MAYLIN2007

Yesterday, Oct. 29 my baby Alex turned 12. I can't believe it. He is growing too fast. I am still so grateful that he loves to cuddle, hug me and kiss me. I will enjoy it while it lasts, for I am sure it will be short lived as the teenage years begin in one short year. Alex shares his b-day with my dad. They are exactly 70 years apart! My parents came down to celebrate with us. We took Alex and my parents to dinner at Ruby River. That was Alex's choice and man, it was delicious! We opened presents that night too. The b-day celebration will continue into Sunday as Alex is ordained a deacon in our church. During the day on Friday, I took Alex shopping and to lunch. He didn't have school that day, so that one-on-one time (okay Maylin was with us) was priceless! Alex is such a sweet boy. He is so smart, spiritual, kind and athletic. He really loves everyone. He is my sweetie. I am also grateful for my dad. He is such a great example to our family. He has always been dedicated t...

I am not exactly sure where this week went. All I know is that it went somewhere. I have been jam packed everyday. This is the first moment I have had to think and reflect. First, the best thing that happened this week has been the opportunity to serve. I had a lot of wonderful experiences. The only one I will briefly share is about this sweet girl that lives near me that is in her early 30's and has 4 young kids. She was sick a couple of months back with meningitis. Its after effects have been worse than the actual illness. I have had the wonderful blessing of going to her house each day this week and helping her for 2 to 3 hours. It has been a delight. I was somewhere the other day and I saw this painting on someone's wall of a lighthouse in a stormy sea. It said below it, "The Lord either calms the storm or calms you when the storm is raging." I loved that. I look at this sweet young girl who is really not feeling much peace, but her family is and I am and I am hop...

Tonight, Kens got down a storage box from my closet that had old clothes in it. She also found the "special" clothes I still let hang in the closet. Yes, I have clothes from high school and college that I have kept. I only have kept a few. The criteria for "keeps" was if they were attached to a special memory, were expensive etc. So tonight, she and I tried them on, laughed at them, and on a few I had to ask myself, "What was I thinking?" I kept the red Laura Ashley dress from college that I wore on a few special dates with Jay (still love it), but namely I kept it because I remember how great I felt when I wore it, a green dress that I bought for a college dance, an incredible ivory dress from Sweethearts in high school (still love it) and my wedding luncheon dress (love it!) etc. You get the idea. Most of them my kids said they would kill themselves if I ever wore them in public. On a few of them, I could agree. Man did we do shoulder pads back then!!!! ...

Yesterday was a wild day. First off, Maylin and I met several of her China friends at a local pumpkin patch. It was fun to watch the kids play together and choose their pumpkins. One mom ended up with 15 plus pumpkins because seriously, how do you say no to such cute faces? It was really fun.       When we got home I had to do some shopping with Kens as she has out grown all of her shoes. Too bad, she doesn't grow taller with the growth in the feet! While we were in Target Jay sent me a text telling me he had just bought a dog. I called him because that is something you don't joke about with me.....I HATE dogs. Sorry all you dog lovers, that is just how I feel. So after realizing he was not joking and then yelling at him in Target about how such a purchase should be discussed with his dog hating wife and after having lots of people stare at me, we headed home to see our new family member. Cough, Cough, choke, choke. Got home to find this!   Told Jay he could sleep in...

Last night I bought Jay the neatest shirt. It is hot pink. He wore it this morning and he looked great in it. It really brought out the color in his cheeks. One of my boys came up to him this morning and asked him if he was wearing it in behalf of breast cancer awareness month. Jay was puzzled, I don't think he knew there was a breast cancer month. I said to my son, "Oh yeah! I didn't even think about it when I bought it." Jay said without missing a beat and with a completely straight face, "I am wearing it just because I like breasts." My hubby makes me smile.

Alex and his class presented a devotional on the lessons learned from the Revolutionary War. They told of a story where the British had some inside tips on where our troops would be and they came and surrounded our little army. It looked very bleak for our group. Fortunately, a fog came in VERY QUICKLY and it was so thick the soldiers could not see 5 feet in front of them. This fog allowed our troops to retreat from the area and regroup. By regrouping, our army was able to gain the upper hand. The soldiers felt that this fog was brought by God to help them win the war. They all knew that the British would have been able to over take them if the fog had not descended. Some of the things the class listed as items we can learn from the revolutionary was: through service and hard work we can find unity, God will direct us in all things, freedom means without constraint and control and it is worth fighting for, our conscience and ability to do what we want is a Divine right from God. It was...

The reception was wonderful. The weather held out....it was 56 degrees, but the lights and heaters kept it nice and warm. The yard was amazing if I do say so myself....we did have a lot of compliments too, so it is just not from me. Everyone loved going behind our little building to check out the chickens. They were the hit! The whole night was great. The kids had fun decorating the car too. It was really their first time at that.        

Jay's nephew, Jason, who has been living with us got married today to Lindsey! She is such a sweet girl. Here are a few pictures right after the ceremony. We did the wedding luncheon and did a Texas themed lunch...complete with brisket! It was yum! The reception is tonight in our yard. Here are just a few photos for those who could not come to the wedding. They are such a happy couple!        

Today, and it is only 11:07 a.m., I have single-handily made each and everyone of my kids mad. Not really sure what I did, but the older 3 left to school angry and the younger one went to preschool upset too. For two of the older ones it was about chores. Seriously. One didn't want to do them and I wouldn't budge. The other one did the chores, but they were all done half-baked. When I asked him to clean up the piles in the corners of his room, I didn't mean move all the piles to one pile making it extra huge! I meant find a place and PUT THEM AWAY! This info came as quite the firebomb. Man, smoke came out of that kid's ears. The last child was mad because of the way I was helping him with his math. He didn't like it and said I was explaining it to him like he was stupid. This was not my intent. I was trying to be sweet, to explain clearly etc. Finally, the little tot was mad because I suggested she wear a certain outfit to preschool. Apparently, by the screams, dead...

Saturday, we tried to get our yard ready for Jay's nephew's wedding reception that will be in our yard this coming weekend. Having an acre, that task is huge. I happened to mention to a friend of mine that our whole Saturday would be dedicated to getting the yard ready. I just was telling her. I didn't expect a thing. But, this good family, all 10 of them showed up on my doorstep and they worked with us for over 2 hours helping us finish what we hadn't completed. It was a blessing!!! They helped us get our garden done (which was the worst), they edged, helped me dump and smooth out bags of dirt, and hauled away all the corn stalks. It was truly a blessing. The boys left together to go to a church meeting and me and Kens and Maylin took the girls and 3 little boys to ice cream. It was the least I could do to my Good Samaritan neighbors. Besides, I LOVED the company. We had such a nice time. When my husband asked why they came they said they always are looking for ways to...