K is for KAPOW!

warning: due to graphic content, this blog entry may not be suitable to be read before breakfast, after dinner or anytime in between.

K IS FOR KAPOW!

sometime back in january, we noticed a bump on carson's nose...i kept thinking perhaps it was a mole. and also, if i'm being honest, thinking that if it WAS a mole we'd be needing to have someone eventually take care of that. yes, i'm vain like that.

so anyhow, the 'mole' started to get reeeeeally red. carson thought maybe it was a pimple. he's nine. really?????? so i just said we'd keep an eye on it. it got bigger. and redder. and he wouldn't let me NEAR it.

one day he came home with a note from the school nurse. for those of you who follow along, we've had some HILARIOUS trips to the nurse with notes sent home...hang nails, mosquito bites, etc.




well, the mysterious mole-pimple went back to a tiny bump and i thought we were done with it. but on friday it made a grand reappearance.

that night, all the kids had gone to bed and carson snuck down to chat with me. we're laying in my bed talking about all sorts of things and then he told me kids at school were making fun of him because of his zit. so i asked him if i could please check it out. of course, he said NO. and of course, being the mom that i am, i decided it was TIME...and pretty much pinned him down against his will and started to mess with it.

to say he protested was an understatement. (and if you're queasy, skip this part) but it only took one good stab at it and KAPOW!

it was really, really gross and we'll just keep it at that.

he cried. of course he did. but he got over it pretty quickly. there was a sense of relief that IT was gone. and then we laughed about it. and made lots of sick nine year old boy humor zit jokes. mommy might be getting too good at this 'daddy' role. i'm not accustomed to gross humor.

but SERIOUSLY, in the midst of holding him afterward and having him cry because i had pretty much just accosted him and his appendage...it hit me (really, truly, it did...this is just how my mind works folks)...

THIS IS KIND OF WHAT IT'S LIKE WITH GOD AND ME.

sometimes i have stuff that's festering inside of me. i try to hide it...or maybe i seek out advice...and maybe even have people talking behind my back and making fun of me or judging me...

and sometimes the ONLY cure is to have a KAPOW moment. sometimes, because of his love and care for me, HE MIGHT JUST PIN ME DOWN AND FORCE ME INTO A SITUATION WHERE HE CAN JUST SAY 'ENOUGH ALREADY, LET'S GET THIS OVER WITH' and...

KAPOW.

and then he holds me. while i cry. and i realize that the pain was worth it.

and so, as we move along on this journey and i ask him, 'WHYYYYYYYYY are you uprooting us? WHYYYYYYYY do i have to leave my comfort zone?' i'm going to TRY (perhaps kicking and screaming at times) to trust that HE REALLY DOES KNOW WHAT I NEED.

J is for Jordan, JoJo, Josephina, Joe, Jorgini...

my poor baby girl isn't feeling well this week...so today J is for Jordan...and all the other J names i call her.

and to think that you were almost Samantha Rae...and this post would never have existed.

i KNOOOOOW you're not faking when you turn down chocolate chip pumpkin muffins. feel better love.

here's an acrostic just for you :)

jordan noel lee

**************

J is for JOYFUL

O is for ON TOP OF THE WORLD

R is for RADIANT

D is for DAUGHTER

A is for ATHLETIC

N is for NUTTY

N is for NATURAL

O is for ORIGINAL

E is for ENCHANTING

L is for LOYAL

L is for LOVED

E is for EXCEPTIONAL

E is for ELEGANT

you are loved.

xoxo.

I is also for I CRACK MYSELF UP :)

sooooooo, sweet sweet blog post regarding carson and how much he respects & loves his dad. love, love. kiss, kiss. now, let's laugh, shall we? :)


i decided that since we couldn't BE there with bobby for his ocean-side birthday dinner with nanny, aunt melba and aunt t tonight that we should have our OWN birthday celebration here.

and you CAN'T have a birthday celebration without PRESENTS to open, right?


earlier in the day, i booked bobby's ticket to fly back and see us the end of march. i didn't tell the kids...and earlier in the WEEK, i met my sister at borders and happened to notice that all the calendars were $1.00 each.


so i ran up to the bookstore today...and picked out a calendar for each of the kids...i opened them up and marked each day from now til dad arrives...43 days and counting down as of today.


i wrapped up the calendars & let them all open a gift...and then they had to look through to figure out the surprise. clone wars for hud, tron for carson, dogs for jo & airplanes for austin...

carson noticed first with a huge YES!!!!!!!!

followed by tears. because it's not soon enough. :( :( :( :( :(

but hey, i promised you a giggle...so wipe that tear from your eye and check out the calendar for me.

hee hee hee.

43 more days til MY cowboy is back in TEXAS. :)


love you dear. really, i do. LOL.


and JUST SO YOU DON'T WORRY, carson is okay. birthday brownies work wonders for a sad heart.

p.s. here's a birthday picture that hudson drew you after school today. it's you two running toward each other. he didn't know yet that you were coming home :)


looooooove you. xoxo.

I is for IF MY DAD WAS PRESIDENT...

carson came home from school the other day, so excited about something he had done in class. he wrote in his journal about who he thought should be president. and he picked his dad. and the reasons he shared made me smile (and tear up). since the journal doesn't come home til the end of the school year (THAT is going to be one interesting read LOL), i asked the teacher for a copy.
and in case you can't read the picture, here's what it says:
Do you know what the world needs? My dad. He's responsible, helpful and always cares about our family. Right now he is in Virginia and my dad had to start a job early.

Can you imagine what it would be like to have my dad saying: Freedom will always last! Oh and have Tony Romo as vice president! Me and my dad saying my dad should be president!

My dad will be just like George W. Bush! Oh my dad can provide for the world, and he could be doing the most hardest thing on earth but he is not a quitter! He will never stop! Like when he lost his job and he never stopped looking for a job.

And that is why he should be president.

happy birthday bobby lee. your kids (and your wife) think you're pretty awesome. we are all so proud of you. thank you for being a great provider, for never quitting and for always caring about your family. out of the mouth of babes...
xoxo.

H is for HE LOVES ME..

tonight it's valentine's day. the boys are in bed, the big kids are at youth group and i turned on the tv to see if i could find something to watch...

the bachelor is on. on valentine's day? REALLY?

a parade of girls...each one trying to out do the next. each trying to put her best foot (well, her best SOMETHIN' ...lol...) forward...trying to win over the handsome 'prince.'

they stand with trepidation, waiting to find out if they are 'good enough' to make the cut. will he keep them around? or will he decide that he's moving on, that he's found someone else that thrills him more.

these girls, bless their hearts, seem so pathetic. so desperate to impress this dude. so hoping to make him fall in love with them.

and while i'd like to make fun of them, i can't.

i'd say most of my life i've been playing this game...only not with the hottie du jour...but rather with the God of this universe. i've dolled myself up...made myself as 'good' as i can be...i've done everything i can to impress him...to try and improve my 'credentials,' my 'ranking.'

and then i've hoped...and hoped...that i'd be good enough...that i'd be worthy of a rose...that he'd keep me around another day, another month, another year.

and it's really kind of sad...that it's taken me THIS LONG to start to wrap my brain around the fact that HE LOVES ME. i don't have to DO anything. i don't have to WONDER if i'm going to get a rose...he's already got one with my name on it.

there is no dress ugly enough...no deformity grotesque enough...to turn him away from me.

he loves me. HE REALLY LOVES ME.

so tonight, i remind myself that i need to refrain from playing the childhood game of HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT and choose to believe that HE LOVES ME.

psalm 52:8,9 -- i trust in God's unfailing love for ever and ever. i will praise you for what you have done. in YOUR NAME i will hope, for your name is good.

F is for FUTURE-WIFE

in the spring of 2007, we had just moved into our rental house in texas.
someone knocked on the door...we didn't even KNOW anyone yet...who could it be?

the most adorable little girl was standing on my door step...a sprinkle of freckles across her nose...sparkling blue eyes...





in lightning fast speed, she said her name was rachel, she lived down the street, and she noticed that i had a little girl about her age and she wanted to meet her. and with that one super fast sentence, we welcomed rachel into our lives forever.

through the years, we've sort of decided that we love her too much to let her go. and the girls came up with a plan...if RACHEL married AUSTIN, then the girls would always get to celebrate the holidays together. THEY'D BE SISTERS!

and somewhere along the way, austin decided that he was okay with this :)

so now, rachel calls austin FUTURE-HUSBAND. and he ANSWERS. hee hee. yes, she DOES have a boyfriend already...but we're not worried about that...it's temporary, right? we already 'claimed' her years ago :)


rachel and austin have planned out their honeymoon. they are going to PARIS, JAMAICA & OHIO. this makes me LOL for REAL. they are not in agreement on how they are actually GETTING to paris though.

austin says there's no way he's flying across the ocean in a "tin-can" (yes, this coming from the one who has professed his desire to be a PILOT??????). he thinks they should take a boat. rachel says, 'HAVE YOU SEEN TITANIC??????? NO WAY.'

so we have a few details to work out...but i'm not worried.
rachel, it has been an absolute JOY to have you in our lives. we've watched you grow from little girl to gorgeous young lady... YOU ARE AN ABSOLUTE RAY OF SUNSHINE AND WE LOVE YOU DEARLY.

please tell your parents that if you turn up missing come june, that you're safe...your daddy should be able to arrange frequent flights from virginia to houston for you to visit them, right?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL. you're going to be one fabulous daughter-in-law.
love,

your FUTURE-MOM-IN-LAW :)

xoxo