Disease and Pestilence....

It seems here lately, that we have been attacked by all manner of disease. You know those little green blob people on the Mucinex commercial? Yep, they've moved in! I am hoping that there is an end in sight. I have lysoled my house several times, washed all blankets in hot water, disenfected the tv remotes (they are the most touched item after all) and forced fluids into every willing mouth. I am tired. The children that have recovered from their illnesses have gone back to reaking havoc. The one who is the worst off, can't seem to remove himself from the couch long enough to brush his teeth or put on a clean pair of socks. We have not done any schoolwork for a week and I'm starting to feel the pressure. I know this is one of those "seasons" that people talk about and it will soon pass. Until then, I am overloading on chocolate, and watching alot of movies. I hope all of you internets are healthy!

Our Decor...It Is So Fabulous!....

No doubt by now, you have deduced from our frequent family conversations, that Joshua is rather humorous. This isn't always on purpose, but it just seems to work out that way. For example, this past week we had to make a trip to the vets office with the newest member of our herd. Chaz, our cocker puppy seems to have managed to create a hairline fracture in his knee. This required hours of my time and hords of my money, but anyway....back to the story. While we were enjoying being cooped in a small room that smelled of disenfectant and previous visitors, Josh noticed a jar on the counter containing a dog heart that had been afflicted with heartworms. This is fascinating stuff I tell you. That little jar alone accounted for much conversation involving hearts, dogs and worms. As Josh studied the rather grotesque, 500 year old looking, piece of dogs anatomy floating in formaldahyde, it occured to him that this could happen to his precious puppy. The conversation went something like this...

Josh: Does Chaz have heartworms?

Me: No.

Josh: Why?

Me: Because he takes medicine that kills them.

Josh: Can heartworms kill Chaz? (Obviously ignoring me)

Me: Yes, but he doesn't have them so you don't have to worry 'bout that.

Josh: If he dies will we cut out his heart and put it in a jar for decoration?

Me: No.

Apparently he has been so impressed by my decorating skills that he feels it would surely add to our home's ambience if we kept dog hearts in jars on our counters. Oh the wonderful legacy I must be leaving to my children........

Why Yes, She is a Blonde!....

Today, for no apparent reason, Katy decided to ask her daddy a most profound question. "How do blind people drive?" I will spare you the smart alecky answer her father gave her, as it might be offensive to people who are sight challenged. Let's just say she has a few challenges of her own mainly being oblivious to the obvious!

In Which He Will Need an Open Account With LL Bean....

Today, as we were doing more extreme demolition in our house, six year old Josh was inspired to discuss his future career choices. He said maybe he'd like to be a fireman or an artist. I suggested a doctor or engineer. We discussed all of these options and what each occupation involved. He also thought maybe he would like to work with snakes. I reassured him that he had plenty of time to decide. He agreed but said he still likes to think about it. After some silent introspection he finally suggested that maybe he should be a hypothermia! I guess I can spend that college fund on some new shoes for me!

The Making of a Man....

When I look at my son it is sometimes very hard to define what I see. One day it might be a goofy kid wrestling with his little brother the next it could be a know-it-all teenager who thinks I just arrived on the stupid bus. Yesterday, I saw something that made my heart swell with pride and also brought a little tinge of sadness to my soul. I saw a man. Yes he is only fourteen, but sometimes age makes no difference. The first sign was when we were listening to a song on the radio that said something like she walks into the club and everybody's looking at her. I jokingly said that's how it is for me...everywhere I go people are looking at me. I thought I was being pretty funny, however he quickly and very maturely pointed out that people do look at me when we are out. It wasn't a people look at you because you are weird kind of statement, but a genuine concern coming from his heart. It made me realize that he is watching out for his mother's well being, and that is as it should be.
Later, he asked me if I had ever been deeply affected by a video game. I don't play video games so the answer would be no. I asked him what he meant, and he proceeded to tell me about a scene in one of his war type games where people are being killed and there is no way out for them. It made his heartache and brought tears to his eyes at the reality of the situation. Some might see this as a weakness, I see it as a great strength! Do we want our men to be hardened with no concern for fellow man or do we want them to have a heart for human life and the plight of others? I will definitely choose the later. It is difficult for boys these days to be sensitive. The world tells them this is uncool. I would much rather have a man that can show emotion, than one that cannot.
The final glimpse of manhood that I witnessed yesterday may seem silly to some, but it was another reminder to me of his maturity and the way he cares for everything around him. A little bird had become trapped on our porch and Tyler tried for 20 minutes to shoo it outside only to watch our stealthy cat leap with open mouth to devour the bird. He them proceeded to chase the cat across the yard to rescue the bird. Do you know how many people I know that would think the bird being eaten was funny? It is more than I can count on two hands.
I know what our society says about the making of a man. They need to be good looking, muscle bound hunks that are cool and have an attitude of indifference. That is not what I want for my sons. I want them to always look after the ones they love. I want them to have broken hearts over hurting human souls and I want them to do whatever they can to protect and appreciate God's creation. That is what makes a man in my eyes!

Ushering in the New Year....

So here we are in 2008! I'm still trying to figure out how 2007 ended so quickly. It seems that each year goes by faster than the previous one.....momma said there'd be years like this! Because Brian and I are so social and such hard party animals we spent New Year's Eve at home watching football, overdosing on cold medicine and falling asleep on the couch! Rock On 2008!! I would have liked to at least watch the ball drop, but you know once you take Tylenol, Dayquil and squirt a little Afrin up your nose there's no point in even attempting to stay awake.
Today will be our family New Year celebration. We will eat black eyed peas (this is a must if you are southern) and deep fried turkey with all of our local relatives. Then we will all sit around stuffed and satisfied and talk about all manner of important things from what movies we should watch to if it's really going to snow tomorrow and most importantly....FOOTBALL!
We are a house divided as I have mentioned before. Both of our teams will be playing in bowl games today and the lines will be drawn. I'm very glad they aren't playing each other, all though it makes for some mighty good "conversation" ahem!
I am looking forward to the new year. It is always interesting to see what life will bring. Hopefully our year will be filled with family and friends, good health and not to much trauma with all of the remodeling we need to do in our house! I hope all of you who read this blog will have a very blessed year as well!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

and GO VOLS!

Joy Joy Joy!....

As Brian and I sat on the couch on Christmas Eve, feeling rather exhausted and hyperventilating from blowing up all those balloons, only one thing kept coming to mind. "Yes Virginia, we did spend way too much money!" My attitude was that of an exhausted mother. I was tired from shopping, baking, cleaning and wrapping. I kept thinking of all the work I had done and how the next morning it would be destroyed within 30 minutes. I looked at the tree and all those gifts and realized the joy it was going to bring to my children. No, they wouldn't appreciate the hours of effort put into their Christmas bliss, but their happy, smiling faces would more than make up for it. I never appreciated the work that my parents did. It was all so magical on Christmas morning when we would emerge from our rooms to see airplanes hanging from the ceiling and balloons filling the room and that delicious aroma of fresh baked cinnamon rolls wafting from the kitchen. I appreciate it now! The gifts are wrapped, the balloons are filled and cinnamon rolls are in my oven.
Christmas is so special to me! And Christmas morning when I see these four faces it makes anything I had to go through 100% worth it....even overbidding on ebay!