Solving The Fur Dilemma...

Something is coming between me and my "best friend".......

FUR!
This beautiful golden-furred girl is leaving part of herself on everything she touches. Actually she doesn't even have to touch it, the fur just finds it. The carpet, the clothes, the tables, the hardwoods....I'm beginning to understand why they call it "fur"niture.

I know she can't help it. It is probably a great embarrassment to her so I try not to mention it around her. Unlike the kids who just carelessly yell out, "THIS IS GROSS, THERE IS DOG HAIR EVERYWHERE!"

Well I recently learned about a product called the "FURMINATOR" (I apologize if this conjures up images of Arnold Schwarzenegger badly in need of a back wax!! EEWWW!). It is actually a "deshedding tool" recommended by dog groomers.

I first saw one of these at the local Pet Store where it seemed a bit pricey for a "dog brush". However I was able to find it on Amazon.com for a lot less, and best of all it had a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars! Well that's about all it takes to "sell" me on something~~a discount and positive consumer rating!

So we are waiting for delivery of our very own "Furminator". Meanwhile I am shaving the floors and waxing the "fur"niture. PLEASE hurry Mr. Postman........

Old Business & A New One!

I need to take a couple of minutes today and thank two very wonderful ladies who have blessed me with an award........

Laurie Ann at "A Magnolia's Heart Beats" and Lea at "Shabby Olde Potting Shed" have both bestowed upon me the Arte Y Pico award.

Although I don't know what the wording actually means, I have seen the button bouncing around Blog Land and I am very honored to now have one of my own. I am amazed that anyone cares to read my ramblings, much less that they would give me an award for them! Thank you Laurie Ann and Lea!

Now I am supposed to share the wealth and pass the award on to five other bloggers. However, I have two problems with that:
1) I could never just choose five blogs out of all the ones that bless me.
2) Many of you have already received the award and what would you do with multiple Arte Y Pico awards?? The mantle might begin to look really crowded. LOL!

So if you are a reader of my ramblings and haven't received your Arte Y Pico award I am bestowing it upon you now!!!

As if the award was not enough, I would also like to thank Laurie Ann for allowing me to do her new blog design. I have been attempting to build a little "Blog Design" business in my spare time so I was thrilled when she asked me about a "blog redo"!

Please forgive the following shameless self promotion:
If you are ever in need of a "new look" I would LOVE to help! I am also considering doing some "holiday designs" if there is any interest. Feel free to email me if you want to know more.

Well, I think that about covers it! Today I am off to lounge in the sun and splash in the pool with the kids. Summer is passing by way too quickly and before we know it they will be back in school. Meanwhile enjoy your day and remember to be careful out there......

How many kids???

When people find out I have 7 kids I generally get one of two responses:

#1) "OH, I know a lady with 12 kids. She home schools, works full time and runs marathons every weekend!"


In which case I feel like a slacker and think I had better get started making more babies right away!

OR

#2) "How in the world do you manage 7 kids??"

In which case I just say rather proudly, "It's nothing really, it's all in what you get used to."


Of course my two oldest offspring have somewhat left the nest. The oldest lives in a nearby apartment and we never know when we will be blessed with her drama company, and the next daughter is attending college so she only visits when she can. That leaves only 5 children at home full time (I am already starting to feel like a slacker!)

So on Saturday night, as my two teenagers boarded the Chartered Buses to head to the beach with their church youth group, I was suddenly overcome with a feeling of freedom I can't ever remember feeling before. Like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

My husband and I left the parking lot of the church with 3 little kids, and because there were half as many mouths to feed we headed out to dinner. We requested a table for 5, not the usual table for 9 that requires a 2 hour wait. We were able to enjoy adult conversation while the children colored on their place mats and giggled amongst themselves. YES! 3 is so doable!

Sunday was a day of leisurely watching the kids' sporting activities. After dinner Quin and I read for awhile in the hammock while John took the girls to the pool. Everyone was settled in by a reasonable hour and the house was quiet!

Monday was a day of organization. I filled 3 large trash bags in my teenage son's room. I cleaned the closets, changed the bedding, sprayed Fabreze and did more than 12 loads of laundry. There is not a sock in this house that is dirty!

Tuesday was a day of getting haircuts and having a birthday sleepover.

The plan for Wednesday is to go to the movies with Grandma, which translates into "a free afternoon for mom!"

Over the past few days I have discovered I am actually hearing myself think (I have heard of this phenomenon but can't remember the last time it actually happened to me!) Yes, this is the life. I can manage 3 kids. I can stay on top of them and clean up after them. We may even be able to afford them!?

Today as I was basking in my "mom of 3 coolness" I got a call from my college daughter. She is coming home this afternoon and bringing her boyfriend and his dog. By Saturday the teens will return from the beach and it will be a full house once again. Blaring stereos, TV's and raised voices will replace the peace and quiet that has been my life this week.

So as I was looking at my reflection in the mirror this morning, a conversation played out in my mind:

"How in the world do you manage 7 kids?"

"Only by the grace of God!"

A Day to Celebrate!

Thank you all so much for the comments you left on my post yesterday concerning my daughter. It is humbling to know we are being lifted up in prayer by so many Godly women!! Your personal testimonies and words of encouragement give me such hope!

Although I know God will work her life for His purpose it is hard to be patient while she walks this road. I am reminded of the song: "Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord." I don't know about you but I hate waiting alone, so thank you for coming alongside of me in this "wait".

However today I am celebrating, as it is my "baby's" 6th birthday! I can't believe how fast the past six years have flown by!

I found out I was pregnant just before Christmas so instead of announcing it to my family I sent sonogram pictures in my Christmas cards.

When I realized my due date was mid-July my husband went into a panic. That was prime baseball season for my then 11 yr. old son! The baby would have to be born in between the State and World Series tournaments. Fortunately for me the 11 yr. old World Series was local (the year before we had to travel to Memphis).

I'm sure my doctor thought we were crazy but he induced the day after the State tournament and I was pushing the baby in his stroller at the World Series games the next weekend.

The first time I saw him he frowned at me (he still has his dad's frown) and I remember thinking he had a HUGE nose (it is still a little on the large side).

The nurses overheard his brother exclaim, "11 years, 5 sisters and I FINALLY have a brother!"

The funny thing is, he is very different from his brother. He doesn't have any interest in sports (probably all that baseball when he was still in the womb!) but he loves superheros, pirates and garage sales!

Tonight he is having his best friend sleepover. The plan is to play Indiana Jones on the X-Box, then have chocolate cake and watch Larry Boy, Star Wars and Space Jam.

One of the greatest blessings God has given to me is to see the world through the eyes of this little boy!

Happy birthday little man, I love you!

The God of Hope

* Important note to friends and family: This story begins with a flashback. I am NOT pregnant!!

OH NO! I can't be pregnant. I am only 26 years old and I already have a 10 month old baby, as well as a 3 and 4 year old! We can barely support the family we have, much less add another one to the bunch! How will it look as I am hugely pregnant, pushing a stroller and being followed by two little ones? What will the neighbors think? What will my family say?

The doctor's can't tell if the baby is a boy or girl but I just know it is another girl! And I have the perfect name.......Lilly Christine. Lilly, because I love it and Christine after my Grandma.

The baby's head is partially delivered but the contraction has stopped. It feels like I am being split open, so the doctor has pushed her head back in until the next contraction, when I am able to push her whole head out from inside of me.

She is a beautiful baby girl, and the name fits her perfectly~~Lilly Christine.

For the first week after her birth I am surprised at how easy she is. She eats and sleeps and hardly makes a peep.

But then she discovers her voice and since about the second week of her life, Lilly has been making herself heard! "Easy" would never again be a term I would use to describe this daughter, she is as difficult and complicated as an advanced math class would be.

Don't get me wrong, I love this girl with all of my heart! She is beautiful, funny and intelligent but she is also a "wild card". A girl who has always longed to keep up with her older siblings and lacked patience with others as well as herself. If she couldn't do something absolutely perfectly, and be the very best, she would rather not try at all. So little by little she gave up......dance, sports, academics, church......

In a family where the starring roles already seemed to be taken; the oldest one, the smart one, the athletic one.... where could she fit in?

And then, to make matters worse, more babies came along. Now she wasn't even the baby anymore. She was the middle child, the 3rd of 5 girls. What in the world made her special?

I believe this is where Satan sold my daughter the lie that she could find the attention she craved through negative and risky behaviors; she could be the "wild one". And besides, living that kind of lifestyle is so much more fun than following rules.

Like a used car salesman who spots a little old lady alone on the lot, Satan knew a vulnerable target when he saw one. I have bought more than my share of "lemons" from the enemy but my heart breaks when I think of him being anywhere near my children!

For the past two years our family has watched as Lilly has become ensnared in Satan's trap. The "friends" she has chosen have left her lonely and the "activities" she has participated in have left her empty and dissatisfied. In short, what she thought would bring excitement and fun has left her miserable.

So what is a parent to do? How does one child's behavior affect the rest of the family?
What if it causes friction in a marriage? Where does a parent find help when financial resources are limited? When the roaring lion is in the process of stealing, killing and destroying your precious child, where do you turn?

This is the place I found myself as I returned home from North Carolina last month and was faced with perhaps her biggest trouble yet. I had no idea what the answers were, I just knew that my husband and I were in over our heads and we couldn't help her anymore. We had tried everything we knew (punishment, prayer, rewarding good behavior, counseling...) but she was continuing to rebel. We felt helpless and our future looked hopeless.

Then God showed up.

Lilly's small group leader from church is also our Pastor's daughter. She is young(25), beautiful and fun, and apparently she has had our daughter on her heart for awhile.

So when Lilly called her after this latest round of trouble, Angie came to talk with her. She feels that Lilly is at a point where she really wants to change but doesn't know how. Her desire is to mentor Lilly and "lead her into a REAL relationship with Christ". In her words, "the enemy has beaten our daughter badly and she wants to help Lilly know the true joy of Jesus."

By this time my eyes were spilling buckets of tears. I couldn't believe that just the night before I was crying out to God that "I couldn't do this anymore" and today He was sending me an angel who wanted to help!! Some of my friends and relatives have belittled God's involvement in this situation, chalking it up to coincidence but I KNOW where my help came from......the LORD himself!!

I don't know how this mentor relationship will work. They have started with a mutual "TV Fast" and Lilly is willingly adhering to it. TV was a HUGE addiction for her so not watching it at all is a big deal. The idea is to spend time together 4 or 5 days a week doing anything from shopping to exercising to coffee at Starbucks.

This week we have allowed Lilly (and her brother) to go on our church's youth trip to the beach in Panama City, Florida. She will spend the week with her new "mentor" and learn about things like quiet time and journaling. And they will be doing it all with the beautiful backdrop of the ocean.

My great prayer while they are gone is this:

"Where do I send her to school next year?"- I think the temptations at her current school will be too overwhelming for her if she were to return there. I know there will be temptations at every school but I really feel like she needs a "fresh start" somewhere new. Somewhere she doesn't have a circle of friends we don't approve of and a reputation to overcome.

Like I said before, there are friends and neighbors (unbelievers) watching this situation so I am calling on God to Glorify Himself through it! I am waiting and watching for doors to be open and paths to be laid to the right school.

God's word promises that "He knows the plans He has for Lilly, plans to give her hope and a future." So I am claiming that promise for her and waiting for God to show me how to partner with Him, as her mom, in securing that future.

The "ME" Monster...

A few years ago my family discovered a comedian named Brian Regan. We bought his DVD and it makes us all laugh till our sides hurt.

One of the routines he does is about the "Me Monster". Too often one of us gets so wrapped up in ourself that we turn into a "me monster". (Life is all about "ME, ME, ME.....")

The irony to me is that when we become so focused on ourselves we become the most unhappy because we are never able to have or be everything we desire on our own.

We will always seek more; enough is not a word in 0ur vocabulary.

We are threatened by or resentful of others.

And most of all, when we are seeking to live for self we are not in unity with God's plan for us and therefore we are unable to rest in the peace that comes only from allowing Him to be the Lord of our life.

So the next time you encounter a "me monster", or feel yourself becoming one, remember what Jesus had to say on the subject:

"For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." Matthew 23:12

WFW~~~A Time to Rest!

In my last post I told you how much I love to run and how God is blessing me through it.

Today I want to tell you about my new-found way to relax.

Last week I discovered a hammock on sale at KOHLS. It came with its own stand and the whole thing fits perfectly under two shade trees in our backyard. It is big and cozy and if I close my eyes it is almost like being on vacation!

The shade and gentle breezes make even the hottest day feel comfortable and with the summer flowers in full bloom the view is almost tropical.

A couple of days ago I went out to the hammock with a book and I didn't get up for 3 1/2 hours! It was the most wonderful form of laziness I have ever experienced!

I read, I prayed, I slept and I read some more.

The kids would come out and say, "Mom, you've been out here a really long time!"
I just smiled and nodded.

My husband called and said he would be working late.
I told him it was no big deal and to take his time.

Eventually I forced myself back into reality and returned to the demands and disorder waiting for me inside my house. However now I know that whenever I need a quick escape, paradise is waiting for me in my own backyard!

Who needs Calgon? Hammock, take me away........


Now, for the Word-Filled Wednesday part of my post I would like to use a photo of the lilies I can see all around my backyard. I am praising God today for His grace and His abundant blessings, including giving me 3 1/2 hours of "me time" this week!!

For more WFW posts click here.