Ten on Tuesday

1.   We are officially renters.  We are renting our birdhouse for a few months while we close on our new house.  The cool thing is that our house was not for sale.  Another cool thing was that God gave me peace during this entire process.  So basically a real estate agent called me before Christmas and wanted to know if we were up for selling because she had a couple who liked our house.  I didn't call her back.  She called again.  I asked Jason about it and he said just let them look.  So I cleaned (like crazy) and let them look.  I thought if it didn't work out at least my house was clean for the holidays.  But they did like it and we worked out all the details and as of January 14th I no longer own my house.  God's hand was on this the entire time.  Jay and Packy share a room and we have been talking for a while about how Jay needs his own space.  (He often requests alone time to play legos or draw.  He needs quiet sometimes to settle his fast moving brain.)  I think God also knew that I could not handle the pressure of listing my house and having to be ready for a showing at anytime.  So he took care of everything for us.
2.  I'm not going to tell you where my new house is but once again God is in the details.  It has a bedroom for everyone, a playroom, a big backyard, and my dream (but not a requirement)....a mudroom.  I have put more time into designing the mudroom as I have any other room.  We will be close to church, school, and Kroger.  Perfect.
3.  Have you ever been grateful to the point of being overwhelmed?  That's where I am.  As my pastor likes to say, "This is your God!".
4.  Jay and Jason spent the weekend with the cub scouts on the USS Yorktown. It is a huge aircraft carrier in Charleston and they got to spend the night on it for 2 nights.  Jay had a blast.
5.  Emory and Packy and I stayed at home.  It's funny how the dynamic changes with 2 people gone. Friday night they just played together.  I stayed up until midnight (normally I am asleep before 10) to finish The Girl Who Played With Fire. They each had a birthday party on Saturday and then we went to Burger King. It's a brand new BK with an amazing indoor playground and if you are a kid in Macon, it's the place to be.  I have yet to go and not run into people that we know.  I don't eat BK.  I really can't stomach fast food which makes me a roadtrip nightmare.  The great thing about our new Burger King is that they don't care if you bring food from another place to eat, so my friend and I went by Jim Shaw's and picked up some fried shrimp plates.  We did order all of the kids food at BK.  It's a win-win.
6.  I don't do cold.  I am over it.  Once I am cold, I can't warm up.  I can take up to 3 showers or baths a day just to warm up (my skin is really ticked about this).  I drink coffee and hot chocolate, stand on heater grates, and warm up my car before school if it is below 40.  I think I could be an island dweller.  75 degrees and above year round would be perfect for me.  I don't need seasons and love a good hot Christmas.  Skiing used to be something I enjoyed and now I really could care less about that.  I am happiest when it is warm. 
7.One of my projects while Jason was gone was to organize my recipe binder.  I did not have all of the recipes organized by category so I sorted them all on my bed.  I had to laugh when I realized that my dessert recipes outnumber all of my other recipes combined by about 8 to 1.  I am a sugar crack-head.   I am serious about that.  Moderation has never been one of my strong suits.
8.  I have not been taking a ton of pictures.  When it starts to frustrate me more than it is giving me joy I put it down.  I do not do well under pressure. 
9.  Betsy said I was not allowed to skip any more Tuesdays.  She thinks I can at least get it together once a week to blog.  I used to blog more than once a week but they were thoughtless therefore effortless posts.  I do actually think about this blog.  And pray over it.  And pray for those who read it.
10.  Thank you for the response to my appearance on the Flourishing Mother.  It was such an honor to be on Andrea's blog. 

Ten on Tuesday

(We have officially been told by the dentist to stop sucking our thumb.  So far it's not happening.)

(I am on the Flourishing Mother's Mama Monday.  Please visit here.)
Wow, it's been a while.  I don't know what else to do but jump in.  We'll see how it goes.
1.  We went to NYC to see Betsy after Christmas.  Two days after Christmas.  Remember what happened that weekend in the northeast?  A blizzard.  We had our bags packed and my parents were at my house ready to drive to Atlanta when our flight was cancelled.  Since we were the third day of cancelled flights we were at the bottom of the list to be re-booked, meaning our week long visit would have turned in to a weekend visit.  Unacceptable.  We brainstormed and came up with Amtrak.  All of the Atlanta trains were already booked so my Mom said to check Savannah since it's a different route.  Within minutes we had 7 seats on the Palmetto line running from Savannah to Penn Station.  So step 2 was to pack my mom's Tahoe with all of our stuff and drive to Tybee and spend the night.  We went to AJ's on the Back River and had dinner, watched the Falcons lose Monday Night Football, and went to bed.  The next day we left Tybee at 6:45 am and went to the train station.  We boarded at about 8:45.  We arrived in New York City about 1:30 am.  People kept telling us how crazy we were or how committed we were to our trip.  I never saw it as an option.  I was getting to New York by whatever means of transportation I had available.
2.  Packy got alot of trains from Santa this year so he was pumped about the train.  The other kids were excited too.  It really was not horrible.  You can bring food, drinks, and laptops.  We also brought books, UNO, and Nintendo DSs.  We had big, comfortable seats and it was fun to see the snow in all of the towns that we passed through.  I would do it again.
3.  New York was awesome.  We went to the Holiday Spectacular at Radio City and Phish at Madison Square Garden.  Toys-R-Us at Times Square, the carousel at Central Park, sledding at Riverside Park, and ate a fabulous (adult) dinner at il Buco.  We went to a New Year's Eve party (until 10) and got to meet some of Betsy's friends.  But the best part, and it always is, is just being with the Betsy, Lee, and the girls.  They are amazing hosts and make me laugh.  Good times and totally worth the effort it took to get there.
4.  We flew home.
5.  I am totally still out of my routine.  The kids went back to school last Wednesday but we are on our second snow/ice day today.  I am really craving some normalcy.  Whatever that is!
6.  Want to know what's hard?  Teaching your children to love their enemies.  Emory has had some issues with some girls lately.  For the most part I encourage her to do the right thing and let her handle it.  Yesterday I had to get involved.  Someone was being very unkind to her (and Jay) and she came home in tears.  The sweetest part was that the reason she was so upset was because this little girl was calling me names.  I guess the "don't you talk about my Mama" starts as a child (she called me an idiot and a Frankenstein?).  We talked about not retaliating and reflecting God's love so that she (the girl) could see that they handled bullying in a different way than most children.  (That was the talk we had after I calmed down.  When they first came home and told me everything that had happened I was ready to go over there and let her have it.  Jason advised me to not act like a teenager and show out.  Thank God he is the voice of reason in our house.  I did handle it in an adult manner.) 
7.  Babies are tiring.  Children are exhausting.  I am scared to death of teenagers.
8. My dog is having surgery today.  He has a torn ACL and has been limping for a month.  He is 13 years old.  Let's just say he has a Papa who really loves him and wants him to stick around for a few more years.
9.  I learned something in New York.  Clementines are the new Pomegranates.  Everyone eats them, decorates them, and even makes them into martinis.  I just wanted everyone to be up on what's "in".

10.  We sold our Birdhouse and bought another.  I can't tell you more than that because it's not 100% .  It's about 95%.  Maybe next week.  It's a testimate to God's affinity for the details of our life.

I feel music. (Repost)

We went to Phish at Madison Square Garden on New Year's Eve eve.  It was awesome.  Thought I would repost this from last year.

"Look man, you can listen to Jimi but you can't hear him. There's a difference man. Just because you're listening to him doesn't mean you're hearing him." Sidney Deane, White Men Can't Jump


I like music. I appreciate music. But most of all I feel music. You either do or you don't. I think lots of people like music and consider themselves a "music lover" and I think they do, but I don't think everyone feels music. Deep down in your body. Speaks to your soul. Connects you in way that your body can't deny. My life has centered around music since I can remember. Every kind... from bluegrass to show tunes to hymns to rock to pop. All of it. Concerts have always been very important to me too. Not because I want to be seen at a concert or look at it as an event but because live music is heaven. Some people feel music but their spouse doesn't. I would not have married someone who didn't feel the same way about music as I do. It's that important. I think this is something you are born with. Liking and appreciating music can be learned but feeling music can not. When I got sober I was scared that I wasn't going to get to feel music like I used to. Really scared. This was such a big part of my life and I didn't want to lose it. The reality is I don't feel music like I use to. Not like I use to because I wasn't sober before at any concert that I can remember. And there are a lot I don't remember. But, I do still feel it. I still want to dance and it still moves me. Being this connected can be good and bad. There are plenty of songs that remind me of the "dark time" in my life. I can't listen to them. One time a song came on the radio and I felt like the air was sucked out of my lungs. I had to turn it. So while I still get to enjoy music I also have to guard myself because it is so personal. I love that God gave us music. He didn't have to. He didn't have to give us the details that make life special but He did. He loves to see His children enjoying His creation. He even made music one of the main ways we can worship Him. He likes music that much. Awesome.



I will sing and make music to the Lord. Psalm 27:6

Guess where I am?

I am on Andrea's Mama Monday today!
Come see me here.