It's not easy bein'... REAL.

Do you remember Chester the Cheetah's love for Cheetos? "It's not easy, bein' cheesy." He'd end up in Wile E. Coyote-type situations all for the love of cheese.

Today I was tidying up around the house- going through the mail and a stack of things I've been reading. Southern Living's new issue arrived recently- I love the food section and the decorating ideas! Oh, and I'm almost through my Cook's Illustrated. What a fabulous magazine! I learn so much about the science behind recipes and what makes a particular food taste absolutely dynamite. For example- did you know that for perfect mashed potatoes, you should steam potatoes instead of boiling them? Rinse them part way through cooking to wash the starch off and they loose the gummy consistency that can ruin otherwise fabulous mashed taters! Great magazine. Then I need to go through the MINT and the Clipper Keeper and clip coupons... a penny saved is a penny earned!

In the midst of this busyness, I had "one of those" moments. I am allowing good things to crowd out the most important things. I love saving money, decorating, gardening and cooking. But those shouldn't be my primary focus! Wow... It's not easy bein' REAL.

The back of my magazine basket reflects what I desire to come first (backwards, I know.) I need to get back to reading Above Rubies (http://www.aboverubies.org/), No Greater Joy (http://www.nogreaterjoy.org/), and Homeschooling Today (http://www.homeschoolingtoday.com/) which point me to God's Word as I strive to be a loving, encouraging wife and an obedient, joy FULL mamma. My bedside desk has Stepping Heavenward and Heaven on it (fantastic reads, both) but they're under a liberal, feminist, junk-filled mothering magazine I received at a Dr's office recently. Well, they were... I took the magazine off today to toss. ;)

So there it is- the reality of daily clutter crowding out what I want to be of FIRST importance. I'm publicly confessing and I'm starting the process (again) of re-orienting my life and my heart to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm so thankful for His mercy, His drawing me and His help in my quest to overcome the CHEESYness of life.

CHOCOLATE APPARENT CAUSE OF DEATH IN RECENT RODENT MURDER

I couldn't resist the urge to write a "headline" for this post. Okay, okay... chocolate wasn't the cause of death. Read on for "the rest of the story."

It all started one beautiful spring day. I was very tired (probably up too late doing a blog the night before?!) and so I headed to the pantry halfway through school for a picker-upper- AKA Dark Chocolate covered Espresso Beans. Mmmmm... Don't worry, baby loves them too. :)

Anyways, I noticed 2 beans laying on the shelf with all the chocolate nibbled off! The children sat around the table with angelic "I swear I didn't touch them" looks in spite of my toughest questions... well, actually Timothy cracked and admitted that maybe he ate them. But his breath passed the sniff test (no coffee or chocolate breath) and so he went off to play with knights.

OK- I'll speed this up a little. :) I noticed nibbles of espresso bean on the shelf- and then nibbles through the plastic. Hmm... I'm no "CSI" but I know fishy (oops- rodenty?) when I see it. The box was tossed and the pantry searched.

Over the next several days I found more evidences of an invader but couldn't locate the critter! She must have been pregnant or PMSing because she went for all the chocolate! She ate the chocolate off of a Twix bar (not the cookie or the caramel, thank you very much) and ate into TWO bags of my Ghirardhelli 60% Cocoa Chips! YIKES! This rodent was annoying AND expensive!

Chris put out a glue board with peanut butter (that's what the pest control people do!), which she crawled on AND off of. :( ICKY! The next night, he baited one with chocolate. Bingo! You see the pix... she was caught! But glue boards don't kill them- they just catch them! (Don't worry, this one was a kinder, gentler glue board with anesthetics!) How'd it die? Let's suffice it to say that Ben kindly put the rodent out of it's misery with his excellent aim.

I spent the next several days taking every single thing out of the pantry, disinfecting the shelves, walls, cans, etc... and tossing everything with critter marks. Ick. The jury is still out on whether it's a rat or a mouse. Do you know? I know one thing- GUILTY.

Baby O is 18 weeks (give or take)

Our little one is growing so quickly! I can't believe we are halfway to our due date already! I felt him* move for the first time April 2... I was laying on my tummy (I'm trying to enjoy that while I still can!) and it was such a precious, unmistakable flutter.

This photo of a baby about the same age as our little one- isn't it amazing how perfectly formed he is already!? Baby O has fingernails, loves to stretch & wiggle and can hear our voices! The children already talk to him and Andrew blows raspberries on my tummy regularly- which probably feels a bit funny to baby. I guess that's a good way to get him used to all the lovin' he'll get once he makes his debut!!

The miracle of the life developing in me is awesome- something that gives me just a glimpse of God's amazing creative power. It's easy to take grass and trees and flowers and veggies for granted- they've been around as long as I remember. But this new life forming inside me- this precious eternal soul that the Lord has seen fit to entrust to Chris and me... wow. I just don't have anything to say that can be more eloquent than God's Word- so I'll close w/some Psalms.

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them." -Psalm 139:13-16 (italics mine)

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward." -Psalm 127:3

*him as in the universal, mankind sort of way

DC Family Trip

Wow, DC is amazing! We had a great time learning, touring, laughing, hanging out with Jenny, eating (did you know Dean & Deluca has great chocolate!?), and just seeing a new part of the country.

It was a bit chilly for this Florida girl (30s to 50s), but truly the Lord blessed us with perfect weather.

The slideshow starts with our drive to Carey & Claudia's in NC. They have such a beautiful home and family! (We miss you guys!) We completed our trip to DC the 2nd day- but had a 2 hour delay when an accident stopped traffic. At least we had a gorgeous view and PB&J ingredients in the van! When we arrived in Gaithersburg late that night, our dear friend Jenny W had beds ready and heaters on- what a blessing.

The tourist pix start at the Mall on Easter Sunday. We celebrated Christ's resurrection at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg. CJ preached a great message (as he is known to do- hand motions and all!) and we all enjoyed worshipping with the CLC church family. Then we headed into town and you'll see some of our stops- monuments, museums and T Rexes- OH MY!

The week was fantastic in every way- even silly mishaps became great memories. When it rained in Annapolis, we took advantage of the Loews Hotel's Playstation and Fischer Price toys to have a fun morning after all. :) That's just one little example of the Lord's goodness and grace over our family as we travelled. Many people called us crazy for driving 12 hours up with 9,6,3 & 1 year olds but we wouldn't change a moment of the trip if we could.

Sick Little Guy

Okay- first the warning. This post involves bodily fluids. If you have a weak stomach (as I know many of you do) please skip this one!
Timbo is sick. :( He woke up tonight at 9:30 in a puddle (that's a huge understatement) of throw-up. Pobrecito!! What made it worse is Ben was snuggled up with him in bed!

I know that is really disgusting- why am I posting this info on my blog? Well, mostly as a reminder to myself! I don't want to forget the "good times". (Yes, it is possible to count it all joy in the midst of very stinky trials! James 1:2)

When I put Timothy in the tub and had most of the sheets off the bed & cleaned up, I woke Benjamin up to move to his bed. Fortunately, he escaped most of the mess. I would love to remember this part forever. He didn't complain about the smell, he didn't whine about being woken up- he just got up and let me change his shirt & moved to his bed. Then, he asked how Timbo was doing. His first thought was for his brother! Then he prayed for Timbo. Oh, be still my mother's heart! There is nothing in this world that can compare with the thrill of seeing my children walk out the things we are striving to teach them. It brings to mind what Ben, then 6 years old, said when Timothy was born on his birthday. "This is the best birthday present ever!"

The icing on the cake for the whole evening was that I had socks with holes in them on my feet and Timbo had PJs I don't like (we've had them since Ben was a baby & they're showing their age) and I'd decided earlier in the day to toss both in the morning after using them one last time. Well, they sure did go out with a bang!! What are the chances?! *grin* So although I know sickness is a consequence of sin here on the earth and we are fully susceptible to illness, I also am aware of the Lord's hand even in the midst of a night of, well, you know.

Oh, gracious. Andrew just threw up. That is a downside of a large family- I could be up all night if they're each 2 hours apart. LOL

Nevertheless, I will give THANKS to The Lord, for He IS GOOD! His love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34

Almost Heaven

Andrew woke up when Chris left for work this morning. He is so snuggly when he wakes up! I toted him around the house opening blinds in preparation for the sun's rising. When we came to the back sliders, I decided to take a few minutes with him outside.

This is a miracle in itself. I am so driven to accomplish things that I often miss those special little moments! We stepped into the cool, brisk morning air (another miracle- remember, this is FL!) and he snuggled tighter against me. Andrew and I sat in the adirondack chair and enjoyed each others' warmth- he warm in his blue fleece pajamas and I a bit chilly in shorts.

I could hear Ben, Lauren and Timothy playing and giggling inside. The cool morning breeze carried the sweet scent of the nearby tea olive bush past me and Andrew was so perfectly warm against the chilly breeze that I was lost for a moment in joyful contemplation. Can you imagine that moments like this are just a taste of what heaven will be like?

I thanked the Lord for his kindness in giving Andrew and I this moment together. I thanked him for giving us a glimpse of our future home (heaven). Could life get any better? Apparently! At that moment, a blue heron silently waded past us- just yards away- in the nearby pond. Andrew and I talked about the bird and watched him majestically stride away. Herons are very graceful birds. The beauty of it all, though, was the fact that we were already experiencing a perfect morning- and God added one more thing... it reminded me that Heaven will be just like that. An eternity of seeing new aspects of God, and worshiping Him for them. Eternity of enjoying snuggles with family and crisp mornings overlooking the water as the fog slowly lifts.

As the puritan prayer from Valley of Vision says, "Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity."

Life is short... eat dessert first!

Dinner is at 6:00 at our house. Everything was ready on time tonight (Yay! Good wife points!) and then Chris called-he would be home late. : ( Fortunately for the children and me, I made an apple pie last night so all was not lost! We had apple pie & ice cream for appetizers and we're watching old Superman cartoons right now. :) Lauren wants to know if Krypton is still a planet. :) Now a mad scientist is going to fire his Electrothanasia Ray and destroy the city- and Lois Lane!! This looks like a job for SUPERMAN! LOL

Sometimes, instead of changing my expectations and coming up with a creative idea, I fire my Electrothanasia Ray at the nearest victim. I'm so thankful for the Lord giving me creativity today and helping us turn a potentially devestating situation into a fun evening! We needed more than Superman- and my Hero came through again.

My hero with a little "h" is home now- time for dinner!