It's a CRAZY life....but it's mine and I LOVE it!!!!!

This post is NOT going to be for the faint of heart....it is going to be LONG! (At least I am owning it!) First of all, I have to say that the pictures above are some that I had taken with my phone, and I just wanted to put them up so I could feel like having a phone that is also a camera is actually useful.....I have some other perfectly blurry pictures that I could have uploaded but that would actually require me to get out of my chair right now and go and get the camera and hook it up....yadda, yadda, yadda....and I am not going to do it!

Anyway, our life is just crazy! I am sure pretty much everyone's is, but sometimes I feel like we are crazier, or maybe busier, than most...but I know that isn't true either.....but I have been trying to blog for TWO WEEKS I tell you and I have not had a chance, but let me tell you, we have had some fun activities.....

1. The middle picture above is from the Alabama Power Company Water Course that is in our town.....I had to go to the credit union there and I took the boys over....not that they haven't been 3 or 50 times, but they always have a good time!
2. We have done more swimming than most fish I know (not that I know many....) That has really been huge for us this summer!
3. We have secured ourselves a babysitter! PRAISE the LORD! We have NEVER, I repeat NEVER, had a babysitter outside of our family members, so this is a HUGE step for us! The last picture, that is Leighton lying in wait for her on the first day she came to play! They adore her! She is truly an answer to prayer. She is a godly young woman who adores my children and they in turn adore her! It is great!
4. Our kittens have come ALIVE! (That is one of the pictures I am to lazy to get up and upload for you!) They are crawling in and out of their box....they are SOOOO cute! We have plans to get rid of them, and since I am not a cat person and since I don't have a money tree from which to get the money to pay for cat food, that is probably what will happen...7 cats is more than I can handle...but right now, oh, I can't imagine getting rid of them...they make me smile!
5. Last week my 2 sweetest friends and I had a little 24 hour get away to a resort just about 45 minutes up the road from us. This particular group of resorts offers discounts to RSA members, and since we all fit the bill, we headed up for an afternoon of relaxing by the pool, eating more than is humanly possible, talking, laughing....just being together! It was wonderful!

Um, let me think....

I know there is more...every single day I think of something that I want to blog about but I just haven't found the time to do it....

Oh, I know...for those of you have endured this long and who are still even remotely interested, I have a few more...not so much activities but just things....I will start over with 1 since we are in a different category (don't worry....I won't be long...Promise!)

1. We found out who Leighton's first grade teacher will be today! Her name is Ms. Tipton, and we are so excited! He has several kids that he knows in his class. So, she goes straight to the top of my prayer list! For those of you who remember, we had a rocky end of the year last year, so you will never waste a prayer on my precious first born regarding his first grade year! He seems pumped though.....
2. In completely unrelated news, I finally figured out something about my uploading of pictures to blogger....no, my home internet won't do it any faster.....but I have been really getting.....uh hum, aggrivated, no AGGRIVATED!, trying to get my pictures to be in the middle and the words be under them....not out to the side or wherever...so I put in all these spaces and such.....(for those of you who use blogger, you are laughing at my right now....please don't.....technology is my area of disability)...anyway, today, as I was uploading, I saw the button that allows me to tell how I want the pictures (text to right, left or in center)...it was like a gift!
3. Last week (or maybe the week before) Leslie wrote about the Terrible Twos and that is the first time it has dawned on me....THAT. IS. WHAT. IS. WRONG. WITH. LOGAN. I don't know why I didn't think of it before...I mean, what with having a 2 year old before and all, I should have been anticipating such antics....but I just forgot, or blocked-out, the "terrible twos"....not that it is all that terrible....Leslie said it oh so well....but it does give an explanation of why my baby boy is just crazy these days! He has always been, um, strong willed, I think that is the word James Dobson would use.....but lately he is just too much! The other day, I just stopped spanking him....it wasn't even worth the energy I was putting forth.....I wish I could even give you some of the many examples of ways that he is beginning to exert his independence, but let's face it, if I am too tired to get my stinking phone to upload pictures, then it isn't likely that I will recount all of his antics and further exhaust myself. The mere thought of them makes me want to crawl in bed and cover my head.......and through it all, he remains as PRECIOUS as you could ever imagine.....terrible twos and all....

And, for the 5 or 1 of you who are still even reading at this point, you won't waste a prayer on me either....I officially started back to work today....and I think I have clearly covered my gratefulness for my job....but oh, how anxious I am about getting back into the swing of school.....

Well, I am spent.....and I am sure you are too after reading this novel.....I will try to do a better job of documenting day by day in hopes that you will continue to read my blog instead of putting it on the same to-do list as things such as scrubbing the toilet and cleaning your oven.

If there is mercy and goodness in the world, I will now be able to flip on the tv and find a re-run of Criminal Minds...I will be there until morning or until I get hungry, whichever comes first (which means I will be up in about 5 minutes scouring the cabinets.....)

Things that make me smile!

In the interest of simplicity, I will just put this in list form...that way, if you are into lists like I am, this post is already set up in check off form......(oh, and if you missed it in the title of the post, these are things that make me smile, REALLY BIG!)

1. When the boys wake up in the mornings and come stumbling into the kitchen (most mornings) when I am doing my Bible study. They crawl up in my lap and lay their sleepy heads on my chest and rub their eyes...it is one of my most favorite times! Then they tell me if they slept good or not and what they dreamed about!

2. When Logan sings Jesus Loves Me.....(he LOVES to sing, for those of you who didn't know and also note, he loves to make up his own songs) His latest version of it goes like this (and he sings it the same way EVERY time)...Jesus Loves Me this I know and then the people had a wreck and everybody was okay. The End!

3. When Leighton still says the sweetest, most innocent, most precious things, even though he is a grown-up 6 years old now. Like las week when I went into Logan's room where they were watching one of their favorite videos, Psalty's Songs for Little Praisers, and Leighton said to me, "Mama, I am just in here praising the Lord!" Amen, Buddy!

4. When Logan says things that blow my mind, like I can't believe he even thinks like that. Case in point, Friday (or Thursday) afternoon he said to me, "Mama, when Eighton gon be my brudder?" and I said, "He is your brother, toot." And he said, "NO, I mean when my face gon look like his?" (As he pokes the stew out of Leighton's face and then his) And I said, "OH, you mean, when will you be twins? You won't ever be twins buddy, because to be twins you have to be born at the same time." To which he replied, "Oh, man!"

5. When Logan shows off his gift of BRUTAL honesty....2 examples.....first, when we were swimming with my Aunt Nan the other day (when the boys, and me,were having a BLAST!!!!), she was explaining to him why he couldn't jump over Leighton's head, why that wouldn't be safe, and he said to her with the most honest pouty face you have EVER seen, "But it is FUN!!!!" Example 2, (and you have to appreciate his freakishly extreme sense of smell to love this one - seriously I am thinking about having the doctor check out his nose) when H's aunt was here over the 4th of July, she had on some lotion or some perfume which, in my perception, smelled good...but in Logan's perception, not so much, so he said (while holding his nose) to her, "Oh, sompin' stinks...you smell bad!" Oh. My. Word. Maybe the honesty thing will work for him.......

6. When Leighton says the blessing at meal times....and he ALWAYS says it, so sweetly. It has beeen such a joy to watch his prayers mature as he matures. Most of the time, it is just God is Great, but every now and then, his prayers are his very own and they are so sweet! Most often they involve praying in someway, for someone, regarding courage. And in my quiet praises to God during those moments for the blessing of a wonderful husband and beautiful, healthy children, and a lovely home, and food for our table, and all the blessing of our life....my thoughts are interrupted by Logan "I want to say blessing to (which is a milestone, really, previously he has vehemently protested the blessing - it is his spirit!)like this, God is great, God is great, God is great, and we have food, and that is all!"

What more can I say?!?!? Y'all have a great day!

A Good Time Was Had By All......Again and Again!

Y'all know the problems that I have with my uploading of pictures....so, today, you get all of the pictures first and I will have to do all of the writing together. I actually uploaded the pictures before I left work late Tuesday afternoon so I wouldn't get more gray hairs while waiting for the magic to happen at home! Anyway.....

We had a great 4th of July (as is evidenced by Mason's face in picture 3)! ALL of H's family was home and we enjoyed lots of visiting and eating and eating and eating....the water pictures are from our little water party on Saturday afternoon. We did spend time with my family on Sunday at the lake which was such a treat....I love to ride on the pontoon boat! But Sunday night, it was back to town for the fireworks show. Although they were absolutely beautiful, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a tiny bit disappointed.....the show only lasted about 15 minutes (insert sad face!)....but it was a beautiful 15 minutes...I don't think I have EVER seen so many people gathered for an event in our town. The number of people really was astonishing! And, as a reward for surviving all of the traveling (which H deemed to be worse that Christmas), we were able to stay at home on Monday! It was wonderful....so, a good time was had by all!

I worked on Tuesday, but Tuesday night I hosted the 2nd meeting of our Bible study group. We have such sweet fellowship! I love all those girls like crazy! We are developing some wonderful, spiritually founded friendships that I am so thankful for! I am so excited to see what God has in store for us and to watch how he will work through our Bible study....so, I guess I am saying, a good time was had by all, again!

Wednesday was a speical day! It was Aunt Laurie and Mamaw's birthday! Aunt Laurie is H's sister who lives in Atlanta, so we didn't get to spend the day with her...but we thought about her all day! Happy Birthday, Aunt Laurie! My Mamaw is my mom's mom, and she is right here in town, so we took her to Peach Park for a birthday lunch! We did have a great time, despite the fact that we had to squeeze 6 people in a space for 4 people. As alwyas, though, me and the boys outlasted everyone else, so we found ourselves wandering around the gardens, pretty much looking like tourists who had never been there....as is evidenced by the following pictures....we took pictures on EVERY fake animal there. (I wanted to tell you what those animals are made of but I realize that I have no idea...maybe cement.....)Anyway, as you guessed, a good time was had by all, again! (Okay, so I did upload one picture for you from home, just so you can have the cement animal experience...it is all because of my love for you, my readers!) (On second thought, nevermind...in all of my brillance I managed to delete the pictures from my phone, CRY, UGLY CRY....I hope it is apparent to you that I have a gift when it comes to all things technological.....)

Today, swimming is on the agenda! So, I am pretty sure we can chalk this day up to a good day too! Summer is full of those...isn't it great!?!?

On a side note, 2 things...Stevie moved her babies to the basement....me and the boys pretty much freaked out...they are sooooo cute! They are just about to open their eyes. I have NEVER had kittens before...H thinks that is hysterical. I am fascinated, really! Also, we got peas and lima beans out of our garden yesterday...how exciting! I just have to say that I am super glad that we don't have to depend on that to feed our family. When I shelled them it equaled about 3 teaspoons, but I intend to cook them for dinner tonight!

Have I mentioned that I really am NOT a cat person????

I haven't really had much to say this week, which is why this is my first post of the week. I mean, I can always come up with something to say (if you know me you know this for a FACT)but I feel like if I am going to take your time it should be something noteworthy, or at least involve some sort of photography of my children. But this week, there just hasn't been much happening...which is not a bad thing! Monday, we just stayed around the house. Tuesday, I worked...so you can see why there is no blog for that day. Wednesday, I had to take Logan for an ear re-check and we spent 2 hours at a portrait studio trying to get a few pictures of Logan. And by a few I mean approximately 250 pictures....why oh why can I not just stick to the $10.95 package? Perhaps it is because they take about 100 shots and I cannot bear to just order one pose, even though I do get the CD (actually I think you only get the CD when you spend a certain amount which explains why I always get one...I just cannot resist). I felt the need to have some pictures made of Logan since I have TONS of Leighton and of Logan, not so many....I wanted to at least be able to tell him that I did document his babyhood to some degree. Then we strolled around the mall at about 25 mph so Logan would not get "bored". Why did I even bother???!!!??? I couldn't look at anything! So we ended up eating chicken nuggets at the food court and marveling at the larger-than-life American flag hanging from the top of the mall. It was an awesome time. I rarely get to spend one-on-one time with either of the boys, so it is always a joy! (Leighton and I had a day early in May and it was delightful too.) After a maddening ride home, we made it to the library just in time to see Leighton recieve his "prizes" for participating in the summer reading program. A few of the other mothers and I were sitting watching the "presentations" and determined that the kids were recieving a wonderful collection of toys that would be great for decorating the garbage cans. But they LOVED all of the stuff....and I was proud that he participated. I forgot my camera...bummer!

On a totally unrelated note and to get to the title of the post, I really am not a cat person....no offense to those of you who are. It is just that really, I guess I am not much of an animal person at all....I mean, I love puppies and kittens....so maybe that makes me a small animal person....but when they grow up into big animals, not so much! So, having not 1 but 2 cats at our house has been, well, interesting. Both of them are strays, I suppose. One showed up Christmas Eve (the one I have the greatest amount of affection for)and the other, well, I can't really remember when she came. Anyway, I posted Sunday (or Monday)that when we got home from the beach, Stevie (can you tell we first thought she was a he?) had given birth to 5 babies. I am sorry to say that one of them did not make it...it broke my heart. But the other 4 are doing great. (H says Stevie gained a friend in me when she had babies, and I guess in many ways, he is right. I can't help but have a certain respect for any mama who has 4 babies at one time and who just wants to leave them for a MINUTE to go to the bathroom by herself.) And then, Orange Cat came home. This was the other cat who, you guessed it, is also a girl and is also "with kittens". Anyway, still no babies from her yet, but I am proud to report that she has made great strides in the area of social skills. She has really only in the last week or so begun to let us even come close to her, so this morning when she let Logan pet her, I was impressed. The Logan came to me and said, "Orange Cat try to eat my toys. You can tell her to stop?"

Now, we are headed outside to play on the slip-n-slide. I know you are wondering why in the world we would even purchase a slip-n-slide seeing that we have the world's most awesome water slide but we, no I, had to work at the church for a while this morning and the boys had to come along so I promised them a slip-n-slide in return for their love and devotion as we made approximately 50 trips up and down the stairs at church in various buildings. So, I'm off....Logan just came in and said to me, "Mama, can you open this swip-n-swide? Don't fug (should be plug but sounded more like buck without the b add an f) it up!" How do I go to work and leave them August-May?????

See, I told you there was nothing to write about today!