random ramblings

thats just what this entry is. random. a hodge podge of things unrelated, occuring over the past week or so.

right now i'm wondering why i just asked my 2 year old and 4 year old if i could clip their fingernails. as if they're going to sit down with hands offered up to me and say, "oh, please mommy, please clip my fingernails. i will sit prefectly still." right.

my latest anxiety is my impending fame and noteriety.

my best friend from high school, zach, who has worked at the YMCA since we were 16 (i know, right?) called me the other day and said

zach: "i have some bad news."

me: "what's up?"

zach: "have you seen the picture on the wall at the Y?"

**zach does photography as a side business (he's awesome, and his name above is linked to his website) and a few years ago he was taking some pictures to put up around the gym. one of them is me on the eliptical machine. it's an 8X10, and for the most part, unoffensive (meaning it doesnt make me vomit everytime i see it).**

me: "the one of me on the eliptical?"

zach: "no. there's a new one."

me: "that you took?" (i know zach, wonderful thoughful zach, would not volunteer a picture of me that he knows i would not be ok with being plastered on some wall for public viewing. i think.)

zach: "no. i don't know who took this one. you're not going to like it."

me: "oh no. why?"

zach: "it's big. like, the size of one of those windows in the hallway. actually, it is a window. you're a window."

me: "what?"

zach: "it gets worse."

me:"how?"

zach: "it was taken about 8 weeks after you had molly."

me: "oh, NO."

zach: "yeah. it's not cute."

probably the understatement of the year. imagine with me, if you will, a lifesize picture of you at your worst. for me it was right after i had my babies. yes, i was obviously bigger when i was pregnant, but when you're pregnant, it's a cute fat. no one can tell by looking at that picture that i just had a baby, thereby giving me license to be 25 lbs heavier. i digress. then imagine that picture, that very very large picture, put up in a place where the goal is to be thin and physically fit. a place that you go 3 to 4 times a week to look the complete opposite of what is exhibited the giant picture of yourself. neat.

to add insult to injury, the picture was taken in a step class, right as i stepped up and extended my extra-cushy arms up over my head and exhaled. it's awful.

so i thought, no one will recognize me. i'm don't really look like that anymore.

then today at the gym, i had 2 people say something to me about my picture being on the wall. fantastic. i'm immortalized.

moving on. like i said. random.

i took the kids christmas shopping for allen yesterday. they had at one point told me they wanted to get daddy a book, so we went to barnes and noble (note to self: i have got to get a club card). colby's first choice was a book by dennis leary (picked totally at random, i assure you) called Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy, and Stupid. after i stopped laughing, i put it back and redirected my kids to another section. although i was tempted to get it just for a moment, just to see allens reaction when he opened it on christmas morning as colby looked on, anticipating daddys reaction to his so carefully chosen gift.

he then picked a book about poker because "daddy likes checkers." again, funny, but redirected. they both picked something they think allen will like. i didn't want to pick something for them. i wanted it to be their decision (with some gentle suggestion). colby came out with something completely different than what he went in for. molly stayed pretty well on track.

i can't tell what they picked because allen will read this and i don't want to spoil it. i'll leave it at this: he will laugh, and i kept the receipt.

i was feeling artistic yesterday and took some black and whites of the kids down at the arboretum. i'm no zach lambert, but i think they turned out pretty good. :)

oh, also, i'm trying to get a picture of the picture of me (did you follow that?). i took my camera to the gym yesterday morning. i go at 530am on tuesdays and thursdays so i thought the timing would be good for me to take a picture of it without looking like i was having myself on. but there were a couple of people on the treadmills right there infront of it. i'm sure their treadmill selection was strategic. they wanted to admire the fat lady in step class while they worked hard to not look like her. i'll try again tomorrow.

communion and the joy of passing gas

i'm trying to figure out how to lay this story out for you to appreciate the fullness of its humor.
i'll just start at the beginning...
being a youth pastor's kid has its perks i suppose. allen is in charge of making sure the communion table is ready for services every sunday morning.
** we're southern baptist, but we have a table off to the side at the front of the worship center available for people to take communion. it's there every week.**
we never know how many people will choose to come do this, so there's always leftovers. a while back colby somehow figured out there was juice and crackers up there, so he started eating and drinking the leftover communion elements. maybe a bit sacriligious?
this is how we justify it; colby, before he eats or drinks any of it must say "thank you Jesus."
he takes it a step further and bows his head with his eyes closed before every drink and every bite, and prays those words. it's really cute and has become a weekly 'sideshow' of sorts for a handful of our friends that choose to stand around and visit rather than shoot out the door to lunch at the close of worship. when molly was old enough she got in on the action, and we explained to her the same conditions.
fast forward to last night. molly is sitting on allens lap as he's reading a book to her, and she lets out a toot. she has very good manners (surprisingly) for a 2 year old and always says excuse me, unpromted, after burping or tooting, but this time she didn't. so like any good parent allen asked, "molly what do you say?" we're both expecting the obligatory "excuse me." instead she looks at allen, and in all seriousness says, "thank you Jesus."
maybe tooting gives her the same emotional and spiritual satisfaction that taking communion does.
maybe she was having some indigestion and was thankful for the release.
maybe she was just confused.
at any rate, we didn't correct her.
if she wants to thank Jesus for tooting, then by all means.
i've been thankful for it before, too.

the elusive light up shoes

it's that time of year when we reflect on our lives and things that we're blessed with and thankful for. on thanksgiving day allen told colby that this year he should be thankful that he was born first, because had molly been born first, he probably wouldn't be here. and so he was thankful.
this was instigated by the previous night's incident that ended with her toys in the top of her closet (see previous post).
this has most recently been even more supported in my search for light up tennis shoes. i will get to that in a moment, but let me first say, i am thankful that i'm a stay at home mom and therefore not required to do my Christmas shopping, or any other kind of shopping for that matter, on the weekends. why on earth is that such a big deal, you ask?
i was at kohls today to exchange the shoes (that you don't know about yet, becuause i'm first explaining my thankfulness) and i was floored by the amount of people in line to checkout!
even more surprising were the things these people felt they needed to stand in line for. the line was, i kid you not, about 30 people deep. granted they were being filtered into many registers which is a good system in theory, but doesnt always work out so well, because we all know theres always that one person that pretends they don't see the line of 30 people waiting somewhat patiently, who walks right up to a register feigning shock at "what good luck to not have to wait in line on a satuday in december!" as they then pay and walk out seemingly oblivious to the mob they just cut in front of. i digress. so there's this one guy standing in line with, ready? a plush penguin. really, sir? a penguin? what on earth kind of patience do you have to stand in line for an hour to buy a penguin? 20 points for him. no, make it 100. i hope whoever he's giving it to carries it around till it's fur is rubbed of and it's missing an arm. he worked hard enough for it.
and so i'm thankful.

the shoes...
i was at kohls a few days ago and walked through the shoe department to see if anything caught my eye for molly- she's needing a pair of athletic-ish tennis shoes. i saw a cute pair for $20 with light up hearts on the side so i grabbed her size and paid for my treasures (pumpkin placemats for 69 cents!). when i got home i put the shoes on her and then noticed one of them wasn't lighting up. not a big deal, right? i can just go exchange them. well, first i had to get them off of her. she loved the lights. colby's tennis shoes have lights, and she wants to be just like colby (when she's not hitting him or sitting on his head). she cried. she wanted to wear her new tennis shoes. i wanted to get what i paid for, which is two shoes that light up, not one. i explained that one of the shoes didn't work and i had to go fix it, so she reluctantly complied and i knew i had 4 days to remedy the problem (4 days because allens mom came to take the kids for the weekend so i figured i'd run to kohls while they're gone and get another pair). i've been to 2 different kohls and there is not another pair of this shoe in her size. i've been to 4 other stores that sell shoes and there are either no light up shoes, or they have some but they're overpriced, ugly, or not available in her size. i'm not shopping anymore today. saturday in december? no thank you. some people are willing to wait an hour for a penguin. not me.
she comes home tomorrow. she will expect light up shoes. i should not be afraid of a 2 year old.
but i am....

blame it on your brain

colby has recently been blaming things on his brain. it's pretty cute, so it gets him out of potential trouble on occasion.
yesterday he was coloring and i heard him...

colby: "c'mon brain! c'mon!"
me: "colby, what are you doing?"
colby: "my brain wants to get out of the lines!"

there was another time when allen had told him to do something (i believe i was busy in africa) and he didn't. when allen asked him why, he said something to the effect of, "my brain didn't want to ."

so if you're cute, and don't want to do something, or perhaps you've made a mistake that could get you into trouble, just blame it on your brain. it works for my 4 year old.

we're not to far from having some molly posts on here. she's talking very very well, but most of the time she's having a fit or telling me no.
i don't know what to do with this child. is it a girl thing or a secong child thing? or a little of both? or maybe just her temperment? i'm talkin' screaming and flailing for seemingly no reason.
i told her to pick up her toys before bedtime the other night and she threw a fit. i counted. she still didn't pick up, so i swatted her. she still didn't, so i swatted again. then i left her in the room with her door shut "until you pick up your toys." when i went back in she still hadn't done anything. i said, "molly please pick your toys up." her response? "NO!" so allen went in.
she never picked up her toys. i put them in the top of her closet and told her they would stay there for 2 days.
this was wednesday. on saturday she asked for them, so i said,
me: "molly, are you going to pick them up when you're done playing?"
molly: "no."
me: "ok, then we're not getting them down."
...a few minutes later...
me: "molly, do you want your toys?"
molly: "yes."
me: "are you going to pick them up when you're done?"
molly: "no."
me: "then we're not getting them down."
...a few minutes later...
me: "molly, do you want to play with your toys?"
molly: "no."

more of the same on sunday.
they're still up there.

if she would have just blamed it on her brain....

i'm feelin' crafty

not crafty like a fox; crafty like martha stewart, baby!!

i have, in the last 24 hours, done 3 different craft projects with my son.

and yes, i am bragging.

they actually turned out really really well. i get Family Circle magazine, which always has super cool, if not a little extravagant, craft projects to do with your kids. with a 2 and 4 year old, this usually means i do the project while they watch, so its only been recently that i've started even dabbling in this new frontier. everything was super easy, and pretty inexpensive. colby was able to at least help out, if not completely participate, in everything.

we made (spoiler alert, ms. brandy) bookmarks for his teachers out of ribbon and buttons.

sooo cute!!!

we also made snowflake window clings...

...and ice crystals (they really just look like snowflakes) that we hung up between our stockings.

happy crafting! let me know if you make anything fabulous!!!

Africa was amazing!!!

i got back yesterday from 10 days in Africa. the experience changed my life.

i had never before been out of the country (other than vacations in mexico, and we all know mexico doesnt count when you live in texas), and to see such a different culture and lifestyle so different from ours here in america was humbling and eye opening.

the people of Ghana are the friendliest i've ever met. they live in what we would consider poverty (even though the area we were in is quite developed and 'westernized' compared to many other parts of Africa), and yet they're happy and thankful for what they have. it's all they know so they just take each day as it comes and are happy to be alive.

i loved driving down the dirt roads, and passing hundreds of people walking with buckets on their heads and babies strapped to their backs, yelling "obruni!!" at us. yelling obruni is like saying 'hey, you're white!' as if we don't already know that. it's like telling someone they're sunburned. we'd wave and yell hello back at them, which was always met with a huge, beautiful smile. they have great teeth in Ghana.

my days were spent playing with the preschoolers for a couple of hours in the mornings, followed by some admin work at the school. after lunch i did scrapbooking with the mammas. this concept and activity was completely foreign to most of them, and although their pages looked like, well, nothing you would see here, they loved it and were asking madam libbie when they would get to do it again. i tutored some of the 1st and 2nd graders with their reading in the afternoons and had an hour with my dad after school every day to do rec with the 3rd thru 6th graders.

friday night i was able to spend some time with the 8 JSS students (jr. high, mostly 7th grade level, although most of them are approx 16 years old). i fed them till they were about to bust. they helped chop up all the veggies and stir the pots, and then were able to experience, for the first time, quesedillas, enchilada stew, and chicken fried rice. that was one of the best things i got to do while i was there!!

on the weekends we went into town and did some sightseeing and shopping. the last saturday we were there, we drove about 3 & 1/2 hours to Cape Coast. it's a fishing village and theres a slave castle there dating back to the 1200's i believe. we got a tour and learned about the history of Ghana. very interesting stuff. then we got to go to the beach--the prettiest one i've ever seen. the same one where allen almost died (really) on his trip with the youth. you can ask me (or him) about that later.

i collected real seashells, not the kind you see on the gulf coast in Texas. these are big and beautiful and amazing. i brought about 30 home with me and they're already in a bowl in my living room. now i have to keep my kids away from them! :)

i have attached a ridiculous amount of pictures, although these don't even make a dent in the over 600 pictures i took. seriously.

the Kotoku walk. every friday the kids are allowed to leave the Rafiki village for 1 hour. the nearest village is Kotoku, and most of them usually walk there and back (about 1 mile round trip). we were on our way back to Rafiki when this picture was taken. yes, that's a road we're walking on. a road for cars. that one is actually pretty nice.

atarabono getting her enchilada stew.


cooking 101. building quesadillas.

mamma fausty let me play the bamboo sticks with them.



they loved doing my hair.

these are some women we met on the road. so friendly!


REAL seashells!!!!

on the beach. isn't it beautiful!?!?

swimsuit not required.

this is the beach right outside the slave castle.


this is the fishing village at Cape Coast. i took this picture from one of the balconies at the castle.

yes, thats fish on his head. yummy.

no one ever carried anything in their hands-only on their heads. they could run, bend down and

pick something up, turn to look at something, and never drop it. i tried. i couldn't do it.

all the women carried their babies on their backs. everytime i saw a baby, it was strapped to someone's back. incredible.

this is the side of the highway. people set up their kiosks and sell vegetables, fruit, shoes, handkerchiefs, whatever they have to sell.

i think i'll go to africa!

tomorrow is the big day! my ride is picking me up in 12 hours (that would be 4am). i didn't realize 4:00 came twice a day. i'm not sure i've ever actually seen 4am while coherent (feeding a newborn doesnt count).
at any rate, i will be in africa in 48 hours. very cool.
for those of you that dont know, my dad and i are going to ghana, africa to serve at an orphange. it's not really an orphanage like we think of third world country orphanages.
it's a rafiki village. yes, the children there are orphaned, but they are well loved and educated at a school there on the grounds. there are 7 cottages, each with approximately 10 children and a mamma that raises them and takes care of them. it's an awesome ministry.
some friends of ours have been there as long term missionaries for almost 3 years. we'll be staying with them and doing different things around the village, such as tutoring, teaching some 'extra-curricular' classes, playing games, and working in general--pretty much whatever they need us to do.
i'm sooo excited and am looking forward to working with the nationals, doing some sightseeing and just lovin me some little african babies!
i'll have plenty of pictures when i return, i'm sure.
sad to say, i will probably not be blogging until around thanksgiving. we return to the states on the 25th--the tuesday before thanksgiving.
i will have access to a computer a few times to send out email updates, so if i'm able i may post once just to let everyone know how things are going.

keep us in your prayers and our family who we're leaving behind for a couple of weeks, specifically my sick kids. we've had no more vomit, but they're very snotty and just generally pitiful. i'd appreciate it.
much love!!

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