The Sky is Blue

What a great weekend.  It followed a tough week. My Mom was sick, a fluke thing, that knocked her on her butt, and gave us all a scare.  She is on the mend, and doing much better.  I have an awful lot to be thankful for.  I am really grateful to have a sister who is a medical professional.  It makes such a difference, when someone you love is in the hospital, to have someone who can, and will garner professional courtesies on your behalf.  I can't tell you how many times my sis has saved my butt in the ER.  She was there for Mom last week, and boy oh boy, did that make a difference. I am also incredibly grateful for my Brother-in-law, who thought nothing of driving us 8 hours to Arizona, to get to Mom as quickly as we could.   I am super grateful for my husband, who without hesitation, planning, or notice, took on all 5 kids, and their schedules, for the whole weekend, without giving me a moment of guilt.  That Brenda Thorn raised two incre...

I sometimes wonder what people think about all the goofy stuff I put on this blog. "Why on earth does she share this stuff with the world????"  Well, that is a reasonable question.  There are a couple of reasons. 1) I am on a quest to be more vulnerable.  I want people to know that I am human, that like everyone else, I have good days, and crummy days, and lots of struggles.  I share them because, I feel like, maybe if I allow myself to be vulnerable, maybe it will help someone else with a similar struggle reach out to someone they trust. 2) I would like to be more approachable. My experience has been, that when people connect with you on facebook, or read my blog, they are more apt to come up and say hello.  I like that.  Meeting people in my community is cool, and I am not always very approachable-- hurried, screaming kids, etc... 3) I want a place to store all of these goofy life stories.  I wouldn't necessarily write them down in a journal, I...

This is a month, when we pause, we take a look at our lives, and express thanks.  We don't do this often enough, and we sometimes don't look at the little things.  I am going to look at things through a different lens of gratitude this morning.... I am thankful for..... The seasons when we had so little money, because we have learned to be disciplined, and to not take times of plenty for granted. The times when I was in pain, and struggling physically, because I don't let a painfree day go by without thanking God for it. For the really difficult moments in life....because the people who truly love you unconditionally, shine so bright in those moments. For a husband that works a regular job, even though he hates it, because he takes his role as provider dead dog serious. (but I love even more, that he pursues his creative ventures too, because that is what keeps the twinkle in his eye) For my children, on good days and bad, because on their worst day, I wouldn...

I want to thank all of you who lift my family up in prayer.  I thank all of you who give us encouragement.  I try really hard to see the cup 1/2 full, and most days I do.  I was feeling a little down last night, but today is a new day.  Blue skies remind me of how much I am loved.  Have an awesome day friends. And.....on a side note.... Go Viewpoint Patriots!!! We are in the playoffs! Wooo Hoooooo!

I am not sure if I will end up posting this or not, because I am writing it with a very, very, heavy heart.  Foster Parenting is a tough gig, on many levels.  The toughest of all, is having no control.  Our family, and I mean every single one of us, has been pouring into our little guy Victor, since he joined our family in April.  We have loved him, disciplined him, taught him, laughed with him, been amazed by him, and hurt for him. He and his siblings have had an incredibly tough start in this world.  He has endured things, I wouldn't wish on anyone.  Despite the trauma he has experienced, he has been coming around.  He is starting to really trust, to be comfortable, to give genuine affection, to allow us to love him back.  I can really see light at the end of the tunnel for this guy.  My children have unquestioningly-- adopted him in their hearts as a brother.  They love him.  Michael is especially attached to him, he defends hi...

Raise your hand if you ever feel like you need a "Mommy sick day"?  Not one where you are REALLY sick, just a day when you get to....... Check out a little mentally, read a book, watch mindless TV, take a nap, eat cookies.... you get it. I occasionally need, ( that is NEED) a day, when I don't have to... Drop off or pick up at school--- Run to the store at the last minute -because someone volunteered to bring breakfast for his 1st period class, -or someone needs candy to give his cheer sister, -or someone needs poster board to do a project that is due tomorrow. Stare at the freezer wondering what on earth to make for dinner. Answer every "MOOOOOOM he's bugging me", or "WHAAAAAAA I'm telling MOM!!" Sometimes you just want to chill, with a glass of wine, a bag of potato chips, and a little Days of our Lives---- you feel me? Hmmmm, I wonder what a girls got to do to get one of those on the calendar.

Watching the election coverage last night was exciting, if a little disappointing for me.  I marvel at how differently people see things, but that is life.  We see things through our own filters, which are shaped by life experience, education, economics, and tons of other things.  So I guess I shouldn't be surprised at how varied peoples views are. I expected to feel a little bummed today, but I don't. I feel like ok, I did my part.  I voted my conscience, I kept up on the issues, I didn't openly criticize people who attacked conservative opinions.  I took the loss like a Woman.  Ultimately, that is all we can do anyway.  We live in the most amazing country, with freedoms and privileges like no other. Even having the right to voice a differing opinion is an incredible gift in comparison to the oppression other people in the world suffer. Do I have concerns about the future of those freedoms? Yes, I do. But I know that regardless of wha...

I realize many of you don't buy into the whole couponing idea. I however, am allergic to paying full price, FOR ANYTHING, seriously. I hate it. So after watching a few episodes of "Extreme Couponing" then seeing a few inspiring FB posts from my girl Amber.... I was like....I can do that!!!! Now some of you may have seen that show, and associate it with hoarding, I get that. When a teenage boy is buying tampons, or someone with no cat is buying cat food--- just because it is free, that does seem kind of weird. Ok, I agree, unless of course they are giving it to someone who could use it. Couponing does take effort,  and time to prep, no getting around it....but I can't explain how cool it is to walk out of a store with two overflowing carts for say.. $200. I am not doing 8 transactions and getting $1200 of groceries for 75 cents like those coupon masters on the show, but hey, saving 50-60% off of my grocery bill is pretty sweet. You can even do well with minimal effor...

All of my boys sans babies sitting around watching movies. First we watched Avengers, now an old Star Trek Flick. It is so cool when they don't hide in their rooms. Today the oldest boys shoveled pepper tree debris, to clean up the yard. You would think they were in a juvenile prison camp. I of course couldn't help recounting childhood stories of stacking firewood in the dead of winter, scrubbing the bathroom every week, walking miles to the bus stop in weather so cold the snot froze in our noses, weeding the garden. Their reply to my reminiscing was.... "Did you get up at 5am to milk the cows too?,  " did you have to trade produce for eggs?". I could have said no, but I knew people who did--- but I don't think they would have believed me. What a kooshy life they live. They have no clue what life was like before wifi, satellite TV, Pandora, cell phones, and IPads. They really can't imagine how we survived. Heck, we couldn't even get cable where I li...

Alright, so the day has come. My boys, William and Jack, are officially teenagers.  I know, I know, they both hit 13 years ago, but they weren't very "teenager-y" until just recently.  Yeah.... I am not really ready for this.  They are great kids, both are smart, and pretty responsible.  I trust them.  I have never hidden or left unexpressed, my feelings about teen sex, alcohol consumption, or drug use.  They definitely know where I stand on those issues. Here is my quandary. While it was a long time ago, I do remember my own teenage years.  I remember the  temptations I faced, and the choices I made.  I was a great kid too, smart, nice, polite. You get where I am going with this.  I don't want my boys to make choices that could put them in danger, any kind of danger, physical, emotional, spiritual, or legal.  I know you can't protect your kids from everything.  There comes a point when you have to trust that t...