Unwanted guest!

Fridays are my "free" mornings and at first I was at a loss for what to do, but I have quickly found my way and I use that time to just listen to quietness! I like to go to Barnes and Noble and see what books are out and actually read the back covers to see what they are about... not much time to do that when you go with four boys. So, I was coming back from Barnes and Noble after a nice quiet morning and was on my way to pick up Holden and Gavin from school. At a stoplight I sat just savoring my last few moments of silence and I was running my hand along my neck and chin just kind of daydreaming. A twinge of fear shivered down my body as I discovered something that I had not know was present... a hair! Not just any hair, but a LONG hair. You know the type, the inch and a half long witchy hair! OH MY WORD! What has become of me? How could I not know about this! I tried my best to pull it out with my barbaric fingernails only to make things worse! It curled up like a curling ribbon ... now I had a curly pig tail in my chin! I was becoming frantic! The light would turn green at any moment, I was going to have to walk into school and pick my children up, everyone was sure to see this witchy hair and I was going to be devastated! I could not stop pulling to try to get it out. I imagined myself running into a tree so distracted and desperate to remove this unwanted pest. The cops would come and I would have to have them issue an arrest warrant for all of the so called "friends" who did not love me enough to give a quick heads up on the witch growth coming out of my chin!

I got to the school... still sporting my new curly chin hair... and I had to think fast! So I made sure I had all of my hair down and facing forward so that no one would be able to see it. Now I looked like Cousin IT from the Addams Family... lesser of the two evils at this point! I stopped to talk to NO ONE! Time was of the essence. Get in, get out, get home and remove that hair. I was obsessed, it was all I could think about! Alas, I made it home, and the very first thing I did was rid myself of that unwanted travelling companion! I think from now on, I will take a pair of tweezers with me in my purse for such an emergency as this! ;-)

Counting my blessings...

This week I turned 37 years old... age is nothing but a number, you are only as old as you feel... blah blah blah! UGH! I bet the people who made that up are dead! I am not sure what my hang up about aging is... I am pretty sure it has to do with getting wrinkled up skin and drooping body parts! The boys embrace my anti aging thoughts and all play along with the fact that I am turning 25 EVERY YEAR! We all laugh about it and it is very sweet, but lets face it... I look awful for 25! I should be telling people I am turning 60... I think I would look HOT for 60! It is all in how you sell it! ;-)

The fact of the matter is... I AM 37! I have a wonderful husband who loves me, who respects me, who may not always get it, but he gets what matters! He reminds me that he looks forward to growing old with me and that one day we will have a perfect body with Christ!

I have four beautiful and healthy boys (who are NOT perfect- but then again none of us are) who though they have their moments, they do love me.

I have an amazing mom, who showed me what it was like to sacrifice for and love your children with everything you have.

I have amazing in-laws (which not many people can say) who have taken me in and treated me as their own child.

I have wonderful friends (though some way too far away) who have loved me and become my family despite my many imperfections!

Last, but far from least, I have my Jesus who chose to save me from my sin and make me a child of God! Praising God today for all of my many undeserved blessings!

So, I will thank God for my 37th birthday as well. Every day is a gift from Him and I will rejoice and be glad in it!

DUDE!

Yesterday Blake came home from school and said that his buddy Joshua was wanted to call him in the afternoon to play a game online with Blake. Blake said, "I am going to try and work on my book report diarama this afternoon." So his buddy said, "What if I call you about 7:30?" Blake then replied, "Dude, you must not have ANY family time!"

Question: Who has taken my oldest child and replaced him (if even so shortly) with a duplicate who actually embraces homework and family?

Run, Forest, Run!

Last night was Gavin's first football game, and with a league of 5/6 year olds, you cannot expect too much! That is a good thing, because you don't get much! ha ha
MANY of the kids get the ball, freak out, and run the wrong way! OR... they THINK someone has their flag because there are so many kids around them and they just stop and let the other team take it!

So when Gavin got the ball and was running toward a touch down (apparently very close to the other sideline), all of a sudden... he just stopped running! I am yelling for the entire play, "RUN RUN RUN!!!" When he stops... I continue yelling... "DON'T STOP... KEEP RUNNING! GO GO GO!"

Well,... in the midst of my stupor of trying to convince him to keep going, Russ (his coach) catches my eye (FINALLY) and says... "The play is over, he went out of bounds!") OOOOOOPPPPS!

So I turned to look at the other parents around me cracking up... NICE!

Ummmmm... to my defense, I was trying to detain our crazy Barky Grace... I mean Bella Grace, who was apparently offended by another spectator and decided to demonstrate her sass! At the same time, Holden was wallowing ALL OVER ME ...miserable... suffering extreme exhaustion due to no nap yesterday AND, in between, crying, while performing bouts of the "tippy toe dance" which stands for "I have to poop and don't want to... please don't let it happen"! Blake and Landon are with me, but BOYS and completely oblivious to any needs I may have! Sooooo.... have I defended myself enough? I know very very little about football!... at least I was there to support my Gavin!... RIGHT!?

Happy Birthday to Mrs. Mag...

Blake and I just finished making lemon-lime bars for his teacher. They had to be made BY TOMORROW because it is his last day in class with his awesome teacher Mrs. Mag. Yesterday we found out that the 5th grade at Blake's school has too many students, so a new class was going to be added (after 4 weeks of school). Blake was "randomly" chosen to move to the new classroom/teacher along with a few other kids from his class. (That story is another blog entry).

This is about Blake coming home today and as we were running out the door for Gavin's football game, Blake asked if he could make his teacher some lemon-lime bars for tomorrow. He found out that her birthday is Sunday and he really wanted to make her something special. I guess today the class was discussing the room/teacher changes and Mrs. Mag wanted to do a special treat as kind of a "goodbye" to the kids leaving her. During the discussion Blake mentioned that he would be happy to make something. He picked up on the fact that Mrs. Mag loves lemon bars... so he was on a mission. He would surprise her and take them in for her birthday.

Blake informed the family at dinner that though he was making these lemon bars, they were for his teacher and no one else was to eat them. Then, in the midst of his preparation, he turned to me and said, "You are the only one who may taste them. I want you to test them out! I want them to be perfect for Mrs. Mag!"

Well, the taster says they are PERFECT! She is going to miss out on an amazing young man this year...

In the grand scheme of things...

I wrote a few weeks ago about Zack Mayo that we had been following and praying for... the latest news ...

Wednesday, September 8, 2010 9:41 PM, EDT

Ernie and I met with Dr. Geller this evening. It was not a good meeting. He is very concerned about Zack. His AFP levels are back up. His liver appears to have worsened. He has several nodules in his lungs but they can not be sure what they are without biopsy.

For Zack to be eligible for a transplant he can not have metastasis. He must have a transplant. His liver is that bad.

This has been a very emotional journey and as you can imagine, our emotions tonight are intense.

Dr. Geller has ask us for a couple of days as he meets with the surgeon and radiologists. Then we will regroup to decide the next phase....

We are asking desperately for your continued prayers for our precious Zack.

Please pray specifically that the nodules are not tumors. Pray that he will be eligible for a transplant. Pray that Ernie and I will be strong for him.

This past week we have had so much progress, this news has definitely knocked the wind out of us. Zack has come so far....

Thank you for your prayers.


.........................................................................

How dare I worry about football! In the grand scheme of things... well... Lord, forgive me!

Lord, help me not to come unglued!

So recreational league football is not making Momma happy at this particular time! IN JUST THE PAST 7 DAYS... Blake's team has had practice 6 of those days. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Not only have have they had practice an unreasonable amount of time to be any team but the NFL... Blake's "position" is "substitute". ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME!?

I will be the first to say that Blake is an average player. He is not a stand-out so to speak... but let me repeat myself and say... THIS IS REC LEAGUE FOOTBALL!

Right now, we are watching and waiting, and hoping that our worst fears are not realized and after ALL of this ridiculous practice time, Blake better not be watching the whole game from the bench. You cannot learn to play football by watching the studs play... just like I cannot learn to play tennis by watching Wimbledon!

As I was on my way home tonight, after Holden, Bella and I sat out at the field waiting for 1 1/2 hours as Blake and a few others sat on the sidelines and watched the rest of their team go though plays... I seriously I thought I would have a stroke...I wanted to cuss so bad I felt like I had terrets. I am not trying to be funny by saying that... I was livid! We will see what happens... watching...waiting...praying that it does not turn out like we think it will. Lord, help me not to come unglued!

Not running like crazy!

Gavin was filling us in on how football practice went on Saturday morning. He said that he got the ball and ran as fast as he could. I said, "Ooooohhh, were you running like crazy?"

TO which he replied, "NO, I was running normal!"

Apparently, Russ said several of the kids run the ball the wrong way... not normal.

5 and 6 year olds playing flag football... gotta love it.

Moms know everything... ha ha ha

This morning before school, Gavin was snuggling with me in my bed and Russ called to ask what I was going to do with my "free day". While I was talking to Russ, apparently Gavin pulled the covers over his head and "hid". As soon as I hung up the phone, I hear a little voice saying, "Moooooom, try to find me!"

So I chuckled a little, then my hand under the covers to give Gavin a tickle. He said, "How did you know I was here? Oh, you must have seen my eye peeking out!"

Love that kid!

What to do...

Holden went to school today for his one day a week program. I have to say... I have anxiety! What is wrong with me? I do not know what to do with myself...by myself..alone time...just ME! Who am I? What do I do? Stay busy...sleep...ugh!

I need to get a hold of myself. Get a plan. Figure out who I am without a child attached to my side. LITERALLY! Holden does not sit alone...he is on me every chance he gets.

I realized that Landon must get his inability to be alone from ME... who knew? I guess I do not really like to be alone...what an interesting revelation. Now to find a constructive outlet... hmmmmmm. what to do? what to do?

Change of Heart?

So Landon has had a change of heart regarding the condition of his helmet. On the way to practice he informed me that he has decided he rather likes his scuffed up helmet. It makes him look like he has played hard. According to Landon, that is sure to impress "the Ladies" and they will think he is tough!

He is 8!... Really?