BEST LAID PLANS

Oh what a weekend!

Friday night we hung out a neat little local eatery.

Yes it had a cover charge...no there was no karaoke.

Bad mullets and leather pants and lots of laughs but no karaoke.

Due to no karaoke, there were no pictures.

Saturday we went to our first MMA fight (think UFC on a really, really small scale).

The pictures I took did not turn out well at all.

Saw my first broken nose and a kid get knocked out but recover. I think I enjoy the UFC's at my house better. I like the color commentary offered by the guys and the food cooked by HH. His fajitas are way better than overpriced nachos and Frito pies.

There was an unexpected twist in the weekend. We spent Sunday doing this:

Totally not planned! Saw it coming on Saturday and started praying and the Lord was good! The damage was minimal and the floor below is good. So this week I will be putting it back together:)

Side note - I had just mopped this floor on Friday - COMPLETE WASTE OF MY TIME!

If you are in need of a great laugh, read Keri's post on the one of the big issues we women face (no pun intended Keri). It will make you laugh out loud. Unless you name is Hilda :o)

Hope you have a great Monday!

BLINDED

On Friday I mopped the kitchen floor
No small feat on my behalf
MC 1 comes in from school
Goes into the kitchen...

"WHOA! Why does everything look different"

"It's called clean"
Can't really blame him.
It has been a while since he has seen the clean kitchen floor.
Probably blinded by the light...oh no
I hear that tune starting to play in my head
Blinded by the light
...something another....like a runner in the night

Best go before it breaks out into all out song!

OUT OF THE BOX..IN TO THE OCTAGON

Okay this weekend HH & I are going to:
1. a karaoke bar
2. a mixed martial arts fight
Girl dream weekend right?
Definitely out of my box.
I will be taking my camera so be looking for pictures!
Have a great weekend!

MENACE TO SOCIETY

Well, I have been a stay at home mom for 3 full days now. I have learned a few things:

1. These guys are a menace to society. They have no concern for the well being of others. We have a feeder out front and when they are feeling territorial there is no concern for loss or injury. You simply become collateral damage.

2. HH has some new work hours that are a bit tough on both of us. Early to bed early to rise is out motto now, and apparently earlier to rise when it HH's job to pick up the donuts - don't ask:(

3. MC 2 L-O-V-E-S staying home. LOVES it. Could not be happier and that brings me great joy!

4. MC 1 is adjusting to school. He has had some really good days. His teacher is very nice and he likes her a lot.

Other than that it is pretty calm. No stressing out over - get out the door- get out the door- we gotta go! No coming in at 5 exhausted and not even thinking about supper. None of that stress. There are different stresses and new ones each day, but with Christ's help we will thrive!

Of course I don't think that the fact it took me 1/2 the day to realize my pants were on backward really counts as thriving.

To answer your question ...no, I did not fix them. Who can really tell with workouts pants anyway?

Have a great day!

A HUNTING WE WILL GO....

a hunting we will go...

hi-ho-the-dair-e-o...

a hunting we will go.

(May be wrong but my phonics training says it sounds right)

Wanna guess as to what he is doing? Come on - anyone?

He is showing me his bear he just killed.

He posed all by himself.

Would anyone agree with me we watch way too many hunting shows?

Anyone?

When your children know how to pose for a shot like that without you telling them how it is a sign of too much Bone Collector.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy watching Michael Waddell.

I drove to another state with hubs to see Nick Mundt (he does not have his own page - yet).

But when your kids can do this unscripted - it is a sign.

So while we were on our little hunting trip I heard,

"Hey Mom! Look at my deer head!"

and I saw this:

Now I must confess when I first saw this, for a moment, the briefest of moments, I panicked. I thought my stars they have taken down one of HH's mounts from the wall and dragged it up in that tree. What am I going to tell him?

Then I did a quick scan of the surroundings and found the victim -


The Glendale Buck has suffered much for the cause. I mean it is bad enough they stole his horns and HH's regularly puts arrows into his abdomen. But this last injustice may be more than he can bear. Insult to injury, insult to injury.
Notice the Star Wars laser gun in our young hunter's hands? I am confident this was the weapon of choice due to the precision of the removal. See that straight line - only a Star Wars laser gun can do that!

So needless to say it is hunting season around here.

Time for weekend trips, midnight corn runs, trips to the one hour photo lab for picture development. Time for scent free clothes and a dryer that smells like dirt. (Oh in case your spouse does not hunt you CAN buy dryer sheets that smell like dirt. You can even buy scent free toothpaste!)

And I don't want to miss a single moment of my boys enjoying it!

I'LL BE BACK

It is the last official Friday of summer and I have big things planned today!

The exterminator is coming.

Exciting right? I know you are asking yourself how I could pack so much into one day. It is a gift - my time management is exceptional. I can block one hour a day with stuff better than anyone.
Hope you have a great weekend. Pray you are able to worship in the house of the Lord this weekend with family and friends. See you Monday!

MONSTER TRUCKS AND X GAMES

We did not do everything on our list this summer. We never went and stayed at a hotel with a pool. We never went to the zoo. We did not take a single educational field trip like I planned.
We did do some things that were not on the list. We went to a mini- monster truck rally and we went to the local skate park. Here is the proof:)

Man child with his mad skilz!

SAFETY FIRST (Where is P when you need him?)

I have no clue where that stance came from. No one is more shocked to see it than me:)

MUD BOGGIN - or something like that.

Needless to say all my men were plotting how they could participate next year.

Dude get ready cuz it is ON!

I had a picture of the first aid kit that we had to use at the skate park, because we all knew that was inevitable. Alas, I took the picture on a public park table and the graffiti mongrels wrote some very not nice stuff that showed up just in the corner of the pic- so it was a no go. Yes I could have cropped it - but nahhh.

Hope you have a great day!

REALITY BITES

So it's a little after 7 on Wednesday and I need to confess something.

I have failed.

Our "2 week practice run" for school has officially flopped.

I am relishing in the luxury that is the fact I don't have to be walking out the door right this very moment to get the men children to their respective child care providers.

The fact that I will not spend hours today looking over data and color coding numbers (because the process matters) and trying to figure out what I did wrong in getting juniors to take a state test seriously and not be consumed with Prom has motivated me to do nothing but sit right here on my couch and enjoy the fact that I can.

Not to mention the boys have been plotting against me for two weeks with their nightly routines. They are the best tag team sleepers I have ever seen. One night MC 1 can't sleep, next night it is MC 2. I can not tell you the last night HH and slept in the same bed all night long. Even this morning when I arose from the 2 ft. long couch in the boys room, I found HH on the couch in the living room. He did not even know I had left him 4 hours earlier.

Sadly come next week reality will kick in and most likely kick me in the backside.
It is a kick I will gladly take.
Besides I can take a nap in the afternoon.

2 DOWN, 185 TO GO!

This is what happens when MC 2 gets his own straws.

And this is what happens when he finds my purple nail polish.

And I have signed up for 185+ days of this:)

(Actually I may let him start doing mine - he does a much better job!)

WHAT DID I DO?

To back track - so I was looking for a title for Friday's post and I thought

"hey isn't there a song about a peaceful easy feeling?"

"Yeah I think there is. I think it is by the Eagles."

So I googled song lyrics by the Eagles that included the phrase "peaceful easy feeling"
Uhm... the song is called "Peaceful Easy Feeling" by the Eagles.

Rocket science, people, I was destined for rocket science.

Okay so Friday I told you all the things I did not do. I know you were asking yourself all day long -

"What is she doing?"

Well lucky for you I took pics for most of the day.

First I made this:

Eat your heart out P-DUB! (and I say that with all the bravado of a woman who knows she would fall on her knees and weep if she was ever invited to the Lodge, and would enter with the most humility).

Then I refereed this age old battle of the wild:

Then the men children and I went here:

and came home with these:

Then we dined on this:

And that gets us just to lunch. I had pics for the rest of the day, BUT I HATE UPLOADING PICTURES TO BLOGGER! SO, I will recap:

I did laundry

cooked fajitas for supper (homemade pico & all)

bathed the kiddos and off to bed.

Feel better now don't you. You thought I sat around eating bon bons didn't you?

Well I did not!

It was Hershey's Dark Chocolate:)

and YES it is a K-I-N-G size!

PEACEFUL EASY FEELING

I've got a peaceful easy feeling today.
Today I don't go back to work.
Today I don't get everybody up and going and out the door by 7am.
Today I don't drop MC 2 off at daycare for the beginning of a 10 month stay.
Today I don't sit through hours of inservice thinking of all the things I could be doing in my room.
Today I don't give myself multiple pep talks about what the new school year holds.
Today I don't pray that God will use me in the classroom and bring those kids I need to minister to into my life.
Today I don't reunite with friends I have seen on a daily basis (excluding summers) for the last 10 years
Today I don't gather with my peeps at the local Mexican restaurant.
Today I don't do what has been my routine for a decade of my life.
Today I don't fall back into my comfort zone and the safety of what I know.
And today,
I've got a peaceful easy feeling.

WAITING ON FALL

MC 1 & I took a little trip to town the other day to finish up shopping for school supplies. While we out (and MC 2 free) we went to one of our local craft stores. Now I must say Christmas ornaments in August is just really, really wrong. It is as though we skip all the holidays just to get to the one we get stuff on. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas as much as anyone and am looking forward to being able to decorate for it starting December 1st and not December 20th. However, I enjoy Thanksgiving as much, and the onset of fall, and fall fests and harvest festivals and all the goodies that come from September to November. I would hate to miss those.
Okay off the soap box and back to the point....
So while at the craft store I bought these:
and these
and this
Can you tell I am just a tad bit ready for September 1? Why September 1? Because according to our unofficial handbook of decorating that is when I can pull out the fall decor and go to town. Granted it will probably still be 99 degrees with 100% humidity, but it is the mind set people, it's the mindset.
Don't know what I am going to do with any of this. Make a wreath - OBVIOUSLY. Just don't know what kind. So if you have any suggestions I am all ears.
Hope you have a great Thursday!

REDNECK GIRL

This post by Big Mama has sent me back in time. As we speak I am listening to the Bellamy Brothers sing Redneck Girl. Floods of memories of my college days are abounding. Alas (just for you Keri) those days had some good times in them. Also, brought back some memories of childhood. We spent many an hour singing Big Iron and El Paso by Marty Robbins on road trips. My dad can sing with the best of them. Alabama. I think we had every record that they ever put out. We would stack 'em up on the record player and listen away. So, really MC 1 choice to resort to OCD just takes me back to my roots. I think that will be a good thing:) Have a great day!

Ohhhhh.... David Allan Coe just came on - can we say hello Chicken? Love it!

DIAGNOSIS ...OCD

Well I don' t have the medical test to prove it but I am pretty sure MC 1 is OCD...

Obsessive Cowboy Disorder

Remember here when I told you West Texas changes a man. Truer words have never been spoken. How you go from Tony Hawk to Ty Murray in the span of 48 hours in West Texas I do not know, but apparently you do.

MC 1 & HH went to his first kid rodeo Saturday. MC 2 and I stayed home mainly because the thought of taking MC 2 would throw me into hysterics and is a decision that needs to made early so battle and containment plans can be made. This was a short notice deal so we forfeited the trip.

MC 1 had a blast. He rode barrels, he roped a goat, he penned steers, he busted some mutton! (Don't know what mutton bustin is? Ride a sheep like it was a bucking bull - you just busted some mutton)

Here is a pic of him in his get up:

Told me I needed to have that very same outfit cleaned by December because that is when he would need it again.

A cowboy hat was required and PaPa came through. We have worn it E-V-E-R-Y day and

E-V-E-R-Y- where. Here is us trying to get ready to leave Sunday.

Nice over the ear phones. And our musical selection?

Our grandfathers would be proud.

AND apparently OCD is contagious because MC 2 picked this to wear:

(those are HH new drums.)

At least until MC 1 got it wet, the one thing MC 2 CAN NOT tolerate! So mandatory change in clothing required.

Have not broken the news to MC 1 that he can't wear his boots to school.

Pretty sure flood works will open.

Just as long as he does not get it on MC 2 clothes:)

Hope you guys had a great weekend!

JONAS BROTHERS... JONAS COUSINS

So spent the evening with MC 1 last night. HH was out for business and MC 2 was at his grandmothers. We ate dinner, finished up VBS, bought the stuff to make smores and came on home. He told me we could go camping because we had ALL we need, we have the stuff for smores.
Due to the fact that HH would never watch J- Bros, I allowed MC 1 to watch it last night. He talked the entire time, and you want to know what the topic was -- fashion!
Who was wearing cowboy boots and who wasn't. It was a major concern for him. See - we are all out cowboy now. So it is very important to us that our fashion choices be echoed in pop culture.
We were in a retail store today and completely walked past the entire "skater" section. Did not even blink. So all night is was fashion... and flips. Apparently the J-Bros are rather acrobatic and MC 1 could not understand why mom could not flip him like Joe & Nick. Uhm.. maybe because mom is a year older and Biggest Loser Cardio Boot Camp has her arms like Jello (don't even mention the Shred.. I refuse it on principle alone- way to popular).
But we had a great night and really enjoyed the time together. All to soon he will be going off to college and married with kids and I'll be a grandma..... (small panic attack)...
Today we had to recap the entire movie and replay lines. He can't seem to understand why he can't be the Jonas Cousins with all his cousins. Tried to explain it but it was all lost on him. SO if he wants to be the Jonas Cousins, fine by me.
Off to jump on the treadmill to burn of the candy bar I just ate. Hope you have a great weekend!

THOUGHT CLOSET

So I just finished Me, Myself and Lies by Jennifer Rothschild. And will come as a shock to ANYONE that the last couple of days my thought closet has been attacked. Anyone? Anyone? Actually, my thought closet is my thorn in my flesh. Just when I think I have it under control, BAM!, it flares up again. (Like how I threw a little Emeril in there for ya-- making Mickey Mouse pancakes this morning has got me in the cooking mode). It is one of those that you go - man, I thought we were done with this. Always the same line of thought.

"You can't do this"

"You have lost you ever lovin mind"

"You are gonna fail"

so on and so on

Triggers seem to be change or major stress. Well to say that I have a bit if that this summer would be an understatement. I did okay during the summer. Yet with the onset of school and the changes that involves for me, there was crack in my defense and in the thoughts came.

It always makes me mad at myself first. I should be stronger than this. I should be able to stomp them under my feet. I should NOT still be fighting this.

Truth is, I may always have to fight this. Truth is I am not strong enough on my own to win this one. Truth is I am flesh and blood, emotion and anxiety, courage and fear, all jumbled together.

Yes, that is all true. If I am going to have victory over this, either permanently or day by day, then I have to get my mind to focus on the TRUTH:

"And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

Acts 12: 9-10

NKJV

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me; and this life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Galations 2:20

NKJV

TRUTH is by Him and in Him and through Him, this battle is already won. I am merely fighting skirmishes, putting out hot spots as they come along. As time goes on, I will wiser about my battle plans. I will learn to discern the voice of my Commander before the attack comes. Someday the enemy may get tired of losing this one. He may not. Either way, I have the victory in Jesus Christ. This princess warrior has her battle helmet on and sword at the ready. Shield of faith is up and and everything rests on my belt of His truth. Peace will go with me wherever I go, for it is the very thing I walk upon.

I AM GETTING A CROWN!

I am so totally getting a crown. I have never gotten one before - ever! My pageant days (which seems to be a rite of passage for girls, much like the first time the boys get to play shirts vs. skins) were early in life and short lived. I only remember one and it involved a yellow & red plaid outfit, a participation trophy and a burning desire to beat the crap out of the girl who won the big bouquet of flowers. (Apparently there was also one that involved me dressing as a saloon girl. I don't remember it but there are some pics floating around).
Sensing my need for physical contact and paybacks I moved on to basketball (can we say flagrant foul). Dad's motto- they give you five fouls... use them wisely. That and every team needs a hatchet man - we tried not to buy into that one. Of course there was that one time in summer league when sister 2 got a ball smashed in her face by some girl she had been annoyingly guarding and sister 1 came straight off that bench- OH YES SHE DID! But that was only one time. Oh wait, I did get kicked out of an 6th grade game I think for a foul. Oh gosh, we better move on.
They don't give crowns for basketball. Perhaps they should, maybe more girls would play:) All that hard work and no crown seems wrong.
Alas, the crown I am getting goes on my tooth as the final step of the Root Canal of '09. Now watch how I turn this to Jesus...
Of course I really have already been crowned...

Psalm 8:5 (NKJV)

"For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and You have crowned him with glory and honor."

And I have more to come...

2 Timothy 4:8

"Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord , the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day, not to me only, but also to all who have loved His appearing."

See I am a princess warrior, crowned with honor & glory, serving until the day my Lord crowns me with righteousness before my God. Not my righteousness, but His. A crown He willingly shares with those who love Him.

And so are you, if you want to be. So choose today to be that princess warrior! Your crown awaits:)

* Bet you didn't think I could do it did ya- get a bible lesson out of a root canal... oh ye of little faith:0)

IT'S OK- REALLY?

I am sitting here trying to figure out how to word this, listening to my man sleep and watching Hillsong. I just want it to make sense.
Ever have a relationship where you have prayed for God to make it what He wanted it to be. Maybe you do that all the time. I am sure we should, but honestly, I don't always do it. Especially not relationships I have had for a long time. I am not talking about just dating or marriage, but friendships, work places, churches, all of the above. I'll give you my most recent one. I have prayed for our previous church for years to be what God wants it to be. To be the part of the body He needs it to be. Problem was when things started shaping up, suddenly it was like I was a foot trying to serve in a mouth. Just incompatible. The mouth has its purpose in the body and it does not involve having a foot or a hand in it. Sure it makes mistakes and bites itself, but it heals and does what it needs to do. The feet have their function as well. Yes, they stumble and stub their toes, but they heal as well and keep walking. See the mouth can not say what needs to be said with a foot stuck in it and the feet can't walk if they are in the mouth. (Side note I am not referring to anyone as a foot or a mouth- its a metaphor peeps.. roll with it). The body just can not function that way.
Now how often does that happen to you? You pray for God to make it (whatever it is) what He wants it to be, but in your own mind you have a picture of what you think it should look like. See I had a picture of what I thought it should look like. What if that is not God's picture? Are we willing to take on the disappointment and hurt when He does make it what He wants and it LOOKS nothing like what we thought it should have? Or maybe He does not want it to look that way at all but it is a road that must be traveled for His glory to be revealed.
I know people say this a lot with marriage.. oh it was not like what I expected (even the good ones have their surprises) or having kids or new jobs or whatever. Honestly I have no idea how things are going to pan out. I don't know if that church is becoming what they are to be... I don't know what staying home is going to be like... I don't know what my role will be in the new church.. I just don't know. I have my ideas and pictures and dreams, but those can all be shot to pieces in a heartbeat. Really did you think I ever envisioned myself with a living room straight from Bass Pro? Stuff does not always turn out like I plan. And sometimes that is a great thing:) And sometimes that is a hard thing. Because when it is better than I planned I feel "blessed" and when it totally opposite of what I planned I feel "denied" and yet the same God is in charge of both. Does He love me one day and give me what I want and punish me the next by smashing my dreams?
The answer is no.. He always loves me. He always wants to grow me in Him. He always wants to give the best to me. He ways are always better than mine. His pictures of my life are fine works of art whereas mine are chicken scratch.
I guess what I really wanted to say before I went down a rabbit trail was that sometimes even good things are incompatible. They just can't work together.
AHHHH inspired moment..wait for it...
like water and oil.
Together no mixy ( immiscible if you need to know that technical term)...
however, you use both to make brownies (from a box) and the end is great!
The body is the same way. We all have different parts to play. And one on one we may not be able to do the same thing, but what we provide individually contributes to the whole, and that is okay. It really is - it is okay.
Wow I hope this makes sense in the morning. Sisters- let me know if it doesn't. You too Nelle!

FROM CASANOVA TO CASA...THAT'S IT.

This is our dog:o) The one who thinks the vet is his second home. The one who pulled out all his stitches and then all his staples after his "procedure". I keep referring to it as a "procedure" because there are too many men children in the house and they get uncomfortable when they hear the word NEUTER. Anyway, the dog had to have the "procedure" because he had become a tad bit of a roamer...aka Romeo. He would disappear for days on end and return at his leisure. Gone are those dog days of summer. He is now the clingiest dog I think I have ever had. You can't walk out the door for tripping over him and forget trying to make it across the yard. He is with you every step of the way. He is no longer Casanova. He is straight up Casa. At the house 24/7, 7 days a week, come rain or shine, or rabbits or squirrels. Which is really kinda sad for him because at least when he roamed he got a break from MC 2 (which frankly we all need at some time. The child is merciless, just ask the plumbers that came out the other day. Had I been thinking I would have snapped pics. MUST get better at that. Needless to say they learned a lot more about us than they needed or probably even cared. Once the guys finally settled somewhere for an extended period of time, MC 2 just pulled out a hunting magazine and sat right there on the floor with them.) Okay back to the dog. The other day MC 2 was coming at him full force (that means tongue out and arms a wailing). The dog literally fell over like he was dead. I kid you not. Fell flat over. Strangely enough though his strategy worked and MC 2 passed him by. I mean what is really the point of harassing a dead dog. You can't beat a dead dog...no wait that is a dead horse... well dead dogs are just no fun.

He is sweet. He is a rescue dog. Abandoned at a house, saved from the pound. Goes with our other dog that we were supposed to "hold" until they got their fence built. That was 9+ years ago. Something tells me that fence did not get built.

Cute isn't he? Hope ya'll had a good weekend.