40 Days of Lent

So, I'm talkin' to the kids last night about the fact that Lent is starting today. I explained what it is, and how church tradition is that you give up something sacrificially during this time to honor God and His sacrifice, and to prepare our hearts for the miracle of Easter.

The kids chose to give up something each of them dearly loves. I could not think of anything that would be appropriate to give up. I made the mistake of asking the kids if they could help me think of something...when I was sitting here on the computer. I am giving up blogs for the 40 days of Lent! They suggested I pick two to check regularly, but give up the rest.

I won't say which two blogs I'm going to keep up on, but they are fairly new to my repertoire because they are about eating vegetarian. Oh, I didn't mention I'm eating vegetarian? Yup.

I know I don't post often, but now I'm going to be thinking about it a lot...for 40 days, at least. :)

God bless you during this Lenten season. See you on Easter!

And another public service announcement...

The French have some cool words and phrases that we use in the English language; words like, deja vu, a la carte, and my daughter's favorite, ballet.

There are some French words that people just should not use if they don't know how to spell them or say them. Words like "voila." It comes from a French expression literally meaning “look there!” Of late, in the blogosphere, I have noticed a rash of "walah" and even worse "viola." *sigh*

Thank you, again, for listening.

Trust

I am in awe of my kids, again. Growing up, I just did not get along with my brother. I still consider our relationship...sensitive. So, when I see my kids trusting each other the way my son trusts his sister, it really warms my heart.

This is the second time he's let her cut his hair. This time, it was done under a little bit of duress; I said, "She cuts it, or I shave it all off!!!" It was getting a bit too messy for me.



I don't think I've ever seen a professional hair stylist at this angle while cutting hair. That would make me dizzy.



Or, get a crick in my neck.


The finished product. She straightened his hair after she cut it.

She told some friends, "My brother looks like a high school hottie!" How's that for a sister's compliment!?

There might have been once that I referenced my brother and "hot" in the same sentence, and I doubt it was about his attractiveness. It probably went more like, "He smells like hot poop."

Blessings.

I just had a thought...

If my bank goes under, I will lose less than $200.00. There are advantages to being broke. :)

Blessings.

I am very blessed that my kids get along pretty well. They have the occasional spat, but overall, they really do love each other.

A little while ago, I told The Prince to vacuum the family room. I then asked La Princess if she had emptied the vacuum cleaner after she used it earlier today. Of course, she said "no." I told her to clean it, but The Prince jumped in and said, "That's okay; I'll do it." Such a sweet boy.

Yesterday, after it had rained her quite a bit, the kids decided to go "splash in puddles." Yes, they are 12 and 14. And yes, I said "yes."

Um yeah, barefoot.


He is officially considered "accident prone" now. He got completely soaked in that puddle.


Check out this awesome leaf! The kids had to get pictures of it.

All these pictures were taken by the kids. They took my camera (gasp) when they went puddle hunting.

Fortunately, they decided to take a walk to Grandma's house, and she got to deal with the wet clothes. By the time they got home, they were all dry. :)

Blessings.

When will I start to believe?

I've mentioned before how my work as a notary signing agent (loan signings) has slowed to a crawl. Well, it's actually slower than that. The Gearhead has been working side jobs to try to keep our heads above water. Seeing the dark, dismal writing on the wall, I started looking for work the last few days. Not sure where to look, since I've been out of an office job for about six years, and I only want to work part-time. Well, truth be told, I don't want to work away from home at all.

So today, after I left a Fedex-Kinko's store where I inquired if they were hiring, I saw that I had a voice mail on my cell phone. Dang thing doesn't work in my house, and it registered a message that I had received about a half hour earlier while I was at home. It was a guy who owns a signing agency. He was referred to me by a notary friend, and said he would be getting quite a bit of work in the next few weeks, and needed good notaries. I called him back, and put my name in the loop for signings. So, for now, I'm waiting to see if the work comes through. I had a signing yesterday, I have a potential one for tomorrow, and if what this guy says is true, the next few weeks could be busy.

I have felt for quite some time that I was meant to be at home with my kids. For years, I denied that voice that kept saying "Just quit. It will be okay." I was too afraid to let go of the security of my job. Oh, the years spent being such a stress puppy. When I finally couldn't take working in an office anymore, He provided the notary job, and it was really good for about four years. It tapered off, and here I am, getting my heart's desire: To be a stay-at-home mom, 100%. Of course, it comes with the stress of not making ends meet, so it's not ideal. And just as I fully realize that our little family is fast sinking financially, the work picks up...or seems to.

So, when will I truly believe that God has it all in control; that He will neither leave me, nor forsake me? Really, it's quite ridiculous how many times He's come through for me, and yet I'm still a Doubting Thomas.

Blessings.

If you can't say anything nice...

It's Tuesday, and since I flaked on praying for the President-elect for the past few months, I can at least pray for him today, of all days.

Lord God, I pray for President Obama. I pray that his heart and mind are governed by You, by Your Word, by Your statutes, not the ones of this world. I ask for protection over him and his family during the coming four years. I also pray for protection of our nation...the one that has gradually turned its heart towards Your enemy. And yet Lord, You are merciful and holy, and I praise Your holy name. I pray for a revival such that has never been seen in our country; that Christians would rise up and draw the country back to You, and that many would be saved. In Your Precious Name I pray. Amen.

Okay, so I said something nice, and now I'm going, because I don't have anything else nice to say. :)

Blessings.

No mo snow

It was at least 85 degrees here today, and the snow on my blog just looks wrong, so off it goes. I sure hope the temps cool down before Spring, or this will be the longest Summer, ever!

Nothing much going on here. The Princess has a sinus infection, so she's been a bear for the past few days, but the antibiotics have kicked in, and she's feeling better. The Prince's face is quickly recovering from his snow accident. His neck still hurts, so off the chiropractor we go. The Gearhead went to bed at 6 p.m. (!!!!!!)

Um, yeah, so that's life at my house right now. *crickets chirping*

Blessings to all!

Public Service Announcement

There has been much talk in the blogosphere about dropping some excess tonnage in this New Year. Thus, if you recognize yourself, take heart. It's everywhere.

Please note:

You do not "loose" weight. You lose it. That is all.

Blessings.

Christmas, 8 days later

The Prince playing Christmas music.

The Gearhead showing off his gift from his parents.

The Prince trying out his Chucks.

The Princess and The Gearhead's mom.

The Princess opening stocking stuffers. Note the hair and make-up. She stayed up late on Christmas Eve doing the hair so that she'd look pretty for Christmas morning pictures. Who looks pretty in Christmas morning pictures?!

The Prince got a 12-pack of Coke from Grandma & Grandpa for his new mini-fridge that he got from us. They contributed 1/2 of the cost of his "big" gift, a camera, which he got at my folks house later in the day, but Grandma wanted him to have something to open at our house.

The Princess put on everything wearable that she got, when she opened it. Thus, she has two necklaces and two pairs of socks, and those geek glasses.

The Gearhead's mom opening her gift, a set of mugs. She wanted them over a year ago, but I failed to get them for her until this year. She looks happy, huh?

Our Christmas tree.

Me, baking. This was a few days before Christmas, but I didn't stay up late doing my hair and make-up, so I don't wish to publish a Christmas morning picture of me.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and God bless you!