Fortune Cookie wisdom

"Ideas are like children: there are none so wonderful as your own."

Yes, that was the fortune that came with my meal.
What do you think?
Hint? Hint? or Just a reminder to be aware of the traps?

In the yard last night Nicholas exclaimed, "The bugs must think I am a giant PUFF-A! They are eating me all up."

Yes, buffet sounds like puff-a :) I can't bring myself to correct him. He is so sweet, who could blame the bugs?

Sunday Fidgets

I feel like I wrestled my way through mass this Sunday. My three year old was in rare form. He wiggled, and squirmed for the whole hour. He even managed to dash out of the pew a few times. I knew better then to sit in the back. I am not a front pew person, but somewhere in the middle seems to work out best for me and my kids. Close enough to see, yet not so far back they feel like no one can see them.

The reading was Mark 5: 21-43. The sermon was about finding Jesus. Not just waiting for him to find you, but looking for him. Not just asking for him to find your loved ones, but taking them to him.

So there I am in the next to the last pew, wrestling my 3 year old, taming my 5 year old, and wondering why I go through this self inflicted torcher every Sunday. There is my answer in Mark 5: 21-43. It is because I love them. It is because I am trying to lay a foundation they can rest on. I want them to know God is there for them when times are tough, but also recognize He is there when times are good. I want them to grow to be strong men, with strong morals.

So here I am struggling to hear the message. Everyday, we do what we think is best for our family, and sacrifice to make our children's lives better. For us that means my husband usually works two jobs. I help with the family business, and try to keep the house in order. We save what we can. We provide them with clothes, food, shelter, and love. I want to protect them from the world, but know I can't. I ask God to keep them safe, and give me what I need to help my children grow to become men of substance.

It is not easy for me to bring my children to church. What would happen if I didn't? If we never went, what age would they learn to behave in church? Would they know to find comfort in the Lord if I didn't take them to Him? Where would they turn when times are tough? Who would they praise when times are good? It is not easy being a parent. It is not easy, but it's not suppose to be easy.

I'll see you next Sunday! Look for me, I'm the one in the bench with all the fidgets;) Wish me luck.

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computer problems

I took my computer into the repair shop yesterday. The expert behind the counter thinks my mother board has gone bad. UGGG! I know that I am old fashion; I think these things should last longer and cost less. Luckily we have a back up. It is a cheap one my husband picked up from Wal-Mart for the boys to do homework with. I can get onto the net, but it's not an easy transition. It looks like I'm in the market for a new computer. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Gold Star Vacation

We had a great time on our trip.

We are home now. There is plenty of laundry to do, mail to catch up on and phone calls to return. I hope to have some time to write about our trip soon.

catch of the day

This was our fishing guide, Capt. Chip Michalove. We had a great time catching fish with Chip.

If you are planing a trip to Hilton Head you may want to look him up. He is on the web at

http://www.outcastfishing.com/ .

This is a pic of John and our last catch of the day. It is a King Macreal.

Looking good John!

we need one of those

Nicholas said, "We need a robot. One that listens to us, and pays attention. One that does what we tell him to do. He could do our work for us, and we could just sit and relax. Then we could spend our time doing things we want to do. Fun things. I don't know how much that would cost, but I want one. I realy want one. Maybe for Christmas." :) I love how that boy thinks.

Gone Fishing

We are taking some family time in South Carolina.

Going on a fishing trip. I am sure we will have a few tails to tell.

Here are a few pictures from our trip on Monday.

The pictures below are the Lemon Shark we pulled next to the boat. He is about 300 pounds.

The picture on top is a Tiger Shark. What a trip! More details later.

Don't worry Mom, it's catch and release. We are not bringing this big guy home.

AMAZING!

Thought of the day....

Don't discard your fantasies as merely wishful thinking. Honor them as messages from the deepest part of your being about what you can do and directions you can choose. -unknown

I spy a blue tailed lizzard....

Near Miss! I don't know what we would do if he caught it!

worries

We start to worry the day the test says positive. It is a natural state for most mothers (including myself.) If you are not one of the worriers, God has blessed you. A friend of mine sent me this quote today. It is a much needed reminder for me to stay in the moment.

“We worry about what a child will be tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.”
Stacia Tauscher

Hummingbirds in our back yard

Finally saw a hummingbird this morning at the feeder. YEAH!

You can see him on the left buzzing away from the feeder. Shy guy.

Spiderman's car

You've heard of the Bat mobile. Nicholas thought Spiderman needed a special car.

VROOM!

It even has special towing powers with it's sticky tape web!

Hi Pumpkin!

I just love this picture. One of those moments in time I wish I could revisit, and hold onto a little longer. This is a picture of Donnie in our garden last year. He discovered a baby pumpkin hiding under the vine. I thought if I posted it I could find some UMPH to plant this year. Maybe the weather will hold out and we can still have a big garden.

Sunday Fidgetes

Feast of the Holy Trinity.

Have you seen the movie Men in Black with Will Smith? Remember the part where he accidentally knocks the "Galactic Super Ball" out of it's holder, and creates complete chaos? With every contact the ball made, it would gain more speed and create a bigger disruption. Well, that is what it was like in our pew today. Nicholas and Donnie were bouncing off of each other, and gaining more momentum with each connection. As we left for church this morning I slipped a toy lizard in my purse. It looked like it would be innocent play. No buttons to push, no noise it could make. WRONG! Almost as soon as we sat down, Nicholas pulled a string off of his shorts. He was pretending it was food for the lizard. Donnie started chasing the string with the lizard, and there you have it, chaos in the pew.

Even with all the extra activity in our bench I did catch some of the sermon. Father spoke about the Feast of the Trinity. (sorry I missed most of that). Then he spoke about finding God in our everyday. Coincidence vs. Devinne Intervention. Whether you chose to see God working in your life, or do you want to call it coincidence.

In conclusion, Father spoke about examination of conscience. How at the end of the day you take time to review your day. This is a moment to reflect on the activity of the day, your actions, and reactions. (I am sure you do this already, in your own mind before bed. Time when you think through the day; what happened, what we wish would have happened, think about how we reacted, and how we wish we would have behaved, things we said, things people say to us.) Father suggested taking this one step further and ask yourself how God was there for us? What lesson did He want us to learn from the day.

I'm not always sure what God is trying to teach me. Lately the theme has revolved around rowdy boys. Tonight I am left thinking about that "Galactic Super Ball". You can duck, but it will still create havoc. You can swing at it, but then it only gains more momentum. You have to anticipate the right move to catch it in order to put it back where it belongs. In short, it's not easy to act calm and think things through in the middle of chaos. Oh sweet Grace, where are you? I need you.

I hope you had a great Sunday. I had 15 crazy minuets today. After we worked through them things were better. All in all, it was a beautiful day with some wild, and some wonderful, moments.

PS. I'll try and slip in a picture of that silly lizard tomarrow.

All went well on Friday. John and Nicholas both had a good report from the dentist. We made it to the bank and all the other places we needed to go. The work I needed to do went as smooth as it could with three boys in tow. All in all, the day was a success.

Bug Sucker

Armed with Bug Vacuums, Net's and a Jar. Now that's summer fun.

These bug vacuums are durable and so much fun. This year we have one for each boy. They approach the bug, aim, pull the trigger. The bug is sucked into the clear tube. The tube has a knob that turns and traps the bug with door that doubles as a magnifying glass.

Educational, Full of Action, and FUN!

A 5year olds version of GPS

5 minutes ago Nicholas said, "I'm going to make a map."

This is his map....We are the car, the spork is the restaurant, the eraser is the house.

Who needs map quest?

You know it reminds me a little of Johny Carson.

"take a right at the fork in the road."

He was classic. I miss Johny Carson.

I was just working out the rest of the day. The boys have an appointment at the dentist for a cleaning. Wish me luck there. I have to do a little side work/paper work including a trip to the bank. (the boys come along for the work and ride.) Then Nicholas has a ball game at 6:00pm. It doesn't look big on paper. Reality is not always as neat as paper. I am sure I don't have enough caffeine to make it to bed time. Well I better get shaking. Have a calm and peaceful day, at least that's what I am hoping for...Peace.