Right out of his mouth

I remember not to long ago, Joshua was my blanket baby. We thought we were going to have problems taking them from him but he eventually stopped carrying them. As a matter of fact, I just found them under his bed and when he saw them he said,"Remember when I used to carry those little blankets around, I don't carry them anymore because I'm not a baby."

OUCH!

It's the truth, he's not but...don't tell his mom.

Speaking of OUCH, the other day he told me I was fat!?!? This puzzled me because I have weighed the same since high school. I said, "Why would you say that? Do you really think I am fat?" He ever so nicely came up to me, grabbed my stomach and said, "You are skinny every where but right here!"

REALLY?!?!

The rest of me...

I know that I am always talking about my kids, my husband, or my sister but rarely about the rest of my family.

I also have 4 brothers. I am the oldest and then, Michael, Mandy, Matthew, Nicholas and Jay, (my cousin who my mom got custody of when he was a baby). My fourth brother died as a baby when he was 5 months old. I never really understood why. Not only why he was sick but why God put a baby in this world to live for such a short time, it makes no sense to me. I know I may never know the answers to all the questions I have but one thing I am certain of is, he and my sister have been reunited and they are waiting for the rest of us.

My parents are also a big part of who I am today. We never had much growing up but we always had plenty. Now, that I have kids of my own and realize how hard it is to take care of them, I have found a new respect for the sacrifices my parents made for us. My mom stayed home with us while my dad went to work. I never knew what hard work was until I became a stay at home mom after I got married. It is a very rewarding but difficult job. My dad has always been a hard worker but is now unemployed. It is hard for him to sit at home and see my mom go to work everyday because that is no the man he has ever been. I am thankful for them because they have made me who I am today. I just wish there was more I could do to help them because it seems like when it rains it pours. I am not sure when or if ever my dad will work again. I know they will make it through this but the road has been hard. Some how, some way, they will make it. They have made it this far, almost 39 years, through one trial after the other, losing 2 children along the way. I could never imagine and hope I never have to feel that pain.

Remembering my childhood and watching them now I know there is no problem to big. We are all faced with trials. There is always a way out, it may not be easy but it is just something we go through and come out on the other side a better person.

It'll be spring someday!

I just don't know when!

Don't you wish your girlfriend was

HOT LIKE ME!

HA HA HA HA HA

That is the song of the week at our house. I don't know why all of the sudden they are singing it. We haven't watched Alvin and the Chipmunks lately.

I have been listening to my kids play lately and it is so funny the things they say when they don't know you are listening. Right now, as I type, in between batches of snickerdoodles, Joshua is playing Madden on the Wii and is alternating between that song and another he is singing in school..."A...you're adorable, B...you're so beautiful, C...you're a cutie full of charm..."

Isaiah has a very good imagination but he also has a "lost and never to be found again until we move unless he threw it away box" somewhere around this house. I really wish I could find it because we are missing some things around here that I really need! The base of my coffee pot, our coasters, a piece to the vacuum...where, oh where, could they be? When I ask him he looks at me like I am crazy. I am but that's another story for another day. Some day, we will find it long after we buy a replacement.

Back to the cookies but remember not to lose your inner child, imagination is a great thing.

Today...

I often think about the people in my life that God has put there for a particuliar reason. On this day, just a few years ago, my future husband was born. It is amazing to me that God knew that day even though I wasn't born yet that we would be together. He knew that we would meet one day, fall in love, get married and be who we are today. Even though, I often enjoy giving him a hard time about our age difference (like when I was in kindergarten, he was in 8th grade). We were meant to be right where we are. Our lives took us in separate directions, we were in very different places at different times. But none of that matters, what matters now is that we have found each other and I am a happy girl because of it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BILL!

I love you and I am thankful for you today and always!

With every fiber in my body...

First, let me start by saying today we went to Bill's brothers house to celebrate his parents 50th wedding anniversary! I can not even imagine it. When I hugged her I said, "You are a good woman!" Bill said,"She is proof that you can make it 50 years with a Looman man, in case you are having doubts." You know, I love my husband with every fiber in my body. I could never imagine my life with out him. I have absolutely no doubt that as long as we are alive we will make it. It is amazing the effect another person can have on your life. When we have an argument, sometimes it feels like my world is falling apart. But when all is well, life is great.

Anyway, they had a nice little party. It was supposed to be a surprise but someone spilled the beans. I don't stress out as bad when we travel anymore because the kids are getting older and don't get into as much mischief. Isaiah really is the only one we have to keep a close eye on. He is nonstop fun! We were all sitting in they family room, everyone chit chatting, and he comes up to Bill's aunt and calls her a "tuba fart!" She laughs, we tell her it could be worse. Over Christmas break, we had our pastor and his family over for dinner, after dinner we were watching the Cavs game and Isaiah sat next to him on the couch, lifted his little butt cheek and "tuba tooted" on his leg! I gotta tell with every fiber in my body...I LOVE THAT KID!

God's will?

Recently, Bill asked a question on facebook about choosing the sex of a baby...do you think it is wrong? The post drew a lot of responses and a bunch of them had to do with God's will. So...my little brain started ticking. God's will is tricky, do we really know what it is or are we just trying to impose ours? I know there are times when there is a "burning bush" in front of us and then we can be sure but other times God's will is confusing. There was a lot of talk about "playing God" and how you shouldn't do it but, are you really looking at it from all angles? What about things like "the pill?" Why is it okay to prevent having babies? Is that not playing God? You are choosing to keep from having a baby that you don't want to have. If it is God's will that is what you are concerned about then why not trust Him after all, He won't give you anything you can't handle...Right? How about terminal illness? What about cancer? You all know that this is a disease that has hit home with me. God willed Mandy to have cancer. She trusted Him, went to doctors who tried to help her. She used modern technology to try to prolong and possibly save her life. Was she "playing God" because she didn't let nature take it's course. Before considering it wrong look at the big picture, put yourself in the other persons shoes. I don't think it is wrong to increase your odds, people do it everyday. I know this is my opinion and I would never push it on anyone. I am talking as a mom of 4 healthy boys, who I love and am thankful for, but I would be lying if I told you I don't have a yearning for a little girl. My boys were given to me by God and I wouldn't want it any other way. I am sure there are thousands of people who have always dreamed of a little girl (or boy) and if modern technology can help them fulfil a dream, why not take advantage of it if that is their prerogative?