The Lesser of Two Evils

Wow, one week until Christmas and I still don't have all of my shopping done.  It seems like I have been busier this year than the last...well...ever.  I guess that's how life gets though.  The older we are, the busier we get.  Especially when you have three kids.  I am so happy though.  I am so Thankful that God has blessed me with these kids.  I just want to protect them with my life from this crazy world.
I recently had a conversation with my mom about the twilight movies and Bella's choice of Edward. We finally saw Breaking Dawn, which was a bit cheesy, but I enjoyed the experience.  Anyway, we somehow got on the topic of vampires being evil. My mom feels that Bella should have chosen Jacob due to his uh heartbeat.  Maybe that's true, but I didn't write the books.  I do know that vampires are not of God's creation, but I don't think the Native American Tribes in the story were exactly Christian.  If so, I missed that part.  I found myself asking if God would create humans to "shape shift" the way they do.  And while I haven't researched it in the Bible, since I don't care to waste any amount of time trying to prove whether or not every character in Twilight is good or bad, I can't help but think that it's all kind of evil.  On both sides.  Now, I know it's just a story, and I have read all of the books and watched all of the movies, but if we are speaking in real-life terms here, I am certain that I would not want to be involved with either of those fellows.  Now, I attempted to explain my reasoning to my mom, to which she replied,
 "the lesser of two evils."
I have heard that saying many, many times in my life without giving it a second thought.  Even agreeing with it at points, but when I heard it the other night there was not one part of my body, soul, or mind that agreed with those words.  Evil is evil and satan is evil and God is good.
Evil has no place in any of our lives, or at least it shouldn't.
This is the kind of thinking that our world is in though.  Choose the lesser of two evils.
Why?  Why should we have to choose evil at all?  We don't. We don't.  So many believe this to be true and acceptable and it sickens me.  We don't have to choose evil at all people.  We can choose God.  We can choose Jesus Christ.  We can choose the opposite of evil.
 That is all I have to say for today.  I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas.
 God Bless Everyone!

That song keeps playing over and over in my mind, or just that one verse of that song.
"The heart has a language of it's own.
It speaks in tongues and quiet sighs and prayers and proclamations." 
Just that verse.  It is simply beautiful. I don't even really like the rest of the song all that much.  Well, maybe I do. 

 I bought a used karaoke machine today, only to get it home and realize it doesn't work. I'm returning it in the morning.  I also purchased some nice crocheted beanies at the antique store. And while I was there decided to try on a $1500 emerald ring.  It was a rather large on my finger though.  Oh, and Rufus got a haircut. He looks so darling, I almost forgot he was a poodle.

 I think I want a made for Christmas.  I want an older one, not the young, hot ones that sleep with your husband.  Okay, that is a sign of watching too many silly movies.  I'm sure that doesn't happen that often.  Or maybe it does.  Or maybe I can just buy a robotic made.  Of course, then I would probably end up like Will Smith in I, Robot. 

Grass

It's funny how the grass always seems greener on the other side.  The truth is that all the grass is green or all the grass is brown on both sides.  Depending on how you look at your life.  Today, all of my grass is brown.  I know it's not really brown when I look at the bigger picture, but in my world right now, it's brown.  It was brown in Alabama and in Florida, but I thought it would be green in Arkansas.  Well, I have news, it's brown here too.  I think it might even be a little bit more brown here than anywhere else. Maybe it's just all mud here, there is no grass at all.

Sweet November

I wanted to write a blog yesterday, but I got side-tracked shopping for nik-naks instead.  I wanted to write because it's November now, the most romantic month of the year.  It is for me anyway. Not just because I was married in November, or because Brian said, "I love you" to me for the first time in November.  It's because it is a time of beauty and Thankfulness. The weather is cool and everything in nature is like eye-candy for me this month.  We celebrate Thanksgiving, a real American holiday with meaning, and Winter is well on it's way. Even with the lack of sleep I had last night and the vomit I have been cleaning up all day from my sick little one, I am feeling incredibly blissful. So many of my friends are caught up with the hustle and bustle of this money-driven, fast-paced sham of a life that society tells us to live. It's easy to get sucked up in all that mess.  But I don't want to just step back and enjoy a moment every now and then, I want to stay back and enjoy every minute of the life we were created for.  Our time is now, and I'm tired of missing out.

There are two trees outside of Ethan's school that I see every day.  Two weeks ago I noticed how marvelous they looked with all the bright, yellow leaves in contrast with their dark, brown trunks. I even took a picture of them with my phone, but a long weekend is all that it took for them to become completely bare. I have to admit that I was disappointed that all of the yellow beauty couldn't last just a little longer.

The changing seasons are a perfect example of how fast time escapes us. Let us not waste it anymore.

Jack the bearded dragon lives by the sand, he lays in the hot, hot sun and eats bugs throughout the land....

I don't know what it is about rainy days that make me want to write on this blog, but here I am.  I have all three of my munchkins home today.  Ethan is skipping a field trip to the pumpkin patch in some nasty weather.  I have decided to let him skip all the field trips this year.  He is doing so well with his first year in public school, that I am not going to mess it all up by forcing him to go on trips that he has no desire to attend.  I had hoped that we would sleep in, but the boys need no alarm clock.  They are always up and ready to go at the crack of dawn.  I'm not sure why I thought this morning would be any different.  Normally, I don't mind waking up early, but I am still tired from a long weekend with our family.  We had a lot of fun though and it was worth it.  We also adopted a new pet.  His name is Jack and he is the most adorable baby bearded dragon I have ever met.  He is tiny right now and incredibly fun to watch.  Feeding him is the best part, if you like gross stuff like me.  He eats live crickets, but since he is so tiny right now, I have to break the back legs off of the crickets so they can't hop away.  As soon as Jack sees the little bugs running for their lives, he takes off and gobbles them up in one, swift bite.  Seriously, cutest thing ever. 
Anyway, I think I might take the kids to Hastings to pick out some new books and maybe drink some hot cocoa.  It's a perfect day for hot cocoa. 

Time to enjoy the first October weekend...

It's Friday and tomorrow is October 1st, it's going to be a fabulous weekend. The weather will be sunny and cool, my favorite kind.  We have an engineering family picnic to attend tomorrow.  I'm excited to meet some of Brian's new coworkers.  A little nervous too.  I hope the other wives are nice.  Sometimes I wish we had a boat to go out on the lake.  The kids are still a bit too small, but how awesome that would be?  On a day like this, going into the mountains to find hidden gems of trees and secret waterfalls.  I'm sure there are some around here somewhere.  I love the natural wonders and beauty of nature.  I can stare at the same trees for hours outside of my window and still be in awe.  I always dreamt of being a photographer for National Geographic Magazine as a child.  I would pin pictures of wild animals torn out of magazines to my bedroom walls.  Those later turned into posters of Justin Timberlake.  I am still a fan and I do continue to listen to N'Sync.  Haha, it's my dirty little secret.  Maybe, when my kids are a little older and not so demanding of my time, I will have the ability to wait out in the woods for a perfect wildlife shot of an American Black Bear.  For now, I will just have to settle for the zoo.  Peace out and Love Jesus! 

I do realize I have almost abandoned this blog.  In my defense, I have been sick for the past month.  Yes, month.  With Ethan in public school now, we are catching everything germs have to offer.  It's been a long ride with lots of snotty noses, puke, and other things that are just too gross to mention.  Yesterday, I felt well, for the first time.  I cleaned my house and baked a pie from a pumpkin.  It was nice.  Today, I have just enjoyed watching the rain.  Cool, rainy days remind me of Robin Hood, yes I do mean the cartoon version.  Maybe I will take a stroll down to Hastings to see if they might possibly have it on dvd.  Ah, this is the life.  Three beautiful children, a handsome, helpful, loving husband, and everything that goes along with my role as a suburban housewife.  Yes, even the times when I have to pause writing this blog to take Adelyn some toilet paper, dig dog food out of Alex's mouth, and get the button on my sweater stuck in my hair as I am pulling it off.  And now that I am sitting back down, I have completely lost where I was going with this.  Oh well, that's life.  God is so good.

A Life without Jesus, Is like peanut butter without milk....

It may taste good, but you will only be left thirsty.
I thought of this cute, but very true analogy this afternoon as I was making my kids peanut butter cookies for an after-school snack.  I was chowing down on the cookie dough alone in the kitchen as I usually do, only to open the fridge and realize that we are out of milk.  Uh, can we say freak the freak out?  I had to make due with some water.  And as Mandy pointed out to me, peanut butter can even be dangerous without something to drink.  Much like a life without knowing Jesus.  So, why do so many people reject him?  Why do so many of my friends act awkward if I bring anything God related up in conversation?  Why do so many Christians treat spending time with Him as a chore?  I have been guilty of the latter two.  It is because satan wants us to feel that way.  He loves the way people squirm when God is mentioned.  He is just fine with organized religion.  And the thought of somebody rejecting our Savior, well that's just one more soul for him to destroy. 
I love life on this earth, but it is so much better with Jesus.  What do we have to lose, satan's approval?  That's fine with me.  You don't have to give up your life to be a Christian, you just have to include Jesus.  He wants to be there for you, sharing every memory and unimaginable moment with you! 
You wouldn't eat peanut butter with out milk, or water for those who are lactose intolerant.  So, open up your hearts and take a drink of God!

It's that time of year....

Why do oreo cookies go so well with coffee?  I know, so unhealthy. I guess I will just have to make up for it tonight by eating some extra veggies.  Life is good.  Even with a cold and two sick babies, I can enjoy just being alive.  Brian and I were Baptized in the lake this last Sunday.  It was a such a beautiful, just have a good time, kind of day.  It's nice to be back home, close to friends and family.  I have missed this and I think Brian has too.
I can feel Fall just around the corner.  I know this because I have this unexplainable urge to bake.  I am ready for the smell of pumpkin spice and cinnamon. Orange and red everywhere you look. Weather cool enough for hot cocoa. And college football!  Yes, over the years Brian has turned me into a true fan.  I just love watching a good Razorback game on a cool Saturday while eating chips and homemade salsa.  I love Fall weather clothes!  All the sweaters and hoodies.  Big piles of leaves for my littles to jump in while I snap memories with my trusty nikon.  I. Seriously. Can't. Wait.

Ready to be still for a minute...

It's been an exhausting week.  After what ended up being a nine hour drive with some crazy stops, we made it to our new home in Arkansas last Thursday.  By crazy stops, I really only mean one crazy stop for coffee at a country gas station.  We stopped only to realize Alex had pooped all over himself, literally all over.  It was on his head.  And after two bees and a rambunctious labrador puppy tried to hitch a ride with us, were finally able to get back on the road.  I don't want to make a drive like that again anytime soon. 

Ethan started school Monday.  I can't say that he loves it, but he's adjusting okay.  I like the staff, they are all sweet, Christian women.  I have to say that it hasn't been easy on me either.  I miss my boy like crazy.  And even though I am enjoying the extra time I am able to spend with Adelyn and Alex, I feel like I haven't spent any quality time with Ethan this week.  I suppose this new schedule will take some getting used to.  I will give it a year and see where we stand from there. 

We have been in a semi-empty house all week.  Brian is in Alabama today to oversee the movers pack up the rest of our things.  I can't wait to have all of our stuff delivered.  To finally just be settled for a minute. That's only about how long things last in this world before something changes.  I am not complaining.  I know how very blessed I am.  I am so Thankful for the changing seasons of my life. 
Just imagine how boring life would be if everything always stayed the same...

We found a house.

It has been a busy couple of weeks, and they are not over yet.  We made a second house-hunting trip to Arkansas last week.  And what do ya know, we found a house.  Actually, it was all God, just like I knew it would be.  I could attempt to explain the way it happened, so easily and perfectly, but I just don't think I can convey it in words.  Our house is perfect for us.  It sits up on a hill and we can see the lake from the front yard, which is less than a five minute drive.  It's not a huge house, it's just the right size for our family.  The two things I love about the house though, the two things that God knew I would love, are the hardwood floors and the wall-to-wall shelves in the living room. 
I was also able to get Ethan into the school I wanted, even though it was out of our zone.
Yeah, I've decided to give up homeschooling this year, but definitely not forever.  I just need a bit of a breather for now.
Now, all we have to do is wait to find out when the movers are going to be packing up our stuff.  I can't wait to get settled in our new home.
I know God has big plans for us and I just want to enjoy them. Life is good.

Busy

Hello blog, old friend I have been neglecting.  I have been so consumed in this mad house-hunt that I have let little things that I enjoy go.  Here we are, two weeks until Brian's start date and still no house.  That's how God works though.  Just when something seems impossible, he swoops in like superman and saves the day.  Only he's not superman, he is much bigger than superman.  He is God.  He is the creator of all things good.  He is the creator of the creator of superman!  So, even though I have been incredibly frustrated, I'm still holding onto my faith.
This is going to be one busy week.  I have lots of phone calls to make and we are going to attempt another house-hunting trip.  Oh how I dislike that drive, but it has to be done.
I am currently in the process, and it's a long one, of filtering through our things.  I am determined not to drag a bunch of useless junk to Arkansas.  With all of the back to school sales right now, I have no problem finding the organizational tools I need to get the job done.  Wow, that sounded just like something someone would say on a Wal-Mart commercial.
Anyway, I have a little man who wants to be held and another little man who needs help with a computer game, so I guess that means I'm done writing for today.  Hopefully, by the next blog I will have a new house to write about.

Exhausted

Over the weekend we made a trip to Arkansas to find a house, only, we didn't find one.  The seven hour drive on Saturday was draining, but not nearly as bad as the seven hour drive back home yesterday.  I had been looking forward to spending time with my mom, but things didn't go as planned.  She came down with a nasty stomach flu the day we drove up and it lasted the entire time we were there.  Being the good daughter that I am, I was making trips to see her anyway and to take her medicine, gatorade, and ginger ale.  Sunday night my stomach started to really hurt.  By Monday morning I realized I too had come down with a stomach virus.  Isn't it just my luck to be sick on a day we have to drive seven hours home?  Yes, we had too.  Brian's boss made it abundantly clear that he had to be at work Tuesday (today).  So, I took a combination of imodium and emetrol to try to settle the horrible cramps, nausea, and other symptoms I would rather not talk about.  I told Mandy how I was feeling and she called me so we could pray about it together.  We did and I felt better.  Good enough to eat at least and get to our scheduled house showing for that day.  Once we looked at a house that we were completely disappointed in, we headed back home.  Although I was not throwing up, my stomach felt terrible.  I will admit it could have been much, much worse, but either way that drive was not fun.  I was exhausted from not getting sleep the night before, and the kids made it impossible to fall asleep on the way.  The sun went down about two hours before we arrived home, just as we drove into some very heavy rain and lightening.  The rain pounded down on our van, only leaving about two feet of visibility for us.  Cloud to ground lightening surrounded the area we were driving through and it was so bright that it was blinding.  Talk about conditions that are hard on the eyes.  I prayed and stayed surprisingly calm through the storms and once they passed, I climbed in the very back of the van, curled up with a blanket, and went to sleep.  I know that's not safe, but I was desperate by that point.
I am feeling better today, but still recovering and very tired and looking forward to a good night's sleep.  As far as the house goes, I hope something pops up soon.  I know it will, but I'm still not fond of this whole waiting thing.  Good night and sweet dreams, I'm going to la la land.

A little bit of crazy

Can it be?  Only 7:30 and all of my children are asleep already.  Score! I just hope they stay that way.  Especially after the stressful, yet kind of funny and not all that uncommon for us, chain of events that unfolded in my house earlier.  Okay, first off, we have been invaded by fire ants.  For some reason Ethan's bedroom floor is covered in the little suckers and they are venturing out all over my house.  I have no clue where they are coming from.  Honestly, if it were the nice little kitchen ants that simply wanted food, I wouldn't really care too much since they don't bite the crap out of you.
Ethan is very allergic to them.  I found this out last year after an attack by them in our Florida front yard that ended up in a trip to the emergency room when his face swelled up fifteen minutes later.
Anyway, Ethan came to me earlier  with two fresh bites on his knee.  He was crying and told me the ants were on his leg and now his leg was really hurting. I gave him a dose of Benadryl and pulled out my anointing oil to rub on my hands and pray over the bites.  About two seconds after we were through praying, I looked up just in time to see Alex fall over and bump his head on the bottom of a chair.  I immediately ran to pick him up.  I proceeded to pray for him as I walked into the kitchen to fetch an ice-pack from the freezer.  Once I sat down to hold ice on Alex's head and comfort him, Adelyn walked in.  I saw some kind of substance covering her arms and legs and then realized she had been into my anointing oil.  I must have forgotten to put it back in my purse.  She then showed me where she left the empty bottle and the rest of the oil.  My kitchen table was also covered in it.  "Sigh."
I sat the baby down on the floor to use both of my hands to clean up the mess.  I instructed Adelyn to go wait in the bathroom for me to give her a bath.  When the table was clean, I needed to check on the baby.  Low and behold, he was covering my phone in drool.  Luckily, it was not destroyed.  This all happened in about a twenty minute time slot.  I sat down on my bed to text Mandy and make sure my phone was okay, when Ethan said, "Mommy, Adelyn ran out the front door naked."  Are you kidding me?  Okay, so I jumped up and flew out the door to grab her before the neighbors decided to call the police and report us for having a naked three year, who is covered in oil running around our front yard.  She didn't get very far from the porch and I picked her up and walked back to the door, only to realize I locked myself out.  Yep, sure did.  Ethan was nice enough to let me in this time, rather than laugh and refuse to open the door.  I think he must have really wanted a piece of his Daddy's birthday cake.  And I also think some days, my life would make great reality t.v.  Although, I would never agree to such a thing.  I guess you all will just have to settle for the blog.  :)

After Dinner and Before Bed....

This is what they do...

 Never a dull moment in this house.....

 Just look at that sweet face...

Today is Friday, it's Brian's birthday, and it's going to be a fabulous weekend!

Taking it easy

So, we still haven't found a house, but I'm just leaving it alone and giving it to God.  I know that He will work it out, He always does.  My day was very sluggish. I could barely drag myself out of bed this morning. I felt as though I had only had two hours of sleep.  I seem to be feeling better now, and have taken this evening to snuggle my kids and read blogs.  I am totally hooked on the pioneer woman.  I can relate so much.  As I'm sure many women can, since she is quite possibly the most popular blogger out there right now. She is very inspiring.  I am especially enjoying all of her photography posts. 
I am hoping that, with a lot of practice, I can achieve that professional look in my photos.  So, here are some of my favorites that I have taken lately.

                                        Adelyn looking at the pond below. I love bridge photos.

                                     
                                      My two nieces having their fashion show.

                                   
                             My niece, Makayla, I just love the rawness in this picture of her.
                                     Beautiful...

                                
                                              My Ethan man after he had been playing in the rain.

 
                                    And Adelyn, the lighting was not great here, but her hair was extra curly
                                    and I didn't care about anything but getting a picture of it...

A little discouraged....

We have less than one month before Brian's start date at his new job, and I am growing increasingly frustrated as I search the net for rental houses.  One thing I forgot about small towns, they are behind the times.  There are all of three property management businesses that rent out houses there, and only two of them have their listings online.  None of which look very promising.  Our family is just too large and rowdy to attempt apartment living and buying right now is out of the question.  I suppose I should call it a day and check the same websites again tomorrow for new listings.  Maybe we will find more on the house hunting trip, which will hopefully be very soon.  For now, I think I will just have a late night snack and zone out in front of the television with the man who doesn't sweat the small things.  At least one of us is sure we will find a decent house. 

Saturday Night Fever...No Fever, Just a Spider

It's Sunday again and I am always amazed at how fast the weeks fly by.  I spent my Saturday night hanging out with Brian and the kids, as usual.  I believe it was about midnight before I was finally able to get Adelyn to stay in bed.  Her agreement for sleep time came after a long conversation we had where I tried to explain, that her Daddy and I are not brother and sister.  I don't think she ever quite caught on to all of the different family bit.  When I told her that Aunt Mandy is Daddy's sister, she laughed at me and said, "No, she's not."  She finally just told me that I'm a girl and she's a girl and left it at that. 
Just as I was drifting off to sleep on the fresh pillow case covering on my pillow that I had just pulled out of the closet, I felt something on my shoulder.  I reached up with the opposite arm to try and figure out what it was.  I was half asleep at the time, so it took me a minute to register the fact that feeling something moving on my shoulder was not normal.  I grasped my hand around it, only to realize I had a rather large spider loafing around on my bed, or on me I should say.  I quickly tossed it up in the air and off of my bed with my bare hand in the dark and sat up.  I demanded Brian to turn on the light so that I could look for it on the floor and kill it. But by the time the light was on and I was up, which was only about a minute, the creepy crawler was gone.  It took me a while to go back to sleep. 
So, now here we are, Sunday morning.  There's a spider hiding out in my room, and I have done something horrible to my back.   Our bird wants Alex to be his friend, and Alex wants to chase her and squash her.  Ethan is watching Spongebob, again.  And Brian and Adelyn are, of course, sleeping in.  Life is good.  Strange sometimes, but good. 

Rainy Saturdays

I am flooded with memories of Arkansas this rainy Saturday morning.  Memories of some small  things I love about the town we will be moving to in just one short month.
Mountain Biking with Brian.......Searching for wildlife at Bona Dea......Fishing at the lake......Walking around Hobby Lobby.......All the wonderful Parks.......The Pet Store......Watching Brian fly his RC Airplane.....Thrift Store Shopping.....Autumn......Snow.....My Mom....

A few things I am excited about....No more crazy traffic.....Less violence on the nightly news.....A shorter work commute for Brian.....Lower cost of living.....Better schools.....Better work schedule for Brian.....Small town living.....Family....

There will be plenty of things I will miss about living here, but I am ready to get back home.  It's a new beginning for us and I can't wait.

I like coupons.

I finally bought my sun hat.  But isn't it just my luck that the sun has not shone since I walked into the store to buy it?  I found a very nice little, white one at Target yesterday, I knew they would have some. I would have preferred it to be on sale, but it wasn't, so I paid the full price of $12.99.  I don't like paying the full price of anything, even if it is at a price some might consider cheap.  One of the benefits of moving to Florida was meeting my very good friend Donna.  She introduced me to the wonderful world of couponing.  Think what you want, but until you have experienced saving forty, fifty, eighty dollars on your groceries, you just haven't experienced shopping.  I'm not one of these extreme couponers you see on TLC, although I do admire them for their effort and the amount they save.  I don't have a stock pile of groceries in my garage, even though sometimes I wish I did.  I just have three hungry children and I like to save money.  Plus, it's just fun.  I actually had a cashier at Publix tell me that coupons should be illegal once.  Sad girl. I guess she was spending too much on groceries.  I will be sad to leave behind Publix, but I am hoping they eventually extend over to Arkansas.  It really is a pleasure to shop there!
Pictures of the sun hat are coming soon, if the sun ever comes back out.  Happy Friday!