"Look Mom....

"...I'm a Chrysalis!!!!"

6 Quirks-Edited

I think this may be my first "official" tag. I feel so honored, so loved, so included!! YAY!!!!

Jen at My Life with Dogs has tagged me to list 6 Quirks about ME. So, here it goes....

1. I have serious issues with my feet. First off, DON'T TOUCH my feet....EVER!!! If you do, or try to tickle them, I cannot be held accountable what may happen to you during said touching or tickling. I become vicious and simply begin to kick and I don't care who is in my way, I"m sorry, but really, don't go there. The only exception is that I am able to maintain some self-control during pedicures. For whatever reason, I love pedicures....I think it's because it gets my feet all nice and pretty (as pretty as feet can be)My hair/pedicure gal feels very, very honored that she may be the ONLY person whose teeth I don't attempt to kick out.

2. I can NOT STAND to be barefoot-ever!!! I prefer to wear shoes at all times as well....except when I'm sleeping of course. I'm trying to figure out a way to not track my shoes and whatever is on the bottom of them into the house because I'm in and out so much. Changing shoes seems like a good idea, but I don't think about it and it's a lot of work to change back into outside shoes should I need to go outside again. My tennis shoes are my "work" shoes. My mother-in-law gives me money for my birthday every year and for the past few years, I've put that money towards a new pair. As soon as the shoes come off at night, usually while watching TV, I'm don't "working". I will wear flips....I like flips because they are easy to slip on....I especially like The Boys new Nike Flips which are like heaven for my feet. HOWEVER, I do not generally prefer to wear flips to places like the park and the baseball/soccer fields because then my feet get dirty and I HATE when my feet are dirty.

3. On the rare occasion when My Sweetie and I go to bed at the same time I have to have my foot touching his leg or foot in order to fall asleep. I do this so often, sometime not even realizing it until he says, "What, you don't love me anymore, why isn't your foot touching me.

I think that is all for my feet....moving on to #4.....

4. If the house is all nice and tidy and clean I get very grouchy when people can't figure out maybe they should put their dish in the dishwasher (even though I too will re-organize so that I can fit more in and place things in their proper spot) or their clothes in the hamper or clean out the "sink paste" when they are done brushing their teeth. But, I seem to care less when the house is in shambles and I will admit, at times help contribute by adding to the mess. This is what I call Saturday, Sunday, and most of Summer.

5. I always have to have a plan. I have a plan for our menus for the week, grocery lists, birthday parties, vacations, summer schedules, the new year, my scrapbooks, meetings I run, classes I teach, sermons I give. I can become very obsessed with details and will spend lots of time researching, reading and at times re-planning before plans are finalized. I am not a spontaneous person and don't deal well when there isn't a plan in place. I live by my calendar and the clock. My Sweetie is NOT generally a planner. This drives me crazy. However, we tend to balance each other out and some of the best things we have done have come out of the balance we bring into one anothers lives.

6. I have a tendency to burn myself whenever I am cooking. So much in fact, My Sweetie went out to find the longest pair of oven mits he could find. Seriously, they go all the way up to my elbow. This has saved me from many injuries, but I still can somehow find away to burn myself at least once a week. Most of them go away with time but I have very visible burn on my arm from this past June....it's pretty, let me tell ya.

Unfortunately, that was easier than I thought it would be. So, I am going to tag, Sarah, Heather, and Andrea and anyone else who reads and wants to participate. :) HAVE FUN!!! :)

***Edit*** I can't stop!!! I've thought of MORE!!! I gag when I brush my teeth, I have to always stop the gas pump on a nice round number...this is an improvement of when I use to have to round up to the nearest dollar, and I can never end on a sweet treat..i have to have something salty to balance it out.

Successful Birthday Checklist

Steamer Art by Daddy...
CHECK!

A pile of birthday gifts from mom and dad (including licorice!)...
CHECK!

Skate Board Ramp....as requested (just a little smaller)...
CHECK!


A special breakfast...
CHECK!

A Birthday Treat to share at school...
CHECK!!!

Ribs for dinner...also as requested....
Topped off with the first soccer game of the season.....
...scoring 3 goals for his team!!!
CHECK! CHECK!! CHECK!!!

When I asked BuhBuh if he had a good birthday he said, "Well, I didn't get a four-wheeler or a motorcycle like I wanted."

Later in the evening he also reminded me that I had forgotten to get him his own deodorant like I said I would when he turned six.

One mommy can only do what one mommy can do.

Six years of BuhBuh

Today he is 6. I've been so blessed to have been able to be home with him everyday since he was born. Getting pregnant with him and his birth symbolizes a new beginning in my life, marriage and family. It is also symbolizes God's awesome grace (and My Sweetie's grace and love for me as well.)

I am thankful for him in so many ways, because had I made one different choice all those years ago, he would not be here. As frustrated as I get with the strong willed boy BuhBuh can be, he also melts my heart when I see him showing empathy, love and kindness to others. I've had the opportunity to watch him grow from a content baby to shy toddler to self-confident preschooler and into the determined 6 year old boy he is today. He continues to make us laugh daily with the things he says. He has taken on the role of big brother well and knows how to push buttons of his older brother. He wants to do what he wants, when he wants, and isn't afraid to protest when he doesn't agree with mom and dad. When my mom lost her brother this past summer, only BuhBuh knew how to comfort her in her sadness. He always has big hugs to give his grandmas as soon as he sees them, but is too much of a big boy to show mom any affection at the bus stop. He is a leader on the soccer field and a role model in the classroom. His faith and love in Jesus continues to grow and I can often see Christ in him through his actions. He enjoys helping mom with chores and cooking and dad and grandpa with outside chores. He has a love for Star Wars that makes his daddy proud and a sense of timing with his humor that is beyond his years. He still wants goodnight kisses-on the cheek that doesn't touch the pillow at night and he still looks to me for comfort from middle of the night nightmares. He feels sad when he falls into the trap of the middle child.He claims his favorite color is black. He often thinks of others and their needs. He is an awesome boy.

He is growing up in front of my eyes. It's fun to watch but sad to let go so that he can continue to spread his wings. I look forward to what this next year will bring and look forward to seeing what else God has in store for this boy of mine. Ever since I held him in the hospital 6 years ago in my post delivery room, I remember looking down at him with tears of joy and gratefulness. Because of the path I was following just a year prior, he shouldn't have been there. But there he was, my "little" 8 lb 12 oz swaddled baby boy, in my arms and full of so many promises. From that very moment of stillness and peace in the hospital I've always known that God has awesome plans in store for him. How blessed I am to have a front row seat; how grateful I am that the seat comes with a seat belt!

Pump It Up Fun!!!

We celebrated BuhBuh's 6th birthday last night.

He if you remember his number one request for his birthday was for a Kids Only party. Well, I couldn't NOT have our family there and all but the grandparents have kids anyway, so we just did one BIG party. We went to Pump It Up and we all had a GREAT time! All of the kids there played hard and were nice and sweaty when they left.

At one point during the party, BuhBuh came up and gave me a hug and said, "Thank you for my party" He had a smile plastered to his face for the entire 2 hours.



I was so proud of my boy. He played nicely with everyone and was truly grateful for all of his gifts. He LOVED getting the royal birthday treatment.

Sometimes being the middle child he feels, and often rightly so, that he gets left out of things. So this was a special day JUST for him; he deserved it and boy did he shine!!



At the end of his party I asked him to say thank you to everyone...not only did he say thank you, but he also gave everyone a hug. It was such a blessing to be able to see his heart. Watching him show his appreciation to everyone was the only thank you I needed.

"Just the Way You Are"

I love Billy Joel. When I was a kid I remember having his Greatest Hits cassette tape that I listened to all the time. When I was in college I had the opportunity to go and see him in concert...they were nose bleed seats mind you, but I WAS THERE!! You can imagine my excitment when I saw that PBS was airing a live concert of his from 1978...he was in England I think and he was performing songs off his record The Stranger.

Last night My Sweetie and I had the opportunity to sit down and watch it off our DVR. As we were listening to this song:

Don't go changing, to try and please me
You never let me down before
Don't imagine you're too familiar
And I don't see you anymore
I wouldn't leave you in times of trouble
We never could have come this far
I took the good times, I'll take the bad times
I'll take you just the way you are

Don't go trying some new fashion
Don't change the color of your hair
You always have my unspoken passion
Although I might not seem to care

I don't want clever conversation
I never want to work that hard
I just want someone that I can talk to
I want you just the way you are.

I need to know that you will always be
The same old someone that I knew
What will it take till you believe in me
The way that I believe in you.

I said I love you and that's forever
And this I promise from the heart
I could not love you any better
I love you just the way you are.

We were both having the same thoughts. I was thinking what a sweet, "romantical" song it was and how the words were a good fit for he and I.

My Sweetie, said, "Why wasn't THIS song our first dance when we got married??"

"I don't know! But it should have been," I replied.

He can't even remember the song we danced to. It was a song that was popular at the time and you rarely even hear it anymore. I picked it because at the time, I liked the words.....still good words I suppose, but not as classic as Billy Joel's "Just the Way you Are".

So, My Sweetie and I have decided to make a little edit to our past. From here on out....we will "remember" our first dance and tell people the song we first danced to at our wedding was actually "Just the Way You Are" Chances are, no one else who attended our wedding remembers, and I don't think there is any documented proof that it wasn't. If there is, we've decided to continue to stick by our story and assure everyone else, as lovingly as we can, that they are wrong and we remain to be right. Hehehe....

How sweet it is to be loved by someone who truly, loves me just the way I am. And how blessed we've been as we've traveled the adventure of life together for the past 12+ years.

What's My Excuse????

So, I decided to be a good girl today and open up the devotion that gets sent to my email inbox. I began having one sent to my email because I thought "Surely, this will make it easier for me to get my devotional readings in" At first it did....but it's just as easy to let the day pass and delete it and tell yourself, "Tomorrow I'll make time"

I'm better about it some days than I am other days....today I opened it and it was one of those devotions where you know it was for you and that you were the one who God wanted to hear/see/read those specific words. But I think it's one that many of us can relate to in one way or another so I thought I'd share the part that spoke loudest to me.

...Perhaps you have been hiding behind some excuses of your own lately. Maybe your excuses involve exercise like mine did. Or maybe they involve other things like why you can't give up a bad habit, why you aren't able to forgive someone, or why you are continuing in a sin God has been convicting you of. Maybe you have been letting excuses keep you from a more intimate relationship with God, or maybe you have been excusing the fact that you need to accept Christ as Savior. Even as you read these words, God is impressing on your heart that there is something you need to do--but you have been letting excuses serve as a barrier between knowing it and actually doing it.

I'm good at making excuses. How about you?? There are excuses that are weighing on my heart heavier than others as I read and re-read this passage. The solution in the devotion was this:

...Today I invite you to remove the excuses in your life. To choose one excuse today and begin to tear it down, taking just one brick out of the wall. Over the next days and weeks, choose more bricks to remove until one day, nothing is standing between you and that scary thing you know you need to do.

I could come up with excuses to NOT tear down the wall of excuses. Like for starters, "that wall is just too big to tear down right now. I just don't have time." and, "What if this really isn't what God wants me to do? How foolish would I look then for pursuing something that isn't and wasn't ever His will?" It's like I'm waiting for the neon, flashing sign or something.

UGH!

My joyful, aching heart

My brother and his wife welcomed their first child into the world on Friday, September 5th at 7:20 p.m. My sister-in-law, bless her heart, figured when all was a said and done, that she had endured 37 hours of labor. They had a little girl. This is so exciting....I am already an aunt to my niece and nephew on My Sweetie's side of the family. This is the first time I get to be an aunt on my side of the family. Not only that, but this is the first girl in a long time!!! Mom had me then she had my three brothers, then I had three boys. It is always exciting to celebrate and rejoice in new life. I'm hoping to make a trip up to Wisconsin in a couple of weeks to get in some baby snuggles and smooches.

Sadly, during the time my one sister-in-law was in labor, I had another sister-in-law who was going through a miscarriage of her second child. She was towards the end of her first trimester. My heart just aches for her. It's the end of a dream; the end of a life that her, her husband and the rest of the family was looking forward to. My Sweetie and I are at a complete loss of what we can do for her right now. I don't know if there are really any words of comfort to offer that will be the fix. The best thing I can come up with right now is prayers and to maybe send her a card later this week.

Birthday Countdown

We have a carry over rule from when My Sweetie was growing up:

No talking about birthdays until it is two weeks away.

BuhBuh's birthday is officially 2 weeks away. For a soon to be 6 year old he certainly knows what he wants.

1. A Kids Only party
2. Ribs for his birthday dinner
3. A skate board ramp, helmet and elbow and knee pads
4. A very specific birthday treat to share with his class at school.

Me: Your birthday is coming up here soon. You'll have to think of something you want to take to school to share with your friends.

BuhBuh: How about licorice?

Me: Well, we could do that. But mommy really doesn't mind making you something.

BuhBuh: Like what?

Me: I could make cupcake ice cream cones, I could make sandwich cookies, I could make any other kind of cookies....

BuhBuh: OH!!!! I know what I want!!! I want Ms. C's brownies!!

Me: You want Ms. C to make your birthday treat for school?

BuhBuh: YEP! She makes THE BEST brownies!!!

Me: ****feeling like I need to brush up on my brownie makin' skills*****

That's right! He doesn't want ME to make him anything for his birthday, but rather his friend's mom!! And if he can't have her brownies....then he'll settle for licorice.