In the Blink of an Eye

Mar. 1, 2007 - What's On TV??

As I sit here at my computer, the girls' cats clamor all over me. They are apparently standing in for my sleeping children. Belle, Angel's kitten, sits in my lap purring away and looking distressed if i am not petting her. Ferocious still perches on my sholder anytime I sit here. He is now much bigger. Much heavier. They want to play with me, be cuddled by me, and have all my attention. Just like the little kids sleeping so soundly now upstairs. However, I need time alone. It is one thing to constantly meet the needs of people you married or birthed. Thier pets? Entirely a different story.

I toss them down. They climb up, trying to regain their 'rightful place'. So not happening. I was trying to work form home. Yes, I know it is the middle of the night. And this is not work, but a blog. For fun. And no, I can not call writing my brother a letter work either. I was doing that while running a virus scan, so I was at least productive for that bit. And I still am sitting here trying to get away from the cats.

I am sure there are ways to take care of this problem. I have an odd solution here. What are the chances?! My cats love to watch TV. They look like the little puppies on the animated 101 Dalmations, poking their heads up in front of the TV. We have this virtual aquarium that has lots of colorful fish on it and elevator music. I turn down the sound te whole way and they are enthralled. I may not get anything accomplished, however, because they are a riot to watch as they are watching the fish. At first they sit back to view it, then creep closer. Soon they are directly in front of it with thier paws pressed on the screen. They begin batting at the fish. Ferocious tries to chase the fish as they swim off camera. He is foreve trying to circle the TV to see where they come out. He lunges at the space between the TV and the entertainment center, sometimes getting stuck. Always hitting his little head.

Only in my house would someone have to turn on a virtual aquarium to entertain the cats so work can be done. Or blogging, whichever the case may be. The kicker is, directly above the TV playing the fake fish, we have a tank of live fish that remains unmolested by the kitties. They never even pay any attention to it.

So, what do you allow your pets to watch on TV? I must admit I have much more lax restrictions for the kittens than the kids! I don't preview what the kittens watch, either.

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Feb. 27, 2007 - About Me

My name is Jenn. I live in a small town where I grew up. I went to Bible college for education very far away. I met a wonderful man, fell in love, had kids, and moved back home. I never finished college. I am not sure it is all that important any more. I homeschool my children while working full time. No, I am not sure how that works either. I work for AmeriCorps, which is like the Peace Corps, only I never leave the county and it is not really as glamorous. It will only last for a year. Perhaps two. I hardly get paid, but I do it all to pay off my school debt a bit.

I am married to a wonderful man named Andy who plays the guitar, hangs from steeples, and juggles things, not all at the same time. When we met, he was more apt to wear make up than me, seeing as he was a mime. We met in college. He still mimes at me. Not over the phone. He also rides a 5 foot unicycle, and does magic, dishes, and laundry at times.

We have three children. A daughter named Angel who is 99% girly girl and 1% tomboy. She is growing up too fast. We have a daughter named Faith who loves animals, her Gram, and is very unique. She is more like 50% pixie, 45% tomboy, 5% girly girl. Then there is my baby, Isaac. We call him Ike. Or sometimes Destructo. It fits. He is a hurricane in Superman underpants. Sometimes in a diaper. Sometimes in just cowboy boots. You get the picture.

I named this blog "In The Blink Of An Eye" because that is how fast they are growing. It seems that yesterday I was packing (and packing and packing again thanks to a brother who kept unpacking me!) to go to college. Now I have travelled a long road since then, and the time has pasted so fast. Sometmes I wonder who left me in charge here, because surely I am not old enough to be responsible for all of this already! Married! For how long! With three kids! How did that all happen so fast??

We are a family that tries to bring glory to God and shine His love to others. This blog is our journey. Sometimes it is an adventure. Sometimes it is boring. Sometimes we are on the mountian tops, sometimes we can't remember what those mountian tops look like. Along the way there is a lot of laughter, and a some Pepsi. Pie if I am lucky. And love. Mostly love.

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Feb. 26, 2007 - The Payoff

When I first went to college, I discovered the lure of plastic, the power of Visa. Not long after, I married Andy, and, followed by three little blessings, we embarked on a journey down a slippery slope of credit cards, student loans and car payments. It has taken a long time, but we paid off our first car and now, all of our credit cards. We still have the student loans, but we are chipping away and can actually see that they may not last forever.

Sometimes you struggle and try everything and you see no end, no payoff. We have rented not so great houses, driven cars that fall apart when you close the door, and moved many times. Now were are on the brink on owning our own home for the first time. Wonderful and slightly scary. We are very excitedly counting down the days, and by 'we' I mostly mean Angel. We are going tomorrow to pick up our new (to us) van. We actually have money left over at the end of the month. Not that we can actually begin rolling in it or anything, but perhaps we could you know, buy food and gas and stuff without fear of bouncing a check or starvation. And jsut maybe we can have a bit of breathing room.

Yes sir, we can see the faint light glowing at the end of the tunnel. Perhaps we can use a little of that extra cash flow to buy some shades, because that light gets brighter everyday!

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Feb. 21, 2007 - Update on the House

On Friday the seller signed the seller's agreement. We will be the proud owners of our very own house for the first time on (or before) April 16. The kids have begun packing, and I have begun tossing out stuff while no one is looking.

Our new house is so nice! The kids are already talking about thier new playroom and bedroom, not to mention the school room. The girls have a pink room that will be Tinkerbell. Ike's room has nice paneling and will be Tonka Trucks.

I have been telling the kids about things that will be different, like toys will need picked up. We haven't had a place for everyhting for a while, so now that we will everyhting needs to be put away. They even painstakingly decided on a few toys to get rid of. Now if Andy and I could get on the ball. LOL.

I will post some pictures soon, but haven't taken any. There were some online, but they showed the address, which is a no-no in cyberland. So, for those of you who I didn't send them to, I will get some up soon.

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Feb. 17, 2007 - My Shower

The top things found in the shower on any given morning at Chez de Raehl

1. A four foot rubber snake

2. About 15 plastic insects

3. Superman underpants

4. Ferocious the kitten, who loves water

5. A 1 1/2 quart pitcher that I make orange juice in

6. A Pepsi can with a straw in it

7. A candle

8. A towel, dripping wet of course

9. Cat food

10. Normal bath stuff

That is a normal day. You get used to the snake and small bugs. It now only freaks me out if I am SURE the are moving. Sometimes I hose them all anyway!

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Feb. 14, 2007 - Line up

The girls have been playing a game they call line up. It consists of bringing every stuffed animal in the house to the living room and lining them up on the couch, entertainment center, love seat, rocking chair, and floor. Then they come and get me the lead me into the room. "Pick one." I point to one, and they giggle and lead me back out of the room. There will be a flurry of activity and they come get me again. I am lead back into the living room. All of the animals are rearranged. "Pick one."

This is the part I always mess up. I am not sure I understand the rules. I pick a different one, and they tell me no until I pick the same one. I start by picking the same one, and they cry, or get mad. I am not sure what the point is. They say thay want to play line up, and I start to sweat. There are too many animals. I don't actually know what I am supposed to DO. Someone ends up frustrated, usually me. I don't know what is expected of me.

That is so life. Sometimes the rules are not clear. Sometimes we don't know what to do. We can end up frustrated. What we expect doesn't always happen. Life can take us by suprise, can run us over. This morning school was cancelled. I slept in and was woken up by the phone. An old friend, a mentor, got over run by life. Had he reached out, would he have been okay? I have no idea. But I do know that as of last night he didn't think so. I woke up to a world a little less bright because a great pastor had no where to turn when things got rough and he couldn't take it anymore. I had known, could I have done something? My heart is breaking for his family, for the suffereing he faced alone. I do know that he was a great man who touched many lives, mine being one of them. So tonight, I mourn his loss, and my own. Please pray for his friends and family, and his church.

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Feb. 14, 2007 - Moving??

We found a beautiful house. There are three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room with a fireplace, a dining room with a chandelier, a kitchen with a pantry, a sunroom, a finished basement, a finished attic, and a smaller room that I'd use for scrapbooking. It is brick, with a deck on the back. There are flowers and beautiful hedges. It is everything we ever wanted in a house.

Today we are making an offer on it. We are signing seller's agreement and praying they accept our offer. Please join us in prayer. We need to find a home, and soon. We want it to be this one. I will keep you posted. We are heading out the door now.

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Feb. 6, 2007 - My love story

There is a contest on my favorite radio station, KLOVE. A song writer will turn your love story into a song if you are the winner. I may or may not enter. On the surface our story would probably be trumped by others. Nothing stands out as extraordinary to anyone as they stand on the outside. On this side, however, it is a different story. Perhaps we may never be a love song that you can hear on KLOVE, but there is a song that plays in our hearts. I thought I’d share it with you all.

My senior year of high school was marred by a bad relationship and several disintegrating friendships. I was headed to college in the fall several states away. My relationship became unbearable, and I was truly incapable of leaving the situation. You hear stories of women in relationships like mine and wonder why they couldn’t or wouldn’t leave. I found out the hard way. I kept the problems a secret, but looking back, I am sure others knew. When faced with the choice of losing him or denying God while in the middle of the abuse, something in me snapped. Not in a ‘I went crazy way’, but in a way that strengthened me. I told him that I chose God and he needed to hit the road. It was not quite that easy to get rid of him, but I was well on my way. I left for college and was seemingly happy on the outside. Inside, however, was a different story. I believed that I was unlovable and unworthy. I questioned my decision making ability. I was terrified. I was a shadow of who I had been only a year before. If there was one thing I was sure of, I wanted no part in a relationship for sometime.

On my first day of college I saw Andy from across the student center. Our eyes met and my knees turned to jelly. As he approached, I was speechless. I was terrified and thrilled. We talked. I’d like to say I remember every word, but I can only remember the gist of the conversation. I will never forget how he was dressed, however. He was in a mime costume and asking if I’d like to sign up for the mime team. I already had. We worked together on the mime team for two years, but it only took one semester for me to see that I wanted someone like Andy. Someone exactly like Andy. I still felt that no one could ever love me. I was so heartbroken. A friend, who later became our best man for obvious reasons, knew of my previous relationship and thought I should talk to Andy. Lay it all out and see what happens.

I told Andy I wanted to talk to him about something that had been bothering me for a long time. We walked in the woods and I told him more of my previous relationship than anyone knew. I let him know everything that I thought made me unlovable. I figured that he’d quit hanging around with me and then I could get over him. Instead, he asked me if I knew the footprints poem. I told him I did, and he picked me up and promised that he would carry me too.

We got married on a hot August day. I can remember being nervous and thrilled at the same time. My father sang Butterfly Kisses to me before the ceremony, and I cried. I looked down the aisle and saw Andy. I cried more. I was leaving something great, my wonderful family, and that was hard. I determined never to look back, and never let go of my new husband.

Happily ever after is for fairytales. The marriage is where the journey begins. In so many ways we have had to choose love, choose us over other things. Sometimes I needed carried. Sometimes he needed to be. We have determined to be together, to love each other in every circumstance. Sometimes it is easy. Sometimes it is much harder, but at the end of the day, I look into his eyes and my knees still turn to jelly and I am still thrilled to be by his side.

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Feb. 3, 2007 - My Tiny Timbrel

Angel joined a dance group in December called the Tiny Timbrels. She goes to dance once a week. One of the older girls choreographs dances to praise and worship songs. The brothers make cards and small gifts to give out after the performances.

This is the first dance experience for Angel, and many of the other girls. They practice for a few weeks and then go to a local nursing home. It is so sweet. The older ladies are so excited to see the dances and then recieve a small gift. And all of the children are learning about having a servant's heart and doing what they love. Their purpose is to praise God and to be an encouragment to others. They are not always in step. They are not anywhere near close to professionals. People don't line up to buy tickets. But everytime they dance, I am sure the angels applaude.

Here is a video clip of the Christmas performance. Enjoy!

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Feb. 2, 2007 - Working Woman...

I have tried very hard to not adjust our budget to the new, albeit small, extra income. This is a temporary position, 1700 hours in a year. Perhaps I will have a second go at it. That means over the course of the 2 years I have the option of working from the end of August to the beginning of August twice for a grand total of a little over 20,000. For two years. If I take the whole time to get my 1700 hours. Which I will not. Yeah. Break that down and I get a whopping $6.25 an hour. If I take the whole time to get my hours. Which I better not. $6.25. An. Hour. Regardless of any minimum wage changes because I get a living stipend not a wage. Add to that an education award of a little under $9,000, if I do two years. Still not too great. Precisely why I choose this job.

WHAT?!? You may be asking your computer. You choose a job with long hours and crappy pay? Well, it is for a *limited time only*. How can you pass up something with that description?? And I really want to be home with my kids. I am sure you probably had no idea about that. I knew that I’d never pay extra on my loans and would have to continue paying until I die and Andy would still have to pay because we consolidated ours together and the only way to avoid paying them is death. Of both of us. My job ain’t looking too bad now, huh? Plus, if you look at how many hours are in a year compared to how many hours I have to work for that year, I still have over 7,000 to do all that I have to do besides work, like eat, sleep, school with Angel, sleep, clean the house, sleep, cook, sleep, do the laundry, sleep, ferry the kids around, sleep, blog, sleep, and spend time with my family. And basically, I am only running low on one of those. I’ll give you one guess as to which one. Hint: it’s not blog. Plenty of time, right???? Ri-iight.

Anyway, I try not to get comfy with a few extra bucks. I try really hard not to buy extra, eat out extra, or buy shoes. Which I fail miserably at. How do you do it? How do you have money and not spend it? I have never been able to save money. You know the saying about going through money like you have holes in your pockets? It’s kinda like that, only I don’t even pretend to pocket it. I go into the store and see % off signs. Me: Oh look, cheaper. I NEED it. Andy: What IS it? Me: Who cares? It’s on SALE. So far in the course of my home school mom career, I taught Angel to read, Faith her colors, and Ike to talk. The secret pride of my heart is that Angel can read “Clearance”, that Faith can spot the colored markdown tags, and that Ike said “Gift Shop. Credit Card.” at only 13 months. I like to buy stuff. I love to buy stuff cheaply. I like to use stuff. I like to own stuff. I like stuff like shoes, clothes, jewelry, BOOKS, and CD’s. I can justify owning it all. See, I needed new clothes because the transition from stay at home mom to work mom requires you wear clothes not jammies. Shoes not slippers. Jewerly to look professional and nice. I need to buy those books because the library doesn’t carry very much Christian fiction and I read to relax after a hard day. And the radio, which we can’t pick up in the house doesn’t play enough songs by my favorite artists, so I need to get their CD’s. I can justify buying it all when it is on sale. When will it ever only cost _________ again? We must Get. It. Now. See, I can justify. I just can’t save. If only I could use my justifying powers for saving instead of spending…

It really isn’t that bad, but we usually don’t have any money. That is because we are paying off credit cards from when it was that bad. I was young. Reckless. Intoxicated by the power of plastic. Cash or credit? Why, credit of course. I thought I had to give money, but you are completely okay with this tiny piece of plastic? No money involved! Great! It burned a hole in my wallet every time I walked into the store. And you never really seemed to have to pay it all back. You could spend $100 and make payments! And they seemly reproduce forever! Credit card companies KEPT GIVING ME MORE. Yeah, I question that judgment call!

In the near future, we will be finished paying them off. And we are working on paying off school loans. Eventually we will free up a considerable amount of money. So that I can never again have to work. Or wear real clothes! Or shoes! Or even shower! That would save money! And I will try to avoid the siren call of the American credit card. (Actually, the whole no shower thing sounds easier…)

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Jan. 28, 2007 - On the potty train...

Well, today Ike got up and wanted underwear. I bought several kinds, trying to entice him onto the potty train, as the girls call it. He would cry for a diaper instaed of the football, Superman, or Nemo undies. I tried a bit of bribery. I dangeled the promise of a new toy. He dug in for the big fight. I put a potty chair in the living room. He avoided it. I gave up, and today he came to me with underpants (Superman, of course) instead of a diaper. I knew he could do it. He would hide to go and them get the diaper, wipes, and powder and bring it to me. He would look at me and say "Ike pee!" with a trimphuant grin. Ha ha, Mommy! I peed in my pants! He went all day, the only accident was because he fell asleep on the way home from church in underpants instead of a diaper.

How is it that each step into kid-dome feels like a victory and a loss? For over 6 years we have been buying diapers, sometimes two different sizes at a time. Now we need them mostly for nap and bedtime, soon to be not at all. Our budget will rejoice, and a tiny part of my heart will break. No more baby. He no longer smells like a baby, stinky boy feet have been in our house for some time. It has been over a year and a half since he nursed. How long until he no longer crawls into my lap saying "Mommy, I need you."?? They have all done it, grown up when I wasn't ready. There was always a baby in my arms, however, to sweeten the loss. I never really had to face them getting bigger. No I see how tall, how smart, how grown up they all are. I wasn't ready. I am still not ready. My baby isn't a baby anymore.

So, for tonight I will hold Ike and cuddle, put him in jammies (and a diaper) and slather him with baby lotion, just to smell baby again. I will try to not think of him getting bigger. Perhaps I will sneak in when he's asleep to rock him one more time. I will squeeze him a little tightly the next time he runs to me saying "I need you Mommy!" I can totally understand that somewhat creepy book by Robert Munch that has the mom sneaking into her adult sons house to hold him in his sleep and sing to him. I am afraid that may actually be me! The fact that it sounded creepy two years ago and now sounds reasonable has me worried! First step to recovery is admittance, so I am still ok!

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Jan. 23, 2007 - Dream on...

I know some of you have heard about this before, but sometimes, not often, Andy has bad dreams. He can never remember them, but while they are hapening it can cause problems. Not for him. For me. And my sleep. And sanity.

Let me explain. He will bolt up right like he was shot out of a cannon and yell. Sometimes I can't understand him, sometimes he yells something like "NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Other times he, well, he casts out Satan. Yeah. Satan. As in "Get out of here Satan!" Sometimes he yells at pigeons. I am sure you all feel bad that he dreams like this, but take heart, he NEVER remembers what he was dreaming, and sometimes doesn't remember that it ever happened. I, however, am awakened from my slumber by a crazy man screaming. Loudly. About the devil. That can be alarming. And to top it off, he sometimes steals my pillow. Right from under my head. When I am asleep. It's like sleeping, sleeping, BANG head bouncing off bed. Now that I have complained about this, he some how knows that he just did it and in his sleep he will grab my head (or hair) and shove the pillow under it. Hard. Then he will push my head back onto the pillow. Hard.

As of last night I have apparently begun to retaliate. I have ben sick (sinus problems) and not sleeping well. Ususally I wake him and gently, with all the love that can be in my heart during the wee, ungodly hours of the morning, tell him that he was yelling like a psychopath and 'would you please go back to bed and BE QUIET already before you wake up the kids and I have to put them back to sleep or I kill you which ever comes first'. Not last night. He started to toss and turn, muttering "nononononononono" which I knew would turn into "NO NO NO NO NO NO................!!!!!!!!!!!!" very soon, so I turned to him and, then ever-loving wife that I am, slapped him in the chest as hard as possible when in a dead sleep and said "SHUT! UP! NOT TONIGHT!" Nice, huh? That worked, but didn't wake him. DID NOT WAKE HIM! So I then realize what I just did and start smoothing out his shirt, all nice like. I gave him a little pat on the head and I fell back asleep. That was at 1:15 AM. I said ONE FIFTEEN IN THE MORNING, people! I had finally fallen asleep at about 12:30 because my ears hurt and I couldn't sleep. And now it was ONE FIFTEEN. In the MORNING. I tossed and turned and fell back asleep to have him yell again at about 3:30. THREE THIRTY. I kicked him until he woke up.

This evening at supper, he says "I had really wierd dreams last night and didn't sleep well." I am thinking : "Umm, too bad..." He said he had vague memories of dreaming about a scary thing in an attic. Not our attic. And then yaks, or perhaps goats. Big ones. Then I have to tell him that I basically beat him up while he was sleeping. In my mind that means I got less sleep, seeing as how I can remember it all. Except the yaks. Not to mention the physical exertion of beating him up. My turn to go to bed early. Ha ha.

Soo, you see, it really is worse for me than him when he has bad dreams. I get scared out of my mind and woken up and can't fall back asleep only to have it happen again. And sometimes again. Then, he doesn't even remember. And the pillow incidents? He wasn't even sure they really happened, but we all know the truth, don't we?!

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Jan. 13, 2007 - Faith's new hairstyle

Well, there are incidents, and then there are incidents. Yesterday, we had an incident. This time, it was Faith.

Little did we know this was the calm before the storm. She was doing her favorite activity, coloring and cutting out animals. This was the result...

And from the back...

So, we got it fixed, which she didn't like.

Here is the end result.

Hope you all have had as nice of a day as I have! LOL!

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Jan. 12, 2007 - Sick Day

Perhaps no one will understand this, and I even feel a little bad thinking it, but I will put it out there so to speak. Today Isaac woke up with diarrhea, very bad diarrhea. I called into work, rescheduled some things, and took the day off. I called the doctor and go him fitted in before the weekend. Then I sat back with a smile. A day off. Maybe that makes me a bad parent that I am glad my kid is not feeling well enough so I can stay home from work.

It was a much needed day off, and what does that say, because we just had Christmas break. My job is stressful. Anyone who works with kids has a stressful job. After a break in school it can be wild. A lot of my stress, however, comes from the fact that I do not see myself as a working mother. I see myself as a stay at home mom shoved into the workforce and barely limping through it. Yeah, that kind of outlook makes life suck. I am trying to work on it, really. But I really would rather be a stay at home mom. Much easier to homeschool that way, also. So it has been a good day for this mom. We played play dough, Little People, and colored. We repacked all of the decorations we already packed up last night that Ike was trying to put back up because dang it, he was tossing it at the tree again!! I thought we were done with that till next year! Eggs for breakfast, soupa for lunch, apples for a snack, and lots of juice. We sticker-ed Ike, painted fingernails, and have nappy thoughts for the afternoon. Today, I love my job.

There have been several good things to happen recently also, so those stresses are greatly reduced. We are in the process of buying a house, and have a loan just need to get some paperwork in order. Then we will finally be done moving. In Angel’s six years, this is the sixth place we have lived. Four places in Faith’s four years, and that means Ike has lived two places in two years. Longest residency- 2 years. Shortest- about 3 months. At least we wouldn’t have had the whole “new house; new baby” thing going on. I just felt like it.

I also decided to get a cell phone and it should be here early next week. I have been trying to payoff debt so that I can work myself out of having a job, so to speak, but this was a needed expense if I have to drive all over the place by myself. On the down side, I probably won’t be driving anywhere till I have a working vehicle. Yes, for the second time in a year we have two broken down Ford’s parked outside. Actually, one is parked outside at Mom’s. It has been broken down for so long the kids don’t believe we have a little red car.

Well, there is a prince in distress (Yes a prince. I know. Angel is running the show. She may have a damsel in distress, unless the rescue can be pulled off by another damsel!) in the hallway, dangling form the Little People tower, and the princess, dragon and queen (that’d be voiced by me) have to rush to the rescue, so I’d better be going!

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Jan. 11, 2007 - A poem about childhood

This is a poem that was posted to Theresa’s blog…

Cleaning and Scrubbing can wait until tomorrow
for babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow
So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep

So true. Floors need scrubbed often (daily at my house!). Dishes pile up several times a day. Laundry is never-ending. But childhood, it doesn’t last. There will be cleaning and scrubbing for the rest of my life, unless I strike it rich here at AmeriCorps. Yeah, I didn’t really think so either. Today only comes once, right now, and today is all we are guaranteed. If we are to live like it is our last day, truth be told I’d much rather go out playing than cleaning.

There will come a time when Angel doesn’t need my help at a puzzle, reading, or a game. When Faith won’t ask for more milk because she won’t need me to help. When Isaac will no longer sit in my lap and hold my hand watching Buzz Lightyear. At that time I do not want to look back with tears in my eyes because I missed it. I want to look (of course I am sure there will still be tears in my eyes) remembering the fun we had, the laughter, the closeness, the warmth. So for now, the laundry will pile up. The dishes will too. The floor will have perpetually sticky spots. If you are looking for me, I won’t be found with an apron and a mop, but with a movie, a cuddle, and a child in my lap. Unless we are at the Easy Bake Oven, then perhaps there will be an apron involved, but not on me!

That’s not to say it never gets done, just seldom gets done. Even then the kids pitch in and it is a game, and it is not perfect. There are clothes in the wrong pile, drawer, or still waiting to be folded. There are dishes that end up soaking for a while, whether they needed to or not. The floor gets cleaned more times by us playing with water and soap than the mop. When we do clean, it is a group effort. Give Isaac a wipe or wet sponge and he will scrub anything in reach. Faith wields a mean feather duster, and even has been known to dust the people. Angel is the vacuum cleaner queen and handles herself real well with a broom and mop. Even in our work there is an element of play. Let’s just say that I have MUCH more experience rocking than cleaning…

Perhaps I should consider having one more child, just to do the laundry. And another for mowing the grass, and that just leaves the toilets...

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Jan. 11, 2007 - Just My Luck

Last weekend I rented the movie Just My Luck, the new Lindsey Lohan one. For those of you who have never (and never plan on) watching it, the basic plot is there is a girl who is very, very lucky all the time. The sun shines on her, she finds money, wins lottery tickets, and on and on. There is also this guy who is the total opposite. Anything that could go wrong for the poor guy does. The money he finds is covered in, um, doggie doo-doo, he falls down, his pants rip, it rains on him, etc. They switch luck, fall in love, and both end up unlucky yet happy, blah, blah, the end. It is a good chic flick, I liked it, and Andy did too. No, seriously, he did.

Anyway that guy, he is me. That is how my life goes everyday. Other people say stuff like “It’s just one of those days”. I live in a series of those days. I fall down everyday, and have slipped under a variety of parked cars. I trip over nothing, stumble around and never try to run for fear that I would kill myself. I once lost a contact opening the blinds. I have suffered concussions on several occasions, including during a movie and a game of Scrabble. My pantyhose rip. I lose things, like my purse or watch. Or even pants or shoes. Spills and drips fall like rain around me, usually landing on my pants. Or shirt. Right at the most inopportune time. Lose a bag of groceries only to find that it was the flapping sound hanging off the back of my van for my half hour drive. Toilet paper hangs from my shoe as I exit the bathroom. Or out of the back of my pants. I bought a new pack of diapers for Ike and they were all, all 60 of them, made incorrectly and wouldn’t open. My notebook paper is always the pack that you open up and it was cut wrong so the red line at the top of the page is actually located about halfway down. I was swinging on a swing in my yard, it broke and I ripped the entire back of my pants, one whole pocket (and a little extra) flapping open for all the world to see my now dirt encrusted underwear, for of course there was mud right were I fell. The other day in church I picked up a Bible during the sermon and the pages were cut so only half of the Bible was there, not the half I needed. A normal day for me has at least several mishaps that never happen to anyone else but me.

Why, you may ask. I have no idea. According to the movie, I should have found somebody luckier than me and kissed him to switch luck. Well, that could be anyone, so I take it that doesn’t really work or Andy would now have my luck. He did fall down that one time, and he did get a hole in the knee of his pants. Nope, doesn’t quite compare. For me that is a morning, not a life time. I must conclude that I am this way because someone has to be. How would you be able to appreciate waking up, going to work, coming home, and even returning to bed without mishap if you couldn’t pop in at my blog and see the disaster that happened that day for me? Perhaps God has allowed me to be the laughter in your life as I stumble through mine. So smile, enjoy my luck, and help me to thank God that when one of the kids blew out a candle it fell over and spilled hot wax on my bra (and all of the other dirty laundry in the basket, and the floor, and…), I was not wearing it at the time. Hey, maybe I am lucky after all! Perhaps you should start prying for my children now, however, because chances are one of them will end up like me. Or with my luck, all three of them, and a couple of their friends.

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Jan. 4, 2007 - I am linky!!

So, what do you do when you are too hyped up on caffine to sleep? I Flickr and get all linky!! Go me!

Anyway, now that I rock my own world, off to bed- very early morning with a long day to follow!!

Must stop with the too-late-in-the-day-caffine thing!

Only more more linky thing... THR3E

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Jan. 4, 2007 - Flickr

Just learning my way around the net a little better. I decided to test out my Flicker. I took these pictures in May when I was figuring out my camera. I really like them.

Here is Faith in her garden. She planted the wildflowers and waited very impatiently for them to grow. She calls it her garden because Gram and Pap Morgan say the fountain looks like her.

Here is Ike. He was sporting a new haircut. He was not to keen on the photo shot, however, and I had to chase him all over and steal pics, kinda like I know have to steal kisses!

Now, Angel was all about the idea of her posing and me taking picture after picture of her.

Now, time to try to tackle linky text thingies! Oh, I am so web savy!

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Jan. 3, 2007 - Christmas Faith

Faith this Christmas was pretty great! She was excited about everything and only remembered the general things about Christmas time. She remembered that we put up a tree, but not the specific decorations on the tree or how big it is. She is very easily excitable, and this magic and excitement was off the charts. Everything was new and exciting and magical. She would squeal and jump and clap her hands as we pulled out decorations. Put on music and she was like a whirling dervish. She would pull out story after story and not be able to sit still to hear them.

One of her favorite things to do has been wrap up her stuff (or my stuff, or Angel’s stuff…) and giving it as a present. She used wrapping paper, blankets, tissues, her pillow case, anything that can wrap around anything. She wrapped up toys, laundry (clean or dirty), her cup, anything. If she was handing it to you, it was wrapped. She wrapped herself a few times and would call me into the room. She liked to open presents, but she LOVED to wrap presents.

A video of Faith at Christmas would be much better than a verbal picture. Perhaps I do need Flickr so I can upload more pics and some videos. More on that later!

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Dec. 30, 2006 - My Christmas Angel

Yesterday we looked at Isaac at Christmas. Today is Angel's turn. This story doesn't include destruction or mayhem. She didn't torture the cat, tear down decorations, or spill water all over the Christmas cards that I am no longer planning on sending. She did make me cry, however.

As we were doing some Christmas shopping, we went to Ryan's to eat. In the front they had a huge Christmas tree covered with names of children who were not really going to have much of a Christmas and have serious family problems. The tree caught her eye, and she wondered over to see all the names. She thought it was a tree made by kids, and I told her it was a tree for kids who don't have a family that can give them things. We read some together, and she picked a few to give presents to. Later when we got home, she brought me the toys that were on the wish lists of the kids. Her own toys. She picked names that wanted stuff that she had because she doesn't have any money and she was planning on giving her toys. Some of them were favorites! She has such a sweet heart. I took her to the store and she picked a Barbie that she wanted and joyfully wrapped it up for a child she doesn't know, humming Christmas songs all the while.

Everything she gave this year she excitedly picked out, wrapped, and was generally so excited over. Even if it was something she would like to have, she didn't ask for one too. She kept saying "We need to be thankful for what we have" My heart was soaring. Of course, since she was such a kind and sweet child, she got everything on her list from Santa or our family, and a few other goodies.

A new favorite is her Easy Bake Oven. She was a little upset at first looking at her toys, because she could just tell from the sizes that there was no Easy Bake Oven on Christmas morning. There actually was, she just thought it would be the size of my oven! After she overcame that disapointment, she went on to bake some wonderful cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. Santa should have brought more mixes!

For Christmas Eve, she decided to share her favorite Christmas story, The Legend of the Candy Cane. She asked me to read. She helped me make candy cane 'invitations' that share the story of the candy cane and an invitation to grow closer to God. As I read, she handed out these invitations with a candy cane. I could hardly read, I was tearing up just watching her sweet face as she handed out the invitations. Before hand, she prayed that God would be with the people who got each invitation.

Just yesterday she had her first dance performance. She joined the Tiny Timbrels, a dance group that does dance numbers to praise songs. They did a Christmas song and Fairest Lord Jesus. I was so proud. She looked beautiful and did a great job. We had to miss the last practice because everyone was sick, but she kept up pretty well. In the Christmas song (I can't remember the name of it!! Argh!) she was an angel that got to announce the birth of baby Jesus and then worship him. Faith got so excited watching that she joined the Tiny Timbrels after the show! They practice again on Friday.

Those are some of the highlights of my Christmas with Angel this year. She has become such a sweet, tender-hearted child who focuses her attention on God and others before herself. She is beautiful inside and out.

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