This is what happens when my teenaged son lives far, far away. So glad he came home for a visit, but I wish I could see his face!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
That Darn Global Warming!
As previously mentioned, yesterday was sunny and 67 degrees. Today, not so much. These were taken at 8:45 a.m. and we're expected to have 6-8 inches more unleashed upon us. I have no words to express my dismay.
Move Over, Julia Childs
Abby and Seth are kitchen wunderkinds. Perfect banana bread, delectable pies -- oh yeah, the girl can bake! Seth is on the entree' side of things, with chicken and breakfast food being his specialties. We are very blessed by their interest in the culinary arts!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Oklahoma is NOT Ok!
Today's forecast: partly sunny, high near 70.
Tomorrow's forecast: 80% chance of snow, high of 34.
....Seriously???
I am home with just five children until a week from Saturday (3/27 --Matt's IN trip had to be extended) so I'm planning to hit Blockbuster this morning and stock up on movies in anticipation of a cold, snowy weekend. I will also be poring over the jobs ads in every Florida paper available. I'm tired of crazy Oklahoma weather!
On a more positive note, I took the five shoe-shopping yesterday. Luke kept handing me Dora the Explorer shoes until I was finally able to coax him into some Spiderman tennies. Madi and Katie each found non-play shoes that I'm sure at some point will end up covered in mud. I found some great heels that would actually make me look like an adult, but never even had the chance to try them on (I did mention I was shopping with 5 children, right?) and so alas, heel-less I remain. I did, however, find great satisfaction earlier in the day when I dug out a pair of jeans from my drawer, unworn for 2-1/2 years because they were always too tight. Yesterday when I tried them on I discovered they fit and looked great. Nice to know that all my hard work and sweat is paying off!
Tomorrow's forecast: 80% chance of snow, high of 34.
....Seriously???
I am home with just five children until a week from Saturday (3/27 --Matt's IN trip had to be extended) so I'm planning to hit Blockbuster this morning and stock up on movies in anticipation of a cold, snowy weekend. I will also be poring over the jobs ads in every Florida paper available. I'm tired of crazy Oklahoma weather!
On a more positive note, I took the five shoe-shopping yesterday. Luke kept handing me Dora the Explorer shoes until I was finally able to coax him into some Spiderman tennies. Madi and Katie each found non-play shoes that I'm sure at some point will end up covered in mud. I found some great heels that would actually make me look like an adult, but never even had the chance to try them on (I did mention I was shopping with 5 children, right?) and so alas, heel-less I remain. I did, however, find great satisfaction earlier in the day when I dug out a pair of jeans from my drawer, unworn for 2-1/2 years because they were always too tight. Yesterday when I tried them on I discovered they fit and looked great. Nice to know that all my hard work and sweat is paying off!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Spring Broken
Matt went back to Indy yesterday, and since it's Spring Break here he took Seth and Ally with him. I have only 5 kiddos for the next 8 days. Seems strange counting out only 4 paper plates at meal time (Nate and I don't eat with the other kids). The house actually seems quiet with only 6 of us here!
Abby, Madi and Katie have spent the better part of the last 2 days playing with Legos. I hope the weather turns warmer so they can play outside as well. Me thinks Legos may get boring after a week or so!
It certainly is a good feeling to know that all the housework is caught up (since we never know when the realtor will need to show the house). Feeling a bit lazy -- but with no unfinished tasks hanging over my head I guess I should enjoy it without guilt!
When Matt returns we will be a complete family again. Zac will be on HIS break, so we will enjoy Easter together as 10 Varnells.
Have a great week, all!
Abby, Madi and Katie have spent the better part of the last 2 days playing with Legos. I hope the weather turns warmer so they can play outside as well. Me thinks Legos may get boring after a week or so!
It certainly is a good feeling to know that all the housework is caught up (since we never know when the realtor will need to show the house). Feeling a bit lazy -- but with no unfinished tasks hanging over my head I guess I should enjoy it without guilt!
When Matt returns we will be a complete family again. Zac will be on HIS break, so we will enjoy Easter together as 10 Varnells.
Have a great week, all!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Hair We Go!
We have a two year-old tornado, also known as Luke. He has beautiful blonde hair that is unruly, to say the least. I took him for a haircut last Fall, but all we ended up with was a few bangs trimmed and a lighter wallet. He doesn't exactly sit still when he's told to and the poor hairstylist simply gave up. So, his hair has just kept on growing, framing his little face with angelic golden ringlets.
My mission for this week, while Matt is home, was for HIM to tackle the hair-cutting task. Maybe we could sedate Luke, then Matt could hold him while the stylist cuts away. If that didn't work, maybe I could hold him while Matt gets the clippers and just shaves the kid bald.
Any number of scenarios have come to mind...just please, let my boy look like a boy again!Ah...then today, IT happened. We were all in the car, driving around aimlessly while a realtor took prospective buyers through our house. Matt located a GNC store so he went in to make a purchase while the kids and I stayed in the Suburban. It was then that I saw the sign: "Snip-Its Haircuts for Kids". Could this be the solution? I made the other kids wait in the car while I eagerly took Luke inside.
It was a totally kid-friendly place closely resembling Chuck E. Cheese's but without the food. The stylist was great, and I'm pretty sure she had earned her degree in child-psychology because she never lost her cool even when Luke lost his. Several minutes later we emerged victorious, with a well-groomed -- albeit tear-stained-- little boy
holding a dumdum sucker and a bottle of bubbles. All is well once again. Sunday, March 7, 2010
Extreme Makeover - Soul Edition
There is a piece of land I drive by frequently, and on that land sits a vacant old, decrepid house. The shutters are barely hanging on, the windows are broken, the paint -- what's left of it -- is peeling off, the porch is falling apart. It always makes me feel a little sad when I see it. I wonder about the former occupants, what sad occurance in their lives would cause them to let their house deteriorate to that degree.
As we drove by it today, I was impressed in my spirit that the condition of my soul was similiar to the condition of that house. I need a makeover -- not the physical kind (though I'm all for that) -- but rather the kind that only God's saving grace can bring. I need to be restored from the inside out. While that house will probably one day be condemned and torn down, I can be rebuilt into whatever the Lord wants me to be. He is the master architect. I'm trying hard to stay within His blueprint, and thus there is a lot of remodeling going on in my life. It's all good! Not always enjoyable, mind you, but all good.
As we drove by it today, I was impressed in my spirit that the condition of my soul was similiar to the condition of that house. I need a makeover -- not the physical kind (though I'm all for that) -- but rather the kind that only God's saving grace can bring. I need to be restored from the inside out. While that house will probably one day be condemned and torn down, I can be rebuilt into whatever the Lord wants me to be. He is the master architect. I'm trying hard to stay within His blueprint, and thus there is a lot of remodeling going on in my life. It's all good! Not always enjoyable, mind you, but all good.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
O To See Life Through HER Eyes!
I've been blogfully neglectful again. I apologize, and won't bother with excuses. However, I needed a laugh this afternoon so I decided to read some Erma Bombeck quotes. She is THE cure for a dismal attitude....so, enjoy!
Everyone is guilty at one time or another of throwing out questions that beg to be ignored, but mothers seem to have a market on the supply. "Do you want a spanking or do you want to go to bed?" Don't you want to save some of the pizza for your brother?" Wasn't there any change?"
-- Erma Bombeck
Have you any idea how many children it takes to turn off one light in the kitchen? Three. It takes one to say, "What light?" and two more to say, "I didn't turn it on."
-- Erma Bombeck
How come anything you buy will go on sale next week?
-- Erma Bombeck
I have never gone to the bathroom in my life that a small voice on the other side of the door hasn't whined, "Are you saving the bananas for anything?"
-- Erma Bombeck
I never leaf through a copy of National Geographic without realizing how lucky we are to live in a society where it is traditional to wear clothes.
-- Erma Bombeck
I remember buying a set of black plastic dishes once, after I saw an ad on television where they actually put a blowtorch to them and they emerged unscathed. Exactly one week after I bought them, one of the kids brought a dinner plate to me with a large crack in it. When I asked what happened to it, he said it hit a tree. I don't want to talk about it.
-- Erma Bombeck
If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally dead.
-- Erma Bombeck
Kids have little computer bodies with disks that store information. They remember who had to do the dishes the last time you had spaghetti, who lost the knob off the Tv set six years ago, who got punished for teasing the dog when he wasn't teasing the dog and who had to wear girls boots the last time it snowed.
-- Erma Bombeck
Marriage has no guarantees. If that's what you're looking for, go live with a car battery.
-- Erma Bombeck
Most children's first words are "Mama" or "Daddy." Mine were, "Do I have to use my own money?"
-- Erma Bombeck
Mothers have to remember what food each child likes or dislikes, which one is allergic to penicillin and hamster fur, who gets carsick and who isn't kidding when he stands outside the bathroom door and tells you what's going to happen if he doesn't get in right away. It's tough. If they all have the same hair color they tend to run together.
-- Erma Bombeck
My kids always perceived the bathroom as a place where you wait it out until all the groceries are unloaded from the car.
-- Erma Bombeck
No one ever died from sleeping in an unmade bed. I have known mothers who remake the bed after their children do it because there's a wrinkle in the spread or the blanket is on crooked. This is sick.
-- Erma Bombeck
No self-respecting mother would run out of intimidations on the eve of a major holiday.
-- Erma Bombeck
Onion rings in the car cushions do not improve with time.
-- Erma Bombeck
Sometimes I can't figure designers out. It's as if they flunked human anatomy.
-- Erma Bombeck
Spend at least one Mother's Day with your respective mothers before you decide on marriage. If a man gives his mother a gift certificate for a flu shot, dump him.
-- Erma Bombeck
The age of your children is a key factor in how quickly you are served in a restaurant. We once had a waiter in Canada who said, "Could I get you your check?" and we answered, "How about the menu first?"
-- Erma Bombeck
There is nothing more miserable in the world than to arrive in paradise and look like your passport photo.
-- Erma Bombeck
When your mother asks, "Do you want a piece of advice?" it's a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway.
--Erma Bombeck
Why is it when you want a nice souvenir, you find a great shell in a gift shop, but some yo-yo has affixed a ten-cent thermometer to it?
--Erma Bombeck
Youngsters of the age of two and three are endowed with extraordinary strength. They can lift a dog twice their own weight and dump him into the bathtub.
--Erma Bombeck
Everyone is guilty at one time or another of throwing out questions that beg to be ignored, but mothers seem to have a market on the supply. "Do you want a spanking or do you want to go to bed?" Don't you want to save some of the pizza for your brother?" Wasn't there any change?"
-- Erma Bombeck
Have you any idea how many children it takes to turn off one light in the kitchen? Three. It takes one to say, "What light?" and two more to say, "I didn't turn it on."
-- Erma Bombeck
How come anything you buy will go on sale next week?
-- Erma Bombeck
I have never gone to the bathroom in my life that a small voice on the other side of the door hasn't whined, "Are you saving the bananas for anything?"
-- Erma Bombeck
I never leaf through a copy of National Geographic without realizing how lucky we are to live in a society where it is traditional to wear clothes.
-- Erma Bombeck
I remember buying a set of black plastic dishes once, after I saw an ad on television where they actually put a blowtorch to them and they emerged unscathed. Exactly one week after I bought them, one of the kids brought a dinner plate to me with a large crack in it. When I asked what happened to it, he said it hit a tree. I don't want to talk about it.
-- Erma Bombeck
If a man watches three football games in a row, he should be declared legally dead.
-- Erma Bombeck
Kids have little computer bodies with disks that store information. They remember who had to do the dishes the last time you had spaghetti, who lost the knob off the Tv set six years ago, who got punished for teasing the dog when he wasn't teasing the dog and who had to wear girls boots the last time it snowed.
-- Erma Bombeck
Marriage has no guarantees. If that's what you're looking for, go live with a car battery.
-- Erma Bombeck
Most children's first words are "Mama" or "Daddy." Mine were, "Do I have to use my own money?"
-- Erma Bombeck
Mothers have to remember what food each child likes or dislikes, which one is allergic to penicillin and hamster fur, who gets carsick and who isn't kidding when he stands outside the bathroom door and tells you what's going to happen if he doesn't get in right away. It's tough. If they all have the same hair color they tend to run together.
-- Erma Bombeck
My kids always perceived the bathroom as a place where you wait it out until all the groceries are unloaded from the car.
-- Erma Bombeck
No one ever died from sleeping in an unmade bed. I have known mothers who remake the bed after their children do it because there's a wrinkle in the spread or the blanket is on crooked. This is sick.
-- Erma Bombeck
No self-respecting mother would run out of intimidations on the eve of a major holiday.
-- Erma Bombeck
Onion rings in the car cushions do not improve with time.
-- Erma Bombeck
Sometimes I can't figure designers out. It's as if they flunked human anatomy.
-- Erma Bombeck
Spend at least one Mother's Day with your respective mothers before you decide on marriage. If a man gives his mother a gift certificate for a flu shot, dump him.
-- Erma Bombeck
The age of your children is a key factor in how quickly you are served in a restaurant. We once had a waiter in Canada who said, "Could I get you your check?" and we answered, "How about the menu first?"
-- Erma Bombeck
There is nothing more miserable in the world than to arrive in paradise and look like your passport photo.
-- Erma Bombeck
When your mother asks, "Do you want a piece of advice?" it's a mere formality. It doesn't matter if you answer yes or no. You're going to get it anyway.
--Erma Bombeck
Why is it when you want a nice souvenir, you find a great shell in a gift shop, but some yo-yo has affixed a ten-cent thermometer to it?
--Erma Bombeck
Youngsters of the age of two and three are endowed with extraordinary strength. They can lift a dog twice their own weight and dump him into the bathtub.
--Erma Bombeck
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Moms Like Me
In recent months I have been struck with the harsh reality that I don't really know how to relate to others very well. I have distanced myself from others, choosing solitude and loneliness instead of risking instant rejection or a broken relationship later. I won't divulge much of that epiphany, but it grieved me to realize how many wonderful friendships I have probably missed out on as an adult due to my own fears, idiosyncracies and lack of self-confidence. However, in the midst of my sad realization the Holy Spirit reminded me that our loving and gracious God mercifully heals the broken-hearted and restores the years "the locusts have eaten".
And so, with that in mind I began to ask the Lord to teach me how to have right relationships with people. It started with Facebook, with me joining a few groups intended for moms with large families. I chose a few random women who had humorous posts on the group page and I sent them "friend" requests. There were brave ones who responded to my request and I now enjoy some online comradery with them:
~Cynthia is a mother of 6 and a gifted writer, whose insightful blog posts often have me laughing. She is deep but also very humorous.
~Angela is the homeschooling mother of 8 boys(!) and a fellow University of Michigan fan who posts sweet and encouraging words.
~Jennifer is a mom of 8 who just really seems to have it altogether...I could learn a lot from her!
~Myra just had her ninth child. She's experienced tragedy of the saddest kind due to the death of her daughter to leukemia, but she doesn't ever express self-pity. She's always upbeat and strong in her faith. I recently discovered she lives less than two miles from my house!
(There are three or four more as well.) I have never met ant of these women in person, but they have enriched my life. I am so thankful that I took the risk of appearing desperate or "weird" and just sought out them out. It is truly a blessing to be reminded that I am not the only mom who gets tickled over an act of kindeness displayed by one of my kids, or that I'm not alone in experiencing days where I just want to hide in my closet all day. I still have a lot of issues that need God's healing touch, but my "Moms of lots of kids" friends are defintely a wonderful start!
And so, with that in mind I began to ask the Lord to teach me how to have right relationships with people. It started with Facebook, with me joining a few groups intended for moms with large families. I chose a few random women who had humorous posts on the group page and I sent them "friend" requests. There were brave ones who responded to my request and I now enjoy some online comradery with them:
~Cynthia is a mother of 6 and a gifted writer, whose insightful blog posts often have me laughing. She is deep but also very humorous.
~Angela is the homeschooling mother of 8 boys(!) and a fellow University of Michigan fan who posts sweet and encouraging words.
~Jennifer is a mom of 8 who just really seems to have it altogether...I could learn a lot from her!
~Myra just had her ninth child. She's experienced tragedy of the saddest kind due to the death of her daughter to leukemia, but she doesn't ever express self-pity. She's always upbeat and strong in her faith. I recently discovered she lives less than two miles from my house!
(There are three or four more as well.) I have never met ant of these women in person, but they have enriched my life. I am so thankful that I took the risk of appearing desperate or "weird" and just sought out them out. It is truly a blessing to be reminded that I am not the only mom who gets tickled over an act of kindeness displayed by one of my kids, or that I'm not alone in experiencing days where I just want to hide in my closet all day. I still have a lot of issues that need God's healing touch, but my "Moms of lots of kids" friends are defintely a wonderful start!
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