As promised...

So, I am a day late, but here they are anyway.

It's a shortcut.

Last night I decided to cut Alora's hair. It is fairly long, but curls up to just below her shoulders. I knew that cutting it would probably make it more curly, but decided to do so anyway. It has been really tangly and I just wanted something a little simpler for now. So, I cut it all the same length, to be even with the front. It curls up to just under her ears and is SOOOO cute. I will post pictures tomorrow hopefully.

She loves her haircut, and asked this morning, "Can I have another shortcut?"

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Aralyn is standing on her own now. She has been doing so for about a week now. She started off just pulling up beside the couch and would stand there and balance and then let go of the couch. When she would, she would start to laugh and giggle. It was so funny. She was so proud of herself. Now, she can pull up on just about anything...even just a wipes box on the floor and she can stand up. I keep waiting for her to take her first steps. With the other two kids, they didn't walk until a year old, so this early walking is new to me. I fear it, since there is still so much cause and effect that she doesn't understand and so many words and commands that she doesn't understand. For instance, if I tell her to sit down or stop, she doesn't understand me, so it will probably be tricky for a while. I got a shot of her yesterday standing up that I will post tomorrow too.

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I will be heading up to Asheville soon. Just me and 3 kids...so not looking forward to the trip.

My father just recently went out west to pick up my grandparents for a visit here. My grandmother didn't want to fly to NC from NM, since she is worried about her oxygen tank and all, and my grandfather can't really drive that far on his own any more. So, my father was available and went to get them. They rode home through some terrible ice and rain in the Fort Worth, Dallas area and Shreveport. They had a slow trip home, but made it safe and sound. I will probably head up there this weekend. I have only seen my grandmother for about 1 week since I got married. She moved back to NM shortly before I got married, and only 2 summers ago were we able to make a trip out there. I miss her, and worry about her, her health is poor. I also worry about my grandfather, since he is in the early stages of Alzheimer's. It is a terrible disease and one that makes me sad for my family and the man that we will loose a memory at a time. It makes me sad for him too, as it has to be most hard on him. It will be great to see them and of course to spend some time with my family.

Thankful today

I had some eBay items that I needed to ship today, so I got up and ready to go to town. We went straight to the post office and mailed 2 packages. I almost thought that I was going to loose money on one of them because I didn't realize that it was shipping to Alaska. I haven't yet thought to make sure that I specify that my shipping costs are for the contiguous states only. Thankfully the package wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be, so I was able to ship it for just slightly less than I had charged for shipping. Yeah!

While at the post office I had all 3 children with me and two 5 pound boxes. I had my hands full! I was having Aidan carry one box, and Alora thought she needed to carry one too. It was too heavy for her, so she started to put it down and just push it along the floor. It wasn't really a big deal, but it was slowing us down significantly. Thank you to a man that I don't know (not that I would have to know him for him to help me, but, more, that I sometimes recognize people when we are out and about, cause we live in such a small town.) He was kind enough to help Aidan with his package and set it up on the counter for us, then picked up Alora's package to set it up there too. I was very thankful to him, and told him so! He made my morning.

So, then we headed to Adam's office and had lunch with him. We went with one of Adam's co-workers. We had some good food, the kids ate really well....especially Alora, since her appetite is finally back and she seems so much better than she was all week. And...to top it all off, Adam's friend picked up the tab! How sweet!

So, I was in the car at one point in the day looking through some mail that needed to be thrown out or at least sorted and taken into the house. One of the ladies who I mailed a package to this morning had mailed her payment and I noticed that the address was not the same. I totally panicked, thinking that she wouldn't get the package and didn't know what to do. I emailed her and waited for her to email back. She did, and it was a big problem. The address I mailed to was an address she hadn't lived at for over a year. She needed it shipped to her home address which wasn't even the address that her payment came from. I had lots of trouble finding the local number for the post office, but did and they said I could come by to fix the address, as long as I did it before 5.

It was fast and painless, and the cost was the same, so that made it really easy. I just had to have the new address taped on top. I am thankful now that I didn't throw my trash away before now. See, it pays to have a trashy car sometimes!

All in all I have had a pretty good day. The kids have been so good today and that always makes for a happy mom.

Results

This is what happens when you rock back and forth while eating your lunch!

Challenged

Wow. I just finished Rob Bell's book, Velvet Elvis. It was quite a challenge to me. I found the beginning full of times to just stop and think about what was just read. It was a book that you want to fly through to see what else he will say...and yet, sometimes you just need to soak it all in.

I am constantly surprised that there are people out in the world, who think of Jesus and church and Christianity in the same ways that I do...who can verbalize it. I find that when I go to explain, my mind goes so much faster and in such a different direction than my mouth. It always sounds so great in my mind's ear. Sometimes it is that, that keeps me from writing here in the blog all the things that I have really been thinking...it just won't come out right.

I found the chapter when he talks about wanting to leave between the 9am and 11 am services so rich in feeling. I have been reading Shlog lately and Shaun's struggles seem to echo those of Rob's. And if that isn't the most comforting thing, to just know that my struggles and worries and doubts are not the only ones, that there are so many people out there that are the same place that I am. There are people who don't even know who I am...or me them, really. And they KNOW, they really know these thoughts that move through my mind. It is like I can look in the mirror and they aren't staring back at me, but standing beside and behind the person in the mirror, telling her that they know and they have been there and they are still standing and able to share their stories.

Anyone else kind of sad when the end of a book comes? I am, almost every time. I am just invested in the story (fiction ones especially) or am really getting a lot of things to think about in a whole new way...or sometimes, hearing my thoughts exactly, as was the case in Velvet Elvis, only Rob Bell probably put it all a lot better than I ever have. I was sad that the book wasn't longer. It has a fairly long endnotes section, so when the end came, it took me by surprise and I was a bit upset that those end notes weren't really the last chapter.

I loved the book. I found it to be full of things to study and think about, and that is the best part. He asks you to do that with his book, to analyze and question and seek the truth. And I will. I am. While doing that, I have also started Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis. I was looking on our book shelf the other day and realized that we have not one but 2 copies of this book. I am only surprised that I haven't read it yet, as I see it recommended all the time on people's lists of books that just must be read. I am already enjoying it.

I guess when it is over, I will have to go to a book list to find some more. I think Matt Elliott just posted about his book list, so that may be a place to start.

Happy reading!

Happy Valentine's Day to you!

This has been a pretty crappy one, actually.

But first, other stuff.

Our church decided to have a waffle lunch on Sunday afternoon, right after services. We were all looking forward to it and planned to bring all the fixins to go with my mother-in-law's homemade waffles. YUM! We also decided to have a devotional on Sunday afternoon right after we had lunch, and then cancel our evening services. That meant that our Sunday night was "free" and we could attend a covered dish dinner at the congregation that we used to attend.

So, Friday evening I was talking with a friend who attends said congregation and just happens to be the mother of Aidan's best friend. I had mentioned that we were going to be in their town on Saturday and then would try to make it back for the covered dish on Sunday evening. So, she offered to let Aidan spend the night. We have been meaning to plan a sleep over for the boys, but just hadn't had the timing work out yet. So this was perfect.

Saturday morning, we packed Aidan's bag for his sleepover and got ready for a busy day. Since Adam had the day off, we planned a trip to the theatre to see Curious George. Before the movie we stopped at Piccadilly and had lunch. All four of us (and Aralyn too, but she hate off of my plate) ate for about $16. You just can't beat the kids meals there for just $.99. Alora ate better than anyone at the table!

Off to the movies and popcorn and coke and candy! YUM! Alora ate more popcorn than I did. She loves it! Aidan hardly ate anything at the movie, but I think he was just so full from lunch and excited about his sleepover.

So, then we headed over to drop Aidan off at his friend's house. We also had dinner plans with his family so we stuck around a bit and had a good time. Alora ate really well at dinner and so did Aidan...he ate every thing on his "silver five" plate at Ihop, plus 3 extra pancakes and some extra bacon!

Alora was broken-hearted about leaving Aidan. She said, "We just can't leave Aidan, we can't leave him." I was trying to calm her down, when Aidan comes over and whispers in my ear, "Family means nobody gets left behind." (Thank you so much Disney for all your help in such situations!) He really wasn't upset about leaving, but upset because Alora was upset. Alora got to sleep in our room for the night and woke up feeling poorly.

She hardly ate anything for breakfast...just one little bite of a pop tart. Didn't drink any of her chocolate milk or apple juice (cup at church). During class time, she sat in my lap the whole time and right before worship, she decided that she wanted to lay down in the crib in the nursery. Before we had even started to sing she was fast asleep. I actually got to hear all of Adam's sermon!

For lunch we had the best waffles! They were so light and fluffy and all the other things were great too...fruit, potato dices and sausage and eggs. Yummy!

Alora ate nothing...she just got up and then went back to the nursery. At the time, we just thought she was still upset about her brother not being with us. She did seem to perk up when we told her that we were going to head toward our friend's home to pick him up.

Aidan had had a great time. He got to see a few of his other friends at church that morning and loved spending the extra time with his best friend.

That afternoon Alora had some diarrhea. It wasn't terrible, and she didn't seem to be feeling poorly. That night she had some more...still not feeling poorly, I guess by then though, I was remembering a time on Saturday when she had told me that her tummy hurt. I didn't think any thing of it at the time, but I was putting 2 and 2 together by then.

I don't really know how much she ate at the covered dish, because she was sitting at another table. I didn't get her much on her plate, and I sort of recall that her plate was pretty clear when she asked for a cupcake, which she ate. So, I thought she was getting over it.

Monday morning she ate half of her breakfast. At lunch she only ate about 1/8 of a cup of cottage cheese. I couldn't get her to drink much at all. She had a few more bouts of diarrhea. Still, she seemed to be feeling ok...not droopy or tired or weak or feverish or anything like that.

Today, she is feeling poorly. She ate her breakfast, and about 3 pm, she had some pasta that I had made for her. Her liquid intake is better, but not great. I tried to give her some Kaopectate this morning, but she threw up..not sure if it was gagging or, if this is another part of her sickness. She just woke up from a pretty good nap...during which her temperature was pretty close to 101.

I have just felt so badly for her. I am having to cuddle with her a lot, which leaves Aralyn upset and having to cry a lot longer than I would normally let her. Lunch was a big mess! I finally called Adam home to help me out for a bit, so that I could run some errands without all the kids...and especially without having to get Alora out.

I am hoping that today is the last of this little bug. If not, I will probably be making an appointment to the doctor to see if she is alright. I know that normally these things run their course and there isn't much they can do for us, but I hate for her to get dehydrated or something like that. Thankfully she has been drinking lots of water (well, not lots, but several ounces today.)

I am glad for the wonderful weekend that we had, but sorry that it has led to a sick Alora. I pray that she is better soon and that we can get back to our normal routine. And, I am super thankful, that no one else is sick!

Dear Lord, take care of Alora and help to soothe her. Help our family to be understanding of her and be patient with each other in this time of stress. Thank you for my husband, who would leave his job to come home for a few hours to ease my strain. Thank you that he has the ability to do so. I love you! Amen.

words

What a great way to see all the words I use the most. Some of them, I would like to make sure are changed...There are much better things to talk about!

100 things

1. My mother is 19 years older than me; I have close friends who are older than my mother.


2. I have 5 siblings, my half-brother is 3 years older than me and incarcerated right now, 2 half-sisters who are 6 and 8 years younger than me, and 2 step-brothers who are 6 and 10 years younger than me.


3. I got married when I was 18 years old…the day after my high school graduation.


4. I was very smart in school…There were only a few tenths of a point separating me from the valedictorian…although I officially ranked 7th.  


5. I have never met my biological father.


6. I have 3 children, Aidan, 5, Alora, 2 and 10 months, and Aralyn, who is 8 months old.


7. In all, I only labored for about 14 or 15 hours total.  2 hours, 6.5 hours and 6.5 hours respectively.


8. Aidan was almost born in the car on the way to the hospital, Alora was born in my garden tub, and Aralyn was almost born in the tub, but came instead right beside the tub while I squatted.


9. I have been pregnant or breastfeeding or both for just over 6 years now.  


10. I am always reading a book, sometimes more than one…right now it is Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell and The Bad Place by Dean Koontz and First Man of Rome by Colleen McCullough.


11. I have never had someone that was close to me die…the closest to that has been my Papaw, who died when I was about 9 or so, I was close to him when I was young, but then his Altztimers got worse and we moved and didn’t visit him as much.  


12. My first stepfather is a drug addict and is now clean, but spent some years behind bars for related crimes.


13. My step-father now is the only real father I have ever had…it is hard for me to call him “Dad”, since the other man I called by that name totally wasn’t worth it.


14. I was born in Hobbs, NM, and later lived in Midland, TX, Clyde, NC, Asheville, NC, and now Barnwell, SC.  Even though it is only a short list of towns, it has involved about 15 or 16 moves.  The house I am in now is my longest stay.


15. My grandmother is a breast cancer survivor and now fighting emphysema


16. Adam and I will be married for 8 years this May 31st.


17. I have never tried any type of drug or smoked any cigarettes, although I have had plenty of opportunities and my parents are smokers.


18. I now get sick when I stay at my parents’ house for too long because of the smoke.


19. I was nicknamed Rapunzel while in high school because of my below waist length hair…which I cut half-way through my senior year.


20. When Adam and I met, we looked like hippies, he wore tie dye and had shoulder length hair and I wore some “peasant-y” things and had looong hair.  


21. Adam and I dated for 2 years before we married…it was long distance that whole time.  


22. When I was younger there was nothing better than to climb a tree with a book and read for hours…I have now traded in the tree for a nice hot bath!


23. I have dreams of being a missionary someday…maybe they will come true.


24. I am a Native American…registered with the Chickasaw nation.


25. I was engaged at the age of 15 to a guy that I didn’t marry…thankfully.


26. Adam and I have had 7 pets since being married…5 have been hamsters, the first 3 dies, and the last 2 got violent, so I let them loose, we had a stray cat for a while, but Adam was allergic and we had a dog.


27. We paid WAY too much for the dog…she disappeared 2 new years ago…we live in the woods and we think she must have been found/got by a pack of coyotes.


28. The first time I ever flew was 2 summers ago when Adam and Aidan and Alora and I all went out west to visit some of my family.


29. I have never been out of the US


30. I went to the Grand Canyon when I was 6 months pregnant with Aidan, the only regret I have is that Adam wasn’t able to be with me.


31. I sometimes wonder what my other siblings (on my bio-father’s side are like).  Maybe someday I will search for them.


32. I don’t have any desires to find my bio-father, unless it will lead me to my siblings or something like that.  


33. I cloth diapered Aidan, but just couldn’t do it with more than one child…too much laundry.  I loved doing it with him though.


34. I have been in 4 wrecks…1 with my mother, 1 was me driving, and the other 2 have been with Adam…the ones with Adam were not our fault, the other 2 were!


35. I was once in a blizzard in Asheville…I think 1992?  It was one of the most fun times of my life!


36. Aidan was a surprise that we didn’t know we wanted until he was on the way.


37. He was conceived at my parents’ house…brother’s bed…day after Christmas…my family knows…eeek


38. Adam and I have never had a crib in our house…we co-sleep.


39. I think my youngest brother likes my son more than he likes me…they are the best of friends.  


40. I never know what color my eyes are….they were mostly blue as a child, but change to green and gray sometimes too.


41. All of my children have blue eyes, and Adam too.


42. I like to crochet, but don’t have enough time for it.


43. I like to sew, but am no good and don’t have enough time for it


44. I like to cross-stitch, but don’t have enough time for it


45. I like to paint, but don’t have enough time for it


46. I like most crafts, but don’t have enough time for them…or money either, they can be pricey too.


47. I have never broken a major bone…just my nose and my tailbone.


48. One time that I broke my nose, I was walking home from school with a heavy backpack and using a stick to pretend to be blind…hit a crack in the sidewalk, fell on the stick and the backpack slide up my back and knocked my head back into the stick.  FUN!  And just the kind of stupidity you feel you were justly punished.


49. I find myself growing more and more conservative in my thoughts on modesty and purity.


50. I find myself growing more and more liberal on my thoughts about church and worship.


51. I don’t know where that leaves me


52. I love to sing and love music of almost any kind.


53. I love to water ski, but have never been snow skiing, and must admit it seems a bit scary to me.


54. I love rollercoasters.  My first date with Adam was to a theme park, Carowinds.


55. I haven’t been on a rollercoaster since getting pregnant with Aidan.


56. My middle name is Dael…named after my uncle Dale. (I know, tell my mom, she is the weird one)


57. I have never accidentally written my maiden name, Busby.  I guess I was just so glad to be rid of it since the father who gave it to me never had anything to do with me


58. Adam would love to have 3 more children, and I could be finished, if it were just up to me…maybe one more?


59. For a while in my early teen years, my parlor trick was to imitate Jodie Foster’s portrayl of Nell from the movie of the same title…”Tay en a wee-en”


60. I was super skinny in my youth, I had an uncle who told me that if I stood sideways and stuck out my tongue I would look like a zipper.


61. I think in my whole life I have ever only worn 2 bikinis…one that was a little string bikini when I was about 4 and one when I was about 14…it was crochet and multicolored…you couldn’t pay me enough to wear something like that now.


62. I played soccer in high school for 2 years


63. I loved it, even though we only ever scored about 6 goals and never won


64. I always wanted a Victorian doll house when I was little…maybe my girls can have one for me.


65. I was born the day before Halloween in 1979, so my mother called me a little witch.


66. My sisters called me “Sissa” ---Alissa and Sister


67. My mother and I talk on the phone almost every weekday…she has a toll free number, so that helps.


68. I forgot to send my brother a Christmas card this past year…the one that is in prison


69. When I was young, my 1st stepfather was in a rehab for a while, and I hated that smell…I will smell it sometimes and it makes me sick


70. I hate the taste of fake grape…like candy and such…it reminds me of being sick and taking Dimetap.


71. I would love to loose about 30 pounds


72. I have never had a cavity


73. I have way too many shoes, and would love to own more


74. I am not a big purse person…although I do think they are cute


75. I love horned toads…I loved catching them as a child.


76. I lock myself out of the house all the time and have to climb in a window or break in some other way.


77. In elementary school I got to be on an Odyssey of the Mind team and loved it.


78. I also was on a team 3 years in high school too!  It was great.


79. I think my family was disappointed in me for not going to college…they had big plans for me, I think


80. I don’t regret not going to college…I can still go later if I want.


81. I have only ever really had one paying job…working at JC Penney…I didn’t like it much


82. I have a first cousin who helped someone rob a bank.


83. I have an umbilical hernia


84. If I have to have surgery for it, it will be the first surgery I ever have.


85. I over-think things, especially when I need to confront someone about something.


86. Adam and I have both lost our wedding bands, him while working out in the rain one night, and me while swimming during my pregnancy with Aidan…so much for swollen fingers


87. I wish I could sign (as in sign language) fluently


88. I wish I had taken a useful second language, like Spanish


89. One of the times that my mother and my sisters and I moved, it was from Midland, TX to Clyde, NC (western Texas to western NC) in a car with 2 mice in a cardboard box.


90. The mice survived until my mother “baked” them in the sun one day a year later while we were cleaning out their cage.


91. She bought me 2 more mice to make up for it, but one of them ate the other.


92. My grandmother was home alone with them when it happened and she has never forgiven me or my mom for it.


93. My ears are not the same…one is bigger than the other


94. I have a really small wrist, I wear a 6.5 inch bracelet and really small fingers, 4.5 or 5 ring finger.


95. I am pretty good at calligraphy


96. I make my children’s birthday cakes, so far we have had an alligator, Blue (Blue’s Clues), a train, a butterfly, Bob and Larry (Veggie Tales), Dora the Explorer, and an Incredible cake (The Incredibles)


97. I have a huge box of love letters that Adam and I sent to one another while we were dating…I love to look through them on occasion


98. I have a string of pearls that my 1st stepfather’s sister had been given from her mother.  She passed away from a rare lung disease and her mother got them back.  My grandmother (still call her that) sent them to me as a wedding present…I will always cherish them.


99. I don’t have an engagement ring…Adam and I were never really formally engaged….we just knew we were going to get married.


100. This list was really hard to come up with, and nobody will probably read all the way down here, so #100 hardly matters, right

But just in case it does…I love to lay out in the grass and look up at the clouds…it fills me with a wonderful feeling.  

Unanswered Prayers.

I know that probably everyone has heard that song by Garth Brooks. It is a pretty song, but there has always been something that bothered me about it.

I guess it is that I don't believe there is such a thing as an unanswered prayer. I think God hears them all, and answers as He sees fit. I think there are times when He says "no" or "wait" or "not that, but this"...or other such answers. Just because He doesn't give us what we want when we want it, doesn't mean He didn't answer.

I think it is one of those things where if we don't get our way we think the worst of God. He doesn't love us, He didn't hear us, He doesn't care, He didn't answer. I think that if we look at the times that we have asked God for something in the past it would help us.

I know when I was 14 or 15 I asked God to help me find a way to marry a certain guy....let's call him "George". I remember that my parent's didn't like him, and there were lots of other problems with the relationship. It was like the "world was trying to keep us apart" and I would pray for that to go away so that I could live happily ever after. Well, one summer I went off to bible camp like usual and I was convicted in my heart. Convicted to let go of the relationship, stop hiding, tell my mom about the relationship and have the courage to let go of the guy. I prayed with one of the counselors and talked with him for hours about what I needed to do. I knew already, but it helped to have someone to whom I was accountable.

The main conversation that I had with the counselor took place the night before I really "met" Adam. We had been introduced before, but never really "knew" each other. When I got home from camp, I talked with my mom and came clean, I broke it off with George, and felt better than I had in a LONG time. Shortly after that, Adam and I were dating and in love and planning our lives together. It was so magical.

I know that at the time I thought God wasn't listening to me, wasn't doing what I wanted Him to do. I know that there were times that I was mad at God for not making my life what I wanted it to be.

I know now that God answered my prayers during that time. He answered with the best answer. He told me He loved me and He had better plans for me. He had a wonderful Godly man waiting for me and He was preparing us both for our lives together. He answered "No" to my prayer, but "YES" to loving me and blessing me!

A day in the woods.

The other day we got home from being out and about and it was a lovely day. This has been the weirdest winter ever, seeing as how we are having weather warm enough for short sleeves, in what is supposed to be one of the coldest months of the year here. It is nice for my electric bill, which is still high, but not nearly as high as it would be if we were experiencing 30 and 40 degree days.

We laid a blanket down in the yard and let Aralyn watch her brother and sister play and run around. They dug in the dirt and finally decided to get the wagon out to play with it. These are some of my favorite times as a family. No money or travel involved...just spending time together and playing.

I am going to have a hard time with this one.

Aralyn is a mess lately! She has just learned to crawl, and loves to have that new freedom. She will follow us around the house, and go where she wants to find new "toys". It is a constant game of me going ahead and making sure that she doesn't end up with something that she shouldn't have...having 2 older siblings always makes this job harder than it sounds.

Well, crawling isn't enough for her, she has decided she needs a higher outlook on life. She is pulling up! Anything that is up off the ground is fair game. Last week she leaned her hand on the side (not the lip, just the flat side) of a storage box and tried to stand up. Her hand slipped of course and she hit her head on the lip of the box. Last night she fell and hit her head pretty hard, doing the same thing on the end table...leaning her little hand on the side of the leg. She is not quite 8 months (3 more days) and she is just too young to understand the cause and effect, so more than likely she will try all these "tricks" again.

It will probably be a long couple of months! And of course, totally worth every last minute.

I met my goal!!!!

I had finally gotten up the spunk to list some things on Ebay. I have been meaning to for a while, and just haven't. I mostly wanted to sell my single jogging stroller to make a little bit back from it and be able to apply the money towards the double stroller that I so desperately want. I want to be able to go back the to zoo with my children. Adam can't always go with us, and Alora's legs can't always keep up, so double stroller it is. I have picked one out and really look forward to earning the money through my Ebay sales to afford it. And, I think I can even buy it through Ebay too! How fun!

I guess next time I need to set a bigger goal.

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I have picked out a kindergarten curriculum for Aidan, and I think while I am at it, I am going to pick up a few things for Alora to do "preschool" while we do kindergarten. I am sort of scared and sort of really looking forward to it. I know that it will be difficult, but I just keep telling myself that it is only kindergarten, and I can at least handle that much....And I can always make another decision if homeschooling doesn't work out.

What is great, is that the 2 sets of things that I want to get for schooling will only be about $300. I can use my Ebay money for that too!