It's a Vivas Thing!

Quotable Quotes #4

This morning I had the nightmare privilege of standing in a rather long line at the local state office. It was packed and the line was well, REALLY long. People were frustrated, children were crying and attitudes were short. I just wanted to make my way through the line without getting stepped on or pushed too much.

And then, the following conversation took place between two 3 year olds; one a girl and one a boy. It continued on even after I left, but the funniest part went something like this:

Little girl sings "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" really loud.

Boy, "I can sing that, too."

Girl, "My mom says I'm cute."

Boy, "My dad says I'm awesome."

Girl, "My mom says I'm the best."

I giggle.

Boy, "I can jump."

Girl, "I can jump higher."

I giggle again.

Girl, "Have two dogs. I have poodles."

Boy, "I have a really big dog, Shadow."

I'm laughing out loud now.

Girl, "I have a baby." (She was holding a doll.)

Boy, "I have a real baby. He's David. Do you want him?" (His baby brother was sitting next to him.)

Girl just sort of looks at him. I am hysterical now, as well as the rest of the waiting room. Then, she replies,

"I can jump higher!"

And they started all over again. They were still trying to out do each other when I finally left. But hey, it was entertaining!

Makes a Mama Proud

I just love those proud mama moments! Tonight was one of those times! We've been planning our Children's Christmas concert for a few months now. Not only do we have a fabulous director and amazing helpers to go with it, but my whole family ended up pitching in tonight. It was so cool!

Earlier today, the Smart One was asking if he could miss youth to attend the concert and what was everyone else going to do. I told him we were all going to be doing something in the concert and we'd love to have him come and support us by watching. He went a step further. He took it upon himself to gather some friends and pass out the programs. He didn't seem to think much of it, but I did.

B-boo worked hard helping us to not only make props, but make sure they were organized, working, etc. And then she went on to take photos, too! I don't know what we would have done without her these past few weeks!

The Talented One almost made me cry! He agreed to play the piano for us. Not one to play in public and certainly not in front of an audience, he played beautifully! Seriously, I wanted to cry. The compliments I received on his playing after the concert were too many to count. What a gift he has been given!

Then there was the Drama Queen and the Princess. They sang their hearts out! It was so good to see the Princess be able to manage herself on stage. What a moment! And she sang her trio so well. I was able to see how far she has come in the past nine months. Wow! 

 

And the Drama Queen. Well, she is that. Another child with a God given talent; what a voice! Listening and watching her sing was so much fun! She really got into her songs and just let herself go tonight.

 

And then, there was my hunny bunny. He is the most amazing man! He has spent countless hours putting together the sound, lights, and staging for us. If I haven't ever said how much I appreciate him, I'm saying it now! I appreciate you, honey!

So, tonight I'm exhausted, but I'm going to bed with a smile on my face. I have a GREAT family. I do. I really do.

Quotable Quotes #3

Conversation with Chicken Noodle Butt, age 5

Me: "Is it just me, or is it freezing in here?"

Him: "It's just you; but I'm warm, so you should cuddle with me!"

Conversation with the Smart One, age 12

Him: "I can say, "HI" in ten different languages."

Me: "Really?"

Him: "Hi, in ten different languages." Then he smiles and says, "I'm a genius! I should be in college already!"

By the way, I think it should be noted that I'm actually home. I haven't been here for several days. As a matter of fact, I don't think I'll be home again until next Monday except to sleep. So I'm taking advantage of the fact that I have a couple of hours (aside from picking up kids from school) and I'm going to play on the computer.

Maybe.

If You're Wondering

If you're wondering why I've been gone for the past two weeks, let me give you a hint! (or several)

There was the day I made this

 

To Celebrate This

 

And then, there was this

 

It took 26 minutes to get the comb out of her hair. Note to self; do no let your cousin play with your hair, it takes 26 minutes of mom's Thanksgiving baking time away.

Which leads us to this; more of B-boo's food photography

 

And Thanksgiving science

 

And finally, some family fun. 22 people in our house, and we're still smiling!

 

This would be the Drama Queen not running on her injured foot. It also explains why it won't heal and why I really mean it when I tell the doctor that she continues to move it without knowing it's still broken because she feels no pain.

 

Of course, it doesn't help that her cousins beg her to play football with them!

Then, there have been the normal appointments, decorating for the holidays and all that other stuff that has kept me away from the computer. For instance, we're gearing up for the Children's concert next week, but I think I might be back this week. I miss the writing.  Oh, and there was this one other thing this week; B-boo's dance. I couldn't get a good shot of her performing, but I did get a mighty good picture of her and her brother! I just LOVE this picture, don't you?

 

BTW, he just had a birthday, too! I can't believe he's 22!

Fall

Fall has finally made it here in the Vivas home! Our backyard is covered in leaves. That means a lot of work to look forward to; raking, bagging, hauling. But for today, it means playing.

You have to love our free-spirited child! Yes, this is the Drama Queen in her glory! Pajamas, gloves, sweat jacket, and a boot to match her injured foot's boot.  According to her, life just doesn't get much better at the moment!

Miserable Monday

You know, some days it's better just to stay in bed.

Or at the very least; go back to bed!

I woke up this morning thinking it would be an ok day. I managed to get three kids off to school without a hitch. (I also managed to finish off the coffee.)

I managed to make my way upstairs to the shower; and actually got one!

Then, the phone rings. It's Chicken Noodle Butt's doctor. After a lengthy conversation, and many interruptions from the Princess, we finally manage to get an appointment down. And then, I find out that it is 39 miles from my house! Great. I'll worry about that, later.

By now it was after nine and the home counselor who works with my niece was late. I had to take the Drama Queen for a lab test and she wasn't happy about it. Finally, dh came down, told me to go, and asked what time the counselor would be there.

9:00 am.

He says it's 9:40.

At that precise moment, there is a knock at the door. It's her. I let her in and my niece pipes up,

"That's funny! Uncle Art asked Aunt Hope when you would be here and she said nine and he said it was nine forty and then you knocked."

I wanted to shrink into my sweat shirt. She replied that she'd had a hard time getting there. I raced out the door with the Drama Queen leaving hubby to deal with the counselor. I figured it was a fair trade since I had to deal with the Drama Queen and needles...and blood.

And we waited for over an hour....all the while she scrunched up closer in my lap and gave me all the reasons why she was afraid and filled my head with her drama.

Once we were called back, I begged her to please not scream in my ear. I reminded her she's done this countless times and she doesn't even complain. She asks the nurse to show her how it feels. The nurse pinches her. I tell her not to look. Duh, of course she'll look.

As the needle gets closer, she prepares to scream; takes a breath, starts to shout and instead remarks,

"Oh, I'm ok. Am I doing good, mommy? I'm trying my best to be brave."

I tell her thank you for not screaming in my ear and she's doing wonderful.

From there, we had to head over to another place. I've been there; I know where it is. Only it isn't there. So, I head over to the other place I think it might be. Nope; not there. I give up and head to Wally World to pick up the Smart One's birthday gift. I know it''s there because I've seen them at the other Wally World. Except I can't find it. So I ask for help. The man replies that Wally World doesn't carry them, that the only store in town that carries it is Toys R Us. Sure, ok...even though I saw it at a different location? I decided I'm done and head home with the Drama Queen.

On the way, we see a homeless teen, so we stop and hand her one of our hobo bags. She takes it gratefully and we head on.

As we head up the street, a HUGE GIANT BOX comes flying across the street, and lands on my windshield! I'm talking refrigerator size box here, people! I slam on my breaks and the box flies off and lands in front of my van. Whew!

I manage to calm down and drive around the box and get home, in time to gulp my lunch down and take the Princess for her therapy appointment. I manage a few moments of calmness before she comes out. And she is not happy. Great.

After an enjoyable ride home...NOT...I remember I have a couple of phone calls to make. One is to the local gluten free bakery. She had promised me a dozen free cupcakes for my trouble one night, so I decided to take her up on the offer for the Smart One's birthday tomorrow, but I had a couple of questions about what else the cupcakes contained; specifically, nuts anyone?

She informs me that they do not contain nuts, but they are made in a facility containing nuts. I ask her are the in the same room or somewhere else. she replies that they use the same pans and stuff. Oh. So I says, they are made on the same equipment so may contain nuts. She says, no, they won't contain any nuts, they are just in the same pans. OK. I politely tell her thank you very much, but I'm afraid I can't take that chance with my children's allergies, so thank you for offering me the cupcakes, but I'm sorry, I won't be able to accept them and I won't be purchasing the others that I wanted to order either. She replies, "Look! I'm not an allergy baker, I just wanted to make gluten free cupcakes for my sister!" She sounded pretty upset and I told her I was sorry, but I can't take the chance with the nuts and hang up.

And I realize that I need to bake something for the birthday tomorrow after all. The Smart One says he wants a chocolate cake. Ok.

So I grab B-boo because, by this time, we have to leave for the ortho appointment. I'm explaining to her that my day seems to be not going so great and we realize I've gone to the wrong office. Great. So I take a quick right and then another right and head back from where we've come. Only the road is under construction and down to one lane. I make another right so I can make a quick left into the parking area.

And discover I'm in a little tiny alley, with no exit. No place to turn around.

And I'm in my big ol' RV conversion van (as one of the Drama Queens friends likes to call it.)

Now, I can't back up, because I'd be backing into a very busy street. So, I find a mansion that doesn't have their gate shut and pull in their driveway and attempt to back up in the tiny alley and turn around. Three times.

B-boo is laughing at me. Seriously laughing at me.

I finally get turned around while she remarks about all the cool toys they have at this mansion.

She goes in, comes out, we check out. And I found out that the $1500 portion the insurance is supposed to pay isn't going well. "Um, what exactly does that mean?" It means the insurance has only paid $80 dollars and you'll probably be stuck with the rest when your COBRA runs out.

Great. It's just one of those days.

We finally make it home and I explain to my husband that I'm not good to be around tonight. I go to mash the potatoes while he listens to my woes about the day.

And realize I smell vanilla.

In my potatoes.

That can't be good! I poured vanilla rice milk into the potatoes instead of original. Ah shucks!

After many spices added in with some doctoring up of sour cream, I got rid of the vanilla taste in the potatoes and we went on to have a decent dinner.

I've been hiding up in my room ever since. I'm not coming out again until tomorrow.

Quotable Quotes #2

From Grandma,

"I loveeee disasters!"

Lengthy pause.

"Wait! Let me explain!"

Conversation with B-boo as she puts on her brother's jacket.

"I feel bright this morning."

"Nope, you're the same smart as you are everyday."

"Was that an insult?"

During bible study with my son, we were talking about respect. I asked him,

"How can we show respect to our elders?"

"Who are our elders, Mom?"

I gave him some examples of elders in our life. His response?

"Oh! Well, you know, I can show respect to them, by, you know, helping them if they have bodily conditions that keep them from doing things."

Joy of Love

Another day to talk of the joy in my life. Would you like to know what it is?

The love of my life!

OK, so seriously, ours was a whirlwind romance. (Not something I'd suggest for my children!) We had a date, we said we loved each other...and he proposed. Six months later, we were married. And the rest....as they say, is history!

Today is the anniversary of part of that joy! It was 18 years ago that he proposed to me; and of course, I accepted! (And just for kicks, it was 17 years ago that we found out we'd be having the Talented One. We had a giggle about that last night when I asked him if he knew what today was!)

So why does he bring me such joy?

It's in his kiss. Seriously.

But it's also in the way that he makes me feel like I'm the most special person in the world.

It's in the way he loves me.

It's in the way he laughs at with me.

It's the way he shares his life with me.

It's the beautiful family that we have together.

It's the way he makes me feel.

Loved.

Cherished.

What a joy!

Great Photography

Every once in a while, we get priceless moments in time that we just want to capture. There have been countless times over the past 22 years where I have thought to myself, "OH, I wish I had a camera right now!" Instead, we try hard to keep that moment in our memories and hope that we never forget it. Sometimes we do, however, until the memory is jarred back by a thought, a smell, or a laugh.

A great picture isn't only about the actual photo. It's about what was going on at that moment..and about how the photographer felt. For instance, don't they look like twins? They're actually three years apart, and this was one of those priceless moments where they were at complete peace with one another.

The picture below is actually of me and the Drama Queen. We were at one of the Smart One's karate testings. It's not a great photo in terms of quality, but it is one of my favorite photos.  I had no idea my picture was being taken. I think it shows me as a mom. And a wife. And I wonder what my husband was thinking when he took this photo.

 

I can't even begin to express this picture. It's simply a boy and his rat. What other's may not know is that this wasn't just any rat. This was my son's gift from God; his special friend that he needed. Buster picked my son; and his heart was broken the day Buster passed. We all cried. But I'm glad that he was able to have his time with Buster.

 

This is one of my all time favorite pictures. It's my dad. My dad instilled the love of picture taking in me. He loves to capture life. This was taken during one of those moments when he was filming my children; his grandchildren. Again, I love those moment when the person is caught unaware.

The next two photos are of my children. The first is of B-boo. She was getting ready for a production she was in and kind of caught unaware. This was her last year before becoming the big teenager. I had helped her put on some make-up for the show. That was fun. And then, I grabbed the camera and she looked up and smiled, and I remember thinking to myself, "When did she grow up and become such a beautiful young woman?"

This is of the Smart One getting ready for a test. I laugh every time I look at this photo. He was obviously having a good hair day! I just love the look on his face. Happy. Content. Excited.

These next two say it all. At least I think so! Ah, the beauty of God's creation! The sunset will always remind of a time when I just needed some peace...and to know that God had a handle on it, know what I mean? And so, God gave me that sunset. It was amazing!

 

But THIS is my favorite photo of all! It is the photo that inspired me to write this blog. You see, on Good, True and Beautiful's blog today, they are giving away a rolled canvas print of a digital picture. I immediately thought of this picture, because I've always wanted to get it printed on a canvas. This picture is of my youngest two children. We had *hatched* some butterflies from caterpillars. We had a special net home and we watched them spin into cocoons and then emerge as butterflies. When it finally came time to release them, we went out into our backyard on a beautiful, spring day. The Smart One was so careful to take them out without harming them. The Drama Queen wanted to hold one, so he carefull placed the butterfly on her fingers. This picture is of that moment, as he was handing it off. When I look at this photo, I see the wonders of His creation; my beautiful children enjoying something so rare and wonderful. This was one of those moments when I was so glad to have my camera handy; a moment not ever forgotten, and always cherished.

Warning Label

This post is for my women readers only. Trust me, guys, you'll just want to move past this one!

I debated whether I should write this or not. I wondered to myself if I was crossing the line on the blog world of the internet, but then I decided, women everywhere need to be warned. This is serious!

As some of you may remember from a previous post, I hurt my foot. I've been dealing with foot pain for a while now. It's slowly getting better, but it's not all well yet. To help things along, I was given a resistance band. The idea is to sit down, place your legs straight out and then use the band to pull your foot in to stretch the tendons out properly before walking around for the day. I am to do this three times each day. The nurse showed me how to do it and it didn't seem dangerous at all.

As my foot is getting better and today was a bit chilly, I decided to wear my nicer jeans and a sweater to church. The jeans are a bit long since I am a bit short, so I need to wear my boots with them. I thought that if I stretched my foot good, I would be able to stand wearing the boots for a couple of hours at church, especially since most of the time is spent sitting. I had my jeans and tank top on (no sweater yet) and sat down stretch out my feet.

This is kind of what it looks like, except I only stretch one foot at a time. (That's not me, btw!) The nurse explained that your arms get a good work out, too, because you're supposed to pull as hard as you can and stretch your foot towards you to get the tendons to stretch. I've done this exercise a few times with no issues.

Until today.

I started with my right foot. No problem.

I moved to my left foot. No problem.

I moved back to my right foot and that's when it happened.

Big problem.

This is where the warning comes in.

A) Be very careful where you place the resistance band.

B) Be very careful to watch where the band is at all times.

C) Don't pull too hard.

All I remember is that one minute I was pulling and stretching my foot and in the next instant I was doubled over in searing pain, moaning and screaming with tears streaming down my face. I had visions of the scene in "A Christmas Story" when the dad is downstairs in the basement trying to fix the furnace and unrecognized cursing is being sent up through the vent. I saw a white light. I could hear B-boo's concern as she ran into the bathroom with concern, stating,

"Mom, are you ok? I heard a snap. Did you hit your face? Is your nose bleeding? ARE YOU OK, MOM?!?!?!"

All I could do was moan in pain. Serious pain. Blinding pain. And shake my head, "no" to her pounding questions.

When I could finally catch my breath and wipe the tears from my face, I looked up to find her still standing there with concern on her face.

"No, I didn't hit my face. It hit my chest."

Her eyes widened in realization at what her mother had just managed to do to herself. She got it, because she used to be a competitive gymnast and she knows about resistance bands.

I could tell that she was trying hard to decide if she should let the laughter out or not. She was probably wondering if she'd be in pain for laughing at her mother's pain.

Finally, I had no choice but to laugh at the situation, because, after all, I am a Vivas, and this is definitely one of those Vivas Things. She laughed, I laughed, we laughed together.

And then I told her to leave because I needed to check things.

Except for the three inch wide welt that runs COMPLETELY across my chest, I am ok; I think.

I'm hoping the fiery pain will subside soon.

It's probably a good thing it wasn't my face; I'm sure I'd be blinded for real instead of blinded with pain.

Ladies, please heed my warning. This is very dangerous. You have to pay very close attention to what you're doing.

Oh yeah, my foot feels better, thanks for asking.

Laughable Moment #23

Boys will be boys, right? Yah.

The other day, the Smart One got up out of bed. We were surprised as he didn't have school..and well, let's just say he isn't exactly a morning person. He was still in his clothes from the day before. We had a good laught about boys being boys, which then led into a discussion of junior high boys and their lack of ...er...care about their hygeine. Which led to more laughs as we discussed how boy will just be boys and just don't care.

And then I went upstairs.

A few moments later, B-boo came into my room laughing.

I'll try my best to give you the visual. Watching B-boo as she re-enacted the story was priceless.

She said that the bathroom door was open, so she opened it a bit more to tell Chicken Noodle Butt to hurry up and brush his teeth and come downstairs because we were leaving to go get him some pants. She was telling him this as she opened the door to find him in the *boys takes a whiz stand.* He was pushed forward taking a whiz while brushing his teeth. 

His response?

A muffled *ok* while he continued to whiz and brush his teeth at the same time!

Yeah, boys will be boys alright!

Joy of the Week

It's that time of the week again...sharing my joy for the week, hosted by

 

And did I ever have a joy for the week! Shall I share? Well, ok, you twisted my arm! My joy hit big time Saturday night. After a full day, (and a pretty good one at that!), Punky came over and we got ready for...oh..shall I say it? My FAVORITE Christian artist, Todd Agnew and the Promise Remains Tour! I was so excited! Punky knew how bad I wanted to see the concert and so insisted that we go. She took B-boo and I with her and we had a blast!

Do we look like we're having fun?

 

I love this picture!

Anywho...first we listened to an awesome new group, Kimber Rising. Their voices are amazing! What a treat. Next on was Building 429. I liked that they were pretty versatile. They'd go from party animal energizing music to a ballad on the piano. I especially enjoyed, "I Am Free!" Finally, we took a 10 minute break and then...Todd Agnew came on! Yeah!

First, let me say that he looked nothing like I thought he would! I loved that he was so comfortable in jeans, a t-shirt and yes...completely barefoot! And Todd didn't just come out and give a concert. He led a worship experience! Not only does he have an amazing voice, but a wonderful sense of humor and amazing heart for our God. I nearly cried when he played Grace Like Rain and than took it right into Amazing Grace! Yup, that was definately my joy for the week! And when it was all over and we were walking out, another friend who'd come to the concert came up to me and handed me Todd's new cd! I'm telling you, pure joy!

Oh...and there was this other little thing that gave me some joy tonight. The Drama Queen has been trying hard to pull out her tooth. She's nine now and has only lost two teeth. Yes, really. She finally succeeded tonight in getting that top tooth out! Oh what joy, I'm sure!

Why Mom's Can't Sleep

It's a holiday today. As a homeschool mom, I'll be sure to remind my kids why they don't have school today and to pray for those families whose members are serving or have served in our armed forces. And I'm not making light of what today is. But holidays mean something around here.

I have six kids at home. Count them...six. (I have a college student but he lives on his own, so he doesn't count in this post.)

Six kids means that I can have six different places to be on any given day. It means, everyday, I have four public school schedules to keep to at three different schools, plus working homeschooling around my youngest. Whew! It makes me dizzy thinking about it. Add in doctor appointments, counseling appointments, sports, activities, etc...and I am one tired mom!

Which brings me back to a holiday. It means I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn to take anyone to school! Don't get me wrong; I love getting up at the crack of dawn and making breakfast for my kids and having that special time in the morning. But I'm getting older and tired.

So back to that holiday anyway! Last night, hubby made the littlest ones promise not to wake up anyone...at all...this morning. (I did tell him that he should realize that is a promise they won't be able to keep. The Princess can't stand being alone, quiet, for anything and Chicken Noodle Butt will find something to cry over.)

I also have this problem. Once I'm awake, that's it for me. I can not go back to sleep. It's the same for me at night, too. Wake me up, I'm up.

A friend asked the other day how can she be so tired and yet not fall asleep. I replied that it's the brain. It finally has time to function, so it goes into full mode. Mom's go to bed wondering if they've accomplished everything they should have during that day and wondering how they can get the everything accomplished the next! Unfortunately, God forgot to give us a turn off switch for our brains.

So this morning, it's a holiday. I don't have to be anywhere. I get to sleep in, right?

At 6:47, the little one goes into the bathroom. He's talking as loud as he can about counting and the fact that something is yellow. I pretend I don't hear him, but he starts to get louder. I finally just say, "Shhh!" He stops, and it becomes quiet again.

Next thing I know, my phone goes off. Now, I know that I turned off the alarm, so this means it's a person. It's 7:03 and my sister-in-law wants to know if I want to go to the parade today. I tell her I'm asleep and ask when and where. She says she was asleep, too, but mom woke her up so she's texting me with one eye open. I consider the parade.

"The little ones might like it. That means I'll have to wake the older kids up. That means I'll have to get up soon and make breakfast. Oh wait, we're all supposed to be sleeping in until whenever we want today. We do need sleep. But hold on. Chicken Noodle Butt needs pants and it's supposed to get cold tomorrow. I'm supposed to find time to get him pants today...and it needs to be cheap. Penneys might be having a sale since it's a holiday, or I can take him to Savers. It sure would be nice if hubby had a job. If I take them to the parade the Drama Queen will be walking around a lot on that broken growth plate. She'll probably like that but we really should keep her off of her feet. Oh, that's why I promised her we'd paint today. Oh man, that means a mess...I wonder if I can con Chicken Noodle Butt into doing something else. I could give him a puzzle. Maybe I we could all work on a puzzle together. Oh wait, I need to call the ortho doctor and find out where his leg braces are. Today's the eleventh and they told me to call today if I didn't hear from them. Speaking of doctor visits, I need to make them a dental appointment, too. I wonder when I can get them in. Speaking of teeth, maybe I should make a good breakfast today. I could make biscuits and gravy. That sounds really good, but it will have to be for a late lunch/early dinner because I need to thaw out the sausage. I'll have to look up a recipe for gluten free biscuits for the Smart One, and I'll need take out part of the sausage to make the Drama Queen dairy free gravy. That reminds me, I still haven't replaced the broken skillet, but I think I can manage with the pot. Giggle...I better make sure the Drama Queen doesn't touch it otherwise she might break another toe. Speaking of gluten free recipes, I need to find one that doesn't have eggs so I can still make stuffing this year for Thanksgiving. Did someone let the dogs out? I hope they gave them water. Oh man, they need a bath today. I wonder if the kids can handle their baths by themselves. Roxy is a pain to bathe. We really should have named her Marley; dumb dog."

About this time, I realize the toilet is running, so I get up to go jiggle the handle. Chicken Noodle Butt starts crying about something, so I head over to find out what is wrong with him. Hubby comes upstairs to take over and let me sleep. Yeah, ok. I head back to my room and lie down. I text sister-in-law to tell her the plan for today was for everyone to sleep in as late as they want. She laughs; I laugh.

I try to go back to sleep.

"I wonder what to get the Good Looking One for his birthday. Poor boy has to work on his birthday. It really would be cool if we could all show up with a cake and sing to him at work. I wonder if he'd get fired if we did that? Maybe if hubby is working we can take him out to lunch. It will probably be pretty crowded though since it's black friday. Oh, I hate going out on black friday...who does that anyway? It was fun though, last year, when he took us out in the middle of the night. Boy, was it cold. That reminds me, what are we going to do for the Smart One's birthday. I can't believe he's almost 12. He'll be hitting puberty soon, that will be fun. I wonder if the Good Looking One will teach him how to shave, too. The Talented One loved that! Christmas is coming soon. What will we do? What do you get a 22 year old? The little ones are easy; legos and barbies will make them happy.And they do seem happy a little don't they? I wonder if we'll end up adopting them. Where will we put them? I wonder if I can get a good job and just have all of my salary go into adding some rooms on the house? Then we'd all fit. Speaking of fitting, I can't believe the Talented One and the Smart One are graduating college and high school the same year. Can we really throw a big party for the graduations and the 18th birthday all at once? It could be like a family reunion! That's be great. Where would we hold it?"

8:25, I get another text message. This time from Punky, asking me to bring the choir book so she can make copies. "It sure would have been great to skip activities tonight, too." I text her back ok.

I write this blog.

It's now 8:46 am. Hubby thinks I'm sleeping. I think I'll go make some coffee and cuddle with him.

No, no parade today. It's quiet in the house for now and somehow, that seems a much better way to spend my morning.

Saturday Fun!

Today was a big day for the Smart One. He was testing for his 2nd Degree red belt. Big, because his next test is pre-black belt and then the big black belt test! Whew! He's worked hard for the past three years. 

Wasn't he cute back then?

Today, testing was much harder. And I think it's fair to say he was a bit nervous!

 

But look at the knife thing he does with his hands?

     

And those kicks! I can't even lift my leg that high!

 

Testing is also about being able to stay with the rest of them.

It takes discipline and teamwork to stay together!

 

Sometimes, it also means you're on your own!

 

I know I probably shouldn't, but I love this shot! It's not that I like violence, honest, but hey, he's learning self-defense and self-control. They have to know how to not hurt each other, too! And you have to admit...this is a great shot! I thought the next two were pretty good, too!

As long as he doesn't take his siblings down like that, we're ok!

Oh, and when you become a higher rank, you have to spar two against one! Yikes!

  But it's so worth it, when you get the new belt! There's only one belt in the way of that black belt now!

So in celebration, we headed out for sushi. The boy has taken up a true love for this food! We took B-boo along with us. Honestly, what were we thinking?

A) She doesn't know how to use chopsticks.

B) She has only ever had sushi from a grocery store; you know, the kind that is already made and you know what you are getting!

As an appetizer, we ordered Edamame. B-boo was pretty hesitant at eating these. She's only seen us eat them dried, like a chip...sort of. She exclaimed that they were weird to eat because they felt hairy. We tried to explain to her that you're supposed to put the pod in your mouth and suck the beans out. She thought we were nuts; but she tried it. And she must have sucked pretty hard, too, because the bean went flying across the room! (It's a good thing there wasn't anyone there!) After we finished our laughter, we actually got her to try again. And again, the bean went flying across the room! By this time, we'd received our sushi. We ordered for her since she had no idea what she'd actually like!

You'd think chopsticks would be easier than sucking out soybeans, right? Nope! At one point, she actually just went to stabbing the thing! We continued to laugh at her issues, and then hubby remembered they carry trainers!

"They have trainers? Why didn't you tell me? I want a trainer!"

So they brought her one.

And the poor little sushi went flying; landing under the table.

She finally just picked the sushi up with her fingers, poor girl.

Be Kind

 

Last night as I was putting away clothes in my closet and looking around thinking that I really need to reorganize my own closet (not just the kids), I happened to glance down at something on the floor. It was shoelaces that I bought for my husband's shoes at least a month ago. I picked them up and set them on the ironing board and started putting things away. Then I went to go get the kids ready for bed and try and make it through the rest of the night as all I wanted was a bed because of my allergies and Benadryl.

In the wee of the night (or early morning), a thought came to me. Instead of grumbling to myself about how I bought the shoelaces and he didn't even put them on his shoes, I could be kind and put them on for him. I know how much I appreciate the little things he does for me, so why can't I do the same for him? I could try going the extra mile to be kind. And you know what's worse? When I finally went to put the shoelaces on, I found out that these were some stray laces...he'd already put them on! Ouch!

Fourteen months ago, today, our dear friends lost their son in a terrible accident. Josh was such a sweet heart and set an amazing example of being kind. His family has started a foundation in his name, recognizing children who have a heart for kindness. You can read more about it on their web page.

I would encourage all of my readers today, to be conscience of their actions today and look for ways to be kind. Go the extra mile to be kind to your spouse, children, loved one...friend. You never know, you just might find a little joy today by being kind to someone else!