Just tell me when

Well, I am sooooooo excited about BlawgHer 2008! (Does that mean there will be one in 2009?) The Pumpkin Patch has all the details, and let it be known that I WILL BE THERE!!

Here is a little more about me...

1. I've lived in the same metropolitan area all my life.

2. I graduated from the University of Alabama...in four years.

3. I've been married to my superman for 16 years.

4. We have 3 beautiful children, 11, 9, and almost 6.

5. We love to go to the beach, any beach.

6. We love to go to my parents lake house.

7. We watch WAY too much t.v.

8. In addition to being a wife, mother, daughter and sister, I am a Junior Girl Scout leader, assistant bookkeeper at our school, and soon to be working one afternoon a week at the Kumon near the school.

Well, I guess I'd better save a little something for the actual shindig. Can't wait to meet you there!

Beep....Beep....Beep

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog break to bring you this funny which I totally stole from Misslionheart!


A group of relatives was at the hospital, visiting a very sick member of the family.

The doctor appeared, looking grave, and told them the bad news: ‘Your relative is seriously ill, and his only hope is to have an experimental operation - a full brain transplant. This is a very risky and costly operation, but your insurance will cover everything but the cost of a replacement brain’.

After a period of silence, one of the family members asked, ‘Well, how much will it cost for a brain ?’.‘8,000 pounds for a male brain, and 500 pounds for a female brain’, the doctor replied.

The men in the room started to smirk, and tried to avoid eye contact with the women. Then one of the women blurted out the question on everyone’s mind: ‘Why does a man’s brain cost so much more ?’.

The doctor smiled. ‘Well’, he said. ‘Female brains are priced at a discount because they have actually been used’.


Hee,hee. See you when we get back from our vacation...I'll have plenty to post about all three trips I've been on recently.

May the force be with you

I HAD to share this before I forget.

A really cool thing about our school is that the grammar school kids learn lots of chants and songs. They learn everything from important dates to ALL of the prepositions to events in history. One particular chant is called the Timeline chant. They start learning it in 1st grade and learn more of it each year since they learn history in chronological order. It starts with Creation, and Man's class has learned up through 1100 A.D.

They are usually given a partially complete timeline for their test and they have to fill it in. Guess what Man's answer was when asked to fill in this blank:

476 A.D. Fights of Middle Ages and the Empire_________

This date refers to the fall of the Roman Empire but Man wrote "strikes back" in the blank!

Clearly, he's been watching too much Star Wars!

Blessed

I had to share a quick story about my oldest two.

Thursday was our last day of school. It was awards day, so there was no real school going on anyway. They spent a lot of time on the playground and then watched a movie and had lots of snacks. Darlin and Man both received the Joyfulness award for their class. Each student is given a character award, and I'm always interested to see how the teacher will interpret Man's, er, shall we say, activity level! I was very proud of my babies.

We got home and I fixed lunch for them. I sat down at the computer to continue with my Savannah planning and I heard some sniffing going on near the sofa. I didn't think anything about it at first, but it kept coming and getting louder. A few minutes later, I look around to see Darlin CRYING.

Me: What's the matter, babe?
Darlin: (Imagine sniffing and tears...)Everything is changing!
Me: What do you mean?
Darlin: S.R. won't be back to school next year, J.R. is moving away and Miss H is going to teach upper school next year. I just don't know how I can handle all the changes!
Me: Oh, baby. I know it's hard. We can keep in touch with S.R. and J.R. Next year you'll see Miss H in the hallways.
Darlin: It's just never going to be the same!

I thought, Wow, she's really hit the nail on the head. I didn't tell her that life is full of changes. I didn't tell her she'd make more friends and have other favorite teachers. I didn't even say it would be alright, because I can't guarantee that. I just held her and let her cry, and in a little while she was better.

That night at bedtime, Man had his turn.

Man: I'm really going to miss Mrs. H. next year. (She's moving about 4 hours away.)
Me: I know, baby. We can keep in touch with her. I've got her e-mail address.
Man: (Welling up with tears now...) Tomorrow at the pool party may be the last time I EVER see her!
Me: Oh, sweetie. I know it hurts.

Something about knowing that she's moving away has really nailed him. I finally had him sit down and write her a letter. It was so precious. (I'm feeling really sad about you moving. I will always remember you. PLEASE keep in touch. My e-mail address is ***###@&&&.!!!.)

It broke my heart to see them both so upset. But on the other hand, I'm so glad they love their school, friends and teachers so much. I'm once again struck by how blessed we are to be a part of our little school. Thank you Lord!

Sorry about the bloggy drought

but as my last post reflected I'VE BEEN A LITTLE BUSY! The DC trip was fantastic. Darlin and I had a blast and made lots of memories. I do believe I sufficiently embarrassed her. All the details to come at a later date.

This week I've been trying to wrap up all the loose ends for our Savannah trip next week. Plus I had to work, plus it's the last week of school, plus baseball and t-ball practices etc. etc. etc. Anyway, when I get a chance to breathe, which at this point looks to be approximately the year 2021, I'll fill in all the details.

In the meantime, this Saturday is Armed Forces Day. If you happen to meet some of our men and women in uniform, thank them for their service to our country. Better yet, pay their bill at the restaurant...they surely don't make enough money just by serving our country.

My May

I am heading into the busiest May that I can ever remember.

First, Darlin's birthday was Thursday. We had a SURPRISE party for her yesterday at a local pizza place. All her friends did a great job keeping the secret. She was so surprised, she cried! She loved it, though.

We went from her party straight to another birthday party for two hours. This morning we had baseball and tee-ball games. Today at lunch, the whole family is coming over to celebrate Darlin's birthday. Then I can start packing for our trip to WASHINGTON DC on MONDAY. Darlin and I leave at 5:30 am for a week in DC. But before we leave, I have to sing in both services Sunday morning. After church, we have a meeting for a camp that Man will be going to in June.

Then, after we return from DC, we have our last week of school. I really won't have time to breathe though, because the following Tuesday, Darlin and I head to Savannah, Georgia, with our Girl Scout troop. We'll be gone for five days and return on Saturday. I will have a week at home before our next outing. We go on vacation (I'll need it by then!!) for a week to the beach.

Whew! I'm tired just blogging about it! Well, that's all until we return from DC. Keep our group in your prayers.

11 Years of Motherhood

Today, as I reflect on the past eleven years as a mother, I can't help but think about the day Darlin was born. It was a beautiful day - sunny, warm - unfortunately, I was hooked up to the pitocin in the local hospital. Darlin was 10 days late, and the Doc wasn't going to let her gestate any longer. My plan was to have her naturally. You know...without an epidural.

I'll give you a minute to stop laughing.

Really, I was at a place where I just wanted God to handle it because I knew I couldn't. It was about trusting God, not proving something. That being said, it was no party. It took forever to get to 4 cm, and then about 30 minutes to go from 4 to 10! Those thirty minutes seemed like thirty hours. I pushed for 26 minutes and out she came! At 10:12 pm on Monday, May 1, 1997, Darlin was born.

Darlin is a beautiful child, and I don't just mean physically. She has mercy like no other. (That's a good thing because I have NONE.) She has a conscience. She has maturity beyond her years. And her heart is sensitive to the Spirit of God and for that, I am most thankful. (Just to prove to me that she's not perfect, she had a visit with the principal last week! Long story, but she ended up telling me what happened before the principal called me. Her conscience just wouldn't let her go!)

While I was pregnant with all of my babies, I prayed that they would be sensitive to the things of God, that they would accept Christ as their Savior at an early age and never stray from Him. She's shown me #1 and #2 and is well on her way to #3.

To my Darlin - I love you and I'm proud of the young lady you are becoming. Keep Christ first in your life and you'll never go wrong.

Happy 11th Birthday sweetheart!