Oh Cinderella!

Sweep every corner, under every rug, behind every door. Take a scratch pad and get up the tough messes. Get on your hands and knees with that thick rag and a pail of sudsy water and scrub every square inch of the floor. Oh, and don't forget the trim. When your done with this task you only have to dust, clean the bathrooms, vacuum the rugs and carpets , do the windows.....oh and then the laundry maybe.

Right now as I sit and share with you I've only gotten the "hands and knees mopping" done and I'm asking myself a very serious question. Why oh why do I not hire someone to do this?!?

I've used professional cleaners before and my week-ends and evenings were so much more meaningful than what they sometimes are now. Should I make sure that the toilets are clean and the sinks aren't spotted with toothpaste or should I go on a bike ride with my kids or jump on the trampoline? Most of the time I choose the bike ride or the trampoline and my house shows it. So, today I'm playing Cinderella to the point I mopped my floors by hand. Can I just say that it was a work-out like I haven't had in a long time. My back, abs and arms will probably all hurt tomorrow. For those of you that I know do this on a regular basis.....good for you!

But.....tomorrow I'll wake up and get to be the Cinderella that has her hair done, her make-up on, her high heel shoes on and forget about what didn't get done today. It will still be here waiting on me....but at least I got my floors clean right? The evil step-mother would not like my attitude would she? : )

Feeling Doubtful?

Life is so interesting....for me at least. One day I'm feeling on top of the moon and the next day I'm insecure about everything from the shoes I'm wearing to the way I'm parenting my children. It seems wrong that one's mood can swing so dramatically..... but I have a feeling I'm not alone.

I read something today that was very much focused on family and parenting and although my heart broke for this little boy, I could relate to feeling not up to par. Feeling like I'm not as "cool" or "talented" as someone else.

I'm sharing my readings with you just in case you gain some insight from it as well...

"Long ago, even before God made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:4-5

Ronny squirmed back and forth unable to peal his eyes from the black asphalt below him. He hated this part of PE class. He shifted his weight back and forth and listened; wishing and praying that he would hear his name called.

“Simon.” The boy next to him smiled and hustled over to his team. Ronny sighed. There were only a few kids left and he knew he would be the last one picked. He was right, as he found himself standing alone, again. Ronny, shoulders drooping, joined his team. Getting picked last stinks.

There are none picked last in the Kingdom of God. God does not choose us because we are the most athletic, the smartest, the strongest, or the most religious. We cannot do anything to earn the salvation God graciously and freely gives us. It has always been a part of God’s plan to adopt us into His family, so we cannot take the credit. There is no room for pride.

Our team captain is Jesus Christ. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, we are holy and blameless in God’s sight. We are set apart. Through Jesus we are a part of the body of Christ. We are on His team.

We are not picked last, but first. In fact, Jesus picked you long before any of us existed!

Isn't it great to know that God made us exactly how we are and he wouldn't change us for the world! There is absolutely no reason to feel insecure b/c God made me like these shoes, or he made me overly passionate about dealings with my kids. He made us this way! He chose for us to be who we are today.

Blessings on you today. I hope you go out in confidence and freedom to be you.

Turning 32!

I woke up this morning to the sound of the alarm, thinking..."ugh, If I could just sleep in one day as long as I wanted...". Then, Billy rolls over shuts the alarm off, whispers "Happy Birthday. I don't think you've aged a bit", and jumps out of bed to start the kids day. Me? I smiled, rolled over and thought about going back to sleep. I was fortunate enough to take my time getting out of bed, but not fortunate enough to sleep any more. The discussions resonating through the monitor were amusing. I heard things like, "Daddy, I do have to go wee wee now. Right now", and "I like to dress this way. I don't look like a ragamuffin Dad. I don't like those pants". Soon Alyssa climbed into bed with a home-made card and lots of hugs and kisses for me. Isaiah soon followed with his home-made card and a shy grin saying Happy Birthday Momma. They ran out the door to take Isaiah to school and I still laid in my bed quite cozy and smiling, but thinking I should probably start moving and get to my computer to start my day. Billy had brought me my bed buddy heated perfectly for my neck and rubbed my shoulders for a little while before I reluctantly threw back the covers and donned my robe. I went straight to my home office, sat down and began making phone calls to pull in a multi million dollar order that I need to process by day's end. This would be the best birthday present yet! Billy brought me some eggs, toast and orange juice and said he was heading out to run some errands. I'd say he started my day on the right foot! : ) He finished it well too. He shooed me out of the house for a couple hours so he and the kids could "prepare". When I got home there were balloons and streamers everywhere (which the kids were extremely excited about), the house smelled of home-made lasagna, salad and garlic bread. The salad even had calamata olives, feta cheese and a Tuscan dressing! For dessert we had home-made Creme Brulee with a raspberry sauce, chocolate slivers and fresh raspberries. It was very fantastic. :) So much better than a mayonnaise cake (which is humorous for those of you that know I've gotten a chocolate mayonnaise cake every single year for 10 years! I got some great gifts and lots of love from the kids. Overall, I'm feeling good turning 32! Here's some pics of our night.

Yes, they did buy me some "bling" to wear during the party!
My adorable kids were so excited and proud that they helped!
Billy went way out of his way to help me have a great day!

I'm lucky to have him!

We actually ate little personal creme brulee's.

However, Billy has some "leftover" so he made a big one for my candles!

I loved my presents! Thank you to everyone!

This is the "after party" look. Alyssa had covered herself in stickers. Found a party hat. Ate enough raspberries to make a grown up sick and decided she wanted to practice "cutting". She's too fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY SISTER!

Today is my little sister's birthday and I couldn't be more proud of where she is in life and who she has become.

A young woman who knows how to love...

A young woman who knows how to have fun....

(yeah, I left my version of this cheer out katy...)

A young woman who seeks God first.....

A young woman who knows who she is and isn't afraid to follow her dreams...

Happy Birthday Katy! May this be a year of growth, success and many many blessings!

Our Week at a Glance...

Well, if you read my previous post you know how this week began for me. I felt terrible Monday, okay Tuesday and Wednesday and then last night I felt awful again. I do feel much better now so maybe I'm over it!

This week my boss came to town so I had a couple late nights at work and very full days. I'm interviewing people to work as an intern in our office for the last three months of this year, which is awesome, because it means we'll get some help. We are also working very hard to get a lift in our orders this month so that is keeping me on my toes!

Isaiah is practicing soccer two nights a week and will start having games every Saturday morning. Billy got roped into helping coach again and he knows very little about soccer. I think he enjoys it anyway! Isaiah liked his shin guards so much he wanted to wear them on the outside of his socks!

Alyssa is just being her cute and sassy self. She walked right into a kitchen chair this week and scared us that her cut was going to pop back open on her forehead. It is very bruised and purple again, but I think she'll be okay.....IF we can quite hitting it on things! These pics were taken before the new bruising on her head. You can see her forehead is shiny from all the mederma we are putting on to help the scarring though.

Billy is burying himself in inventory receipts and papers and I think he's quite beside himself that he still has so far to go. He's starting to look for jobs this week too. More on this subject to come...

We were supposed to have a little get together on Tuesday night because my brother, Joshua, is moving temporarily to Texas to help Danina (my sister) build a house. Amy & I thought we'd have a "last supper", but then Breck got sick. Then...Isaiah has soccer practice. Then, the sodas's had community group. So, I think we've drug it out long enough and we are going to have a bon voyage party for him at our house Saturday night. We have loved having him here and will miss him greatly while he's away! My sister's family and my dad will get to enjoy him for a few months though and we are happy for them. : ) Here's a few pics of him playing Dead Man Dead Man on our trampoline...

Good Times....but no I didn't play!

It's Monday...

Today I feel ran over by a truck. I'm so tired and yet there is so much to do. I have been feeling really good so I'm surprised at how bad I actually feel. I'm hoping I am not coming down with something.

We had a busy week-end.

Billy cooked his first meal for our family, plus Josh, on Friday night. It was very good. Pork grilled with pineapple and onion. You place this on a warm corn tortilla and then put some home-made salsa on top. I really liked it and he did such a great job.

Saturday morning I packed our suitcases to go to Oklahoma, ran some errands in town and headed to Melissa's to help her unpack at her new home. She has moved about 20 minutes closer to work, but still 50 minutes away. Their new home is absolutely beautiful though. It is the type of home you can see yourself staying in and raising your kids until they move out and are on their own.

Anyway, Billy met us at Melissa's house after his fishing tournament and we drove to Mi Mi and Poppie's house arriving at about 9:15 pm. (Billy got 4th in the tournament and brought home about $175. He'd think I missed a big point if I didn't mention this! : ) )

Sunday morning we had a nice egg omelet and blackberry cobbler breakfast outside by the pool and then I went to the church to help decorate for Billy's cousin's baby shower. Billy, Poppie and Isaiah went out on the lake fishing and Mi Mi and Alyssa came to the shower later. Everything went well, but we didn't get home again until about 9:30.

Hopefully I'll drink some mona vie and get a big burst of energy!