mother's day and other stuff

Slowly but surely catching up. W's class hosted a tea to honor their mothers on Mother's Day. We had a fabulous time and W was super excited to give me his present and card. It's these moments that you want to wrap up and keep forever.

Speaking of moments you love capturing. Here's one of lil'G and his daddy. I would think that it's fair to say that is the look of love.

With all these kid moments, it is easy to miss out on the adult time so we took advantage of a local fundraiser to get some time out alone. Since we were all pretty, I had someone snap pic us the two of us. These days the cameras filled with pics of the boys or of one of us and the boys so its nice to actually have a recent picture where neither one of us look like a hot parenting mess.

This was piece of art for auction at the fundraiser. It cracked me up to see some space robot thingy interposed with some peaceful but dated nature scene. I may just have to recreate this and see what kind of response I get from guests to our home. Ha!

change is hard

Most of the people close to me know that my dad is getting remarried in May. While I have given him my blessing (not that he really needed it), it still is hard for me to accept. My mother and father were married for 39 years and I had never considered that one would remarry after the loss of the other. They were a pair so it's hard to let that go and know he is about to become a part of another pair.

The interesting thing to me is the people who have "inquired" how I am handling it. You see, these are people who dropped out of my life when my mother passed almost 2 years ago. People I had initially tried keeping in contact with, but for whatever reason, did not respond. It makes me sad and angry that these people all of a sudden want to comfort me when I don't need their comfort now. I needed it the months after my mama passed. I needed it then. So, for those with inquiring minds, I am fine. I'm fine.

No, I am not happy at the thought of him getting remarried, but it's not because I want him to be lonely. Him getting remarried is just another sharp reminder than my mother is indeed gone. I miss her so much. I miss everything about her. And, it was hard when he first started seeing his fiance not to feel as if he was betraying my mother. But, you know what? What I have come to conclude is that my daddy getting remarried does not diminish what he and my mother had, because my parents had something truly special. My mother loved my dad with everything she had and he loved her. They provided me with a loving and great home, with a sense of roots and the knowledge of who I am.

My mother had 2 great loves - my dad and me. I have no doubt about that. She always wanted my father and I to have a good relationship, and because of her, I can do that and support him in this.

the end is in sight...

of construction that is. The bonus room once finished will serve as a sewing room for me and a place for overnight guests to stay. Additionally, it will serve as media room down the road as the boys get bigger.

Background: Our bonus room flooded in November/December 2009. We had to rip out the carpeting and sheet rock which had begun to mildew in mold. Then, we decided to add extra insulation the the wall that connects to the outside of the house, which meant tearing out more sheetrock and redoing it. After that we decided to take out the drop tile ceiling which was oh so nasty due to the apparent rodent infestation that had been there at one time. As you can see, this turned into a bigger and bigger project which was being done by S and a part-time hired help. Since S was doing it in his free time (ha!) after a full time job, part time school, and 2 little boys, you can easily see why it drug out throughout 2010.

That's why we made the decision in December to find a contractor to finish it for us and we could not be more thrilled. We hired Natco Construction to work on the ductwork to make it more efficient, finish out the room, and to stain the concrete floor while we are at it. The guys at Natco construction are doing a fantastic job and we should be done sometime next week! WOOT! Here are some of pictures of the room under construction:

Removed the built-in bookcase and shelves. They were way too deep

to be efficient so we took them out in order to have a nice storage closet.

New ductwork to have heat and a/c in the room.

Patched up wall

View from stairwell.

View from the end of the room

View from other side

Additionally, we made a trip to Ikea in Atlanta for our 6th anniversary for a shopping excursion to help get the new room in order. We bought some bookcase systems, a futon bed for guests and a new table (sewing) for me. Since we will have exposed ductwork in the room, the room needed a more modern and contemporary feel to it so Ikea was the perfect fit. In order to make this happen, I had to get a trailer hitch put on our vehicle on Friday and borrow a trailer. We looked like country come to town rolling into Ikea on Saturday. The kids did well for the most part, but then the no nap meltdowns started occuring as we were trying to get our stuff loaded for checkout. We decided at that point to divide and conquer. Since we had filled out cart and still hadn't gotten the futon loaded, we decide to pay for what we had ready and take it and the boys to car. From there, I gave the kids their "special" snack and drink and pulled out the car DVD player which they hadn't used before and almost immediately we had happy campers. I stayed with them while S finished shopping for the futon.

With all that said, we then rolled out of Ikea and headed to Steak 'n Shake. We didn't have a romantic or fancy dinner with just the 2 of us for our anniversary, but it was perfect the way it was. We came to Ikea, we conquered Ikea and then we got milkshakes. As we sat there with our 2 babies, I couldn't help but think about the all the changes we had experienced since our wedding day. Here's a few pictures:

On February 26th, 2005, we became a husband and wife, but on February 26, 2011, we were a family of four. It was as it should be.

The Sparrow

"Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins?* And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. ~Luke 12:6-7

During my deepest, darkest times, this scripture has resonated within me. Today,my friend, Amy, shared this link on Facebook.

What a beautiful way to begin today.

Sparrow

Tags: Courage

I have always loved the verse that says God cares about us more than sparrows.

I’m not sure I’ve always believed it, though.

For the longest time I kept it to myself, always nodding at the right time while in Christian circles, furrowing my brow in agreement when it was brought up. As if I was considering the depths of this unfathomable love, and swallowing it like sweet tea in the hot sun.

Delicious.

But that wasn’t what I was thinking.

I was actually imagining what it must be like to honestly believe God would love me that way.

Those girls in Bible study had their act together. And all I had was a Bible that had brand-new stuck-together pages and a date with a guy who couldn’t remember my last name.

I decided it was a complicated last name and stifled the desire to be known by either one.

But the image of a sparrow chased me everywhere I went.

Years passed.

Decades, in fact.

And I continued to believed that a God Who would love someone like me wasn’t worth loving back.

And one day, over a cup of too-cold coffee, I decided I wanted to know what it was that made this bird so important. I had gone through a very dark time in my life and I was looking for Him, for answers, for a reason to believe He even cared, let alone loved me.

Quite frankly, I wasn’t that worried about love.

I just wanted to know I existed to Him.

Why would He care about the number of tears I cry, or hairs on my head? I just wanted Him to know I cried at all.

I waited on Him.

After about an hour I came across (I was tempted to say stumbled, but we all know that isn’t true at all) an article on a particular type of bird. It wasn’t a Christian reference, but rather a zoological-type book with statistics and pictures for someone who knows much more about birds than I do.

I skimmed it until I came across a sentence that explained how this certain type of bird learned how to sing. I didn’t finish reading it before the tenderness overcame me.

“And this particular bird cannot learn to sing in the daylight because it is always concerned with the chatter around it. Instead, its cage must be covered so that it is in complete darkness. Then, it is able to hear its master and will learn to sing…”

More than a sparrow.

More than the pitch-black-darkness.

He loves me.

And in that place of feeling left alone, unwanted, disregarded, abandoned, He whispered to my weary soul;

Sing, love.

In the black night, I listened to His voice and I heard Him in a way I never had before. I stopped trying to focus on the silhouettes around me, panicked and desperate for my bearings. I accepted the fact that it might be a long while before I knew where I was and how to find my way back. Slowly, I started to believe that He treasured me enough to trust my voice in the dark. Nobody watching, nobody to judge.

Just me and the One Who told me I was worth it.

Have you heard Him, too? I pray so.

Sing, love.

Despicable as the shadows may be, they hold the promise of the Master’s voice. Worry not about tomorrow, wondering if the sun will come again.

It will, as it always does, in some sense or another.

In the meantime, raise your voice to the One Who loves you.

He loves you.

It isn’t too late to fill the sky with the sound of song. And when you do, know I will be not-so-far away, joining in with you as we await the dawn.

Sing, love.

The Master is listening…

By Angie Smith, Bring the Rain

Now the computer's back, where were we?

This month we gained 2 new additions to our family. Meet Mr. Toad and the wet Sprocket.

It took me a year and a half to convince S that we should get some, but he finally caved and we have had so much fun with our African dwarf frogs. Their names are a double entendre of sort. Mr. Toad's name comes from Wind in the Willows which I loved as a kid. When you put Mr. Toad with Sprocket, you get a great band - Toad and the Wet Sprocket. Ha!

In any case, W has the dubious honor of getting to feed them and he proudly tells S, "Daddy, that's MY job!" Lil'G, on the other hand, he is more like the girl "FISSS-SHE's" that the dentist wants to give Nemo too. So, our job, is to save the frogs from G's loving but deathly embrace.

Hard lesson

This month started out with a bang. About 3 weeks ago, little G, unbeknownst to me, highjacked my large bottle of water and poured it over a closed, but running laptop. Yep, sweet baby boy had caused over $800 worth of damage. Thankfully, the good Apple people took pity on this poor mother and the Genius guy, without me asking, went to his management to ask them to cover the repair costs. Then the clouds parted and the angels started singing because Apple management said yes to covering the repair costs although it really was our fault. (It pays to be nice and funny to service reps!!)

With that said, there is always good with the bad and vice versa. When we got the computer back, we had lost all our precious pictures, videos and music collection. We were not able to backup the computer before we took it because it just wouldn't run long enough. We almost physically sick thinking about we had lost... over 6 years of wonderful, precious memories. (We do have an external hard drive, but, like idiots, we hadn't backed up the computer in quite some time. More than that, we can't locate it. (It had been kept downstairs, but was moved due to flooding and construction in the room.))

So here we are, trying to piece the last 7 years of our life together. Fortunately, S remembered he might have some duplicate files that he had been planning on deleting at work. He brought the jump drive home and I nearly cried. We regained over 6,000 pictures! Praise be! I have never been so relieved! We got back most of our photos, with exception of the last year and a half.

And I hate that. Because, it means I've lost so many photos of precious baby G. I cried for 2 days as the realization sunk it. We had photos of his birth and the first 2 months of his life and then nothing. I can be thankful that we have great family who are willing to give me copies of their photos, but I have a hard time swallowing that we've lost those day-to-day pictures.

On Friday, I went out and bought a new external hard drive. I backed up everything immediately. We will not go through that again.

a southern christmas meal

This is the first year that we aren't doing a big extended family Christmas dinner. Growing up, I had several Christmas dinners so to speak. We always got together with my mother's family (a grandmother "Granny", 5 sisters, 1 brother, their spouses and all the children) the weekend before Christmas. Then, we did the big Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve with my father's family (1 grandmother, 1 grandfather, 3 sisters, 1 brother, their spouses and again a whole passel of children).

Neither of the get-togethers were fancy. It was strictly potluck, but we had more food than you could ever imagine - turkey, ham, chicken, dressing, appetizers, casseroles galore, desserts. Every female had a new dish plus the one they had perfected throughout the years that they wanted to showcase, so to speak. No one, male or female, made a fuss over who was carving the turkey, but Southern women do stake a claim whose makes the dressing.

You see, whether you know it or not, there is a difference between stuffing and dressing. Stuffing is good, but dressing, well good dressing, is like a piece of Heaven. My mother, for years, was the queen bee when it came to dressing. In fact, I was well into my 30s before she would even share her recipe with me and even then, it was pinch of this and pinch of that until it reaches a trick, soupy consistency. No genuine recipe, for sure. But, with much guidance and trial, I think my dressing is really close to my mother's. When my mother passed, I thought I might be able to make her dressing and bring it to the family gatherings. I soon learned otherwise as the next one on the matriarchal list quickly let me know that she had the dressing covered.

Back to the Christmas dinners, by the time Christmas day actually arrived, my mother was quite tired of Christmas/holiday food so she instituted the big Christmas breakfast and light lunch/dinner for the other meal.

After I got married, the holidays became much more stressful with the addition of my husband's family. It's the juggling of family time that makes the holidays so hard. The first few years of marriage, we nearly killed ourselves trying to split the day with each of our families and finally we came up with a system. One family will get Thanksgiving day and the other family will get Christmas day and the next year we flip. It seems to be working for now.

This year, we will have my dad, his friend and my niece over at our house on Christmas eve and then my dad is planning on coming over on Christmas day for a bit. That is, if weather allows. You see, they are predicting measurable snow in Alabama on Christmas day. If it happens, it would be the first time ever recorded and it means that my dad probably won't make it to the house since we live up on a mountain and the roads won't be driveable. So, it may just be me and the boys on Christmas day.

In any case, it's a little surreal for me to think that all of Christmas dinner is up to me, but I'm getting a little handle on it and have been having some fun planning it out. So, without a further ado, I bring you this Southern woman's menu:

Christmas Eve

Apply Cider Vinaigrette Salad with dried cranberries, walnuts, and feta

Shish Kabobs

Roasted Asparagus

Baked potatoes

Rosemary bread

Chocolate Turtle Cheesecake

Christmas Day

Smoked turkey breasts

Honey glazed ham

Stuffed celery

Mama's cornbread dressing

Sweet potato casserole

Green beans

Cranberry orange relish

Rolls

Egg custard pie

Perhaps, with it potentially being a Christmas without the the extended family, I could take a less ambitious approach to the food, but what's the fun of that? So if you're in the area, and you feel like dropping by, come on over! We may still be in our pj's but the the food will be divine.

Blue Monday

This week has been way too depressing. Last week, a teacher at the boys school lost her 3yo son quite unexpectedly. On Friday, I found out that a cousin had been out hunting, shot a buck, brought it back to the truck and apparently had a massive heart attack and passed away while waiting to meet up with his hunting buddies. The thing that is so shocking about this is that he was in great physical shape and only 39. He leaves behind a 10 yo son and a 4 yo daughter. Today, I hear of a child from my hometown who tried to commit suicide. When his family found him, he was already brain dead and despite the best medical efforts, he passed today. He was in middle school. Life can be so hard sometimes. All I want to do is hold tight to my precious babies, thank God for his mercy, and pray for peace to those who are hurting so badly right now.

God's grace is so good and he is waiting to pour out his love on those who ask. When a believing person prays, great things can happen. So tonight I am praying. May peace find all who desperately need it.

Godspeed Uncle

When I woke up today, I grabbed the Ipod to check the weather and jump onto FB for a bit for an early morning commentary. What I found was my cousin's wife announcing the death of her husband's uncle, who is my uncle as well. (I think I shall post my thoughts on people rushing to post stuff like this on FB on another day.) Needless to say, I was a little stunned. You always are when it happens, even when you expect it to happen.

I knew my uncle had been in bad condition. In fact, he had lived in a lot of pain for several years. It's heartbreaking watching someone you love continually suffer so when death finally comes to them you feel relieved and guilty that you feel relieved.

In his prime Uncle R was quite a character. He was an incredible pharmaceutical sales man. My mom used to tell me that he was quite the BS'er and could sell ice to an Eskimo. More than that, he was a natural comedian. We often likened Uncle R to John Candy. There was always a story floating around about something he had gotten himself into.

My favorite memory of him though is of Uncle R, Aunt J, my parents and I riding around Lay Lake in Uncle R's pontoon boat with him blasting music from The Phantom of Opera. I'm sure we were quite the sight, but because of that day on the boat, my mother renewed her appreciation of broadway and I developed a life-long love for the arts, in particular The Phantom and broadway. I can't express how thankful I am to Uncle R for exposing me to something new that day.

Today, I imagine heaven is throwing quite the party. I can see him, my mother, and my Aunt Pam sitting around a table and jawing. I can hear bits and pieces of the conversation. It may go something like this, "Y'all ain't going to believe this, but..."

Godspeed Uncle R.

Things that get high kicks from me

Like all moms, I am constantly searching for things that make my life easier amidst all the chaos. Out of that comes my obsession with any and all appliances. I admit that I am an appliance snob, but nothing makes me giddier than finding something that cuts my time doing housework or cooking. As mom there a few things that I swear by: my Dustbuster, my Dyson, my Shark and my crockpot. All of these things help me spend less time cleaning or cooking and give me more time to do things with the boys or relax when they're asleep.

And, now I will add a good washing machine to my list. Why you ask? This is why...

Do you see that? A $32 water bill. Our average bill is between $80-85 a month. This is our first water bill with the new Energy efficient washing machine (Whirlpool Cabrio). Thats a $50 difference from last month to this month. LOVE. If this pans out, than could mean an additional $600 a year. That deserves a high kick if I do say so.

Ok, so back the crockpot, my friend, Jill, came up with this Chicken and Wild Rice Soup that rocks my world! Besides being low cal and low fat, it is SIMPLE and that is a plus. Really it's so good that I thought I'd do a shout out here as well as on my recipe site. Look below...

You know you want some.

Ok, so here's the recipe:

1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
3 cans RF cream of chicken soup
4 cups FF chicken broth
1 boxes long grain & wild rice mix with seasoning


Place chicken on bottom of crock pot. Add veggies, rice and seasoning packet from rice. Pour liquids over the top, cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken and stir well. Makes 12 cups.

Nutrition Info per serving:
Calories: 144
Fat: 3.14
Fiber: 0.9

If you like it and want more recipes from Jill, just take a look to the right under Blogs and find Culinary Creations by Jill. :D High kicks, Jill!

Halloween Celebrations Galore

Halloween isn't until this weekend but that's not keeping us from celebrating. Starting last Wednesday, we've had 4 Halloween events/parties and we still have 3 more to go before the big event. The kids are having a blast dressing up and enjoying all the fun that comes with it. Here's some quick pics of our fall fun.

Pumpkin Carving/Storytime at W's preschool

Pumpkins that moms and dads carved with the kids.

Ours is the 2nd to last one. It has "spooooky eyes."

Class picture. There are some really cute kids in W's class.

Notice anything out of the ordinary in this picture?

Seems like someone has a crush on W.

However, I'm not sure the feelings returned by the look on his face. BAH!

Mom's Club Halloween Party

I recently joined a MOMS Club. I've always had a small circle of really close friends but over the years we somewhat grown apart due to life circumstances and I really miss the closeness that friendship with other women bring. I had been leery about joining one, but let's face it, now that I'm not working I really don't have a lot in common with my friends who do. This gives me an opportunity to be with women who are going through many of the same things I am. Plus it is a great opportunity for W and G to meet new kids and develop their social skills too! Speaking of W, he did not make this particular event because he was in school. Poor bubba!

Hi, mama!

Sliding is a lot of fun!

Playing with our neighbor and buddy, E.

Hanging with a new friend.

Painting pumpkins.

I really love painting!

I know I'm biased, but I think this the cutest little face!

Mama & Me Bible Study

Not too many pictures here. Mainly because I forgot to take out the camera. However, here's a quick pic of W dressed as a Thomas train conductor.

G's School Halloween Parade

Both W and G's respective school have a Halloween parade where all the kids come dressed in the costumes and then are marched out in front of their giggling parents and one or two grandparents who "oooh" and "ahhh" over them. G's parade was today while W's parade is on Friday. Unfortunately, most of my pics turned out blurry. Not happy about that, but here are a few that would have been super cute had they turned out better.

Walking around the gym with a local monkey. ;P

Happy to see his mommy!

Realizing that he wasn't going to mama, but back to class.

These types of faces kill us mamas.

Blurry October

I can honestly say that October has been a big, big blur to me. We have been going non-stop and I am T-I-R-E-D. On Sunday, I think it reached a frenzied peak and I had to admit to S that we were waaayyyy over-committed. We've averaged around 4 commitments every weekend this month. It's just so hard to say "no" sometimes. You don't want to let others down and maybe we all want to feel a bit "super-human" and be able to do it all.

Sometimes, I look at others who are in our same life stage and I wonder how they do it nonplused. I admit I feel a bit harried most of the time, and I do it myself mostly. I just want the boys to see, feel and experience all the world has to offer. I want them to know that life is a roller coaster...it may make you feel a bit queasy at times but it can also be a thrill ride. Then again, there is something to be said for slowness. It allows for you to absorb the fullness and richness of life. I hope as winter approaches we can slow down a bit and really enjoy it.

Today, I want to do a little spotlight on baby G. See today, he is 19 months and really isn't much of a "baby" baby anymore. He's running and talking and giggling and full of mischief.

Weight: Around 26 pounds

Height: 35 inches tall

Eats: Loves spaghetti, cheese, corn, yogurt, grapes, french fries, not a big meat eater

Words: "Peas" - please; "Deuce" - juice, "Pee-pa" - pizza, "cheeeez" - cheese, "shus" - shoes. "boo" - book or button or plain old boo though each one in hte right context. Yesterday he said his first phrase "Bye-bye, da-dee".

About G: He is a daddy's boy. W is my mama's boy. I chalk it up the fact that G has been with me since day one so daddy's a bit more of a novelty. With W, I worked so I was the novelty. He loves to read. In fact, he will chase you down with a "Booooo" as he calls it and repeat "boooo..." over and over again until you read him the story he desires. He loves buckles and buttons. He wants to buckle things over and over. He doesn't have the ability to unbuckle yet so he'll hound you with a "buuuu...ble" until you release it so he can buckle again. Can you tell by the above two things that he persistent? Sometimes, it can drive me bonkers because I can't easily refocus him like I could with his older brother, but overall, it's a really good characteristic to have.

He likes doing crafts. His teachers were bragging on him the other day. They had done a little artwork where they used a cut-out of his arm and hand as a tree base and then dipped his finger into paint to make "apples" on the tree; however, they were amazed that after they did it once, G knew what to do and actually did the rest of the painting himself! (They usually have to keep dipping the child's finger in the paint to dot the apple repeatedly, but with little G they didn't because he understood what to do. ) Color me proud.

Loves to sing "e-e-i-ooooo."

Helping mama blow out the candles.

By the way according to W, I"m 6 years old. God bless him.

Cake is good.

Gonna ask Santa for some wheels. G love this thing.