Call me crazy, but...

My "weekend retreat"

I'm not sure if you noticed, but I actually only have three kids (Oldest, Only, and Youngest), and I care for two little girls, one of whom is The Princess.  But if you were to come to my house at the moment there are EIGHT, count them please (1,2,3,5,8,12,12,17), kids in my house ages 1-17, one has ADD/Aspergers , Youngest has ADHD (I made sure he had his meds this morning), 2 kids with gluten/wheat allergies, add a psycho cat and a anxious German Shepard, and then there's me. 

view from their deck

 Let me back up a bit... I'm sure you don't want the long version, so here is the short of it. Saturday, we became aware of some dear friends of ours, (owners and founders of Adair Ya Candles), were in the hospital due to possible heart problems. We've really come to appreciate the special creative spirit of them and how their talents are used to encourage and bless others.  We offered to take their beautiful three kids until things calmed down and so the fun began.  Knowing the kids would be more comfy at their house, Youngest and I hurriedly packed our bags and headed for their home in the woods, about 1/2 an hour away.  Bedtime finally arrived at midnight, but at 3 a.m. their youngest son crawled into bed with me and then quickly realized I WAS NOT his momma!  Had to chase him down before he woke up the rest of the house, give him a drink and put him back in his bed.  Then at 5 a.m. the youngest woke up with an earache, got her meds and a drink and put her in bed with me. Somehow, there was comical humor it in all. 

wii games

Sunday Morning:
Though the beautiful snowy woods glisten in the morning sunrise, a lonely train can be faintly heard, but all is not silent... No, the chatter of two little boys downstairs waken me after a restless night. Ah, their excited giggles beckon me from my comfy bed, *sigh*  It was an an active and full day, but not one without giggles and memorable moments.

Crew of 8

Today was really not bad at all. 

The blessing in it?

• I so much appreciate my friends Eva and Tracy who each have more kids than I do. I'm not sure how they do it day in and day out.
• The Princess had
  "M" to play with, someone close to her age and loved the girl time.
• My friend "EM" picked up some of the kids for some fun and play time at her house - they made special chocolate chip cookies and decorated them with icing, and had wii tournaments. They were all full of smiles and excitement when they returned.  How fun is that!  
• We're so thankful that our friends trust us to care for their kids.  Each one show unique and special gifts, and it has been a joy to spend time with them.  You should see the creative pictures that "J" has drawn and the stories behind them, "M" has the most beautiful smile and giggles - such a sweet little girl, and "S" is smart as a whip - he astounds me!   You can tell that their parents love them deeply! 
• I'm blessed to learn more about gluten and how it affects people and how creative and smart their momma is in all she does to insure their health and well-being.  I'm not sure how she does it, but she is a wonder and sweetheart! I'm amazed at her heart, knowledge, and love for others. A truly beautiful lady from the inside out. She inspires me to dig deeper, love others more, and think unselfishly. 
• I'm amazed at the energy and spirit of these kids.  How wonderfully their minds work and their parents have done a fantastic job with them.
• My family loves being in the "A" home.  It is like an awesome retreat in the woods. You can wander through their home, and never grow tired of seeing the awesome ways they display their kids' art and pictures. Always puts a smile on our faces being with there because creativeness and personal touches ooze from it. Shawn is an accomplished artist, whose art emits a special message and creative touch that blesses so many. He's not afraid to think outside the box and talents overflow! 
  
  I confess that I've done none of this on my own, but you already knew that. I would be dumb to take the credit for how smoothly it has gone.  It would not have been possible without a group effort and God being in the middle of it all.  These kids miss their parents, but they have handled it well, with full credit to their parents and God.   It has been a great experience for our family. 
  
  Well, I need to get going.  We've got a busy day tomorrow as well, and we look forward to seeing how the day will unfold.  Looks like I'll have them tomorrow because Shawn has blockages and they're going to do a heart cath in the morning.  I know they would appreciate your prayers! I can see the weariness in "S" face, through her beautiful smile, she still finds a lesson from God and how He is working through this.  Someday, when I grow up, I want to be more like her.

observations of a broom pusher

Friday Night

Football game

It's going to be a runaway game...

No!  Wait, they scored in the last minute... 

Crowd is on their feet, waiting... 

chanting

calling

whispers of encouragement

whistles blowing

feet pounding

Counting down the seconds

6

5

4

3

Aww!  They scored again

Final 41-31 we win!

Working the concession stand on Friday

I missed seeing the football game

Shoot! 
Where I was, you couldn't even HEAR it! 

Actually, if you know me,

you know I really didn't "miss" it one bit.

But later, after the stands were clear

I stood in the stands

broom in hand

(sweeping up the carnage from "adoring" fans)

A deep, familiar voice

somewhere on the field

caught my attention.

Turning towards the field

bathed in stadium lights

my gaze swept across the field

looking, searching

the gangly boys dotting the turf

then in a moment...

I saw him.

Band uniform gone 

trumpet long put away

  Football in hand,

his blond hair fell across his forehead

as he launched the ball

down field towards waiting hands

his laughter ringing in the air

I could just see his boyish grin

As I stood there watching

it was well worth the 5 hours on my feet

in the concession stand,

calling out orders, sweating

figuring up orders and counting money

Just to watch him,

relaxed

playing

running, 

joking

comfortable

enjoying the moment

Yeah, it was worth every minute and hour

and I'd do it again

just to watch him

joy filled my heart

while tears filled my eyes

Just me and my broom

A New Day

I think there are a lot of people praying for us.  It was a fabulously beautiful day for us yesterday.  We've had much laughter at with The Princess and we even did school!

• The Princess used the potty THREE times (even the littlest things are cause for celebration),
• we laughed at her (and my) silly dancing to Days of Elijah after lunch
• I explored blogs while Youngest was doing math problems and English (I'm shameless) and found a few new ones I enjoyed and revisited a few I had not in the last two weeks.  Here is one from a fabulously creative Momma that I love dearly and some beautiful purses she recently made.
•  Where a Second Glance Makes all the Difference
• Last night was Girl's Night Out at Sweet Bay Coffee Co. while Honey took the kids to a Skillet concert. 
• Youngest had a great day with minimal tears and better concentration. 

Last night was a wonderful time with the Girls.  I so much appreciate these Sisterchicks so much because when we are together there is an allowance of being real, honest, crying, sharing, laughing, venting, and accepting of the vast differences and backgrounds, experiences, and roads we've been on. I just love these ladies and the feeling of being at ease when we're all together. 

Whew! There is a lot going on this week with just our family.  

• Oldest is on a summer job interview at this moment.  My heart made a huge leap in my chest when I saw when walk out the door all dressed up for this.  
• Oldest will go on his FIRST date this Saturday and to his first Prom as well... Thankfully, she is a girl we know well, love her and her family, AND go to church with them!  We've never pushed dating or stuff or made a big deal about it, but a few rules reside in our home: No dating until 16, must go in groups, and have fun. So Oldest has been working hard to secure his own tux, the fitting, the corsage (or a "wristlet" as it called it), and finding someone fun to double date with.  He finally asked his best friend (who happens to be from a rival school) to hang with them while driving to and from.  It's honestly been a little sticky around our house because Oldest's date is one of Only's best friends and Oldest neglected to tell us or Only that he had asked her out.  Still praying on this one... 
• Only now has her drivers permit, but Honey has been doing the ride-along stuff.  
• It's Mother's Day weekend... It's a REALLY long story, but I've never liked, always disliked this day, and even dreaded it.  It always falls on or extremely close to my birthday (10th) and it has always been a difficult day for me.  Knowing this, I was surprised when this flower arrangement arrived today from Honey, but thankful that he's not given up trying.  God has been really working on my heart this last week about Mother's Day... Even now as I write about it, it is hard and I'm ready to cry and just pitch it all.  
• The Sunday before last we attended the vow renewal of some really dear friends, celebrating their 22nd Anniversary. Their two little boys giggling from the pews as their parents "sealed their vows with a kiss" and family looking on.  Later that week, as the kids and I were in the kitchen after school was done, it was brought up that Honey and I should renew ours since it will be our 20th in June... I told them I had no time to plan something like that, so they countered we should do it for our 25th.  I told them they wouldn't be around at that time (I'm thinking they will be in college or something).  The boy I tutor said he wanted to be the "best man", to which Oldest put his arm around my shoulder and said "Mommy, I'll walk you down the aisle!"   I just wanted to sit down and cry because no one had ever offered to do that before (another long and painful story) and now Oldest and Youngest were fighting who was going to do it... What a deep effect this has had on me... *sigh*
• On the lighter side, I had 4 inches chopped off my thick straight hair and my dear hairstyles even did a quick color my gray for me yesterday... I felt like a new woman... Now if I can just style it to look half like she did for my driver's license picture tomorrow that I have to renew! 
  
  Thank you so much for stopping by, wading through this post and just "listening!"

Salsa Addiction, bad dog, and Being a "No" Mom

Sigh... My name is Lynnet and I'm addicted to Pam's Salsa. As I sit here facing you now, I have a cup of Pam's Salsa and Chili's chips in front of me. I can't say that I really want to be cured of this... I'm not a huge salsa fan, but my dear Sisterchick Pam does an awesome job (her hubby is an awesome griller as well). She can be brutally honest, very open, has the best sense of humor, and is TONS of fun. I very much appreciate her friendship. She's my kind of cook - a little of this and a little of that... She is often heard saying "Oh I don't measure - just taste it and add what you need."

Pam's Salsa 1 29 oz. can stewed tomatoes 1 15 oz. can tomato sauce Season with salt Add 1 tsp - 1 Tbsp cilantro (fresh is best) to taste. Dice up 1 jalapeno, de-seed if you don't want it as hot Garlic - only take a few cloves (or you can add minced garlic if you don't have fresh) Sugar - a handful or about 2 tbsp. This is to taste as well.

Put into food processor and pulse a few times.

Today we came home from church to find Lady, our German Shepard, somehow pulled my favorite cast iron skillet off the counter and the handle BROKE off in the process... BAD DOG! Yes, this is the dog that has discovered that the sound of Styrofoam equals ribs from Chilis. She even gets excited when we get eggs from the fridge... We need a 911 Nanny for our dog! Last month I began planning what kind of baby gift to give a dear friend who is expecting in late March and I finally came up with a Rag Quilt after seeing it in Just for Fun fabric store . Of course I have to make one before I do the baby quilt, so I started last week with some denim I had in my fabric stash. It looked easy enough, and I was able to find great directions in two different blogs: Green Apple Orchard and Jen Yu. I Hope to have it finished this month. Thankfully the baby quilt will be on a MUCH smaller scale! Here are some really cute rag quilts that I've found: Girly Modern, The Green Room, Girlie Rag, and Little Boy Blue. Okay, I'm just going to say that I wouldn't trade being a mom - my life has been changed drastically and enriched so much by being a mom to our kids. Now that that is said, there are days that I don't like ALL that comes with being a mom. Like having to be the Movie Monitor... They know better to ask me because I always look the movies up on Plugged In Online... Oldest came to me while I was working on lesson plans. I knew he wanted something because he came in and stood there grinning. The boy DOES NOT talk much - I think he's afraid he's going to use up those 25 words that God allows him each day! So he mentions that he, Only, and another friend wanted to go see a new popular movie out. Patiently he planted himself in the recliner as I began to read... I finally told them they could go watch the movie they wanted if they would eat my special brownies... that's another story. It must have taken almost an hour of searching RedBox, and Flixter before they finally decided to skip the theater and just rent a movie... If you'll excuse me, I have to get some more chips so I can eat the rest of this salsa and finish lessons plans.

1 week overdue, 16 years later

This is a special edition of "Not Me!" Monday sponsored by McMama at My Charming Kids. I have to tell you that this is hard for me to write the opposite of what I mean when I'm talking about one of my kids!

1. 1. I am not the mother of a 16 year old. I guess when Oldest was born those 16 years ago, I thought, so it seemed, that he would be little forever - from diapers to t-ball, learning phonics and 1+1 . Not Me.
2. The years have Not flown by, and this morning did not wonder how the little wee boy I used to hold and rock is now asking for the key to the car.
4. 2. It has not been fun to see him grow from this 8.7 lb wonder to a 5'8" (we're not holding our breath to see if he keep going) young man! We've not gone to countless baseball and basketball games, band concerts, and cheered him on. I'm sure we'll not go to countless more. No more prayers, no more laughter.

3. This morning did not come faster than I thought it ever would. I must say that I really have enjoyed most of Caleb's growing up. Truthfully, the 2's were the roughest, but Focus on the Family, a lot of prayers, time-out (for both of us) and a lot of spankings brought us through. 3. We are not looking forward to seeing what wonderful things God is going to do with his life. We have not prayed countless prayers over him, his education, character, his future spouse, his choices.We are not proud of him. I do not love his goofyness, his competitve spirit, his huge hugs, the tenderness I see him give to those younger (except his brother). I do not love to watch him as he is asked to serve communion and he does it respectfully and with thought. We do not encourage him to seek out his interest - even if that means we have 1 snake, 6 mice, 2 dogs and 2 cats, sports cards stacked up, and . 4. I do not love to have him in the kitchen, to see him just cook on a whim, learn, try, and share. II am not proud of the fact that this 16 year old knows how to make pizza and hamburger buns from scratch! Nope not me! 5. I do not love to watch him with Honey, to see the bond that they've developed over the years. I will not mourn the day when Oldest leaves us to spread his wings, to live and dream. We did not send Oldest and Only to Australia for a trip with People to People Student Ambassadors when they had never be on a plane or out of the country. We do not love Oldest... *sniff* no we do not..

But I'm really sick!

"What do you want for breakfast?" I ask Youngest. "Crispix" he mumbles with his head on the table. Trying to be cheerful and motivating, I fix his bowl, give him a quick kiss on the forehead as I ruffle his blond sleep tussled hair on my way to the shower. "Maybe we can get done early with school and you'll have time to play!" Getting a shower is a blessed thing around here. Most mornings (I'm sure I'm not the only Mom to confess this) I don't even get one. I'm secretly convinced that a mother was the inventor of deodorant and perfume and lotions. I just hope that makeup and some smelly stuff will mask the way I feel. Over the waterfall of warm water, I hear a muffled "mumble, mumble" and a knocking on the door. *sigh* "Wait!" I holler while shutting off the water and grabbing the towel. *This had better be good* I thought. When the kids were much younger, I was in the shower and they banged on the door to let me know that they let the Terminix man in to treat the house. I locked the front door after that and gave a lecture after that one! As I opened the door, I saw him, humped over with his hands to his mouth. "I puked!" *good grief! Did he have to go all the way through the house to tell me that?!!!!* Thankfully it wasn't bad and I chalked it up to a bad gag reflex he has. Finally it's lunch time, with 3 subjects left, he is wearing his coat because he's cold. Now before you start thinking I'm totally clueless, I'm very cold natured and our bedroom is the coldest in the house. What finally clued me in was he wanted to take a nap... ahhhh! Lightbulb goes on in my head... Final verdict - 103º and the rest of the day was spent in bed listening to Adventures in Odyssey takes and taking naps. Call me clueless, but no one has been sick in our house and I thought he was trying to get out of the rest of school work! "Lord, may you give me grace as I am constantly learning about how to be a good mom. I blew it today!" Needless to say, I stayed up with him last night and rocked him until he said (waking me from a slumber) "Mom, can I watch Batman cartoons, this home decorating stuff is boring."

What I wished for

It was one of those days for me and, during one of the 5 trips I made into Ft. Smith, I actually met myself on the road going the other direction. I think I needed a nap ºÜº. Kids finished up work camp, Connor went to the Dr. about a cough he's had for a few weeks, ended up getting an x-ray (thankfully it came back okay), Buddy got a shave, pedicure, and shampoo. Me??? I didn't get a shampoo, shave, or pedicure... but that is probably more than you wanted to know. A friend and I were talking today - mostly about life in general. In the midst of wondering and conversations I asked her if, back when we were younger, we knew what we were wishing for? I always wanted to be "a really good mom" but did I realize what I was wishing for - and if I knew exactly what I was wishing for, would I wish for what I was wishing for? Yes, but I had no idea how hard it would be or how much it would change me. Do I regret getting what I wished for - no. There are some things that I would change - but that is hindsight. I have a tile sitting in my kitchen window that about sums it up for me:

"I long to accomplish

great and noble tasks,

but it is my chief duty

and joy to accomplish

humble tasks as though

they were great and noble."

Helen Keller