In a Puddle

That's where my heart's been lately.
Thanks to my kids.

It's a good thing.Brookie.
Giving me a hug.
At her school.
In front of friends.
And other parents even.

That is BIG.Jakie.
Reaching for a tall light:
Hey, I'm growing!
I used to have to stand on my toes to turn this on.
Now I can do it flat-footed!

He wants to grow so BADLY.Jobie.
Standing up on the counter:
Wook Mommy.
I'm tawer than you.
Me: Yes, you are.
Some day you really will be taller than Mommy.
Jobie: But I don't want to be tawer than you!
Me: Why not?
Jobie: Because I want you to always be my Momma!

Oh, Jobie.
No worries there.
I could never stop being your momma.Ezzie.
Writing sweet, sweet things at school.I can't think of much that a momma would love to hear more.A puddle.
I'm tellin' ya.

New Toy, New Do

Well, another birthday has come and gone.
Amazing how quickly they roll around anymore.
When you're a kid you can't wait for them.
When you're rapidly approaching 40, they can stay away.
But they come regardless.

So...
I am posting this from my new iPad!
Eeeeek!

I'm trying out the blogger app.
It's different.
And a little difficult.
But it was free.
So I'm giving it a shot.

I'm not even sure where exactly my picture will show up on this post.
I took it with the iPad.

I chopped my hair.
I'm not sure the last time it was this short.
Still deciding if I like it.
I've had this cut for 3 days.
And it's looked different each of those days.
Wonder how it will look tomorrow...

Jake doesn't like it.
I think the others are ok with it.
Either that or they have more tact.

I have to end this.
I'm anxious to see what this post looks like.
That and I'm feeling guilty.
Nothing has gotten done today.

So I'm really going to stop playing on this thing.
And get to work.

It's noon already.
So it's lunch time.
Then I'll get to work.

I'm going now.
For real.

Twenty-Two

That's how old I'm going to turn this month.
Ha.
Not really.
I wouldn't want to go back that far.
Hmmm.
28 sounds good.
Even 34 sounds good at this point.

Here's really what 22 means to me today.
On this day.
Twenty-two years ago.
Ryan and I went on our first date.
To the state fair.

That is hard to wrap my brain around.
Twenty-two years ago?
Wow!

When he ask me out way back then,
I remember thinking to myself:
What can one date hurt?

We attended a small Christian school.
Where everyone knew everything.
A couple days after our date
one of our classmates said to me:
I suppose you'll be going to the Winter banquet with Ryan.
I remember looking at him and saying:
That's 3 months away!
I don't know who I'll be going with.

Well...turns out I went with Ryan.
To that banquet.
And every one after that the next 2 years.

We don't always celebrate this day.
Matter of fact, some years it's gone by without us noticing.
But the past few days
I've been thinking about that first date a lot.

How I twisted my ankle the day before.
But didn't want to miss the date.
So I hobbled all over the fair.

How cute he looked walking up the sidewalk.
To meet my parents for the first time.
Wearing a pink polo.
And jeans.
And high tops.
It was the late 80's, people.
I wore jeans with the waist band that rolled over.
Remember those?
Tapered leg.
Kinda' stonewashed.
Awesome.
And a bright green shirt.
With shoulder pads.
Yes!
Oh, wish I had a picture.

How I wanted him to hold my hand.
But he didn't until we got back that evening.
And went for a little walk around our neighborhood.

I may not have a picture of our first date.
But I do have one of our first banquet.That's my brother on the right.
He had to ride with us to the banquet.
He was a freshman.
It was horrible.
He played with the electric windows and locks on the car.
The entire way to the banquet.
He thought he was funny.
I was mortified.
Ryan thought he was funny too.
That did not help.

22 years ago.
A boy.
Asking a girl out.
A girl.
Saying yes.

The result.
A blessed marriage.
Four amazing kiddos on earth.
And one in heaven.
A family.

A fingerprint of God.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,”
declares the LORD,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.

Each week Beki at therustedchain hosts Fingerprint Friday and uses a song by Steven Curtis Chapman as a springboard. Join in. It's a great way to be reminded of God's presence.

The Confidence of Ezra

Ezra loves to make mini pizzas.
Saturday we made them for lunch.Everyone made their own.
Except Brookie.
She wanted a frozen Totino's pizza.
As she was eating it, she said:
I could eat frozen pizza everyday.
Hmmm.
I've never heard her say:
I could eat mom's cooking everyday.

But really I shouldn't complain.
I can be an awesome mom.
Just by having Totino's pizzas in the freezer.
Simple enough.

Ezra worked on his pizzas the longest.
He wanted them to be just perfect.This was the discussion he and I had:
Ezra: I'm probably going to be a famous pizza maker some day.
Me: Sounds good.
But I thought you were going to be a baseball player.
Ezra: Yah, I want to be a baseball player too.
Me: Well, you can't play baseball when you get old.
You can open a pizza restuarant then.

Seven hours later (out of the clear blue)
Ezra: I don't know if I want to be a famous pizza maker.
I think I'll just play baseball.
You can play baseball until you are old.
Babe Ruth played baseball when he was old.
And he was the best baseball player ever.
Well...until he died.
I don't really know who is the best baseball player now.He has confidence in so many areas.
Then sometimes he surprises us.
And shows a super sensitive side.

I was playing with Ezzie's hair Sunday afternoon.
(I LOVE his hair.
So much bounce and life.
Just like him.
But it can tend to get a little poofy at times.)
Ezra says: Some kids at school call me "muffin".Before Ryan, Brookelynn, Jake and I could stop ourselves,
we laughed.
Out loud.
Loudly.
And Ezra cried.
Then we all felt bad.
But it was funny.
And kinda' true.
Which, of course, is why we laughed.

Would it be really cruel
to make muffins for breakfast tomorrow?
Suddenly I'm really wanting some...

A Peach Recipe

This recipe is for moms.
It's not so much for kids.
And it's probably not so much for dads.

So if you are having some ladies over,
make it.
If you are having a family with kids over,
don't make it.
Apparently, I'm feeling bossy.
How 'bout I just let you make the call?

Peaches and Cream Coffeecake

Dough:
2/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
3 T butter, melted
1 quart canned or fresh peaches, drained, reserve the juice

Cream filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3 T peach juice

Topping:
1 T sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Add egg, milk and butter and beat for 2 minutes. Pour into a well-greased 8-inch round pan. Drain peaches and arrange over batter. For the filling, cream together ingredients and spoon over peaches. For the topping mix sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top. Bake 30 to 35 minutes.
So, I'm bad about reading a recipe all the way through.
I made this in an 8X8 square pan.
It worked.
But next time I'll make it in the round pan.
Then I can cut it in triangles.
I like triangles.

This is not very sweet.
When I make it next,
I may add a little sugar to the bottom layer.
And a little cinnamon too.
And maybe some nutmeg.
I like nutmeg.

And I will make it again.
Possibly even if I'm not having ladies over.
It would be ok to eat the whole thing, right?
By myself.
All in one setting.
I'm kidding about that last part.
Maybe.
I like to eat.

I like to eat triangular nutmeg-y things.

Just Chattin'

I'm going through the little boys closets.
They have a ridiculous amount of clothes.
Really.
It's embarrassing.
So many hand me downs when you're the littlest boys.
There were at least 20 pair of holey jeans.

You know why I kept them?
Because I just knew for sure
there was something I could make with them.
That makes me laugh just typing it.
Me?
Make something?
Hahaha!
Reality sunk in...finally.
And I threw them all away.
(Sorry to those of you who could have made amazing things with them.)

I found 3 shirts for Jobie.
On a shelf.
In his closet.
Neatly folded.
Just like I would fold them.
Really cute winter shirts.
No idea where they came from.
Maybe a consignment sale?
They are not brand new.
How do I forget these things?

I am so sick of hot weather and watering plants.
I could scream.
So I've been making my kids water.
They need chores.
I need a break.
Sounds like a win-win to me.

Last night as I was leaving the little boys room:
Jobie: I love you, Mommy.
Ezzie: I love you lots and lots.
You're the best momma ever.
How much longer do you think I can fool him?

Ezra has now lost 5 of his original fish.
Saturday we bought him 4 more.
(They were 13 cents each.
We really go all out for our kids.)
One of those 4 died yesterday.
Poor guy.
He always holds each one in his little hand.
And looks at it for a while.
Before he dumps it in the toilet.
And flushes it.

We got "new" dining room chairs.
I found them at a garage sale for $5 each.
4 matching chairs.

We were using 1 wood school chair.
Bought at an antique store.
1 off-white really cute chair.
Bought at an antique store.
1 chair from a pair of chairs that we had.
Once upon a time.
And a folding chair.
(I've said before we are classy people.
I wasn't joking.)

I texted Ryan and said:
For the first time in our marriage we have
4 chairs that match.
His reply: It's almost like we're adults.
Ha!
He's a funny guy.I like the white.
But I might paint them.
The white might not be quite right for our house.
What would you do?

Cute, But...

We might have a problem...

234Ryan saw 6 in all.

The next morning I called animal control.
Remember me and animal control are tight.

Here's how part of the call went.
Me: Ummm. We saw 6 coons in our garage last night.
AC: That's a problem.
Me: Yes. Is there anything you can do about it?
AC: We can come set a trap.
Me: Great! They are eating our cat's food.
AC: Oh, well. Is your cat's food in the garage?
Me: We keep it locked in our shed, but yes, we feed her in the garage.
AC: We can't do anything about the coons then.
You have to remove the food source.
Me: Ok. Well then, how do I feed our cat?
AC: If you don't remove the food source they will keep coming.

Thank you for answering my question.
Trust me, it just got more confusing from there.

So, I called in my own personal animal control.
My 15 year old nephew.
So far he's caught a possum.
And 3 coons.

Two at once one night.
Brookie thought they were so cute.
She had to take pictures.Can't wait for our next conversation, animal control.
We have such confusing frustrating enlightening talks.