It's Christmas, ready?

With the exception of my Christmas cards that are sure to be very late by the time I take Christmas pictures and the fact that I can't get my background changed to a Christmas type one till I remember to log in on my home computer, I'm juuuust about ready for Christmas. Hubby put the lights on the house before Thanksgiving, without being asked, I might add. The tree is up. Most of which my sweetest baby Landon is responsible for decorating. With our in and out schedules, we had a hard time finding group tree decorating time. He even got the stockings up and set up my little village and carried all the boxes back up to the attic. (Man, time has just flown. I look at him and see a boy who is almsot a man. Seems like yesterday that he was that twinkly eyed, chubby cheeked, curious little baby.) I just love Christmas! Well, except the overwhelming commercialization of it all. For so many, it has become about money and gifts and bills and stress. If we let it, it's easy to do. I have to step back and remember that it is a celebration of Christ, of peace, of salvation. Although I'm not the most religous person, this time of year tends to bring things full circle. I'm reminded of the blessings in life, of all that I have, and that I love my life. Merry Christmas and God Bless!

Thankful

I love this time of year- with the exception of the cold weather that is! People are just happier don't you think. I become very thankful for the things in my life. We just had Veterans Day and to those whose sacrifices truly improve my life, I am very greatful. Soon it will be Thanksgiving which makes you think about all the things you are thankful for. I have so many. I am thankful for a God who is all powerful and forgiving. I am thankful for my family. The whole bunch of them. I have 3 precious, healthy children who feed my happiness everyday. I have found the most precious and wonderful husband. I am so thankful for him and the way he is a father to my children. We are a family. I am most thankful today that my new family will be growing soon. So so thankful. My mother- man I love my mom. We have our moments but the thought of life without her is almost unbearable. My step-dad- such a great man, and a dad by choice, not by obligation. I could go on and on. I have the comfort of knowing that if something tragic were to happen in my life, I have my family and any number of friends just a phone call away to support me. This is a good life. I wish these things for everyone.

Halloween

So Halloween has come and gone. It was pretty fun this year. Nothing big. Just a small group of family and friends, chili dogs, and a simultaneous hayride/ trick- or treating! Great fun! Hope went as Steve Urkle (sp?) and Braden went as a motocross rider. Both great costumes and cost me little of nothing so I was happy. My oldest, however, did not trick-or-treat, claiming that he was too old this year. He threw a "pumpkin ghost" costume together at the last minute but then stuck with his original plan to not trick-or-treat. Kinda sad! I remember being that age and thinking the same thing. Unfortunately with Halloween being on a Saturday this year, we missed all the fun grown-up parties, but that's okay. It was still pretty fun!

Small World

Okay, so I was just thinking about how incredibly small the big world is. Facebook has brought this to my attention here lately. It's like we are all connected on a big huge web that just gets bigger and bigger. For instance, my step-sister's hairdresser works in Atoka although my step-sis lives in MS. I happen to live very close to Atoka. Then it was discovered that a very significant "ex" of mine went to school with this girl for years and also sings kareoke with one of my dad's cousins! So back to the hairdresser- she also happens to know several people that live on my street and grew up with a girl I work with. Then when I come to work, our secretary is dating her ex-husband! What the heck? Isn't it just strange how 2 completely unrelated individuals' worlds can be so intertwined. It just blows my mind.
Oh, and another thing. One of the girls I was best friends with in elementary school is the cousin of a girl I've worked with for 6 years. I bet if we sat down and made a big map, we'd all be connected in some small way or another. . . .

New Toys

Well nothin too exciting happening right now. The kids have been on fall break and spent some time at their dad's. They got home tonight right before I had to leave to go to work. I tried all the last minute tricks to get out of work tonight with no luck and then when I got there, I wasn't even on the schedule. Ha! Irony! I just love it. So while I'm working away, the rest of the family is having movie night at home without me. Poo. Justin grilled hamburgers just before I left so at least I could take one with me for dinner. And they were all about to sit down to watch a movie on the new TV. Yes, I said NEW TV! We have had the little 26" flat screen out of our bedroom in that big ole living room since we moved in which looked quite silly. So my hubby got a wild hair the other night while I was working- see, they do all the fun stuff while I'm working- and bought a 55" flat screen. It's ginormous! The dilemna was then to find a "cabinet" of some sort to put it on. So after two days of shopping with the hubby, which was quite enjoyable I might add, we found what is called a "tv dresser" or a "media cabinet" to put it on. These are intended for the bedroom but it was the only way to find a stand that was as high as I wanted. So until that comes in, it is sitting on the old yucky black one from the big tv upstairs and hubby is working on getting the speakers and stuff hooked up! I can't wait for the next movie night when I'm home! It will be nice to have my living room look a little more "together"!

The Sweetest Words

Today was the memorial service for my cousin, Ryan Barringer. He was 30 years old and died peacefully in his sleep after a 10 year struggle with physical disability following a terrible accident. I learned so much about him today. What I remember from our childhood is Ryan and his brothers calling me a magpie everytime I opened my mouth! LOL. It used to make me sooo mad! He had these huge brown eyes and the longest eyelashes. He was a beautiful person, inside and out. Today, I learned that Ryan had been a loving and devoted father to his 3 yr old son Dacota and had quit drinking after Dacota was born. They told a story that when the baby saw his daddy after he'd passed, he first said, "shhh, my daddy is sleeping". Then he blew him a kiss and waved goodbye. How sad that this baby will have few memories of the daddy that loved him so much.
My youngest son, Braden, sobbed for Ryan today even though he barley remembers him. He's such a beautiful boy. After the service, Braden signed the guestbook. I signed right after him, and noticed that in the Comment blank next to his name, he simply wrote, "have a great time". How precious are these words? My children restore my faith in a broken world everyday in some small way or another. What better to say to someone who has gone to spend eternity in a better place than "have a great time"? Wow. Sometimes I'm just speechless. . . .

Birthdays and Calculators

Okay, so two things today. The first is that Round 2 of Birthday Train on Sunday went smashingly well! Aside from the weather, it was very enjoyable. We had to nix the volleyball game due to the drizzly rain, but everything else went well. We stopped after church and picked up a bought and pre-decorated cake from Walmart. Yes, I said I bought the cake and didn't even order a special one!! We came home, warmed the pre-cooked butt in the oven for a couple hours, got out the pre-made potato salad and slaw and dumped some pre-cooked beans in a pot on the stove. Ahhhhhhhh, yes, it was great. No stress, no worries. We had a nice but not quite oversized group. Family and a couple little friends. This is what birthdays should be about! I just hope Hopie enjoyed it too. She and her little friend and I went to a "birhtday" movie Saturday night and after being completely disgusted by the first 10 mins of H2- I didn't realize it was Rob Zombie- we caught most of The Time Travelor's Wife which was good except the ending stank!

And the second thing involves a little math. An item at a local convienience/grocery store which will remain nameless, was on sale for 5 for $5. Of course, as I was leaving, I noticed that each item had wrung up $1.49. When I brought this to the cashier's attention, he attempted to fix it at which point he said, "You were actually better off the other way. This is going to cost you more." So with a puzzled look on my face, I said, "Noooooo, 5 x $1.49 = $7.45. There is no way that's better than $5!" So the guy points to the computer screen and tells me that that is what he had to go by since the computer said so. We went round and round with these same issues several times when I irritatedly asked for a new cashier to shed some light on the subject. Fortunately, she realized the problem so at least all hope was not loss. Unfortunately, to my frustration , she was unable to fix it. She finally tossed $2.50 my way and called it good, which was still not right but if they truly felt that that computer was smarter than they were, then they needed the 18 cents worse than I did! Did you know that kids are allowed to use calculators at all times in Math class! It's just going to get worse!

Birthdays!

Okay, so we are coming up on Round 2 of birthday train at my house. My precious and slightly obnoxious son was 13 just a few weeks ago and now my smarty pants, but oh so adorable daughter will be 11 on Wednesday. When did this happen, I ask you? I swore off birthday parties a few years ago, however, this is easier said than done. Landon's bday consisted of a simple ice cream cake at the house. I have even given up making their cakes. Well, except the adorable monkey cake with pink toenails I made for Hope last year! We also borrowed a water slide from a friend since we could not find the super cool slip n' slide from last year. This is where we messed up! When you have a large, colorful, kid-friendly object set up in your front yard, it is likey to attract KIDS! They were everywhere. LOL. Kids I've never seen since we moved into our new house in May. They came from streets over. We had 1 piece of cake left. So once again, we had another crazy, in and out, head spinning birthday party that when over, seemed as if I had not had a chance to socialize with anybody!
So Sunday afternoon is Hope's "party". Mainly family and a few friends and is intended to remain calm and relaxing at all times. HA! I intended to try to smoke a Boston butt tomorrow, in my new, still in the box, smoker that I have no idea how to use. However, the weather isn't planning on cooperating and since they canceled Celebrate Munford this weekend, the Munford police department cooked 40 butts Friday night that needed purchasing! So with that done, it dawned on me that I have yet to order or plan for a cake! Aghh! What was I thinking? Or not thinking apparantly. I think I'm in denial that my babies are growing up :-(! If we have at least a little time without rain on Sunday, we are hoping to set up the volleyball net and play a little. Sounds fun, right?
Braden's bday is 6 wks after Hope's and I haven't even begun to think about it. And then, on to Christmas! The end of the year stays busy at our house. But I guess I'd get pretty bored if it wasn't, right? Yes. I would. I love this life!

Update on the Small Kids

Well, some funny and some not so funny news. I don't think I've mentioned my big fat cat Leo yet. Leo was rescued from the Bartlett Animal Shelter through PetSmart Christmas before last. Justin and I went hunting for a new kitty for Hope for Christmas since her kitty Jack had to be put to sleep earlier that year. When they put him in the "visitng room" with us, Leo AKA Slice, walked straight up to us, flopped on his back, and demanded to have his belly rubbed. Since neither of us were big cat lovers, we figured the cat that acted like a dog was the cat for us! Hope loved him from the minute she saw him that morning. He was a healthy orange striped boy weighing in at 11 pounds. Fat and lazy. . . with a little energy once in a while. So the bad part. . . Leo is "missing". We happen to have a neighbor with a K-9 dog next door. His owner reported some suspicious activity last week and I guess I have been in denial. Unfortunately, Leo has not been home since. I don't have the heart to tell the kids and technically, I didn't see anything. He will be missed.
On a brighter, lighter note. Chloe, ohhh precious Chloe, is getting more mischevious by the day. My son brought home that well known animal cell project this week. He had to fill this little ziploc baggie with a blue substance that represented the nucleus or the vacuole or something. Heck, I don't know. That was years ago! He chose to mix flour and water and add blue food coloring since apparantly the water they tried to use in class kept leaking from the bag. Personally, I thought this idea was quite genious of him. That is of course until Chloe decided to snack on it. We have already caught her ON the already high dining room table twice this week. All 60 lbs of her! So why this possibility didn't occur to anyone, I don't know. So yes, she ATE the project. Mainly just the vacuole, or nucleus, or whatever it was. Right after having a bath and all over my very light colored carpet!!! Anyone have any tricks to get food coloring out of carpet????

Nothing new. . .

Okay, so I haven't written in a while and the main reason is..... nothing's new. As a matter of fact, things are getting old, real old. For those of you who don't know it, I have had the worst baby fever EVER!! So about a month or so ago, I try to have this "heart to heart" via text with the hubby. Yes, I said via text! This seems to be the most effective way of serious communication these days. Except this time, of course. So I send this long, weepy, heart felt text about why I want a baby and about sharing that most awesome part of life with him and growing together and blah blah blah. . . . and in return, I recieve a txt back, that states, simply- "okay, Hope's eatin bratwurst!" WHAT? Are you kidding me? I don't think I have ever seen a larger display of avoidance in my whole long life! And the even worse, part is, it's just gone downhill since this instance! Aghhhhhhhhhhh!

Bad luck??

Ok so just when I thought things were lookin up after my doggie being so sick. . . . . what the heck? It's like we've had a strain of bad luck! You may know that Justin and I bought our first house together in May. For the most part, it has been great. I remember waking up the first day thinking " wow, who's pretty house is this? oh yeah, it's mine!" lol. However, with new houses come new expenses, and quite alot of them. Justin also has been sick and trying not to appear miserablef or many months now and the added stress of the house and all the things that need to be done is taking it's toll. We went to the river for a much needed break. It was nice, but then disaster struck. The transmission on Justin's truck went out approximately 20 minutes after me saying how nice it was that his truck is paid for! Then my Chloe got sick. More expense! But oh so worth it. She is doing great, back to driving Jack crazy as her favorite past time. Back to school came all at the same time of course. Putting 3 kids in school clothes and back packs is quite pricy as well you can imagine. Then Sunday, on my last day of school shopping, I notice a funny whining noise near the back of my truck. When Justin finally remembers to look at it, he just says, "oh, this is not good"! So I think we've determined that the rear end of my 4 wheel drive is going out. We've also discovered just how expensive it's gonna be. Unless, that is, the truck fairy grants me a miracle.
However, when I stepped back and took in a deep, cleansing breath. . . you know, "Relax, relate, release"- Whitley Gilbert, I remembered that I still have a wonderful life and lots to be grateful for. This past Sunday, my youngest son made a committment to God in baptism. My new neighbor is the pastor at Crosspoint Baptist Church in Millington and was honored to perform the baptism for us. Braden was so nervous that morning and almost back out, but after an early morning Q & A with Pastor Jim, he was all better!
So, we have the Lord working in our home, healthy kids, a now healthy dog, and hopefully a husband on the mend. These are the important things in life, right? Now, if only we could find the money tree!!!!

I prayed for her. . . . and He answered. . .

Okay, soooo I should totally be sleeping. . . but have lots on my mind. Chloe gets her stitches out today! Oh, I'm so excited that this nightmare is almost over. She seems to be doing great but I'm stayin on my toes. For those of you who don't know, 2 1/2 wks ago, Chloe, the Golden Retriever, had to have emergency surgery. I woke from my 3rd hour of sleep to hear my husband shrieking at the top of his lungs saying we had to go to the vet. When my eyes focused from the blinding light, I looked down and realized that her incision from being spayed just a few days before, had come open and her intestines were hanging out. I panicked and lost all sense of. . . well hell, I just acted plain stupid. I almost threw a dirty towel around her intestines! I stopped myself and at least found some telfa and gauze but it didn't dawn on me for a while that I should've put a wet dressing on it! What was I thinking??? She was in surgery for 3 hours and had to go to the Doggie ER for the night. She's been on 5 different medications, had very limited activity, and had to wear a big cone on her head. Ironically the $40 collar that we thought was too much to spend may have prevented this very pricy adenture and saved a lot of pain and tears for everyone! Ohhh how I cried. . . . and cried. . . . and cried! One week post-op, she started projectile vomiting and peeing on herself. I thought this was it. I thought she was gonna die. I prayed for her. . . and He answered. I feel so blessed. I love this baby like my own babies. She brings me joy like no other. My family has tolerated it well. They have all pitched in to help take care of her. And my poor husband has put up with my crazy behavior without a gripe. She will add love and laughter to our crazy family for years to come.

About me. . .

Okay, so first, I have got to be one of the most technologically uninclined people ever! I think. . . I'm not sure. . . but I think I put the title in the wrong place. lol. who knows? aside from that, i am a proud mommy of 3 beautiful, intelligent, compassionate people. . . . Landon Cole is 12, almost 13 and truly takes things to heart.. Hope Ashlyn or "Hopie" is 10 and starting middle school as well as testing the waters these days.. and Braden Robert is 9 and adorably fabulous except when he does what we call the "full body pout"! Next, I've been married now for just over a year. My husband is one of the best people I know. He gives his all at everything he does and that includes choosing to father 3 kids he's not biologically connected to. I've not met a single person yet that doesn't just love Justin! Until last summer, it was just Justin and Jack. . . the ever- adored, Eyeore type personality, Bassett Hound. Neither of them get thier feathers ruffled about much. Then we added myself, 3 spirited kids, 2 chihuahuas, and 1 fat orange cat! Sound overwhelming? The newest addition to our mixed family is a high- strung, gorgeous, blonde-haired 10 month old Golden Retriever named Chloe. It's never dull at our house! We just bought a bigger house to hold everyone. The other one was busting at the seams. . . I work as an EMT in the ER. Have been there 6 years. And Justin has worked for the "City" for 10. Munford, that is. We just recently started attending Crosspoint Baptist and although I'm not sure that I'm Baptist, I am sure that I am a Christian. I'm totally siked that my youngest has made the decision to be baptized this Sunday. I know I am truly blessed, although some days I need reminding of that! I tend to get a lil pouty. Guess Brade gets it honestly! I'm just trying to enjoy each day and remember to be thankful for what I have. . .