How NOT to Do the Super Bowl

So on Sunday, Mike and I took advantage of his days off from work and went to look at Flip Flop Sofa's at the furniture store. We have been studying up on what to do with our office. It has an old beat up couch in there that is useless and unbearable to try to sleep on. With all of our bedrooms and beds being taken, on nights that Mike snores or something, the other one has no where to go. With his surgery this month, this has become a HUGE problem because 1.) he snores like an earthquake, and now he can't turn over on his side (which helps him not snore as bad) 2.) Summer comes to our bed in the middle of the night which now, the two of them can NOT be in bed together for fear of her pounces on his stomach 3.) If I can't sleep with a snorer...and I can't sleep on a crappy couch...okay LET'S say I could sleep on a crappy couch...NOW I have to sleep on it with a two year old?? or make the surgery guy sleep on the crappy couch??

ANYWAYS!! Long story short. We found one. A flip flop couch that is. And on the drive home I mentioned to Mike about what should we do with the old crappy couch. He said we might as well try to put it in the basement for the kids.

Well the only problem with that is HE can't do any lifting. At least anything that is over 20 lbs.

So Tatum, Jake and I rolled up our sleeves. And proceed to huff and puff and get the couch as stuck as stuck could be.

3/4 of it fit through. Just not the remaining 1/4. Yes, we took off foot pedals. Yes we turned it on it's side. Yes we lifted it at an angle. (believe me, we had the supervision of Mike)

We JUST kept pushing believing it HAD to fit. WE WERE ALMOST THERE

We shredded the door's siding and dented the heck out of wall boards. There was NO TURNING BACK.

But there was no going forward.

Some of my children were upstairs. Some were down. At one point Jake crawled through the basement window and walked throughout the snow, the situation was so desperate.

By the time we decided to retreat, it WOULDN"T BUDGE.

And Mike couldn't do a thing to help.

THEN

He realized his guitars were down there.....and he had no access to them. Oh Hell to the no!!

Next thing I know the man had a hatchet!!

When I smelled smoke from the circular saw, I frantically called neighbors to help me. You try finding men to help during the freaking Super bowl!!

We can laugh now. Cause that brown bastard is sitting on the curb. At the time it was SO not funny.

Now who played that day again?? Geesh...I'll never catch up..:)

Show Me Some Leg

Who is that masked pink bandit?? She looks like she is up to NO good... (she isn't)
Summer was HILARIOUS looking the other day storming the streets on her pink motorcycle with her plaid leg warmers on...

She had just enough thigh hanging out to make both Mike and I giggle...

It was one of those winter days in Ohio, where it was in the high 30's and the sun was out, so you felt like it was SPRING! I literally threw on flip flops with my jeans for this quick outting! (I know weeks of teen degree weather does crazy things to you:)

Summer and I was feeling the sun and enjoying the rays!

See-YA!...(the girl had 'tude!~)

and I also got some awesome closeup shots of her that day I wanted to show you...Yay! Here they are :)

Oh, Thank You For The Sunshine!!!

This weekend we have gottend snow and ice and more snow. The kids had a snow day yesterday which gave us a three day weekend. I am more anxious for the spring than I normally am! So when Katrina over at the Sevin Family gave me this award, and swept it right up and inhaled. Ahhh!

The rules to this award are as follows....

-put the logo on your blog or with your post
-pass the award onto 12 bloggers
-link them!
-let the nominees know by commenting on their blog
-share the love and link back to the person that gave you this award

So 12...Oh my gosh that is alot of linking! Summer is DISTROYING my office, so I hope you all know how much I love you! :)

1. Low Expectations
2. Momma and Her Soapbox
3. Just Your Everyday Blessed So and So
4. Moonstruck
5. An Army's Wife's Life
6. Just Add Walter
7. Cassie-Ann's Life
8. Ramblings from the Foothills
9.Mama Cop :0 (lol)
10. Daze in the Desert
11. Julie's Scribbles
12. Day in the Life of Kimber

Tag your it people! Have fun! And post your award with pride!! :)

A Man And His Island

When I was a girl in school, I was very well behaved. I did everything possible NOT to cause a ripple. I liked attention coming my way as long as that attention was positive. I could not how ever handle negative attention directed my way and avoided it at ALL costs.

When I was a kid if you were to get in trouble at school you would get your NAME ON THE BOARD.

Oh. My. Sweet. Mother.

Not that.

I would rather the earth open up and swallow me to the bellows of hell. (well, not really, but in my 8 year old mind it was really really bad!)

Some kids had their name on the board almost every day it seemed! (they were the bad kids!) And if you really were wanting the Scarlett letter sewn to you, you would get THE CHECK MARK next to your name.

Good Night.

I avoided these things at all costs. I did not want to embarrass myself that way. I could not imagine a phone call to my parents. My face would have turned a deep deep crimson.

I actually a time or two in my childhood did have my name on the board, and yes it was mortifying to me, but yes I lived.

This was just my personality. During my teenage years I rebelled hard to break away from such goodness.

Anyways....

Out of my kids, Tatum has pretty much followed suit of me. She doesn't WANT to get in trouble. She avoids at all cost. She's pretty much on the up and up. The only difference (and a really good one at that) is that she is much more confidant in herself and stands up for herself when she doesn't want something. That girl ain't afraid to say no.

Jake doesn't LIKE to get in trouble (who does, right?) , but I swear trouble finds that boy. I am still working on a definition on him....

But this post is about Matthew. I am writing about him because we just got back from yet (another) parent teacher conference on him. He is a unique one I will tell you.

In that classroom, if you are disrupting others, or not working well, the teacher will MOVE your desk AWAY from your pod of students you are sitting with. Kind of as a warning. Kind of like your name on the board. To me this very visual display that would be quite embarrassing. I would NOT want my desk separated and known as the outcast. (in the classroom they call it your island). When you have behaved well enough after several days you get invited to get off your island and join your group again.

Matthew on the other hand has taken an entirely different view. These other students disrupt HIM. He has asked the teacher to be able to move his desk AWAY from them. He wants his own island.

When we went to the meeting there were all the desks in clusters, and LOL, there was Matthew far in the corner at his island.

{{sigh}}

At least he knows what works for him? Build me up here people.

I should have known, he did this last year too with his 2nd grade teacher. Asked to be moved AWAY from the group.

They disrupt him you know:) A man has to have some peace!

Dress Dilema

Tatum's Winter Dance is coming up, and two dresses have been bought. That's okay since we have a family cruise this summer with my mom and brother's family. Both dresses will be put to use! But we need your votes on which one you like the best.

(Remember Mom...if you don't comment...your vote doesn't count!! :)

Tatum's Choice....Dress A.

There is a cute little tied bow that doesn't show up in the picture. My concern is it is short. VERY short, and this is a High School Dance. But we DO have cute heels to match

My Choice...Dress B...

This dress IS going to need a pair of heels bought, but my point was it was more Beyonce -vrs- Mariah Carey, you know...just a little more class.

So be totally HONEST!!! Choice A...the black or Choice B the steel grey. Either way she will be beautiful, and either way both dresses will get used, so it's all good! What do YOU think??

Healing

I haven't been able to post in awhile, due to just the sheer weight of life around here.

Sure it is usually busy. But this was different. This was "getting by". This seemed to be dealing with life minute to minute. What came at me as it came.

Mike is finally doing better and starting to get around. I'm not going to lie. The first few days were rough. The first day we debated whether to stay the night in hospital or not, and after prolonging our outpatient stay more than normal, many doses of morphine and anti-inflamitories, he thought that with the aid of a wrap around his middle he could make it home. This probably was mistake number one.

I already was juggling a missed event for Matty at school (a party to honor him by meeting his family), I was on the cell throwing together a friend and my daughter to meet him up there. I was trying to get money in the bank and fill his prescriptions for pain. All around this time my mom had to go home (aka Summer is now in my charge). I got Mike settled and as the night progressed so did his pain. Really really badly. I had now been up for 24 hours straight.

I put a call into the Dr and they filled another prescription for even stronger pain killers that they said if they didn't help we needed to bring him back to the hospital. Between filling that, and ice packs would be when the throwing up started. Imagine your stomach held together by glue and you are now vomiting.

So now he is about dehydrated. One more call to the Dr. One more run to the pharmacy for nausea medicine and new pain killers. Ice packs, puke bowls, a swim meet (make that a home meet so you know I had to volunteer at it...oh and contribute a snack...ugh), poopy diapers, homework, dinner, laundry, one basketball game, and did I mention that I tried to eat and sleep in there somewhere. {{sigh}}

He is finally able to get up and out of the chair by himself without me having to support him. He is walking around now and tending to things himself. He has been working at his desk and even "trying" to pick up his guitar. Bless his heart.

There definitely has been irritation of control and Independence and emotion. We all are trying our best. He doesn't like to not be able to do things. I don't want him to break Dr's orders. We both are ready for him to be back to normal:)

Thanks to all for the well wishes. Yes he freaked out a little when he found out they took his "button"! The funniest part was I told him right away after surgery, so he was heavily medicated I guess, and "forgot!" He had to relive it when I told the kids! He was like WWwwhhaattt?!?!?!

Here are some adorable shots I took of Summer with her kitten Alice. She just dotes on her. She loves when Alice reciprocates:)

Button, Button, Who's Got The Button

So today was the big day. The big surgery day for Mike. If you need a catch up you can read here.
We were told to be at the hospital at 5:30 am, so that meant we got up at 4:10 am. {{yawn!}} It was a cold cold morning of only 28 degrees as we scraped snow off the windshield, drug the garbage cans to the curb, and left the house full of sleeping children. (Tatum stayed to get the boys on their buses, and my mom relieved her at 8 am, and then she went in a little late to school)
Mike was leery, but still feeling jovial was told to take off everything and put on such an attractive hospital gown. One he delighted in not being discreet with his open legs.
Then came the super cute bootee socks with grippers on top AND bottom.
Lookin smexy.
When the shower cap hat was snapped on he was starting to catch on that this boat was leaving the dock, and was asking where his keys were.
By the time an IV was put in his arm, he ever so seriously looked at me and tried to have the discussion of how he didn't feel it was quite necessary to have this surgery yet, and weren't we being a bit rash??

Poor Guy.

I kissed his head and he was wheeled off. For hours I waited until I got to talk to the doctor.

Interestedly enough...this is what he told me.

a) the original hernia and screen were still in tack.
b) there was a new tear below the old hernia that had to be repaired
c)they had to "dig around" alot, so he would be sore, and there would be alot of swelling
d)he put a new wire mesh over the new hernia AND over the old one to secure the area

AND

e)he removed a "wart like piece of fatty flesh", and had cut it off


....wwwwhhhhhatt

wait a minute...I had to clarify this. I asked him if he meant on the inside of his stomach or on the outside. Oh no, he assured me, it was a ball of skin on the outside of his belly button.

YOU MEAN THE BALL IN HIS BELLY BUTTON?

His belly button ball. The ball in his belly button. I must of sounded like an idiot saying this five times to clear it with the man, but from my previous post, if you know my husband, he is NUTS about his belly button being touched, and to have the button in there CUT OFF is going to send him over the edge.

The edge.

They cut if off people!

He said they sent it away, so apparently it was an abnormal growth, but it has been there, just a cute little ball ever since I've known Mike.

So....I finally get to go see him, and well...he is recovering. It took us alot longer to leave the hospital than we thought because he was in so much pain, but they put like a girdle around him and that has really helped. He finally is home now, and I hope we get through the night okay. The kids are being great.

He is getting some of his humor back...He just told me he doesn't think he's going to make it into work tonight :)

Our Hands are Extensions

Last night I attended a class through my church that will allow me now to volunteer and work at our FreeStore that our church runs.

Our church is a very very laid back church, which is heavily based on showing God's love. Getting up and doing it. I have been looking for an area that I thought I would be able to fit in well with. (okay it took me three years to kick my butt in gear into doing this! But I'm so glad I did)The store is in the next town over and provides food and clothes to whomever needs them. I am going to try to volunteer two Saturdays a month.

One of the things that stuck out that I learned last night is that although it feels good to do good...All of us feel good when we do good...the difference to make sure I am putting forth is that I am doing it FOR God. That we are his hands and feet. That we are extensions of Him. BUT...WE cannot save anyone. Jesus is the only Savior. He can use us. But we are not saviors.

The King will reply "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these of brothers of mine, you did for me." Matthew 25:40


He then had us serve each other, and instead of the symbolic washing of the feet {{thank goodness we didn't}} he had us wash each other's hands. I didn't know a single person there, but when it was my turn, I felt so loved and cared for.
We then prayed while still holding hands in the basin before we switched and it was my turn to wash someone hands...

We prayed that these hands would do good works for God and that they would help. It was beautiful.

"So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful"
1 Corinthians 4:1-2

Just simple everyday helping has proved to work. The pastor told a very funny story of how every year after the town's annual "River Days" the church agrees to sweep the streets from one end of the town to the other. It is very late at night, early morning when they do this, and as he was sweeping off the steps of a bar, a {{very inebriated}} lady came out and asked him what he was doing. He told her, and she asked how much they were paying him to do that!?!? He said "for free!"

She said "Jesus Christ!"

And he said..."that why!"

They sat on those steps and talked, and she became a Christian.

So who knows!

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!"
Psalm 133:1

Summer and the Worm

We have had alot of rain here, and with the rain comes the worms.

Big long pink worms. All over the sidewalk and driveway.

On our way out to the car, I called to Summer to show her one that was stretched out moving across the way. She ran over, and with interest crouched down to look.

Me: "Look Summer~ That is a worm! See it moving and wiggling!"

Summer: "Yesss...Do you want me to step on it??"

Ugh! No!!! I told her all about it being one of God's living creatures and that we love it.

Do you think she stands a chance growing up in a house with two older brothers??

Laugh Out Loud

Our Pastor just returned from a trip from Ethiopia. He was telling us of a funny interaction he had with a man there.

He was having a conversation with him, and trying to explain and show all the things that we were capable of doing. He pulled out his Ipod and was trying to show how we can do pod casts of our service each week. What possibilities there were! The man in turn I think taught something to Pastor Chuck....

The man wasn't too sure about all the new technologies Pastor Chuck spoke of. He simple said...

"all we have, is GOD."

Pastor Chuck I think felt humbled right away. Because that is all you need, right?

:-)