Where O Where Has My Mojo Gone?....

To quote a friend....I have lost my mojo. I am feeling drained, zapped of energy and dull. I am restless and discontent and I need to recover NOW! Too many people are depending on me to feed them, clothe them, clean up after them and run my taxi service. My mojo needs to come back.

The work schedule that Brian has been on (7 days a week, 14+ hours a day) has really made my life difficult. I feel like a single parent running on empty. My patience is short and my days are long.

In case you think this sounds like a gripe session and that all I am doing is complaining .....you would be correct. I am griping and complaining and it feels good! Somedays you just need to vent. You just need to tell the entire internet how you feel. I considered doing this in video form on YouTube, but I feared arrest and conviction.

Oh well, this is the situation that we are in right now and there's not really much I can do about it. I guess I need to pull myself up by my bootstraps...or flip flops, and get a grip.

Now where o where could my mojo be?.......

Bikinis, Piercings, and a Good Healthy Diet....

An afternoon at the city pool can be so enlightening. My friend Amy and I took our herd of children (8 total) to the pool the other day for some fun in the sun. Now let me tell you about Amy. She is my long lost twin that was separated from me at birth, only a couple years older. We are so alike in every way that it's a little freaky....in a good way. I love her and that's all I'll say about that!

So....while at the pool, we started to notice some things that made us feel a little out of place, even inferior, to the other women there.

First, we were not wearing bikinis. Now I haven't worn a bikini since I was 17 and don't plan on starting to wear one anytime soon. Amy felt the same way. The thing was, these women in bikinis were not super models. They were moms, with imperfect bodies, and frankly they should not be wearing anything that exposes that much jiggle! And just in case you think I'm being unkind, I also should not wear anything that exposes my jiggle. See, I hold myself to the same standards.

Secondly, there was an awful lot of navel bling. I don't necessarily think there is anything wrong with poking a hole in your belly button....if that's what floats your boat, but apparently you should only do it if you are 13 or extra jiggly. It makes me hurt just thinking about it. I have always had a sensitive navel.

Tattoos. They were everywhere. Everything from hearts to large scary dragons were flashing their colors and swimming through the waters. I have to say that I happen to like some tattoos. Amy and I even discussed getting matching ones or little ones to express ourselves and show our very tiny rebellious sides. I mean nothing says I'm rebelling like a cute little daisy on your ankle! My fear about the tattoo is that at some point my daisy will look wilted because of skin saggage...

After much people watching, discussion and soul searching, Amy and I decided that we also needed to lose weight. We will do this by eating Nutella. It is made from nuts and that makes it healthy. We might throw in a few hot wings just for good measure.

In the conclusion of our discussion, we realized that if we wanted to fit in at the pool next year, some changes were going to have to take place. We will need to go bikini shopping. Not only will it give us the required swimwear, but I'm sure we would both end up peeing our pants just from the experience. We also should get an extra piercing. The location is debatable. Tattoos will need to be required. Amy said that someone told her that tattoos hurt. This made us laugh. We have both given birth to 4 children. Nothing hurts!

And lastly with our weight loss plan of Nutella and hot wings, we should both have the proper body type to flaunt our new found fabulousness at the pool.
Summer.... tis the season of revelation......

Baby Got Back!....

He's home! We picked Tyler up from the airport around 8:45 last night. I have to say the sight of him walking toward me was so much better than the one of him walking away! After two weeks in the Bahamas he was slightly exhausted. I know, I know, how can the Bahamas be that exhausting?


He built a firehouse....


He layed concrete.....


He built trusses....


He did roofing....


That would exhaust me! He also had the oppportunity to play with a group of kids and teach them a little about Jesus.


I'm not going to talk about his free time where he apparently jumped from a 25 foot high cliff into a bottomless hole in the ocean. And thankfully he did not need emergency care for discovering he was allergic to shellfish, or hacking his fingers with a machete while trying to split open a coconut. (real things that happened to other kids)


I'm sure I will be sharing lots of stories as I hear them in the days to come. Right now I'm just savoring having my baby back as he sleeps soundly upstairs.

If You Give a Kid a Weapon....

Josh has taken up fencing for the summer. This is not fencing like putting up a fence or painting a fence or climbing a fence. This is the actual sport of fencing......you know, En Garde! Apparently he saw a fencing match on one of those fabulous Disney channel sitcoms that we cannot escape from, and decided this was the sport for him. Now let me explain something about Josh. He has opted out of several sports because he doesn't want people to look at him. This is always a confusing fact for me since he seems to regularly draw attention to himself, but whatever.

Anyhoo....

After spending a week or more trying to locate a fencing instructor, (apparently it's not that popular), we were able to start lessons. Now you might be saying to yourself, "self, don't people look at you in fencing?" and you would be correct. The difference is you wear a mask, so you are basically incognito! The mask by the way is at least 10 times bigger than Josh's head.

The big draw for Josh though isn't the mask, or the somewhat weird french terms. Oh no siree....it's the SWORD! That's right, I bought my 6 year old a sword! Can you say mother of the year?!!

Technically it's called a foil (weird french), and it doesn't have a pointy tip. However, a non pointy tipped foil in the hands of a very zealous 6 year old could still have a few unpleasant ramifications. Safety first!

So for the summer we get to watch the class of four students (I mentioned it wasn't very popular) advance, retreat, lunge and fake stab each other. It really is quite amusing. I don't know how long Josh will stick with it. Right now it is his entire world. Who knows, he could be the next Olympic champion! What do you think?

I Think We're Ready!....

See all these explosives sitting on my kitchen table? You know, the ones with TNT stamped on them? Well this is what my biggest child (i.e. Brian) spent money on last night!

I'm pretty sure that July 4th is his favorite holiday. I mean when else can you blow things up legally? There is no greater joy than attempting to light your neighborhood on fire with 5000 small explosives....right? Here's the kicker, he has already shot some of them off and we haven't even officially reached the holiday! I wouldn't be surprised if he came home today with more, after all they are buy one get one free. How come that never works when I'm shoe shopping?!

And He's Off!....

This morning I watched, with a knot in my stomach, as my firstborn walked away from me toward security at the airport. He is headed to the Bahamas for a mission trip with our church youth group. As he stood there with his friends (who are all taller than he is) waiting to go, I could tell he was both excited and nervous. All of the months of preparation, hard work and training had finally brought him to the point of departure. He has spent countless hours studying, doing yard work for neighbors and washing cars. I am extremely proud of him! He told me the other day that he thinks that God might be calling him to missions....did I mention I'm extremely proud of him!!

I don't know what the next two weeks will bring for him. It will be hard work, hot weather and uncomfortable. He will have no air conditioned living room to play video games in. He won't be able to hop in the car and go see a movie with his friends, and he won't have a cell phone attached to his ear. It will be good for him. I am praying that God will use Tyler and his team in a mighty way over the course of this trip. I want him to be stretched and have a need to be dependent on God for his strength. I hope that you will join me in this prayer for him and for his safety.

If you want you can pray for me too....I miss him already!