Where did the pictures go?

Pin It Just wanted to let you know, I'm putting all of my project 300-something pictures on facebook now. Blogger just irritates me because it doesn't put my pictures in the order I want them so then I have to go in and rearrange them, and facebook makes it just so much easier.

I've done pretty well keeping up. I prefer pictures with faces in them, but then again, it's good to have pics of various things we did to kind of look back on. Maybe I'll start really getting in the habit of photojournaling just in case a family member happens to be out of town for a year and would like to see what his family did while he was gone.

So ... if you want to see my project 300-something pics, come join me on facebook.

How about a little NOT ME Monday?

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Woohoo, it's Monday.

It is not me who has the remaining weeks of co-op all added up and ready to count down. I love co-op and will be sad when it ends for the year. We are not at all behind on school due to a couple of hurricane evacs last year plus some sick days and a Christmas break that somehow stretched a little further than it was supposed to. We do not need those extra Monday mornings to cram in some extra work to get us caught up. We are not at all in danger of HAVING to do schoolwork over the summer to get caught up. (Yep, it's one thing to do school work to drag them away from the TV, another thing altogether to HAVE to do it!)

I know we've been there before, so by this point, I should not have to tell you that I'm not a last minute person. Because of that, I am not out of proportionately happy to have completed preparations for co-op today by yesterday afternoon. Like I've said, I never procrastinate, so it was not a huge deal to not be dragging in from AWANAs and rushing through to prepare co-op stuff! (Okay, in all seriousness - I do really enjoy co-op and really will miss it when it's done. This time of year just seems to take on a life of its own though, and I'm starting to feel like I need to tie a rope around my hands and just hang on for the ride!) (Oh, and if you're one of the people who is NOT counting down either, I won't tell you that there are seven regular classes and the open house date left.)

I did not this last week feel yucky one day and just take off from my life. I did not pass the kids off to Jim for the explicit purpose of sitting in a quiet house for a few hours. I did not, at this time, manage to forget an important meeting I had been planning to attend, and feel like an awful person for missing it. :( I'm not still mad at myself about it. :(

I also did not, this week, make some really crazy choices. I did not compare a banana and a piece of chocolate and choose the chocolate because it had fewer calories. How much sense would that make? I did not use the aforementioned feeling yucky excuse to compare chocolate to a MEAL and choose the chocolate, either. I know about nutrition and just wouldn't do that. Chocolate does not have that kind of hold over me. Or maybe it does, just a little, every now and then. Like two or three of every 28 days. (Or 25 in my case, which is totally not fair ... but is probably a bit of an overshare for a public blog!)

Okay, I'm not blushing right now.

I have not observed this week that my house can go from just fine to a disaster area in a matter of 2.7 seconds. Why on earth is this? Seriously - I typically clean the three hot spots before going to bed - kitchen, family room, living room. It just makes for a happier day all around if I wake up to no dishes in the sink. I did not do this every day last week and then wake up to a mess the next morning. I am not beginning to look at the cats suspiciously because of this, because I KNOW it's not my eyes that are tired and think things are clean when I go to bed and they're really not.

And one more ... My seven year old daughter ... sweet thang that she is ... did NOT look at me last night and say "huh. I like your hair like that, Mom. It makes you look young again." Um, YOUNG? AGAIN?!? Does that mean that I usually look OLD? Okay, she's SEVEN. Did I just suddenly age in the couple of years that she can actually remember and now I look young again? And another thing ... I got up Sunday with wild hair and cold feet and didn't want to take a shower, so I flattened my hair. My dirty hair, because I didn't want to look completely recycled. So ... if this HAD happened, what have we learned here? Fresh, clean, fluffy hair = old. Recycled, flat ironed, dirty hair = young again. Good to know. But I'm glad that didn't happen because I'm not sure how I would have taken my daughter telling me that I look young again.

Well ... there are more I'm sure ... but I'm going to end it here for now. :) I really want to know what YOU didn't do this week!

If they REALLY knew me ...

Pin It I was thinking today as I was doing my Bible study about the amazing fact that God knows every single thing about me and loves me anyway. Not "I'm gonna fix her up and then I'll love her" but "I love her just as she is." This is mind boggling to me.

I started thinking along these lines when I mentioned in Sunday School one day that there was one person that I'd argued with as an adult. (Nope, husbands don't count. ;) ) There seemed to be some shock in the room that I would have actually had an argument with someone. Really? That surprised me! I was actually thinking, Well! I had no idea I had hidden that part of me so well! I was actually happy about that.

Do y'all ever feel like if people REALLY knew you they'd run as fast as they could, the other way? I mean the deep down hidden stuff - not the "I let my son pee in a cup" and "one time I forgot to brush my teeth" type stuff, but the true darkness that lies within. The motivations, the ugliness, those hidden thoughts ... y'all know what I mean. I was actually thinking that if I stripped off the various masks and was really truly the deep down REAL me, it might be a person that not even my mother could love!

I think I read somewhere that one of the greatest needs in humanity was to feel loved. That makes sense, but what about feeling lovable? This is what has my mind boggled right now. Not just that God loves me (which is pretty mind-boggling in and of itself) but that He sees me as lovable! When I don't see much lovable about me, and I start to fear that if you REALLY knew me, you wouldn't see anything either, it is a comfort to know that God DOES really REALLY know me and finds me lovable.

Bless the Lord
Oh my soul
And all that is within me
Bless His Holy Name

An award?? For me?

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Aw, thank you so much MamaJ! This made my day! (And what a day it's been ... yikes!)

Passing it along to three people ... I love all of my blogging buddies but I'm going to try to pick people I haven't tagged before. :)

First of all to a mama I'm just really getting to know this year, Grateful Wife. Isn't it amazing when you get the opportunity to get to know someone better than you've known a little for a while? And then find that you have more in common with that person than you originally thought? And then find a new friend? That's what this mama has been to me this year. :) I'm happy for this photography-learning journey that we both happen to be on and I'm thankful to have this opportunity to get to know you better. :)

Next to my friend Val, who really needs to update her blog more frequently. LOL I just want to make sure everyone who reads my blog clicks over to hers and watches the "Cardboard Testimonies" video she has posted. How awesome!!

And lastly, to my favorite zookeeper. Her blog keeps me giggling ... especially since I know her little zoo. She has the most adorable little animals at her zoo~!! LOL

Thanks again, MamaJ!

Y'all Bear With Me

Pin It There has been too much stuff going on around here this week! I'm behind on everything. And by everything, I mean laundry, dishes, schoolwork, blogging ... Topping that off, we got a new computer and I seem to be a little challenged in using it. It's up and running, so that's good, but my bookmarks are all on the old computer. I'm trying to get them moved to delicious so I can get them over here, but that's seeming to be a little more work than I had intended it to be. I'm kind of wondering if it would be easier to write out every bookmark, come over here, and retype it and rebookmark it. (Remember ... I think that as a person approaches 40, technological skills are pretty much gone. I'm still surprised I was able to figure out how to turn this computer on!)

Anyway ... I'll catch up soon ... maybe ...

Hi/Lo Thursday, #2

Pin It This post is part of "Hi/Lo Thursday" on the Riggs Family Blog. Check out their blog to read everyone else's "Hi/Lo" posts and for a chance to win $100.

Short and sweet because I. AM. EXHAUSTED.

Hi for the week:
Jim's mom coming in and the PURE JOY the kids have had visiting with her. They were counting down the minutes waiting for her to get here and were so excited. They have had a ball visiting and being spoiled. For an extra special day, Mom and John came in and joined us for lunch on Wednesday. We've had a fun week around here. :)

Lo for the week:
We went to Galveston today. I've seen it twice now and still just can't get over the disaster zone that is the Bolivar Peninsula. Five months post-Ike and Galveston looks pretty good. The Bolivar area does not. It is just nearly unfathomable.

I think I'll have a post with more substance tomorrow. :)

Can you relate to any of these?

Pin It Click here.

I am laughing so hard I'm crying. Yep, this is parenthood.

Mine to add, just from tonight.

1 three year old boy + 3.7 seconds = one trashed house. SIGH.

1 three year old boy + 3 valentine candy bags = sisters screaming, an avalanche of candy wrappers, and a sticky boy.

3 children + 1 grandmother = a LOT of noise as everyone has to show off either their toys, or their dancing ability, or their singing ability. Add folded laundry to the mix and you have a VERY angry mother and clothes scattered all over the floor.

One Monday + trying to get everything done + forgetting a bunch of things and having to do them twice + dance classes + a mountain of laundry + trying to get some exercise + the mere thought of all that has to be done tomorrow = one overwhelmed mommy who really needs to go to bed.