sister for sale

harrison informed aleksandra today:

"if you were my daughter i would sell you for a cheese sandwich"

such love.....

black wednesday?

i heard that this past wednesday is called black wed for three key reasons:

* credit card bills from the holidays are coming in
* new years resolutions are broken and
* the weather is generally getting to people


celebrate something

i can't say i felt black for any of these reasons. i try not to charge things, i don't make resolutions and i was depressed about the weather back in dec. so nothing particularly unique about weather blues in january. i guess that is reason to celebrate?

i am not going to lie and say i am super chipper this january.

facing 40

my son so kindly reminded me this morning that i am "kind of already like 40" since i turn 40 this year. i sharply rebuked him that 40 was still a ways off for me (10 mos.) so if anyone asks, his mom is in her 30s.

many of my friends from growing up are all sharing their stories of impending 40th celebrations and now i feel even more pressure to do something to mark some occasion that i don't even want to acknowledge is approaching. jana and i are sharing this journey together through another blog--not open for public consumption--and tossed around some ideas but the pressure for it to be just the right celebration has me paralyzed.

it kind of feels like y2K all over again. will you remember where you were, what you were doing? will it live up to all the hype? well that one ended in a canceled trip to paris and spending the evening with people we don't even see anymore and probably a hang over the next day? not giving me high hopes about my 40th.

how to convince

we do not have strong men's or women's ministry or community groups aspect to our church here in st. joe. these are both passions of mine and i just know if folks here just experienced what we have they would be changed forever and would give up candle parties, sports watching etc...to be a part of what god is doing through his people gathering. our church has a wonderful inter-generational congregation that could offer rich community if they just catch on.

michael has a men's ministry kick off next weekend so please pray for this and as i pray and plan for a spring/summer women's event. we are starting a small group in our home in march so pray that as i have enjoyed relationships with each of you that god will use these blessings to create new scenes in our tapestry here in st. joe.


...........peace............

my walking infomercials

ok- a sign of too much tv. my kids have now each given me a suggestion:

couple weeks ago i couldn't find my keys- harrison pipes in that i need "the buxton organizer, there is a place for everything and you can always find your keys"

christmas we decided to make cookies and brennan informs me matter of a factly that we should be using "the betty crocker easy baking set" which has about 1000 pieces/parts; a far cry from my slice and bake with sprinkles idea

while making the grandparents picture frames with my super creative papers, stickers etc..tatiana insists we should be using the "scrapbook lighted cutter with attachments"

each of these products have gotten more than one mention in my house over recent weeks and always with the full and accurate description and tagline. brennan won't shut it up about the betty crocker easy baking set. i thought it mildly humorous and felt somewhat safe that it was not tv overexposure because we hadn't heard anything from aleksanda.....

and just today i threw awaya a tshirt that had a stain on it and she screeched "momma, don't throw it away, OXY CLEAN IT"

does this make me a bad parent that my kids are tv marketing suckers or maybe we can rationalize that they are post modern wonders who know a time saver when they see one! our grandmothers scoffed at the microwave....

campbell birth control plan

just have us come visit for a few days with our tribe! i think we convinced everyone in texas (and every state we stopped in between) that four kids all one year apart is NOT the ideal method of family planning.

celebrating

reconnecting with family and friends. it felt good to be with our peeps. both michael and i said we could have stayed a little longer. we laughed that in just the short time since we left dallas that our kid numbers have almost doubled (when baby kipp actually comes out we will be up to 8 kids when we are all together). it almost guarantees we will only be able to get together at chuck e cheese or mcdonalds. exciting life!

sweetness

harrison was so taken with michael (matt and rebecca's new son) and jackson (danny and jessica's son). both are about 18 mos old and harrison could not keep his hands and lips off of them. he told me he "had to kiss michael a hundred times because he is just so cute". at chuck e cheese (see it has already begun) harrison just had to have his picture made with jackson as a souvenir. too bad he isn't that sweet with his siblings!

meanness

the kids are learning how to use their words as weapons. harrison is convinced "tatiana will only be able to marry someone blind". brennan said tatiana was " gwose" and called the girls "poopy heads" our whole trip and tatiana insists all the others are "dopes" and just trying to "bodder me!". aleksandra just screams at the top of her lungs at even the slightest perceived grievance against her. i find myself saying "you fight more than any other brothers and sisters i know". my lord, i am my mother.

cold and hot
no matter how you sugar coat it; i am a hot weather gal. i was loving the 70s as we left dallas. the snow has been beautiful and honestly i haven't really felt miserable in the cold (the no power thing was a different story). but as soon as i felt that warm breeze i was a new woman again. i need a florida fix next week when i go for work. my toes are too cute to be hidden for 6 mos of the year!