Gem of the Week

Due to a situation that happened over the holiday weekend, I've been repeating this line to myself for the past few days.

"Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past."

~Lily Tomlin~

Stuffing Ourselves Silly

Every year, we drive up to Dallas and spend Thanksgiving day with David's side of the family. My sister-in-law Donelle hosts the main event at her house, always around 4 o'clock in the afternoon, and always with at least, a 20 pound turkey. This year, the turkey was about 21 pounds. When it came time to take the bird's temp, there was some discussion as to where to stick the meat thermometer. Since I am just a daughter-in-law, I did not give my opinion, but laughed along when my MIL settled the matter with her usual "I know what I'm doing attitude." Of course, the turkey came out perfectly fine.

When we arrived the previous day, we walked through Donelle's front door, and realized we'd forgotten one very important thing...allergy medicine for Christina. Donelle had acquired 2 cats since we last visited, and Christina is allergic to cats. Before this weekend, she didn't have any reactions as long as she had Claritin. Apparently her allergy has grown worse (or maybe it was the particular breed of cats Donelle has?), because within one hour...even with a dose of Claritin (provided by Donelle), Christina was fussing, rubbing her eyes, and sneezing like crazy. Poor baby.

Later on, we went to my MIL's house for dinner, and her symptoms grew worse...she started crying and screaming that her throat was itchy. Lord have mercy. We got her some Benadryl on the way back to Donelle's house, and I got her ready for bed. Christina was exhausted by now, and wanted to go to sleep, but she kept crying and thrashing around on her sleeping bag. She finally fell asleep (thanks to the Benadryl), but before she crashed, she clocked me twice in the face, and let me tell you...that is not pleasant when you're wearing glasses.

The next morning, Christina was fine for about 1 hour, and then the crying started all over again. I called my other sister-in-law Stephanie, and asked her if Christina could take refuge at her cat-free house. David drove her over, and she spend nearly all day there until it was time for everyone to gather back at Donelle's house for the Thanksgiving dinner. When she started to fuss, David took her outside and kept her company. Stephanie offered to let her spend the night...which turned into an all-girls sleepover at her house because Rebecca and my oldest niece Abby (Donelle's daughter) clamored to go too. Stephanie can handle just about anything, (particularly a gaggle of little girls) and I am eternally grateful to her for taking care of Christina for us.

With that issue settled, I helped get the buffet ready. We had turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, pea salad, jello salad, and...I think that's it!

The "boys" kept the kids busy outside at the neighborhood park while the women worked the kitchen. They played the annual Resinger/Wiechman Touch Football game. We're pretty sure my oldest nephew Adam rigged the teams to his advantage, because he came home doing more than one victory dance. I didn't get any pics because Gabriel was napping and I needed to keep an ear open for him. He didn't nap hardly at all the day before, so he nearly missed all of the turkey dinner because he slept for just over 3 hours. He was a hungry baby when he finally woke up!

Abby read a prayer on the back of the program from mass that morning before we said grace. She did a great job.

Gabriel apparently wasn't the only one who was hungry. Joshua was determined to eat one of the turkey drumsticks. Grandma did carve some of the meat off the bone, but she gave Joshua the rest, and that kid picked it clean. He sure was proud of himself.

Then everyone went around to say what they were thankful for. I can't remember all the responses; someone said "pie," my nephew Daniel said, "trains," and I was thankful Christina wasn't crying at the time.

After dinner, dessert, (which was pumpkin, pecan, or chocolate cream pie, plus cookies for the kids ) and wine, the kitchen was cleaned up, and Donelle ran the dishwasher, only to discover later on that some little child (likely one of my little nephews) had pushed one of the buttons, so she had to start the "wash" cycle all over again. It was funny, especially since we didn't know exactly who the culprit was :-). All the kids had at least 2 cookies, and the "girls," sat on the bench together (l-r, John, Mary, Rebecca, Abby, and Daniel).

My MIL Terry always wants a picture of all the kids every Thanksgiving. So we piled everyone on the couch. It's always a riot trying to get everyone to cooperate for just a couple of minutes. But this year's pic turned out pretty good...we are missing some kids, but we'll see them at Christmas time...Ben, George, Joey, and Sofia.

From l-r, top row, Adam, Abby, Joshua. Sitting, l-r, are Andrew, Nick, Mary, Gabriel, Christina, Daniel, John, and Rebecca.

We watched the usual football games, and I was praying hard for my Aggies, but we were outscored by those darn tea-sips. I'm sure I'll be hearing about it from my Longhorn friend Katie. Sigh...Mike Sherman better get his act into gear next season. And let's PASS the ball without getting sacked for heaven's sake!

The kids had a great time playing with all their cousins, and Joshua indulged in Adam and Andrew's electronic devices (the Nintendo DS, Wii, and other video games). Joshua keeps dreaming about getting a Wii. Dream on kid. He did suffer from Wii withdrawal after I told him it was time to pack up his suitcase. Yep... a nine year old is still capable of pouting like a toddler. He did perk up after he and Andrew dressed up in Star Wars costumes and pretended to fight each other with toy lasers.

Gabriel found his favorite seat in the house, Uncle Henry's oversized recliner (oversized because he's 6' 4").

We decided this morning to go ahead and head home instead of staying until Saturday like we'd originally planned. We didn't want to pawn Christina off on Stephanie anymore, nor did we want to pack up everything, stay at Terry's house, and then have to repack and load up the van again. So we're back home now, and I've already done a load of laundry (mainly Christina's clothes so she isn't exposed to any more cat dander). I'll be putting a call into the pediatrician next week to see what she recommends, since we're going back to Dallas for a few days right after Christmas.

I am thankful we had a great time though...it is always a blessing for me to spend time with family, especially when there is great food and awesome desserts to spoil my appetite and my "diet" (which is officially off until Jan 1). It was worth every bite.

If You're Happy and You Know It...

This is Gabriel's current favorite song. David recorded him "dancing" last night, but the camera was turned sideways (opps!). So I tried again this morning. (Don't forget to turn off my playlist at the bottom first.)

Afterwards, I played the video back for Gabriel. He liked watching himself so much...I must have played it about 8 times for him (little showoff!). But so adorable!

Gem of the Week (a day late...sorry!)

I think this is just about one of my favorites...

"I want whatever you want,

because you want it,

the way you want it,

for as long as you want it."

from Prayer of Pope Clement XI

A Weekend with Christ

I had the great blessing of going on a 3 day retreat this past weekend. It started Thursday night, and ended Sunday with lunch. As Regnum Christi, I am supposed to go on retreat once a year, but I hadn't gone since the spring of '06.

Before I tell you more, I have to give a huge "thank you" to my incredible husband David. Not just any man would give his wife the okay to be gone for 3 days and 3 nights. But...my husband can handle all 4 kids, and not even blink, break a sweat, or freak out one bit. Even the other soccer moms were impressed when David showed up Saturday morning with all the kids for the team pictures, left afterwards and took them all out to lunch, and then went back to the soccer field and stayed to watch Rebecca's game. I'm telling y'all, I married up, you know what I mean?

So, what did I learn on this retreat? I'm not sure I can even put it into words, but I'll try.

First, I realized I have not been a true apostle of Christ. I have been...I'm not going to sugar coat it....lazy. And going through the motions, but not really putting my heart into my prayer commitments. I've been tempted by other things, the computer, TV, chocolate. I've been weak, unfocused, uncommitted, and prideful.

Secondly, I believed if I couldn't be consistent with my resolutions for Regnum Christi, then it wasn't...I wasn't...worth it. Why should I keep trying, only to fail time and time again? Whoa...that means I was letting Satan win. My pride was not allowing Christ to "sow" any seeds.

Lastly, I wrote down a parable of sorts, a way to try and put this all into perspective.

God has been preparing me, like a field. He has taken off the sod, plowed and tilled the soil. He has raked the earth smooth, and fertilized it with all the nutrients necessary. The master of the vineyard is there...

Jesus wants to spend time with me...I could hear him saying,

"I've been here, waiting for you, all this time. You can tell me anything, don't worry. I forgive...I forget, I still love you. Just spend time with Me. I'm here, anytime you need Me."

But, I am I willing to accept the seeds? I truly hope so. I pray I hold fast to my prayer commitments, nourish them, and keep the weeds at bay. My soul is dependent on a good harvest, a bountiful one, enough reaped for me, and to share with others. That is what it means to be an apostle of Christ.

Gem of the Week

This is really a quote, but I like to call them hidden "gems" instead. I think I'll try to post one every Sunday... a little something to start your week. It might be from Scripture, or in this case, from somewhere else. It might just come outta thin air...who knows?

So here you are...the first "Gem of the Week." This came from my friend Gina, who got it from a friend...you get the idea.

"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning, the Devil says,

"Aw crap, she's up!"

Big Price Tag--Itty Bitty Bottle

Yesterday, my left eye was a bit swollen. I just didn't want to deal with it. So I put in a couple of eye drops, and went about my day. I started to make an appointment with the eye doctor, then called back and cancelled it because my eye seemed fine.

Well, this morning, my eye was red, definitely irritated, and swollen. Since I'm going on a three day retreat starting tomorrow, I decided I'd bet not take a chance, and went into the eye doctor. He confirmed my suspicions-- I had a minor eye infection. This does happen from time to time with people who wear soft contacts like I do. This is only the second time I've had one.

So I dropped off my prescription at the pharmacy, and went back later on this afternoon to pick it up. I already knew it would likely be a tiny little bottle of eye drops. The young lady in the drive-through window took my name, and then said,

"Your total is $25.00."

What??? For eye drops? Are you serious?

(I only said the first and second sentences out loud. Really...)

Okay, I know $25 dollars isn't that much. And my prescription drug plan (aka insurance) did save me $59.99. I am thankful we have insurance in of itself, believe me. The kids have been very healthy (praise God) all year, and we have adequate funds in our medical expense account. I had to pay $40 for the doctor's visit, and I was able to put that towards the account too. But still...

I took a picture just so y'all could see. The bottle is just over 2 inches tall, and it holds exactly 5ml. I'm supposed to put 4 drops in my eye 4 times a day for a week.

Thank goodness I only have an infection in one eye. Otherwise, I would have 2 bottles, and I bet it would have cost me $50.

It's Only Just Begun...

Last weekend, I officially started Christmas shopping. Please don't hate me...I wish I didn't have to start already either. Seriously....I'd rather wait until it actually gets cold, when I can shop while sipping a cup of hot cocoa from Starbucks and hear Christmas music playing in the background. (Wait a minute, I heard holiday music last weekend!)

I usually start shopping in October. David's family draws names amongst the kids and adults, but they didn't do the drawing until the first weekend of November. So all the kids have a cousin to shop for, I have my BIL Henry, and David has his sister Liz. So last weekend, I took Rebecca to Target and she picked out some toys for Daniel, and Joshua bought a K'nex set for Nick. I also bought birthday presents for 3 of my nephews because 2 were born in November, and one was born in December. Yes, it gets confusing sometimes, but I don't want to be known as the Aunt who stiffed her nephews because their birthdays are so close to Christmas. I also spend a couple of hours making up wish lists for all 6 of us for who ever drew our names, and emailed that out to everyone.

I try to have all the shopping done for another reason. We always go to Dallas for Thanksgiving, and David's family all converges at his sister's house. So we take all the presents, and deliver them over the holiday weekend--and then we don't have the added expense of shipping. It makes the week before Thanksgiving CRAZY for me because I'm usually doing last minute shopping, wrapping a big pile of gifts, and triple checking that list to be sure I didn't forget anyone. 'Cause then I'd be branded for life!

David is home today, thanks to a bank holiday. So I plan to take full advantage of that. I'm going to take lunch to Joshua and Rebecca at school. Then I'm going to hit a few stores to shop for Henry, my sister's 4 kids, and my nephew John (Gabriel pulled his name, and I don't think he'll mind if I buy the presents for him). Then I need to run through the pharmacy to order more of my vitamins, and drop off some NFP brochures for a friend of mine. Man...it's going to be a busy day.

I'll let you know if I survive.

3 hours later...

Okay...I'm back. I survived. It was pouring rain, but I kept my feet dry. The only thing I couldn't find was a polo shirt for Henry. He is 6 foot 4, so he has to have a "tall," and I didn't find any in that size at Kohls. Looks like I'll have to hit the mall.

The only child left to shop for is my nephew Joey. His mom hasn't send out his wish list yet. I usually wait to shop for our kids after everyone else buys their presents. Then I just buy whatever is left on their wish lists.

Now I just have to wrap a huge pile of presents on the guest bed. Seriously, you can't even see the bed...

Aboard the Lady Lex

David and Joshua spent the weekend aboard the USS Lexington, permanently berthed in Corpus Christi. The retired aircraft carrier allows groups on board for extensive tours and you can even spend the night. Joshua's whole Cub Scout troop went, and I think "the boys" had a pretty good time. They also took plenty of great pictures!

A wide shot of the ship. David told me the top deck covers about 4 acres. Wow...a couple of laps around that would be a great workout.

Permission to come aboard!

Don't you be getting any ideas now...your Uncle Chris already wants to learn how to fly one of those things.

Hey Mom, look... no hands!

If you read the sign, there is so much to see on the ship--barber shop, female berthing, machine shop, crew's galley, dental, mine warefare exhibit, sick bay exhibits, damage control, and memorial chapel. David said it really took the entire day to tour everything...and one section wasn't even open due to a private banquet.

Sleep tight...and you really do on this ship. The bunks are barely 2 feet wide, and there are walls on 3 sides. David said he didn't sleep very well...he likes his space, poor guy. Joshua liked it when they sounded "Reveille" the next morning around 6:45 AM; he also said it was very loud because there was a speaker right next to his bunk. As a joke, I found a reveille call on YouTube this morning, snuck the laptop into his room, turned on the lights, and played the bugle call with the volume up as loud as it would go. Ha ha! It was great! Even Joshua laughed--and he's not a morning person at all.

Early morning shots up on the flight deck.

The boys were back home safe and sound around noon on Sunday. Joshua bought a compass/binocular/magnifying glass gadget at the ship's gift shop, and couldn't wait to show it to me. The troop had spend some time on the beach on Saturday, so Joshua also brought home some seashells for Rebecca. (I have to say this...he has ADHD and he sometimes drives us crazy, but he is the most thoughful kid).

David said it was a great "camp out," and he enjoyed visiting the ship. But he was really tired, and happy to go to bed last night. I am glad he and Joshua had some male bonding time together.

While the Boys are Away...

David and Joshua are at the Cub Scout fall camp out. Technically, they're not camping out. They're spending the day on the USS Lexington docked in Corpus Christi, playing on the beach, and will bunk tonight on the ship. I can't wait to hear what fun the boys had. I made David promise to get good pics.

So, what do the girls and the angel baby do while the men are gone? A LOT! Here's a rundown of Saturday:

6:45 AM--The girls get up, much to my dismay, but I seize the opportunity to make Rebecca's Favorite Breakfast Sandwich, (and one for me too) so she'll have energy for her soccer game at 9AM.

7:00--Gabriel gets up and I get him breakfast, and the girls happily watch a little TV. Meanwhile, I finish bagging up the Frosted Molasses Cookies I made for the MOYC bake sale. I snuck one bag into Joshua's overnight bag; he called me when he found them earlier this morning, and said, "Thanks Mom!"

7:45--I realize I need to hit the shower NOW, or we're not going to get out the door on time. Thank goodness I'd gotten a haircut yesterday, so my 5 minute blow dry is now about 3 minutes.

8:15--I get Gabriel dressed, and have the girls gather up everything we need. This included:

4 folding chairs to sit on at the soccer field
A bottle of water for Rebecca
Light jackets for everyone b/c it was a bit chilly that AM

A sack lunch for Gabriel

3 books to return to the library

The grocery list

2 loaves of banana bread, 4 applesauce spice cakes, 2 chocolate cherry cakes, and 15 bags of cookies

Geez...I hope I didn't forget anything. We pull out of the driveway at 8:25, drive 2 minutes to Tricia's house and drop off all the baked goods.

8:50-- We rush to the soccer field and watch Rebecca's game. She is becoming a good defensive player and wants to play goalie more than once a game :-).

10:10--After the game, we pack up chairs, load everyone back into the van and go run a few errands.

10:25--First stop is the pediatrician's office to get Joshua's prescription. It's a bit of a pain to refill his meds for treating ADHD, but it has to be done this way because he's on a controlled substance. We have wrangled with the office and the insurance company though--we now refill his prescription every 3 months instead of every month. We save a lot of money this way (my hubby is a genius...).

10:45--Next stop, drop off the books at the library.

10:55-- Finally, we go to Chick-fil-A for lunch. Initially, Christina pitches a fit because she wanted to go to McDonald's. Too bad...Mommy has coupons for Chick-fil-A, and a craving for a wrap and a large diet lemonade. The minute she hit the play area, Christina stopped crying and actually ate all her chicken nuggets (which is very, very rare).

12:00PM--Leave Chick-fil-A and make a quick run to Walmart for mascara (for me), corn tortillas, sour cream, and fishing swivels. I plan to make a small pan of PW'S Favorite Enchiladas (yum!), and we're making bracelets/necklaces in formation class tomorrow--hence the fishing swivels.

While we're at Walmart, I see the movie, A Little Princess for just $5. So I sneak 2 into the shopping cart, one for my girls and one for my niece Mary for Christmas. I also get a dozen powdered mini donuts on the bakery clearance rack for 60 cents. They expired today, but the girls will love them for breakfast tomorrow morning.

12:30--We get home, and I let Gabriel play in the car for a minute while the girls and I get everything out of the van--3 chairs, 4 jackets, 2 bags from Walmart, 3 baking sheets (used to secure all the cakes for transport), one lunch box, 3 drink cups from Chick-fil-A, 1 water bottle, 2 bottles of Gatorade (from the soccer game). Oh, and Gabriel's milk cup and blankie. That baby refused to come into the house until I let him have the car keys. He absolutely loves to play in the car. This started last summer during our road trip, but it's truly an obsession now.

1:00--Gabriel goes down for a nap, I sit down with the laptop, and the girls head outside to play with one of their friends across the street.

It just hit me...I really need a nap!

Well...I didn't take a nap. I couldn't pass up the oppportunity to work on this post and a new post on my cooking blog. Still didn't quite finish because Gabriel got up earlier than I thought he would. Oh well.

The girls played outside until dusk, and then spent another 45 minutes bringing inside all the stuff they'd taken outside. I can never understand why it takes forever for kids to clean up when it takes them no time at all to make a mess :-).

I made grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner, (I indulged in my plate of enchildas with no guilt whatsoever--David may not get any by the time he gets back tomorrow, lol). I then told the girls it was a perfect opportunity to watch a really girlie movie since the boys were gone. They voted for High School Musical, and got ready for bed in record time because Mommy's rule is the TV stays off until the bedtime routine is complete (except for prayers).

So now it's 8:30, and all is well (and quiet) in our house. This is probably my favorite time of day, except for first thing in the morning when the sun is just starting to rise. David has called twice now to say they're doing fine and having a blast. I'm really glad the two of them get this time together, and I get time with my girls (and a toddler too!).

Ralph

Okay, brace yourselves. Don't run to the kitchen and jump on top of the table. Don't shriek and scare the entire neighborhood. Are you still there? It's going to be okay...

We have a resident rat in our backyard.

Our rat appeared about 2 months ago. We've named him "Ralph," the kids call him "Ralphie." He's kinda cute, and he goes back and forth between the back door and the garage to see if anything escaped our trash cans.

David says he can stay as long as he remains on the skittish side. But he did say if Ralph started a family, the traps would come out....poor thing!

I was able to get a picture of Ralph this morning for the first time. I had to take it through one of the windows in the living room because he'll run off if we open the back door.

The kids say this is the closest thing to a pet they're allowed to have. Well...darn right. I am not ready to take care of a fifth child (because having a pet is like having another child), and Christina is very allergic to cats, so we definitely can't have a feline in the house.

Someday we'll get a "real" pet. But not yet...I figure when Gabriel starts kindergarten, we'll get a dog. I will be sad that all my babies will be at school, and I'll need another "baby" at home to keep me company :-).

Going...Going...Gone...

For the past couple of weeks, I've been sorting though things for our garage sale. It's mostly clothes the kids have outgrown, a bag or two of our old clothes, about 8 boxes of toys, some kitchen items, all the infant baby gear and toys, David's old desk from college (it's hideous...if someone buys it, I seriously will be in a shock), our old dresser and nightstand (we just bought bedroom furniture last month for us), and other miscellaneous things. We are keeping the crib, changing table, cradle, and a few other things I cannot bear to part with.

I counted the boxes of kids clothes...

1 box of unisex infant clothing
11 boxes of girl clothing
4 boxes of boys clothing

Wait a minute...what? I knew we had a lot of pink, but seriously...that is unbelievable. We're not selling any of Joshua' old clothes because we're saving them for Gabriel; we're only selling the things he's already outgrown (18 month or smaller). There was a lot of hand-me-down clothes for the girls from my oldest nieces, some of it I bought, some of it was given to them new. My poor boys...everything for girls is so cute...and boys' clothing is just not made that way.

Today was the day...I was so thankful to have my friend and neighbor Melanie come over to help; plus she had some stuff she wanted to sell. I think her presence helped me from crying while I watched the baby stuff go. She stayed all morning since David had to take Rebecca to her soccer game at 10:30. Joshua's job was to be a "secret detective" and make sure nobody walked off without paying. He spent the morning watching Pokemon on TV. Oh well...

Here's what we started with at dawn...

And here's what was left by mid-afternoon...

I had meet two ladies at a resale shop last week. I told them about our garage sale, and they both came today. One bought boy clothes, and the other mom (who had 3 girls) bought about $80 worth of girl clothes. Wow...I admit...I was pretty happy. And that mom was thrilled!

One teenage girl bought an old stuffed bear. She told me she really didn't want the bear, just the sweater and hat on the bear--she planned to use them to dress her chihuahua dog so he wouldn't be cold...oh my gosh. It was so funny!

We had people interested in the furniture, but it ended up back in the garage, unsold. I have about 8 boxes of clothes and a few boxes of miscellaneous items to give to charity. 2 boxes and some baby things will be going to Project Gabriel at the church. One box of clothes I will take to a consignment store to see if they want them.

So...our total for today...about $625. I was SO tired by the end of today. I couldn't sleep last night at all...not sure why. I only got about 4 hours of sleep, so I begged for take-out for dinner (which David graciously picked up), and I am going to bed...early.

Funny... I didn't cry at all today. I guess I got all my emotions and tears out the past 2 weeks. Honestly, I was glad to see it all go, it was just hard to get it all together, and admit it needed to go.

Now I need a shower and a foot massage. Yep...that sounds really good right now.