This Where the Nonsense Turns to Makesense

..A large family working to perfect our sweet skills: Loving others, making an impact, parenting on purpose, living simply, and embracing sarcasm.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Addison in Rare Form

Seriously, this girl gets weirder by the minute. Yesterday, her big brown eyes met me at the door full of tears of rejection and she claimed no girl anywhere would play with her! I asked if she wanted to come with me to run errands. She was instantly better and my eyebrows furrowed as I realized I was just duped by a five year old. First stop- Home Depot.

Scene- Garden center check out line. Beautiful weather, birds fluttering and chirping, flowers and shrubberies setting a melancholy scene.
Addison's voice cuts through everything: Mommy, why DID you take your shirt off in the car?
Mommy: (eyes wide stares blankly at clerk and mumbles) I had a tank top on underneath. :/
Clerk: hysterical laughter
Mommy: Thanks Addison. Sigh.

Second and last stop for the rest of our lives- Walmart.
Scene- Walmart check out line (sensing a theme?) Well, there isn't anything pretty about the inside of Walmart, but it was surprisingly quiet. (Of course it was.)
Addison: (looks at her mother, hands up as if she were surrendering) Sheesh Lady! You aren't even my mother. You are a stranger. Stranger Danger!
Mommy: blink. blink.
Addison: (laughs maniacally)
Mommy: (after realizing people are looking) Addison! You can't say that!
Addison: (nonchalantly) Why? What's the big deal?
Mommy: (Eyes wide) THE BIG DEAL IS THAT THE POLICE WILL TAKE ME TO JAIL!
Addison: (maniacal giggling then muttering under her breath as if she were threatening to say it louder) stranger danger. stranger danger (and she continues muttering all the way out to the car).
Mommy: Thanks Addison. Sigh.

Goodbye forever.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Jesus is My Huckleberry

A recent (completely asinine but possibly true) announcement of someone I know having TB got me thinking of the movie Tombstone (obviously. When all of your thoughts come together only after relating the situation to a movie, you will understand me more. "So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn't it be the other way around?" This is me with movies)

I digress. The recent events and conversations I have had with my family, friends, children, co-workers and the out right miracles God has been conducting around me have me thinking that God really is interested in my life. He says it, I know-life to the fullest right? But I am so ignorant and unable to minutely grasp God's word that I shrug it off as helpful and encouraging advice for you, her, him, they, them..fill in the proper pronoun, just make sure it is describing someone else and not me.

The Man
The Man's job TWICE and now possibly three times.* see miraculous story below.
My family
My family's new church and every single thing you can imagine they would need to start a church just a hop skip and a jump from my house including (and especially) great people. People I will cry over when they are gone (okay so I did a little already).
Then my friends and the miracles of their adoption.
And my friend Jessie who God has spiritually thunked on the forehead and is now forever changed.
The miracle of me graduating. Because remember when I have five children? God is clearly at work here.
And now God is stirring pots I didn't even know I had inside me.

My pastor said he has cried much these past months. I concur and I raise my hand and say "I get you brother." Of course I could chalk it up to stress, emotionality (no, I do not know if that is a word), or the fact that I have clearly been in over my head for the previous four months. But that is just a fractional part of it. God has been moving, and my puny human brain cannot receive it all, so I cry.

I am beside myself with excitement at what I think God is attempting in my life. I have had such a long season of unmoving. Not by choice. My choice is to be superwoman, neglect my family (because let's face it, when we try to be superwoman the most important people get left in the dust), and try to do it all! I am so glad God reveals his choices to me. His choices hurt, and they are often unnatural, but they are always right. I just have to be brave enough to put one step in front of the other. Maybe my superwoman boots will come in handy after all.

Pray for our family. We need the support and agreement and clarity and this list could go on forever. Keep it simple. Say something like,"please give The Man and his lady friend clarity."

*Mike was supposed to be laid off a few weeks ago. Many of you were praying for us. Here is how it went down. The list came out with nine names. The department said get ready, so we prayed, took a day to snuggle. They said, they said...I hate They. Lay off day came and the phone calls were made, only we didn't get one. Mike called and They said, as casually as if we called to say we left our socks at your house last night, "oh, we only had to lay off 8. We promoted one guy, and someone retired. You are safe. See ya." I am sure they meant to say sorry for the stress we may have caused you while you waited hours and hours and hours and hours for this phone call. Awesome. And I do not mean that facetiously.

Monday, May 24, 2010

I Am

happy to be a wife.

a good mom.

not extraordinary.

quite extra ordinary.

not finished with college even though I walked on Saturday.

finished with college in 65 days from today.

three days away from being finished with student teaching.

wishing the days would zoom a little faster.

tired of having a stressed out belly, out of place neck and back and ribs, and a near constant pain in my right kidney.

wondering if there is an over zealous organ donor reading right now.

apparently a singer/songwriter type of musician.

anxious to catch up with fake Japanese friends soon.

choosing to look for ways to serve the people around me.

starting with my husband.

incredibly thankful for this past weekend with friends, family, and a near pants off dance off at the bowling alley with Laverne, Lenny, Squiggy, Thebabysitter, Thebartender, Thephotographer, and Theweddingcrasher.

thrilled that I was asked to make a guest appearance as Professor Trelawny this Friday in my son's class.

even thrilled-ier that he has no idea.

jealous I did not think of turning my classroom into Hogwarts first.

still completely giggly that some friends of mine realized they were at the wrong wedding only after dropping their gift off at the gift table, got drinks from the bartender, had their picture made by the photographer, and the bride was walking down the aisle. SO GREAT!!

exhausted from working (up at 0530, dragged out of bed by 0600, out the door at 0700, home by 1600 to do more work until I fall asleep in my bed whilst finishing said stupid homework until no earlier than 2200.

unsure if military time makes things seem better or worse.

thinking worse.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Seriously, These Are My Kids






























I will be so grateful when I get to be home with them again. This summer is going to be amazing even if the only thing we do is nothing. In fact, that will probably be the best part- the nothing. As long as we do nothing together, I am looking forward to it.





Jessica, thank you again for being such an amazing photographer. See you in Reno in no time :D

Sunday, May 02, 2010

Spring

Spring is trying to break through here in Reno. We have been getting two or three days of rain, sleet, wind, and snow, which turns into sunny 70s for the rest of the week. I love it. The cold weather makes grading papers and endless hours of homework more bearable. Our flowers and trees are doing so well with the rain water, which goes to show how gross tap water is. I think my kids are even growing because of the sunshine!





Aren't these pictures perfect likenesses of the kids? Artistic geniuses I tell you!


Sam added his nose. He said he wanted to be like Pinocchio.




I traced Addison and she added her details including her hair. Awesome.

My front yard flowers. So pretty.