Category Archives: family

Tough Tuesday…Dating

Tough Tuesday…Dating














A Week in the Life…

A Week in the Life…

This week was eventful and uneventful…










How was your week and what are you grateful for?



My home was bubbling over with testosterone this past weekend.  It normally has high levels, with my husband, 20 year old, and 13 year old, but I usually have my daughter around to even the atmosphere a bit.  This weekend though, my daughter was gone, and my eldest son was in town for a visit.  It was 4 to 1…

For those of you with boys, I’m sure you can smile in the familiarity of what the day was like.  But for everyone else, I will give you a top ten of how you know when you have 4 “man-children” in the house…

10.You hear random rowdy booms and bangs…then silence.

9. A full gallon of milk will dissipate within 10 hours.

8. The aroma of sweat will linger…

7. The aroma of cologne will linger. (this is not better…just different)

6. The reverberation and fragrance of bodily functions will be frequent… followed by laughter and hitting.

5. There will be many challenges and competitions…ping pong, foosballl, golf, darts, spit, bodily functions (yes, this gets a double mention)… just about anything.


3.The television will continually find it’s way to ESPN, no matter how many times you try to switch to TLC…

2. You will prepare an abundance of food, and you won’t have leftovers…

1. You will bask in the blessing of the “mom hugs” from your young men, that are now bigger than you, and you will love every minute of it.

Do you have a house of boys?  What’s your favorite part?











and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.”




Am I really a grown up already?

Am I really a grown up already?

I spend a lot a time talking about parenting, and how my kids have grown, but last night, while watching my 13 year old try to take out his new contact lenses, I got a sudden “chill” of realization that I’m grown up. Maybe remembering being a teen wrestling with my own new contacts caused this “familiar” revelation… I don’t know if you know what I mean, but every now and then, out of the blue, I realize that I am a real adult, and it’s weird.

We spend our childhood wanting to be older, and our teen time wishing the years away.  Then one day, all of a sudden, we notice we have responsibilities, debt, and lots of lists…   Do you ever stop and ponder that for a second, or am I just on my own with this one?

I remember watching the premiere of MTV, now I watch the news, and care. I remember big hair and bell bottoms, and mocking my little brother for wearing parachute pants.  Now, comfort trumps style, always.  We really did come in when it got dark and no one was worried about it.  Now, I always know where my kids are playing, and I check on them periodically.  Kids talked on the phone, and didn’t mind being connected to a wall.  Now, the art of actual talking is fading into the land of abbreviations.  We used to wear our “Sunday best” to church and liked it.  Now, it’s all about looking relaxed, because apparently, Jesus loves us no matter what we are wearing.  Too bad a potential employer doesn’t share that philosophy… Fast food was a luxury, and dinner around the table was the norm… Really…My kids think fast food is a way of life.   I used to dream that I would marry Shaun Cassidy and I loved Donny & Marie… I married someone way better than Shaun, that exceeded my dreams, and no one has yet to replace Donny & Marie… Life just seemed easier.   This world that my kids are growing up in, is a very different place than the one I experienced.  I like to believe that this generation is made for such a time as this.

Sometimes I feel like it happened so fast!  When did I become this “responsible” parental kinda girl in this seriously material world?  I think I’m just too young to be this old… But then I look around at all my blessings, shake off the “chill”, and smile, because I am. Really.

Carly Simon put it this way-

I remember a time, rompin’ through the woods

Sun against our skin instead of clothes
When we felt hungry we would eat, when we felt glad we would dance
And whenever we felt drowsy we would doze

It was so easy then never takin’ any stands
It was so easy then, holdin’ hands

I remember a time when our fears could be named
And courage meant not refusing dares
I remember when we took such cares to step never on the cracks,
No only on the squares
Or else we’d be abducted by the bears

It was so easy then never makin’ any plans
It was so easy then, holdin’ hands

And now we are grown, with debts and regrets
And broken hearts and sentimental schemes
Now every tender failure seems to overthrow old dreams
Love can lead a normal woman to extremes

It was so easy once, holdin’ hands without a plan
It was so easy once holdin’ hands
Just holdin’ hands


Serious Saturday…I Cried Today.

Serious Saturday…I Cried Today.

I cried today.








For the Dogs…Top 10

For the Dogs…Top 10

I’m a better parent than a dog owner.  Really.

At first glance into my home, you can clearly see that my kids have it way better than my dogs. But just in case you never get a peak into the pathetic lives of my canines, I will honor them in this weeks top 10…

The top 5 ways my kids have it better than my dogs…

  1. My kids have free roam of the house. My dogs can only inhabit 3 rooms.
  2. My kids get to ride in my car all the time.  My dogs only travel to the vet when they are sick or need a shot. (I hate the slobber marks they leave on the window)
  3. I serve a variety of meals to my kids. The dogs get Purina Lamb & Rice. Everyday, twice a day. (if no one forgets) 365 days a year.
  4. My kids decide what they wear, for the most part.  My dogs wear whatever cute or ridiculous outfit that suits my fancy…
  5. My kids can use the bathroom when they need to.  My dogs have to wait till I feel like getting up…

The top 5 ways my dogs have it better than my kids…

  1. My dogs can run around in the yard all day.  My kids have responsibilities.
  2. I bathe my dogs in the “big” tub.  My kids bathe themselves. Period.
  3. My dogs can sleep all day if they want to.  My kids get up in the morning. Or else.
  4. Dogs invented the “puppy dog” look, and it always works for them.  My kids… not so much.
  5. If my dogs have an accident in the house, they get yelled at. Maybe.  If my kids have an accident in the house, they get grounded, and possibly an appointment with a specialist.

So, who do you really think has it better?

Serious Saturday…The Warrior

Serious Saturday…The Warrior









My Birthday

My Birthday

My birthday was last week.  Let’s just sit on that for a second and think about your own birthday.  Are you one of those who lie about their age or never wants to tell anyone?  Or do you just smile and blurt it out to anyone who asks?  My mother-in-law is 39, even though she lived though the depression and has great grand-children. (I’ve been advised by my counsel the ramifications of that sentence. I’m hoping her sense of humor has grown with age)

I must admit that I have always been shy about my age.  Not because I’m old, but because I’m young.  Crazy huh?  I think it comes from having children so young, and having that “you’re tooooo young” response.  The 2 weeks between my son’s birthday and mine was always the time I prayed that no one would ask my age, because if they did the math, they would figure out that I was 15 when I gave birth, instead of 16…like 16 is so much better? Anyway, I’m 43 and you’d think I’d be over it by now.  I am for the most part. But I still have my days.

I wanted to add a top ten list to this post about birthdays.  I thought the funniest list I could come up with would be “top ten worst gifts from your husband” but then I thought that wouldn’t be fair, because my husband has only given me a few really bad ones and this year, with the help of my daughter and friends, he outdid himself. So, given the awesomeness of this year’s celebration, even if I know the helpers did all the work, I don’t want to throw my man under the bus, so I will go with the “top ten ways you know you’re getting older”…

  1. You can’t focus on conversations in the car if the radio is too loud. (or even on in some cases)
  2. The radio is always too loud, unless you’re alone, and you’re trying to stay awake or you’re really in a praise and worship mood, and then you don’t care who sees you singing your heart out at a red light.
  3. Dinner and a movie are rare date nights, because after the dinner, you’re full and ready for bed.
  4. Eating fast food really does make you feel like crap.
  5. Jumping out of bed in the morning is a thing of the past.  Now you stretch, snap, crackle and pop before you roll on out.
  6. Your friends are not all getting married and having babies, now your friends kids are graduating, getting married, and having babies.
  7. You’ve realized that recreational and school sports are just games.  The outcome will not permanently affect anyone’s life.
  8. You realize that PBS & the History Channel do have some good programming.
  9. You check the weather forecast regularly. (although I still don’t know why)
  10. You’ve realize the importance of listening, sharing and patience, and that time really does fly, and you don’t want to waste any of it.

So there you have it.  I know this list could really be a top 100, but I can’t sit here all day.  I love growing up. I don’t even mind the gray hair coming in.  God was so sweet to put these verses in His Word for us;

Proverbs 16:31 (NIV) “Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.”



If you have something to add to this list, please do!  Thank you for reading and may you be blessed, whatever age you are…

Serious Saturday…Are you really where you are?

Serious Saturday…Are you really where you are?

Are you really where you are?

Are you always  100% present where ever you go?  I’m not. I hadn’t even really noticed till recently.  If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, I am referring to the ever present “cell phone” internet technology.

It has swept our nation at the speed of light and it is totally accepted.  Anyone who doesn’t jump on this rocket is considered old school and behind the times.  Don’t get me wrong, I do agree that modern technology offers a vast array of information, connections and progress that have never been seen before.  But how good is it?  Or, should I say, how responsible are we with it?

We have always been “those” parents when it comes to technology.  Our kids could not even have one till they were old enough to help pay for it.  They had to sign a “Responsible Cellular Phone Usage Agreement” and they didn’t get internet on the things till they turned 18.  We also made them turn their phones in every night by 11PM.  If they missed the turn in, they lost the phone for the entire next day.  I have made a 17 year old cry enforcing this rule… Really. We always stressed that cell phones were a privilege and not a “right”…

Today, everyone treats this technology as a “right” and a necessity. Myself included.  I have gone back home to get my phone if I’ve left it behind.  Spending a day without it is a withdraw process for crying out loud.  How did this happen?  How did we become a society that spends time with family and friends, while we chat, text and update the rest of the world.  When did we get to the point of thinking it’s OK to look at our email and facebook while driving on the interstate?  Seriously?  We complain about customer service, but how many times have you blown off a sales associate or check out clerk because you were on the phone or looking at it.

The other problem this age of information has presented, is the familiarity issue.  We share so much on facebook and twitter, that “friends” or “followers” think they really know us, which they just might, but do we know them?  We have all become little movie stars of our own social media and we don’t even realize it.  I remember when Twitter first made it’s debut and I laughed!  I thought, “who really would care?”… apparently, I do and so do millions of others.

As I step down from my soapbox, I will admit that our family are proud owners of every “i” product that is available.  We do not manage our screen time as well as we should at times, which as been the root of my rant. It’s funny how what annoys us the most about others, is usually what annoys us the most about ourselves.

If you take anything from this post, my prayer is it will cause you to pause, and leave your phone home now and again.  Turn it off when you get in the car and never bring it to the dinner table.  Maybe you will dust off a board game on a Friday night and LOL with your loved ones and realize there’s no substitute for the real face time that is slowly becoming a thing of the past.  Chit chat with the sales clerk and smile in the check out line.  What if, just what if, we looked at our Bible’s as often as our screens? What if we guarded our hearts, like we regarded our phones and what if we cared more about our relationship with our Creator then how many “friends” or “followers” we have.

Do you have balance?  Please share how you do it, I would LOVE to hear your story…