America

Oh y'all...I've wanted to blog for the last week or so, but the truth is, I've been exhausted and under the weather and a bit, well, cranky, er, maybe angry would be a more honest description and quite frankly, I had nothing nice to say.

Between the dog (that would be Warrior, not Scout) and the husband pulling some long hours at work (for which we are very thankful, having a job, that is) and the three little ones, plus a little freelance work of my own, well, I've about gone mad. I've seen sides of myself I never imagined were there. There is a very real monster inside my heart. His name is sin. My flesh loves to give in to his chiding. The result is less than becoming. Not to mention, wrong.

I've crawled beneath the covers the last several nights, pleading with God to give me strength and to redeem the mistakes I'd made...particularly with my children. And I've been so thankful that salvation isn't dependent upon my own works.

So...now that you've had a little glimpse at my heart and my ongoing battle, let me tell you where we've been.

I'll try not to overwhelm you.

I'll do it in a few posts.

Friday, September 11 we left home early, dropped off Little Man with the grands and headed for the cousins' house where we had an early supper and were then chauffeured to the airport and dropped by the curb.

It was at that moment that I began thinking about exactly what we were doing. Flying on 9.11.

We loaded MC into her sling and watched as the car pulled away. It was a bit strange being "car seat-less."

We did all the normal stuff you do to fly. Checked in, (btw, I packed all three girls in ONE carry on bag!) pulled out our toiletries, boarding passes, and licenses to be checked in the first round of security. Then we put everything on the conveyor belt, took off our shoes, and were sent through the metal detector. Stuff like that freaks me out. I do not do well. T does it everyday to get into work. It doesn't rattle him at all. He looked at me and gently said, "take the girls and move over there, I'll take care of everything." And he did.

And then, the sweetest thing...as we neared our gate, MW told T she was hungry and thirsty and asked if we could get something to eat. And T immediately, and so sweetly responded in the affirmative. We picked a little "closet" of vending machines and he treated us to drinks and snacks. I don't know why that touched my heart so much. I think maybe it was because she asked and he was so happy to oblige. T is like that. And that points me to my heavenly Father.

And so we enjoyed our snacks while we waited at our gate. I was nervous and edgy. I got the stink eye from several passengers when they realized what was in my sling.

And MW had her first flight! So did MC. (but we didn't ger her pic.)

And we landed in Washington DC. Hooray! My best friend from high school and her husband so kindly opened their home to us while we were there...and even met us at the airport at midnight (or thereabouts) to show us the way home.

We had yummy cheese fondue around 1am. MC and MW were long gone...and morning came early.

MW picked at her toast, and pleaded for coffee. We obliged.

As we were walking out the door, she mentioned her ears were still hurting from the flight...and then came some tears. A little tylenol. Surely she'd be fine. And then...she threw up. Thankfully she gave us a little notice and we bagged it. Ick.

And then I thought we'd made a mistake. We'd come all this way for the March on DC with a ten week old and a five year old. I feared it would be for naught. But MW rallied. We decided lack of sleep plus coffee on a nearly empty stomach might be the culprit.

My sweet cousin graciously opened her home to us (in spite of MW's little episode) for donuts and coffee. City life seems so glamorous! (Until I saw how far she has to carry her groceries!!! But still...) And then they loaned us a stroller...and we got to march...together!

And it was so much fun being with them!

I'm quite a fan of their little Andrew!

His smile always makes me smile!

Not long into the March, MW canned the stroller in favor of Daddy's shoulders. I was so proud!

She is so cool!

There were so many people. And it was such a neat group of people. They were kind.

It was Americans who love our Constitution and our Country and our Freedom.

It was young Americans who will carry the weight of these decisions...of this debt...

and old Americans who see the Country they love on the brink of irreversible change (for the worst).

I loved seeing these.

Mom, this one is for you..."No Child Left A Dime"...

My precious, patriotic girl! Notice giraffe made the March, as well!

and my strong, wise husband...

The March on DC rocked.

I stood on the lawn of the Capitol and turned around and as far as I could see in every direction, there were people and signs. I got chills and had to choke back tears.

We love America.

We love our freedom.

We want less government...in every area...in every way.

I hope Congress and the President took note.

Darn Dog

Warrior chewed up the straw on the back of one of my favorite kitchen chairs.

I was not happy.

I ranted to T via email.

After I cooled down a bit, I sent another email:

I'm over it.

Love the darn dog.

He's still a darn dog.

Love,

J

His reply:

Darn, darn dog.

Darn, darn, darn husband.

When the darn husband is in the doghouse, where does the darn dog sleep?

Love you,

T

Ladies and Gentlemen...

It is with great honor that I introduce to you...

the spectacular...

the death defying...

invincible...

though sometimes cranky...

and perhaps even a little whiny...

one of a kind dare devil...

our very own Evel Knievel!

And his sidekick sista...

the domestic diva...

who always knows best...

and their ever faithful sidekick, Warrior.

Ladies and Gentlemen...Little Man is riding a bike! (with training wheels)

He took a tumble and shed a few tears. I brought him inside and began serving dinner. The tears wouldn't stop. Finally I asked, "your boo boo isn't even that bad. What is wrong?"

His reply: "I just wanna keep widin' my bike."

Some Days...

...are just like that.

Sunday morning I got all three children up, dressed, fed, and loaded into the car. (No small feat.) I put the key in the ignition and turned...nothing.

The battery was dead.

We went back inside and hung our Sunday best back in the closet.

Some days are just like that.

I've mentioned a big sewing project I'm working on...it's roman shades.

I had the largest one laid out on the dining room floor, ready to attach the rings.

Little man was in the office painting with watercolors.

During a brief phone conversation, (during which my back was turned) he managed to pour the black tinted water all over the top of the desk and down his leg. He then proceeded to walk across the white lining of the shade...leaving dark gray footprints across the width of the shade.

Some days are just like that.

I was nursing little bit this morning.

I was dressed and ready for the day.

She had a massive blow out.

Unbeknownst to me, she had a bit of a one sided diaper wedgie.

Moments after the first squirt, "it" had soaked through her gown, my top, and was running down my arm, between my fingers, and pooling on the woven chair bottom. LOVELY. About that time, carpool arrived. While still nursing, and now in my cami, I walked MW out to the car.

Some days are just like that.

It was 12:15. MW should've been home by then. I was sitting by the window, nursing MC, waiting. The phone rang. Guess what???

Today is Tuesday. NOT Monday. I drive on Tuesdays.

I forgot.

Some days are just like that.

Little Man told me he had to "go" potty. I watched him get situated and turned my back.

He emptied a new roll of t.p.

Some days are just like that.

He finished and decided to wipe himself. Again, I only stepped out for a sec. And that's all it took.

He put half the entire roll INTO the pot.

Some days are just like that.

Living.

Yesterday turned out to be such a blessing and I even had fun cleaning house. Amazing how God works in our hearts! Thank you for your sweet comments!

MC and my sweet friend Jennie! She came to visit a few weeks ago.

What a summer! I cleared off the bulletin board for the next round of art work. Three weeks into the school year and I dare say it's nearly covered once more.

MW got some dirt in her eye and insisted she needed a band-aid. (she was really okay) T rigged this up for her.

Little Man insisted he needed one too...until he got one...and hated it.

Before I really get going, are you aware of the March on DC? It's part of the Tea Party Movement. It's not a Republican vs Democrat march. It's a march, a movement, about defending the Constitution. Here's a brief bit from their website:

We’ve had enough of the out of control spending, the bailouts, the growth of big government and the soaring deficits. And we reject the future tax increases to pay for all of this spending and debt down the road. We are gathering on 9-12-2009 to deliver our message in person that we’ve had enough!

Please check it out.

Also, please watch/listen to this song. It ROCKS. We've been listening to it a lot lately...off itunes. MW is learning the words to it and gets absolutely pumped up when she hears it. And of course, the little man thinks anything MW does is awesome! He's rockin' out to it as well.

Today I have been humbled. Twice.

First, it was 8:30am. We live 5 minutes from school. MW is supposed to be there between 8:35-8:45. We head out to the car. My arms are loaded down with diaper bags, lunches (T3 has MDO today and MW is walking over! Hooray!), the baby, my purse, you get the idea. I unlock the car and realize the kids toys are still scattered over the driveway from yesterday afternoon...

Wait, I have to tell you about yesterday afternoon.

I let the kids play outside. It had been raining. I let them dig in the dirt and play in the mud...which turned into a literal mud slinging contest. Then I let them turn on the hose. You have never seen two muddier children. While they slung mud, I made dinner.

At one point I looked out the window and T3 had dumped his lemonade into the dog food bowl and was on all fours "drinking" it. I stuck my head out and said, "No drinking out of the dog's bowl!" At which point MW picked up the dog bowl and spit a mouthful of lemonade into it. Evidently she'd already partaken.

This isn't from yesterday...I didn't take any pics. Oops. But note the kids new fav. thing to do! (see the bungee cord...T drilled a hole in the back bumper of the jeep. They like to pull each other around in the "wheel chair" aka tonka truck.)

Which is also a dump truck...

Back to this morning...

So the toys are all over the driveway. I tell the children to help me put them away. Of course, little man begins playing. MW got things put away. I told them to get into the car. Now it's about 8:33. Both children completely ignored me. T3 wanders around the driveway arguing that he just "want to play" while MW argues with me about the location of a bucket that "needs to be moved." Finally, I raised my voice (oh, yes) and said, "SILENCE!" And they were quiet.

I put them in the car and got everyone buckled. At that point it was about 8:37. All I had to do was get the dogs in the house and I'd be good to go. I called to them. Scout obeyed immediately. Warrior totally ignored me. I marched over to him (on the opposite side of the driveway) and got his collar and began walking him towards the kitchen. He starts howling like I'm hurting him and tries to snap at me (not a bite, but a "leave me alone" snap). I reprimanded him and picked him up to carry him in. By then, I was drenched with sweat and I'd raised my voice at the kids and talked to the dog as if he was human, explaining to him that he "would learn to obey the first time." I got in the car and as I pulled out of my driveway I saw my neighbor standing at our fence watching. Taking it all in. He had a big smile on his face. A knowing smile. I have no doubt he watched and heard our entire interaction.

THEN I drop MW off (we were almost late) and drop a note off with the school secretary. She looks at me with a grin and said, "Do you know what your daughter said?"

I'm racking my brain, a little worried to find out.

"No."

"She came into school a few days ago and the first thing she said to her teachers was, 'My daddy's been havin' diarrhea.' "

Lovely.