"Why did you take a picture of your 'yarning'"?

1 Saturday
3 kids
3 different parks
3 cities
9 soccer games

We survived.

More than survivied, it was fun. After watching Mary's first game (in Orangevale) Angela stayed with her while I spent the day at Tadpole's games. Nick's dad took him to his games.

Soccer seeding tournament.

Mary looked over the pictures and asked," Why did you take a picture of "yarning"?

An action shot! Going for the water!

(this one is from practice, Thursday night.)

We are loving soccer!

Movie Night....

friday night

blankies, pillows

popcorn bowls

lights dimmed low

everyone piled in momma's room

"Mom, are you really going to watch this time?"

you betcha!

family time

watching and explaining

a battle between

openness and prejudice

selfishness and caring

ending with the kiss

(ughs were heard)

movie night

Unplugged Pt 4: at the soccer field...knit some, pearls too

{yea I know, couldn't resist. }


Another way we have pursued my dream of being increasingly unplugged is soccer!


All three kids have joined soccer teams this fall. We are in the practice period, no games yet; with Mary practicing on Mon and Weds, and Taddy and Nick practicing on Tues and Thurs...at the same time, BUT at different parks! Yes, it is a logistical challenge and it does take up 4 nights a week, but it is GOOD!




Last night I took my ice tea, a couple books and knitting out to the soccer field. Mary played under a tree as I relaxed and watched. Unplugged.

By the time we get home they are tired, famished, and after clean-up, we have reading time then off to bed.




They are excited to show me new techniques they learn and I watch their practice scrimmages.




I am eagerly anticipating our first real games....and yes, I will have logistic challenge. Even so, we are finding it a fun way of being unplugged and getting some excercise to boot.


{Is knitting considered exercise? How about lugging books and a camp chair around?}






Oh, and in true Julia style, I wore my pearls to soccer practice!

Keeping it small...

sometimes I need to deliberately keep my life small.

small is cute
small is good
small is comforting
small is doable
small is home and cozy and focused on what is essential, important
small is loving and peaceful

at times I get overwhelmed with all that is out there and with all that everyone else is doing and all that could be done

I start second-guessing my life, and my path and my doings, because my approach is not like all that is out there.

and then, I feel the need, to reign it all back in. pull it back to small.

this family, this son, that daughter, this other son.
this home
this heart
this way

and let everyone else (i know not everyone else) let others go big, or go this way or go that way and take another approach.

i need to keep it small.

like Sarah Mae was talking yesterday about freaking out over starting homeschooling and could she do it. and one reader commented that she did not need to do it like anyone else was doing it. and i echo that. I start looking at all the other ways to do this thing, (life, kids, God-walking, writing) and i start freaking, I am going to fail, I need to go do this and that, and that other thing.

i do not need to do "it", what ever it is, like anyone (everyone it feels at times) else is doing it.

God sees the uniqueness of me. us.
No two alike
No two families alike
No two paths identical

so stop the focus {talking to self here} on all the big, out there, different ways folks are approaching this and pull back in to the path you know, the smallness of you and God and your family. And that is big enough.

1000 Blessings {More}

I added to my 1000 blessings list this week, did you? I would love to hear what has blessed you. Here are a few entries from my list this week:

items 38 t0 52

hammocks

playing pirates with "Cap'n 'Tad' Sid the Silversword"

reading Good Night, Good Knight to all three, again

a black bird ruffling feathers in the dripping fountain

the end of a good book

the beginning of another good book

saturdays

plans

a summer rain

a good belly laugh

my ipod

a hawk floating on the updraft

listening to sisters talk

satisfaction of a lot accomplished in a little bit of time

Want to read some gifts/blessings of others? Go here and enjoy.

a paean to belly laughs and sister chats

I learned a new word today. Well not really new...it dates back to 1589, but new to me.

Paean. Pronounced \pē-un\ as in "Mom, don't come in the bathroom, I'm peein'!" { Betcha won't forget how to pronounce it now. :)}

It means a tribute, thanksgiving, a work that praises or honors its subject, a joyous song or hymn of praise.

A nice seldom used word. Try to slip it into your conversation sometime in the next couple of days.

I spent the evening with my mom {and dad and kids} visiting my mom's sister {and her grand kids and great grand kids}.

I sat out on the edge of a backyard bluff, with hawks soaring on the wind (truly) and young deer folded down into the tall yellow grasses underneath scrub oak trees, knitting and listening to the ebb and flow of a sister to sister chat over the background of children playing {sometimes squabbling}. Occasionally I joined in the conversation, when I had something to say, but over all I was just relaxed to knit and listen. I enjoyed how the conversation weaved in and out around this family member, that bit of news, this church event, that child or grandchild, and looped around to Jesus and his work, and future and death, and books and the dimension of heaven, and belief and faith. I saw my papa, normally choosing not to engage in most conversations, come alive when his opinion was asked on this biblical point or that one. Did not matter whether we agreed wholeheartedly, or varied our opinions on a particular point, I loved that his soul came alive with the topic (and our interest in his views) and that it was as natural to talk about Jesus and the life beyond this one, as it was to talk about our children's schools, and jobs and their latest passions. (Puzzles, soccer, and the WII).

Comfortable, real and family. Loved it.

On the way home, I can't even remember how it exactly came up, but my mom and I made an inside joke over a shared point of conversation....and although we could not explain it when asked (by my 11 year old son)....we cracked ourselves up resulting in a real, hold your tummy laugh!!!! It has been so long since I belly laughed. It felt good.

You have to be deeply relaxed and stress free, content to laugh that hard. Does that mean I have been the opposite of that for a long time? {Am I uptight, stressed and discontent?} I am not sure, but it has been far too long since I laughed like that. My mom and I use to make each other laugh like that a lot. But not a lot lately. I think we are both too busy worrying about the other person {how is she doing, is she really ok, her life is so hard} and worrying about our own lives {how am I doing, I am not sure I’m ok, this is so hard}, that we have lost our sense of humor in the middle of the stresses of life.

I hope {in addition to this awareness of the need for relaxation} that the 1000 Blessing “project” will help bring some of that humor and joy back.

I also realized that conversation and relaxation take time. You can't rush them. You can't say, “OK, now, for the next 15 minutes I am going to be totally relaxed.” Or, “I am going to have a quality chat with this person. Oh, boy what ever will we talk about and how will I fill all the pauses?” It doesn't work that way. It takes unstructured chunks of time; as in stop the clock, drop the to-do list, erase the schedule and just be—to relax and have real conversation.

For me, knitting is a relaxer. A slow methodical clicking of the needles, yarn over, slip off, yarn over, click, click. The repetition and gentleness of knitting, the softness of the yarn, the satisfaction of growing rows.

So this is my paean to the belly laugh and to enjoying my mom and her sister having a relaxing chat. I am blessed to have shared in both.

To top it off, it just started raining. I heard it through my open window, grabbed my cell phone, went out to the backyard in my pajamas, raised my face skyward and called my mom. “Hey it’s raining!” She replied “I’m going out to the backyard.”

I pray you have a relaxing Sunday and a good laugh.

Worth a double post.....

I posted this on my adoption blog today, but it is worth a double post.....

I love Linny's heart for God that she shared in her blog post today on adoption.... I truly believe it is an act from the hand of God that will impact lives.

Be free to pursue God's calling...... A must read, especially for singles...but for anyone to get the right perspective on singles adopting.

She said it better than I ever could!

Read it here.

Bravo, Linny, Bravo!

A Praying Momma

In my desire to become a better momma, I know prayer is one of the foundational stones. I do pray for my children, for our lives, for insight. I do pray.

Yet, I have been attracted to the thought of "praying without ceasing."

"Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." I Thess 5:17,18

I have thought this nearly impossible. I mean to do have THINGS to do each day, items that occupy my thoughts. (The thought of these perhaps becoming idols is throught-provoking, read here.)

Last night I read about an interview that Jerry Jenkins had with Billy Graham (Jenkins, p. 67) and in the process he asked how he maintianed his own spiritual disciplines. And Billy Graham's answer was: "There's no secret to that. God doesn't hide the key from us. The Bible says to pray without ceasing...."

He went on to share how he did this practically. He shared that he was praying right then, as he was talking to Jerry. All day long, regardless of the activity, or the conversation, in his heart and mind he had an ongoing dialogue with God. It overlapped in my thoughts with the principles from Brother Lawrence in Practicing the Presence of God.

As a single parent, I often feel alone. I watch my child make an exciting play at a soccer game and turn to share the joy, and no one is there beside me to catch the look of admiration in my eyes. I laugh over my son's funny joke or antic, and no one see it too. I take them across the parking lot, fresh new backpacks, pristine uniforms, grinning faces to the first day of school, with my heart and eyes swelling, and no one is there to share it with.

Then, I discovered their "other parent" was there all the time. Jesus. Out of this awareness I am trying to cultivate this on-going dialogue with Jesus. "Look what he just did, oh, thank you for him. Isn't she precious, help her. He's sad and upset, help me calm him. Did you see that? Let's just grin at 'em."

And I am no longer alone.

I have not grown to the point of praying without ceasing, but I desire it, and am trying to cultivate it.

That is where I am on my pilgramage into prayer and into becoming a better momma.

Unplugged Part 3: Other's Ideas from Simple Mom

I have not posted an unplugged post lately...and I came a cross some great ideas from Tsh at Simple Mom, so I had to share....go read about 20 Indoor Activities for Kids - Besides TV.

I especially love number 20, and the case for dealing with boredom. I often find, if left to their own devices, my kids will think up the most unusual and creative pasttimes. Recently Taddy asked me to purchase used spoons from Goodwill (after I found my kitchen spoons under his pillow with permanent sharpie ink faces drawn on them)so he could make a set of spoon characters...and then last night, both boys collected rocks out of the yard and made their own rock armies.... {I'll post rock pictures later tonight}

so enjoy the list and let some unplugged boredom be the initiator of creativity.

A Simpler Momma

It is funny, {interesting, not funny, ha ha} that sometimes things can end up being so simple.

I have a tendency to make it so complicated and confusing by losing site of my momma purpose. I have been waiting, asking, praying and perplexed over a couple of key concerns or decisions that would impact my family and others. I had been taking into consideration all the thoughts and feelings of many others, and lost site of the key purpose of what and why.... and then...

This morning I was reading two hard-to-grasp the meaning of (for me) verses in Eph 2:6,7.

"And God raised us with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparible riches of his grace experessed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus."

Sometimes the writings of Paul, inspired by God, can be so hard for me to understand, so high, or lofty in theology, that I don't get what he is saying. That is the case with these verses. Part of these verses I get: We have been given a new life in Jesus, resurrected from a life of sin and deadness of soul. I get that. I experience that!

But then the .."seated with him in heavenly realms"...part, I don't know what that means...so I looked it up in one of my commentaries and read:

"participate with him in his ascended majesty".

This is what it says to me:

Once Christ ascended to heaven, He did not stop with his purpose and plan and just sit around waiting for the Father to say, "Go get 'em. now!" He is working on his plan, bringing it about, his kingdom purpose being actively worked. I get to participate with what Jesus is doing now - post resurrection- by living in Him, if I AM living in Him, then I am participating in his plan and purpose. He has a plan of action now, that by his extravagant grace, I get to participate in it. And for me, now, my key piece of that plan of action is his plan for my family, for my children.

I saw, with the two things I am struggling with the question to ask is: What is best for my children? It simplifies the whole question of what should I do. By best, I mean a full, rich best. Best spiritually, emotionally, physicially, relationally....eternally. What is eternally best?

I think the decision making process became simpler, clearer. I become so muddled with all the circumstances and impacts and consequences, or the fact that this person or that person won't like my decision, or that it might even be harder on me personally. But, seeing what is best for my children, I just have to go do the hard thing, because it is the right thing.

sigh.....so pray for me in that. I am a chicken in letting folks know things I think they will not like. But I want to be a better momma, and that means a simpler momma with my eye on my momma purpose!

1000 blessings....one blessing after another....

I got the idea from Ann, here and here...especially seeing her daughter start a numbered list of gifts from God. (I must tell Nick about this...he will be all over it! Taddy too!)

I was struck last night and this morning by John 1:16:

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

growing in the fullness of God's grace...I do not want to have blind eyes to his blessings all around me. His daily "kisses". His way of showing he loves me. The whole earth is full of God's glory, of little "godbits", manifestations of Him, his handprints everywhere in our lives. He loves and he shows it. Open my eyes and heart to see it. How highly favored we are.

I too often look at the challenges, or dismal situations, attitudes, or state of my imperfections, rather than focus on the relationship with my Jesus and his demonstrative love. None of the junk daunts him, why let it capture my eye lense?

Reading about Ann's changes when she started listing the gifts God gives her, how it opened her eyes to the goodness of God all around her, and turned her heart to joy, my heart responded to that chord. Joy in the middle of all of it, by seeing God all around. So today, I am starting my 1000 blessings list.... one blessing after another, and from time to time I will share some snippets from my list.

Want to join in too?

Snippet from today's list:

1. My three children dressed in their uniforms, smiling faces, eagerly walking across the school parking lot.

2. First day of school

3. other women -'sisters' - passionate about Jesus and family.

4. my 'job' - through which God provides finanical blessings to my family.

5. lunchtime with a book, journal and pen

Love Notes in their Lunchbox...

First day of School - 2009

All packed and ready to go, with secret love notes from momma tucked in their lunchboxes.

A happy day!

Summer's end.....

Although the calendar, and the weather does not say that summer is over, school starts for my children tomorrow...so for all of us, it feels like summer is over, mentally, emotionally.

Yesterday we sorted and labeled all the school supplies, filling three backpacks. I love fresh pencils, never used crayons, new empty notebooks...(why did my 11 year old SON choose a Tinkerbell spiral notebook?!!! Should I be concerned? He said it was to be funny.)

We are so happy with our school, brand new Summit Christian School. With my kids in kindergarten, 3rd and 6th grade! I actually like that the 3rd and 4th are in the same classroom and the 5th and 6th. Cozy.

Makes me want to go back to school myself, which I have been thinking about. On Beth Moore's blog recently where her daughter, Melissa, had a post about dreams and what did you dream of when you were young.

I dreamed about first having a family. I was so afraid Jesus would come back before I got to have kids...and lookee here, now I have a house full, or at least it seems like it around dinner time, or let's hurry and get out the door time. My other dream was to be a school teacher.

Challenge is now, I could not afford to be a school teacher, sad to say. Being the sole provider for my family and three kids, soon to be four, in private school, well that takes a big chunk of change each month. But I still feel kind of wistful about it each fall. I love to volunteer in the classroom. ....

I also have a dream to write...so I fantasize that I could teach and make up the difference by writing. Both way out there dreams, aren't they?

My company has a program where they will pay the tuition cost if I want to go back to college and get a teaching degree/credential. I already signed up for the program and got approved (One class a week at night), and took and passed my CBEST. So I am thinking, with the kids returning to school, now is my time to follow-through on it...well maybe when soccer season is over. :)

I don't see how I could do anything with the credential, once I have it, but who knows...and what an opportunity to be able to get the schooling for free....

Just kind of rambling tonight, aren't I?

Well I have bedtime stories to read and kids to put to bed, no clue how I am going to get them to sleep at their regular school bedtime.

Bye-bye summer, hello school year.

Baby Steps...

Update: Ended as a good day, as well, with making the whole crew pb sandwiches and reading a couple books in Mary's room..... Nice finish.... I did stumble once, or twice...but I just keep marching on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Today was, is, so far, a good day, better day..... took some baby steps to doing the right thing and being a better momma.

Feels good!

Tomorrow is beach day! Yippee. My favorite place on earth!

Praying for Unstuck...

run run run run,

hurry, hurry, spend, spend,

find fun, find fun, go, go, go

do it, do it, stop it stop it!

did you hear me?!

off, off, nightie -night, i'm done!

stare

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What are the people in that picture smiling about? Rushing equals smiling? I don't think so.

Sometimes, I sit at the end of a day, and think, as I catch my breath, another 24 {12} hours spent and what!!??

We rush through the FUN parts so fast, and overspend the budget so grossly, that any 'goodness" is tainted with "rushness' or "shouldn't have" or a guilt-clad intentions to make it up later.

I agree with this sweet blogger I follow, that I too have as "one of my desires and goals... to SIMPLIFY my life and only fill it with things that are worthy."

But I don't do it. Mostly. Often.

Lifestyle, culture, easy old habits all pull against this desire..so that I find myself, once again, shallow, empty and stressed when I realize I COULD have made other choices, but did not.

Eats at me.

What's a momma to do?

Sometimes it feels like our way of living is entrenched so deeply in these frantic, over-extended habits, that I can not even think of a way to start chipping away at it.

{And this is suppose to be a vacation week. Which of course it is, and truly, we have had some good days in it....just today was a bit too much of a frenzied one, and I saw it in my kids, by the end of the day, like little wildcats all tearing over the same piece of ___________, (fill in the blank without getting too graphic).}

So, I am not one without hope.

It is a journey, I am not at the destination, where I am now, is not static, is not the end. So this current mire (how DO you spell that word? ie, mucky, stucky place), is not a forever stopping place, and I am sure, like piles of laundry in the basket, a few layers have already been taken off, put away. Simplified. I just see the pile and feel the stress of it at this moment.

I, too, think, part of it, is the cries and hisses of the over-zealous kitties that have finally retired to their dens are still fresh in my ears,

plus I received some new insight the last couple days, listening to Dr. Karyn Purvis' three videos; {Almost too much insight. Awesome stuff} and I have to do something with it. It is too important. I can't just eat the seed, I not change! I now have to take the word that was spoken and sow it into my life...and my kids life.

And I want to. The spirit is sooooo willing and the flesh is screaming bloody murder.

I am praying for wisdom, for the first step. {Taking the entire thing and trying to sow it at once, feels like trying to turn myself inside out, literally.}

I know God did not bring me to this insight, to just let me suffer in my inability to bring it about. :) I know that......

Just feeling it tonight, and feeling a little stuck.....

Praying for unstuck.

The Momma Task...

I am finishing up a Bible study I have been doing over the summer by Jennifer Rothschild, called Me, Myself and Lies. I am on the last week of homework, near the finish line, and today's studying was around "March on my soul, be strong." -Judges 5:21

Jennifer talked about how a "daunting task, --particularly one that involves risk, sacrifice and pain--can make the best of us want to wave a white flag." (p 134).

I know for me that "daunting task" is when I think to the future of raising four [precious] children alone - being a single, broken momma with broken children in need of so much, and all the responsibility of providing [work/money/house}, running a home, managing a family, and nuturing each individual needs and the wisdom needed in each of those areas, that I do not have..that is my daunting task. Don't get me wrong, I love being a momma, I love my children, but the task is daunting.

And I know ME. I know my weaknesses and flaws all to well, my tendencies and my desperate need for God, daily and my ever-troubling tendency to not be consistent in that.

Which brings me to something Jennifer had us read, about the sons of Koreth. (Numbers chap 16, and chap 26:32-33). The leader Koreth and his family were chartered with the task of tending to the tabernacle of God, all the contents, and ministering to the people. They were not the priests, that went into God's presence and made sacrifices, but that took care of the tabernacle. Koreth and his followers however, did not feel that task was good enough, they wanted to be the priest and they rebelled against God and against God's leaders Moses and Aaron. Sadly, their rebellion led to 250 of them being consumed by fire. Yet, all the sons of Koreth did not die, and went on to care for the tabernacle with a humbled heart and to love God. In fact, the sons of Koreth wrote some of the most beautiful Psalms, including Psalm 84.

In our homework, we were to write some of the verses in Psalm 84 in our own words to God, and I did it in mind of my daunting task and want to share it with you.

Praising God for my Momma Task - Psalm 84:1,2,4,5,7,10,11,12, (paraphrased and personalized)

How lovely {precious} to be in {allowed to live, invited into} your presence, O God. I yearn {long for} your presence. My soul cries out for you. I am highly favored to live in your presence, it makes my soul swell as in song.

Favored and happy am I because I find my purpose and strength {hope} in you and my heart's desire is to journey with you, closer to you. I move from one encounter with you, which brings me strength, to the next strenghtening encounter, until I will one day be face to face with you. {your word, your word, your word, is how I encounter you, your word and heart-whispered prayers}

One day in your presence {in your favor, at the center of your will for me} is better than a 1000 days elsewhere. I would rather do the momma-task you have called me to, in your presence, than anything else the world would offer.

You are the light of my life {my soul}, my protector {my champion}, you favor me and honor me and do not withhold what is good for me.

O Lord Almighty, Abba, Adonai, I am happy and highly favored to trust in you.

Selah. {Pause and think on that}

Something new......

I have started something new... a blog focusing on my journey to becoming a better momma.

Today I was inspired, by someone else's journey, as well as what God is doing right now, just this moment, in my momma-hood. The inspiration made me look back over the journey of the past 11 years with the realization that I have not always been a good momma, sorry to say, but I am becoming a better momma. Perhaps my journey will help others along the path.

Let's see where this journey goes...

PS....I actually did some knitting today! Wheeeeee!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Update: I decided rather than starting a new blog on "the making of a better momma", i would just put the series of posts on this blog as I get to them.

So here is what I posted yesterday:

I have not always been a good momma.

{am I one now?}

My children would probably say I am, except when they are mad at me for saying computer-time is up. My momma would say I am--but she doesn't live with me every day and see the dirt underneath the fingernails of my momma-hood.

No, I know I have not always been a "good" momma, but I am becoming a better one. I have started this ---- {series} to talk about just that, my journey to becoming a better momma; what I have learned these past 11 years and what I will learn moving forward.

Maybe there are others on this journey too.

How often I have to dust off my tattered hope and press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus has taken hold of me. Mommahood.

In the words of Ann Voskamp, "I am a broken momma of broken children" -- flawed and fallen, yet, by a merciful God, selected to be a momma of three--and hopefully soon, four-- precious children. Broken, flawed - all of us. Because of that, this will not always {often} be a pretty blog, but I promise {hope I am brave enough} to be real. I plan to write primarily of what I learn from this day forward; however I will dip into the well of history of my little family, just to make sense. We will see where this has come from and what lies ahead, what lesson's learned will benefit others and help them as well, become a better momma.

Sandee

French Cooking and Heroes

Today was vacation Day 1. A "staycation" more or less. {Day 1 and 2 are "Momma day" vacation and day 3,4,5 are family day vacation.}

It was a day to ssssslllllloooooowwww down, relax...think.

So what did I do? I went to the movies, one of my favorite past times, and saw Julie and Julia... I LOVED it, for so MANY reasons!

First just the part that was set in France, the markets, the cooking. And the realness of Julia, the romance with her husband, and that the heroine was so non-typical for Hollywood movies. Older, very tall, not the picture perfect, young, gorgeous, model-type. Yea!

I love that Julia knew nothing about cooking when she started.

I love the writing aspect of the movie, both Julie and Julia wanting to be published...and also the blogging part..since I blog, that part really was funny to me.

I did like the actual cooking {wish my kids ere more willing to experiment with foods, I could be a closet gourmet experiment, or at least my cooking could be.}

I that it was insightful when Julie was hurt because she was told that Julia did not like her blog, and Julie said Julia was perfect {meaning it had to be a flaw in her, Julie, not in perfect Julia}...Julie's husband said the Julia in her mind is perfect, not the real Julia...something to that affect.

I thought about that. We make these heroes out of people we do not really know and then, measuring ourselves in comparison, we fall so short. Or should I say, I do that. I often feel I have to do something so incredibly extraordinary, to be a hero. And these heroes I admire are really normal, flawed {broken} people, just like me {us}.

and I thought....

Be the hero of my own life! No one out there has to acclaim me, admire me, follow me, make a movie about me, to be a hero. Be the hero of my own life, to my children, and my family. To God.

How can you be a hero to God? What is a hero?

To me, a hero rises above the challenges, {circumstances} of their life and does the great thing with heart. That is what makes a hero to me.

A hero to God?

• Loving God greatly with all my heart.
• Doing with heart the important thing {calling} He has put before me. My calling? Momma to my kids for number one. and then whatever else.
• Be the hero in my kids lives, the one who loves and nurtures and prays and coaches and laughs and plays and leads, and did I say, loves... and stays with a happy face, and teaches them about God not just by words, but yes, by words -- but also by life lived out with love.

That is a hero is, in my life.

I also saw both Julie and Julia, as heroes in their own lives and they inspired me...stirred in me the ordinary hero each of us can be. May not hit everyone that way..but it did me....

Unplugged....? Sorta....

Yesterday was Diversity Day at Intel...and it includes a showcase where different groups at Intel, including their families preform. Mary Beth (with her momma, me :) ) performed as part of a parent employee group. Our theme was to show life outside of work with our kids and also celebrate our diversity.

Mary did a great job and we had tons of fun.....A room full of 100 or more audience, and she did not even bat an eye. No shyness in her.

Below is a smilebox I made of her picture and the actual song we performed to....Michael Jackson's black and white. Listen through....it is a cute version...and takes a about 40 seconds to get to the Michael Jackson part.....

So, really we were "unplugged" .. :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Back to School means "Fall"...doesn't it?

JJill is killing me! I love this knitted cartigan... oh and the jacket and gotta have those jeans.....

Fall clothes....

I love them!!! But it is still 90 degrees outside~


And I have the knitting bug.


I really want to make this sweater here. But am scared too. I mean can I really advance past scarves, hats, bags and "foofies"?
I know I will have enough time sitting at all these upcoming soccer practices!!!
I got the fall bug. As soon as school supplies show up in the stores (I have the supply list and but no supplies yet)...I am ready to move past summer weather and into crunchy leaves, ...

guess I am going to have to wait until October.... sigh..

It just does not seem right, to be going back to school and it is still August.... summer....HOT!

hmmmmm....

I guess I could turn the air conditioning down and wear that sweater....

Frivolous, silly stuff, I know....just longing for fall.