GladiThurday

Thanks to my dear friend Gretchen-of-the-west for hosting gladitudes. Even if I'm a day late.

1.Glad for my bloggy friend Kellie and her awsome giveaway that I won. She made the apron. Such talent!
2. Glad that she has an embroidery machine named Clinton that added my name and a cute monogram.
3. Glad that I have a dear friend that makes encourages me to get up early and exercise.

4. Glad that the pigs haven't come back for a visit.

5. Super that my children's grandparents are so involved in their lives.

6. Giddy glad that my house is clean.

7. So glad I-can't-put-it-into-words that I found the hair in the sundried tomato spread before I put the bagel into my mouth. Grody.

8. Glad for the life lesson my children learned from the homeless man holding a sign.

9. Uber glad for a long weekend spent with friends and family.

10. Gladder than glad for my children's laughter. I don't ever want to take that sound for granted.

You Might Be a Redneck

IF you are sitting at home on a lazy Sunday afternoon and you hear your husband yell "bring your camera and come outside without the dog." Thinking you are going to see a snake, but the sight of this greets you at the end of your driveway; your well maintained, neighborhood driveway, you might be a redneck.

Yes, pigs. Digging in my flowers around the mailbox. But do they stop there? No, they think they're invited to dinner:

Whatcha grillin, big boy?

Cannibals.

Don't they realize they've stepped into a swine death camp?

Seriously. My husband has two giant pig cookers on wheels. They should be warned.

But did you see the size of those porkers? 300+ pounds I don't think they would even fit on the grill.

Notice how small our "big" dog looks compared to them.

It's never a dull moment here at the NEM casa. Nothing like starting the week off with a bang or an oink.

**No animals were hurt for the production of this blog. Or for our dining pleasure. We called the neighbor/farmer to come collect his hogs and to thank him for some good blog fodder.

Enjoy your day!

Sunday Rest

For I am convinced that neither death nor life,

neither angels nor demons,

neither the present nor the future,

nor any powers,

neither height nor depth,

nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us from

the love of God that is in

Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

Celebrating

Celebrating so much this week:

1. Today is our 15th wedding anniversary. Holla!

2. My beige brown is now a soft beige brown.

3. My eyebrows are now under control.

4. My little man hit his 1st homerun over the weekend.

5. I have a new advertiser on my blog. Love your work, Sherri!

6. I'm going shopping tonight by myself. {Don't worry, we celebrated our anniversary last night because tonight the boys have ball practice.} Did I mention I was going by myself?

7. Tomorrow night I'm going to a swap. So excited to trade my junk with some other unsuspecting sweet ladies. One man's trash, another man's treasure. Or in this case, one girl's decorating junk items, another girl's old stuff repurposed.

8. My kitchen just got repainted and it's so refreshing. (Pictures to come, promise)

9. My girls had their end of grade testing and passed with flying colors. Do whah? Did I hear a little whoop woop? Oh yeah baby. Momma's doin' the happy dance and trying to come up with 15 field trips to finish off the school year.

10. Today is our 15th wedding anniversary (I know I've already said that, but it just sounds so good) and we are going on a trip that rhymes with "bruise" to a place that has water the color of something that rhymes with "clue." Can we squeal together?? I'm giddy.

11. I'm so beside myself, that I thought I'd end with celebrating the fact that I don't have to end lists in even numbers. ;)

Do Not Assume

1. Do not assume that when the box of hair color says "Beige Brown" it will actually turn your locks into soft beigy beauty. It should have read "Darker than you are used to Brown"

2. Do not assume that even though you usually dye your eyebrows to match your haircolor, that they will actually match when using "Beige Brown."

3. Do not assume you will not look like Groucho Marx for the next 36 hours after using said color.

4. Do not assume that you can get out of showing your face in public during those 36 hours. Your children may or may not have an awards night that you are expected to attend sans sunglasses and ball cap.

5. Do not assume that just because I dearly love my children and am truly proud of their year's worth of work that I will actually enjoy sitting through 2 hours of watching 150 other children receive certificates. Oh, and 6 middle schoolers do 15 minutes of modern dance. I am a proud mom, but I am also human.

6. Do not assume that part of me didn't want to print up my own certificate, hand it to my child, and then head to Dairy Queen to celebrate. Go ahead, judge me.

7. Do not assume that I am not nervous about end-of-grade testing. This 1st year homeschooling mom feels like the IRS just showed up at her door and I opened it holding stolen cash. Naked.

8. Do not assume that I don't have to adjust my attitude about church music on a regular basis. I'm not strongly opinionated about much, but when it comes to praising my Lord, I have a hard time with sour-faced choir members "leading" worship.

9. Do not assume that I'm going to say much more about that. Today.

10. Do not assume that I've cooked dinner for my family this week. Let's just say I'm very thankful for my mom, my husband, sandwiches, Kraft in the blue box, and cereal. I could eat cereal for dinner every night if not for the guilt factor.

Do you have a "Do Not Assume" list?

Sunday Rest

If you devote your heart to Him

and stretch out your hands to Him,

if you put away the sin that is in your hand

and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,

then you will lift up your face without shame;

you will stand firm and without fear.

You will surely forget your trouble,

recalling it only as waters gone by.

Life will be brighter than noonday,

and darkness will become like morning.

You will be secure because there is hope;

you will look about you and take your rest in safety.

You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid...

Job 11:13-19

May I Suggest...

A new summer drink: Peppermint Green Tea Frappuccino

Before you wrinkle your nose (which you shouldn't because it might get stuck that way) give it a chance. I would have never chosen this drink because I don't really like green tea. But the smart marketing people figured out if they offered a freebie tray of miniature coffee drinks, people might get hooked on a drink they would normally never order. Like moi. Trust me, it is SO refreshing! I'll go with you and if you don't like it, I'll drink it for you.

**Did you know that Starbucks is offering 1/2 price frappuccinos from 3-5pm now thru May16th? Can we say Happy. Hour(s).

To top that off, they took a cue from Burger King and now you can order it your way. Decaf, skim, whatever. You get to choose.

I'm in frothy heaven.

Do you have a World Market nearby? Go there now. Bossy today, no? Aside from the uber cool patio furniture, they also have a great food section. Specifically their chocolate bars. They take a walk on the wild side with their flavors. I've tried several (purely for informational purposes, ahem). My favorite is the Sea Salt Dark Chocolate. The Chipotle Chili Dark Chocolate runs a close second. Mucho Gusto!

Since I feel a little guilty about devoting an entire day to sugary treats, I'll leave you with this suggestion:
Have you read Bringing Up Boys? This is the brand new girl version of that book. If you have girls, I highly recommend this book. It is very practical, educational, and thought provoking. Sometimes we get so caught up in the today, that we forget to step back and think about the motives and objectives of parenting. This book helped me focus on my purpose as a parent. (I also highly recommend Bringing Up Boys if you have a son.)

Enjoy your day!

Top 10

Reasons I am in denial about getting old:

10. I love the taste of Kashi, but can't eat it because of the gastrocolic effect it may or may not cause throughout the course of the day.

9. Bathing suit season is upon us. The need for underwire just became a sad reality.

8. I went shopping with my mom and 2 daughters yesterday. The ol' shopping stamina isn't what it used to be. I guess I'm out of practice... anyone want to help me train?

7. I've put off coloring my hair for a week, hoping that if I use enough hairspray, the height of my locks will hide the dark stripe running down my part. Not to mention the fact that I've looked like I'm headed to Texas for a Baptist state convention.

6. I love swim minis. They hide a multitude of oreos sins.

5. Happy hour includes Sonic and 1/2 price Frappuccinos at Starbucks. Happy. Very, very happy.

4. I find myself making strange guttural noises when getting up from the couch.

3. The fact that I'm even doing a post about this subject. 'Nough said.

2. When trying on bridesmaid dresses I discovered, much to my astonishment (yeah right), that I no longer have the body of a 20 year old. Sigh. Deep, sad, sigh.

1. I found myself watching the Teeter HangUps infomercial and wondering how many hours a day I would need to hang upside down to defy the effects of gravity.

Anyone experiencing denial today?

And the Winner Is...

Thank you for all of your wonderful comments ... makes me want to do a fun giveaway more often!

I did that random number generator thingymagig, but can't figure out how to copy and paste it.

So you'll just have to trust me.

Cue the drumroll please...

The winner of the one year subscription to Thriving Family is

Blue Ridge Mountain Mama

Carrie, email me with your mailing address so I can order your magazine!

If you didn't win, but think you might be interested in this awesome resource, check it out here.

Happy Monday!!!

Happy Mother's Day

From birth I have relied on You;

You brought me forth from my mother's womb.

I will ever praise you.

Psalm 71:6

May I Suggest...

A giveaway??

When the mailbox is usually full of junk and bills, I get to do the happy dance when this shows up every couple of months. It is one of my favorite magazines. I love that it has such a wide variety of topics in each issue.

Here is a list of some of the articles from the May/June issue, just to wet your taste buds:

Family Stages: (an article for each) Early years, Discovery Times, Tween Ages and Teen Phases)

Family Media: "Compete, Connect, and Communicate" (a positive look at family video game time)

Family Faith: Faith-filled Activities; Faith Discussions

Family Life: Extended Family, For Her, For Him, Single Parent, Blended Family ideas

Since it is published by Focus on the Family, it is very well organized, reliable, and beautiful. Each issue is positive, thought-provoking, practical, and encouraging. I love that it is a great resource for every type of family, too.

I love it so much that I want to give one of my readers a one year subscription.

That's right! YOU can win a subscription!

Leave me a comment (click on the sweet thoughts from friends below) and tell me:

1. Your family's favorite stay-at-home activity

2. Your favorite family meal

3. Where you would like to sit and read this magazine (we can dream, can't we?)

I'll randomly select a winner on Mother's Day.

Hugs!!!

For FTC purposes: I did not receive anything from Focus on the Family for this giveaway. They simply published a wonderful resource that I want to share with my readers... .

Encouragement for Young Moms...

...And a nod to the older ones wink wink

It seems like yesterday I had a baby on my hip and two toddlers clinging to my legs. The sleepless nights, temper tantrums (theirs, and sometimes my own), and the lack of ability to reason with them often left me feeling exhausted and outnumbered. Fortunately there was a handful of mature moms, whom I truly respected, that would gently remind me the days are long but the years are short. Some days were longer than others and on those days, I truly thought that someone was playing an evil trick by moving back the clocks in my house.

I find myself on the other side of toddler years and I'm here to tell you, we made it. All in one piece.

Well, I take that back. I left a few pieces of my sanity along the way, but I picked up a few pieces of flab and slapped them on my upper arms. So it all evens out.

Do you have the bewitching hour at your house? You know the time between the afternoon nap and dinner time. My kids always seemed to be very needy during that 2 hour span. Funny how it is the time of day that I was wearing down, needed to get dinner ready, and my patience was running thin. I tried doing dinner ahead of time so that I could devote more focused time to my little crew. But that often required thinking ahead, which didn't happen very often. Sometimes I would let their tv time be during the bewitching hour. Who could feel guilty when it's "preschool on tv"? Yeah right. But I bought it, hook, line, and sinker. I have a dear friend who fills that crazy time of day by going to the YMCA to work out. If I were doing it all over again, I think it might be the perfect solution. She gets her workout time in, the kids get a change of scenery. Timing is everything.

Speaking of timing, sometimes it is hard to look to the future when our today is so consuming.

This is where I want to encourage you. Right now when your life is full of no's, don't touch, come here, leave your sister alone, etc... I want to remind you that it will be worth it all. If you are consistent. So stick with it. Right now you are having to mold and shape your little one. Boundaries need to be kept tight.

As they get older, those boundaries can be loosened because they have a foundation and know what is expected of them. Not too long ago I took my children to a museum and it was truly relaxing. I didn't have to warn them about not touching things; they stayed with me; they were well behaved. Was it because I am a perfect mom or have perfect children? No.

I stuck to my guns when they were toddlers. I defined the expectation for their behavior. Was it tiring, exhausting? Yes. But just the other day, at the museum, I had an epiphany. It was all worth it. At the ages of 6, 9, and 10 I am reaping the benefit of consistency and it's so much fun! They know how to act appropriately when we are out and about. I'm not worn out at the end of the day because it is no longer a battle. By this point, they know what is expected.

So hang in there, young mom. You can do it. Decide today what you want in 5 years. Pray for wisdom in how to instill it. Be consistent. Pray for diligence. Be firm (with a gentle voice.)

Be encouraged. This mom thing is exhilarating!

Happy Monday!