Wonderful Beginning!

I'm a fickle blogger, a bit indecisive and inconsistent.  I've changed my name back to what  I originally started with.  It's the name I most identify with and I love it.
I had changed it because I started to think that it made me sound like I was working with drudgery and that I coveted the name SAH mom.  And that is not the case at all.  I absolutely LOVE my job.  I love the education that my kids are getting.  I love the time that I get to spend with other grown-ups and all the other stuff that goes along with my having a career.  I am TRULY blessed to be doing what I am doing where I am doing it. Nevertheless, as my blog name suggests, my heart and my priorities lie here in my home with my family.  I may not do both perfectly, but who does.  I give both all I have and God's grace fills in the gaps.

School is in full swing around here and I absolutely adore my students this year.  I prayed for a week before school started that God would help me to love these kids the way He does.  That I could see them the way their parents see them.  And I have already fallen in love with them.  I've prayed with them, I've laughed with them, there have even been a couple that I've wanted to cry with.  I'm just so grateful for them.  And I'm so, so thankful that God hears my prayers.

My kids are doing great in school.  Alyssa is still adjusting to middle school, more studying, less spoon-feeding.  What I really mean is I'm still adjusting.  Geez, middle school is a whole new world. Although, I'm struggling more than my little social butterfly is.  She just flutters around without a care in the world.  Anyone who knows me knows that isn't how I roll.  And quite frankly, I've never understood people who are like this.  *sigh* She's got so much of her daddy in her.

Have a blessed evening friends!

Pick Up Your Mess, Jesus Said So

Yesterday in church, my pastor spoke about the man who couldn't walk and his friends lowered him into the house that Jesus was in so that he would be healed.  As he was reading through the passage of Scripture that he was preaching from (Luke 5:17-26), he got to the part of the story when Jesus said, "Arise take up your bed, and go to your house."  I'm a little embarrassed and a little amused that what caught my attention was that Jesus told him to "pick up his bed".  I thought,"See, even Jesus doesn't like a mess". 

Later as my pastor talked more in depth about the different points in the passage, he suggested that Jesus commanded the man to pick up his bed because he wanted him to have a reminder of the miracle that Jesus performed in his life.  When he said that, I couldn't help but chuckle, I'm sure someone on the side of me or in front of me heard me and wondered what was so funny. 

Oh, to be inside this crazy mind of mine!

It's That Time of Year Again!

Our summer is beginning to wind down and I'm beginning to get those back-to-school, got-so-much-work-to-do-before-school, did-I-make-the-most-out-of-our-summer, my-kids-are-one-year-older jitters.

I've gone through last year's school uniforms, salvaged what we could and bought what we needed-a few shirts, new shoes, socks and undies. I have one set of school supplies left to get.  I haven't gotten Lylah Grace's supplies yet.  I will get those on Monday.  But even if I didn't her mommy teacher would let it slide for a couple of days.  Yep, I get to be Lylah Grace's teacher this year.  I taught Alyssa when she was in 3rd.  But then we only had one third grade class so it was kinda the only way.  This year, though, we have two classes so we weren't sure how that was going to go over.  So I went to my awesome principal and assistant principal and asked them if she could be in my class and explained that it was the only opportunity that I get to teach my own kids and how we had both been looking forward to it.  And they said, "OK".  We are super excited.

On top of that, I have a middle-schooler this year.  The way our small school is set up, the elementary is on one side of a courtyard and middle and high school has been "on the other side".  Another teacher(who also has child/children Alyssa's age) and myself have been joking about our kids going "to the other side" as if it's some dark, dangerous place.  Completely joking, of course.  But in a way it is completely new territory for us and for them.  Things are different at this age and on.  I can't believe I'm the mother of a middle school student. Ugh, how do mom's do this...watching their babies growing up and getting ready to be adults.  It's hard for me, I have to admit.  But I better suck it up because I have a feeling it's going to get harder before it gets easier. 

And then there's David.  He is going to be in Pre-K.  He will soon be coming home writing, and reading.  Our 4 year olds know how to read pretty well before they enter Kindergarten.  By our, I mean our school/preschool.  He had already begun putting simple sounds together in the 3 year-old program so I am so excited to watch him blossom this year.  I have a feeling that at this time next year, I won't be quite so excited to watch him go to Kindergarten...sigh...I can't even think about it *tear*. 

And lastly, Ava.  I was getting letters from her teacher last year that she was being sassy, and not obeying.  We tried to work on obedience over the summer, and I hope that we made some progress.  But (and I'm definitely not one to make excuses for my children) that child has a personality unlike any of our other children.  She's precious, of course.  But she's also...uuhhmmm....spirited...yep, that's what we'll call her.  So I look forward to seeing what this year holds for her as well, as the three-year old program is much more structured than the two-year old class she was in last year.  Nevertheless, they all have teachers who love them and I know we are all going to have a great year.

Now, I'm off to write lesson plans, paint classroom walls, hang bulletin boards and various other tasks to get my room ready.  I had to change classrooms this year....blech!!

Common Ground

I didn't get around to sending out a "Happy Independence Day" post.  I know, bad blogger.  But yesterday I was reminded of what this holiday is all about.

The kiddos were at my sis-in-law's house for the afternoon, so Cecil and I decided to go out for lunch together.  We stopped to get gas on the way and as he was pumping gas, an older gentleman approached him and reached out to shake his hand. 

 He said, "Happy 4th,7 years US Army." Cecil shook his hand and said, "Happy 4th to you, 14 years Army National Guard." The gentleman said, " Good deal, I'm proud of you". 

Cecil hears "Thank You for your service" all the time when he's out and about.  He has had kind, appreciative people offer to pay his lunch bill when they see him in restaurants. But I can imagine (and I haven't asked him about this) that there is something special about sharing a handshake and exchanging words of thanks with a fellow veteran. 

These guys know the feeling of something, I will never know.  Of serving this wonderful country.  They didn't serve together, they weren't even serving at the same time.  But their purpose was the same.  To defend and protect this nation that we should all be proud of.  And that puts them on common ground, ground that spans generations. 

When he got back in the car and told me about the exchange, I looked at him and said, " I'm proud of you, too".  He smiled put his hand on my leg and said, "Thanks".  And I realized that I don't say it nearly enough.

I love this man, and the country he defends.  Happy late Independence Day!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Have you ever seen something and wanted to make it so much that you loaded up all the pajama-clad kiddos in the van and went to get supplies without even taking the time to brush your own hair?  Okay, me either.  But I came pretty darn close, when I saw these this morning.  There I was, just surfing the blogosphere and I happened to see these tiny pieces of Heaven.  Do you think there will be chocolate or cookie dough in Heaven?  Has to be.

Anyway, I've been in a MAJOR cooking rut.  I'm pretty sure last night's supper was the worst I've ever cooked.  Hubs came home and I didn't greet him with a kiss or a "Hi honey, how was your day" I greeted him with, "sorry, dinner sucks".  (excuse the expletive, we don't usually use that word around here).  But it was kinda bad.

Anyway, these will get me into the kitchen and hopefully make up for dinner last night. My man does LOVE him some cookie dough anyway he can get it....raw, cooked, with a glob of buttercream sandwiched between two cookies.  So I know he's going to love these.

Source and recipe

I don't know how I missed these.  I am constantly stalking  visiting Bridget at Bake at 350. But somehow, I'm just seeing these.  I can't wait to devour them.

Summer Bedtime?

Source

It's 8am and all four of my kiddos are still sleeping.  I've had 2 hours of quiet time and I have savored every second of it.  But the downfall of them sleeping so late is that they give us such a hard time going to sleep at night.  Last night it was so tough getting them all to bed.  This frustrates C because, while I am a morning person and I like my quiet time in the morning, he is a night person and he prefers quiet time at night.  And when the kids are up, it ain't quiet. During the school year, we start bedtime at 8pm (and I usually follow not too far behind) I don't want the summer to be a time of strict bedtimes and waking times, but we do need some semblance of routine.

Oh, I hear Ava coming now.  She peeked around my door and said, "I been coming for you".  Nothing makes me smile bigger than that freshly woken up face.  So Sweet.

Okay, now I just got finished cleaning David after a nosebleed.  Guess quiet time is over, let's get this day started.

What do your kids' bedtimes/routines look like during the summer??

Whole New Bloggy World

Lately I've been visiting a few style blogs. I never set out searching for style blogs, I just stumbled across some on accident and realized that I really enjoy reading them. I've always enjoyed getting dressed and putting outfits together and accessorizing. But never really gave it all much thought. I just threw on whatever was in my closet, whatever I had time for, whatever was clean (or had one more wear in it before I HAD to wash it) and was out the door. Who would have thought that there was an entire bloggy world out there dedicated to normal everyday people and the clothes they wear. I'm loving it! Like my husband said this morning, "There are blogs out there for everyone, baby". I think he's right. Yes, we chat about blogs and he acts like he cares because he's so awesome like that! I also chat about LOTRO and act like I care listen very intently, hanging on every word. Love ya, honey!

And because I want all two of you to find happiness and fulfillment like I have, I'm sharing two blogs that I love right now:

La Vie Petite was, I think, the first one I stumbled across. Isn't she so stinkin cute!

Then I ran into Kendi Everyday. I love her pictures! Maybe one day, I'll venture out of my bathroom for some shots. But it does help that her photographer husband takes all her pictures. All I have is my tripod. Oh Well :(

What's so great about both of these girls is that neither of them spend a lot of money on their clothes and they frequent thrift stores where they pick up lots of great finds.

Which is one reason that I'm so proud of this outfit. The whole thing was thrifted! Does it look like it?? I don't think so, either.

I know, I seriously need to do something about the

floors and wall color in my bathroom.

I'm working on it!....read: I have been working

on it for years one tiny step at a time!

Shirt: Goodwill, Jacket: Goodwill, Pants: Goodwill, Shoes: Passed to me by my sister-in-law. Jewelry: not thrifted but I did purchase it all with my 50% jeweler discount from Premier Designs. I used to sell Premier and racked up on some great pieces.

I went in to Goodwill to look for two specific shirts (both of which I found). But I found so much more and I just couldn't stop. A lot of what I found was name brand and looked fairly new. The jacket above is Ann Taylor. I also scored some Gap pieces and some stuff from The Limited.

We are seriously deficient in thrift stores around here, unless there are some I don't know about. But there is one other one that I want to try. One day when I can go sans kiddos!>

Happy blogging everyone!

as a side note: I was so excited to learn to strikethrough text. but that clever little LOTRO comment just wasted 30 minutes of my life because I somehow "struckthrough" the entire post. There were like 50 of those marks dispersed though out my post that I had to delete. since i really know nothing about html, i have no idea how or why it happened but SHEESH! AHHH! there they are again! I give up!

If I'm Completely Honest

I scheduled David's yearly check-up with the cardiologist the other day. It's on the 28th of this month and I can't wait to see how my little man's heart is doing. (For any new readers, David was born with only one ventricle. He was also born with Transposition of the Great Ateries and Situs Inversus.) You can read about his journey here, here, and here, and here. I very much look forward to these visits. I really wish he was going more often. But they also make me a little nervous, if I'm completely honest.

Okay, if I'm completely honest, I'll tell you that it's always at this time that I reflect on everything that he has been through in amazement at God's handiwork. The words "I am so thankful" are such a profound understatement.

If I'm completely honest, I'll tell you that I'm afraid of the what-ifs, and the unknowns. When we first found out about David's heart defect, I researched for hours a day trying to understand what was going on, what to expect when he came into this world, wishing I could just keep him in there where my body was keeping him safe and healthy. Then before each surgery I would spend time reading and researching what was to come, what to expect, to try and prepare myself.

I haven't let myself do any of that since after his last surgery. But today, I did and it brought back a flood of emotions. The truth is that the procedure that he had done is relatively new (the first being done in 1968) and they don't know for certain the long term prognosis. I've read that some speculate that a post-Fontan heart would last 30-40 years. I googled to try and find adults who have been through the Fontan and happened across a girl who is 32 and completed the Fontan 28 years ago. She says she is doing fine with just a few arrythmias. There doesn't appear to be a lot of information on the long-term prognosis. But I do know that the surgical procedures and subsequent care has improved over the years. And David has always fared waaayy on the better side of potential outcomes. He has amazed even his doctors in his recovery after all his surgeries. And he is doing absolutely fabulous right now. And we are so grateful for that!

With that said, I ran across some posts from other moms who also say that they are afraid. Wondering whether their child will make it to the teenage years, or whether they'll get married or hold their babies. I won't say that those thoughts constantly occupy my mind, I don't dwell on it. But I'd be lying if I said that I never shed tears thinking about it.

So I just pray. I know that David has a purpose here, and I pray that God lets me keep him until that purpose is fulfilled...whenever that may be.

In a Nutshell

Hi There!
I thought for sure once the summer came around, I'd be able to blog more. but as you can see, that hasn't happened. But I don't stress about it, because I don't want my blog to be one more thing on my to-do list that I feel pressured to do. So anyway, here's what's been going on.

The husband is out of town...again. We all miss him. I hate when he's gone, especially when it's the first two weeks of summer vacation.

I always feel like a lump the first week or so after school is out. I don't feel like doing anything. The house is always in need of major rehab because the last two weeks of school really stress me out and I don't get much done around here. But now all is good. The house is clean and orderly and things are going so smoothly. I wish Cecil was here to enjoy it with us...

My van is in the shop...has been for nearly a week. The air conditioner was/is broken. We held off until the school year was over to put it in the shop and lemme tell you it was misery riding without an A/C.

I'm currently driving a small Mitsubishi Lancer that my parents have. I have a new appreciation for the distance that my van provides between all the kiddos. All I've been hearing all week is, "Mom, he won't get his arm off of me" or "Mom, I don't have enough room". I am immensely grateful for the car that I was able to borrow and the money that I didn't have to spend on a rental, and the a/c that is in the car...but I will be so thankful to get my van back, hopefully, today.

I will be painting my bedroom in the next couple of days. I'm really excited about the vision that I have in my head of what I want my room to be. I hope I'm just as excited about what my room will actually be. It's going to be a lot of work. But if it works it will be well worth it.

Oh, and today I have four weeks left in my twenties.

Well, that's it in a rather large nutshell. We are off to go bowling with out Kids Bowl Free coupons with a great friend and her kids.

Summer Ambitions

I'm working on my list of things I want to get done over the summer. I'm trying to be very realistic and trying to include things that have been needing to be done for a very long time. So, I quickly had to remove tasks like planting a garden and refinishing my kitchen cabinets because they just weren't priority.



1. Paint my bedroom (has been pending for about 7 years)


2. Paint my bathroom(see above)


3. Get floors put down in my bedroom and bathroom.


4. Get garage cleaned out (its a total disaster)


5. Get wisdom teeth removed (pending for about 12 years)


6. Get Invisalign, or at least get started with getting Invisalign.


7. Sew myself a dress


8. Lose 10 pounds.


9. Read at least one fiction book, a book purely for fun. I never do this.


10. Camp outside with my kids.


11. Go to the beach for at least a long weekend.


12. Host a mini summer camp with the cousins.


13. Have fun with my kids!


I love this list pulled together by Crystal. We'll try and complete a few of these activities as a family this summer as well!