2 + 2 = So Thankful!

Folks, it's happened again! I am so thankful for a couple of things. First, that I have not one, but two sweet bloggy friends that have nominated for these awards: Mistee at Our Family Blog and Lisa at Family Life.

Both of these gals are God lovin' Mamas, whose blogs I love! Thank you for nominating me. And secondly, because I am so humbled and sometimes quite in disbelief that people actually read the ramblings that go from my mind to my blog. You guys ROCK!

My Six Blessings!

These are a bit old, but I never posted them and that would be such a waste of cuteness! Thank you, Lord! I love my babies (yes, the 26 year old is still my baby) so much!

Click to play Make your own Smilebox

Need a good laugh?

I saw this video on Gracie's Momma's Blog a couple of days ago. I was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face. If you're wondering why, it's because I saw MYSELF doing these dances. Oh yeah, that was me! I sadly proudly admit it. And to think I thought I was cool!

Please remember to scroll to the bottom to turn off the background music.

Body Parts and Hidden Talents

I'm really starting to believe (notice the whispered tone cause I'm afraid to say it too loud) that Anna Grace has turned a corner with her attachment issues. Since her surgery, I've had her sit with me to watch movies on TV, she's played, laughed and I've even been blessed with an "I love you, Mama" almost daily. These have happened during quiet times and not play time. So, I know they're real. A little strange that most have been during potty time while I'm sitting on the bathroom floor waiting for her to be wiped, but hey, I'll take 'em whenever she wants to say it.

Since coming home from the hospital, she's been a non-stop chatterbox. Asking why about everything and wanting to share with me all the going-ons in her world. Which sometimes drives me crazy is a little much since it's been almost constant, but I've tried to encourage as much interaction as possible with her so I do my best to appear that I'm listening intently. That even goes for the times that she's telling me, while I'm on the phone, about her favorite episode of Max and Ruby for the 100th time.

That leads me to today's adventure with Miss Anna Grace. When I picked Amanda up from school the 3 little ones were already in the car. I needed to pick up dinner at the grocery store, so instead of lugging 4 kids there, I dropped Amanda off at home with the two boys and headed to the store with Anna Grace.

I plopped her in the front of the shopping cart and soon thereafter the chatting commenced. It was first about cookies, then dinner, and so on. As we are walking up and down the aisles, she is now attracting more attention than usual with her loud, squeaky voice emphatically rattling off whatever was going through her little mind. All this while I'm trying hard to concentrate on why I'm at the store in the first place. Each aisle brings a new admirer that stops to comment about how pretty she is followed by asking what happened to her arm since she has a cast up to her shoulder. When this occurs, she then quiets down a bit after being questioned (a great sign of attachment!) and looks at me to answer for her. Well, after about 15 minutes of being at the store, she was talking to me about noodles and why is spaghetti called spaghetti and not noodles...blah...blah....blah.

While we are standing in front of the pasta, a man who I would guess was about 50 years old comes up and says, "Oh my! What happened to you?" Anna Grace quickly lowers her voice and whispers something about her hand. I'm sure he didn't understand because then his glance turns to meet my eyes and says, "Did she cut off her hand?" HUH? My mind couldn't figure out what he was asking so I stood there. I'm assuming he then realized he was asking something pretty far out there, so he quickly follows it up with "I'm sorry for being nosy. I just didn't see her hand and I thought she had cut it off and it was a stump." By this time, Anna Grace is back to chit-chatting to herself. I must've stood there bewildered because I said nothing, but instead was immediately brought back to reality when all of a sudden, I feel Anna Grace grab and cup my left breast in her hand (this probably just made my blog an R rating) and proceeded to say at the top of her lungs with the man standing about a foot away from me, "Mama, you have nice boobies!" WHHHAAATTT? Did she just say what I thought she said?

If I looked bewildered and stupid before the man's inquisition, after that comment I must've really looked like a deer in headlights. I turn to her, remove her hand which was still on my boob and said, "Anna Grace, that's not nice. We don't say those things." Then, the Mama in me thought for a split second, "Was she giving me a compliment? Did I just blow her off when she was being nice?" There was total confusion in my brain as it scrambled to come up with something to say. I then realized that Mr. Nosy was still standing there. This time with a creepy, sheepish grin on his face. By the look on my face, he realized that I was completely embarrassed and softly uttered, "Kids come up with the silliest things. Don't they?" as he briskly walked away. "Ummm...yes", is all I could muster to bring forth from my mouth. I quickly finished my shopping, carefully peeking into each aisle before turning the corner in order to make sure that I had no more run-ins with Mr. Nosy. Thank you, Anna Grace. Another one for the books.

Moving right along. You guys are too funny! I've gotten a few comments and even some emails asking what the secret is to making myself sneeze. Well, being that Mistee has that same talent and I'm dying to know if she does it the same way I do, I will share my secret. Mind you, it doesn't work for everyone because Amanda and Scott have both tried, to no avail. That's why I really thought it was my incredibly unique talent (can you see the busted bubble?) or maybe I just have a deviated septum. Heh!

Ok. Are you paying close attention? You first feel for the boniest part of the bridge of your nose. Once you find that spot, you move your index finger and thumb just below it and tightly pinch it while breathing in. VOILA! A sneeze! And I gotta tell you, I just did it twice and sneezed both times. Didn't I tell ya I crack myself up? Now that I shared my secret, you guys be honest and 'fess up as to how many of you just tried this. You did, didn't you? Was it successful? If so, welcome to the I-can-make-myself-sneeze club!

So sorry to do this to you.....

If you're as tired of hearing about me as I am, please feel free to hit that little button above the header that says Next Blog. But, if you decide to stay through another one of the "Me, Me, Me" posts, I promise it'll be rather short, for my posts anyways.

My wonderfully upbeat and funny bloggie friend, Sara, at ...Make Music From Your Heart To The Lord, tagged me to play another little meme and I promised her I'd "git 'r done" this week (dont'cha just love that guy?). I could watch Larry the Cable Guy for hours.

Oops, sidetracked again. (Do ya think I may have adult ADD?) Back to the meme. Here are the rules:

Tell everyone three things you like about yourself. Tag three people to play along.

1. I like that I could crack myself up just by thinking of something that was really funny in my past, it could be anything. I sometimes do that and just start laughing out loud and then quickly notice that people are looking at me with a "what-is-so-funny" expression on their face.

2. I like that I am the only person I know that make actually MAKE themselves sneeze. I discovered this talent in my 20's and it works great for when you have a stuffy nose, or when I want to irritate get Scott's attention. He hates when I do that and always tells me I'm going to blow my brains out by doing it. Heh!

3. I love that I'm a Mama. Although I sometimes dream of Calgon taking me away, I really believe in my heart that I'm doing a good job. A better job than I did the first time around, and my 3 little ones that are now grown (almost grown in Amanda's case) turned out to be great kids. If I had the energy, stamina and health to do this until I was ancient, I would love it! But, alas, they grow up. (Yes, I know...I will always be a Mama, but when they leave the nest, they don't want to hear, "eat all your food", "be nice so that you could put a smile on Jesus' face", and they certainly don't give you a hundred "I love you, Mama's" a day as they smother you with wet kisses and climb on your lap.)

So, there you go, 3 things I like about myself. This time, I AM tagging. These unfortunate lucky souls (sorry girls) whose blogs I love reading, not to mention seeing pics of their beautiful kiddos, are:

Jill @ Life At Killeny Glen

Tina @ One Blessed Nest

Tracey @ Life With 4 Sons

Have fun everyone!

We honor you today!

To all the men, women and families that

have sacrificed so much so that we can live in freedom,

we thank you and appreciate your courage and strength.

What have I done?

I came across this list over at The Simple Life at Home and thought it would be fun to do to see how much I've really done in my life. Except, I gotta say that this is someone else's list and not really the complete list of the things I want to do. But, oh well. It's fun! Play along and let me know by leaving a comment so I can see what you've done!

Bold the things you’ve done and will admit to:

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain (I don't think going up in a cable car counts!)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life (God used me at an abortion clinic!!)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Wow! 58 out of 99. Impressive. There are some on that list that I so badly want to do! Although some things I wish I wouldn't of had to bold. C'est la vie! Your turn!

Oh, No! Not Me!

Ahhhh yes, Monday again! Ready for some fun and shameful honesty?

I have to admit that it was not me that absolutely let Satan creep in for a minute while I read a comment that an Anonymous poster from Cary, North Carolina, sent to my Working Through The Sludge post this morning. It was definitely not me that immediately wanted to hit the "REJECT" button in the moderation box when I read the words that God intervening is a "ridiculous thought", but stopped, took a deep breath and thought about what God would want me to do. It then was absolutely not me that decided to break the rules in this "NOT ME" carnival and DID comment back to the poster with how I really felt, which was sadness over the fact that he/she does not know Christ enough to know that He is the creator of everything and all that happens in this world is because He has allowed it to happen. Therefore, it IS ME that will continue to pray for Obama, his family, our country AND those that don't know the one true and living God, Jesus Christ.

It is without a doubt not me that is in total awe of Anna Grace's resilience and the fact that she has not needed one drop of medication since she came home. It is not me that continues to ask her if her hand or arm hurts while fearing that I may make her think that it does from asking so much.

It definitely was not me that decided to take on a second puppy only to realize a few weeks (and a couple of hundred dollars) later that 2 dogs and 4 kids was more than I could handle. There is no doubt that it was also not me who at the risk of hearing "I told you so" from sweet husband, rehomed that sweet puppy to a family that really could give her all the attention in the world, and potty train her, too!

I have to be honest and say that it is definitely not me that is sitting with 5 loads of laundry behind me ready to be folded and put away, but instead is typing out her Not Me's because she loves this day! That would be irresponsible and a waste of time. I am well aware of how precious time is and would never do that because I want my sweet husband to come home to a nice clean house and be able to pull his clean, unwrinkled laundry out of the closet or drawer instead of a piece of clothing all crumbled up that came out of a laundry basket. Especially a laundry basket which clothes have been "smushed" down to be able to fit in 2 loads so that it appears that there are less clothes than there really are that need to be folded.

This week while at the hospital with Anna Grace, it absolutely was not me that took a tray of food for her each and every time it was meal time, knowing full-well that she was throwing up and would not eat it. It certainly was not me that ate not only my own tray full of food, but hers also. I wouldn't do that because that is gluttony and not only would I be breaking my diet, but would be breaking it to almost the point of no return. No siree, I am trying hard to be very strict about my diet.

Finally, it was absolutely was not me that told Scott as we were driving up to the hospital that we should stop off at an all-you-can-eat barbecue place because it would be my "last meal" since hospital food was horrible and I knew that I would not eat it. Therefore, it just confirms that the paragraph above must've been someone else because it certainly WAS NOT ME!

Edited for my husband because he stated I wasn't being completely upfront with ALL of my Not Me's: There is no way that it was me that flirted with my husband, whiled the kids napped, during his "all-important-I-wait-all-week-for-football" Patriots game which resulted in him missing the entire 2nd quarter. Nope. Not me! I would never be so selfish! Or....would I? ::wink::