Bobcat pin!

Lookie who just earned his first (tiger) boy scout pin! It's called the bobcat pin & he earned it by reciting the boy scout promise, motto, law of the pack, learning the boy scout handshake and sign & the meaning behind all of that. :) We are so proud of him!

Counting

Owen: Mom, help me count my balls!
...sorry! My inner 7th grade boy escaped... ;-) Lol!

Heartbroken

My sister wrote this beautiful poem.

She and her husband have been trying to have a baby (with assistance from the doctor's office). They were pregnant (twice now), but has since lost both babies. This second time, she even got to see a heartbeat ... and then, a week later... the baby was called home to Jesus. She goes in tomorrow for a d & c. By the way - her husband has been in Afghanistan this entire time... She's in Las Vegas... ALONE, dealing with this.  Please have your tissues ready while you read...

Not Yet Time (third/first person because that is how it feels)
by Rachel Karr (9-26-2011)

 Little Hope, Little Dream,
First Little One in my heart.
A little sorrow, a little pain,
Baby is a work of art.*
**
"Too soon," said the Painter.
"Too soon," said the Muse.
There's a time for receiving,
And a time to lose.*
**
"Come back to the fold!
Open the pearly gates!"
She's broken, She's torn;
She cries and she waits.*
**
An Angel in heaven
Thanks her daughter below,
The joy of Baby
Is for Grandma to know.*
**
"We'll hold this one for now;
We'll laugh and we'll play!
When baby is perfect
We'll send him your way."
**
Keep growing, keep laughing
My Dreams and my Hope.
I am waiting, I am grieving;
I'm learning to cope.*
**
"It's time!" will say Grandma
"It's time!" will say God.
Someday I'll meet Baby,
I'll be blessed, I'll be awed.*
**
"So dream little sleeper,"
She prays, she sings...
My Baby is in heaven
Growing his wings.*

Waiting on sleep and stuff from space

I had already been asleep for several hours when I suddenly woke up at 12:13. My first thought was, "really, body?! not going to stay asleep all night, AGAIN?!"

Then, I thought, "Hey! isn't that one satellite thing supposed to be visible about now, reentering the atmosphere?"

So, I got up and moseyed over to the computer and started doing research.

Which led me down that infernal rabbit hole...

Which is why I'm up and blogging at 3am.

Instead of sleeping.

I like sleep.

think I'll try again...

night!

Boys: a pictorial representation.

Lol!
Here are my boys being, well...boys.
Strike a pose, and there you go...
"Guns" a' blazin'!

Yum!

Source of anger

This is a major sore point at our house. Caleb's new school is nut free. I understood this to mean that *they* did not serve nor prepare any items using nuts or nut products.
Yesterday, we found out the hard way that is not all... My first grader's teacher emailed me to say that she had to throw away his peanut butter (that accompanied his celery sticks), and that he cried. He was very upset. Well DUH!  We have been sending pbj's for the past 17 days! Now, we can't?! We have been forced to pay more money to purchase soy "peanut" butter so our child can eat his favorite sandwich. I understand peanut allergies...my husband us a nurse...
But, my husband is an intelligent nurse...he does his research. Peanut allergies are not caused by airborne particles. Direct contact reactions are rare. Consumption is the main risk. With that said, I know he's only a first grader and he might think about sharing his food...BUUUUUUT... If he was the child with a nut allergy, he would be aware of it. He would KNOW better than to eat peanut butter or would know it was safer NOT to share....
Needless to say...my husband gets so irate about this topic! He (we) have issues with people jumping on a bandwagon without knowing all of the facts. So, I'm going to have to find a way to not bring it up...while still fighting this backwards system...while not getting involved as an employee... Grrrrrrr.... Stupid soy posing as peanut butter...

Aw...hail!

hehehe!
It's not just raining and thundering in very-very-dry-Odessa...

It's hailing!

I swear (except I don't) that lightning hit just outside our apartment complex a few minutes ago... as in, no pause between the flash and sound. It was SO loud that I jumped and swore (so, maybe I do...).

Anywho.  Love that we're finally getting some much needed moisture. Hopefully it won't destroy too much in the process. :)

Numbers

Today is a day I like...because (and you may not know this about me, but) I am a numbers kinda girl.

When we were expecting Caleb, I was due on March 8th...but, I prayed he'd arrive on the fourth. WHY?

Because, his birthday would have been 03-04-05. :)  See how I did that?! By the way - he was NOT born either date...he was born just after Valentine's day.

Then, when we were expecting Owen, I was due on June 14th...But, again I prayed for a different arrival date...we didn't get that one, either...but, our very amazing friend did! 06-07-08!

So, today is another awesome date that I like.  It's September 10th, 2011...09-10-11!
 
*notice my posting time for complete nerdivity.  (it's a word..look it up...or maybe it's not.  WHATEVER!!!)

Because sometimes...

I read a fantastic book this summer that reminded me why I'm that annoyingly happy morning person... I was blessed to wake up. Therefor, I celebrate the day by  starting out trying to be happy. Today, I had one of those great feelings...even felt amazing in my clothes. So, I asked the
hubby to capture my happy mood for me. Because sometimes...we need to remember to be thankful we woke up today. :-)

Sushi!

I like sushi...but, not the raw fish kind. I like the kind with raw vegetables and maybe some imitation crab meat. So, in my quest to save money, I've watched many you tube videos about how to prepare your own sushi. This weekend, I had the time, the ingredients and the will to try my hand at this fine art. These California rolls turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. And, the husband approved. So there. :-)

Smells like home

I'm in San Angelo this beautiful Labor Day weekend. We're staying with my dad. Everything I love about being home can be easily associated with my sense of smell:
Walking into the house, a soft mixture of the floors having just been moored with pine sol combines with whatever Dad grilled last night. In the morning, the weekend arrives with the luxurious scent of bacon cooking on the outdoor grill, wafting in the patio door. For a real flash back, I walk into mom and dad's bathroom, open her closet door and inhale deeply. Her perfume still lingers in the clothes still hanging there.
Ah...smells of home: good for relaxing the mind, reminding the body to slow down, and assuring the heart that things can (and will) get better.

Missing

Missing in my life right now (amid all the stuff that comes with moving away from the hometown you've been raised in, married in, buried your mother in, had babies in, worked in, made life-long friends in, and... I digress) is my photography.

I haven't found (read:made) time to find places 'round my new hometown to take the type of pictures I like to take. Not even my children have had their pictures made in some off-the-beaten-path, or on the VERY-beaten-path location. Camera phone snapshots around the apartment complex is all I've been able to do.

My sweet, amazing camera has been resting in my bedside table...It cries to me, lonely & depressed. She begs to come out and play...but, I have many excuses why she has to stay where she is...
1: it's too hot.
2: I am too mentally exhausted by my new job each day to try to find locations.
3: homework for Caleb has a daily struggle - what with no naps and all. He's a total bear from 5 to 8 pm.
4: We're all tired. That's just it.
5: Did I mention my job stresses me out?! That my latest passion has been trying to stay positive, not cry daily, and keep the faith that IT. WILL. GET. BETTER.? Yah. I'm of the mantra: Smile 'til it's real. (see also: Fake it 'til you feel it.) Ridiculous.

Okay - this was supposed to be a post about missing the photography side of my life - not about the pains of my career at this time.

So, I'm ending now, before the crying starts.

"Just keep smiling, just keep smiling..."
adapted from Dory-Finding Nemo. duh.

Countdown

10 is the time I went to bed last night.
     *but here I am wide awake and stressing at 2am.
9 is the time I kissed the boys good night.
     *and the time my school starts - okay it's 8:54...but still!!!
8 is the number of school days down.
     *Whew!
7 is the time Caleb and I leave for school in the morning.
     *Incidentally, 6:50 is when Brant and Owen leave.
6 is the number of new friends texting me during our faculty meeting yesterday. (hehehe)
     *YEAH! Found something positive to say about work.
5 is the number of meetings set for today.
     *... and there you go...
4 is the loads of laundry to be done and packed before tomorrow.
     *but, I'll happily stay up and get this done. Because...
3 is the number of days this weekend.
     *and no where near the number of people I want to see back "home."
2 is the number of places I'll need to be at one time, tonight.
     *Caleb's elementary open house & business meeting dinner.
The 1 is in whom I place all of my trust.

I need the following verse to get me through this day. Feel free to pray with me...

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust."

Psalm 91:1-2