To Jes and Jon

Just wanted to let you both know how much Chris, the kids, and I appreciate all your years of service and especially the times you put yourselves in harms way for OUR sake.

It's because of you that we are able to own our own home.

It's because of you that we are able to homeschool.

It's because of you that we are able to worship however we wish.

It's because of you that we can seek out the best doctors this country has to offer.

And it's because of you that I am still able to send out this email (because we still have electronic communications intact), put gas in my car (because the oil fields are protected over there), buy food at the grocery store (because al qaida hasn't poisoned our water supply), forget where the community bomb shelter is (because you took the war to THEM), and NOT worry if my whole world will change tomorrow (because I live in AMERICA).

We love you guys so much! Knowing that you've taken care of us this way, just makes us love you more!

Oh, and don't forget PROUD :)





(We also want to thank Grandpa and Pop, who served in and survived WWII and Vietnam respectively....it's because of you that we still live in the greatest nation in the world!)

Will Travel, Have Laundry

8 days
+
7 people
+
Outdoor living
=
More stink than you could think!

(If I seem to be missing for a while, just look for me in Mt. Washmore!)

Goodnight, Granny

4 Generations

My dear friend Renee lost her grandmother yesterday. I can't tell you how old she was, but her health had been failing for quite some time. We know because of how she lived her life that she is at peace and rest now. Seeing her again will be like seeing her after a long night's sleep--the sun will be shining and everything will be beautiful. So, until then.....goodnight Granny....

The Torch

I forgot for the first half of the day, until I read Jeni's post.

That's just WRONG.

I didn't mean to. In fact, there are MANY days that I forget the date in general. Just ask my Mom about birthdays. For all my organizational prowess, dates simply elude me no matter what I do.

It probably has to do with homeschooling and being a stay-at-home Mom. We don't really NEED to know the date and time, because they mostly don't matter. Every so many days I check to see if I have an appointment or something coming up, but it's not unusual for me to find out the day before BY CHANCE.

Anyhow, I digress....

***

Today is 9-11, and it's something I never want to forget. That was a very heartwrenching and uncertain time.

Seeing all those people die.....jumping from 100 stories up....
Watching the buildings fall....
Imagining the people in the planes....little children.....
Wondering if the attack was coming HERE (we have an arsenal close by... a good target in war)....
Wondering where my friends and relatives were, who live close to NY....

I never want to forget those memories, and I want my kids to see the pictures and watch the video and feel the heartache we all felt that day.

So they won't forget either.

Sometimes, we need to pass on these things that we know. These bad things. It will give our kids the sense of patriotism they need to uphold everything this country stands for. America was founded because of hardship, and she's strong because of it too. If we as a nation run away from trouble and hide, then we will crumble. We're only here, and the strongest nation in the WORLD, because we've fought for what we want and met our enemies on our terms. When we give that up, we give up our entire heritage and the fabric of ourselves.

The fabric of a star-spangled banner that through fire, bombs, and rubble is still standing and flying strong. We can't forget that. We can't give it up. They need to know.



Pass it on, dear readers, pass it on.

Oh Yay! A New Post!

I know I know.

You're sick of checking for an update, only to see those incredibly mouthwatering Cadbury Mini Creme Eggs there.

And I am happy to say that I have only eaten 2 of them! That's right. Just TWO. One when I bought them, and one when I made my weight loss goal for March. Ya know, cuz I did so good and all.

And really, a girl just needs some motivation every now and then.

So anyhow. They're gone. No more Creme Eggs at the top of the blog.

I hope y'all are feeling better now.



(Sorry for the lack of updating-ness. But I'm busy! Really busy! Like, super busy! But hopefully I'll be posting some picturesque type thingies soon. Just you wait.....)

Signing Off?

There are probably plenty of things that I could post here on the blog, but I haven't the time or the energy to do so.

The muse has left me, so to speak.

But more than that, Life right now is sort of hectic, with a side of stress. There are many things that others would post to their own blogs (if they had my life, that is), but I have made a conscious decision not to do so.

There are some things that you just don't talk about.

And that may be why I'm not posting hardly at all right now. There are certain things in my life that are consuming my time and mental agility (ability? hmmmm.....), but I'm not talking about it, so what else is there to talk about? The dishes? Homeschool? Hardly. Those things just seem so mundane in the grand scheme of things right now.

What I really need to do is spill my guts out.

But I won't right now---not in this journal.

Which leaves me generally speechless.

***

Time will tell if I start writing again. Feel free to NOT check back every day or once a week like you're used to doing. There are actually free programs that will alert you as to when I've updated (or anything else you like to read, for that matter), and I would suggest you try that if you want to see if I've posted. It'll save you some time. I use one myself.



So for now....





Thanks for reading. Maybe we'll meet here again soon...

The Easy Way

I know I'm not posting very much, but I still took the time to submit to Pediatric Grand Round this week.

See, because I can just send in a link of something I've already written. I don't have to actually post to submit! Ha!

So go ahead....check it out. You'll probably learn something you didn't know before.....

And knowing is half the battle :)

Day 30: Worn OUT

3o days dun wore me out.

i need a break........

stay tuned.......

Day 29: I Don't Do Weekends

This is painfully obvious, doncha think? Throughout this entire 30 day blogfest, I haven't been able to keep up on weekends. The only reason I'm posting now (this being Saturday) is because I feel bad about missing Friday.

But Friday's gone, and I can't get it back.

Soon, I will be bouncing from one thing to the other: taking care of the children like I do everday, but on top of that, trying to get a project or two accomplished while Chris is home. Sunday is just as busy with the two services we attend. So, I don't relax on the weekends.

I've already been out yard saling. Today, we're going to try to get some of my cabinets painted and put up.

If I can get some stuff done around here, it'll be worth not blogging!

But I'm not gone for long ;)

Day 28: 2.8

200 Things About Me:








Just kidding!

But this IS my 200th post. My "Bi-Centennial" if you will. Gosh, that seems like a lot of writing, huh?

Let's see, what's the numbers on that?

My first post was on November 21, 2005. So, 365 days to November 21, 2006. Then there were 40 more days in 2006, so that brings it up to 405 days. Then we add the 151 for 2007, and that brings the total to 556 days since I started blogging.

Then we divide that by 200, which gives us 2.78.

Which means I post every 2.78 days, on average. Or, rounded up, is 2.8 (and lookee there! today is day "28"----how cool is that?)

Ha! And y'all thought I was slackin'. Heh! Every 2-3 days or so is not so shabby!

Well, until you look at the month of April. That's not a good picture of my blogging prowess at all. So, let's just forget about April and focus on 2.8, ok?

And hopefully, after this little 30 day stint thing, I can make the numbers even better!

Day 21: Delivery Confirmation

I don't like giving the wrong impression, so let me clarify.

Dana commented the other day, about how "there's a power greater than Murphy." To which, I wholeheartedly agree. And Dana knows me personally and knew what I meant, but for those of you who don't, let me just say:

Be it far from me to leave God out of the equation!

I don't like to give the impression that I'm "flying solo, " or relying on my own strength when it comes to any facet of life. Especially Michaela's situation. Because I'm not. Plain and simple. I wouldn't even have a BLOG if that were the case, because I would've lost my mind in anger and sorrow a long time ago. I'm sure I wouldn't have any mental capacity for it. And probably no desire at all.

No. The reason I do as well as I do is because of God, and how He's taken care of us and kept a hand on our difficulties in life. And the reason my blog is named what it is, is because I know that no matter what happens in life, I've got it pri-tee good. Doing it God's way, that is.

But I like words, and I like to play around with them. I love puns and riddles and use them frequently in my writing. I especially like to change commonly understood phrasing (like the title of a song, for instance), into something that suits my purpose, giving it a double meaning. I think it's fun and clever. I like reading stuff like that, so I use it as well.

So, when I use a phrase referring to something like "Murphy's Law", it's NOT that I'm disregarding "God's Law", it's just that I'm using phrasing that everyone knows and understands (who doesn't know what Murphy's Law is???), to get my point across. I could've just wrote about how uncanny it is that children seem to OFTEN do better right AFTER you call the doctor, but I liked the twist up of using Murphy's Law better.

And while we're on the subject:

I've mentioned before why I don't invoke the name of God in my writing more than I do. It is because I have a strong disdain for cheap talk. Not that I would be talking cheap, but so many people do. Especially when it comes to their religeon. I've met more than my fair share of religeous "gushers" in my short 30 years, and I've also found that a fair majority of them are not what they appear to be.

They're not walking it, they're just talking it.

I hate that.

So, you just won't find me gushing on this site. I'd rather you make the connection from the way I live, than from what I tell you. So then, when I DO bring it up, you won't be surprised. There are just too many instances in this world (and especially here, in the Bible Belt, where over 90% of the people claim to be a Christian), where the opposite is true: A person might be surprised to find OUT someone is a Christian, after they see their daily life. That's just as bad as the gushers who put "Praise the Lord" at the end of every sentance, but are hanging out at the girlie bar on Saturday night.

Ok. But I don't do that. Yet, I still feel as though people shy away from people who gush incessantly. Like, they don't trust someone who talks like that. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I just don't trust them. And that's fine too. Like I said, I've been around people like that, only to be burnt by my expectations later. So I prefer to handle myself differently.


But God's HAS been good to me. Let me show you how....





PS: this post is NOT directed at any one of my readers. If you think I'm talking about you, I'm probably not. If you think you fall into the category of a "gusher", then analyze yourself and decide if you're just talking cheap. If you're not, then you don't qualify. Handle yourself the way you feel you should, and so will I :)

Day 16: What's Wrong With Your Browser?

Whaddya mean, you didn't see my post yesterday?

Did you even check?

Are you sure you had the right URL? Cuz, ya know, one little letter off and you're looking at a completely different site.

Cuz, see, the internet can be kinda tricky....kinda elusive....kinda

forgotten?

((Ahem))

So, uh.....

How 'bout them Red Sox! Go Sox! Go.....Boston.....uh.....

Sheesh. Can't a girl get a break around here?

Day 10: Blame It On The Brain

I forgot to post yesterday.

I had a pretty bad headache, and could do nothing but go to sleep when I normally write.

But here's a complimentary pic---just to sooth your feelings......

A Day Here, A Month There....

And little do we realize how much the blog gets neglected!

And I had such aspirations of doing better! Yet, I've posted LESS! Ack.......

There's a blog I read where the author didn't post for like 2 or 3 months straight. And like her, I'm feeling pretty bad about it. Probably because I WANT to keep a journal of my life, and also because I know people are waiting to hear from me.

She decided to post for 30 days straight. Every day. And she's done it.

Hmmmmm......I may just need to do that. To be able to get back in the saddle again.......

Video Problems Fixed

Like I said....

I think I fixed the videos. Let me know if they work now!

Taking The Good With The Bad

It's ok, this new Blogger. Don't like that ALLLLL the HTML I learned to be able to tweak this site is now gone....but that's not the end of the world. The well-fed people at Google seem to have made this whole thing a lot easier to manage, so I'll work with it. I'm still trying to complete 14+ months worth of "labels" (ie: on the sidebar--"If you liked reading THAT"), and deciding if I like the header font enough. I don't know if my sitemeter works yet, my flicker banner is missing (it was outdated anyway), and my Amazon book lister is gone.

I'm learning y'all. I'm learning to accept change gracefully.

But sometimes it's so painful.

Technical Difficulties

Stay tuned everybody. I just switched to the new Blogger stuff, and like I feared, it has messed stuff up.

Hopefully, I'll be able to clear it up and make it all pretty again soon.....

Just Pushing it Off a Little Bit

So, as you are probably well aware, today was my 30th birthday.

I have video and pictures to share, but my husband is galavanting in Walmart with my camera, and YouTube is being persnickity. So, y'all will just have to wait.

Why don't we all just pretend that I'm not really 30 today? Then, by the time I DECIDE I WANT to be 30, I should have all my multimedia working smoothly!

(But I'm not giving back my new Rascal Flatts CD.....no way man!)

Resoluting

OK, so I'm tired of not blogging. I can't tell you how many times I've had wonderful posting ideas and simply didn't feel as though I had enough time to do it. But I've got to. I LIKE blogging. I like posting. I like COMMENTS! But when you don't post, you don't get comments. And when you don't post, you don't remember all the cool things your children have done. And when you don't post, you don't get some things off your chest. And when you don't post, you don't think to take candid pictures of your children, because, well, you don't need to put pictures on the blog you're not posting to!!

So, this is what I'm gonna try to do: I'm gonna TRY (notice the capital letters, hence the STRESS), to post a couple times a week, or even every day, even if it's just a little smidgen. A little tid bit. A little bit o' nothin'. And if it doesn't look all nice and pretty and fluent and sensical, well then, that's life. This blogging thing is something I just want to do, and if I have to go against my own stupid neurotic tendancies in order to get it done, then that's what I have to do.

It's a growing pain, but I can deal with it.

And speaking of growing, Gabe turned 4 weeks today. He doesn't look all that different to me, but I gawk at him every day. So I'm sure I wouldn't notice much change. He's definately getting heavier. THAT I can feel.Libby will be 4 tomorrow. We went out today to let her pick out some presents. I thought this would take some of the stress out of trying to figure out what to get her. Not exactly what happened. There was too much to choose from, so she picked the very first thing she saw, even though it really wasn't something she'd want. When it came down to it, I picked out the things I thought she would want. No different than if she were never there. Oh. At least I didn't have to wrap anything.....she wanted to use her new "stash" right away, and that didn't bother me in the least.

Speaking of "We," my Mom is in town for a week. I cannot TELL you how wonderful this is for me. Mom (and often Dad too) comes around these here parts roughly twice a year, and I get treated like a queen. They are such a help, and spoil me rotten, and we just ENJOY ourselves. We're talking Scrabble tournaments here, people! But basically, Mom and I are two peas in a pod, and I just love her to death, and my kids do too, and sometimes a girl just misses her Mommy.....

Especially when she only has one more day to relish her 20's, and 30 sounds awful scary. I can't be a kid anymore. How do you change your personality to fit into the mold of an adult? 30-year-olds are ADULTS. I am not. I don't really want to be. I don't THINK that way. How can I justify hanging out with my teenage friends when I'm in my 30's? I'm serious. I enjoy the young people. I don't want to get too old to be considered "fun." I don't want to get too old to BE fun. (And don't get the wrong idea here: I have as many friends in their 40s-80s as I do 13-30)

Man, I just don't want to get OLD. Is that too much to ask? My brain didn't grow up with my body. And herein lies the rub. I'm a kid at heart. A kid who doesn't want to have to start THINKING about their heart. Catch my drift?



Any condolences from the peanut gallery would be mighty appreciated.

Cletus Tips the Scales

Guess what y'all?

Gabriel Micah Morris
Born December 28, 2006
11:00 am
21 inches long
9 pounds 13 ounces!!

What a bunch of smarty-pants readers I have :)

Birth day play by play still to come.......I think I need to "forget" a little bit of it before I rehash it again......

(You know, like the size of that HEAD!!!)