O Christmas Tree

It really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Things I am looking forward to:

Decorating the tree with the kids
Cutting down ANOTHER tree in the mountains very near my house
Watching 25 days of Christmas movies
hot chocolate
stockings hung by the fireplace..for real this year
decorating the indoors
quilting
my family visiting
my friends visiting
baking
cooking snuggly dinners
eating said snuggly dinners by my fireplace
evergreen center pieces
working on my new year's list of goals
ashamedly discovering which goals I have not even gotten to yet
exercising with my husband
Santa parties
Christmas cards
writing our family Christmas letter
finding the perfect Christmas photo
Late night snuggles with The Man
attempting to beat him at who can do the most sit ups (I never win this game)
getting a new gold tooth-awesome- aarrr- piratey
winter jammies
Addison turning 4!!
and my kids saying, 'I can't WAIT until Christmas!' at least a million times between the five of them.

Yikes

Remember when I should be cleaning, cooking, prepping, and all the other necessary things you do before Thanksgiving?

SOOO much to do and not nearly enough time. So, I decided to blog.

Tonight is the big family talent show. My kids were totally excited to find out Sam and Addison have their own talent to perform. We will be video taping, so if anything amazing happens, I will be try to post it.

Also, I am totally ditching school tonight. I have only missed one other night of school. When Mike and I flew off to LA to be on The Wheel, I was a ditcher. What can I say? I am a loner, a rebel. There are things about me you wouldn't understand, things you couldn't understand, things you SHOULDN'T understand.

The Brewers Got Talent

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Come Monday

This post could have been about the Jimmy Buffet song, but it isn't. I DO love that song so, but instead it is about the craziness happening in my house right now on a Monday affternoon.

Right now, my husband is complaining of a belly ache

Right now, my littlest son is incredibly sticky because my husband has no boundaries when it comes to sweets and children, therefore, I came home to kids eating suckers carrying around their trick-or-treats bags minutes before the dinner hour

Right now, Isabelle is moping not just because I won't tell her what is for dinner, but because she is ten and this is what ten year olds do

Right now, I am not telling Izzy what is for dinner because she cannot talk to me with a normal tone of voice, so I am refusing her information until she can figure it out

Right now, Layla is upstairs wiping down her entire bathroom because shortly after I told her no to her sugar request, she began crying hysterically but claims it has nothing to do with the sugar and more to do with some problem that is 'too hard to explain'

Right now, my son Eli is on the verge of tears because none of his friends in the neighborhood are home

Right now, I am plotting in my mind a punishment for Eli and Layla that includes them writing the top ten things worth crying over where I am sure I should find sugar requests and friends not home to play with nowhere on the list

Right now, I am hoping to make it through dinner without yelling.

I have no time

And I will tell you why:

Began exercise regimen that I intend on sticking with (it's easier now that I get to watch my husband lift weights from across the room. oh my)

Applying for my substitute teaching license

Eighteen classes left until I graduate

Currently working on 100 hours of classroom observations

Leading the Toddler Room at church

Just agreed to take on a branch of the homeless ministry at church

The class I am in requires four chapters of reading and a paper to prove it each week. ew. I am not mentioning our real homework.

Trying to stick to my new routine. I am a little behind. Well, I am almost all the way behind. Love me through it.

Though I am not really homeschooling her, I have to prep and administer an hour of supplements for Layla Grace four days a week.

I have five kids and a husband I actually like.

Seriously Disorganized

I feel like I have had such organization for the last 5 years. Homeschooling has taken up a huge section of my day and now that my kids are in school, I feel lost. (Right now I also feel chilly) but I need to implement some structure to my days. Last year at this time, I would have a month's worth of menus planned, my homeschool lessons planned and prepped for a year's worth of learning, and so much more. Sigh. You know what the problem is? I have a clean house. DANG YOU PEOPLE!! Why do you have to put so much emphasis on cleaning? I need to go back to making lists.

Reverence

1 Thessalonians 5:16
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

In 2 Samuel, we hear about David bringng the ark of the covanent to Jerusalem. He brought it there so he could know God was near. David focused his prayers and praises on celebrating God's nearness. It was just enough that God was near. They risked SO much just to be near God.

Those men could have been, and some were, easily killed just by moving the ark. One touch, and they were toast. They were willing to risk their lives. What do we risk? Sleep?- no. Food?- ocassionally. Our agenda?-hmmm. Thursday night tv?-not usually.

And, when they were near the ark, 2 Samuel doesn't say God revealed himself to the thousands of people in the processional. They weren't healed or blessed or given great power. And still, because they knew God was near, they gave a HUGE paradee, played music in worship, and danced so much that later in the day David was called out because of it by Michal.

I suppose we dance and worship. I mean, if we aren't up too late on a Saturday night, we might move a little, stand for a bit when Pastor tells us to, and maybe we raise our hands if the words of the song are "I lift my hands." Oh, well, I almost forgot; we give God a BIG G! That IS something.
Sometimes I wonder if God really misses the good ole days.

You Might Be a Redneck

If your husband is also boiling a dead deer head in a hole in the ground of your backyard. No? Hmm. Must just be us. Awesome.

More Funnies From Pearl The Squirrel

On some level, I feel it is weird that so many of us still call Addison Squirrel. The other day Addison said, "why in the word shampoo is there the word poo?"

Music is a Part of Me

I don't know if everyone can understand this statement. I mean, I know you all get what I am saying (I like to think i attract an educated audience), but I don't know if everyone can relate to what music is to me. Music has always been a major part of who God created me to be. It is a love. I hope it is like that for other people. It is probably, but possibly about other things like sports, carpentry, art, and the like. Anyway, I was reading my biblio this morning and jotting down prayers in my journal, and this came to mind. I like when God just gives me a song. I thought I would share. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it isn't like I am writing a song. It's like I am writing down something someone just said. It usually comes out about that fast. Then it sits in my journal. So, I will share this one. I can't so much sing it to you though. Dang technology.

Let me worship you
with more than singing.
Let me worship you
with more than bringing.

For you are
God in heaven.
For you are
God in heaven.
For you are
Lord, here with me.

Let me worship you.

More than words on a page
More than here on this stage
Let me worship you.

To my Peeps

Thanks for the prayers, Friends. I found the verse. I don't think finding Psalm 91 was a mistake though. I came home and found it underlined in all of my Bibles.
Isaiah 54:17

"No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD, And their vindication is from Me," declares the LORD.

Numbers

2- number of children upstairs sleeping
1- number of children I am homeschooling these days
19- number of classes I have left until I am a graduate
1- number of couches I still need for my loft
37- number of shows I DVR each week
5- number of children my husband needs babysat next Wednesday night so he can leave early for his hunting trip
5- number of days said husband will be gone on hunting trip
7- number of miles I cycled this morning at the Y where I am now a member
12- number of children who now live on our street
2- number of quilts I am currently working on
4- number of books I am reading
1- number of pets we now have- Mocha the hamster died..sniff. :(
30- number of days until Halloween (nearly my favorite holiday)
5- number of ginormous candy bags I have in my pantry just awaiting young trick or treaters
13- number of years ago that my husband proposed in this very month. (I bet my mom a taco that he wasn't going to. I still owe her a taco.)
100- the note streak I got on Guitar Hero last night while playing I Love Rock and Roll

These pictures are a few months old, but they are fantastic, so I had to share.

Dwight Schrute Wisdom

"I am not a hero. I am a mere defender of the office. You know who's a real hero? Hiro, from Heroes. That's a hero... Also, Bono."
Heroes started last night. I am worried I will be let down because I love that show oh so much...Also, The Office.

Love on the Down Low

Here is a tidbit from the book Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell. He is an amazing writer and I recommend everything he has written or said in a sermon. You can find his teachings under Mars Hill (the name of his church) at iTunes in podcast form for free.

I thought this passage was inspiring. I felt challenged to find what I can be doing in my own area and neighborhood and church.

I am learning that the church is at its best when it is underground, subversive, and counter cultural. It is the quiet, humble, stealth acts that change things. I was just talking to a woman named Michelle who decided to move into the roughest neighborhood in our city to try to help people get out of the cycle of poverty and despair. She was telling me about the kids she is tutoring and the families they come from and how great the needs are. Some other women in our church heard about Michelle and asked her for lists of what exactly the families in her neighborhood need. (One of the families wrote on their list "heat".) They then circulated the lists until they found people who could meet every one of the needs. It's like an underground mom-mafia network. Michelle told me at last count they had helped 430 families, and they are making plans to expand their network.


What can you be doing? Maybe you can't move to the ghetto, but surely there is something you can be doing to love on your neighbor.

Ideas:

Spend your fast food money on the homeless guy with a sign.
Find a church that does outreaches of this type, and get involved.
Start a clothing closet at your church for families in need.
Start a food pantry at your church.
Take your family to the local shelters and serve a meal once a month, a week, or as Part of your Sunday Sabbath.
Buy a case of water and hand out bottles to anyone you come in contact with. Who couldn't use a drink?
If you go to Hillside, pray and get involved in the ministries already in progress.
Pray for God to reveal people in your area that need help, then help them.
If you know a single mom, dad, or kids who are home alone often, do something to help- make dinner and bring it over, invite the kids over to just be, bring some fall decorations (or whichever season you are in), buy an extra coffee for a neighbor, buy bulk and give a food basket with your extras, send your kids over to pull weeds when they are naughty (your kids not the neighbors), etc.
Volunteer anywhere there is a need (neighbors, neighborhood schools, cleanup projects, community centers, church, shelter, Crisis Pregnancy Center, and on and on!)

What do you do already? Or what have you done in the past that may give someone a new idea of how to love others?

CHEEEESE!! This is my Sam Fisher. My little bitty baby. Isn't he seriously soooo cute?!

We Heart Guitar Hero!!!

Hopefully you can see how fantastic Eli's outfit is. This is what he put on for his Guitar Hero set the other night. He cracks me right up! Okay, well it isn't just him; we all have our own little rocker wardrobes. Mine mostly consists of my rocker hair fringe, the girls hike up their skirts just enough to stand in a rockstar stance, and The Man wears his regular clothes, but is the best player in our house, so when he finishes rocking out, he slicks back his hair or kicks the air, or throws up rockstar signs. I love it. We are usually his groupies while he plays.

S.O.S!!

I walked in to my little son yelling, "HELP!" He was apparently not in the mood to eat these. Sigh. They are gold fish crackers- you know the ones, baked and not fried.

Blackeyes (not to be confused with black guys) and Bedtime

Both apparently very exciting. Layla Grace was playing at the neighbors when the little boy introduced her to GI Joe (GO JOE!). He also introduced her to a favorite childhood game: war with dolls (I mean figurines @@). They lined up their people and he told her where to stand. He should have told her where to look, because when he launched the bomb that was a rock, she mostly watched it hit her in the eye. Poor kid. He was grounded for the week! I told his mom that wasn't necessary, and that we mostly cracked up. She was beside herself. She is a good mom :)

And aren't bedtime just the most humorous. I mean, sure we are in a hurry to be free from all the shortness, but I just love tucking my kids in every night. Everyone has their own little ritual. Eli pretends to be a statue or sneaks Sam into his bed and tries in vain to keep from giggling. We have a knack for finding his butt cheeks through the cover and grab on for dear life. OR The Man takes to severely whacking him with a light saber. Sounds painful, but he misses perfectly every time. It always freaks Eli out!

Layla and Addison hide under their covers hoping no one will notice them. We pretend to be outraged at their disobedience and slam doors. The Man and I call to one another to get the spanking spoon, which always gets them giggling. And, by the time we finally pull back the blanket, their hair is so curly cue from the heavy breathing. They squeal as only little girls can, and then insist we wrap them up like a taco (layla) and a taquito (Addie).

Sam Fisher is my favorite because he wants a lullaby. We sing Rock-a-Bye Baby which he refers to as the baby song or I sing the Hebrew alphabet. Eli usually chimes in for a second round of the alphabet, then pretends to fall asleep midway through.


Izzy, doesn't realize it, but the whole time I am next to her bed, she is holding on to me. :) Sometimes The Man will throw her in her bed, but she is so knobby these days, she tends to gt hurt. Now he just pretends to jump on her, which freaks her out and makes me laugh. We recently decorated her room, and one wall is completely chalk board. So, I spent my time writing rotten things about her, and threatening her with punishments if she gets out of bed to change them.

Regularly we feel like doctors making the rounds, but I love it. I love how much my husband gets involved, too.

Why I like Mike #17

He is taking me and the big kids to the rib cook-off tomorrow even though we are poor because tradition is important. Most of you know our story of moving to Reno after many years of prayer. Many of you have heard us say we moved here because of the Rib Cook-Off and the lemonade they have to offer. It really is all true. Well, I don't eat ribs of any sort, but I love going every year because it was part of what made us fall in love with this place. One weekend, about 7 years ago, our friend Joelle left her car in our care while she and her hubby went out of town. She said have fun, so we drove to Reno. (Please note, it was a lease she was soon to return and bitter about the number of miles she still had yet to burn. We would not normally steal your car and drive it to another city.) We knew the Cook-Off was happening, and because we had been the year before, we knew what we were missing. We went to the Cook-Off three times that weekend even though we were only here for two days. So, if you are needing to get ahold of The BrewCrew tomorrow, just head on down to Victorian Square. We will be the fools in bibs.