Gimme an "A!" Gimme a "V!"

Ok, I won't cheer spell avoidance, but that is what I'm currently indulging in.

I have a Holiday Open House (if you're interested, send me a message and let me know how to get in touch with you IRL) tomorrow night, at my neighbor's house, and have gift bags to put together, product to organize, decor to choose and pack, signs to create and print, a calendar to print, packets to make...

I have cookies to bake and dip to make, and still need to change all the bedding, clean the bathrooms, and dust and vacuum that main part of the house. That doesn't include the rest of the things I want to complete before we head out of town for Christmas.

I have no excuse other than being lazy and procrastinating.

I do have a MAJOR prayer request for my praying readers...

We found out the weekend of Thanksgiving that BIL and SIL will be at the In-Law's for Christmas. They do not know that we will be there. We were asked if that bothered us, and really, no, it doesn't. It will be nice to see them, regardless of the junk in their lives. It will be nice to spend time with our niece and nephew and to allow our kids to interact with family. It does mean, however, that in the middle of our trip, we'll be packing up and moving to a hotel for the days they are there. MIL wants them at the house. She rationally knows that simply being home for Christmas as a family will not fix the troubles in that part of the family...but I also know that deep down, her heart is strongly desirous of mending of a marriage occurring over home made chocolate chip cookies at Mom's house...

Please be praying for a peaceful Christmas. That no matter the emotions and issues that are going on, that we can all keep them at bay for those days to provide a time of peace and celebration as a family. This is huge...BIL is still very defensive and attacking of everything that SIL states. SIL is resigned but definitely hurting as are the kids. Not sure about Grandma, MIL and FIL...know that BB is of the type that realizes that we cannot control their behavior or decisions...but is still hurting for this situation to be happening...

YUCK!

Thanksgiving Thoughts

After reading several chapters again in Stephen Covey's 7 Habits, I've been struck hard by some changes that need to occur in me.

I won't go into detail here, because I truly need to work on this within myself, with God's help...

In addition to this spiritual whack to the side of my a la Leroy Jethro Gibbs, I just finished watching Rachael Ray's Thanksgiving episode, which left me reduced to tears...

Let me explain that I am in no way shocked at the extent of the need and hurting in our own United States, let alone the world. I was just thinking about the final scene of voice over and images from this particular community where the unemployment rate is currently 50%. That is 1 person in every house that is out of a job...and hearing Morgan Freeman's voice asking me what I'll be doing as I gather with my own family tomorrow, to celebrate a day of Thanks-giving...

It just sort of hit me...I have so much for which to be thankful. I know that at this time of year, we all seem to focus on that, and then, as the holidays pass, and we get back into our routines of school, sports, Church, and household type things, we forget those things...they get glossed over in our minds, as we watch our families and friends play with and show off their gifts, use their new toys, play their games, wear their new clothing...we pack away the lights and wreaths, trees, and garlands...and with that, we pack away our desire to serve, to give, to share and to love.

This year, I'll be focusing on all the things I can be thankful for, and insuring that my household is thankful every day, and is giving every day.

I want my children to be aware that there are those who don't have what we do, and that there are ways that we can share what we have with those people. More importantly, I want them to know that those people need food, clothing and shelter every day, not just between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day.

It will be a challenge, but I already have a list in my head of things that will be done over the coming year, and how, in the months ahead, we can show our children that Jesus isn't just in our hearts, but in our hands and feet as well as we share and give.

And the "Gibbs" to My Head Happened This Morning

SO, after I posted yesterday, I felt much better...after all, getting things off your chest is a good thing right?

Well, this morning, in my reading of "My Utmost for His Highest", good ol' Oswald talked about not letting our attitudes get in the way of our living for God...he talked about not becoming critical of people who were doing things differently than we were...

Enough said on that...pick up a copy and read for yourself today's entry...

A Real Goat-Getter

OK - after my confession of yesterday...I feel much better...and thank you Farmie for letting me know I'm not the only one who has felt that way...

Now, I went to Church this morning sans BB. The kiddos were all gung-ho, and frankly, I was in that place of grumbling about how i really didn't want to go, I'd rather stay home, blah, blah, blah.

I'm glad I went. It was a great sermon. The worship was wonderful, and I had the chance to fellowship with some friends (BB usually hustles us out the door immediately after service).

However...I noticed 2 things that irked me quite a bit today, and I really had to pray and focus on the reason I was there...

Thing #1 - people who wander in 10 minutes after service starts, holding their cup of Starbuck's coffee, and nonchalantly sauntering down the main aisle to the front row as if nothing is wrong.

OK - I realize that it is better to be a bit late to Church than to not attend at all. I realize that God wants all people to come to His house and worship and be fed. But don't you think it's a bit rude to be late to God's House week after week? And it's not as though they change the start time of service each week...besides...even with the size of our Church, it is still distracting to other worshippers...

Thing #2 - People who show up in clothes that look as though they've fallen into the garbage disposal and then been used to change the oil in a vehicle...or that they are painted onto a body. Or men (regardless of age) who do not remove their hats upon entering a building (any building). Case in point - 2 people, one a young lady (although I use that term loosely) showed up in a skirt that almost looked like a tube-top she'd decided to wear on her bottom half rather than the top half, a tank top that was about 3 sizes too small, and high-heeled ankle boots with very loose and loud chains on them. 2nd person was a young man (probably 25, so not that young) who appeared in a pair of cut-off jeans that were frayed for about 2 inches, and hung a bit past his knees...but also about 4 inches below his waist. He had on a shirt that was a band shirt...and it was rather anti-Christian, I know the band...trust me, so not a "believing" band, and his ball cap at that slight turn to 1 or 11 o'clock, and his Vans slipping and slopping on and off his feet.

Again - I know that God wants all people to come to Him and be saved. But would you show up at Buckingham palace to meet the Queen and her family like that? Would you honestly show up at the White House for a State dinner dressed looking as though you'd just rolled out of bed, or out from under a car, or off a street corner????????? AUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!!!

Alright...you can see my conservative upbringing, and I felt rather guilty dropping my kids off in their classrooms this morning in jeans and shirts...collared on Captain Chaos, and a little ruffly baby-doll a-line type shirt that was an "iron me" shirt on DG...and the jeans were clean, and well-fitting, and they had on dressy shoes...but still...they went to Church in jeans.

Now, maybe that's not such an issue to you all, but for some reason, I can sing worship songs to a band that has an electric guitar and bass, a full drum set, as well as a piano, and the like, I can clap, and cheer, and do motions when the kids sing with us in Family Weekends...but I simply have the most difficult time getting over people being late and inappropriately dressed for something like Church.

I think it goes to my firm belief that each day of our lives, we are supposed to be giving our best for our God...He doesn't really ask for much, in my estimation, after all He's done for us...so to give our best, and to be a temple, a living and holy sacrifice for God...to me, that means I take care of myself - my physical self by being healthy, fit, and not choosing things that are destructive to my body, my mental self by reading, listening to, and watching things that are positive and affirming and uplifting, my spiritual self by reading His Word, praying, worshiping, spending time with Him and other believers on a regular basis. I believe that part of being a living and holy sacrifice for Him is how we appear - clean, neat, in good clothes (clean, tidy, good repair as we can make them).

I met a woman when I was SC one time, who was living working as a waitress, barely making enough to pay rent and buy food, but she always showed up to everything she did (work, Church, picking her kids up from school, errands) in clothes that were clean, pressed, no stains.

I asked her once how she did it, and she answered me that if God gave His Son to save her from eternal separation because of sin, that the least she could do was to always be neat, clean, and in good repair. It was not a matter of her own pride in her self, but her pride to be a Child of God.

And the lateness...would you show up late to your grandma's for Christmas dinner? A doctor's appointment? Your job? Why then, do we not show the same respect for God...we have formal appointments with Him at Church each week, so how is that different than showing up for our job or school each day, or your appointments with doctors and professionals? Is God less because we can't see Him? Do we think that somehow, He doesn't know that we wander in late to Church, more intent on getting that double-shot, latte with skim milk and sugar substitute, along with our pumpkin scone? And that's another thing...when did it become OK to have refreshments during a worship service?

I obviously have strong feelings on this one...but boy-howdy does it rub me the wrong way.

Again - feel free to disagree with me, or call me a snob, or hypocritical, or whatever...but trust me, the only reason you'll see me get up in Church is during the last 3 weeks of a pregnancy when I simply don't have room in my bladder to last 45 minutes between potty trips, or if I'm bleeding, or about to vomit. And I won't be chewing gum or nursing a caffeinated beverage...I'm there to focus on worshiping God and be fed His word and teaching...

Embarassing Confession

They say confession is good for the soul, and so I must admit to this, because, well, it's long overdue.

Back around, oh, 6 years ago, I was lamenting the fact that my doctor had told me in much softer terms "Good luck ever having children". It was ugly, I was a wreck, and for the only time in my life, I understood why couples didn't stay married "til death do you part". I saw no reason for BB to be saddled with someone who couldn't give him children...

That's not all. About a year before we conceived Capt Chaos, we received a call from my adopted sister. The one with the drug problems and arrest record? Yeah, that one...she was calling after her latest bail out to inform us that she was pregnant. About 2 months later, some friends of ours that had been married all of 18 months let us know they were pregnant. Then, my maid of honor, also married about 18 months, let us know that they were pregnant too! To top it all off, halfway through our pregnancy, Missionary Man and his wife (married not quite a year at the time) announced their pregnancy. All of these people had no trouble whatsoever conceiving, and I was angry. I was mad that I was finally getting to experience the wonders of pregnancy and impending parenthood, and had to share it with all these other people...in fact, had to experience it after most of them did.

About 3 months after Capt was born, we found out my sister was pregnant again. This was insufferable to me...based solely on the fact that she is unmarried, in so much trouble with her choices, and wasn't even sure if this child had the same father as her first.

We had no difficulty getting pregnant with DG, but the concept that those around me were fertile, in fact, one friend told me that she actually would go stay overnight with her folks each month to insure she wouldn't get pregnant, was more than I could bear.

And now, stupid and petty as it is to type it here, knowing that Missionary Man and SIL are also due with their 3rd, only days after our 3rd is due is just really grating to me. It doesn't matter that SIL is a full year and then some older than I. It doesn't matter that they purposely planned a pregnancy for while they were home from Africa. It doesn't matter that they want their children close together. It doesn't matter. At. All.

What matters is that they will be here in Colorado when my baby is born, and very shortly after I get home from the hospital, Mom and Dad will be divided in their attentions because they'll have another grandbaby born that will be deserving of their time.

I have another confession. Never once in my life have I had any momentous occasion to myself. I got my ears pierced when I was 8, and that was it. By the time I was old enough to hit puberty, my adopted sister who was 2 years younger than I was hit it not even a week later. I got my first bra, and mom decided about 2 weeks later that sister needed one too. My high school graduation was the same year that Designer Man and Missionary Man completed their undergraduate work, so Mom and Dad dragged the family to Designer Man's ceremony, turned around and left the next day to drive to Missionary Man's ceremony, and didn't arrive home until about 6 hours before my Senior Night, at which I was performing a solo. To top it off, while Preacher Man and his family were in town for my ceremony, it was also his 10th Reunion.

My wedding day was marred by my sister having a temper tantrum that she was not in the wedding (don't ask, I'm not going there today).

Our 3rd anniversary was spent on a trip to South Carolina for Missionary Man's wedding. Our 4th anniversary was spent at the hospital recovering from Captain's birth (which was the best anniversary gift ever, but still)...

I know it sounds childish and petty, but it still irks me that my birthday is the same day as my nephew's...and many other things like that...

Sometimes I hate being part of a large family for reasons just like this.

We don't have any Holiday or special occasion in our lives that isn't shared with some other family member's birth, anniversary, or death.

And now that you all know just how selfish I am...you can feel free to chew me out for it. :D

Sunshiny Day

Well. BB went to work again today. A first as he hasn't been into the office on a Friday in quite a long time. Also special because he was home so many days last week and into this week sick.

I am glad that he's feeling better. I am glad the kids seem to be on the mend. Captain's cough is lessening in frequency and severity. DG's snot is thinning and changing color. Her cough is still pretty intense, but she doesn't seem fazed by it. I'm sporting that constant tickle in the back of my throat...the one that makes you feel as if you breathe too deeply you'll fall over dead from the coughing attack? Yeah...that one.

Although...it is supposed to get into the high 50s today, with clear skies. SO, my windows and doors are open to get the nasty germy air out of our house.

So far this morning, I've:

• put on my mask and gloves to clean up after the cats
• vacuumed all thing upholstered and carpeted
• swept all hard flooring
• changed the kids' bedding and put on clean
• dusted the kids' rooms
• scrubbed the kids' bathroom
• changed my bedding
• scrubbed my bathroom
• done 3 loads of laundry (not including bedding)

Still on my list:

• clean the kitchen thoroughly
• dust all the knick-knacks and furniture
• clean the powder room
• finish all laundry
• do the ironing
• select a great photo for our Christmas card and get it printed
• address envelopes for Christmas cards and begin writing notes
• clean playroom and rest of basement as thoroughly as one can clean an unfinished concrete box (insert rueful smile here)
• pull out Christmas decorations and sort through which ones I want out this year
• select recipes for cookie/goody baking for exchange with neighbors
• finish cleaning nursery and sorting clothing for baby

I know that's a lot, but BB will be gone all day today at work, all day tomorrow and Sunday at a Woodworking show/convention with my Dad, and Mom has a quilting class that goes most of the day tomorrow.

I have a lot of time on my hands, and even with throwing Church attendance into the mix, will have many hours with no husband to interrupt my productivity.

Well, I've got to get back to it.

The kids are watching "RindaReddy!" (That's Cinderella for those that speak DG) and are actually sitting quietly on the couch.

my time just went off indicating that "break time" is officially over, and just in time too!

When It Rains, It Pours

Well...since I last posted, Captain Chaos' symptoms have neither worsened nor improved, DestructoGirl is sporting a constant stream of snot from her nose to her lip, and BB has been fighting the ick for the last 6 days.

He worked from home Monday through Wednesday, although that really only involved logging in and checking email in between episodes of WWII shows on History, TLC, and Military channels, along with sleeping.

I was totally unable to do anything, as he was sleeping in his recliner, in the family room, and would startle awake if anything louder than a fly blinked in the room.

SIGH.

As a result, I have spent the day running around, tidying up, scrubbing, mopping, emptying trash cans, and catching up on my favorite blogs and FB. I am no comfortably ensconced the chair, watching my episodes of DOOL, my one guilty pleasure, and a steamy mug of caffeine free herbal tea which tastes rather a bit like mud, but is "safe" for me and baby to be sharing.

My nose is stuffy, and I have an icky cough at night...BUT I'm healthy - no fever no aches, no signs of anything more than just a slight cold on top of the fun "rhinitis of pregnancy" which I am so lucky to deal with. Honestly though, being as I never suffered a blip of heartburn or indigestion, nor swelling, or elevated blood pressure, I will take the constantly runny nose. Much easier to just carry tissues with me everywhere (I already do that as a Mom anyway) than to fight things I can't treat with any OTC medications.

That being said, my doors and windows are thrown wide, in an effort to rid the house of the stale, stuffy, germ-ridden air that has ensconced us for the last 6 weeks, on and off...and the sun is shining.

Our car wouldn't start this morning, so I had to drive BB to work, and Capt to school, run my errands, come home, put things away, clean up, turn around and go pick Capt up, and then come home, make lunch, put the kids down for their naps, and pray that they sleep long enough to be fully rested, give me time to finish some more housework, and yet wake up early enough to be fully awake so we can pick up BB from work.

BB and my Dad are going to a woodworking show this weekend, and will be gone all day Saturday, and I'm praying, all day Sunday. That way I can get my entire house cleaned up, disinfected, and get Christmas decorations ready to be put up...and in fact, may even start putting things up early next week.

I'm excited about it. After all, in 4 weeks, we'll be at the in-laws for our Christmas visit.

I must, therefore, get busy with shopping and photo selecting for a Christmas card.