Here is a conversation I had with my oldest son after picking him up from Baseball practice earlier in the week.

Son: Can we please go to Jack in the Box for dinner? I am starving.

Me: No, sorry. I made chicken.

Son: Please mom, I am really hungry and Jack in the Box sounds sooo good.

Me: No, sorry. We really need to make sure we aren't eating fast food more than once a week. I am really struggling with my weight right now and want us to eat more healthy on a daily basis.

Son: What do you mean?

Me: I really need to lose some weight. I want to make sure I am healthy so I will be sure and live a long time to see all of the wonderful grandchildren you are going to give me.

Son: Oh, please. You look fine. Anyways, who cares how you look? You are already married so its not like you really need to look nice anymore for anyone.

Me: Blank stare.

Labels: kids

Last Christmas our kids asked for a Nintendo WI. We seriously thought about getting them one but then decided we really needed to put Christ back in Christmas at our house and went for a simpler holiday plan. Please don't feel sorry for my kids. They already had three game systems and I really don't think they need the newest and greatest in everything the minute it comes out. We told the kids they could earn money doing chores, and if they didn't complain about their chores every minute they were doing them we would consider getting the WI in March when they were off track. Well, they kept up their end of the bargain so I had to keep mine. However, I had a little problem. March came and their was not a WI to be found anywhere. How could a company so underestimate the demand for one of their products? I couldn't order it online, I called daily to stores to see if they had any coming in. Nothing, I found nothing. So, whats a desperate Mom to do but go to the one place you can always depend on to find what you need. EBAY! Last week we began bidding and I could not believe what some people were paying for these things. We were finally the winning bidder (I refuse to divulge how much I ended up paying) and you would have thought we had just won the lottery for all the high fiving and hooping and hollering going on.

Yesterday was the "Big Day". The WI was due to arrive via UPS. In the morning the kids had me log on to UPS and track our package. It left the warehouse at 5:30am and was due to be delivered any time. They were sure it would be delivered by lunch time. I was not so sure. I knew the nice UPS guy usually came our way in the early evening, but who was I to burst their little bubble of hope. Three o'clock came around and I had to pick up my middle schooler. First words out of his mouth, did it come yet? Nope. Next, 5:30pm pick up of high schooler. Did it come yet? Nope. Finally at 6:45 Tuesday evening the door bell rang and the poor UPS guy, Dave, probably thought he was being tackled by a pack of wild dogs. I am not kidding! He asked me what was in the package, when I responded he just chuckled, he told me it had made his day, he had never felt more popular in his like. LOL.

The box was quickly opened and all of the contents thrown all over my normally neat and tidy living room. This is the one room in the house I can usually keep clean. My children really had no concerns about that as WI madness had taken over. They bowled, played tennis, softball, and various other sports. The whooped and hollered, high fived, and argued over each others technique. They had a blast. But, then it happened. There mean mean mother actually came into the room and told them they all had to go to bed! Can you imagine???

Here are some pics of the kids fine bowling form:










Yep, WI madness has taken over. The only really good thing that has come out of this, other than all the exercise they will be getting jumping around, is they all jumped right out of bed this morning for school. Just in case they could get a few minutes of play time before we had to leave. Unbelievable!!!!

Labels: stuff

I am so excited about the new look Susie over at bluebird blogs has given me. I feel like a new woman. Don't you think she did a great job?

My husband is "thrifty". He does not like to waste money (unless he is in a sporting goods store in the baseball department) on unnecessary items. He has loosened up quite a bit since we were first married almost 23 years ago, but he is still pretty conservative in the money department. I have come to really see this as a blessing because if it were left to me we would probably be in the poor house. I really really like to spend money.

Anyway, my husband drives a 99 Honda Civic. It is always a mess. He loves it because he doesn't have to worry about it getting scratched or dirty (and it's paid for) and he can throw all of his baseball equipment in their (where it will stay for weeks on end) and he doesn't have to be concerned with how dirty it gets his car. Our children are very embarrassed by this car. They are so embarrassed that I actually find it comical. I take great joy in informing them of the days they will be picked up from school or another event by their father. This is the usual response "He will be coming home first to get your car, right?" UH, no. To which I would always get the necessary eye rolling action coming my way. I always told them not to worry the car would die some day and their dad would be forced to buy another.
My kids really crack me up sometimes, I have heard them secretly whispering to each other to be sure and keep Dad's car in their nightly prayers. Of course the prayer was not for longevity but that it would just die and Dad would be forced to get another.

Last week their prayers were answered. The little red car wouldn't start. The problem turned out to be relatively minor but we had recently spent around $1,000 on some maintenance and we were both concerned that this could turn into a big money pit. Hubby agreed it was time for an upgrade. Can I get a Hallelujah and Amen, please! Truth be told I really didn't like the little red car either so I was almost as excited as the kids.

We began our Internet search for the perfect car, that of course, wouldn't cost to much money. Our oldest son was not quite about voicing his disappointment that we would not be buying a BMW, Escalade, or a Lexus. In other words, we were looking for another loser car. I tried to explain to him that we did have college to pay for and it would be nice to take a vacation once in a while but he was unmoved. We were such a disappointment. Why couldn't we be like other kids parents and actually get a cool car????

We decided on a Nissan Altima. I had saved some money knowing this day was probably coming soon so I INSISTED that hubby get the sports and technology package which really make this car look snazzy. We picked it up yesterday, and I could tell even the hubster was excited. The younger kids all thought it was great but oldest son wasn't so sure. Until he drove in it. Then he informed me it was way cool. And did I know it had a 265 hp engine? He predicted his Dad would have his first speeding ticket by Wednesday. I assured him he wouldn't.

I really hope I don't regret the death of the little red car....

Labels: kids

When I was a young mother with only a few children I remember wondering to myself how some of my peers seemed to be able to have it all and look so together all the time. I was a leader in our MOPS group at church as well as a co-leader of a large Bible Study that required much time and homework. I always felt like I was letting someone down, friends, family, kids, etc. as their just weren't enough hours in the day to be that person in my mind I felt God wanted me to be.

One afternoon a very wise older woman who was a leader in our church came to me and asked how I was doing? I poured my heart out to her and she listened very intently. When I was done she said these words to me that I will never forget. Julie, your number one priority right now should be your husband and your children. They are your mission field. If you fail in the raising of your family because you are to busy to notice or to focused on others how will that please God? This very Godly woman had made this mistake, and though she had served God with all of her heart, she felt that she should have been more focused on home when her children were younger and less on serving in a larger capacity....their would be plenty of time for that.

The following verse made me remember this discussion that took place over ten years ago:

"It is insufficient to proclaim that the Church of God has a mission in the world. Rather, the God of mission has a Church in the world."
~ Tim Dearborn ~

While I definitely believe that God wants us to be a light unto the world he also wants our light to shine for our own families. I understood that I was giving so much to others I had very little left to give those most important to me. I believe this is a mistake many mothers with young children make. Our society does not honor mothering so we feel we must make a difference somewhere else.

I stopped being a leader in many of these groups, though I still attended, and let those women whose children were older take over the main responsibilities. I promised myself that when all of the children were in school I would go back to serving which I really did love. Little did I know that I would be the mother of preschoolers for the next decade.

Now, if your are a bible study leader with young children please understand I am not criticizing you in any way. I admire you for your willingness to serve. However, if you have been reading this blog for very long you know that I have a problem with over volunteering. I have a problem realizing that my mission field is asleep right now in their bunk beds. Those who reside in my home are very special to God and he wants to make sure I don't forget them. I am trying very hard to remember that.

Laurel Wreath is hosting "In other Words" this weak. Head on over to her place to find others who have written about this same subject on there blogs.

Blessings,
Julie

Labels: faith

Over the last week so many times something has happened and I have said "I really need to talk about that on my blog tonight." and then evening comes and I fall into bed exhausted. I have had no time to visit with my new wonderful bloggy friends and I have really missed you all. The months of March, April, May and June are always crazy in our house with sporting activities. I guess I really never understood just how busy we were until I started blogging. Before baseball I could always squeeze in a little time to visit my favorite blogs and update my own. Now, I feel guilty for sitting in front of the computer because I am sooo behind on all my chores. Tonight I have decided not to care, I am coming for a visit, and vowing to give my self at least a few hours a week to get on the computer and reconnect with all of you.

I used to hate the computer and now I find it to be such a friend. If I am feeling down I know I can just head on over to a few of my favorite places and I will be lifted up and my glass will be refilled. Thanks to all of you for making me laugh and sometimes cry. I really am having a blast.

On another note: My cell phone went caput last week. I ordered a new one and it came today (it is pink and cute and my daughter is so so jealous). I also fought against the cell phone revolution, not wanting to get one, wanting to be able to escape from everyone and everything. Well, how quickly I became dependent on that little bugger. It is amazing to me how our lives can change so quickly and we become so dependent on something we didn't ever miss before we introduced it into our lives. I am sure their is important wisdom in those words although I don't know what they are. LOL.

I hope you all have had a blessed monday,
Julie

Labels: stuff

The party can't officially be over because I am only on #265. I was happy to see that we will be able to access the Mr. Linky over at 5 minutes for mom for a while for those of us who are way behind. I am so enjoying visiting all of your blogs, and for those of you who visited me and left a comment, thank you so much. I was truly blessed by all of you. I will be visiting your place soon. Having the kids home has put me behind because, you know, they actually want me to play with them and not sit at the computer all day and visit with you.

Congratulations to Amy for winning the Starbucks gift card I donated for a prize. Think of me, Amy, while you are drinking your tall latte cappuccino (or what ever they are called). It really was a fun week!

Labels: stuff

I have my three youngest kids home with me until the end of March. The children who are in elementary school go to a year round school. What this means is that they go to school for approximately 3 months and then have any where from 4-6 weeks off. I have absolutely loved this schedule, much preferring it to the go to school for 9 months and then be off for 3 long months while mom tries to keep you entertained. After four weeks they are ready to go back to school, we are all rested, and ready for a new onslaught of school projects. Unfortunately, as much as I love this schedule a wrench was thrown into our happy little life this school year. Our oldest started high school and the second youngest started attending the junior high that is associated with our church. Both of these schools are on a traditional schedule. The only month all of the kids will be home together is in July. This will be the only month we can do things together as a family. Umm, I am really not digging this so much any more. One of the most wonderful advantages to the year round schedule is that you can take family trips all year, not just during the busy summer months. Not only that but I feel like we hardly ever see each other, all together, any more. So, that being said we are prayerfully considering putting the two youngest kids in private school next year with their older brother. I would have to get a part time job....that paid money. Yuk!! I inquired at the school about reduced tuition, you know because I am so cute and all, and was met by a resounding NO. The administrator informed me that sacrifices had to be made by families that wanted their children to have a Christian education and, you know, they really wont mind eating top ramon and boxed mac n' cheese for the next few years while we pay those hefty tuition fees.

We are prayerfully considering our decision. I really don't mind top ramon.

I have to tell you that one of the worst parts of the oldest two still going to school while the others are off is I HAVE TO STILL GET UP IN THE MORNING. Now, let me explain this to you. When they are all of we sleep in and stay in our jammies all day, rent movies, and hang out. I seriously seriously miss this. Oh well, how does that saying go? All good things must come to an end.

Here is what we have been doing this past week on our first week off...

Bowling with a little help from big sister



Nothing like falling asleep right on the bowling alley floor. It's a lot of work throwing a ball that weighs 1/4 of your total weight.



Brothers turn..



They swam, the water was only in the 50's but the temp outside was 92. I must apologize to those of you still under mounds of snow for posting these pics.




We watched spring begin to emerge. These are the first blossoms on our apricot tree. Umm Umm, I can almost taste that fruit now.



Have a blessed week,
Julie

Labels: stuff

First I have to say I survived our big Little League opening day carnival and have been blissfully visiting many of your blogs today. Wow. I am truly impressed by the wonderful group of people who are out their blogging their little hearts out. I would really like to visit everyone, but with over 500 participants, the last time I checked, I am not sure I will have enough time. However, I am someone who is always up for a challenge. Perhaps I just wont sleep this week and instead I will party with all of you into the wee morning hours. I will let you know how that goes.

Here are a few pics of the parade and carnival. Now that it is over I will need to catch up on laundry and maybe clean a bathroom or two. I spent the last two weeks planning this event morning, noon and night so my family was a little neglected to say the least. I do have to brag on them a little though. I slept until noon (I was completely exhausted and coming down with a cold) and when I got up they had cleaned the entire down stairs. Floors had been moped, rooms had been vacuumed, clutter put away, etc. I love you all very much, you are the absolute best!!!

Here is our youngest son acting goofy with his team before going on the field for the parade.





Youngest son again. He loved being in the dunk tank. He is such an introvert I worry about him (not). Of course his two older brothers had to make sure they were the first ones to dunk him. After all, what are older brothers for?




Here was the biggest hit of the carnival. A 200 ft. long zip line. You had to climb up a ladder 25 feet, put on a harness, and then they would basically throw you off and you were zipped down this cord 200 feet to the ground. Unfortunately, every time my kids did it I wasn't around to snap a pic. Here is one of my daughters friends coming down the line.




We had a great time as a family and are looking forward to another great baseball season.

I will see you all at the party. Party on!

Labels: baseball

I am so excited that you have come over for a minute. I can't wait to get to know you! I am going to open my heart to you today, introduce you to my family, and let you in on a few unknown secrets about myself.

1. I am a compulsive over volunteerer. At this moment I am planing our little league carnival for opening day. The carnival is tomorrow! Why am I on my computer? I have prizes and candy to sort, vendors to confirm with, and a parade to plan. Oh well, all that will just have to wait. I have new bloggety friends to meet.

2. On the few Saturday mornings we have nothing to do I love love love to sleep in. This happens maybe half a dozen times a year. My wonderful hubby will tell the children not to disturb me until I am awake. Knowing this, I will take a book which I have been dieing to read (usually have several on my bed side table) and start reading, under the covers, and when a child peeks in to see if I am awake I just close my eyes as if I am not. I can usually get two or three good hours of reading out of this. I am sure this puts me into some horrible mother category, but I really don't care, it is blissfully wonderful the few times it happens every year.

3. I have five ornery...uh, oops, I mean wonderful children. My oldest is 15 and I am not allowed to talk about him on my blog. Can you imagine that he actually thinks he deserves some sort of privacy regarding his life??? It is really to bad because between him and his friends I have pages and pages of hysterical anecdotal information I could use on this blog. My 13 yr. old just wants to make sure I don't embarrass him( I don't know why he thinks I would do such a thing?) our 10 and 8 year old feel like superstars when they are mentioned, and my three year old is well, three, so she doesn't really care about anything but blowing bubbles in the back yard.

4. Our family loves baseball. We play baseball, watch baseball, coach baseball, and anything else baseball related is going on at our house. My husband would love to quit his day job and just coach and play baseball all day long. He probably should have considered this before we had all of those kids, but then who would he have to coach, watch and play with? Hmm. Our oldest just started playing high school ball which has launched us into another phase. I have decided that this could be great for my figure. Every time he pitches in a game I get so nervous I think I may actually throw up. He seems to love the pressure and actually thrives on it. I CAN NOT TAKE IT! I worry about him because some of the other parent's can be a little nasty when things aren't going as well as they think they should. I am sure any of you with kids in youth sports know what I am talking about. Oh well, maybe I can take an extra 10 pounds off during the season if the nervous stomach persists.

As you have just read I broke rule #3 above (do not talk about 15 yr. old on blog) so to appease him I am posting his favorite teams logo here: Sorry honey, I just couldn't help it.


5. I have never had any kind of a drink at Starbucks. I don't know why I just haven't. In honor of being, most likely, the only one in the blogosphere who has not I have donated a $20.00 gift certificate to this fine coffee establishment for the Bloggety Blog Party. Go on over and register to win.

6. Finally, here is my idea of the perfect man (next to my wonderful hubby of course).

Don't you agree? Please leave a comment and tell me something about yourself. Does anyone else out there not go to Starbucks??? I look forward to visiting your blogs on Sunday (after Church and the big Carnival) and can't wait to meet some new bloggy friends.

Blessings,
Julie

The blog party hosted by 5 minutes for mom starts tomorrow. Should be a lot of fun. I hope you are all planning on joining in. See you tomorrow!

Julie