Countdown to Ecuador

In exactly 3 weeks I, along with 5 others from my church, leave on a Mission trip to Ecuador.
While I'm excited, I'm also scared, nervous and everything else.

As I mentioned before, I speak Spanish. But around here, no one does. The only words my friends know are my slang Spanish words I use. That and food items.

My Spanish has not been the best. So, in order to brush up on my Spanish, I turn the TV on to the Spanish stations.

The only problem with that is that they mostly show Spanish soap operas on them. So there I sit while folding laundry, watching these soaps and listening to the big words they use.

I have heard most of them, but some of them to me are Tex-Mex words that are different. My boys walk in and ask in a confused voice, "What are you listening to mom?"

Sometimes, the boys will sit there and just listen, but then they get up grumbling, "I don't understand what they are saying. That's a weird show."

And still, there I sit while I watch these programs. I did tell the group yesterday that we were going to have to look for a TV during my soap times so that I could not miss anything. Maybe someone in Ecuador will be watching the 'novellas' that I watch , I mean listen to here. Ha Ha

I know, I'm weird, but hey, it sure has helped my Spanish.

Weekly Winners

June 21- June 28

Will you be my friend?


Someone's shed

Painting in the sky after the rain

Water fun

More water fun

Another Reality show?

While watching The Speed Channel, because that seems to be the only thing we watch now a days, they showed a preview to a new Reality show.

This reality show.

I have to admit, I do watch reality shows. Like The Next Iron Chef America, or The Next Food Network Star, or Dancing with the Stars (if that's a reality show). I even watch The Biggest Loser. Some reality shows are just plain dumb. And the preview to this one goes to prove that this one is going to be a dumb one.

I don't know about you, but I don't do throw up very well. Poor Hubster has a better stomach for it than I do. He usually is the one to do the cleaning when the kids are throwing up. I normally end up hurling myself.

So why would I watch a reality show about hurling? They apparently feed these contestants food. Lots of food. Then they put them through an intense sports activity and they see who is the last one to not hurl. All for $1,000.

No way would I go through all that for a measly $1,000. Pay me more and then maybe we'll talk.

Honestly, even if they paid me a million bucks, I really don't think that I'd do that. I don't think puking is worth that much.

Besides, food that I eat likes to "stick" around in me. If you know what I mean.

Wordless Wednesday

Old pictures of the boys

Internet not working good

My internet is not working properly. Not letting me insert photos. And it's cutting me off when I've written something. (Must be a woman).



So I will write later when my internet is working better. That's what happens when you live out in the country and have satellite. Everything the weather does makes it work weird.



Today it is hot. I guess the satellite decided to sunbathe instead of work.



Later.

Victory tastes good

Last Friday was the last regular season game for AB and Hubster. It was actually a make-up game from Monday. We've had lots of storms lately and it happened to storm on a day that baseball was to happen.

Well, we only had 8 players, and we played with only 8, but we did have to take an out on every ninth batter. The other team had a full crew.

The other team also had been un-defeated. Until the night before. They apparently lost and were not happy about it. This is a team that is all about winning. Or maybe it's only the coach and the parents that feel that way.

The game started good, we weren't expecting much out of this since we only had 8 players. During the first inning, the other team scored 4. We scored none.

The second inning started and our team kept them from scoring. We ended up with 2 runs. We were halfway there.

Our team though, is like the Bad News Bears. We have kids in the outfield that twirl around and then see the ball roll past them and they just stop and stare at it. (sad to say that that was AB). Or our kids try to get the ball, but it ends up going under their legs. Or they all scramble for the same ball. Sometimes, they think their next door neighbor is going to get it and no one actually goes for it. It's even happened that their are runners on 1st & 2nd and when the third baseman gets the ball, he throws it way past first and the guy on 2nd ends up coming home. Yup, that's our team.

So when this only lost once team was playing us on Friday, I'm sure they were tasting the win. But what happened in the fourth inning stunned everyone.

During the third inning, they ended up scoring 5 runs. They disputed everything we did. They argued over the fact that the umpire called one of their runners out because him and another runner were both on the third base bag at the same time. The coach would even sit there and yell at his players to "get rid of him" when our players were on the bases.

The parents were all disgruntled over calls that were legitimate. The scorekeeper even came over to our side to yell at the umps that our 8th batter had just gotten out and therefore our ninth non-existent batter was out as well. Like I can't yell myself.

During the 4th inning, the parents and the coach were sure of the win. They had 9, we had 5 at this time. We were joking and said that if we scored all 5 runs, only 5 runs are allowed an inning, that we could possibly win. Since we had only won 3 other times during the season, we didn't even believe it was possible. And definitely not with only 8 players.

Well, it was our time to bat and we had only 1 out with bases loaded. The scorekeeper came up to me and asked me what the score was for them. 9 I said and we have 5. We had another batter hit and a runner came in and we still only had 1 out. The scorekeeper approaches me again and asks what their score is. I want to be sarcastic and say, "it hasn't changed, you still have 9", but I bite my tongue and say "y'all have 9 and now we have 6.

Our next batter hits it hard to right field. We end up getting all runners in, including the last batter. Everyone was on their feet, jumping and cheering our team. The other team's parents were on their feet and yelling as well, but not for us. They were mad because the umpire hadn't called our runner out at home. You see, the catcher had dropped the ball and was standing in the middle of home plate, with no ball.

The coach was mad. The parents were yelling. The bottom line was that they had lost to the Bad News Bear. This made them mad, since they had already lost the night before.

The scorekeeper approached me yet again and asked what the final score I had was. "We have 10 and y'all STILL have 9" I want to say. But I don't, I say "10 to 9".

We won fair and square. The victory would not have felt good if it wasn't that way. But our kids were extremely excited because they beat a team that was un-beatable, and with only 8 players. What victory.

At the end of the game, our kids shook the other teams hands, and regardless of how rude their coach or parents were, the kids were not that way. As a matter of fact, there were a couple of them at the exit when we were leaving and the kids looked at our kids and said "good game".

Weekly Winners

6/15-6/21

Baseball.....

Hot Dog.........

Apple Pie.......................



And........................

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World

Martha opened her home to Jesus and his disciples. She had a sister called Mary. Martha knew that she had to make the best for Jesus. Nothing but the best would do for him. So she goes to the kitchen and starts sending the servants to go get the best food so that she could make it. After a while, she realizes that her sister is not helping her. Looking into the room where Jesus is sitting, she sees Mary there. This gets Martha a little bothered. Here she is, working hard in the kitchen, trying to make sure that everything is perfect, and there she is, not doing a thing to help. How dare her.

So Martha marches over to where Jesus is and says, "you know, I'm in there working hard and she is sitting here doing nothing to help. Make her help me." Expecting a 'go help your sister' to Mary, Martha is surprised when Jesus rebukes her. But then, Martha understands and gets it.

That is my version of Luke 10:40-42. So many times we fall into the Martha category. I know I do. Always busy, always worrying about the little things.

In this book, Joanna Weaver invites us to join Christ even in our busy lives. She shows us how the Mary's and the Martha's are alike and how we can be a little bit of both. We can have a closer relationship with Jesus by deepening our devotion, strengthening our service and doing both with less stress and more joy.

About Joanna:
Joanna Weaver was voted the Most Promising New Writer of 1997 at the Mount Herman Writer’s Conference. She has authored Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World and written for publications such as Focus on the Family, Home Life, Aspire, and The Evangel. A pastor’s wife for more than eighteen years, she and her husband have counseled many couples, both those approaching their wedding and those struggling in marriage. The Weavers live in Montana and have taught young married classes and spoken on the topic of marriage throughout the northwestern United States.

Now go here and leave a comment to enter to win a copy of this book as well as well as her new release With This Ring.

Wordless Wednesday

The toads are trying to take over my Homestead

At about 8 pm, we start seeing these toads emerge from their dwelling underneath the grass. They have a hole by the side of the sidewalk in which there seems to be about 50 toads that live there. I'm not kidding either. When the first one pops up and realizes that all is well, they start coming out after the leader. Toad after toad after toad after.....well, you get the picture. We end up seeing lots of toads everywhere. I know they are trying to move into my house, but I'm not going to let them. They watch me with their itty, bitty, bulging eyes and wait until I start walking into the garage, then they start following me.


Every time I see all these toads, I'm reminded of the story in the Bible. The one of the plagues towards the Egyptians. Although, those were frogs, but still.





But when I look around, I see no crickets anywhere. No bugs of any sort. And if you look closely at these toads, you can tell that there is no shortage of food for them.



Last year, before eating all those bugs. This year after eating lots of bugs.

Although, sometimes they end up looking like pancakes when they don't move out of the way when I'm trying to park my car in the garage or backing up. Hey, it's not my fault that they won't move or they try to hide underneath the tires.





I'm sure that they would rather die being run over, than by the boys squeezing their guts out or putting them in a container with no air to breathe.

Kiss me my darling!!!

I'm not Wonder woman, but God made me Wonderful

All three of my readers have commented on my new profile picture. Let me just clarify some things.

1. NO, I do not look like that. I haven't had a body like that since I was 25. A Looooooong time ago.

2. NO, I don't wear a costume like that at home while doing laundry or cooking.

3. But it does seem appropriate to be Wonder woman since I have a son who is Adventure Boy and another who is Underwear Boy.

But seriously, the reason I picked that particular photo was because a couple of years ago, I read this book.

It is I'm not Wonder Woman but God made Me Wonderful!

I loved it. I do recommend it to you three :) readers.

Sheila talks about her feelings of anger and depression, among other issues. Now, I wasn't depressed while reading this. I can say that in the past, I have been depressed, but that's not what got me to read this book.

This book talks about how we as woman feel inadequate when we don't meet others expectations. How we feel anything but good when we don't fit the mold.

For example, she has this to say in her book.

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me-watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you." Matthew 11:28-29

I wonder what percentage of God's family is wearing ill-fitting garments. Sometimes the weight we carry is not a burden we took up for ourselves to please God or others, but one we took up as an offense for someone else.

It is time to take our ill-fitting garments out of the closet and lay them at the foot of the Cross.

I just think that's so wonderful.

She talks about how one of the big issues of Wonder Woman is how she looks to others. Which is true. We worry about what people think of us if we quit the position in church that we took on our own because no one else wanted to do it. We worry about what people will think of us if we were to tell them that we were depressed. We worry about what people will think of us if they were to see how the laundry room is piled up with dirty clothes. But none of that should matter to us. We can't save the world. Only Jesus can.

So I put that picture as my profile picture, not so that I could pretend to be Wonder woman, but so that I can remember that I am NOT Wonder Woman but God made ME wonderful.

But that doesn't mean that I don't put on UB's Whataburger watch and try to tackle the laundry in hopes that I can conquer the tall pile.

Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you. Jeremiah 31:3

I wanna hold your hand

I have never really been a huggy, touchy, feely kind've gal. My mom used to make me give hugs and kisses to my family during get-togethers. Sometimes I would just hide until all the greetings were done and then I'd come out. I like my space. As I get older, I'm still that way, but not so much. I'm okay with friends and family, but when strangers aproach, my guard goes up and I want my space.

AB is like me. He is not a huggy, touchy, feely kind've guy. Every once in a while he will sit on your lap or give you a hug and kiss without you asking for it, and when he does, I take full advantage of it.

UB is totally opposite of AB and myself. I'm not sure he even gets it from Hubster. If you had a pouch like a kangaroo, that is where UB would be. He is my affectionate boy. He gives hugs and kisses for no reason. He wants a hug and a kiss when we drop him off somewhere. He is not afraid to say I Love You real loud. He even tells AB he loves him all the time.

He is also the one that wants to sit on your lap when you are outside in the 100 degree heat. He wants to hold your hand and give you hugs and kisses during this time as well. We are all sweaty and hot and sticky and he doesn't care, he just wants affection.

For the last 2 or 3 weeks, the boys have been having games at the same time on the same day. Since Hubster is AB's coach, they head off together and I stay with UB. When I drop UB off at the dugout, he says "hug and a kiss mom". He isn't embarressed. He smacks me a big one in front of all his friends.

Last night was one of those ball game nights. No one was watching AB at his game because Hubster is out of town. I stayed with UB and was the dugout mom because I'm a sucker. After UB's game, we were walking to the field where AB was playing. UB reaches up and holds my hand. That's another thing he does. He wants to hold your hand all the time.

As I looked down at him, I almost withdrew my hand. Not because I didn't want to hold his hand, but it was ninety something hot, I was sweaty, sticky, thirsty, hot and cranky. And his hands were sticky from the snow cone they gave him after the game.

But I didn't withdraw my hand. Because at that point I realized that he might not want to do that much longer. I know there will come a time when he won't want to hold my hand, or give me hugs and kisses anymore, but in the meantime, I'll take full advantage of his affection in public.

Let's go swimming

We have a pond in the back of our house. Right now, it is pretty full. But last week it wasn't too bad. The pond is Cinnamon's pool. She goes there on a daily basis to go swimming. Especially when the days are hot.

Last week, the boys had some friends over. They all wanted to see the pond. I walked over with them and they asked if they could take their shoes off and wade in the shallow parts. Sure I said. The pond has red muddy water. The high winds cause the water to turn and the red dirt to mix with it. This did not deter the boys from wanting to be in the water.

Pretty soon they asked if they could take their shirts off. Sure I said. So off the shirts went, onto a pile on the bank of the pond, along with the shoes and socks that were already there. Oh yeah, and a Spiderman outfit as well.

One of the boys fell in the water, so this gave the boys an opportunity to ask me if they can get in their swimsuits and go swimming. I told them that they could strip to their underwear and go swimming that way. I thought for sure they were going to tell me no. Boy was I wrong. They quickly took their shorts off, for fear that I would change my mind. And then they all got in the water. All except UB.

At one point, AB had mud all over his face. Mud from the bottom of the pond. But that just brought laughter and they all started throwing water at him to try to get the mud off.

These 5 boys swam from one end of the pond to the other. They were in there a good hour and they were having a great time. It didn't matter that they couldn't see the bottom of the pond. It didn't matter that the water was red. It also didn't matter that their whitie tighties were now as red as the water. They were having fun.

Even UB had fun standing on the bank, watching the commotion of who could reach the other side of the pond the quickest.

The itsy, bitsy spider

We had a busy afternoon yesterday and didn't arrive home until late last night. Upon arriving home, I found something waiting for me. It wasn't an invited guest, so needless to say, I panicked.

Looming over me from it's space on the wall was this...................................
I looked at the size of that thing and started picturing more like it everywhere. Does anyone remember that movie from long time ago that the people went into their garage, and the snakes started coming out of every spot imaginable? Well, that's how I pictured this scenario last night. Except with spiders. Hubster was not home and was not answering his phone to tell me what type of spider it was. Like he would have been able to help me anyway. He's not anywhere near home. So I called my friend. She tells me that it sounds like it's a tarantula. She asks if it has hairy legs. Why yes I say. Does it have long legs? Very long I say. I'm thinking little red riding hood here. The better to grab you with my dear.

Then she asks if there is another one. Another one? Do they come in two's? Did Noah forget to count his animals as they got off the Ark? Why would there be two of them?

I run in the back door. But I'm not that scared of it I guess. Because I grab my camera and walk out the front door in order to come all around into the garage to take pictures of the spider.

Then I remember that people buy these things and keep them as pets. I'm not willing to keep it, so does anyone want to buy a tarantula?

Just kidding.

What a great day!

I turned a year older yesterday. It was a pretty good day. It started with our 4H group meeting here for our year end meeting. We were originally supposed to have it in May, but UB got sick and we had to cancel it.

So we decided we would have it here at my house. The kids had made kites during one of the meetings and they were to bring them so that they could fly them. The weather here had been in the 90's and very windy. So we moved the get together for the morning. That way we could avoid the hot heat and the wind.

The weather had been perfect. That is, until Monday. We woke up Monday to dark skies. No, it's not going to rain here, said the chief meteorologist. But what do you think happened? You got it, rain. It started pouring down at 9am. Right when things were supposed to start. People started showing up and we decided to go ahead and have the pinning ceremony and then people could leave.

I had 23 kids and 9 moms in my house. It wasn't bad. The kids all squeezed in the living room. They all received their pins and then ate a Popsicle. When the rain stopped for a while, they all went outside to run around. Then the 300 water balloons were brought out. It was cool and that didn't matter to the kids. The kids all chased each other throwing balloons and trying to get each other wet.

After balloons, they ran sack races and did the three legged race. AB and his friend were fast.

But they were no match for UB and his friend. They won the race and beat all the other kids.

Once everyone was gone, Hubster took me out to eat Pizza. Later that evening, I wanted a cake. You see, Hubster said he was craving a Pineapple Upside Down cake. I had thought about making me a cake, but nothing sounded good. That is, until Hubster said what he wanted.

Of course, I didn't have a box in order to make one, and because I was determined to make one, I made it from scratch. So there I am at 7pm making a Pineapple Upside Cake.

But it sure was worth it. This is all that is left from that round cake.

Want some?

Weekly Winners

Go here for more Weekly Winners.

The little ladybug that could

Peek a boo!

Smiling for the camera

My little man

My other little man

Sunset in the country

What's in your washer?

When I go to unload the washer and put the clothes in the washer, I usually end up finding stuff in the washer. Stuff that sometimes makes no sense to me. So let's take a look, shall we?


We've got a hot wheels car, a barrette ( I don't use barrettes anymore, but the boys sometimes use them as tweezers), some change, a Lego piece, some rocks, a shiny piece of rock better known as a piece of glass, a paper clip, some paper that became a ball, leftover wrappers of a band aid and there were more rocks and lots of sticks, but the boys found them and took them out. The pocket knives are no longer in that stuff either, those are used to dig holes in the back yard.
There are sometimes dollar bills in there, but I'm no dummy, those I hide and keep for myself.
I know that I should probably inspect the pockets before washing, but call me lazy. I've got lots of other things to do besides checking pockets. So I take everything that can not go in the dryer and put it in this little jar I have sitting on top of the dryer. I just continue to add to it until it gets full and then I empty it out.

So what gets washed in your washer?

Wordless Wednesday

Asleep at the Wheel

I was mowing the front 4 acres of our land. While I was finishing up, the boys were riding their dirt bikes. Hubster made them a small track in the front of the house and that's where the boys ride their dirt bikes.

Well, while I was mowing across the track, I noticed that UB's head was bobbing. I continued to look and his head would jerk back up. This happened for a while. I even stopped the mower on the side of the track and looked at him as he rode by me. His eyes were looking a little droopy.

When I realized that he was probably falling asleep on his dirt bike, I panicked. At this time, he was riding on the track towards the road. I had all these bad visions go through my head at the time. Thoughts of him dropping his bike with him on it, or of him riding straight onto the street and a car zooming at that particular moment and hitting him, or of him riding straight onto the barbed wire fence and hurting himself.

I couldn't just run, since I was close to the house, and the mower was probably not fast enough, so I just prayed that he would make it back around the track safely. I got off the mower and ran to wait for him by the side of the track. He stopped when I told him to and I asked him if he was tired. He said yes. I asked him if he was falling asleep, he said yes. He didn't hesitate to get off the bike and waited for me to give him a ride to the house on the mower.

New meaning to falling asleep at the wheel, or should I say handle bars.

Please don't make me sleep in that bed

After spending a couple of days with my brother and his family, we drove to Carlsbad, NM. But if you've never been to West Texas, let me just give you a tour of what you're missing.


On the road from El Paso to Carlsbad, you see miles and miles and, well, miles of desert. We did see this animal. I'm not an expert in wildlife, so I'm not sure if that's an antelope, elk, deer or a buffalo? I'm kidding, I know for sure it's not a buffalo, I'm not really sure what it was. It was on the side of the road trying to find some food in that desert land. We drove some more and we saw this. What would you call them, mountains or hills of dirt with weeds growing on them?

But wait! I think I see something other than dirt. Yes, it's some sort of rock formations.

And look! We even have some mountains. The Guadalupe Mountains to be exact.

Let's take a closer look shall we? They are pretty neat to see. To know that our God created all of that is amazing.

Now you know what the back road from TX to NM looks like.

We arrive at our destination. We had reservations, but the nice people (I say that with a hint of sarcasm) wouldn't let anyone check in until 4pm. So we waited with a bunch of other people, who were also hot and cranky, in the cool gift shop.

When we had decided to take the boys to the the Caverns, we decided to stay here. I had looked at the pictures, read what they had and decided that it would be a nice place to stay at. It was up the road from the Caverns, it had a water park for the boys to play at, there was a restaurant there, what more could we want.

Well, we finally formed a line at 3:55 in order to check into our rooms. Our plans were to get in the room, get in our swimsuits and go to the water park. We get our room key and drive over to where our room is located.

When I used to travel, I used to carry my own sheet and pillow and blanket because the thought of sleeping on something that was unsanitary just didn't appeal to me. Now that I have kids, we carry our pillows and some blankets.

When we got in the room, I had this weird feeling. I went straight for the bed that I was going to sleep in and pulled back the covers. I gagged. Now bear with me because I'm going to describe what I saw. If you are grossed out already, then skip over this. I have never stayed in a hotel room that was this nasty. I saw some dried mucous on the sheets and the pillow cases. Then there was some dried blood on the the pillow cases as well. I walk over to the other bed and find hairs all over that one. I told Hubster that we couldn't stay there. He said he was going to call the front desk. AB said, "well, you need to tell them that there's a problem with the shower." Since we hadn't taken showers yet, I couldn't understand what the problem was. I walk in there and find a used rag draped over the shower head in the shower and the sewer seemed to have backed up into the tub. Hubster was talking to the front desk and they said they would send housekeeping and maintenance over. I really don't think that would have helped us at that moment.

At this point, we are totally disgusted. We decide to go stand in line again and get our money back. We got our money back and went into town to look for another hotel. When we did find one, we looked the sheets over, as well as the bathroom. Everything was cool.

We assumed that the same people that owned the nasty place owned the caverns and since we were already thoroughly disgusted, we didn't even go near the caverns. I'm sure they were fine, but we weren't going to go through that again.

So next time you stay in a hotel, don't just go by the pictures, inspect the sheets first. You just never know what you might find. Or better yet, carry your own sheets.