Music, music, music

I love music. It makes my world go 'round. It soothes my heart, lightens my mood, and often (to the chagrin of my dearest husband) makes me dance. Poorly. I like good music (have you heard Take the Skinheads Bowling by Cracker? It's awesome!), and I'll occasionally admit that I love really bad music, too.

I love cheesy Christian music, and I love music from the late 60's and early 70's, and I love love love punk (Sex Pistols and Dead Kennedys all the way, man), and I love dance music, and I love classical music, and I love country music (I was crushed in late elementary school when I figured out that I wouldn't be able to marry Garth Brooks. Seriously. Crushed.), and I loves me some bands with great hair (hello, Guns n' Roses and Black Sabbath!), and I love ska (Losing Streak by Less Than Jake is still one of my top 10 fav albums, as is The Fury of the Aquabats, by The Aquabats), and have I mentioned how much I love music?

So I was playing on YouTube yesterday; I decided I wanted some background music while I was checking my email and reading blogs working. I love the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Love them. LOVE. THEM. Listening to them sing Battle Hymn of the Republic can make me cry every single time I listen to it. And so can their rendition of Climb Ev'ry Mountain. And I came across this, which is one of my favorite hymns (did I mention hymns in my list of music I love? Because I love hymns, too!).

Be Still My Soul, by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir

So go on over and listen. Be prepared to weep. Then everyone get together, and pool your money, and send me to see these guys live, please!!

Changes

Sorry, people. After the two horrible anonymous comments I just deleted (and I pretty much never delete anything; never had any need to), no more anon comments. Go away. I'm not going to be won over to your side by being called a racist, ignorant, being accused of brainwashing my children, or by you calling my friend a broodmare. Seriously.

But way to pay attention when your mom taught you how to win friends and influence people. She must be really, really proud of you. Congratulations.

10 Things

About me. Maybe this is news to you, or maybe it isn't.

Here we go.

1. I hate people touching my feet. I tend to freak out and accidentally kick. Hard. I don't have a problem with feet (others' feet), but heaven help the person who gets too close to mine.

2. I cannot help myself, but I love to smell babies. If you let me hold your baby, and it looks like I'm snorting crack off the top of their head, I promise, your baby is not in danger. I am very, very good with babies. I just obsessively smell them.

3. I am extremely afraid of the dark.

4. I can handle mice, snakes, spiders of all sizes, bugs, lizards and skinks, and just about anything else you can throw my way. But if I see a cockroach, I will be reduced to a small, crying infant, curled int he corner in the fetal position, sucking my thumb.

5. I am a very good shot with my .410 and my .22 rifle.

6. I probably get this from my mother, Annie Oakley, who used to be in shooting competitions, and held her own quite well.

7. There are two kinds of nap people: people who can take a 10-minute nap and be totally refreshed, like my stoopid wonderful husband, and people who cannot sleep less than 1 hour to feel rested. I am in the second category.

8. I form strange friendships online, almost overnight. And I'm ok with that.

9. My best friend ever just moved to Cincinnati, and I miss her. A lot. And she's only been up there for like 15 hours at this point.

10. I painted my toenails for the first time in months last week, and I keep getting a little surprised when I look at my toes, because I'm not used to seeing them painted. How lame am I?

Have a great weekend!

Would you vote, part 2- an open letter

To whom it may concern:

Well, thank you to all the people the person who left me all the sweet comments. This is why I moderate my comments, by the way. I approved every single one, with the exception of the one left by 'palin is a lesbian' who said, and I quote, 'f*ck you.' Please click here and read what everyone this person wrote.

How do I know it was one person who left all the comments (with the exception of the first three, left by friends of mine)? Well, for one thing, not a single comment was made with a blog address to track back to. Way to show some balls there, buddy. Also, I have StatCounter, and every comment was left today, Tuesday, October 21. One after the other. And according to StatCounter, as of 11:15 this morning, I have had TWO unique visitors. TWO. That really doesn't seem like enough to garner 43 comments from 43 people. Or even 23 people. Or, hell, even 3 people.

"Those of you who have taken the time to read the facts on this matter, thank you. Those of you who are making comments based on things that are not true please educate yourself." (about halfway down, at 1:48 am) I MODERATE MY COMMENTS!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE SAYING ON MY BLOG, UNLESS YOU'RE THE ONE LEAVING EVERY SINGLE COMMENT. But it was sweet of you to call me the moron, and ignorant. Let's think about that one for a minute or two.

And another thing. And let me make sure I'm very, very clear when I say this, so that there's no confusion whatsoever. I WOULD NOT VOTE FOR SEN. OBAMA EVEN IF HE WAS THE MOST PRO-LIFE OF ALL PRO-LIFE PEOPLE. This article was a drop in the bucket for me, and not one that changed my thinking one way or another. But allow me to specifically address some of the comments.

If you think I'm an ignorant Texan, I'm ok with that. At least I have the common sense to think my ideas through, and I have the decency and manners to never be so hateful to someone I've never even met. My momma raised me better than that. And you, apparently.

Yes, I care that Guns Stop A Beating Heart. I own three. I want a new one for Christmas. The only hearts they've ever stopped from beating are the raccoons who try and eat my chickens, some doves when I was younger, and the tin cans we hang on strings. And if you try getting into my house without my consent, we'll see how well your heart is beating when the dust clears.

I'm not saying I agree with 100% of the views of the author of the article. If she opposes condoms in Africa, I don't agree with her. But I posted one article, not her entire philosophy or life story.

Someone who is anti-abortion (or PRO-LIFE) is not necessarily anti-contraception. But we oppose abortion as contraception, that's for sure. I'm just saying. I have no problems with condoms, Viagra, getting one's tubes tied, or limiting your family size. That's your business, not mine. But I don't think you should be able to take a life to do so, not when there's so many people desperate to get a baby who just can't.

Another good one: "Repubs don't care about babies." No, no, you're right. That's why I thought my heart was breaking in two and couldn't catch my breath for days when this happened. It was probably because I was so relieved not to have another burden added to my family.

So, honey? Yeah, you who left all the comments, I'm sorry you didn't leave me with a way to write back to you. Good luck growing a pair soon!

xoxo,
~Brea

Sleeping Outside

It's all the rage. All the cool kids are doing it. Haven't you heard?

John set up a ginormous tent out front a few days ago, and my older kids have pretty much moved outside, coming in only to seek food, occasional drink, and PBS Kids for Curious George. We've been reading outside, taking naps outside, doing school outside, eating lunch outside, playing outside, and they've been sleeping outside at night. I won't let them eat near the tent, much to their chagrin, because we have very crafty raccoons (all names Billy), and now that the raccoons can't get eat my chicks' toes through the bottom of the coop anymore, I'm convinced they would try to get into the tent and eat my children. They're some big stinkin' raccoons!!

John's going to camp out with the kids tonight, and I might give into Sam's begging and let David sleep out there with them. Imagine, an entire house to myself!! Not that I'll be able to throw a keg party or anything, seeing how they'll all be 30 feet from my front door, but still ...

I. Hate. Technology.

Seriously. I hate it. I mean, yeah, it really makes my life easy and fun at times (she writes on her computer as she sits in her air conditioned house, drink coffee made in an electric coffee maker and heated in the microwave, eating cake baked in a toaster oven!). Ok, I'm not really talking about that kind of technology. Electricity? Bring it on! DVD's? Love 'em! Remote controlled cars? Yes, please!

No, I'm talking about my/our dependence on communication devices! I mean, if we didn't have caller ID, would the world end? (I don't have caller ID on my land line, and pretty much everyone I know thinks I live in the stone age.) If we go to work, or to the store, and we forget the cell phone, will the sky start falling? What if the email goes out for a few hours? Would your head explode?

I hate that feeling--like I'm tied to my technology. John often refers to his cell as his e-leash.

We have really spotty cable out here. We're literally at the end of the cable line. The people that live across the street from us can't get cable access, unless they'd be willing to run a 100-ft cable to their house. My internet only works about 2/3 of the time. Do I pay 2/3 of my internet bill? No, I don't. I don't like my cable company, but I don't have an alternative. They're rude when I call, and unhelpful, and try to convince me that the call center is in the United States, when I've never been able to understand a single person I've talked to without asking them to repeat what they said 3 times. But I digress.

I've become able to function without internet for a few days at a time. It used to drive me completely insane, but I've learned to live with it. I am a reasonable, thinking human being. I can cope with whatever life throws my way!

That being said ...

My cell phone died.

I can't go up to the AT&T store until Thursday at the earliest.

It's killing me.

I have no cell phone.

My life, as I know it to be, is over.

Here's a list of people I can't call:
Sarah
Margaret
my mom
Lyndsey
Florence
my dad
Wesley (my brother)
John's cell phone
my MIL
all my grandparents except the one who lives in Austin
and about a bazillion other people I know who don't have 512 area codes

I had no desire to call most of those people yesterday morning. But then my phone died. And now that I know that I can't call them, I really, really, really, really, really want to.

I'm just saying.

I hate technology. But only because I love it so much.

5, 5, 5, 5, 5 ...

I like Ryan over at This Is REVERB . He's less than a year older than me. He has absolutely no idea who I am; I lurk at his site. He's a pastor with lots of tattoos. I have a secret thing for tattoos, but please don't tell my husband. He's got a precious daughter whose cheeks I want to kiss, and I totally want to be friends with his wife. He lives in a ridiculous other country that's not Texas Cincinnati, but I don't hold it against him too much. Ryan did a post on 5's, and since I've got so many things to say I can't pick just one or two or seven nothing to report, I thought I'd steal his lovely idea. Minus the pictures.

My 5 Favorite Verses (in random order)
1. Galatians 6:9 Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
2. Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.
3. Psalm 30:5b Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.
4. Proverbs 18:24 A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
5. Matthew 5:3-16 the Beatitudes, and then some

My 5 Favorite IRL, Non-Family Friends
1. Sarah
2. Lyndsey
3. Margaret
4. Kristie
5. my book club gals

My 5 Favorite Blogs
1. Farm Fresh
2. Go Fug Yourself
3. Confessions of a Pioneer Woman
4. Amy's Humble Musings
5. This Is REVERB

My 5 Favorite Places
1. My front porch in the morning, watching the sunrise peek over the trees.
2. The spot on my husband's chest where my head rests when I hug him or when I lay down.
3. The Brazos River where my grandparents live, where we used to set trot lines and fish crawl through barbed wire and swim and ruin all our clothes in the red clay.
4. The nursery in our church, where I get to watch babies during Sunday School and chat with Pace and talk politics and borrow books from Evan.
5. Starbucks. (Stop judging me. I freakin' love Starbucks, people. I hardly ever go there, because I can't justify the cost, but I kind of want to move in and drink Pumpkin Spice Lattes all day long.)

My 5 Favorite Things To Cook
1. Pumpkin Bread
2. Swiss Chard Over Pasta
3. Chocolate Cheesecake Muffins
4. Bread
5. Anything with lots and lots and lots of bell peppers.

(I really, really miss my oven. I've having baking withdrawals. I've waited months and months fro fresh pumpkin, so I can make pumpkin muffins, and they're finally in season, and I can't make pumpkin muffins now!!!!!!)

So there's my 5 by 5. What are your favorite things?

The Rules

Check out this link. It lists one family's half-joking rules for marriage. Totally safe read, even with little ones peeking over your shoulder. :)

The Rules

my Lone Star boy

Well, we're back. We've been back for a week. And I haven't updated. Sorry!

The trip to Corpus went as well as can be expected. I didn't have to go to the beach (YAY!!), and the aquarium and the USS Lexington (an aircraft carrier that's been turned into a kind of museum) were awesome. So. That's all I have to report from the trip.

And this week. has. been. insane!! My oven went out a few days ago, and it's probably going to cost me somewhere in the neighborhood of $5000 to replace it. $300 for the actual oven, and $4700 for the rest of the kitchen that'll be remodeled. I'm very, very nervous, and incredibly excited at the same time. I've not been crazy about my kitchen since we've moved in, and we've been planning on remodeling before we move (probably in 3-4 years), but this is just a little sooner than expected!

The weather here has been absolutely wonderful. We could really use some rain (I think we're something like 20 inches under the average amount), but we've practically been living outside. I don't think we've been higher than 92 in the last two weeks, and the nights have been getting in the low 60's/high 50's. You can all laugh at me, but it's like winter here! :) Not really, but it's been awfully nice.

And last week, Sam got out of bed and went outside to bring the newspaper in for John. He went out wearing a t-shirts and no pants. Underwear but no pants. (Look, we live in the country. We can get away with this kind of thing, ok? Just be glad he was wearing any clothes at all.) It was 62 out. I know, because this comment prompted me to look and make note of the temp. He ran back inside, shivering and telling me he was freezing cold. Then he asked me the question. The one that proved something to me.

"Mom, do you think it's going to snow today? Because it feels like it's cold enough for snow."

It was at that exact moment that I knew.

We're from Texas. There's just no two ways about it.

and we're off!

It's almost 6 on Saturday morning as I type this. I was up early this morning, at ten after five. Luckily, I was wise and went to bed early last night OK, I'm a moron, and didn't get to bed until almost one. Helloooooooo, coffee!!!

I'll be leaving in about two hours to take the chicks (and various 'thank you' goodies) over th Kristie's house. God bless that family; what wonderful friends they are to have!! I'll head back home after that, to load up the van and collect my family. Luckily, we'll only be gone for two nights, and David doesn't require near as much stuff as he used to when it comes to traveling, so there's not too much to load.

We'll head over to Enterprise to pick up the car we're renting for the trip, because even though we took the van in on Tuesday and thought the a/c was fixed ... it's not. So they'll work on it over the weekend (I can think of more pleasant things to do that drive over 12 hours round trip with no a/c in September in Texas!), and hopefully we can pick it back up on Monday afternoon or Tuesday. After we get all our stuff from the van to the rental, we'll be off for the drive down to Corpus Cristie, which should take us about 5 hours, with a few stops factored in.

As much as I enjoy whining, I really am looking forward to this trip. I've been given a pass from getting in the ocean (Brea + the Gulf of Mexico = NOOOO!), and I don't have to go fishing (if I'm going to fish, I want to do it from a river bank, under a tree, with a bell on my line and a good book beside me), and we're planning on going and seeing the aquarium they have down there, and either the aircraft carrier I've been to when I was a wee little tyke, or the battleship. I wish we had time to do both, but we don't. Oh, well.

Please pray that we have a safe trip, that this would be a time of fellowship for our family (I'll explain more on that when we're back), and that our van won't be too durned expensive to fix!

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend. Remember to hug your children more than normal, kiss your husband slightly longer than you'd normally deem appropriate, and call up your friends or family and tell them you love them!! God bless!!

it never rains, but pours

Well, that's not true. It doesn't actually rain here at all. But the weather has been dreamy for this time of year! I haven't had to run my a/c in 3 days. Yeah, buddy!

But anyway. It's been insane as usual around here. Last Friday, we went to the ER (at 6:15 in the morning, may I add!) to get David's stitches taken out of his head wound. He did beautifully; not a single whimper, flinch, or sniffle, and he didn't even try and move the doc's hand.

Yay, David!!

$500 later, we got home. (Why is it so expensive??) Everyone was excited to see how his head was doing, and how he was healing. About 2 hours later, we were all outside, and no one was more happy about that than David. He hadn't been able to be outside all week, and he was delighted to be out there. Until he fell, hit his forehead on the wheelbarrow, and busted about half of his head wound back open.

Bad, bad David.

Blood everywhere, older kids freaking out, John kind of freaking out (if you'll remember, he wasn't here the first time), much running for the first aid kit, and a debate over whether or not to take him back in and get him re-stitched. We decided no to go back to the ER, and rely on butterfly band which has worked pretty well. But still, I spent most of the three days after that keeping him within arm's reach, to 1) keep him from injuring himself again, and 2) keep him from taking the bandages off his head.

Hurricane over the weekend, which meant lots of attempted (and several failed) phone calls. Everyone we know is ok. My mother-in-law, up in The Woodlands, still doesn't have power, and probably won't for at least another week.

Church on Sunday, and John worked Saturday night. We only have one car, and John doesn't go to Sunday School when he works Saturday nights, so here was our routine Sunday: I woke up at 5:15, like always. I had my coffee and quiet time, got all the church clothes ready, got the kids up and made breakfast for everyone as quietly as possible. Brush hair and teeth, dress, and try to be out the door by 9:10, waking John just before we leave so he can start getting ready. Then I have to leave Sunday School early (I work in the nursery with Pace, and we only have 3 babies, one of which is mine) with David and go back and get John. We try to make it back before the service begins, but we usually miss the first song (it's a 40 minute round trip, church to home and back), so Sam and Evie always sit with another family until we get there. This week, John had to be at work around noon, so we bolted out the door as soon as the announcements were over and took him straight to work. The kids and I headed home for lunch, had a lovely afternoon and evening, and went back to pick John up around 10. It was close to 11 before we were home and the kids in bed. Whew!!

Then came Monday. Monday was bad, because my sweet, wonderful, precious dog, Maggie, got run over by the school bus and died. It was an awful afternoon. After being screamed at by my neighbor (no, he wasn't the one who hit the dog; he was just that pissed off at me, I guess), and having Maggie's collar thrown at me, I came inside, told the kids, put on a movie, and promptly threw up. (Not because of how she looked. She looked perfect, like she was asleep. I was that freaked out by everything.) I called my dear friend Becky, who decided that I shouldn't be at the house with the kids by myself with a psychotic neighbor next door, so her family came over to watch the Cowboys game. Did I mention that her husband is a former Marine, current Navy reservist, and a police officer? And that John was at work and not due home for at least a few hours? I was more than ok with them coming over.

Tuesday we got up, picked up a rental car, dropped the van off at the shop to have the a/c fixed, came home, buried Maggie, I ran some errands and had girl time with Evie (and got the first chunk of my Christmas shopping done), we went and picked the van back up, came home, had supper, and I passed out on the couch around 9:30, watching The Best of the Johnny Cash Show, which was amazing, before I fell asleep.

And today, I've cleaned out the chicken coop and made lost of repairs to the year, started clearing my gardens so I can till them tomorrow, and folded lots and lots of laundry.

Tomorrow, we start a new Bible Study at Kristie's house. It's a Beth Moore study. I've never done one before, but they're supposed to be awesome. I'm excited. And tomorrow I start getting ready for our short trip to Corpus Christie, which I'm emphatically not excited about. John's dad has a timeshare or something down there, and we're going Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. I don't like leaving my house, I don't like sharing a room with all three of my noisy-sleeping kids, and i. hate. the. beach. Sand gets in my hair, and in my clothes, and in my car, and in places that sand has no right being. I'm just saying. And I really hate going places on weekends, because then there's other people out, too, and I just don't like other people. Except you, of course. :)

I know, I know. I'm just whining and trying to gain sympathy at this point. (Is it working? Do you feel ever so sorry for me yet???) Anyway ...

I'm awfully tired. If someone could come body-snatch me for a day or two, and I could just nap, that'd be great ...

Would you vote for him after reading this?

Wow. I'm not one to post a ton of political stuff on my site, but I came across this article from July 19, 2006 on WorldNetDaily.com this morning. It truly scares me.

Why Jesus Would Not Vote For Barack Obama

What the hell is wrong with some people? Seriously!

hurricanes and other ramblings

As you know (or maybe you don't, in which case this is new to you), I'm from the Houston area. Katy, just went of Houston on I-10, to be exact. And as you also know (and if you don't know this, you probably live in a big hole in the ground, with a rock for a door, in which case you probably don't have interweb access and aren't reading this anyway), a hurricane just hit Galveston and Houston. Hurricane Ike. He wasn't too strong, as hurricanes go, but he was a big ole' boy.

I've been in touch with all the vital friends and family in the area this morning, and while no one seems to have power (thank you, Lord, for cell phones that work without power!), everyone is doing ok. The storm has essentially passed my Katy/West Houston friends and family, and the rest of my peeps are north of Houston, mostly in The Woodlands, and they're doing ok, too.

This is/was a really bad storm. I think it's going to be a lot worse than people previously thought. Please pray for everyone in the path of this thing; they really need it. I heard on the news that 3 million customers are without power, which means over 4.5 million people without power, and it's goin got be weeks before the power is restored everywhere.

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Jessica at Farm Fresh just did this post, and I loved it! So I'm going to be a sheeple and do one, too. :)

For Today ...

Outside my window ... The sky is just turning gray, and it's incredibly still and humid. It's only supposed to be in the upper 90's today, which is such a lovely break from the multiple 100+ days we had most of last month!

I am thinking ... that I need to get my butt of the computer and get in the shower, and wondering why I decided to sleep in and not get up until 5:50 this morning.

From the learning room ... I have no idea. I think we're going to do a lot of baking this afternoon, so we'll get quite a bit of unintentional learning done. :)

I am thankful for ... so many things. My darling husband. My sweet children. My amazing friends. A Savior who loves me no matter how many times I screw up. XanGo, for really helping with John's allergies.

From the kitchen ... Oatmeal for breakfast, yummy chicken salad for lunch, maybe stuffed squash for supper, and lots of baking when I get home this afternoon.

I am wearing ... a towel. I really need to get off the computer and into the shower!

I am reading ... two different books by Elisabeth Elliott. God's Guidance: A Slow and Certain Light, and The Shaping of a Christian Family. Both awesome. You need to get them, today.

I am hoping ... that all the kids wake up with great attitudes, and behave for John today while I'm gone. And that they all have fun together. And that the dentist isn't going to charge me for the cap that popped off.

I am creating ... a very fun and noisy family. And a large new flock of chickens, who will hopefully be nicer than our last ones, and not eat their own eggs. (We got 20 new chicks a few weeks ago, and had 7 out of 11 of the last ones processed.)

I am hearing ... Maggie's tags on her collar jingle as she follows David around, and David playing with a truck and a gun ... both toys, of course!

Around the house ... I'm loving my clean floors downstairs, I need to vacuum upstairs, and I can smell my new candle all the way up here in the loft ... and it isn't even lit right now!!

One of my favorite things ... is my quiet time in the mornings. You might think I'm crazy to get up so early when I don't have to, but nothing beats drinking a hot cup of coffee and reading my Bible on the front porch before the sun has come up. It's lovely, and quiet, and not hot, and almost magical. Seriously.

A few plans for the week ... Dentist and lunch with a friend from book club today. Watching the hurricane to see if we can make it in to the Astros game Friday night (probably not). Preparing for visitors if the hurricane is still headed straight to Houston (probably, but hopefully not!). Kissing my kids and husband many, many times. Taking David at 6 am Friday to have his stitches out. Tying to keep David from pulling out said stitches before the correct time, or smearing dirt in them. Conference calls and work stuff. Homeschooling. Trying to convince my best friend Sarah that she really, really, really needs to come visit me before she moves in the next month or two. Taking care of the chicks and chickens. Playing ball with Maggie. Y'know, all the normal, everyday stuff that makes my life so dang awesome!!

The Simple Woman's Daybook is held over at The Simple Woman every Monday. Go check it out!

one fall, five hours, and seven stitches

Mom, please don't read this. I can't be held responsible for you reading this, seeing the b-l-o-o-d word, fainting at work, hitting your head, having a concussion, and being rushed to the hospital. So just check back in a few days, please, Mother Dearest.

Ok. So. I'm putting some towels away in my bathroom yesterday when I head a fall. One of those falls that you hear, and it makes your heart stop beating for a few seconds and makes you run faster than Jesse Owens. So my heart stopped beating for a few seconds and I ran faster than Jesse Owens to the living room, where David had decided to swan dive into the corner of the fireplace. It only took me a few seconds to get to him, and he looked like an extra from a low-budget horror flick. I'm not kidding. Blood everywhere. By the time I picked him up and got to the kitchen to wipe him off, his face, his shirt, and part of my shirt were covered in blood. I thought maybe he had knocked a tooth out, too, because of all the blood that made it into his mouth, but it was only the spot on his forehead.

I saw he was going to need a stitch or ten, so once the bleeding really stopped, I taped a piece of gauze to his head, got a bag ready (full of books, snacks, and drinks- hey, man, I've got three young kids. I go places prepared!), got everyone changed and found shoes, and went up to the hospital. We made it there about an hour after it happened, which is pretty good, considering all the shoe-finding, and that we live about 20 minutes away. David was totally calm at this point, and jabbering on about whatever it was he was jabbering about.

I got the older kids settled in the lobby, checked in, and saw the triage nurse. There was only one doc in the ER, and there were several people to be seen before us, so I called my dear friend Kristie, who lives five minutes from the hospital, and her husband came and got the older two kids about ten minutes later. Yay!! My kids are absolutely wonderful, but I had no objections whatsoever about not having them there with us.

Have I mentioned that John was at work? Fortunately, he opened yesterday, and was able to get someone to bring him up to the ER as soon as the night manager came in. John got there around 4:30, just as we were going back to be seen by the doc. The doc looked at David's head wound, put a gauze soaked with topical lidocaine over the gash, and told us to wait. David continued to have a wonderful attitude, flirting with the female nurses, the male nurse, the doctor, the admissions girl, and the little old lady who (I think) had a broken wrist.

After the lidocaine worked it's numbing magic, the doc gave him the shots, waited a few minutes longer, and stitched him up. I got to watch the whole thing, and it was awesome. Seriously, I'm not being sarcastic. I'm a freak, and while I can't handle anything resembling a zombie movie, I love to know how the body works, and watch all those gross things doctors do. (My mother would have been on the floor, passed out. I'm not kidding. When I called to tell her where we were, I never got passed 'David cut his head' before she was shrieking and telling me to stop talking. It was a very interesting conversation.)

So we were at the ER for almost five hours total, and my little baby (yes, I know he'll be two in less than a month. No, I will not stop calling him my little baby. You can't make me. So there.) has seven stitches in his forehead. I got home, put the kids to bed, and poured myself a nice, cold, much-deserved beer. I drank most of it, watched some old-school Star Trek with John, and fell asleep on the couch before ten.

We go in on Friday to get the stitches taken out. Did I mention what a little trooper he was? He was amazing!!!!!!!!!! And I don't think he even noticed that he had stitches until he saw himself in the mirror this morning. :)

Conversations with Sarah

(phone rings)

Brea: Sarah!!!!! I'm so glad you made it home from Ohio safely. Tell me again why you're being crazy and moving away from Texas?
Sarah: Because I want to be near my sister and her boys, and help her out because her life is difficult.
B: Oh. Ok. Well, if you're going to be all not selfish, I guess I can't rag on you too much.
S: So how are you?

(rambles fly back and forth about the weekends we had, family issues on both sides, drama or lack thereof, blah, blah, blah)

S: Did I interrupt you from anything? Sorry to be calling so late.
B: No, John and I were watching I Am Legend.

(let me interject something here. Legend is about the sole survivor in New York City after a virus kills everyone, and the dead people turn into zombies. I don't do zombie movies, ever since watching the new Dawn of the Dead, and when I see zombie movies, I don't sleep for at least two weeks. I'm not kidding; zombies completely freak be out!!!!!!!!!)

S: Oh, I'm sorry! I'll let you get back to that.
B: No, it's really ok. We were only like 10 minutes into the movie, and when the phone rang, I shouted, 'O, thank you Jesus,' then glared accusingly at John and said on my way to answer the phone, 'I can't believe you were going to let me watch that!!'
S: Is that the one with Will Smith?
B: Yeah.
S: I remember that. Everyone dies in the end! Even Will Smith!!
B: Yeah, I figured as much. John saw the original and liked it, so he wanted to watch this one, too. I think I might like the old one, but this one is already getting to me.

(we go on to talk about the movie as Sarah remembers it, plot lines, other zombie movies, my issues with zombies, etc.)

B: The thing is, I hate zombie movies. I mean, I really, really hate them. I love scary movies, but I just can't watch zombie movies anymore since Dawn of the Dead. Zombies freak me out.
S: You have to keep reminding yourself that they aren't real.

(at this point, I think, 'Wait, did she just say that to me? Did she seriously just tell me to remember that zombies aren't real?')

B: Wait, did you seriously just tell me to remember that zombies aren't real? Sarah, I know that zombies aren't real!!!!!
S: Oh. Yeah. Sorry about that.

Prayer Request

I would love your prayers right now, wonderful interweb friends. A good friend of mine, my best friend in the whole wide world since sixth grade when we played the oboe together in band what? I wasn't in band. Ok, ok, yes I was. I am a true, double-reed playing nerd at heart. Don't tell anyone.

I digress. My bestest friend ever was diagnosed with cervical cancer this week. It's really early, and I think the outlook is good, but still. When you hear 'you have' and 'cancer' in the same sentence, it's not exactly a perk-up-my-week kind of moment, you know? Please pray for her. She's been one of the most positive influences in my life, and she's a little down right now. Ha. As you can imagine. Pray that she would have peace and calmness, and wisdom for some decisions that she and her husband are in the process of making, and that she would just feel God's loving arms wrapped around her, which I know they are.

I'm off to visit her this afternoon, so I'll be back and try to have a fun post up tomorrow. I keep forgetting that I still haven't introduced y'all to Maggie, my new, sweet, slightly scared (of other people, not me) pound puppy.

An Open Letter

Dear Food:

I don't understand why we have to be like this right now. We've always been on the best of terms! I love you more than I love myself. When someone asks me if I'm hungry, I always reply with a smirk, 'Oh, we must not have met before.' I am always hungry. My husband constantly tells me, 'Baby, you've never met a carb that you didn't like.' And it's true. Except maybe for um well, there's that one thing uh, oh, how about that dish nope, uhh, I love carbs. Oh! Rye bread. Sorry, I don't like rye bread. Whew, glad I got that off my chest. Rye bread, I'm sorry to break it to you like this.

But I digress. Food, we've always had a lovely relationship. I mean, there was that one time in high school, when I flirted with maybe being anorexic or bulimic, because I knew a lot of (in retrospect, really messed up) girls who were doing it. Then I realized that I'd just be hungry, and I was already tiny to begin with, and I didn't want icky teeth and stringy hair, but mostly I didn't want to have to break up with you. Because I love you.

Even my husband has come to terms with the other love in my life. (Sometimes, I tell him that he's my other love, but he knows that I'm probably kidding, unless I'm making coffee cake or pancakes or homemade bread, in which case, like I said, he's come to terms with that.) And don't get me started on butter. The three secrets to French cooking? Butter, butter, and a little more butter. And I don't even eat French food, although I can make a mean crepe.

I have a love affair with fresh vegetables, as you can see evidence of in this recipe. And this one. Don't even get me started on bell peppers, or we'll be here all day. I have gardens that I sometimes view as shrines to you, food. Herbs. Tomatoes. Pumpkins. Oh, pumpkins. This recipe changed my life for the better, and I've never looked back, even though you actually have to peel and grate a pumpkin.

I have a thing for peaches. Especially fresh ones from Fredericksburg. I love books about food. I sit down and read The Joy of Cooking, even though a bunch of the recipes are crap, like it's a novel. Last week, I made 12 coffee cakes. I'm not kidding. I mean, I gave several of them away (just ask Sarah), and some are in my freezer, but did I mention that I made 12 coffee cakes???

And now, I can't have you, dearest Food. I have picked up a light version of John's despicable stomach bug. Eating half a banana, the thing I find most tolerable at the moment, sends me to bed with queasiness for three hours. Those five bites of lasagna I had yesterday evening? I'm still regretting that, and it's 8:30 the next morning.

What have I done to you? Please, just tell me, and I'll apologize and make it up to you. I promise I'll never say whatever it was I said ever again!! Since Friday night, here's what I've eaten (and please bear in mind that it's now Tuesday!): 4 small slices of an amazing pizza from Two Rows; four Rolos; a hot dog; two bananas; five large, ill-advised bites of lasagna.

That's it! This is killing me!! Why can't we all just get along? I'm ready to kiss and make up, Food. I yearn for chicken pot pie, I long for a fresh fruit and yogurt smoothie, I pine for a big steaming bowl of brown rice, I weep for spice cake, my heart breaks for purple hulled peas, and I mourn the fact that I can't eat the pancakes I'm about to make for the rest of my family.

Why, God, why??? How do I fix this? I'm just hungry, and I want to eat without cursing the Food I love 10 minutes later. I'm very happy with my size, I feel no need to change it, and already my stellar boot cut jeans that may have been a tad on the ... uh ... fitted side aren't so fitted anymore. If this continues, I'll have to buy a belt!!!!

So, in closing, my darling Food, please get back to me soon. I miss you like a caged bird misses flight, like a sightless man misses colors, like a broken pen misses the poetry it once wrote. Please, please, let's make up and be friends once more.

Yours always and forever,
and with more love than you can imagine,

~Brea Stewart

Weekends

Holy shark repellent, Batman!! Life is crazy, but great! We've been really busy with the new dog, starting school again, baking, and keeping up with the everyday housework. I keep waiting for things to slow down, but truth be told, I'm happy being busy. It keeps my mind off other things, and makes me feel great being accomplished. Or something like that. :)

Sorry I haven't posted more. Other than work stuff and email, I haven't been on the interweb very much in the last month. I've been lurking around my friends' blogs, but haven't done much blogging myself, obviously.

And now, we're off to Houston!! The kids and I are going to drop John off at a friend's house (we only have one vehicle, and he's going to borrow a car so he can do wild and crazy things like go to work ...) and head to my mom's, stopping on the way to visit my youngest brother at work. I'm going to the Astros game this evening with my two best girlfriends from high school, Sarah and Margret. It'll be our last time to go out together for quite a while, because Sarah is a fool moving to Ohio. Who leaves Texas to go to Ohio? Seriously!! But I really an going to miss her like you don't even know.

Then I've got an awesome XanGo event on Saturday ... So I'll be able to write my whole weekend (except for the drinks after the game, of course!) as a tax deduction!! Woohoo!! My brother and some friends are going to crash here on Saturday night, because they're going tubing in New Braunfels and driving here after. They were really hoping to camp, but since basically all of Texas is under a burn ban, they can't have a fire, and what's the point of camping if you can't have a campfire??

So. What do you have planned over the next few days? I want to hear about it, even if it's not the most exciting weekend you've ever had. :) I hope everyone has an absolutely wonderful weekend!!!!

millions of peaches, peaches for me

I love my husband.

But I love him even more when he isn't sick.

Seriously! It's like having an extra 3 kids!!

But he's doing much better. He walked in the door yesterday evening with a big grin on his face. Immediately suspicious (believe me, I didn't marry a big-ole'-grin kind of guy), I asked him what was going on. He said, 'Oh, nothing. It's jut nice to feel human again.' He did not have a good few days!!

And last weekend, I bought over half a bushel of peaches from the guy at the Farmers' Market ... for only $10!!! That's right, a ginormous cardboard box of fresh Fredericksburg peaches, for just $10. I rule. :) But this is why it pays to know the people who grow your food. I had mentioned to Peachy John (not to be confused with Husband John) a few weeks ago that I love canning food, and having good quality stuff to eat when the fresh food goes out of season. So when I went up there on Friday, he said, 'Hey, I might have something for you! Are you still putting up food?' I told him that I was, and he said, 'Well, I brought a whole box of slightly bruised fruit, and I can't sell it, but I thought you might like it. I'll give it to you for $10.'

I died. Then I came back, shrieking, 'I'll take it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' And when I got home and started looking through the box, I knew Peachy John had been more than fair. Much of the fruit was really great, maybe a slight bruise or imperfection. A few of them ... not so much. I had to throw several to the chickens. They were ok with that. But since peaches turn so quickly, I had to work my butt off this weekend to get everything done. I made about 8 smaller peach cobblers, canned 5 pints of sliced peaches, made 5 pints of peach butter, and made a peach pie. This is after we all (except Sick Husband John) gorged ourselves on fresh peaches out of the box.

I know, I know. It's a hard life, but somebody's gotta do it!!

This goes to reaffirm how good God has been to my family. This might now have been such a big deal to another family, because 99% of the people I know don't can food. They would have turned down this offer. (Then again, I can't sew to save my life, so while being offered a few bolts of pretty cloth might be wonderful to someone else, it wouldn't help moi.) But God always provides; it's just not always in when ways I was expecting or hoping. But the unlooked for blessing can be the best ones, in my opinion!!

And in other news, we've had three recent additions to our family in the last month, so I'll post some pictures tomorrow. It's just hard to get a good snapshot, when they're constantly chasing each other, or running after sticks you throw, or getting distracted by butterflies.

On that note, I have got to gets me a nap!! I haven't been sleeping well lately, and it's not helping my over all, general sweet and pleasant disposition.