Maybe that waterfront property in Egypt wasn't such a bad investment.

To understand the title, you will need to have been a reader from way back. Or an author of this blog. Or, you can read this post. 

The Caravans by Vincent van Gough

Well. This is a turn of events. You may or may not know that my family are a tribe of nomads. 

It's true. 

We move every year.

Well. Not every year. But close. 

Let's see.....(counts on fingers) this will make 4 since 2009. 4 in 4 years. 

Huh.

Ok. So I stand corrected. 

Every year. 

Looking back at that, I marvel at how incredibly ridiculous that seems.

Stupid, almost.

So. Where was I? 

Oh. New move. Gotcha.

We are going back to Charlottesville. Yay!

We are going to start a church there. 

Dave and I have known for a long time that this was our path, eventually. We just didn't expect it to rush at us like it has done. This is going to be a HUGE leap of faith for our entire family. Dave and I both have jobs, making sure that we have enough to survive in a place where rent will be double what we pay here.

We are looking for a miracle house. We need something that is around $1000, 3 bedrooms or more and in a very specific area. One of the conditions of moving was that the kids could go to school with some of their friends from when we lived there before.

So, if you pray, please pray for us to find the home for us.

Pray for me and my kiddos, too. Right now, I'm going and spending Monday-Thursday nights with my BFF, Pam. Yay for BFF time, boo for missing my kiddos. But I'm working for some Christmas money, and moving money. Deposits and moving trucks add up quickly.

So this journey has taken many twists and turns. I never would have guessed that we'd end up back in Cville. It's funny, seeing how I reacted so graciously to leaving there. I also never would have believed what I'm about to say. I'm richer for having left. I made some very dear friends along the way, and can't imagine not having them in my life. 

So, If you , like me, are moving and trying to transition during is season, I wish you Happy Journeys and Happy Holidays from this travelling family. 

Heck, I wish you that, even if you're not.

~Jen

ps. I need you to know that I'm sitting here with my earbuds in. My office is full of boxes and I can't get in there. I have to sit in the living room. While they watch The Walking Dead. I can't handle that mess. I'm listening to Trans-Siberian Orchestra Holiday station on Pandora. I just needed you to know that. ;)

Mary had a black sheep

My mother said that I need to put up a new blog post. She had read the Halloweenie one a few times.

Hi Mom!

I guess she got spoiled by our posting for 31 DAYS STRAIGHT!

So. Here  you go, Mom. In honor of the laughs we had this afternoon.

I'm trying to remember how this all came about. Somehow we talked about going to hell in a handbasket. And my brilliant self beat my sister to getting that on Facebook.

Well, this took its natural course. Which is, of course, nursery rhymes.
We laughed about the morbidity of them.
Then we did the ultimate Nursery Rhyme MashUp.

I give you .... a product of our twisted minds.

Little boy Blue come blow your horn,
how does your garden grow?
London Bridge had a great fall.
One a penny, two a penny!
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
and a spider sat down beside him.
They all ran after the farmer's wife.
Ashes, ashes, and the cow jumped over the moon.

~Jen

UPDATE: My mother in law had a handbasket for me at Thansgiving! We laughed and laughed over that Facebook status. Then, whenever we would wander into a conversation about someone that has done our family dirty, or is just plain ole' mean, we would say that we have a handbasket to give them.

It was funnier in person, I promise.

Direct Hits {A Little More Serious Sunday}

Since I do love unnecessary reading, ie. Regency Romances, I sometimes have to work a little harder to counteract all that nonsense. In addition to my daily devotions,  several times a week I do a lesson in a Beth Moore bible study workbook.  

I think they’re designed to take like six to nine weeks if you do five lessons a week, so it takes me about three to six months to get through one.  I finished The Help in 24 hours but it takes me 90 days to do a bible study.  I am not proud, only honest.  Anyway, I finished the Esther workbook back in the summer.  And now I’m working on Breaking Free.  Mrs. Moore is awesome.  

What amazes me most is that no matter the day, time, season I’m doing a lesson, it hits me exactly on target.  

Last Thursday, the lesson was on being in God’s will.  Beth says we often ask God to bless whatever we’re doing.  Basically saying, “Hey God, here’s what I WILL be doing today, so if you could show up and bless it, that’d be awesome.”  Direct hit. 

My standard morning family prayer goes something like this (okay exactly like this) “bless daddy at work, bless mommy at home/work and school, please bless Josh, Jared, Josie, and Jill at school...”  And while I know those places we’re going are not optional, I CAN choose to change my prayer.  Giving our day to God and asking Him to lead us and direct us in all things.  Above all those blessings, please help us to hear His voice and, even more help us have the courage to obey.

Beth gave these verses Jeremiah 29:11-13 as reference.  Don’t just focus on the very popular v. 11, make sure you spend some time on 12 and 13, too.  I was so inspired we had an impromptu family devotion on Thursday after dinner so I could share my revelation.  Where my eldest interrupted me because he wanted to also include v. 10.  Which I said, yeah, but that’s just about the prophecy (yes, I did say it in a snotty tone), and he says to me but mom, it’s all about the TIME it sometimes takes before those plans are revealed. 

Another direct hit.  So I humbly suggest you read v. 10-13.

Thanks Beth Moore...and Josh.

Pam

This is Day 7 in our 31 days series (okay, we may or not make it a full consecutive 31 days, but it's technically Day 7).

You can check out our other posts here:

Day 1 - Jen
Day 1 - Pam
Day 2 
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6

Pinspiring

That’s a little misleading.  I wasn’t necessarily inspired by a pin.  I did keep up with the photo searches I did for inspiration with Pinterest. 

Anywho.  Here’s what I wanted.  Every year Davy gets a bear ornament, Liv gets a mouse ornament, and Gabe gets a reindeer.  Sometimes, it’s difficult and expensive to find good ornaments.  I decided to make them this year. 

So the search began.  Thank you very much Google Images.

Ok.  So that’s what I’m copying.  Here’s what I made.

I’m so proud.  They’re so cute!  Dave LAUGHED at me for being so excited about my work.  Laughed! 

It was fun making them, but even more fun carrying on a tradition that we’ve had all of their lives. 

Oh.  And you better believe these are going on Pinterest. 

(Is it terribly sad that you blog only to have somewhere to pin your work from?) 

Young Us/Now Us

I know it’s been a while.  I know! 

I did move.  I deserve a little slack. 

I also discovered Pinterest.

A bit of a time suck, that.  But a fun one.  If you want to join, you need an invitation.  You can get one here.

But in the midst of all that, I went home to my Mom’s.  Their pool needed repainting.

Anywho.  While at home, my sister and I finally did something we’ve been wanting to do for a long time. 

We recreated a picture of us as kids.  I’m submitting it to YoungMe/NowMe. 

Just.  Fun.

Here’s two of the cutest, smallest girls ever.

    

And here we are now.  Not fitting at all into the toy box.

Fun Fact:  That toy box was my grandfather’s Army locker.  My grandfather that stormed the beaches of Normandy in WWII. 

Well.  That was a fun time, there. 

Do you have some retro photos that you want to recreate for this project?  Believe me, do it.  It was loads of fun.

Things I love Thursday ~ Basement Edition

I’m blogging from my basement.  Well, not really.  My In-Laws’ basement.  It’s not finished.  At.  All.

We live in upper east Tennessee, and are getting the leftover storms from the Alabama devastation. 

We have a Tornado Warning through the night.  I herded up the kids and various paraphernalia to get to a safe place.  (I think I freaked my daughter out a bit, telling her about the warnings.)

I’m thankful to have a basement to go to.  When the wind starts whippin’ I want a place that feels safer than somewhere with windows all around. 

I watched The Weather Channel today and saw all of the destruction in Alabama.  It really is heart wrenching seeing people’s homes and lives be taken. 

This dirty, buggy, glorified crawl space has become a haven with peace of mind.  Seeing that my kiddos are safe is the thing I love the most. 

I linked up with Things I Love Thursday.  Go find out what others love, or better yet, link up! 

Did you get severe weather where you live?  Did you have to hide out in the basement or bathroom?

Dream a Little Dream of Me

Warning: I've decided to forgo any long and involved backstory to this post, I've decided to take it directly from my journal. Also I was going to say in this case the devil ISN'T in the details but honestly I've never been sure how to appropriately use that particular phrase. Feel free to enlighten me.

Some days I am crushed by the weight of making decisions. All decisions, the big, scary, life-changing parenting/career decisions and the itty-bitty 'what's for dinner' decisions. I love my family. I know it's cliche but they are truly my pride and joy. They are also my identity. Thankfully it's one I've worn proudly for many years. (I'm sure I'll continue to display the Mom badge on my vest for many years to come! I've earned it!)

(Awe, aren't they cute little, life force drainers? I kid, I kid! I adore them!)

But I know God has begun to plant the tiniest seed of a new dream deep within my soul. And I am afraid of what He's going to ask of me. I tremble to even ask Him what the plan is or what it might (and I stress MIGHT) entail.

But on rare days, like today, I dream of accepting the position without even reading the requirements. My dreams soar and dip and twist. They send my pulse racing with excitement and at the same time my chest tightens in anxiety. (Dare I hope that you, my sweet little blog, will be part of this change?)

There it is again, that fear of the unknown comes creeping back. No, not fear of the unknown, fear of exposure. Exposing a new identity to my world. Showing a different side of me, the 35-year-old, mother of four who could stand to lose a few (okay a bunch) of pounds.

I hide behind my four beautiful children. I hide behind my home. I hide behind my responsibilities. I hide behind my weight. I hide behind my mom uniform (jeans and a plain black tee). I hide behind my routine in the every day.

So in the year of our Lord two thousand and eleven, I'm making a to-do list. No goals or resolutions.

Number one on my list? Rediscovering me. I don't have a 12 step program or even a *new* self-help book. Nope, I'm gonna do that by doing this:

Loving the Lord my God with all my heart, with all my soul, and all my mind. ~paraphrasing Matt. 22:27

May 2011 bring you many days of peace, happiness, love, discovery, and of course many, many days of staying in your PJs til Noon.

I’m missing my boys. That’s all.

I’m in Kingsport, TN with one of my children.  I’ll give you one guess which one.

 

 

You WIN!!!  It’s Olivia. 

But all of my boys are still in West Point.  7 hours away. 

I’m here because I passed my drug test.  (Yay for me never doing drugs!!!)  And I have an appointment for my physical, and then next week I’ll begin orientation.  Soooooo.  It’s official.

I’m a working woman.  Well, I will be. 

And there’s a possibility I’ll get to work nights. 

 

*chirp   chirp*

Really, people.  That would be a good thing.

I belong to the Nightus Owleous genus of our species.  So this would be a to thrive in my own habitat.  Plus, I’m of the opinion that it will be an easier transition from not working.  Patients sleep at night.  There will be stuff to do, but I don’t think I’ll be as overwhelmed on nights. 

Oh.  I forgot to mention this. 

$3 more an hour.  The night differential is a HUGE incentive to do the night shift.

I just wanted to give you an update on the work front.

But.

My husband and sons are far far away.  (Not IN Far Far Away ~Shrek #4 comes out this week!!!) 

Right now I’m poking my bottom lip out.  I miss my boys. 

Liv suggested that I clarify this.  I was including the hubs in “my boys.”  Cutie patootie.  She wanted you all to know that I miss my husband too. 

Anywho, that’s the end of my whine. 

So what’s new with you?

Boys will be boys, even when the sprain their ankles (or especially when.)

This is my youngest child.  Holding a crutch to his head.  He’s a very creative child.  As soon as the nurse left him alone with the crutches, he turned one into a gun.  Then turned that onto himself.

You can take the gun away from the boy, but you can’t take the imaginary gun from the boy psyche.

Oh, you’re wondering why Gabe has crutches?  Oh.  Typical boy story.  He was playing with his dad.  (Do all injuries start out this way?)  He jumped off of the chair and landed with his ankle sideways and heard it pop.  Once the screaming stopped and we calmed him down, we could see it was pretty swollen.  So we did what all parents do. 

We waited. 

And when the swelling did not go down (I don’t know what we expected) and once I  called our Medicaid case worker to be sure I had the correct ID #, we headed off the the ER.  Well, with a pit stop at our local Dollar General for a pair of flip flops. For him and his sore foot. 

Y’all didn’t think that I stopped in the midst of crisis for a cute pair of flops, did you?  Well, I did peruse, but I resisted. 

So then we hit the ER.  They did such a great job of getting us in and out of there.  The did the digital x-rays that took, about 10 seconds, and we were through.  The longest wait was for the Dr. to type up our instructions. 

~No breaks, just a sprain near a growth plate so they decided caution wins the day and we get a cast and crutches.  BTW.  Those crutches, Gabe named Cru and Utch.  I told you, he has this wild imagination.

That’s my poor little hurt kid.  Can you see how much he’s suffering? 

And because when you go to the ER, you get to pick what you want, he picked Chinese.  Somehow, the little bugger got my camera and took LOTS of pictures of this place.  Just what I needed.

See?  Never say that I’m unwilling to post unflattering photos of myself.

Here’s one I like to call, “Moooommmm!  I’m hurt here!  Put the phone down and pay attention to MEEEEEE!!!!!”

This is actually a pretty cool.  He got a pic of me twittering:  Sprain your ankle, not only do you get a cast & crutches, but you get beef lo mein & fried rice too. Its hobbler's choice.   

So?
How was your Monday?

This kid? Oh my heart. It hurts. He’s 9!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wow.  How did this happen?  It feels like just yesterday we were a little overwhelmed, knowing that a third (surprise!) baby was on it’s way. 

And then the little stinker decided to break my water just as we were leaving to go to dinner with my mom and sister for that one last hoorah before baby. 

And the next 6 months or so are sort of a blur.  I remember being tired.  I remember putting a baby in the sunshine to get rid of that nasty baby tan.  I remember a bald little baby with a tiny lump on his temple.  I remember he wasn’t as good a baby as our first but not as intense (scream-y) as our second.  I remember that sweet baby smell.

Nothing of that smell remains.  Now he runs inside and I smell him.  You know that smell.  Boy. 

This kid climbs anything.  He always has.  He was a tiny little thing climbing on top of the playground equipment.  After a while, you get used to it and aren’t afraid for him any more. 

He’s short.  It is the bane of our amusement park experiences.  We are praying he’s grown enough to get onto the next biggest roller coaster.  Cuz, when you want to so bad and you can’t…it is heartbreaking. 

He’s LOUD.  I don’t think the term “inside voice” even registers in his brain.  You can hear his laugh, his songs, his conversation with his brother from the other side of the house.  Sometimes I have to send him outside just so I can think.

He’s cute.  I mean, really.  Look at that picture.  It’s one of my favorites from youth camp last year.  It captures him perfectly.  In the middle of one thing, already looking to what he can get into next.  He gets away with stuff because of the cuteness (other people, not with me…well, often) and he knows that.  It’s dangerous.

He’s compassionate.  This is my favorite thing about him.  He notices when people are hurting and wants to help.  He has a heart that’s bigger than he is.  He is not a selfish kid. 

He loves his momma.  His dad calls him a momma’s boy & he just grins at me.  That’s my boy. 

I know that children are shaped by their parents and family.  So I’m proud that he’s turning out to be such a great kid, but some of his qualities have nothing to do with me.  God shapes personality and that inner self before we ever get our hands on them.  And when I think about this particular surprise, I’m so glad that God knew better than we did.  We thought we were done at 2.  But we needed that third.  And today he’s 9.

So this Thursday?  What do I love?  What am I so very grateful for?  I think you can guess. 

For more Things I love Thursday, click here.

O.V.E.R.W.H.E.L.M.E.D.

So how's your week shaping up? Mine...eehh..not too shabby. I just finished a marathon of laundry and dishes and picking up trash, cuz obviously putting your valentine candy wrappers in one of the 10 receptacles we have is just too darn hard. Now I'm parked in front of the tube, watching Idol, in my current favorite PJs. D is out of town for a couple of days, the girls are in bed, and the boys are in their cub cave. I, at this moment, am caught up on homework and the housework beast is in its cage (not tamed, just contained). So I am sighing, sipping (H2O) and soaking up the relative quiet.

However, last week I had hit one of my push the button days. I won't bore you with all the details but the gist of the matter is I had multiple homework assignments (including a big essay) due this weekend, D & I were in charge of a special children's service at church on Sunday, I had class on Saturday, and of course the usual suspects--laundry, cooking, cleaning, kids..blah blah blah...

On Wednesday evening (after a fab lunch w/ the BFF) I was fighting with the computer at church trying to beat it into submission while simultaneously writing out the schedule for Sunday and making notes of what we still needed to do to prepare. As usual I began to first doodle on my paper, and then my doodling took a different route.

I found myself writing the word OVERWHELMED. And then I wrote it a second time vertically down the page...like this:
I am...

Over Scheduled
Very Tired
Enormous Responsibility
Rejection, fear of it?
Work Overloaded
Helpless
End of my Rope
Losing Battle
Mad at Myself &
Everybody else, too
DONE

I'm not really one to dwell in that kind of misery and it truly made me feel better just to write it down. So of course I had to start writing again and this time I wrote:

I am...

Okay
Very Blessed
Enormously Loved
Revered (obviously I was stretching it on this one..revered, really?)
Welcomed (again not the best choice..I was doodling, people!)
Hopeful
Excited
Loving Life
Madly in Love w/ family
Eternally Minded
Done with Doubt

And finally doodled on my paper, with an assortment of stars all around it, was a short portion of a scripture...'unto the Lord not for men.' Col. 3:23

Ahh..yes..that centered me and you know what? I survived last week, and I'll make it through this week, too. Still overwhelmed at times? Yep. Gonna stay that way? Nah..it's too much work to be overwhelmed!

Merry Christmas!!!

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Retro Christmas Pic ~~ Merry Christmas Eve!

I could look at this picture all day. But it's Christmas Eve, so I won't.

This is my sister and myself at our grandparents' house. I love that she has a laundry basket of apples under the tree. She always did at Christmas.

Grandmothers.

Who knows why they do things they do?

Well.

These two little Christmas Elves are wishing you a Merry Christmas!

A lesson on Thanksgiving

My oldest son is reading books for his History and English parts of school. One of the books he read was The Landing of the Pilgrims by James Daugherty. So for a “break” today, I asked him to come up with a lesson from the book for Livy & Gabe. He read a chapter from the book then had them re-enact it. With props. It was great.

I don’t think you can see it, but they are harvesting and shucking paper corn. (Please ignore the vacuum in the other room.)

Davy is explaining the animals and how to kill them with the beads he provided.

“Stay there, bear. Let them kill you.”

He made all of the props himself out of construction paper. He tapped the creative portion of his gene pool.

Livy is aiming and throwing the beads to kill the paper animals.

Look at the rack on that deer. Can you tell the boy loves hunting? I think that’s his dream deer.

“Let us give thanks for our paper meal.”

“Now, dig in!”

They rounded out the lesson by telling things they are thankful for. Family, food and dog were in the top 3.

I’m thankful for 3 things as well. Can you guess what they are?

Wordless Wednesday - A Day Late

Remember my new chalkboard cookie jar? Jill decided to practice her mad writing skillz:

She was copying her Hello Kitty backpack. Obviously the 'O' just wouldn't fit. It's been a week now and we haven't erased it...what does this say about my family? My boys have also taken a perverse pleasure in showing anyone who walks in the door.

That's right, we got Hell O Kitty in our cookie jar. Beat that!

Skool @ the Hiz-ouse

 

It’s official. 

We are going to Home School our kids this year.

To some of you this may not be news or even newsworthy.  But to us this is a HUGE deal.  Well, for me.  I’m so afraid I’m gonna screw up their education or ability to learn or maybe even un-teach them things.  Ok.  I exaggerated a little. 

Our reasons for schooling at home this year are mostly selfish.  We are not coming from some noble place where we feel pulling them out of school is the absolute best thing for them.  Although if you look at it like breastfeeding and daycare, I would agree with you.  But growing up in the home of educators (not 1, folks but both parents!!!  I got away with nothing at school) I do believe in the school system. 

However. There are several reasons for this decision.

#1.  You may know that my husband is a Pastor now.  That means he works weekends.  Every weekend.  Both sets of grandparents live at least 5 hours away.  To visit family, we would have to pull them out of school. 

#2.  We could possibly be moving.  Again.  Just in the same area, but switching houses.  There are 3 different school districts within 5 miles of our current home.  I can almost guarantee that if we move, it will not be within this district.  That would have meant our kids getting into a new school, then switching schools.  Again.  I just don’t have the heart to do that to them. 

#3.  I’m throwing away the alarm clock.  Haha!  Not literally.  But it will be super nice not to have to get up at 6:30am anymore unless we are heading out to some amazing field trip. 

#4.  Field trips.  I can’t wait for that part of this journey.

So.  There you have it.  My completely selfish reasons for learnin’ them babies  my own self. 

I’m quite qualified, don’t you think? 

Sunday Afternoons were made for the river

We have spent the last 2 Sunday afternoons at the river. Same river (I think) but different spots on it. This is at a friend’s river house. They had a wave runner & boat. I didn’t pull the camera out until the day was almost done. We were relaxing up on the bank & the kids were jumping off the pier.

Gabe climbed up on that post and did a flip off of it. It’s blurry, but the best one I got (dang shutter delay on the camera).

Here’s the beautiful sunset. I can almost feel the mosquito bites now.

It really was beautiful, though.

Ok. Here’s part 2. Our church picnic was at a campground on the river. One of our church girls brought her puppy and Livy never let that dog alone. It sure was a cutie.

Gabe got in on the puppy swim lessons.

Poor dog would swim to the shore and they’d drag him back out. He seemed not to mind too much. I hope…

He’s making his getaway. Quick, puppy! They’re right behind you.

This is what Davy was doing while they were “teaching” the pup to swim. This boy loves fishing.

Gabe found a dead crab and had to have a picture of it.

We have been busy going places lately. And I really have not a whole lot to say, so you get pics of what we’re up to.

Maybe next you’ll get to see us at Busch Gardens. I’m just glad nobody got pics of the last trip, where I split the seat of my shorts. Luckily it was the end of the day and dark. I made Liv give me her shirt to tuck in my waistband to cover the gaping hole (she was wearing her swimsuit underneath).

That was the breeziest walk back to the car…ever.

What kinds of things are you doing to round out your summer?