Cowboy Boogie

We headed to the store yesterday, Wednesday, to look for some clothes for Ronny and couldn't find anything but Riley made out like a Cowboy!!!! He put these boots on and it was over. The problem was that the jeans he had on were way too short so then we had to get an authentic pair of Wranglers. He looked so adorable!!!!!! Get up this morning and the first thing he says is "I need to put on my boots." Never mind that he is in his underwear and is only half awake....its all about the boots! Dad also decided to get him a cap gun so he is officially a cowboy. It is hilarious with the gun because after he pulls the trigger he stands there and blows the smoke out of the barrel. Someday he will be really angry with me over this picture.....oh well!!!!!

I come to you with a tear in my eye....the babies have left the nest! The first pic is a few days ago and they still didn't have all of their feathers and they were trying to make themselves as tiny a possible...today I pull into the garage and as I get out of the expedition I see a bird land on the back of it. I start to walk over and it begins to hop around on the ground...much to the delight of my Jack Russell and Rat Terrier. I proceed to scream at them as the baby is screaming "MOMMY" and as mommy is screaming "GET AWAY FROM THE BABIES!" Nothing like chaos in every arena of life. Anyway, I ran to grab my digital and snapped the pic of one of the babies in the garage. I could hear the others hopping here and there and actually saw one fly and hang on the wall in the garage (cedar wall). I can't believe how quickly they have grown....Does anyone besides me wish that kids grew up that quickly!!!!

The crisis of all crisis' has happened..dum..dum..dum....I had to confiscate the Pink Razor from Jo. The beginning of last week I explained to the kids that I would no longer give warnings about checking their rooms and would do suprise inspections......
"Do you understand exactly what I am saying?"
"Yes, maam."
"No warnings, you have to have your beds made and everything picked up
off of the floor...not shoved under the bed, in the closet, or under the
desk?"
"Yes, maam."
I go upstairs last night, Jo was not home, and her room looks just like it always does. Bed torn apart, clothes scattered everywhere, trash everywhere. So when I went to pick her up I asked her if she remembered the conversation that we had about the bedrooms....
"Yes, maam. I know I didn't make my bed." (Does she sleep in the same
room that I went into?)
"What about all the clothes?"
"I was trying different stuff on before church and I didn't get it put away."
When does trying on clothes involve closing your eyes and just throwing the clothes in the air and them landing everywhere? Can we not lay them neatly on the bed...only takes 3 minutes to make...and then put them away when we get home, if necessary? Can the trash go in the TRASH can? Please explain this to me someone. What do kids consider clean? I would be so embarrassed to have someone over and have them see my room like that. Wish there were more time to have a discussion about what germs kids are growing in their bathrooms today but my single brain cell can only handle so much.

Anyone care to join me.....Calgon, TAKE ME AWAY!

New Members of the Family

You would think that with all of the hundreds of pine trees in Arkansas that this bird would have been a little happier in one of them....guess the menagerie was a little more appealing! There are 4 babies and in just the few days since I took this picture, they are getting feathers and when you get close to the nest they poke their little heads out and start hollering about dinner. They are so cute. Life is so amazing. God sure had to put a lot of thought into the amazingness of creating life and nature. Thank you Lord that my family gets to be continually amazed with you and all you have done in the world.

Life is still as caotic as ever. Between piano, baseball, cheerleading, playgroup, church, tanning (hey, you cannot put on a pair of shorts with the possibility of blinding all of those around you!), etc, etc, etc. I just never I feel like I have ANY sanity. You finally get home from everything and realize that the insanity has spilled over into your house and it looks like the mess monster has thrown up everywhere. I'm really good about making piles....the piles are now mountains and I can no longer find my counter in the kitchen. Kristy and I scrapbooked last weekend and I still have not put anything away and it too is laying in a pile! Calgon take me away..........

My children are feeling the pain of their age difference. Jo is too old to want to do anything that Coop wants to do and Coop is constantly annoyed with anything Boogie wants to do. The boys cannot be in the car for more than 3 seconds and it is on. Riley hit Cooper, Cooper is being snotty to Riley, Riley is crying, Cooper is coping and attitude and refused to talk to Riley, Jo gets in the car and, depending on the day, she either hates everyone or is just indifferent. I always imagined having a boy and a girl but now that I have 3 I'm not sure what I was thinking about having ANY!!!!! Tell me that the rest of you will look at your kids and wonder when it all happened. I look at my babies and think about the fact that someday THEY will be parents and have their own lives and families...now I'm tearing up...and it is crazy. I still feel 17 and when I'm doing laundry, dishes, cleaning house I look around and think that this can't be my life....I'm not old enough. It's amazing how your life changes and you seem to somehow role with the punches (I had to think about how to spell the stupid word..ok so I'm really 90) and suddenly you're a wife and mother but you don't seem to remember it all happening. I can just picture my mom thinking that she can't imagine me being a mother because I can't pick up after myself, clean my room or any of those other grown up things and here I am thinking the very same thing about my children.....Calgon take me away!!!!! ( I know I said that earlier but I'm still here so I thought one more time wouldn't hurt!)

JESUS, I JUST WANT A....

This beautiful little man is so full of wisdom and he doesn't even know it. Ronny, Riley & I were walking into Wal-Mart and as we are walking in Riley looks up at the sky and in a VERY loud voice says, "Jesus, I just want a 4 wheewer" with his hands up in the air. Ronny and I just look at one another and thought that that was what he said but asked him what he said anyway. So he repeated, at the top of his lungs, "Jesus, I just want a 4 wheewer!" We just died laughing, but as we thought about it later, the verse in which Jesus told us to have the faith of a child came to mind. If Mom and Dad wouldn't give him what he wanted he was going to go to the man that just might do it. He didn't question the fact that it may be a selfish want or rationalize that Jesus didn't want to hear about a 4 wheeler, he just asked the one that loved him and wanted him to have what he wanted. If only we were like that. There are so many times that we don't ask because we rationalize that Jesus could not possibly have time to answer our worthless needs and there are people in greater need than we. Jesus doesn't pick and choose who he answers. He knows our every need and deepest desire. He may not give us all that we ask for, whether it be a want or the need for relief from something, but he does each thing that he knows is best for us, but we should ask EVERYTHING of the one that has our best interest at heart. He knows all that we want but he still wants to have that conversation with us and to hear us ask him ourselves. He loves to hear our goofy stuff...just like we laugh at our kids. He wants to be included in every aspect of our lives, even the ones that we think he doesn't want to hear about. Ask the one who loved you before time began for everything. Have the faith of a child. Even if he giggles at us, it is worth the conversation and the love of the one who loved us from the beginning.

"Weigh No More" support group has officially started. We met Monday night and had a blast. There were about 8 - 10 of us and we giggled the entire time. To start off the meeting we had to face the dreaded scale....next time I'm asking if we can try it this way....it beats getting nekid so that we weigh less!!!!! I was doing so good working out (getting up at 5:30 when necessary) and then I missed one or two days and got so stink'n wore out that working out went to the land of "I will do it tomorrow". It is now 3 weeks later and I wonder why I'm gaining weight back. I have done 2 days so far and was supposed to do it today and I forgot and by the time I got all done up I didn't want to get sweaty so "I will get caught up tomorrow". Pray for me!

Life is still as caotic as usual. Jordyn made cheerleader and we have now officially started all of the meetings, measurings, giving up the monies that goes along with that, Cooper has started baseball practices...ALL THE TIME, church, orthodontists appointment an hour away, playgroup, etc, etc, etc. I can't remember the last time that I actually did something for myself.(I think I said that very thing in another entry sometime...I know stop feeling sorry for myself and MAKE TIME...yeah right!) When I do have a spare moment I just want to sit on the couch and watch TV or something. That's pretty pathetic ain't it! Have a moment and just waste it mindlessly in front of the boobtoob. What better way to unwind!