Sunday, November 30, 2008

Thanksgiving 2008


We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We drove up to Birmingham with my parents to spend it with my brother and his family. It was very noisy and chaotic at times, which is to be expected with a 4-year-old and two 3-year-olds, but it was great spending time with them since we only get to see them about once a year. We went to a very nice park on Thursday before our meal, and then later Thursday night we played our favorite game, Apples To Apples (highly recommended if you've never played it). We were exhausted when we got home Friday night, but the time spent with my family was well worth the trip. The picture is of my parents with their four grandchildren: From bottom: Alex, Davis, Sara Grace and Wesley.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Breaking Tradition




It used to be my rule to never buy a Christmas tree or decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving. We always decorated the weekend after Thanksgiving. Well, I broke that rule this year. We went to look at real Christmas trees at Lowe's yesterday and just had to get one. They were so full and beautiful and smelled so good. So, last night, after dinner at Carrabba's, we decorated for Christmas. Not that we're the only ones that have done so, you know. A lot of people decorated right after Halloween. Now THAT'S just ridiculous, I think.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

The Bible Is Awesome

Psalms 37:1-13. Arturo and I read these verses together last night at the urging of a pastor friend of ours. All I can say is, in what we are going through right now, these verses gave us a peace that is unexplainable. I was feeling such anger, and when I read these out loud, it was just an amazing experience.

In other news, we are so excited to be going to Birmingham on Wednesday with my parents to spend Thanksgiving with my brother and his family. It will be good to be in Bama again. We are hoping to see some beautiful leaf colors and feel some cool weather, although we've been having that here a lot lately.

Friday, November 14, 2008

The Great Puppy Debate Update

No.

Kids Say

Wesley made me laugh so hard today. I have naturally wavy, almost on the curly side, hair. Well, normally I blow dry it straight, but today I wasn't in the mood so I just left it natural. After Wesley got up from his nap, he looked at me and said, "Mommy, your hair is all squiggly and bumpy." Three has definitely been the most challenging age so far, but it's also been one of the sweetest. I can't wait to hear the things he'll say next...

Worth Sharing

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids each for six weeks.Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.There is no fast food.Each man must take care of his 3 kids: keep his assigned house clean , correct all homework, and complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of 'pretend' bills with not enough money.

In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries each week.Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time--no emailing .

Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment, and a haircut appointment.He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care.He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside, and keeping it presentable at all times.The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all chores are done.The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed .

During one of the six weeks , the men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but never once complain or slow down from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning, feed them, dress them , brush their teeth and comb their hair by 7:00 am.

A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday, height, weight,shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name.Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favorite song,favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote them off the island based on performance. The last man wins only if... he still has enough energy to be intimate with his spouse at a moment's notice.If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18-25 years eventually earning the right To be called Mother!

After you get done laughing,send this to as many females as you think will get a kick out of it and as many men as you think can handle it.Just don't send it back to me..... I'm going to bed.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

2008 Thus Far




Even though 2008 is not over yet, I wanted to reflect on the year so far. It has definitely not been the best year, but it hasn't been the worst, either. I have felt so many emotions this year, wonderfully good and horribly bad, but all of them have made me a stronger person. I couldn't have gotten through the heartbreak, heartache, anguish, disappointment and confusion without God. I have gone through things this year that you would never expect to go through and never wish on your worst enemy. But God has a way of turning possible disasters and life-changing events into wonderful new beginnings. And that's where I am now. I am happy again and love my life with Arturo and Wesley, and I thank God for them everyday as well as my wonderful family and friends.

The Great Puppy Debate

We're thinking about adopting a dog, a puppy to be exact. We have a cat, who we have had for almost nine years. Since Wesley is an only child (and we are planning on keeping it that way), we thought that he might really enjoy having a canine companion through his growing-up years. We had a Golden Retriever for about two years, and then when Wesley was two months old we gave him away. We kept him outside, which was probably our mistake. If we get another dog, it would have to be inside. We're thinking of adopting a lab mix. I've heard wonderful things about labs, and that would probably be our best bet. Arturo is pretty sure he wants to get one. I, however, am still on the fence.