ground, with bubbles coming out of his nose, not moving. I picked him up and he started to move a few seconds later; in a few minutes he seemed fine, if not a little shell shocked. We had a long talk with Sam about having respect for all of God's creatures We really didn't give it much thought after that.

About a week ago, my handsome husband came up to me and said, 'Babe, I think there's something wrong with Nicky. He acts really strange!' He went on to tell me some of the peculiar things Nicky does. He likes to run off on his own, which chickens don't do, and he gets left behind by the rest of the flock on a regular basis. It isn't uncommon to walk out on the porch and find Nicky perched on the doormat, making little squawking noises because he's lost the rest of the chickens. When we go out to feed the flock some raisins (it's like chicken crack, I'm telling you!! They love it, and that's what we've used to train them to come when we call them), Nicky will often just sit there and look at the raisin, and one of the girls will swoop in under him and eat it before he can. He's easier to catch, and just gets confused. Sometimes he'll stand just outside the chicken yard, squawking at the other chickens who are inside the yard eating all the food, while he's standing two feet from the open gate and is perfectly capable of flying over the very low fence. And sometimes, when all the others are eating birdseed that's spilled on the ground, Nicky just plops down in the middle of it all and stretches out. And he's never crowed!

We think he suffered some brain trauma when he got knocked out, and now he's retarded. Slow and special, mentally disabled, stoopid, whatever you want to call it. He's very, very sweet, though. Very gentle, not at all like a normal rooster. We may be able to keep both of them!!

Ladies and gentlemen, my retarded chicken, Nicky:


That's Nicky eating raisins out of my hand. He loves me. Now, he runs up to me and jumps on my toes.

And here's Sam and his very blond cousin, Mary Jane, harassing ... er, I mean holding some of the chickens.

Sam has Zsa Zsa and Thelma, and Mary Jane has Louise. Thelma is a little bit hateful. She comes up and pecks on my toes if I stand too close to her for too long. Eh, whatcha gonna do?

My Slow and Special Chicken

Check the post above to see what I wrote ... I'm having tech issues this morning, and you should be able to see the pics now!

my family is whole again

Yay!! My babies are back!! My very brave and wonderful mom took all three kids over the weekend. She drove up Friday morning, and I just met her this morning in Columbus to get the kids back. It was the most wonderful and relaxing weekend I've had in a while.

On Friday, John and I just kind of vegged. I took a peaceful and uninterrupted nap. John mowed the lawn. I straightened up the house. Then I made seared Coho salmon with a ginger-lime and soy marinade, with sautéed veggies, over steamed brown rice. It turned out delicious! Supper was out on the deck, because the weather has been hot during the day, but not humid, so the evening have been really pleasant. We were able to have a fire in the fire pit once the sun went down, and we just sat outside and had a few beers and talked for over two hours. Then we watched a movie.

I woke up at my normal time (around 5:45) Saturday, had quiet time, and got quite a few things done. Then I had a very leisurely cup of coffee and spent some time in prayer. I made scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast after John got up, then started outside on my garden. Out of all that stuff I planted a while back, only the garlic and snap peas made it. So I tilled all the rest of the area up, spread more compost, and planted spinach, swiss chard, a new kind of lettuce, and broccoli. I was very hot and tired when I was done!

John was doing a car wash with some of the employees for the St Jude's event they do each year, and I had agreed to pick up pizza and bring it to them. Then I got stuck at the car wash, helping to wash cars. In my jeans. With no sunblock. I was there for about 2 1/2 hours, and could barely walk when I got home, I was so tired and sunburned. For those of you who don't know, I avoid the sun like a vampire. I make sure that I have on a big hat and am in the shade, and I try not to be outside when the sun is at its strongest. I completely fried yesterday!!

I got home and just laid on the couch for about two hours, napping mostly, then watched the Ugly Betty marathon and did lots and lots of laundry. I got the 'problem corner' of my room cleaned out, and started on my closet. John didn't get home till around 8, and he was waaaay worse off than I was. He ended up very dehydrated and sunburned on the back of his neck and his arms, and was asleep on the couch before 9. He slept for 11 hours, and really needed it! I, on the other hand, only got 9 hours of sleep, and was up really early again this morning.

It was so nice to have a weekend off, but I missed the kids a lot. I'm so glad to have them back, and I can't wait for tomorrow evening when all 5 of us can have supper together.

Aww!

To all the lovely women who left comments on my last post, thank you so much!! Y'all totally made my day. Evening. Night. It's 10:30, past my bedtime. Y'all made my night. :) It's nice to know that I'm not the only one who sometimes has issues, know what I mean?

Today, we had school, did some housework, played outside, worked a little in what's left of the garden, took a meal to Mr McCormick, and visited with him for a while, got caught in a freak rainstorm, had supper, and watched Dirty Jobs. It's a hard, hard life we lead, I know.

This week's Bible verse is Proverbs 10:1 'A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is the grief of his mother.' Hmm, ill-behaved and foolish children won't really make John look bad, they'll make moi look bad. Not the top reason to train up my children, but not a bad motivator!!!

Retarded rooster post tomorrow, with pics. I promise!!

A Few Ramblings

I've been very pensive this morning ... or reflective might be a better word, I guess.

My husband. Honestly, my life revolves around him. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love it. I love him. I love him more than my house, more than my kids, more than my family and friends. He is a good man, and has earned every single ounce of love that I have for him. He is fair, and honest, and loving, and gentle, thoughtful, strong, sweet, incredibly handsome, tall, creative, hardworking, supportive, incredibly funny, easygoing, somewhat antisocial, considerate, very cute, a good kisser, and really good at ... um ... darts (oops, that one almost got away from me! See, just the thought of that man distracts me ...). He is an amazing father, and he gives me some awfully cute babies.

He doesn't ever cook if I'm home and physically able to make lunch or supper, but he works in a restaurant. He's there for 10-12 hours every day. I'm not going to ask him to come home and cook after that! But he does enjoy everything I make (we won't bring up the black-eyed peas, though), and when I need a night off, he is more than willing to bring food home from Chili's. Not so much a treat for him, but he knows that when I get to the point where I'm asking him to bring food, I truly need a break.

I have a secret that will make y'all ladies jealous: I don't make my bed. Ever. I wash the sheets, and put the clean ones back on, but I don't make my bed in the mornings. I get up every day at 5:30 or 6, and John always sleeps later than that. Before he washes his face, changes clothes, takes a shower, or has coffee, he makes the bed. How lucky am I??

He never begrudges me time by myself. When I told him about Girls' Weekend, he was excited for me. The only requests he made were1) that we not wander around downtown after dark, and 2) that I leave a written schedule for what kid eats what foods at what times, and who naps when. How cute! He is the one who has encouraged me to stick with my book club, even though I have to drive an hour (if not more) to get there.

Did I mention that he is a wonderful father? He'll leave the house at 7:10, get home at 6:30, and play baseball with the kids for 20 minutes while I finish getting supper on the table. He won't leave without telling everyone (who is awake) goodbye, especially the baby.

Sometimes he comes home late. Sometimes he comes home in a bad mood mood, or comes home and mentally brings his job with him. Those nights are less pleasant for me. But you know what? He always comes home. Each and every single night, that is a worry I don't have, that a lot of other women do have. I never, ever doubt that my husband will be there when I wake up.

He loves the Lord. He is fairly silent about his faith, but it is there, it is real, and it is strong. He is fairly silent about a lot of things. He doesn't talk about his love for me every often, but I have never for a second had cause to doubt how big and strong it is.

He loves me. He could have nothing else going for me, and that would be enough. He loves me for who I am; stretch marked, much too talkative, slightly irrational, flawed me. That by itself makes a person rather attractive!!

I know I am Biblically commanded to honor and respect him, and even if he did none of the things above, I would. But I have to tell you, he sure does make it pretty easy for me!

Why am I posting what should be titled, 'Why My Husband Is The Best Ever'? Because I was so mad at him at one point last week that I couldn't even form words. I don't know when I've ever been so mad. And when I get upset, I start thinking about me. Me, I, me, I, me. Why would he be that way toward me? I am so mad at him. He can't talk like that to me. I work so hard for him. He can't treat me like that. I deserve to be spoken to in a better way. And so on and so forth.

Pride is a great feeling, isn't it? It makes us talk kindly, treat others with respect, put the wants and needs of others first, and generally act in a way that glorifies the Father. Oh, no. Wait. It does the exact opposite of all those things. And I was so full of pride that day. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

I was in a funk for a while. To snap myself out, I started thinking about just how amazing John is. And as I write this down, this list that only begins to cover the gift that God has given me in the form of my husband, I'm wondering why I was ever upset in the first place, because who could be mad at such a great person? The Lord has blessed me so many time over, and I was upset because two little comments?? It's not like he accused me of being fat, or being a bad mother. So now I'm going to plan out his fav supper, and plan my conversation that starts with me apologizing for being a total brat, and moves on to asking if we can just talk to each other before things get to the point they were at, and hopefully ends with a great round of ... uh ... darts. Seriously.

I think I'll even shave my legs this afternoon. It always helps my darts game. :)

and ...

And my weekend with Margaret and Sarah was amazing. More on that later, when Sarah emails me the pictures ... because even though I took my camera with me, I left it in the car and forgot to take pictures ... Yeah, I'm that person.

Supper Swapping

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

It's brilliant! I love it!! I hope I can get a group out here together to try it!!!!

http://www.trishberg.com/html/supperswapping.html

And this could easily be adapted for all kinds of different groups. Oooh, I'm so excited! I have to go email my friends right now ...

My poor baby!!

The baby has a cold. Or allergies. Either way, he's been sneezing his head off for the last 24 hours, and has been really cranky, with a stuffy nose. I'm hoping it's a cold, because I really don't want to deal with this every time a northern blows in (even a weak little one like the one that came in a few days ago!).

So my post about Nikki will have to wait, because I David woke up 5 times between 10:30 and 5:15, and since John and Sam are out of town, I was up with him every single time.

I will say this. I had a lot of snuggle time with him last night, which I don't get much of because he's getting so much older. I think it made me want another baby even more, if that's possible!! I mean, think about it. David I pretty much out of the cuddle stage. I'm pretty sure he'll be walking in about a month. Even if we did start trying to get pregnant, it would probably be a few months. So that's at least a year before I would have the new little one in my arms. David would be two by them!! Aww, I have to not think about him being two. I don't even like to think about him turning one in a few weeks ...

xxSiiiighxx I really want another baby ...

Coming soon ...

A post about Nikki, my retarded chicken. As in, brain-damaged retarded. Seriously.

My handsome husband and Sam left a little while ago to go to Dale's house for the night out in Katy; I miss them already!! They'll be back tomorrow morning, just in time for me to give everyone a kiss and leave for Houston, because MARGARET AND SARAH AND I ARE HAVING A GIRLS' WEEKEND!!!!! We're staying at the Hilton Americas, and having dinner and drinks out (although we have absolutely no idea where yet ...), and then doing brunch. Imagine, me!! Doing brunch!! I don't do things like brunch. It's all very wild and crazy. And I'm going to wear my fab black skirt and heels and I may even paint my nails. And wear lipstick and mascara. That's right, you heard me. :)

I am so freakin' excited that I don't know what to do with myself. I guess I'll try to get some retarded chicken pictures to go along with the next post.

School!

Well, we officially started school last Monday, on John's 38th birthday. How old!!!! :) Everything has been going wonderfully! This year, we're doing handwriting, reading/phonics, very simply math, telling time, Spanish, geography, computer skills, and sign language. And the usual nature studies in science, along with Bible study and scripture memorization. I know it sounds like a lot, but we don't do everything (except Bible studies and scripture, and nature) every day.

Spanish consists of me getting out the Spanish book, pointing to things, and teaching the kids what the object is in Spanish. Geography is sitting in front of our two huge maps upstairs (US and world) and just learning the names of states and countries. Sam has already memorized the states that border Texas, along with five or six others!

For reading, sign language, and telling time, we have a set curriculum we follow; for everything else, we just wing it. Some people call it 'unschooling,' but I call it 'who wants to help me cook?'

Kids pick up things at an amazing rate. They are always learning, whether I think I'm actively teaching them or not! A lot of the math that they know has been picked up in my kitchen, at the grocery store, and at the farmer's market. They know that a tablespoon is bigger than a teaspoon, and that two sticks of butter equals one cup. We always try to have 8 frozen pizzas in the freezer when we get home from the store, so if we have one left, we only need to buy 7 for that trip. $.50 is two quarters, and if I give them a five-dollar bill to buy two treats, they will get $3 back, because each cookie or brownie costs a dollar and they each got a treat.

We read a chapter from Proverbs over breakfast, and a chapter from Psalms at most lunches. We memorize one verse each week, and review the verses monthly. Nature and science comes from cooking ('Evie, where does flour come from?' 'Wheat.' 'And who gave us wheat?' 'God did!') ('What happens when we open an egg? When we scramble and cook it? When we boil it?') and just being outside ('What kind of flower is that? What kind of tree is that? Where are the seeds on that tree? Why do tomatoes and green beans and pepper have flowers? What do bees do?) ('Let's catch that bug and feed him to the spider. What is the spider doing? Why?).

We decided to get chickens because, among other reasons, it is a wonderful learning experience for the kids. They have seen the chickens grow from chicks to little chickens, and they should start laying in the next 2-3 months. What a wonderful way to learn about where your food come from! Also, the kids are responsible for the chickens, so they're learning how to take care of their pets.

Computer skills involves opening Word, setting the letter size to about16, and letting the kids type. They're already getting pretty good with knowing where the letters are and using the mouse. I usually let one kid type while I play with the other two in the loft; they are never left alone with the computer, even for me to grab something out of the other room. This is something that will not change, even as they get older.

At night, we read at least one chapter out of whatever book we're reading right before bed, so they are learning several things (how to be still, how to exercise self control and be quiet, reading comprehension, vocabulary, sentence structure, etc ...). I think some parents don't realize just how valuable it is to read out loud to their kids!!

It's all a lot of fun. As I write this, it sounds like we do a lot; we really don't! We spend maybe an hour at the table each day, and the rest of 'school' is just going about everyday life and making the kids are not just included, but an active part of everything I do. Makes for a much better day, all the way around. Their attitudes are better, I'm happier, they aren't arguing and fighting (they don't have time, between school and chores, lol!), and they're learning in the process. I love doing school at home, because we acknowledge God in every aspect of what we do. Without Him, we would have no books, no words, no chickens, spiders, or bugs, no flowers or food, no math or art ... we wouldn't have anything!!

This rain is killing me!!

Ok, so there are many, many, many beneficial things about all the rain we've had this summer.

*We haven't had to leave the house because of fires a single time, which is three times less than last summer.
*We've had to water our lawn once this year.
*All the lakes are up, so I don't have to worry about water not coming out of my faucet one day.
*Everything is green and beautiful and lovely and it makes my heart happy to drive out here in the country because of all the flowers.
*The temps have been amazing!! We didn't even hit 95 until the middle of August, compared with last year, when we hit 95 for the first time in April.
*Actually, we haven't even hit 100 out here.

But there are other things about the rain that I'm not crazy about ...

*I planted 9 different 'crops' this summer, and only two of them did well. My garlic, onions, peppers, swiss chard, spinach, and Asian greens either were washed away or rotted in the ground.
*Out of 15 tomato plants, only 5 ended up producing tomatoes, and even those were less-than-stellar producers.
*I was very excited about my fall garden, and planted snap peas, swiss chard, carrots, garlic, spinach, and snap peas. Everything started to come up beautifully, and I was really looking forward to all the things I could make form my own garden. Then came the rain ... and everything but the snap peas have started to die!!

It's all very depressing. And yes, I know, too much rain is a good problem to have (at least for us, because we live in the middle of a giant sandbox, and it doesn't flood out here). It just makes me sad to see so much of my garden not make it, when I've put so much work into it. '

Oh, well. There's always next year. And the cooler temps really have been nice ...

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

Made some changes to the links over on the right. Added a few new gals, Amy, Ree, and Jesnicole, and took out some old and/or defunct links. Please play around and visit the sites I love!!

Mangosteen? Mango-what??

So, a while back I mentioned that I was trying something new, and I'm ready to share.

I get the magazine Above Rubies (check out my links to the right ... it works now, I just tried it!), and Nancy Campbell, the amazing woman who puts the whole show together, is always giving health tips. She has traveled to SE Asia with her husband to do missions work, and fell in love with the fruit mangosteen (not related to the mango ...). It isn't really available here in the US, which is a shame, because the health benefits are amazing. She was very excited to see a little while ago that a man in Canada has come up with a way to make a juice out of the fruit and rind, so you get the goodness of the whole fruit.

The juice is sold under the name XanGo. I decided to give it a try, and ohmygoodness, I just love it!! The juice is aprox 85% mangosteen, with a few other fruits (blueberry, raspberry, pear, etc) added to smooth the taste. The taste is wonderful, by the way!! The juice is packed with antioxidants, and is good for a variety of other things. It is also a known anti-inflammatory. I have seen a jump in my energy, and my knees haven't been bothering me like they normally do.

Hello, I have three kids under 6. I'll do just about anything to help my energy!!

The juice isn't cheap; it retails for around $40 per bottle. Each bottle is 750mL, the size of a normal bottle of wine. After trying and loving the juice, I went ahead and signed up to be a distributor, so I get a discount. I originally signed up just for the discount, but have decided to start looking into the business side, too. The company, also called XanGo, is a network marketing company, kind of like Avon or Pampered Chef. Buuuuut ... unlike those companies, you don't have to throw the parties!! (I mean, you can, but you don't have to!) I've been wanting something I can do from home, that will still allow me to homeschool and basically not change my routine at all. I'm really excited!

And have I mentioned how much I loooove this juice?? :) Cause I do! Now, I have to say, not everyone loves it like I love it. My mom tried it and never saw any changes (but she only tried one bottle). But my friend Kristie has been taking it since I have, and she's completely addicted, too.

If you're interested in something you can do from home and bring in a few extra dollars (you probably won't get rich anytime soon unless you're willing to work at it like a full time job), this could totally be for you. Let me now if you have any questions ... I'd love to answer them.