Head and Shoulder - Hands and Feet

I am in Richmond, VA and sick. :( Elisha is sick with a version of Hand, Foot and Mouth disease. We spent the whole 3 day weekend hiding from the world and caring for sick kids. Landon first, Elisha second and me third. Amazingly enough Chris avoided catching anything - so far :)

Update to Lost but with "Good Intent"

Yes, I did make it to the mall. I was talking on the phone not to Sally. By the way Emma, my GPS is named Sally and I am really glad to hear that someone else has named their GPS :)

Lost but with "Good Intent"

Here's my story for the day. I am in Philadelphia for work and I decided that it would be fun to go to the mall this evening. I talked to the hotel front desk and there is a mall 30 minutes away. I put it into my GPS and I am on my way. I am merrily chatting away while driving when my GPS proudly proclaims, "You have arrived at your desination". Except here's the catch. I am in the middle of a neighborhood. So the Bed, Bath and Beyond that I have keyed in as my final desination is not located in this house the best that I can tell. I briefly considered knocking on their door to ask them if they were Bed, Bath and Beyond and decided against it. I pull over and key in Sports Authority which is the only other store that I remember the front saying was next to it. Proudly keying in Sports Autority and driving on my way. My GPS delivers me to a different home. Good times. I decide that I am going to just drive because it's a mall and I have to be close. I am at a stop light and my GPS delivers me an apology. I realize that the cross street is named "GOOD INTENT". I had to giggle at myself in the irony. And I really believe that this street must have been a circle because as I drove around in circles around Deptford, New Jersey. I crossed the street 'Good Intent' three times. I finally found my way to the mall and enjoyed my shopping. By the way the mall was about 5 minutes from the house I was originally directed to.

Organization or Chaos - Depends on how close you are...

Life is soo different from a distance. I live two lives. One travels and is in charge. When I am at my stores I am in authority. When I am at home I am a part of a team keeping a house and family together. What's great is like a city when you can back away from it for a moment it is beautiful and organized. Each field stays within its own lines. Fences block off areas from each other. Rivers and highways ribbon across the earth in an organized pattern. When you look at a city from a plane window you can see the order to it all. But a farmer couldn't care for his field from this distance. He wouldn't be able to see weeds, pests and illness within his fields. We all need to back up and look at ourselves sometimes to see the beauty that is there.But then we need to land and get close up. Find the weeds that are invading God's beauty in our life and get rid of them. And also get really close to each flower he has given us and hold them tight. My flowers happen to be my family, husband, kids and friends. We all have people that he has put in our lives to bless us. One more great thing, I am so glad that I serve a God who can see the big pictures and plans he has for me. But I am more thankful that like a careful farmer he gets close enough to me to be a part of this lovely plan. My plane is landing in Philly now...until next time...

And the winner is…chocolate brown….

After years of white walls in my living room and dining, they got painted this weekend. Yippee! The walls are a medium brown and the rock wall (if you have ever been to my house you know what I mean) is a darker brown. It is sooo pretty! And I went to Kohl’s and bought all of my accessories, rugs, picture frames and candles. My mom, Elisha and I had fun tearing apart the whole store in search of the perfect throw pillow. By the way, the carts only hold so much stuff and Kohl’s before they are just too full to push and then the store manager and some random stranger help you to your car with your purchases. Seriously, I have no idea who these people were or where they came from but they loaded my many bags into my car for me. J So much fun. It looks like a completely different house. But the really exciting part is my AMAZING husband. He painted and slaved all weekend for me. What a mother’s day present!!! He was so patient with all of my requests. He is the best! After all weekend of painting and project we had my mom, dad and grandma over for mother’s day dinner. It was a nice quiet evening at home followed up with watching Bride Wars in my new living room. What a wonderful mother’s day weekend! So to my two kids and hubby - I love you guys and thanks!

Bringing Up Boys?

Ok, so feel free to respond. I just got off of the phone discussing boys with my mother. And not just any boy but one in particular. Landon. Landon will be 3 in June and is going through a stage. A stage that wears me out most days. It is called ‘mean’. He is evil spirited. He hits with no regard to who he is hitting. Time-out means nothing and he is constantly apologizing for his actions but it doesn’t faze him. It’s like he has too much energy and it just escapes in random acts of hitting. Do you know what I mean? Our house is just not big enough to contain a 2 year old boy…and I am tired.

Getting older but having more fun....

Ok, so I am 28 now and definitely getting older but I am having so much more fun. Now that the kids are older and past the 'eating dirt' stage Chris and I are able to do so much. For those of you that don't have young kids the 'eating dirt' stage is the age in which any time a child is left unattended they manage to eat dirt. This could be outside, at the mall, at Applebee's. It doesn't really matter but if you turn your head - they will find dirt and eat it. Good times! Ok, so back to where I was. Chris just bought a motorcycle. Not an old man Harley but a really nice Kawasaki Ninja. And I am going to start planting flowers around our house. We are finally able to do things and allow the kids to run and play in the yard without trying to eat dirt - hence the fact that we are past the 'eating dirt' age. We bought our house and within days Elisha moved in with us. And then shortly after came Landon. So, all hobbies and things around the house other than surviving were put on hold. We didn't even get to camp last summer. But this summer will be different. We will be able to plant flowers, ride motorcycles, spruce up the house and get all of those things done. Tonight is our date night and I am hoping to paint our living room and dining room. They are still the same beautiful color of white that they were when we moved in :) Oh, and to explain the attached pictures. We were also able to go to Denny's family's property around Easter and play with guns. Good times! Growing up can be fun....now what color should I paint the walls....

How do they get all the sparkles in there?

This is the life of me. One time when I was little my mom sent me in to the bathroom to brush my teeth before we left to go somewhere. So several minutes pass and I am still in the bathroom. She walks in and I am intently staring into my tube of sparkly bubble gum flavored toothpaste. I looked up with great concern and ask her "How DO they get the sparkles in there?" And I have been trying to figure it out since...any ideas, let me know :)