The past few days have been great! On Thursday, we made the trek to Frisco, where we stayed with Josh's parents for a couple of days. On Friday morning, we went to see some old friends, Julie, Jenni, and Tamra. Last year, when we lived closer, my kids were part of a mini-preschool at my friend, Julie's house. Four of us moms who all had kids about the same age used to meet at Julie's house each Friday. Julie introduced the rest of us to a fabulous children's curriculum that we used in teaching the kiddoes. The purpose of this "preschool" was not to teach ABC's, colors, shapes, or things normally taught at a traditional preschool. The purpose was to teach our children about God and to make sure that they learned how to interact well with other children. Initially, Julie purchased the curriculum to teach her daughter and invited us to bring our children to be taught by her each Friday. We felt like she might need a little extra help teaching all of those kids and offered to help out. I was very excited to participate in Julie's little venture, but honestly, did not realize exactly what I was getting myself into. Those Fridays turned out to be the highlight of our week last year and a gift from God. It was such a blessing that Mary Alice was able to be taught so much about God and to be given the opportunity to socialize with such sweet children.
I know I was blessed to be a part of something so special. I learned so much from this unique group of moms. They go to a church that actually challenges young children to memorize Scripture! I'm not talking about John 3:16 and I'm not talking about shortened forms of Scripture, either. The church that these women go to realizes the importance of children (and adults) memorizing Scripture. The kids all have these little cards with memory verses on them and picture cues. They are challenged to learn around 80 verses, all while they are still in preschool!! It is amazing what young children are capable of! They can learn so much at such an early age, so why not make the most of the opportunity and help them to hide God's word in their hearts?? The example of these girls has really taught me to challenge my kids more. These women value their God given roles and are always striving toward self-improvement. It is really very encouraging to be around people like this. I have learned so much about HOW to teach God's word. I have learned so much about worship. I have learned so much about God. My mother has always told me that you really learn the most about the Bible when you teach. The biggest blessing in all of this "preschool" business is that the one who has probably learned the most has been me. I really really really wish that Mary Alice (and now Major) were still able to be a part of this special "preschool". It is sad that they have to miss out. We did enjoy going back for a visit, though. It is always good to see old friends.
Friday night, I went to McKinney to visit my friend Jessica and her new adopted daughter, Sarah. It is such an amazing story. She and her husband were given this precious little girl last week. They found out about her and picked her up all on the same day. Her single mother was unable to care for her, so she chose to give her up. What a blessing that she is now with Jessica and her husband now! She is a beautiful little six month old girl. I got the pleasure of holding Sarah for alot of the night. She liked me alot, so of course I LOVED to hold her. So neat!
On Saturday, we went up to Plano to a really awesome Tea Room. My friend Tamra talks all about it and posts some pictures on her blog. Sadly, I forgot to bring my camera. We had a great time! It was a Mommy and Me tea. Mary Alice was having the best ole time, drinking pink lady punch like it was going out of style. When we left, I asked her how many glasses of tea she had. She said ten. TEN?!? Maybe that was why she was so crazy for the rest of the day?
Josh is pretty busy getting things ready for his practice to open. It was a good thing that we were gone for a few days. I think he was able to get lots of work done. Well, I guess that is it for the last few days! Good night.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Major's Wifey
Just something I think about alot... (actually about both of our kids future spouses, but this post is only specifically about one of them.. Josh calls me his "wifey" sometimes. This post is about Major's future "wifey".)
There is a little girl who is going to be Major's wife some day. We pray for her often. Of course, there is always the chance that marriage will not be in God's plan for Major. Chances are, though, that there is another family out there with a little girl who is being specially prepared to be his perfect other half. We are praying that she is a little girl who loves the Lord and is being trained to walk in His ways. We are praying for her parents as they strive to teach her about God.
This child, who may not even be able to talk yet, may one day use her words to encourage her family and build up her husband, helping him on his journey toward Heaven. I'd like to imagine that she follows her mother around the house, watching her as she does housework and cooks meals for her family and wanting to help her. She witnesses her mom working joyfully and is learning what it means to be a wife and mother. As she plays with her baby dolls, she likes to pretend that they are her children. Following her mother's example, she talks to them lovingly and teaches them to do good. In another year or two she will sit her dolls in rows and teach them Bible stories. She sees her mother as she cares for others. She learns that the world is bigger than just herself and will learn to serve others with her good deeds. Her family is not mouthy and prone to gossip. She tries her hardest to say only things that are pure and uplifting to others. She is kind and loving to her brothers and sisters.
Her relationship with the men in her life is good. She sees the way that her mom's face lights up when her dad comes through the door. She senses that her parents love each other. She wants to love her husband just like she sees her mom loving her dad. She wants her husband to want to come home to see her, because her dad likes to be around her mom. This girl loves her daddy and really wants to please him. She is loved and cared for by him, helping to make her a secure and confident person. Her dad is a strong spiritual leader who makes her want to be a Christian by the way that he interacts with others. Her parents take the responsibility of teaching their children God's word seriously. She has a strong spiritual foundation that she will carry on with her own children.
I am praying for this little girl, that she is one who loves Jesus with all of her heart. That is the same prayer that we pray for both of our children. That prayer seems to cover all of the bases, don't you think? This little girl might not actually come from a "perfect" family. She may not be trained up by godly parents. I hope she has that benefit, but it is more important that she loves Jesus with all of her heart. I am praying for this little girl, that GOD is molding her into the best wife for my little boy. Maybe, somewhere out there, that little girl's family is praying too.
There is a little girl who is going to be Major's wife some day. We pray for her often. Of course, there is always the chance that marriage will not be in God's plan for Major. Chances are, though, that there is another family out there with a little girl who is being specially prepared to be his perfect other half. We are praying that she is a little girl who loves the Lord and is being trained to walk in His ways. We are praying for her parents as they strive to teach her about God.
This child, who may not even be able to talk yet, may one day use her words to encourage her family and build up her husband, helping him on his journey toward Heaven. I'd like to imagine that she follows her mother around the house, watching her as she does housework and cooks meals for her family and wanting to help her. She witnesses her mom working joyfully and is learning what it means to be a wife and mother. As she plays with her baby dolls, she likes to pretend that they are her children. Following her mother's example, she talks to them lovingly and teaches them to do good. In another year or two she will sit her dolls in rows and teach them Bible stories. She sees her mother as she cares for others. She learns that the world is bigger than just herself and will learn to serve others with her good deeds. Her family is not mouthy and prone to gossip. She tries her hardest to say only things that are pure and uplifting to others. She is kind and loving to her brothers and sisters.
Her relationship with the men in her life is good. She sees the way that her mom's face lights up when her dad comes through the door. She senses that her parents love each other. She wants to love her husband just like she sees her mom loving her dad. She wants her husband to want to come home to see her, because her dad likes to be around her mom. This girl loves her daddy and really wants to please him. She is loved and cared for by him, helping to make her a secure and confident person. Her dad is a strong spiritual leader who makes her want to be a Christian by the way that he interacts with others. Her parents take the responsibility of teaching their children God's word seriously. She has a strong spiritual foundation that she will carry on with her own children.
I am praying for this little girl, that she is one who loves Jesus with all of her heart. That is the same prayer that we pray for both of our children. That prayer seems to cover all of the bases, don't you think? This little girl might not actually come from a "perfect" family. She may not be trained up by godly parents. I hope she has that benefit, but it is more important that she loves Jesus with all of her heart. I am praying for this little girl, that GOD is molding her into the best wife for my little boy. Maybe, somewhere out there, that little girl's family is praying too.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Oh.... Grow up!
I just wanted to write down what I am feeling right now as a record. I would like to get one of those blogbooks that I read about on someone else's blog. I want to have one of these to keep as a memento to remind me of what was going on in my life at this exact moment in time. I am hoping that I can look back and smile, and thank God for just how much I've grown.
Last night, I poured my heart out to a friend on the phone. It seems that I have been doing alot of that lately. If you should dare to ask me right now, I won't only tell you what is going on with me, I might just scare you away with all of the details that you never ever wanted to know plus a few more unnecessary facts just to make you think that I am a nutcase! Really. I don't want to scare anyone reading this. I should make it clear that things with me aren't that bad. In fact, they are looking up. I am just having a few issues with understanding God's will and am looking for clear direction. I am to the point, though, that I have prayed and prayed about a certain situation and am desperately looking for an answer to that prayer. I am now at a place where I am sortof trying to force answers to that prayer. I do this by telling people everything that is going on and then explaining my dilemma. Secretly, I am hoping that they will tell me that they have seen a vision, and that God has told them exactly what I should do. I know that I need to learn some patience and learn to wait on God for His answer. I know that I need to stop worrying. I really do hate waiting, though. This is your fair warning, don't call to chat with me. You just might get more than you bargained for!
I didn't intend to type so much about that. Back to the phone conversation... This woman, whom I consider to be very wise, made the mistake of e-mailing me and wanted a reply. I called this woman, poured out most of my life story, and then solicited advice. She gave some advice that I thought was very good. It was not the advice that I found as helpful, though, as the example of the woman herself. This woman shared some of her life experiences with me (which were very much like the things that I have been going through). She shared how she got through the same little hurdle that I have been trying to get through. We talked for a while about this and that. One of the things that she talked about was how she had recently been diagnosed with cancer and "didn't lose a wink of sleep over it", knowing that God would take care of her.
This was so good to hear! A woman, whom I consider very wise and godly, used to be like me. She struggled with the same problems that I struggle with. Now, after several more decades have been added to her life, she has come to a place where she can not lose a wink of sleep when diagnosed with cancer. Her trust in God is evident. She is content in every circumstance. She is at peace. This gives me so much hope!! I was just so encouraged by the GROWTH that has taken place in her Christian walk. It is so neat to think that I don't always have to be this yucky person that I am, that God can shape me into something better. Hopefully, when I am the age of this woman, I will be able to look back at the young me and laugh at how foolish I was.
I already look back and laugh when thinking about past years of my life. Mary Alice and I watched Josh and my wedding video last week. It was quite humorous to watch Josh and I on our wedding day. We were such idiots! We were barely out of high school and had to be coached through such things as how to cut the cake and how to hold a champagne glass. We were HURT! I was hurt. Aside from the social etiquette that we so obviously lacked, though, we had a lot to learn about life. We still do. God just uses all of these little moments of life to teach us something about Him, to grow our faith. Won't it be great one day when we can be "all grown up"?
Last night, I poured my heart out to a friend on the phone. It seems that I have been doing alot of that lately. If you should dare to ask me right now, I won't only tell you what is going on with me, I might just scare you away with all of the details that you never ever wanted to know plus a few more unnecessary facts just to make you think that I am a nutcase! Really. I don't want to scare anyone reading this. I should make it clear that things with me aren't that bad. In fact, they are looking up. I am just having a few issues with understanding God's will and am looking for clear direction. I am to the point, though, that I have prayed and prayed about a certain situation and am desperately looking for an answer to that prayer. I am now at a place where I am sortof trying to force answers to that prayer. I do this by telling people everything that is going on and then explaining my dilemma. Secretly, I am hoping that they will tell me that they have seen a vision, and that God has told them exactly what I should do. I know that I need to learn some patience and learn to wait on God for His answer. I know that I need to stop worrying. I really do hate waiting, though. This is your fair warning, don't call to chat with me. You just might get more than you bargained for!
I didn't intend to type so much about that. Back to the phone conversation... This woman, whom I consider to be very wise, made the mistake of e-mailing me and wanted a reply. I called this woman, poured out most of my life story, and then solicited advice. She gave some advice that I thought was very good. It was not the advice that I found as helpful, though, as the example of the woman herself. This woman shared some of her life experiences with me (which were very much like the things that I have been going through). She shared how she got through the same little hurdle that I have been trying to get through. We talked for a while about this and that. One of the things that she talked about was how she had recently been diagnosed with cancer and "didn't lose a wink of sleep over it", knowing that God would take care of her.
This was so good to hear! A woman, whom I consider very wise and godly, used to be like me. She struggled with the same problems that I struggle with. Now, after several more decades have been added to her life, she has come to a place where she can not lose a wink of sleep when diagnosed with cancer. Her trust in God is evident. She is content in every circumstance. She is at peace. This gives me so much hope!! I was just so encouraged by the GROWTH that has taken place in her Christian walk. It is so neat to think that I don't always have to be this yucky person that I am, that God can shape me into something better. Hopefully, when I am the age of this woman, I will be able to look back at the young me and laugh at how foolish I was.
I already look back and laugh when thinking about past years of my life. Mary Alice and I watched Josh and my wedding video last week. It was quite humorous to watch Josh and I on our wedding day. We were such idiots! We were barely out of high school and had to be coached through such things as how to cut the cake and how to hold a champagne glass. We were HURT! I was hurt. Aside from the social etiquette that we so obviously lacked, though, we had a lot to learn about life. We still do. God just uses all of these little moments of life to teach us something about Him, to grow our faith. Won't it be great one day when we can be "all grown up"?
Friday, April 21, 2006
Do You Fart A Lot?
I took Mary Alice in to have her hair cut today. Inside the hair salon, there was a bulletin board, that was filled with various advertisements/coupons/job opportunities, etc. One of the signs caught my eye. The advertisement read:
DO YOU FART A LOT?
WE CAN HELP.
(_______ CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC)
CALL US.
1-800-888-3434
I was thinking: "What in the world???? What is this all about?" (I have never really believed in the power of a chiropractor. I've heard too many crazy stories that make me have as much faith in chiropractors as I have in a professional voodooist.) "Now," I was thinking, "They are trying to draw in crowds that suffer with intestinal problems? This is just ridiculous!!!" I was in disbelief at the lack of professionalism in this advertisement and just about to call Josh to tell him about the funny sign I had seen. I walked across the room to read it just one more time so that I could correctly recite the ad to Josh.
As I looked closer, I discovered that what the sign actually said was this:
DO YOU HURT A LOT?
WE CAN HELP.
(_________ CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC)
CALL US.
1-800-888-3434
Maybe I need to make an appointment to see the eye doctor?
DO YOU FART A LOT?
WE CAN HELP.
(_______ CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC)
CALL US.
1-800-888-3434
I was thinking: "What in the world???? What is this all about?" (I have never really believed in the power of a chiropractor. I've heard too many crazy stories that make me have as much faith in chiropractors as I have in a professional voodooist.) "Now," I was thinking, "They are trying to draw in crowds that suffer with intestinal problems? This is just ridiculous!!!" I was in disbelief at the lack of professionalism in this advertisement and just about to call Josh to tell him about the funny sign I had seen. I walked across the room to read it just one more time so that I could correctly recite the ad to Josh.
As I looked closer, I discovered that what the sign actually said was this:
DO YOU HURT A LOT?
WE CAN HELP.
(_________ CHIROPRACTIC CLINIC)
CALL US.
1-800-888-3434
Maybe I need to make an appointment to see the eye doctor?
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Blessings
Today, when Mary Alice woke up from her nap, she called for me to come into her room. I came in and laid down next to her in her bed. We wrapped our arms around each other and hugged for a minute or so.
She told me, "I always wanted a mom just like you and I got one!" This, along with one of those big hugs from her made my day. I hope she always feels this way about her mom.
Yesterday, I went to the kids' Easter stash and offered a piece of chocolate to Major. He got a huge smile on his face. He held the chocolate in one hand while we walked up the stairs. "You're so pretty, mom." he said. If I can get this kind of a reaction, I'll give him candy any time!!!
I was having a bad day today. Too many days cooped up in the house with sickies makes me feel kindof down. I decided to take the kids for a treat. I took them to Starbucks. Both kids got Vanilla Cremes. It was quite hilarious to see Major's face covered with whipped cream as he gulped down his treat. We played tic-tac-toe and had some fun time out of the house. Getting out always makes me feel better, especially if it involves a trip to Starbucks.
Mary Alice has been obsessed with babies lately. She keeps saying things like, "If God decides to give me a little sister, can I feed her?" or "If God decides to give me a little sister, can we share a room and play together?" She also says that she doesn't really need another baby brother. It is one of the things that cannot go unprayed for at night before she goes to bed. We have to pray two things: 1) that she will have good dreams and not bad dreams, 2) that God will give her another baby sister or brother soon. We talk alot about how God has a plan and how He knows what is best for us, whether it be a brother, sister, or other blessings. How wonderful to have the faith of a child!
She told me, "I always wanted a mom just like you and I got one!" This, along with one of those big hugs from her made my day. I hope she always feels this way about her mom.
Yesterday, I went to the kids' Easter stash and offered a piece of chocolate to Major. He got a huge smile on his face. He held the chocolate in one hand while we walked up the stairs. "You're so pretty, mom." he said. If I can get this kind of a reaction, I'll give him candy any time!!!
I was having a bad day today. Too many days cooped up in the house with sickies makes me feel kindof down. I decided to take the kids for a treat. I took them to Starbucks. Both kids got Vanilla Cremes. It was quite hilarious to see Major's face covered with whipped cream as he gulped down his treat. We played tic-tac-toe and had some fun time out of the house. Getting out always makes me feel better, especially if it involves a trip to Starbucks.
Mary Alice has been obsessed with babies lately. She keeps saying things like, "If God decides to give me a little sister, can I feed her?" or "If God decides to give me a little sister, can we share a room and play together?" She also says that she doesn't really need another baby brother. It is one of the things that cannot go unprayed for at night before she goes to bed. We have to pray two things: 1) that she will have good dreams and not bad dreams, 2) that God will give her another baby sister or brother soon. We talk alot about how God has a plan and how He knows what is best for us, whether it be a brother, sister, or other blessings. How wonderful to have the faith of a child!
Friday, April 14, 2006
Random Happenings
The kids have been a little sickie around here. I hope they get better in time for Easter. The weather is supposed to be so nice. I would hate for them to spend Easter Sunday in bed!
Major's eardrum burst yesterday. He suffered with a yucky cold for a few days and had been doing two things that concerned me: 1)shunning food- not the norm for either of my kids 2)Saying,"Mommy, I wanna go to bed please." thoroughout the day. I had taken his temperature yesterday morning and was debating whether or not I should call the doctor when I noticed some nasty looking stuff coming out of his ear. It looked like dried blood, so I frantically made the phonecall. I took him in yesterday and he is now on antibiotics for a ruptured eardrum. He has been complaining and he keeps saying, "Mom, I have a boogey in my ear. It's yucky yucky." It makes me feel a little bad. I have taken both of my kids to the doctor (for illness) fewer than 10 times. I just don't like to rush them in at the sign of a sniffle. In this case, however, I wished I'd acted a bit sooner. We've all been so sick here these past few months. I feel like Josh's entire paycheck should be directly deposited at various doctor's offices. The nurses at the pediatrician's office say that this season has been the worst they've ever seen for illness. I wish my brother would hurry up and finish medical school, so we can bother him for perscriptions and medical advice. We are quite a sickly bunch right now. (Julie, if you are reading this, that is why we have yet to schedule a visit to Houston.)
Mary Alice the girl has a little fever too. She always handles illness better than Major. The girl is generally pretty healthy (with the exception of the freak long lasting diarrhea that we are now OVER!), so I expect her to get well pretty quickly. Lord willing, she can get better before Easter.
Today, Mary Alice came forward to tell me the truth about a "crime" she'd committed. She has been doing that alot lately (confessing). I think it is really precious that her little heart feels so drawn to confess disobedience or something that she feels she did wrong.
She had a very sincere face on and said, "Mom, I need to tell you that I did something very bad."
"What did you do?"
"I got into the olive oil and drank some of it up."
"What?" I said, trying not to laugh.
"I got into the olive oil the other night when we were making green beans... and I... I thought it would taste good like tea, so I drank some, but it didn't taste good. It just tasted like..like oil and now my stomach hurts and my bottom hurts and I feel like I have a cherry pit inside my stomach. Mom, I'm so so sorry. I'm really really sorry."
I am trying so hard not to laugh at her sincere apology and just to make sure it actually was olive oil that she had ingested, I had her point out what it was that she drank and had her tell me exactly how much just to be safe. I told her how proud I was of her telling the truth and how is pleases God when we tell the truth and how much God hates lying. I also told her to never ever get a snack without asking, because I don't want her to eat or drink something that would make her very sick!
She gave me a hug and repeated just how sorry she was. It was precious! I just had to record this moment on my blog.
Also, Nicole Brantley found Mary Alice's missing Bible. She had this little pink Bible that her Uncle Craig and Aunt Deon gave to her when she was born. We misplaced it at church about a year ago, looked for it for about a month, and then supposed that it was gone for good. Well, sweet Nicole found it and mailed it back to us. It arrived yesterday. Mary Alice was so excited! She has been sleeping with the long lost Bible and taken it everywhere today.
I guess that's all for the last few days.
Major's eardrum burst yesterday. He suffered with a yucky cold for a few days and had been doing two things that concerned me: 1)shunning food- not the norm for either of my kids 2)Saying,"Mommy, I wanna go to bed please." thoroughout the day. I had taken his temperature yesterday morning and was debating whether or not I should call the doctor when I noticed some nasty looking stuff coming out of his ear. It looked like dried blood, so I frantically made the phonecall. I took him in yesterday and he is now on antibiotics for a ruptured eardrum. He has been complaining and he keeps saying, "Mom, I have a boogey in my ear. It's yucky yucky." It makes me feel a little bad. I have taken both of my kids to the doctor (for illness) fewer than 10 times. I just don't like to rush them in at the sign of a sniffle. In this case, however, I wished I'd acted a bit sooner. We've all been so sick here these past few months. I feel like Josh's entire paycheck should be directly deposited at various doctor's offices. The nurses at the pediatrician's office say that this season has been the worst they've ever seen for illness. I wish my brother would hurry up and finish medical school, so we can bother him for perscriptions and medical advice. We are quite a sickly bunch right now. (Julie, if you are reading this, that is why we have yet to schedule a visit to Houston.)
Mary Alice the girl has a little fever too. She always handles illness better than Major. The girl is generally pretty healthy (with the exception of the freak long lasting diarrhea that we are now OVER!), so I expect her to get well pretty quickly. Lord willing, she can get better before Easter.
Today, Mary Alice came forward to tell me the truth about a "crime" she'd committed. She has been doing that alot lately (confessing). I think it is really precious that her little heart feels so drawn to confess disobedience or something that she feels she did wrong.
She had a very sincere face on and said, "Mom, I need to tell you that I did something very bad."
"What did you do?"
"I got into the olive oil and drank some of it up."
"What?" I said, trying not to laugh.
"I got into the olive oil the other night when we were making green beans... and I... I thought it would taste good like tea, so I drank some, but it didn't taste good. It just tasted like..like oil and now my stomach hurts and my bottom hurts and I feel like I have a cherry pit inside my stomach. Mom, I'm so so sorry. I'm really really sorry."
I am trying so hard not to laugh at her sincere apology and just to make sure it actually was olive oil that she had ingested, I had her point out what it was that she drank and had her tell me exactly how much just to be safe. I told her how proud I was of her telling the truth and how is pleases God when we tell the truth and how much God hates lying. I also told her to never ever get a snack without asking, because I don't want her to eat or drink something that would make her very sick!
She gave me a hug and repeated just how sorry she was. It was precious! I just had to record this moment on my blog.
Also, Nicole Brantley found Mary Alice's missing Bible. She had this little pink Bible that her Uncle Craig and Aunt Deon gave to her when she was born. We misplaced it at church about a year ago, looked for it for about a month, and then supposed that it was gone for good. Well, sweet Nicole found it and mailed it back to us. It arrived yesterday. Mary Alice was so excited! She has been sleeping with the long lost Bible and taken it everywhere today.
I guess that's all for the last few days.
Monday, April 10, 2006
"In the Ghetto....."
There is an old classic song that is sometimes played on the oldies station. It has a chorus that repeats the phrase "In the Ghetto". I've been singing this song alot lately. I don't really think I live in the ghetto, but some things I've seen around here have definitely given me reason to sing this song. I guess the town where we live is like most towns, there are good parts and bad parts. Unfortunately, I seem to have stumbled upon some of the bad parts. Here are some things that have been happening in my lovely hometown.
The other day, I went to wash my car at a local car wash. This is the kind of car wash where you put in quarters, adjust the knob, and wash the car by hand. So, first, I had Mary Alice get out of the car because I mistakenly supposed that she might want to help me wash the car. This is how I usually wash a car-- prewash, apply tire cleaner, soapy spray, foamy brush, high pressure rinse, then a slight wax if I have any time left. I'm pretty fast, if I do say so myself, and pride myself in how little money I can spend washing my car. So, I came to the car with a little more than $2 in quarters ready to clean off our filthy suburban.
This is how it went... First, I put three quarters into the machine and started up the "prewash". Things were going great and so I moved on to the "apply tire cleaner" part of my routine. The pressure of the tire cleaner was adequate (water running out in a tiny stream), but no tire cleaner came out! "That's annoying, but oh well!" I thought. On to the next thing, which was "soapy spray". I ran back to the knob to change to soapy spray, changed it, and ran back to the other side of the car. Guess what? No soapy spray, only water came drizzling out! By this time, I was getting very annoyed!!! I thought that I would just have to change my plan even more and use the soapy brush to soap off the car. I sprinted back around the car to grab the soapy brush only to find that not only was the brush not soapy, it was not there at all!! Yes, that's right, someone in the ghetto probably stole the soapy brush. So, what's left? Oh yes, high pressure rinse and the slight waxing. Due to my frequent unplanned trips around and back around the car, I now had run out of change. I scoured my car and found a dollar bill. I went to the change machine and found that it had been vandalized. It was badly dented and looked like it had been beaten with a baseball bat. Next to the ransacked change machine was a vending machine that had also been vandalized. All of the goodies inside had been taken except for ONE bag of chips. Weird. I know this doesn't make any sense, but I really wanted to finish washing my car. I dug through every crevice in the suburban and found three more quarters. By this time, I was very curious to see if the wax job would work. I skipped the high pressure rinse (Go figure) and moved on to the wax. I was determined to give my freshly rinsed vehicle some kind of a treat. I turned the knob to "wax" and, I'm sure you can guess what came out of that nozzle. Good ole H2O!
G-H-E-T-T-O! Who vandalizes car washes anyway? I mean, the change machine I can understand, but the vending machine, and the FOAMY BRUSH!!! Seriously? Who ARE these people?????
Now, for my ghetto dry cleaning experience. I took three garments in. Two of them had spots. One was a pair of wool pants that were clean, except for a dime sized spot on the front pant leg. I think Major dropped some food on them? So, I dropped off the garments, explained the spots, showed them the spots, and returned the next day to pick them up. Two of three garments still had the spots on them! The spots didn't look lighter or anything. They were just as bad as when I dropped them off. It is not like I spilled motor oil or black ink on them, just small amounts of food. It wasn't until I got the clothes home and took them out of the bag that I realized that the clothes were still spotted. Annoying! Maybe this dry cleaner has been vandalized too? Maybe someone stole their foamy brush? Cleaners? Whatever. I wasn't rude when I went back in, just nicely explained that the items were still spotted, showed them the spots and returned the next day to pick them up. Yes. I'm looking for a new dry cleaner now. Requirement: They must actually clean the clothing. Merely hanging it up in a plastic bag will simply not suffice!
In the same week's time, I went to get the oil changed in my car. The place that I went to is a national chain and has a large proud sign out front that says something like "voted best oil and lube in _______" The place looked clean and nice. I took the kids inside. The woman working there must have thought I looked like an idiot. (Sometimes I do, but you need not treat me like one. That is just unprofessional.) She recommended so many upgrades, treatments, replacements, rearrangements, that, if I had actually been silly enough to fall for her sales tactics, I would've walked out of there having spent HUNDREDS of dollars! I just don't like that. I don't like people trying to trick you into spending money. Just give me my oil change and I'll be on my way.
Oh yes, and I REALLY dislike siding on houses. Not a small, tasteful amount, but when you cover more than a fourth of the building with cheap siding, it's just plain ugly! An apartment complex was built down the street from us whose ratio is very much 3 parts siding to one part brick. It just looks junky. It is also painted a peach color. Sick! It's like the builders ran out of money halfway through the project and were forced to finish up with cheap materials. Junkified. "In the Ghetto..." I think that if you don't have enough money to build a decent looking two story house, one that can be dressed appropriately, you need to scale down to one that you can afford. To me, siding is distasteful in large amounts. My apologies to you if your house is one of those.
Last of all, we have some very noisy neighbors. I first need to say that they are EXTREMELY sweet people. We like them alot. They are just too loud! It is kindof funny, really. They play this ghetto rap music REALLY loud nearly every day. It is so loud, sometimes, that I can actually hear every word of the lyrics. (This can be worrisome at times, as rap music isn't some of the cleanest stuff out there.) I have thought about booming some of Mary Alice and Major's sing along songs in the direction of their house, but realized that would not be a Christlike way to respond. :) So anyway, these neighbors are not trying to be rude, I think they are just trying to have a good time jamming out to their tunes.... EVERY DAY. Ok, so one day last week I was outside playing in the back yard playing with the kids. The neighbors were also in their back yard. They were playing their rap music... LOUDLY.
"Hey!" our neighbor yells over the fence. "How ya'll doin'?" he says with a big smile.
"We're doing fine. How about you?" I yell back with a smile.
"Good. Good. I was just wondering.... does this music bother you?" he asked.
"It's not my favorite," I said. "But I've heard worse."
With laughter he said, "Well, what do you want me to play then?"
"Ummm. Classical music?" I joked with him. He laughed. We both laughed. I think he got the idea that I don't jive with his ghetto tunes. I wasn't rude, just honest. We have a good relationship with these guys. Their music has actually toned it down a little bit. I can't hear the lyrics now, only the loud bass booming. :)
Speaking of ghetto, we have the ghettoist yard around. Josh's lawnmower is in the shop. So, as soon as it is fixed, we need to get our lawn together, before we become known as "that yard" in the neighborhood.
It can be freeing living in the ghetto. Who cares if you walk around town in your pajamas? I mean, I could even go barefoot into McDonald's without anyone so much as looking in my direction. :) I haven't actually tried this, but I could if I wanted to!!!
I'm really kidding. I have noticed some ghettoish things, but things are changing around here, the town is growing really fast! There is even a car wash WITH a foamy brush down the street! I rarely notice spots on people's clothes, which leads me to believe that there must be a good dry cleaner as well. Our yard will soon be mowed. No more ghetto yard! We're movin on up!
The other day, I went to wash my car at a local car wash. This is the kind of car wash where you put in quarters, adjust the knob, and wash the car by hand. So, first, I had Mary Alice get out of the car because I mistakenly supposed that she might want to help me wash the car. This is how I usually wash a car-- prewash, apply tire cleaner, soapy spray, foamy brush, high pressure rinse, then a slight wax if I have any time left. I'm pretty fast, if I do say so myself, and pride myself in how little money I can spend washing my car. So, I came to the car with a little more than $2 in quarters ready to clean off our filthy suburban.
This is how it went... First, I put three quarters into the machine and started up the "prewash". Things were going great and so I moved on to the "apply tire cleaner" part of my routine. The pressure of the tire cleaner was adequate (water running out in a tiny stream), but no tire cleaner came out! "That's annoying, but oh well!" I thought. On to the next thing, which was "soapy spray". I ran back to the knob to change to soapy spray, changed it, and ran back to the other side of the car. Guess what? No soapy spray, only water came drizzling out! By this time, I was getting very annoyed!!! I thought that I would just have to change my plan even more and use the soapy brush to soap off the car. I sprinted back around the car to grab the soapy brush only to find that not only was the brush not soapy, it was not there at all!! Yes, that's right, someone in the ghetto probably stole the soapy brush. So, what's left? Oh yes, high pressure rinse and the slight waxing. Due to my frequent unplanned trips around and back around the car, I now had run out of change. I scoured my car and found a dollar bill. I went to the change machine and found that it had been vandalized. It was badly dented and looked like it had been beaten with a baseball bat. Next to the ransacked change machine was a vending machine that had also been vandalized. All of the goodies inside had been taken except for ONE bag of chips. Weird. I know this doesn't make any sense, but I really wanted to finish washing my car. I dug through every crevice in the suburban and found three more quarters. By this time, I was very curious to see if the wax job would work. I skipped the high pressure rinse (Go figure) and moved on to the wax. I was determined to give my freshly rinsed vehicle some kind of a treat. I turned the knob to "wax" and, I'm sure you can guess what came out of that nozzle. Good ole H2O!
G-H-E-T-T-O! Who vandalizes car washes anyway? I mean, the change machine I can understand, but the vending machine, and the FOAMY BRUSH!!! Seriously? Who ARE these people?????
Now, for my ghetto dry cleaning experience. I took three garments in. Two of them had spots. One was a pair of wool pants that were clean, except for a dime sized spot on the front pant leg. I think Major dropped some food on them? So, I dropped off the garments, explained the spots, showed them the spots, and returned the next day to pick them up. Two of three garments still had the spots on them! The spots didn't look lighter or anything. They were just as bad as when I dropped them off. It is not like I spilled motor oil or black ink on them, just small amounts of food. It wasn't until I got the clothes home and took them out of the bag that I realized that the clothes were still spotted. Annoying! Maybe this dry cleaner has been vandalized too? Maybe someone stole their foamy brush? Cleaners? Whatever. I wasn't rude when I went back in, just nicely explained that the items were still spotted, showed them the spots and returned the next day to pick them up. Yes. I'm looking for a new dry cleaner now. Requirement: They must actually clean the clothing. Merely hanging it up in a plastic bag will simply not suffice!
In the same week's time, I went to get the oil changed in my car. The place that I went to is a national chain and has a large proud sign out front that says something like "voted best oil and lube in _______" The place looked clean and nice. I took the kids inside. The woman working there must have thought I looked like an idiot. (Sometimes I do, but you need not treat me like one. That is just unprofessional.) She recommended so many upgrades, treatments, replacements, rearrangements, that, if I had actually been silly enough to fall for her sales tactics, I would've walked out of there having spent HUNDREDS of dollars! I just don't like that. I don't like people trying to trick you into spending money. Just give me my oil change and I'll be on my way.
Oh yes, and I REALLY dislike siding on houses. Not a small, tasteful amount, but when you cover more than a fourth of the building with cheap siding, it's just plain ugly! An apartment complex was built down the street from us whose ratio is very much 3 parts siding to one part brick. It just looks junky. It is also painted a peach color. Sick! It's like the builders ran out of money halfway through the project and were forced to finish up with cheap materials. Junkified. "In the Ghetto..." I think that if you don't have enough money to build a decent looking two story house, one that can be dressed appropriately, you need to scale down to one that you can afford. To me, siding is distasteful in large amounts. My apologies to you if your house is one of those.
Last of all, we have some very noisy neighbors. I first need to say that they are EXTREMELY sweet people. We like them alot. They are just too loud! It is kindof funny, really. They play this ghetto rap music REALLY loud nearly every day. It is so loud, sometimes, that I can actually hear every word of the lyrics. (This can be worrisome at times, as rap music isn't some of the cleanest stuff out there.) I have thought about booming some of Mary Alice and Major's sing along songs in the direction of their house, but realized that would not be a Christlike way to respond. :) So anyway, these neighbors are not trying to be rude, I think they are just trying to have a good time jamming out to their tunes.... EVERY DAY. Ok, so one day last week I was outside playing in the back yard playing with the kids. The neighbors were also in their back yard. They were playing their rap music... LOUDLY.
"Hey!" our neighbor yells over the fence. "How ya'll doin'?" he says with a big smile.
"We're doing fine. How about you?" I yell back with a smile.
"Good. Good. I was just wondering.... does this music bother you?" he asked.
"It's not my favorite," I said. "But I've heard worse."
With laughter he said, "Well, what do you want me to play then?"
"Ummm. Classical music?" I joked with him. He laughed. We both laughed. I think he got the idea that I don't jive with his ghetto tunes. I wasn't rude, just honest. We have a good relationship with these guys. Their music has actually toned it down a little bit. I can't hear the lyrics now, only the loud bass booming. :)
Speaking of ghetto, we have the ghettoist yard around. Josh's lawnmower is in the shop. So, as soon as it is fixed, we need to get our lawn together, before we become known as "that yard" in the neighborhood.
It can be freeing living in the ghetto. Who cares if you walk around town in your pajamas? I mean, I could even go barefoot into McDonald's without anyone so much as looking in my direction. :) I haven't actually tried this, but I could if I wanted to!!!
I'm really kidding. I have noticed some ghettoish things, but things are changing around here, the town is growing really fast! There is even a car wash WITH a foamy brush down the street! I rarely notice spots on people's clothes, which leads me to believe that there must be a good dry cleaner as well. Our yard will soon be mowed. No more ghetto yard! We're movin on up!
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Joyful Josie and Her Two Year Old Brother
(Note: I wrote this a week ago, but had a little trouble with Blogger. So, here is my post-a week late!) :)
Whew! We have had a busy last couple of days! Thursday we went to the zoo with my brother, his wife, and their son, Landon. Mary Alice and Major love their little cousin so much and had fun playing with/annoying sweet little Landon. It was a perfect day at the zoo because there was a threat of rain (although it didn't actually rain) so the crowds of out of control daycare kids and school children were absent. We had a great time. The weather was great! Our picnic lunch was great! The kids were great. Everything was great great great.
At the zoo, they have this area where there are a bunch of caged parakeets and other small birds. For a dollar, you can buy birdseed on a stick and feed them. The birds land on the end of the stick and eat the seed. It is a pretty fun thing. You get to watch the birds up close. Anyway- Mary Alice, Major, and Landon all had sticks and let the birds land on their sticks. Mary Alice really liked the idea of feeding the birds. (She related it to Mary Poppins.) Uncle Adam bought her a stick and she held it out to feed the birds. She was fine until several birds landed on her stick at the same time. Then she freaked out. The same thing happened with Landon. Major sortof leaned away from the stick as the birds ate his seed. He decided that he didn't like feeding the birds and, when the birds flew away for a moment, he quickly threw his stick on the ground. The whole bird feeding experience was really funny!
Friday, Josh and I drove up to McKinney to see some old friends. We had so much fun just visiting and being with people we love. Major and I spent the night in Frisco with Josh's parents. On Saturday, I went to my friend Stephanie's baby shower. It was good to see some of our old friends from our small group in Mesquite. While I was busy hanging out with friends, Josh and Mary Alice were at home planning Major's birthday party. Mary Alice had a soccer game on Saturday morning. Guess what??? She played!! She had a huge smile on her face and was definitely a "joyful Josie" for the whole game. We were so proud of her! She called me on my way home from the shower to tell me that she had been a "joyful Josie" at the game and then she said, "And you know what else, mom? I even got some pretzels and juice!" That's what soccer is all about for most four year olds---after game snacks. Josh fixed Mary Alice's hair. It looked pretty good. I know now that he has a hidden hair fixing talent.
Mary Alice and Josh organized a birthday party for Major. Mary Alice picked out special Spiderman plates and napkins and a Spiderman cake for Major. Major doesn't know the first thing about Spiderman, but I thought it was pretty cute that Mary Alice picked that out for him. She was trying so hard to pick something that he would like.
Saturday night, lots of family came down to celebrate Major's second birthday. It is so hard to believe that my little guy is already two! He is getting to be such a big boy. I feel like we have a mini sports arena here at our house now. Between all of his family members, he got lots and lots of sportsy things. He got a basketball goal which he LOVES. He likes to do something he calls a "super dooper dunk" in which he spins around several times before slamming the ball into the basket. Hilarious! He is much more aggressive than Mary Alice ever was. He is truly all boy! At his birthday party, he opened one present that was in a blue bag and then put the bag on top of his head. He kept in there for a while, calling it a hat.
I feel very blessed by my two sweet kiddoes. Early Childhood Intervention came out to see how Major was doing with his speech. I haven't had him in his hearing aids pretty much since we've moved here. He got a cold and then I just kept them out. I was tired of messing with them. It is so strange to us. Major has taken at least 7 tests that show that he has a hearing loss. Some of the tests have said that his hearing loss is mild, some said moderate, one said severe. It has been rather frustrating, because we don't know who to believe. Some people have told us that he should wear his aids all of the time, some tell us not to have them in all the time because he will grow to be dependent on them. Anyway- back to my story- ECI came out to evaluate his speech. They said that his speech is seven months AHEAD of a normal hearing child. Remember, he has not worn aids for about seven months. So, here's what Josh and I say, "God answers prayer!" We have prayed and prayed to be at peace about Major's hearing, not to be worried, and for God to be with his ears and to heal him. Different people are now telling us that Major may not even have a problem and that they are in disbelief about how well he is doing, especially since he hasn't worn his hearing aids. We don't feel like we want to pay for him to have another round of testing right now. (Those hearing tests can be VERY expensive!) We're trusting God and will have him tested when we feel like it is financially responsible for us to do so. But for now, if he doesn't learn even one new word in the next seven months, he will still be on track. We're elated! We had been told by people at church that Major said alot of words or talked more than the other kids in his age group, but were glad to have it confirmed by professionals.
So that's what's going on right now. We've had a few busy days. Major is two now! Mary Alice is a happy little soccer player! We are blessed beyond what we deserve.
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