thankful for my own personal maitre d'

i shared a few days ago how i was looking forward to the end of volleyball season because it would mean family dinners and lazy evenings...

apparently i wasn't the only one who felt that way.
tonight while dinner was in the oven, carson decided to make a 'fancy' table for us. he had hudson help him and they set the table, came around and took our drink orders and then seated us for dinner.

he roped austin into taking over the rest of the 'cooking duties' and i wasn't allowed in the kitchen from that point on.

as if that wasn't blessing enough, carson also prayed for our meal before he sat down (apparently this is a christian restaurant LOL).

frozen chicken tenders and macaroni & cheese have never tasted so delicious.

i am thankful to share life with these sweet, sweet children of mine.

J CREW vs K MART

this weekend i'm thankful for so many things. for one, i'm glad that hudson's fever is long gone & he's completely back to his rowdy self.

i'm also glad for a day to myself yesterday. bobby took the kids to have lunch with grand-daddy lee. i got some housework done & then ran some errands. while i was out i decided to hit the local thrift store.

my dear sweet stacey is coming for a visit this week (that will be an entirely different thankful post)...anyhow while she's here, she's going to take pics for us and i've been on the hunt for some funky accessories.

i was THRILLED when i found a navy & orange striped sweater scarf that was like new. even MORE thrilled to see that they had 1.98 on it...and then BEYOND thrilled when i saw that it was j.crew. that baby came home with me :) and i might have giggled just a little when i saw that the scarf hanging next to it was marked a whopping 3.98 and was joe boxer from kmart.

THANK YOU THRIFT STORE PEOPLE FOR BEING CLUELESS.

please continue on in your fashion unawareness as it blesses me and my family tremendously.

xoxo.

thankful for dendrochronology...

i am so thankful that no matter WHERE i have lived (and i have had a LOT of addresses LOL), i have had the gift of friendship...the gift of other women who have loved me and encouraged me...during times of my life that were filled with laughter...and also in the times that have been filled with tears (and there have been a lot of BOTH of those things too).

as i've moved from season to season, i carry these friends with me in my heart and in my mind. they have impacted my life.

my 'newest' friend is cheri. you can't walk into a patriot volleyball game and not notice her. she's the one who is VIBRANTLY cheering on the team. she's surrounded by friends and family in the stands (and she has about as many children as i have addresses...okay maybe not QUITE that many, but when you add in the friends they need their own bleacher section :)

i'm just getting to know cheri...but what i know, i love. i am so grateful that i have her with me in this new season. she mentioned to me that she co-teaches a parenting bible study and i decided to join her.

i wasn't quite sure what to expect, but it has been A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

this is NOT your normal bible study. the first session i scribbled as fast as i could trying to take down all the info. today i decided to just LISTEN and hope that what i need to remember will be downloaded straight into my mind & heart. it's deep stuff, neurological stuff, medical stuff...and it's GOOD STUFF. i fought back tears today as i listened to some of the information i'd never heard before...and was just filled with a sense of gratitude for my little family of six.

after class, i headed out...places to go, things to do. and i got stuck behind the SLOWEST TRUCK EVER. a policeman was in the lane next to him. so it's not like i could race past him and get the HECK on my way. no. instead i was forced to just sit...light after light after light, staring at the big ol' truck and his load full of trees. my mind began to wander, thinking how lovely a grouping of tree trunks would look as a coffee table...

i started really checking out the beauty of the tree rings. and started to think about what it would look like if i were a tree (yes, this IS how my mind works...please tell me i'm not alone???? i even decided to take a picture because i knew right then that THIS was my blog for the day...the picture is not so great...cell phone...rain...policeman right in front of me probably wondering WHAT ON EARTH i was doing...). anyhow...

when you look at a cut tree, you can learn a lot:

you see the different seasons that the tree has gone through. when conditions encourage growth, this gives the tree wide rings. seasons of drought give the tree a very narrow ring.

forest fires leave scars on the tree.

you can also see if the tree has had enough space or if other trees were too close in proximity. it is good for a tree to have some boundaries ;)

varying species of trees require different types of rainfall/nutrition for their growth.

all trees are not the same.

if you sliced me open and there were tree rings (instead of lots of blood LOLOLOL) i think you'd find a LOT of variation in my rings. i have had seasons of tremendous blessing & growth...and i've had some years that have felt claustrophobic & dry as the sahara desert. some of my years have left scars on the inside. but when you look at ALL OF THOSE YEARS combined, they make a beautiful picture that is ALL MINE.

and i know that YOUR tree rings are a beautiful, lovely creation as well.

i am thankful today for every ring...for every single giggle or tear that has helped form them...yours AND mine.

thankful for patriots, old & new...

tonight was the FINAL game of the season for the lady patriots. they won their district games on monday night, advancing to tonight's game where they played the TOP RANKED team. after an IMPRESSIVE first game win, the other team came back strong and took the remaining games.

so VERY thankful that jordan was selected to be on the varsity volleyball team. so VERY thankful that she's had a great season. most of all, so VERY thankful that, while she still misses her texas friends tremendously, she has a set of beach friends who love & adore her too.

(and i might be just a tiny bit thankful that the six day a week practice schedule is now D.O.N.E. for the season and we can have lazy evenings and family dinners again :)

came home from the game to OTHER patriot news. you see, back in the day i was a lady patriot too. different school. different era. lol. but a lady patriot nonetheless.

one of my classmates posted a school newspaper that her mom has saved for the last (gasp) 27 years. check out the lead article. i may not have my youth anymore, but i still have my optimistic outlook. lmbo.

some of you didn't realize that my 'pollyanna' outlook goes waaaaaaaaaay back. lol. it's annoying sometimes, isn't it?

i'll try to reign it in. :)

thankful for beat up, run down shacks

the last couple of years, my friends and i have facebooked (is that a legitimate verb? if it's not, mr. webster needs to get on it and add it)...anyhow...we have facebooked daily during the month of november the things that we are thankful for.
this year i'm going to switch it up a little and blog my thankful thoughts instead. some of you would prefer my short summarized thoughts in a status box. some of you, for whatever reason, seem to enjoy getting a glimpse into what goes through my mind (what the heck is WRONG with you? LOL).

for you, here we go...my thirty days of gratitude (in no particular order).

day one:

the other day austin and i were heading out to get a mailing tube. he has something special he is sending my friend heather. http://teamcarterjay.blogspot.com/ if you haven't read heather's story, you must.


anyhow, we were on our way to office depot when i spotted a mom & pop mailing store in an unexpected location. i did a u-turn and we found a place to park. as we walked toward the building, a sign caught my eye across the street. and it made me laugh. (i'm also thankful for laughter).
i didn't say anything to austin on the way in, but on the way out i told him we needed to cross the street because i had to take a picture. he knows that if he questions me on this stuff it will only take longer, so he humored me and we headed over.
i took THIS picture.




it amuses me. i mean, for REAL? REALLY? are you KIDDING me? would you trust this architect?

and while the initial thought was amusing, as i have thought about it over the last couple days i have come to realize that sometimes this is what it seems like with God.

i mean, he's GOD. he obviously knows what he's doing, right? sometimes it sure doesn't LOOK like it. and it sure as heck doesn't FEEL like it.

sometimes his plans are packaged in ways that don't make sense...they look like shambles...
think about noah...it had never even rained and here he was building an ark...(a whaaaaat???? what's an ark, right?). i have often felt like i can relate to noah's wife and i hope someday we can chat (though i hope by then all that animal aroma has worn off of her LOL). i mean, how much flack did she take for having a lunatic husband who probably LOOKED like he wasn't caring for his family...when actually he was doing EXACTLY what he was called to do? was she having to bear extra burden because he was too busy with the ark? i mean she was a busy mom right? did she ever resent him? did she ever wanna tell him to just GO GET A REAL JOB? were her parents alive? what did THEY think about their crazy son-in-law? i'm sure they may have thought that maybe if only she'd married that other dude down the road...maybe then her life would have been normal...BUT GOD USED NOAH...and he allowed noah's wife to go along (quite literally) for the journey.

then there's abraham...God telling him to just pick up and move to someplace he'd never been...don't worry about the details...just GO. take yer kids, take yer wife, take yer husbands cause they're...oh wait...i just got a little distracted. hee hee hee...

hebrews 11 says: "By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God."

abraham never got to receive the things he was promised...what the HECK?

more from hebrews 11: "They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them."


so today, i am thankful for God the architect. God. i mean, he's GOD, right? looking back at my life there have been lots of things that look like mistakes. it's a messy life. but thankfully, i have a creative God who doesn't NEED a fancy sign...he's not worried about his reputation...he just continues to work out his plan in my life and SOMEDAY...some DAY...i will leave this screwed up country that i live in at the moment and go to a better country...a heavenly one.

and for THAT i am forever grateful.

saving up for therapy...

do you remember second grade? did anything traumatic ever happen to you that still haunts you? a memory of children laughing at you, your cheeks BURNING with embarassment?

um, yeah...we BARELY ESCAPED one of THOSE memories this morning.

the big kids were long gone & i was racing around getting the boys ready to head out the door to the bus stop. carson BEGGED to please wear his fedora with his hoodie sweatshirt...whatever. i finally just said yes. he's SUCH a little hipster. and bobby put the finishing touches on hudson's PIRATE COSTUME...a red bandana tied 'round his cute little head.

you see, fourth graders are TOO COOL to dress up for a party at school. but hudson's class is having a party today. and the note said COSTUMES.

and sooooo, out the door they went. til hudson came RUNNING back to tell me that NO ONE ELSE at the bus stop (best friend -- same class -- included) were wearing costumes.

when i told him that i was SO SURE that he was supposed to wear it, and 'how 'bout you just ride the bus and if you get to school and no one else is wearing one, i'll bring you clothes?' i saw tears fill up the corners of his eyes and he said, 'but mom...i don't want to have to sit there and WAIT for you if i'm the only one dressed up.'

and so carson rode the bus with his friends while i made a phone call to the school. hudson's teacher laughed. apparently the note said NO COSTUMES.

oops. lmbo. he changed clothes & we headed out so i could drive him to school. he in his skinny jeans and gap hoodie, me in my monkey jammie pants and mismatched hoodie. and he turns to me and says, 'are you SERIOUSLY going to wear THAT?'

ha ha ha.

and in case you don't remember some of these, i've chronicled why it SUCKS to be the fourth kid...ESPECIALLY WHEN YOUR MOM SELLS STUFF ON EBAY. check out hudson modeling some of the costumes i've sold over the years. and if you'd like to contribute to future therapy bills, feel free to send a donation. this POOR, POOR KID. hee hee hee.

i'm pretty sure he's flipping me off in this one. :)

God, i love love LOVE this kid. please PLEASE help him to not hate me when he gets old enough to realize how much i've screwed him up. lol.

FUTURE ACTIVIST

you know how they say birds of a feather flock together?

well, one of my 'birds' has always been a little 'different' from the rest of the flock.

carson...what can i say about carson? he is FULL of surprises. he's also full of himself. lol.

the kid wrestles with injustice...with human rights...with the unfairness of life (perhaps it's middle child syndrome and this is all just normal?). but really, he is MOST LIKELY to rebel in our family but he's ALSO MOST LIKELY to confess & apologize (even BEFORE he gets caught).

i love this kid.

TODAY, he came home from school on a mission. he needed TWENTY sheets of paper and he needed them NOW.

he proceeded to make 'posters' to put on every child's desk in his classroom...

"STOP OREO!!! even if you didn't, please don't."

and then wrote the teacher a note...

"Dear Miss H., Our class has made a game called OREO. Game Rules: You 'rock, paper, scissors' and whoever wins points out who you have to ask out (on a date). Me and Josh are trying to stop this game. We don't like it at all . It could also start a rumor! Sincerely, Carson Lee."

LMBO. He is grossed out by the thought of having to ask someone out. He thinks that this is just WRONG for fourth graders. hee hee hee.

I love that he has decided to rally against this OREO INSANITY. lololol.

On a more serious note, one night we had to drop off packages at the post office. It was raining and I had Austin run the packages up to the mail drop. He came back and asked if we had seen the homeless man, who had found some shelter under the post office awning.

Days later, Carson and I were driving past the post office. He started to ask a LOT of questions about the man: does he have family? does he have a place to stay? how does he get food to eat? why can't he move in with someone? if he's ever there again, can we PLEASE go across the street to the mcdonald's and get him an ice cream sundae?

The conversation had some really DEEP moments...with TOUGH questions. And THEN Carson said that he had an idea...that he was pretty sure it would work, but he wasn't sure I was going to like it.

He elaborated on his plan:

• Track down aforementioned homeless man




• Take him door to door and explain to people that he needs a place to live




• Ask them nicely if they could please make soom room for him in their home

At this point my heart is about to burst. My boy...my sweet boy...who cares so profoundly. Until he got to his next point:

• If homeowner says no, hold them at gunpoint until they agree

Scratch the warm fuzzies. LMBO. He had me up until the very end. While this thought process scares the HECK out of me, a friend reminded me that there were lots of dudes in the bible who would stop at nothing short of justice...some of them got a little lost along the way, but God still calls them men after his own heart. I hope Carson continues to feel passionately...and act on it...whether it's homelessness or the possibility of fourth grade cooties.

I.LOVE.THIS.KID.


(and a little update: on a later trip to the post office, the man was there again. he asked if i had any money. i truly did not. just my debit card. i left & rather than a sundae, i got him a meal and brought it back to him. we had a GREAT conversation about the fact that he is NOT invisible. that if he is EVER feeling alone in this world, he needs to know that there is a nine year old named carson who sees him, who prays for him at night before bed...and that if a NINE year old cares that much, then how much does the God of the universe care about him? his name is william. he is currently out of work. we continue to pray for him. and i continue to pray that my children will be a blessing and be a change in this sometimes troubled world).