Is relief in sight?

I came to school this morning needing some encouragement. (Yes, I am typing this at school!) Sometimes life becomes too much to handle. I feel like I need a vacation from it all- work, family, house, everything. Trying not to break down into a pool of tears and trying not to become so angry with my kids has become too much right now. I feel like I am at my breaking point. I have prayed about it, believe me. I am still waiting. I know God isn't Santa Claus and does things in His own time, but I feel like I need some relief. I feel like everything rests on my shoulders right now. I don't know if it is because Drew is working so much (football season, you know) or if it is being around negativity ALL day long or that my kids seem to know how to push every button I have right now. But I need a break. I have tried to fake it by joking around and laughing at work, but I lose it at home. My kids are suffering because of the way I feel. I feel like all I do is gripe at them and they don't deserve it. (Well, some of the time they deserve it!) Maybe this is how life is and I have had it too good for so long. Please pray for me. I need some relief.

At the park!

Addie was not happy being held down. It is so hard to get a picture of the three of them if she is not in the mood! The boys took a good picture, though!
Swinging like a big girl. She is on a regular swing! No baby swing for my girl. She just holds on real tight and I hold my breath so she doesn't fall off!
Two little monkeys!
Addie is in the kitchen on her new bike before we left for the park. Glamour girl!

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee! She climbs up the slide and slides down by herself. She gets mad if someone tries to help her. I don't think we let Bryson do this until he was three years old! I can't believe how independent she wants to be and how big she thinks she is. She is growing up way too fast. I was hoping she would stay a baby a little while longer, but it looks like she has other things in mind. sniff, sniff :(

We had a good time at the park. It is really the school playground by our house, but the boys call it the park. Bryson rode his bike, Jackson rode his little Diego tricycle and I pushed Addison on her new bike. We stayed about 30 minutes and rode home. The boys were so cute racing each other and playing chicken in the street. Don't worry, there were no cars around!

Playing around

I have been playing around with my blog a little bit today. I am SO technologically illerate that it makes me feel good to be able to make changes to my blog on my own. I don't have to ask anyone for help! I will try to add more things a little at a time. No need to get crazy or anything!

I did something else productive today! I put together a tricycle Addison received for her birthday almost 3 months ago! I haven't put it together sooner because 1) I didn't want to go through the hassle, 2) it has been too hot for her to ride it and 3) I really thought Drew would eventually put it together! It only took about an hour from start to finish. Jackson "helped" me and was really excited when I let him ride it around the house when "we" were finished.

We went to church today and had a good time. It is always uplifting and refreshing to go. We really enjoy our Sunday Morning Bible Study class and have made some friends there. I feel like that is a place where I can be open and honest and won't get judged. I don't open up very often because I get so emotional sometimes. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable. I'm sure this will get easier with time and as relationships grow.

We are having a SMBS party at our house this Saturday night. This is when Drew and Breon are suppose to have a cooking contest. Everyone who attends the party are going to be the judges. This was Breon's idea and he better not try to cheat! ;) I know he has some hook-ups at a couple of resturants. He and Drew are suppose to shop together and prepare everything together. We will see if he lives up to his end of the bargain. I will let everyone know the outcome of the contest. It will be exciting, it nothing else!

Not much else going on. We are going to sit back and watch some football today and I will, hopefully, get to bed early!

They bigger they are...

the harder they fall! This applies to me.
Thursday we had a school-wide skate night. It has been a WHILE since I have donned a pair of skates. Just like riding a bike, right? WRONG!

Things were going okay (I had only fallen once.) when some of the kids decided to form a train or conga line. We had about 4 or five in our train and had even managed to do several laps. We would break up now and then, but would form our train again. Anyway, toward the end, (I didn't know it would be the end.) Bryson was holding on to my back pockets and we were cruising (slowly) around the rink. A little girl grabbed onto him and down we went.

I landed HARD on what I thought was Bryson's skate wheel. My butt was in PAIN. When I finally got up Bryson was holding his arm and crying that no sound comes out cry. You know the one. That is when I realized I landed on his arm! I just KNEW I broke it. There was no way his arm could have survived my fall with the way my booty hurt. I tried to remain calm and get him up as easily as I could. We took off our skates and got in the car. He was holding his arm the entire time. He was being really brave, also.

I called Drew and told him I thought we had a skating injury that might require medical attention. When we got home he had the ice pack and Ace bandage waiting for Bryson. Upon further inspection, we realized his arm was probably not broken just really sore.

The next day he was fine. My butt, on the other hand, still hurts and I have a large bruise forming on my right cheek! (I know, too much information!) Drew did tell me that I better not post any pictures! (No, I didn't TAKE any pictures!)

The funny part was the next day at school. I heard Bryson say, "All my mom's hundred pounds fell on top of my arm!" What could I do but give him a big hug and promise him a sticker! Who ever said that boy doesn't know what he's talking about!

And you thought telemarketers were persistent!

Today was the big fundraiser kick-off at school. Bryson was so excited to get his packet. He has high hopes! He is sure he can sell 80 items to win a pre-paid cell phone. (I don't know why an 8 year old needs a cell phone, but I cannot comprehend the mind of this 8 year old!)

On the way home today he was going through a list in his mind of all the people he could hit up to buy things. (His list was pretty short!) Our next door neighbors were on his list. We are friends with them, so he decided it was okay to go to their door. (He knows the dangers of talking to strangers. He is so shy sometimes he barely talks to non-strangers!) Anyway, at dinner he was trying to get up his courage to go talk to Ms. Patty. He convinced Jackson to go with him and even role played what he was going to say. We finished dinner and off they went.

They were gone about 10 minutes before I asked Drew if I should go find them. I could just picture them in her house talking her ear off! As I was walking toward the front door, they came in.

"Well, how did it go?" I asked.

"We knocked on the door four times and she never answered. Then we looked in the windows and didn't see her, so we tried to get in but the doors were locked."

"You WHAT?!?"

They repeated exactly what I had clearly heard the first time. Then the yelling began. "You DON'T try to 'get in' someone's house if they don't answer the door. She must not be home. Do WE try to get in other people's houses? Do WE look in other people's windows?" It went on for a while. Use your imagination!

So, here is my warning: Bryson has 13 days to reach his goal of 80 items. If you don't want him stalking you or trying to break in your house, buy something from him or avoid him completely!

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Drew and Addison stayed home today. From the minute she woke up this morning she started crying. This continued for an HOUR! Finally, I called Drew to come back home so he could stay with her. I put her back in bed and she went to sleep. She slept until aroud 9:30 this morning. He said she had two BIG poopy diapers and gas like a man. Could it be my new dinner routine? I sure hope not! Maybe she is getting too much fiber all at once? I don't know. I may have to feed her something different. So, my favorite day was ruined today because of excessive gas. Hopefully next Wednesday will be better!

Dinner

Okay, everyone who knows me at all knows I HATE to cook. I like to bake, but I HATE to cook. Things don't taste good when I cook. Plus it takes like an hour to cook and everyone eats it in 10 minutes. Then you spend another 30 minutes cleaning up! I can think of so many other things that need to be done in that amount of time. So, I was reading another blog. This person hates to cook, also. She serves her kids small amounts of several different things. This sounded like it was something I could do.

So, beginning yesterday, I decided to approach dinner differently. (This is just on nights when Drew is not here. When he is here, he takes care of dinner. Love you, Sweetie!) I feel good about this new arrangement. Last night the kids ate apples dipped in peanut butter, pretzels, oranges and yogurt. They thought it was great. I ate the same things and I had some celery and Laughing Cow cheese. We got in a couple of servings of fruit that they need and I didn't have to turn on the stove. I also didn't feel bad about letting them have a scoop of ice cream later. Tonight they had boiled eggs (Does this count as cooking?), nectarines, oranges, pretzels, string cheese and milk. Although Bryson informed me that this is not "really a meal," they enjoyed it. I enjoyed it as well and I didn't have a heavy, full feeling afterward. Looks like a plan to me!

Bryson has been working on homework for a while. I am typing this while he is getting in his required 20 minutes of reading. He has the timer set so he doesn't read more than absolutely necessary! He finished his book before the timer went off. After about 10 seconds, I realized what he was doing. He was reading the title of the book over and over trying to "read" until the timer went off! I just told him that I don't think that counts, but he informed me that he is "reading." Too smart for his (or my) own good sometimes!

Yesterday he told me that he couldn't do his homework at school while I was in a meeting. Why not? It HAS to be done at HOME! Again, I am in trouble with this boy! He is so literal sometimes!

I appreciate everyone's prayers today. I felt the Lord working! I had a sense of peace and calmness today. I didn't have that tense, tight feeling in my chest today, so it was a good day! May tomorrow be the same! That tense, tight feeling didn't start until I got home! Just kidding! ;)

Tomorrow is the day I get to sleep in! I get so excited about that extra hour! I may just stay up until 9:00 and watch something on tv tonight!

Why?

Why are some people so grumpy? I have been known to have some grumpy moments, even a grumpy day or two. But, all the time? There is someone I see often that is ALWAYS grumpy. No matter what I say, she/he (I don't want to give away her/his idenity!) has a negative response. It can be a real downer. I had hoped to rub off on her/him in a good way, but sometimes I feel myself getting so worked up and stressed out just being around her/him. I know she/he needs the grace, love and hope that only our God can give. I have tried to talk to her/him about going to church and finding "something" that brings her/him joy in life, but, again, I was met with negative responses. I KNOW I am not a perfect person, and certainly not a great Christian, I just want her/him to see that you can be happy and have joy even in bad situations. I have definately been through some doozies, but I can still manage to smile most of the time and be joyful. I don't mean to sound judgemental, I just want to be an example of how be happy even in bad situations. I hope and pray (Believe me, prayer is the only thing that keeps me sane sometimes. I'm sure my sanity is even questionable occassionally!) that I can be a light in her/his dark world. Please pray for me and this unnamed person. We really need it!