My manly man (sigh)

I have mentioned that my son is going through changes from little boy to big boy. One of those changes is taking a lot longer in the restroom while doing his "business". He is however, getting himself very clean because he has stopped up the toilet several times over the last couple of weeks. Last night though, God must have known I needed a good laugh because out of all the times it has stopped up, it's never overflowed...until now. So when little man came in panicked, his dad looked at me and I said, "No way! I've dealt with this my fair share of times...it's your turn."

My husband does not handle body fluids very well...at all. Changing diapers was always an entertaining time because I was very lucky when my kids got clean through all the gagging, coughing and groaning that took place. When we all three had food poisoning recently and he was the only healthy one, you would have thought it was a well thought out plan of mine to make him in charge of taking care of us and cleaning up after us. I really didn't plan on being so sick that I couldn't get out of bed just to make him change mine and princess's "bucket", but watching him wrap his head up like a turbine with a scarf to avoid the smell brought enough humor to almost make up for being sick...almost. All that showed was his eyeballs and there was not much love coming out of them as he took the bucket from me to clean it out. Ahh...such a manly man. :)

So last night I informed him that not only was it his turn, but I was doing something very important on the computer...(we disagree that checking emails is important, but in this situation, it was a very important excuse to make him do this.) He thinks I go into coma zone while on the computer so I guess he wasn't expecting me to keep up with what was going on. Very wrong! I was listening, watching out of the corner of my eye and ready to come help him out whenever I could tell he had had enough. (See I'm not completely cold hearted...I just enjoy putting him through misery every once in awhile for my own entertainment.) I heard him in there gagging and coughing, then walk to the kitchen, make lots of noise, then go back with more gagging and coughing. But I also heard little man start laughing so I knew I needed to check it out. This is what I found when I peeked around the corner....

Is that a chip clip on my honey's nose? Why yes it is. My big, strong manly man has a chip clip on his nose as a "necessary precaution" as he told me. I thought it must be really bad and went and looked in the bathroom. There was JUST WATER in the floor! Luckily, the toilet had cleared and then started overflowing so the only thing on the floor was clean toilet water. Yes, I realize that's not the best kind of water, but much better than it could have been. And...it didn't stink. "Oh, good" he says, "this thing is hurting my nose." And the gagging?..."just knowing what caused this mess in the first place." Good grief. Please pray that nothing happens to me before my kids are too little to take care of themselves. :)

I have been getting glaring looks the entire time I've been writing this post. Oh honey...it's okay...our family and friends deserve to have a good laugh every now and then. Okay, and everyone in the world wide web that decides to look at this. I still love you honey! And you love me too...you know it!

The good thing is that the bathroom is all cleaned up, we've had a serious discussion with little man about how much toilet paper to use and my kids appreciate their daddy more now.

Thank you Amy!

The kids and I have been so excited for today.. It is the day my friend, Amy, came to talk to the kids about her recent trip to Kenya, Africa. She brought over several items that she brought home from there and showed many pictures and videos. It was so cool! The kids were thrilled to be able to have this little piece of Africa brought into their home. They really started putting together things we've discussed and the real life experience that Amy had while there. It was just such an amazing and unique opportunity for my kids and I know we will all cherish it. Thank you, thank you, thank you Amy for coming!

Amy discussing pictures of the different things she saw and did while on her mission trip.

This is one thing she brought over to show and Jayla liked it a lot. She thought it was really cool and so cute that the women there really do carry babies around on their backs. She also brought some paintings the people had made from scraps that were just beautiful.

Bringing Africa to us brought such a realization that we can be so far apart but through God's love, we can also be so close. These people have such hard lives and yet they are still so joyful and thankful to have Jesus in their hearts. We may have more than they do, but I say we have lessons to learn from them as well. God is all you need and He will provide and take care of you if you only ask. He loves ALL his children no matter their skin color, geography or social status and if He lives within you, you are apart of this global, eternal family. What an amazing testimony of His awesome grace and mercy! His love has NO boundaries! Praise Him!

We are so blessed to be able to homeschool and have these opportunities for our studies to come to life for my kids. I hope it just feeds their desire to learn about the world and the different people who are in it and I hope I'm equipping them to have big dreams and the courage and confidence in themselves to follow those dreams.

I definitely think I'll take advantage of using other people I know that have travelled over seas to come share their experiences with us. China is in a few weeks....get ready dad! ;)

A Family Affair

Our Africa study has been one of our favorites. It has included so many interesting facts and we have done some very fun crafts. One of those crafts was woodburning designs into pieces of wood. I knew my dad had a soldering gun so we went out to his office to do this little project. First the kids drew their designs with pencils in the wood....



Then we took the soldering gun and started burning their designs in it. My dad had to try it out first to make sure it would work and tell me how to use it. (Notice the outfit Jayla put together yesterday...a style all her own).



And so dad wouldn't have fun all on his own, my little brother had to try it out too...



The finished products were just amazing. My dad went out and bought a wood burning kit after this so I guess we'll get to play around some more. :)

Jayla's



Jaxen's


All in a day's work at the Reep University ;)

Mancala!

My family loves playing games. Any type of game...we'll play it. Cards, dominoes, board games...doesn't matter, we'll play games after supper til bedtime over watching t.v. almost every time. Now, that being said, we are also ALL very competitive in these games. Jaxen hates losing to one of his parents, Jayla hates losing to her brother, and I really hate losing to Jerod. There are some games I just won't play with him because it's not worth the embarrassment of getting my tail kicked.

In our African studies it told me to make a mancala game out of an egg carton to play while going through this study. Well I knew I had heard of this game before and was pretty sure my sister owned it so we just borrowed hers. I guess they play this game in Africa and that's why it's part of our curriculum. Cool! a new game to play. It's holes and marbles and very simple...what a great way to spend time with my kids.

I stink at it! Not only have I yet been able to beat Jaxen, I can't figure out HOW to beat him. And we are not talking getting beat by 1 or 2 points...no, he beats me by 6 or 7points, tells me what move I missed to get points after I've played all my moves and then piles on all his points after that. UGH! Do you know how frustrating it is to lose to an 8 year old time and time again?

So last night, I thought, Ok you little turkey, I'll make you play your dad and that will show you! (Let me first say, this game takes good math skills and my husband is awesome at math. He can figure monthly payments for a mortgage in his head within minutes). They start playing and Jaxen very quickly figures out that his dad is going to smoke him. Not only by a few points but breaks Jaxen's record of points he has earned on all the games he's played. It was fun to watch their strategy minds work against each other and see where Jax gets his math skills from. (It's not me!)

Well I wanted to play Jerod after they finished their games and even though I stopped his strategy, he still beat me. He proceeded to tell our kids that he was so good at this game because he was good at math and Jaxen says, "Yeah and it shows how NOT good mom is at it!"

Very funny. Mock your teacher little man. You'll pay for it later. I'm seeing extra worksheets in your future.

Oh manacala!

Snow

It snowed. Again. Oh joy. Yippee. Can you tell I am not thrilled about it snowing once again? I don't mind the occasional frosting where it glistens in the sunshine and is like millions of diamonds dancing across my yard. What I don't like is the cold that comes with it, the constant wet floors, and the dangerous driving conditions. I'm definitely a spring, warm weather girl. So are my kids...they woke up to see the snow yesterday and Jaxen said, "Oh great. It snowed again." Just like that. No excitment in his voice but more of a disappointed, now I can't play outside without getting cold and wet tone. I even wore a shirt yesterday that my parents brought me from Hawaii recently hoping the sun and warmth from where it came would seep into my soul and help my attitude a little bit.

I think I'm going to need something more than a shirt. :)

So through the snow, we had to trek across town to get to basketball and cheerleading practices last night. Jerod's mustang feels about the same as me when it comes to snow, so it had to stay at home. I dropped the boys off and headed downtown to where Jayla's practice was. It took me almost an hour! Now granted, I avoided the highway because snow+people+highways=disater, but still...an hour?! The good news is it gave Jayla and me a good chance to talk, sing and experience an adventure just the two of us.

As we were headed down a street not too far off the boulevard, we saw this woman hunkered down, walking in the snow. The snow was coming down very heavily and the temp was a whopping 25 outside and I felt this overwhelming feeling to give this woman a ride. So I slid to a stop and asked if she wanted a ride. When she got in, did I get a thank you? a bless you? a you're so wonderful and brave to pick up a complete stranger in the scary part of town? Nope, nope and nope. I got, "Do you have any money?" Are you kidding me? I just saved you from walking in this blizzard and that's the first thing you say to me? Well, being that I did have my daughter in the car and was trying to be a good example, I politely said no....where do you need to go? She told me it was this bar a few streets over and it's ******* cold out there. Are you sure you don't have any money? Good grief, this isn't turning out to be a good thing. Not only is this lady not appreciative, she's saying words in front of my kid that I'd hoped to shield her from...FOREVER! So I once again told her I didn't have any cash, but she could have all the change in the coin cup of my console. Then tried to explain why I didn't have any cash for reasons I don't know...shouldn't have to explain myself to this woman...I was doing HER a favor. About that time, we were at the bar she needed to be at and she once again expressed how ******* cold it was and I told her yup, it's 25 outside...I couldn't stand to watch you walking in it. And then she said it...Well thank you and then got out. GASP! She said it. Jayla and I continued on our journey to get to cheerleading practice but she has wanted me to share this story with everyone.

I started thinking about it last night and wondered...how many times do we hear instruction from God to do something but don't do it because it doesn't benefit us enough or directly? I was so irritated that this lady immediately asked me for money instead of thanking me that I'm afraid I missed an opportunity to share God with her. Why did I need a thank you? While Jesus was on the cross, did he say, Wait! Nobody is thanking me for being up here? I'm not doing this anymore! Nope. He just died quietly and humbly and wasn't doing it for the thank yous. I pray that I can start being open to doing whatever instruction God gives me...no matter what the outcome for me is. Whether unpopular, dangerous, or just not knowing the ending, I want to obey. Immediately obey. Because he has a reason for asking me to do it in the first place and it's not right for me to question it.

I can say that even though she cussed, smelled, and was obviously clueless on manners, I am glad I stopped to pick up this woman. I would do it again and again. It showed my daughter that even though she wasn't the nicest, we served and ministered to her in the short amount of time she was in our life. Jesus had people spit on him and continued down the path God chose for him. I hope in some way that this showed Jayla that we encountered her for a reason. We may never know why or what happened after we dropped her off, but God puts His people where He wants them when He wants them there. To do His work and it's up to us to listen and obey. And I'm glad I listened and obeyed.

Has God been instructing you to do something that you've been neglecting because it's unpopular or "not your idea"? I pray that we will all learn to listen and obey and hold each other accountable for doing so. The reason we are on this earth is not to enjoy what it has to offer but to do the work God has planned for us to do. Bless you today and stay warm! ;)

Good times

What a weekend! It was work and fun filled and we are slow getting around this morning but that's okay...the heater has to heat up the schoolhouse anyway before we get started. I'm really enjoying that excuse to enjoy another cup of coffee! So our weekend started by keeping my nephews Friday night. We had fun and they really enjoyed the schoolhouse and I could barely get them out of it! They created, played, read and just enjoyed being together.






Then Saturday started with two basketball games. Jaxen plays and Jayla cheers. It's been an interesting season because they have only played at the same place at the same time once. I've missed many of Jaxen's games so these last two I'm going to watch him then drive Jayla to hers. She misses about 10 minutes of hers but makes it in time to do the half time cheer so it's all good.


The games were followed by my nephew Kadon's 1st birthday party. It was in a big activity center so the kids played more basketball, football, and lots of running around. They both woke up sore on Sunday morning and I wasn't at all surprised. Their little legs had done a lot of work that day! My nephew was so dang cute with his overalls on that had animals stuck to them but wouldn't be still enough for me to get a really good, unblurry picture. He just didn't seem to understand why I wanted to take his picture, he was on a mission! :)


So our Saturday ended with church and eating out with my inlaws so all in all it was a fantastic day. Then Sunday was our "chore" day and started with trying to decide who was going to clean and who was going to go to the dreaded grocery store. Both Jerod and I despise going to the grocery store and so cleaning house is actually the preferred chore. But I got the grocery chore and it was a good thing because I am determined to start eating better starting today. After all the valentines candy we had in our house, my kids seemed to be on a constant sugar high and were sneaking into the candy bag as much as possible. So....I bought lots of good snack stuff but my favorite is my homemade granola. I put dried fruit, peanuts, sunflower seeds and chocolate chips in it (all the good stuff cancels out the chocolate and anyone who knows me knows there has to be chocolate!). I've already enjoyed it with blueberry yogurt this morning and the kids are discovering that it's really good! So we'll see how well my good intentions play out....


Grocery shopping was followed by doing lesson plans and our day ended with going to see my parents and catching up with them. They just got back from vacation and I'm so glad my mom is home! I didn't realize what unimportant, uneventful things I bore her with until she wasn't here to share with!

So that was our boring weekend...not a very insightful post but I promised I'd keep you updated on our lives. Have a great Monday!!

Love of my life

Well I've talked about myself so now I need to talk about the three loves of my life. :) It's a lot more fun for me anyway and it's always good to remind yourself of those things that make you know and love the people you're closest to.

Jerod: My man, best friend, partner, lover and soulmate. God knew what He was doing when He put us together. We equal each other out and really enjoy each other after all these years. We've been married 10 1/2 years and a couple for 13 1/2. Being that we are only 29 & 30, that's a long time! :) One of my favorite lines when describing our relationship is: He may not be perfect, but he's perfect for me!

My 5 favorite traits:
1. He can put a smile on my face pretty much any time and whatever mood I might be in that day.
2. He "chews" his ice cream. I've never seen this before and it still makes me laugh.
3. He has an amazing work ethic. He will return a call to a customer at 8:00 at night if he promised he would call them THAT day. He has been known to work on holidays and vacations but I'd rather have that than a lazy husband.
4. He loves his family and lets us know it daily. He plays with his kids which is so important for them and for me. It makes me love him more!
5. He has one white eyebrow that crept up when we first started dating. It's from an old accident that made a scar. It is unique and I love it. He does have to color it sometimes if too many people mention it, but I think he needs to leave it alone and embrace it!

Jaxen: oh my little man...I told him when he was born that he filled a hole in my heart that I didn't even realize I had! He is going from little boy to big boy too fast. Things have started changing in him that I'm not ready for or don't even know how to handle! Since when is a kiss from your dad gross? "Dad, we're both dudes...that's just gross!" (I don't get it)

Top 5:
1. He has a great sense of humor and really follows in his parent's steps of being sarcastic and fun. We love playing jokes on each other and having him pull a good one on his dad is priceless!

2. He still loves on me (as long as no one is looking!) He calls it "momma lovin" and I won't ever ask him to change it. It also cracks me up that when asking for a ham sandwich he still says with "Deli relish" instead of "dill" relish even though he is old enough to know the difference.

3. He is so sweet and tolerant with his little sister that it makes me tear up at times. I have caught him telling her he loves her if he doesn't think I can hear him. They really are the best of friends and would fight Goliath for each other if the need arose.

4. He is drawn to those kids that don't have many friends or are disabled. He bawled at the movie "Radio" and has vowed to never let anyone treat someone like that if he's around!

5. He is a very well rounded kid and can fit in with any group of people. He enjoys the ranch with his Papaw but can kick tail in karate. He won the spelling bee but is an animal on the basketball court. He loves music and enjoys learning how to play various instruments but is a speed demon on the football field. I love my little man!

And last but not least my princess, Jayla. I know they say not to allow this, but she is my best friend. We are so much alike, I can see us having a lot of fun together when she gets older. She can dress up with the best of them and she makes me laugh all the time. Just ask her about her british accent one day. It'll make you roll on the floor!

Her top 5:

1. She is a singer! She sings all the time, whether its an acutal song, or just talking put to a tune, she has a song in her heart and it comes out all the time. We love listening to her and love that those happy sounds means she has a happy heart.

2. She loves helping us. Ask her to do something and she'll do it. I hope this trait lasts....

3. She is very well rounded as well. She is as prissy as can be but can hold her own with her brother and cousins. She doesn't mind playing in the dirt as long as she's with her boys. ;) But mess with her barbies, and you've had it!

4. She has a style all her own and it is always interesting to see what she puts on.

5. She loves so deep. We hear all the time how much she loves us and hugs and kisses all the time. She adores her daddy and brother and I love watching them together. You just can't duplicate the kind of heart she has.

I am so blessed to have these individuals in my life. They bring such joy and happiness to me and I'm so blessed that they love God more than me. In fact, Jayla has informed me that she does love me, but I'm third on her list. God and Jesus have the top two spots. That's just fine with me! What traits do you love about the ones you're close to?

Not what you think....

I have heard more than once, "April, you are not what I expected when I first met you." Oddly, I take that as a compliment. I know that when you see me out and about that I am usually so focused on the task at hand that I can look at you right in the face and it will never register that I know you until at 2:00 am when I realize, "I didn't even say hi!" So most people think I'm some what of a snob when they first meet me, but hopefully after awhile, realize that I can just be very focused and tunnel vision at times.

I spent so much of my time trying to fit in as a kid, that most of my memories of middle and high school are unpleasant ones. As I've gotten older and seen those same sometimes "undesirable" traits in my kids, I've learned to accept those things that I thought people wouldn't accept in my past. I tried making good friends by being someone I wasn't but know that I'm comfortable in my own skin, I have more really good friends than I ever did in high school. People accept me for who I am and love me anyway, and I'm pretty sure they would have in school also, I just never gave them the chance to.

So I've decided to let you in on some things about me that you might not know, might be surprised about, or can relate to:

1. I married my high school sweetheart, I am a year older than him and totally in love with him. He has helped me accept myself for who I really am and has loved me through some major soul searching. He is one of those surprising people once you get to know him also.
2. I have two tattoos. My husband has 5...yes he's a banker. Shhh!! ;)
3. I am pleasant to be around until you mess with my kids: I have been know to make the photographer at Sears cry and stand toe to toe with the owner of Kabuki before. (These are stories for later...)
4. My husband and I are not "normal" parents...we are trying our best to raise our kids under God's guidance and direction but we can do some unusual things to try and have fun with them and stay "relate able". For instance, we voluntarily highlighted our son's hair recently "just because." ;)
5. I am a CSI junkie and I watch with our son (who is 8) because he loves the show, it doesn't cause him nightmares, he knows when to cover his eyes over the girly parts, and it stimulates his imagination to play detective later.
6. I am passionate....you know that saying, "There was a little girl who had a little curl...when she was good, she was very very good, but when she was bad she was horrible..."? So yes, that's me. I love deep, laugh deep, cry deep, and my anger is deep. My faith runs deep and so do my values and morals. If I don't think something is right, I won't participate in it and I'll probably let you know I disagree at some point.
7. I will go to the ends of the earth for my best friends.
8. I am a football fanatic: HUGE Colts fan, play fantasy football, etc. Football rocks!
9. One of my favorite smells is when I walk into my laundry room while doing laundry and the smell of detergent and fabric softener has filled the room.
10. Some of the artists on my ipod include: Matt Kearney, Superchick, Sara Groves, Beastie Boys, Michael Jackson (and Janet), Led Zepplin, The Afters, The Almost, John Reuben, The Moulin Rouge soundtrack, Ozzy Osbourne, Jimi Hendrix, just to name a few.
11. My dad gave me the nickname Peanut and I love that he did so I still use it today. (I have been known to have the nickname "Waspy" at times too. It all goes back to that stubborn passionate trait mentioned earlier.)

So that's just a few things that some people don't know about me and some people will say, "Yes, that's April, she's our little weirdo."
What are some of your quirks or traits people may not know? Everyone's got 'em and you might as well embrace them and stay true to them, it's what makes you...YOU!

Broken Record

"Pick up your dirty clothes." " Go brush your teeth." "Get your trash off the floor." "Pick up your dirty clothes." "Hang up your towel." "Don't get toothpaste all over the sink." "Pick up your dirty clothes!" Are you seeing a pattern here? This is what bedtime sounds like in our house. My kids have it bad. They have two completely OCD parents. We hate wet towels on the floor, toothpaste in the sink and more than anything, we hate dirty underwear anywhere but the laundry basket. You would think after 6 and 8 years, our kids would have realized this by now. But it's the same song and dance every night. It got me thinking...I don't remember "become a broken record" being apart of the mom job description. Wait! There was no job description! Silly me! That means I can make my own. The best thing about that is my kids help me do it. Let me explain...Jayla is my "I love you more than anything momma" kid. She tells me no less than 10 times a day. :) I love that about her. One day, she told me and then asked, "How many times have I said that today?" I told her it was only about 2 or 3 times. She said, "Oh! I haven't said it enough! I have to catch up!" and then proceeded to say "I love you" about 50 more times. Isn't that the important thing? To tell our loved ones how we feel as much as we can on a daily basis? No matter how much I have to tell them to get their toys off the floor or to put their dishes in the sink, to do their math, I have to concentrate on telling them how much I love and adore them more than that. So when they lay their heads on their pillows at night and think back over the day, they remember hearing me say "I love you" more than I said "Pick up!"




I'm so glad I have my kids to help me figure this whole "life" thing out. What would I do without them? :)

It's never too late for resolutions...

Today may as well be January 1st. I am in a resolutions state of mind. My kids are going to start going to bed earlier, I am taking off the cape of "supermom" and allowing and asking (ahh...gasp!) for help around the house, and I'm starting a blog. Yup! I'm taking the time when I can to let you in on the choas that is our lives. For me, it's more of a reflective, diary sort of blog, but for anyone else who reads it, I hope it is a reminder that you're not alone. You're not alone in the daily grind of meals, laundry, schooling, cab driver, etc, etc, etc. :) It's also a way for my loving family to check in on us from time to time to make sure we're still okay since I don't call or visit near as much as I should! For me, I hope to be able to look back at posts on those hard days and remind myself of how much I love and adore my family and hopefully help me not take them for granted. And if anyone gets any laughs or helpful ideas, then that's what I'm here for. I love sharing life with people and I'd love to hear your insights, ideas, comments or reactions to anything I share. Fair warning though...there will be pictures. Many of them. Because see, that's another resolution...to take more pics of my kids and my life. So I hope you enjoy and I hope this keeps you updated in our lives! Now if I can only figure out how to get the first 6 weeks of this year back....