"home"onal

It comes on with all the vengenance of a hot flash.

A home project.

A must-do or I'll die.

I usually suffer from these at least once a day.

My house appears to be unaffected.

I had two of these occurences yesterday. Earlier in the day, i convinced myself that making an ottoman for the living room would be fairly simple. I mentally walked through each step, visualizing just what it would take. Piece o' cake. A piece of wood. some foam, batting and material, legs, a staple gun and I would be the proud owner of an OTTOMAN!

Of course, now the idea is filed away under "maybe some day". You see, just as quickly as a hot flash comes on, it's gone.

The one i suffered later in the evening was a bit stronger. It lasted longer...I still feel the affect this morning. It's the kids' bathtime. I'm propped on the potty, overseeing the splashing and making sure heads stay above water, when here it comes! I. MUST. DECORATE. THIS. BATHROOM! I'm telling you, avery could've gotten away with some serious bathwater-drinking right about now. I was in idea heaven. Really, not too much work, just a few things...

Begin the list of what is needed. Calculate costs. Decide if hubby will hit the roof or merely give me "a look". Wait for episode to pass.

Still waiting. My house might actually feel the affects of this one. I'll let you know.

got nothin'

drummin' my fingers. nothin' comin' to mind. i'm anti-g at the end of words. rush ramblin' about oscars. anybody make it thru the whole thin'? i found it overly annoyin'. fell asleep. now tell me again, why do we love these folks so much? our lives are probably a lot healthier than most of them.

Feeling beautiful

Last night as i was feeding asher before bed, my mind was bouncing from one thought to the next. I was thinking about how asher is changing and becoming more discerning in who he is around - the beginnings of stranger anxiety. Avery was a pro at this, asher has been much more accomodating. We had some neighbors over for dinner last night who we don't know well at all. I was finishing feeding asher some sweet potatoes when the couple got there. I stepped away to say hi or do something and the man tried to engage Asher. Well, that little lip turned out, his eyes scrunched up and he just started bawling! Truly, the first time he's done that. Once i stepped back over to him, he settled down, but was leaning towards me. Only momma would do at that moment.

So, fast forward to bedtime in his room. I thought about how beautiful it makes me feel when my kids want me and only me. Sure, there are times when it wears me out and i wish that any and everyone would do to comfort them, but if i really think about it, i feel like the most beautiful person ever b/c i'm desired!

I have this problem with putting too much emphasis on outward appearance. I'll never be thin enough or pretty enough and i wrap up too much of my significance in that. I get jealous of pretty, cute, thin moms b/c i feel like they are worthy of being desired, but not me. So, it was super sweet of God to show me that being loved and desired by those that matter and for reasons other than appearance are lie-shattering and soul-feeding to the nth degree. I just relished that truth and those feelings for a little longer than usual last night and held asher's little hand a bit tighter before putting him to bed.

Girls, let your family's love and your God's love make you feel BEAUTIFUL! You are!!

at the park with aunt melissa and cousin caitlyn

man, i'm loving this weather!! it is so wonderful and rejuvenating to be outside and like it. we've been on lots of walks to our playground, sat on the back porch, sat on the front porch, left the windows open. If our summers were like this, texas really would be pretty darn nifty. hey God, can you hook us up?
Here are some pics:

pics from alabama

i'm dead tired. gonna hit the sack. went to the park today with sis-in-law and niece. will get pics up tomorrow. actually fell asleep while telling avery a bedtime story. started rambling, not sure what i was talking about. avery kept saying, "yeah??yeah?" like she was right there with me. nice of her. glad to see that when i'm old and senile one day, she'll humor me.

in Grammy's front yard
Aunt Joanne and Uncle Harold's house. No cooking like her cooking. She was thrilled that the kids ate so much. Avery fell asleep at the table.
Courtroom is unbelievable. Only other courtroom I've ever been in was on the set of Diff'rent Strokes. Not much comparison. Of course, i did get to sit in the Judge's chair on the set...

"...and scene."- tobias funke

sweet home alabama...no, texas

We got home yesterday afternoon after 8 days on the road. We are all very thrilled to be home but equally glad that we had a wonderful time in Alabama. The kids did great (my biggest worry) on the drive out there as well as all of the different places we went and stayed. My biggest prayer before leaving was for the ability to relax and just go with it. I am not so good at that and can border on anal retentive. God really enabled me to do ok with it all.

Shawn (and the band) were playing at a Song of Solomon conference in Huntsville, AL. He and his mom talked about us all going out for the week to visit his family. A ton of family on his mom and dad's side live there so it really made sense to visit. We had not been out there in over 4 years and very few of them had met the kids. At the time, I reluctantly agreed to going (remember, i'm anal retentive - oh, and can be a control freak too). My heart kind of sank when i thought about the long drive, lack of schedule and staying in random homes. Ah, a learning moment for me...

Shawn flew out there with the guys on Friday morning. We (Janis, myself and the kids) left Friday AM too. Shawn called us at 9:10 AM as he is getting on the plane. He calls us again a few hours later after landing in Huntsville and we are (surprise, surprise) still in Texas. Great morale booster. We arrived in Huntsville on Saturday afternoon around 3:30 PM and met up with Shawn.

Lots of details, lots more if you're interested :-)

Quick rundown b/c Shawn just got home with a movie:

Few days in Huntsville with Janis's family mainly
Few days in Montgomery with Shawn's cousin Keith and wife Terry. He's a federal judge so we got to see his chamber, meet his clerks, etc.
Few days in Troy and an afternoon in Birmingham with sweet Jenny.

I want to post some pics - they are currently on Shawn's computer. Will get to that tomorrow...hopefully.

Movie has started. good night.

sim

disciplines for the inner life

Years ago, my friend, Mitzi gave me a wonderful book. To this day, I adore going through it and finding such rich truths. The format is practical and can be taken in bite-sized pieces. The book is called Disciplines for the Inner Life by Bob Benson, Sr. and Michael W. Benson. It is set up in five sections: Disciplines for the Inner Journey, Obstacles to the Inner Life, Patterns for Living Inwardly, Inward Graces of the Centered Life, and Outward Fruits of the Inner Life. Under each section is a handful of topics. Within each topic, you have an invocation (opening prayer), psalm, daily scripture, selections for meditations (excerpts from various authors, speakers, pastors, giants of the faith), personal meditation, hymn and closing prayer. It is so rich!!

Last week I did "Spiritual Partners". I am so challenged in the ways of relationships and friendship and faithfulness to God by being in fellowship with others.

This week, I've begun "Faith in the Process". Here is what I tackled today:

Invocation: "Father, I thank You for this day, for what it shall bring, opportunities, life, hope, strength. And for what it may take away. Teach me to trush You in the comings and the goings of life. In the name of Your Son, Jesus, I pray. Amen.
Psalm 107
Hebrews 11:1-12:3
Hymn: "Day by Day" by Lina Sandell and Oscar Ahnfelt
Selections for Meditation: an excerpt from Ask Him Anything by Lloyd Ogilvie and an exerpt from Tracks of a Fellow Struggler by John Claypool. I'd like to share a bit from John Claypool's words:
"The Bible arranges life and thought in just that sequence. We are called on to live passionately and openly and then to use our minds to try to understand and interpret what we have experienced. In this way life moves on and whatever insight is possible is born.
We do not first get all the answers and then live in light of our understanding. We must rather plunge into life - meeting what we have to meet and experiencing what we have to experience - and in the light of living try to understand. If insight comes at all, it will not be before, but only through and after experience."

I pray that God will allow us insight into our circumstances but if He does not, I dearly pray that we are faithful to share our experiences with others and look forward to the fulfillment of His promises. Faith - got to have it to please God.

sim