You Know You Have Kids When....

I love being a Mom. I've always wanted to be a Mom and one of my main goals in life was to have kids. I have a wonderful 15 year old son and a wonderful 8 year old daughter. My kids are my life and I pray that my husband & I do a great job raising them. Don't get the title wrong, I absolutely know I have kids. They're with me all the time and they're especially in my heart.

This week I've been noticing even more that I am absolutely truly blessed with kids. And anyone who knows me or is around me, knows how blessed I am.

So I found that my kids had written their names all over my Grand Caravan in the dust left from our long road...this isn't the first time and wont be the last. People at church seem to get a kick out of "reading" my van each week. They [the boys] usually have "Redneck Transportation" written on the back, with all their derby car numbers. Today, I found cooked oatmeal in my purse at the bank...imagine the look on the bank tellers face when I pulled my hand out of my purse with a glop of apple cinnamon oatmeal. Oh yummy, NOT! I was taking a shower the other day and my 6 year old niece and my daughter used almost 5 lbs of sugar to make a "surprise". We are well familiar with the emergency room that my son, his friends and my daughter have particular seats in the waiting area they always sit in. My son and his friends like demolition derby cars and lawn mower derbies. So if I leave them at the house by themselves for a short time, my rule list consist of....no guns, no shooting guns, no fires, no blowing up stuff and of course no girls. So far, so good. My daughter whose bedtime on school nights is 8:30 P.M. always decides at 10 P.M. that she wants to do her hair, play with Lincoln Logs or go outside to play with the cats. And let's not forget about the bicycle that's parked right along the drive way where Mom can back over it. Uggghhhh.

So, yes, I am very blessed. My kids are polite, Christians, attend and participate in church activities faithfully, they're good friends and I can't say they're "typical" kids, but they're my kids. And God blessed me when they arrived. Praise God for all things!!

My New Cruet

Okay, so the title already has you bewildered. Right? Well, my Mom bought me a new Cruet.
I know everyone has some weird obsessions. Well, ONE of mine is my Cruet. And during
the summer some little kids (I wont mention any names, LOL) broke mine. We keep vinegar in
ours. And we use vinegar on almost everything we eat and I clean with it too. So it's a well used item.

Why post a story about it? Well, apparently Cruet's are a special obsession in my family. My Mom, my Aunts
and Grandma's all have one. Now, I know...most families have them. But we hit panic mode when ours is
out of commission. So when my Mom surprised me with this, I was so excited and I felt like my little friend
was back on my kitchen counter waiting to be used. So I went to the store bought red leaf and green leaf
lettuce so I could make lettuce salad with our home made dressing using vinegar, of course. Thanks Mom,
I love it!!

So what's an obsession you have? I also have a big obsession with baskets and paper. I have an
abundance of both! Share your normal and/or weird obsessions with us. I know my friend Sally from church on her blog shares that she loves animal crackers. Come on, share with us!!

Prayers For My Dad

My Dad left for the Ukraine this morning for a Missions trip. He is a "Building Missionary", he helps rebuild churches and some homes due to natural disasters. He's spent most his time in Mississippi rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina, most recently in Iowa from floods. Now he's on his way to Ukraine to help build churches.

I'm asking everyone to pray for his safety and all the people traveling with him. My Dad is a Christian and faithfully let's God direct his path.

Praying for you Dad!! Thank you to everyone who prays for him and his friends.

I'm Glad I'm Not A Teenager Again

I'm so glad I'm not a teenager again. The things teenagers go through, I'm so happy I'm married with kids. I'm around teenagers all the time, I have a teenage son and I have a teenage niece. In one week they can go through tears, fights, anger, happiness, big mood swings and than start back over again. Whoohooo, I'm so glad I'm not a teenager again. Ummm, did I already say that?

As Youth Director at our church and than various other youth ministries I do at our church, I am constantly confronted with "teenage issues". I have learned that when teen guys get mad at each other, they usually fight it out and become best of friends again the next day. Now the teen ladies, that's a whole other issue. Usually tears and screaming are involved. And then they hold grudges for a long time.

Now I'm not saying I was any different when I was a teen, because I'm sure if you ask my parents....they'll have that same dazed look that I have on my face all the time now. And as much as I shake my head in confusion, I'm surprised I haven't knocked a few important brain cells loose up there. God bless my parents for tolerating us. And by God's Grace they "survived" our teen years.

My advice to parents; just keep smiling and look as though you actually understand what your teen is talking about. And just remember the teen years don't last forever. ((we hope and pray))

My advice to teens; please enjoy these years, they'll go by too fast. Than you'll join the "real world." Your parents may be confused during the entire duration of your teen years, but we still love you!!

Another Favorite Site....

Evan Dyson is an awesome photojournalist. His site is filled with stories and photos of events that happen in this area. And I have to say that 90% of the time, he has the photos and stories before the Daily News Record and WHSV does.

Please go visit his site and dig through all the older articles and of course the new ones. I know you'll enjoy
your visit.

www.valleyobserver.com